Channel state information report based beam switching
UE-initiated TCI state management using CSI reports autonomously addresses latency issues in wireless communication systems by allowing UE to switch or activate TCI states without network control, enhancing communication efficiency.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- PCT/CN2024/076902
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-02-08
- Publication Date
- 2025-08-14
AI Technical Summary
Existing wireless communication systems incur latency due to control signaling for transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state management operations, such as TCI state switching and activation, which can be inefficient and time-consuming.
User equipment (UE) performs UE-initiated TCI state management operations based on channel state information (CSI) reports, autonomously switching or activating TCI states without explicit network control signaling, reducing latency by including TCI states that meet measurement thresholds or indicating activation status in the CSI report.
Reduces latency associated with conventional TCI state management operations by enabling UE-initiated actions based on CSI reports, improving communication efficiency and reducing signaling overhead.
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Figure CN2024076902_14082025_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
CHANNEL STATE INFORMATION REPORT BASED BEAM SWITCHING
[0001] FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY
[0002] The following relates to wireless communications, including channel state information (CSI) report based beam switching.BACKGROUND
[0003] Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power) . Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ technologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA) , time division multiple access (TDMA) , frequency division multiple access (FDMA) , orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) , or discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) . A wireless multiple-access communications system may include one or more base stations, each supporting wireless communication for communication devices, which may be known as user equipment (UE) .
[0004] In some cases, wireless devices may communicate using beamformed communications. For example, a transmitting wireless device may transmit data using a transmit beam and a receiving wireless device may receive the data using a receive beam. Such beams may be associated with transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states configured for a wireless device, and the wireless device may manage beams for communications by activating or selecting TCI states.SUMMARY
[0005] The described techniques relate to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses that support channel state information (CSI) report based beam switching. For example, the described techniques provide for a user equipment (UE) to perform a UE initiated transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state management operation based on transmission of a CSI report. The UE may measure reference signals associated with a set of TCI states and may transmit a CSI report indicating one or more of the TCI states. In some cases, the UE may perform a TCI state management operation associated with the one or more TCI states without receiving control signaling from a network entity indicating to perform the TCI state management operation (e.g., without receiving a TCI activation MAC-CE or a TCI indication DCI) . For example, the CSI report may include TCI states corresponding to beams that satisfy a measurement threshold (e.g., suitable for switching or activation) or may include a respective indication (e.g., a bit) with each included TCI state to indicate whether the TCI state is to be active or not. In some cases, the UE may autonomously perform the TCI state management operation after a time offset from transmitting the CSI report or after a time offset from receiving a confirmation of the CSI report from the network entity.
[0006] A method for wireless communications by a UE is described. The method may include receiving a set of reference signals associated with a set of TCI states, transmitting, in response to receiving the set of reference signals, a CSI report indicating one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states, and performing a TCI state management operation associated with the one or more TCI states based on transmitting the CSI report, where the UE performs the TCI state management operation without receiving control signaling from a network entity indicating to perform the TCI state management operation.
[0007] A UE for wireless communications is described. The UE may include one or more memories storing processor executable code, and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories. The one or more processors may individually or collectively be operable to execute the code to cause the UE to receive a set of reference signals associated with a set of TCI states, transmit, in response to receiving the set of reference signals, a CSI report indicating one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states, and perform a TCI state management operation associated with the one or more TCI states based on transmitting the CSI report, where the UE performs the TCI state management operation without receiving control signaling from a network entity indicating to perform the TCI state management operation.
[0008] Another UE for wireless communications is described. The UE may include means for receiving a set of reference signals associated with a set of TCI states, means for transmitting, in response to receiving the set of reference signals, a CSI report indicating one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states, and means for performing a TCI state management operation associated with the one or more TCI states based on transmitting the CSI report, where the UE performs the TCI state management operation without receiving control signaling from a network entity indicating to perform the TCI state management operation.
[0009] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications is described. The code may include instructions executable by one or more processors to receive a set of reference signals associated with a set of TCI states, transmit, in response to receiving the set of reference signals, a CSI report indicating one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states, and perform a TCI state management operation associated with the one or more TCI states based on transmitting the CSI report, where the UE performs the TCI state management operation without receiving control signaling from a network entity indicating to perform the TCI state management operation.
[0010] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the TCI state management operation includes a TCI state activation operation.
[0011] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the TCI state management operation includes a TCI state switching operation.
[0012] Some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for communicating with the network entity using a first beam associated with a first TCI state based on performing the TCI state management operation.
[0013] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, performing the TCI state management operation may include operations, features, means, or instructions for performing the TCI state management operation based on a time offset from the transmission of the CSI report.
[0014] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, transmitting the CSI report may include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting the CSI report via an uplink control information (UCI) message.
[0015] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, transmitting the CSI report may include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting the CSI report in a media access control control element (MAC-CE) .
[0016] Some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a message confirming reception of the CSI report, where performing the TCI state management operation may be based on receiving the message.
[0017] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, performing the TCI state management operation may include operations, features, means, or instructions for performing the TCI state management operation based on a time offset from the reception of the message.
[0018] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the message includes an acknowledgment (ACK) received via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) , a downlink MAC-CE confirmation message, a downlink control information (DCI) message indicating a TCI state included in the CSI report, scheduling information that schedules a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission, or any combination thereof.
[0019] Some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a message including a trigger to transmit the CSI report, where the message indicates that the UE may be to autonomously perform the TCI state management operation after the transmission of the CSI report, and where transmitting the CSI report may be based on receiving the message.
[0020] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, transmitting the CSI report may include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting the CSI report based on identifying an occurrence of one or more events, where the one or more events include an identification that a first measurement of a first beam associated with a first TCI state used by the UE for communications with the network entity does not satisfy a first threshold value and an identification that a second measurement of a second beam associated with a second TCI state not used by the UE for communications with the network entity satisfies a second threshold value.
[0021] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, performing the TCI state management operation may include operations, features, means, or instructions for performing a TCI state switching procedure to switch from using the first TCI state to using the second TCI state and performing a TCI state activation procedure to activate the second TCI state for use in subsequent communications.
[0022] Some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a message indicating a first quantity of reference signals the UE may be to report in the CSI report, where the set of reference signals includes the first quantity of reference signals and measuring each reference signal of the set of reference signals, where the one or more TCI states included in the CSI report correspond to a second quantity of reference signals based on respective measurements of the set of reference signals.
[0023] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the second quantity of reference signals include at least a subset of the set of reference signals and respective measurements of the subset of the set of reference signals satisfy a threshold value.
[0024] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the second quantity of reference signals include a first reference signal of the set of reference signals based on the first reference signal corresponding to a first measurement that may be higher than respective measurements of other reference signals of the set of reference signals.
[0025] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the second quantity of reference signals include the first quantity of reference signals and the CSI report includes a respective indication of whether each TCI state of the one or more TCI states will be active after performing the TCI state management operation based on the respective measurements of the set of reference signals.
[0026] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the CSI report includes an indication of the second quantity.
[0027] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, one or more first reference signals associated with a first TCI state of the one or more TCI states corresponds to a first TCI codepoint and one or more second reference signals associated with a second TCI state of the one or more TCI states corresponds to a second TCI codepoint based on a mapping between an order of the one or more TCI states included in the CSI report and a set of multiple TCI codepoints.
[0028] Some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for measuring a first reference signal of the set of reference signals and storing one or more quasi co-location (QCL) parameters associated with a first TCI state that may be associated with the first reference signal based on measuring the first reference signal and the first TCI state not being activated for the UE prior to performing the TCI state management operation, where the CSI report indicates at least the first TCI state.
[0029] Some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a synchronization signal block (SSB) after transmission of the CSI report, the CSI report indicating a first TCI state and updating a set of QCL parameters associated with the first TCI state based on receiving the SSB.
[0030] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, one or more TCI codepoints corresponding to the one or more TCI states may replace a previously configured set of one or more TCI codepoints; the one or more TCI codepoints may replace a subset of the previously configured set of one or more TCI codepoints.
[0031] A method for wireless communications by a network entity is described. The method may include outputting a set of reference signals associated with a set of TCI states, obtaining, from a UE based on transmitting the set of reference signals, a CSI report indicating one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states, and communicating with the UE using a first beam associated with a first TCI state of the one or more TCI states based on receiving the CSI report and without transmitting control signaling indicating for the UE to perform a TCI state management operation.
[0032] A network entity for wireless communications is described. The network entity may include one or more memories storing processor executable code, and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories. The one or more processors may individually or collectively be operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to output a set of reference signals associated with a set of TCI states, obtain, from a UE based on transmitting the set of reference signals, a CSI report indicating one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states, and communicate with the UE using a first beam associated with a first TCI state of the one or more TCI states based on receiving the CSI report and without transmitting control signaling indicating for the UE to perform a TCI state management operation.
[0033] Another network entity for wireless communications is described. The network entity may include means for outputting a set of reference signals associated with a set of TCI states, means for obtaining, from a UE based on transmitting the set of reference signals, a CSI report indicating one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states, and means for communicating with the UE using a first beam associated with a first TCI state of the one or more TCI states based on receiving the CSI report and without transmitting control signaling indicating for the UE to perform a TCI state management operation.
[0034] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications is described. The code may include instructions executable by one or more processors to output a set of reference signals associated with a set of TCI states, obtain, from a UE based on transmitting the set of reference signals, a CSI report indicating one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states, and communicate with the UE using a first beam associated with a first TCI state of the one or more TCI states based on receiving the CSI report and without transmitting control signaling indicating for the UE to perform a TCI state management operation.
[0035] In some examples of the method, network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the TCI state management operation includes a TCI state activation operation.
[0036] In some examples of the method, network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the TCI state management operation includes a TCI state switching operation.
[0037] In some examples of the method, network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, obtaining the CSI report may include operations, features, means, or instructions for obtaining the CSI report via a UCI message.
[0038] In some examples of the method, network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, obtaining the CSI report may include operations, features, means, or instructions for obtaining the CSI report in a MAC-CE.
[0039] Some examples of the method, network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for outputting a message confirming reception of the CSI report, where communicating with the UE using the first beam may be based on outputting the message.
[0040] In some examples of the method, network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the message includes an ACK transmitted via a PDCCH, a downlink MAC-CE confirmation message, a DCI message indicating a TCI state included in the CSI report, scheduling information that schedules a PUSCH transmission, or any combination thereof.
[0041] Some examples of the method, network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for outputting a message including a trigger to transmit the CSI report, where the message indicates that the UE may be to autonomously perform the TCI state management operation after communicating the CSI report, and where obtaining the CSI report may be based on outputting the message.
[0042] Some examples of the method, network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for communicating, prior to receiving the CSI report, with the UE using a second beam associated with a second TCI state that may be different from the first TCI state.
[0043] Some examples of the method, network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for outputting a message indicating a first quantity of reference signals the UE may be to report in the CSI report, where the set of reference signals includes the first quantity of reference signals, and where the one or more TCI states included in the CSI report correspond to a second quantity of reference signals based on respective measurements, by the UE, of the set of reference signals.
[0044] In some examples of the method, network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the second quantity of reference signals include a first reference signal of the set of reference signals based on the first reference signal corresponding to a first measurement that may be higher than respective measurements of other reference signals of the set of reference signals.
[0045] In some examples of the method, network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the second quantity of reference signals include the first quantity of reference signals and the CSI report includes a respective indication of whether each TCI state of the one or more TCI states will be active after communicating the CSI report based on the respective measurements, by the UE, of the set of reference signals.
[0046] In some examples of the method, network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the CSI report includes an indication of the second quantity.
[0047] In some examples of the method, network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, one or more first reference signals associated with a first TCI state of the one or more TCI states corresponds to a first TCI codepoint and one or more second reference signals associated with a second TCI state of the one or more TCI states corresponds to a second TCI codepoint based on a mapping between an order of the one or more TCI states included in the CSI report and a set of multiple TCI codepoints.
[0048] In some examples of the method, network entities, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, one or more TCI codepoints corresponding to the one or more TCI states may replace a previously configured set of one or more TCI codepoints; the one or more TCI codepoints may replace a subset of the previously configured set of one or more TCI codepoints; or the one or more TCI codepoints may be appended to the previously configured set of one or more TCI codepoints.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0049] FIG. 1 shows an example of a wireless communications system that supports channel state information (CSI) report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0050] FIG. 2 shows an example of a wireless communications system that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0051] FIG. 3 shows an example of a process flow that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0052] FIG. 4 shows an example of a process flow that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0053] FIG. 5 shows an example of a process flow that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0054] FIGs. 6 and 7 show block diagrams of devices that support CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0055] FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a communications manager that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0056] FIG. 9 shows a diagram of a system including a device that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0057] FIGs. 10 and 11 show block diagrams of devices that support CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0058] FIG. 12 shows a block diagram of a communications manager that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0059] FIG. 13 shows a diagram of a system including a device that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0060] FIGs. 14 and 15 show flowcharts illustrating methods that support CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0061] In some wireless communications systems, a wireless device may perform transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state management operations to adjust which beams are used for communications with other wireless devices. For example, a user equipment (UE) may perform a TCI state switching operation to switch from using a first beam associated with a first TCI state to a second beam associated with a second TCI state or may perform a TCI state activation operation to activate a TCI state to be used for subsequent communications (e.g., activating a beam associated with the TCI state) . In some cases, such TCI state management operations may be initiated by the network entity. For example, the network entity may transmit a TCI activation media access control control element (MAC-CE) to initiate a TCI state activation operation at the UE or a TCI indication downlink control information (DCI) message to initiate a TCI state switching operation at the UE. In some such examples, the UE may transmit an acknowledgement (ACK) to indicate that the message indicating the TCI state management operation has been received before performing the TCI state management operation. However, such signaling may incur latency to the system, such as durations associated with the network entity indicating the TCI state management operation, the UE acknowledging the TCI state management operation, communicating a synchronization signal block (SSB) to identify quasi co-location (QCL) parameters for a TCI state, or any combination thereof.
[0062] To mitigate latency associated with communicating control signaling for a TCI state management operation, a UE may perform a UE-initiated TCI state management operation based on transmission of a channel state information (CSI) report. For example, the UE may receive a set of reference signals corresponding to a set of TCI states and may transmit the CSI report indicating one or more of the TCI states. The UE may perform a TCI state management operation associated with the one or more TCI states without receiving control signaling from a network entity indicating to perform the TCI state management operation (e.g., without receiving a TCI activation MAC-CE or a TCI indication DCI) . For example, the CSI report may include TCI states corresponding to beams that satisfy a measurement threshold (e.g., suitable for switching or activation) or may include a respective indication (e.g., a bit) with each included TCI state to indicate whether the TCI state activated or not. In some cases, the UE may autonomously perform the TCI state management operation after a time offset from transmitting the CSI report or after a time offset from receiving a confirmation of the CSI report from the network entity. By performing a UE-initiated TCI state management operation, latency incurred from signaling associated with performing the TCI state management operation may be reduced or otherwise mitigated.
[0063] Aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the context of wireless communications systems. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to process flows. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flowcharts that relate to CSI report based beam switching.
[0064] FIG. 1 shows an example of a wireless communications system 100 that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 100 may include one or more devices, such as one or more network devices (e.g., network entities 105) , one or more UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, a New Radio (NR) network, or a network operating in accordance with other systems and radio technologies, including future systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.
[0065] The network entities 105 may be dispersed throughout a geographic area to form the wireless communications system 100 and may include devices in different forms or having different capabilities. In various examples, a network entity 105 may be referred to as a network element, a mobility element, a radio access network (RAN) node, or network equipment, among other nomenclature. In some examples, network entities 105 and UEs 115 may wirelessly communicate via communication link (s) 125 (e.g., a radio frequency (RF) access link) . For example, a network entity 105 may support a coverage area 110 (e.g., a geographic coverage area) over which the UEs 115 and the network entity 105 may establish the communication link (s) 125. The coverage area 110 may be an example of a geographic area over which a network entity 105 and a UE 115 may support the communication of signals according to one or more radio access technologies (RATs) .
[0066] The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout a coverage area 110 of the wireless communications system 100, and each UE 115 may be stationary, or mobile, or both at different times. The UEs 115 may be devices in different forms or having different capabilities. Some example UEs 115 are illustrated in FIG. 1. The UEs 115 described herein may be capable of supporting communications with various types of devices in the wireless communications system 100 (e.g., other wireless communication devices, including UEs 115 or network entities 105) , as shown in FIG. 1.
[0067] As described herein, a node of the wireless communications system 100, which may be referred to as a network node, or a wireless node, may be a network entity 105 (e.g., any network entity described herein) , a UE 115 (e.g., any UE described herein) , a network controller, an apparatus, a device, a computing system, one or more components, or another suitable processing entity configured to perform any of the techniques described herein. For example, a node may be a UE 115. As another example, a node may be a network entity 105. As another example, a first node may be configured to communicate with a second node or a third node. In one aspect of this example, the first node may be a UE 115, the second node may be a network entity 105, and the third node may be a UE 115. In another aspect of this example, the first node may be a UE 115, the second node may be a network entity 105, and the third node may be a network entity 105. In yet other aspects of this example, the first, second, and third nodes may be different relative to these examples. Similarly, reference to a UE 115, network entity 105, apparatus, device, computing system, or the like may include disclosure of the UE 115, network entity 105, apparatus, device, computing system, or the like being a node. For example, disclosure that a UE 115 is configured to receive information from a network entity 105 also discloses that a first node is configured to receive information from a second node.
[0068] In some examples, network entities 105 may communicate with a core network 130, or with one another, or both. For example, network entities 105 may communicate with the core network 130 via backhaul communication link (s) 120 (e.g., in accordance with an S1, N2, N3, or other interface protocol) . In some examples, network entities 105 may communicate with one another via backhaul communication link (s) 120 (e.g., in accordance with an X2, Xn, or other interface protocol) either directly (e.g., directly between network entities 105) or indirectly (e.g., via the core network 130) . In some examples, network entities 105 may communicate with one another via a midhaul communication link 162 (e.g., in accordance with a midhaul interface protocol) or a fronthaul communication link 168 (e.g., in accordance with a fronthaul interface protocol) , or any combination thereof. The backhaul communication link (s) 120, midhaul communication links 162, or fronthaul communication links 168 may be or include one or more wired links (e.g., an electrical link, an optical fiber link) or one or more wireless links (e.g., a radio link, a wireless optical link) , among other examples or various combinations thereof. A UE 115 may communicate with the core network 130 via a communication link 155.
[0069] One or more of the network entities 105 or network equipment described herein may include or may be referred to as a base station 140 (e.g., a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an NR base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB) , a next-generation NodeB or giga-NodeB (either of which may be referred to as a gNB) , a 5G NB, a next-generation eNB (ng-eNB) , a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or other suitable terminology) . In some examples, a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140) may be implemented in an aggregated (e.g., monolithic, standalone) base station architecture, which may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within one network entity (e.g., a network entity 105 or a single RAN node, such as a base station 140) .
[0070] In some examples, a network entity 105 may be implemented in a disaggregated architecture (e.g., a disaggregated base station architecture, a disaggregated RAN architecture) , which may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among multiple network entities (e.g., network entities 105) , such as an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network, an open RAN (O-RAN) (e.g., a network configuration sponsored by the O-RAN Alliance) , or a virtualized RAN (vRAN) (e.g., a cloud RAN (C-RAN) ) . For example, a network entity 105 may include one or more of a central unit (CU) , such as a CU 160, a distributed unit (DU) , such as a DU 165, a radio unit (RU) , such as an RU 170, a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) , such as an RIC 175 (e.g., a Near-Real Time RIC (Near-RT RIC) , a Non-Real Time RIC (Non-RT RIC) ) , a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) system, such as an SMO system 180, or any combination thereof. An RU 170 may also be referred to as a radio head, a smart radio head, a remote radio head (RRH) , a remote radio unit (RRU) , or a transmission reception point (TRP) . One or more components of the network entities 105 in a disaggregated RAN architecture may be co-located, or one or more components of the network entities 105 may be located in distributed locations (e.g., separate physical locations) . In some examples, one or more of the network entities 105 of a disaggregated RAN architecture may be implemented as virtual units (e.g., a virtual CU (VCU) , a virtual DU (VDU) , a virtual RU (VRU) ) .
[0071] The split of functionality between a CU 160, a DU 165, and an RU 170 is flexible and may support different functionalities depending on which functions (e.g., network layer functions, protocol layer functions, baseband functions, RF functions, or any combinations thereof) are performed at a CU 160, a DU 165, or an RU 170. For example, a functional split of a protocol stack may be employed between a CU 160 and a DU 165 such that the CU 160 may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the DU 165 may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. In some examples, the CU 160 may host upper protocol layer (e.g., layer 3 (L3) , layer 2 (L2) ) functionality and signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) , service data adaption protocol (SDAP) , Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) ) . The CU 160 (e.g., one or more CUs) may be connected to a DU 165 (e.g., one or more DUs) or an RU 170 (e.g., one or more RUs) , or some combination thereof, and the DUs 165, RUs 170, or both may host lower protocol layers, such as layer 1 (L1) (e.g., physical (PHY) layer) or L2 (e.g., radio link control (RLC) layer, medium access control (MAC) layer) functionality and signaling, and may each be at least partially controlled by the CU 160. Additionally, or alternatively, a functional split of the protocol stack may be employed between a DU 165 and an RU 170 such that the DU 165 may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the RU 170 may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. The DU 165 may support one or multiple different cells (e.g., via one or multiple different RUs, such as an RU 170) . In some cases, a functional split between a CU 160 and a DU 165 or between a DU 165 and an RU 170 may be within a protocol layer (e.g., some functions for a protocol layer may be performed by one of a CU 160, a DU 165, or an RU 170, while other functions of the protocol layer are performed by a different one of the CU 160, the DU 165, or the RU 170) . A CU 160 may be functionally split further into CU control plane (CU-CP) and CU user plane (CU-UP) functions. A CU 160 may be connected to a DU 165 via a midhaul communication link 162 (e.g., F1, F1-c, F1-u) , and a DU 165 may be connected to an RU 170 via a fronthaul communication link 168 (e.g., open fronthaul (FH) interface) . In some examples, a midhaul communication link 162 or a fronthaul communication link 168 may be implemented in accordance with an interface (e.g., a channel) between layers of a protocol stack supported by respective network entities (e.g., one or more of the network entities 105) that are in communication via such communication links.
[0072] In some wireless communications systems (e.g., the wireless communications system 100) , infrastructure and spectral resources for radio access may support wireless backhaul link capabilities to supplement wired backhaul connections, providing an IAB network architecture (e.g., to a core network 130) . In some cases, in an IAB network, one or more of the network entities 105 (e.g., network entities 105 or IAB node (s) 104) may be partially controlled by each other. The IAB node (s) 104 may be referred to as a donor entity or an IAB donor. A DU 165 or an RU 170 may be partially controlled by a CU 160 associated with a network entity 105 or base station 140 (such as a donor network entity or a donor base station) . The one or more donor entities (e.g., IAB donors) may be in communication with one or more additional devices (e.g., IAB node (s) 104) via supported access and backhaul links (e.g., backhaul communication link (s) 120) . IAB node (s) 104 may include an IAB mobile termination (IAB-MT) controlled (e.g., scheduled) by one or more DUs (e.g., DUs 165) of a coupled IAB donor. An IAB-MT may be equipped with an independent set of antennas for relay of communications with UEs 115 or may share the same antennas (e.g., of an RU 170) of IAB node (s) 104 used for access via the DU 165 of the IAB node (s) 104 (e.g., referred to as virtual IAB-MT (vIAB-MT) ) . In some examples, the IAB node (s) 104 may include one or more DUs (e.g., DUs 165) that support communication links with additional entities (e.g., IAB node (s) 104, UEs 115) within the relay chain or configuration of the access network (e.g., downstream) . In such cases, one or more components of the disaggregated RAN architecture (e.g., the IAB node (s) 104 or components of the IAB node (s) 104) may be configured to operate according to the techniques described herein.
[0073] In the case of the techniques described herein applied in the context of a disaggregated RAN architecture, one or more components of the disaggregated RAN architecture may be configured to support test as described herein. For example, some operations described as being performed by a UE 115 or a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140) may additionally, or alternatively, be performed by one or more components of the disaggregated RAN architecture (e.g., components such as an IAB node, a DU 165, a CU 160, an RU 170, an RIC 175, an SMO system 180) .
[0074] A UE 115 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where the “device” may also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. A UE 115 may also include or may be referred to as a personal electronic device such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, a UE 115 may include or be referred to as a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or a machine type communications (MTC) device, among other examples, which may be implemented in various objects such as appliances, vehicles, or meters, among other examples.
[0075] The UEs 115 described herein may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as UEs 115 that may sometimes operate as relays, as well as the network entities 105 and the network equipment including macro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or gNBs, or relay base stations, among other examples, as shown in FIG. 1.
[0076] The UEs 115 and the network entities 105 may wirelessly communicate with one another via the communication link (s) 125 (e.g., one or more access links) using resources associated with one or more carriers. The term “carrier” may refer to a set of RF spectrum resources having a defined PHY layer structure for supporting the communication link (s) 125. For example, a carrier used for the communication link (s) 125 may include a portion of an RF spectrum band (e.g., a bandwidth part (BWP) ) that is operated according to one or more PHY layer channels for a given RAT (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR) . Each PHY layer channel may carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information) , control signaling that coordinates operation for the carrier, user data, or other signaling. The wireless communications system 100 may support communication with a UE 115 using carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. A UE 115 may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both frequency division duplexing (FDD) and time division duplexing (TDD) component carriers. Communication between a network entity 105 and other devices may refer to communication between the devices and any portion (e.g., entity, sub-entity) of a network entity 105. For example, the terms “transmitting, ” “receiving, ” or “communicating, ” when referring to a network entity 105, may refer to any portion of a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, a CU 160, a DU 165, a RU 170) of a RAN communicating with another device (e.g., directly or via one or more other network entities, such as one or more of the network entities 105) .
[0077] Signal waveforms transmitted via a carrier may be made up of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) ) . In a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may refer to resources of one symbol period (e.g., a duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, in which case the symbol period and subcarrier spacing may be inversely related. The quantity of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the coding rate of the modulation scheme, or both) , such that a relatively higher quantity of resource elements (e.g., in a transmission duration) and a relatively higher order of a modulation scheme may correspond to a relatively higher rate of communication. A wireless communications resource may refer to a combination of an RF spectrum resource, a time resource, and a spatial resource (e.g., a spatial layer, a beam) , and the use of multiple spatial resources may increase the data rate or data integrity for communications with a UE 115.
[0078] The time intervals for the network entities 105 or the UEs 115 may be expressed in multiples of a basic time unit which may, for example, refer to a sampling period of Ts=1 / (Δfmax·Nf) seconds, for which Δfmax may represent a supported subcarrier spacing, and Nf may represent a supported discrete Fourier transform (DFT) size. Time intervals of a communications resource may be organized according to radio frames each having a specified duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms) ) . Each radio frame may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023) .
[0079] Each frame may include multiple consecutively-numbered subframes or slots, and each subframe or slot may have the same duration. In some examples, a frame may be divided (e.g., in the time domain) into subframes, and each subframe may be further divided into a quantity of slots. Alternatively, each frame may include a variable quantity of slots, and the quantity of slots may depend on subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a quantity of symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix prepended to each symbol period) . In some wireless communications systems, such as the wireless communications system 100, a slot may further be divided into multiple mini-slots associated with one or more symbols. Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may be associated with one or more (e.g., Nf) sampling periods. The duration of a symbol period may depend on the subcarrier spacing or frequency band of operation.
[0080] A subframe, a slot, a mini-slot, or a symbol may be the smallest scheduling unit (e.g., in the time domain) of the wireless communications system 100 and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI) . In some examples, the TTI duration (e.g., a quantity of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable. Additionally, or alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system 100 may be dynamically selected (e.g., in bursts of shortened TTIs (sTTIs) ) .
[0081] Physical channels may be multiplexed for communication using a carrier according to various techniques. A physical control channel and a physical data channel may be multiplexed for signaling via a downlink carrier, for example, using one or more of time division multiplexing (TDM) techniques, frequency division multiplexing (FDM) techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. A control region (e.g., a control resource set (CORESET) ) for a physical control channel may be defined by a set of symbol periods and may extend across the system bandwidth or a subset of the system bandwidth of the carrier. One or more control regions (e.g., CORESETs) may be configured for a set of the UEs 115. For example, one or more of the UEs 115 may monitor or search control regions for control information according to one or more search space sets, and each search space set may include one or multiple control channel candidates in one or more aggregation levels arranged in a cascaded manner. An aggregation level for a control channel candidate may refer to an amount of control channel resources (e.g., control channel elements (CCEs) ) associated with encoded information for a control information format having a given payload size. Search space sets may include common search space sets configured for sending control information to UEs 115 (e.g., one or more UEs) or may include UE-specific search space sets for sending control information to a UE 115 (e.g., a specific UE) .
[0082] In some examples, a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) may be movable and therefore provide communication coverage for a moving coverage area, such as the coverage area 110. In some examples, coverage areas 110 (e.g., different coverage areas) associated with different technologies may overlap, but the coverage areas 110 (e.g., different coverage areas) may be supported by the same network entity (e.g., a network entity 105) . In some other examples, overlapping coverage areas, such as a coverage area 110, associated with different technologies may be supported by different network entities (e.g., the network entities 105) . The wireless communications system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous network in which different types of the network entities 105 support communications for coverage areas 110 (e.g., different coverage areas) using the same or different RATs.
[0083] The wireless communications system 100 may be configured to support ultra-reliable communications or low-latency communications, or various combinations thereof. For example, the wireless communications system 100 may be configured to support ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) . The UEs 115 may be designed to support ultra-reliable, low-latency, or critical functions. Ultra-reliable communications may include private communication or group communication and may be supported by one or more services such as push-to-talk, video, or data. Support for ultra-reliable, low-latency functions may include prioritization of services, and such services may be used for public safety or general commercial applications. The terms ultra-reliable, low-latency, and ultra-reliable low-latency may be used interchangeably herein.
[0084] In some examples, a UE 115 may be configured to support communicating directly with other UEs (e.g., one or more of the UEs 115) via a device-to-device (D2D) communication link, such as a D2D communication link 135 (e.g., in accordance with a peer-to-peer (P2P) , D2D, or sidelink protocol) . In some examples, one or more UEs 115 of a group that are performing D2D communications may be within the coverage area 110 of a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) , which may support aspects of such D2D communications being configured by (e.g., scheduled by) the network entity 105. In some examples, one or more UEs 115 of such a group may be outside the coverage area 110 of a network entity 105 or may be otherwise unable to or not configured to receive transmissions from a network entity 105. In some examples, groups of the UEs 115 communicating via D2D communications may support a one-to-many (1: M) system in which each UE 115 transmits to one or more of the UEs 115 in the group. In some examples, a network entity 105 may facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In some other examples, D2D communications may be carried out between the UEs 115 without an involvement of a network entity 105.
[0085] In some systems, a D2D communication link 135 may be an example of a communication channel, such as a sidelink communication channel, between vehicles (e.g., UEs 115) . In some examples, vehicles may communicate using vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, or some combination of these. A vehicle may signal information related to traffic conditions, signal scheduling, weather, safety, emergencies, or any other information relevant to a V2X system. In some examples, vehicles in a V2X system may communicate with roadside infrastructure, such as roadside units, or with the network via one or more network nodes (e.g., network entities 105, base stations 140, RUs 170) using vehicle-to-network (V2N) communications, or with both.
[0086] The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC) , which may include at least one control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME) , an access and mobility management function (AMF) ) and at least one user plane entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW) , a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW) , or a user plane function (UPF) ) . The control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for the UEs 115 served by the network entities 105 (e.g., base stations 140) associated with the core network 130. User IP packets may be transferred through the user plane entity, which may provide IP address allocation as well as other functions. The user plane entity may be connected to IP services 150 for one or more network operators. The IP services 150 may include access to the Internet, Intranet (s) , an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) , or a Packet-Switched Streaming Service.
[0087] The wireless communications system 100 may operate using one or more frequency bands, which may be in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz) . Generally, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is known as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelengths range from approximately one decimeter to one meter in length. UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features, which may be referred to as clusters, but the waves may penetrate structures sufficiently for a macro cell to provide service to the UEs 115 located indoors. Communications using UHF waves may be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than one hundred kilometers) compared to communications using the smaller frequencies and longer waves of the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portion of the spectrum below 300 MHz.
[0088] The wireless communications system 100 may utilize both licensed and unlicensed RF spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communications system 100 may employ License Assisted Access (LAA) , LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) RAT, or NR technology using an unlicensed band such as the 5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. While operating using unlicensed RF spectrum bands, devices such as the network entities 105 and the UEs 115 may employ carrier sensing for collision detection and avoidance. In some examples, operations using unlicensed bands may be based on a carrier aggregation configuration in conjunction with component carriers operating using a licensed band (e.g., LAA) . Operations using unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P transmissions, or D2D transmissions, among other examples.
[0089] A network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) or a UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, or beamforming. The antennas of a network entity 105 or a UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels, which may support MIMO operations or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some examples, antennas or antenna arrays associated with a network entity 105 may be located at diverse geographic locations. A network entity 105 may include an antenna array with a set of rows and columns of antenna ports that the network entity 105 may use to support beamforming of communications with a UE 115. Likewise, a UE 115 may include one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally, or alternatively, an antenna panel may support RF beamforming for a signal transmitted via an antenna port.
[0090] Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a network entity 105, a UE 115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam, a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming may be achieved by combining the signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array such that some signals propagating along particular orientations with respect to an antenna array experience constructive interference while others experience destructive interference. The adjustment of signals communicated via the antenna elements may include a transmitting device or a receiving device applying amplitude offsets, phase offsets, or both to signals carried via the antenna elements associated with the device. The adjustments associated with each of the antenna elements may be defined by a beamforming weight set associated with a particular orientation (e.g., with respect to the antenna array of the transmitting device or receiving device, or with respect to some other orientation) .
[0091] A network entity 105 or a UE 115 may use beam sweeping techniques as part of beamforming operations. For example, a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays (e.g., antenna panels) to conduct beamforming operations for directional communications with a UE 115. Some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted by a network entity 105 multiple times along different directions. For example, the network entity 105 may transmit a signal according to different beamforming weight sets associated with different directions of transmission. Transmissions along different beam directions may be used to identify (e.g., by a transmitting device, such as a network entity 105, or by a receiving device, such as a UE 115) a beam direction for later transmission or reception by the network entity 105.
[0092] Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particular receiving device, may be transmitted by a transmitting device (e.g., a network entity 105 or a UE 115) along a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with the receiving device, such as another network entity 105 or UE 115) . In some examples, the beam direction associated with transmissions along a single beam direction may be determined based on a signal that was transmitted along one or more beam directions. For example, a UE 115 may receive one or more of the signals transmitted by the network entity 105 along different directions and may report to the network entity 105 an indication of the signal that the UE 115 received with a highest signal quality or an otherwise acceptable signal quality.
[0093] In some examples, transmissions by a device (e.g., by a network entity 105 or a UE 115) may be performed using multiple beam directions, and the device may use a combination of digital precoding or beamforming to generate a combined beam for transmission (e.g., from a network entity 105 to a UE 115) . The UE 115 may report feedback that indicates precoding weights for one or more beam directions, and the feedback may correspond to a configured set of beams across a system bandwidth or one or more sub-bands. The network entity 105 may transmit a reference signal (e.g., a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) , a CSI reference signal (CSI-RS) ) , which may be precoded or unprecoded. The UE 115 may provide feedback for beam selection, which may be a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) or codebook-based feedback (e.g., a multi-panel type codebook, a linear combination type codebook, a port selection type codebook) . Although these techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted along one or more directions by a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) , a UE 115 may employ similar techniques for transmitting signals multiple times along different directions (e.g., for identifying a beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by the UE 115) or for transmitting a signal along a single direction (e.g., for transmitting data to a receiving device) .
[0094] A receiving device (e.g., a UE 115) may perform reception operations in accordance with multiple receive configurations (e.g., directional listening) when receiving various signals from a transmitting device (e.g., a network entity 105) , such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals. For example, a receiving device may perform reception in accordance with multiple receive directions by receiving via different antenna subarrays, by processing received signals according to different antenna subarrays, by receiving according to different receive beamforming weight sets (e.g., different directional listening weight sets) applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, or by processing received signals according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, any of which may be referred to as “listening” according to different receive configurations or receive directions. In some examples, a receiving device may use a single receive configuration to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving a data signal) . The single receive configuration may be aligned along a beam direction determined based on listening according to different receive configuration directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have a highest signal strength, highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) , or otherwise acceptable signal quality based on listening according to multiple beam directions) .
[0095] The wireless communications system 100 may be a packet-based network that operates according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communications at the bearer or PDCP layer may be IP-based. An RLC layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate via logical channels. A MAC layer may perform priority handling and multiplexing of logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer also may implement error detection techniques, error correction techniques, or both to support retransmissions to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, an RRC layer may provide establishment, configuration, and maintenance of an RRC connection between a UE 115 and a network entity 105 or a core network 130 supporting radio bearers for user plane data. A PHY layer may map transport channels to physical channels.
[0096] The UEs 115 and the network entities 105 may support retransmissions of data to increase the likelihood that data is received successfully. Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback is one technique for increasing the likelihood that data is received correctly via a communication link (e.g., the communication link (s) 125, a D2D communication link 135) . HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) ) , forward error correction (FEC) , and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ) ) . HARQ may improve throughput at the MAC layer in relatively poor radio conditions (e.g., low signal-to-noise conditions) . In some examples, a device may support same-slot HARQ feedback, in which case the device may provide HARQ feedback in a specific slot for data received via a previous symbol in the slot. In some other examples, the device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent slot, or according to some other time interval.
[0097] In some examples of the wireless communications system 100, wireless devices (e.g., a UE 115, a network entity 105) may perform TCI state management operations to adjust which beams are used for communications with other wireless devices. For example, a UE 115 may perform a TCI state switching operation to switch from using a first beam associated with a first TCI state to a second beam associated with a second TCI state or may perform a TCI state activation operation to activate a TCI state to be used for subsequent communications.
[0098] In some cases, such TCI state management operations may be initiated by the network entity 105. For example, to initiate a TCI state activation operation at the UE 115, the network entity 105 may transmit a TCI activation MAC-CE to the UE 115, which may include a set of one or more TCI states that the UE 115 is to activate (e.g., activating the set of beams to be available for subsequent switching operations) . Additionally, or alternatively, to initiate a TCI state switching operation at the UE 115, the network entity 105 may transmit a TCI indication DCI message to the UE 115, which may indicate a certain TCI state that the UE 115 is to switch to for subsequent communications (e.g., switching from using a previously-selected beam to using the beam associated with the indicated TCI state) . In some examples, the UE may transmit an ACK to indicate that the message indicating the TCI state management operation has been received (e.g., an ACK for the MAC-CE, an ACK for the DCI, or both) before performing the TCI state management operation. Additionally, the UE 115 may identify QCL parameters for an indicated TCI state based on receiving an SSB, which the network entity 105 may transmit after receiving an ACK. However, such signaling may incur additional latency to the system, such as durations associated with the network entity 105 indicating the TCI state management operation, the UE 115 acknowledging the TCI state management operation, communicating the SSB to identify the QCL parameters for a TCI state, or any combination thereof.
[0099] To mitigate latency associated with communicating control signaling for a TCI state management operation, a UE 115 may perform a UE-initiated TCI state management operation based on transmission of a CSI report. For example, the UE 115 may receive a set of reference signals corresponding to a set of TCI states and may transmit the CSI report indicating one or more of the set of TCI states. The UE 115 may perform a TCI state management operation associated with the one or more TCI states without receiving control signaling from a network entity 105 indicating to perform the TCI state management operation (e.g., without receiving a TCI activation MAC-CE or a TCI indication DCI) . For example, the CSI report may include TCI states corresponding to beams that satisfy a measurement threshold (e.g., suitable for switching or activation) or may include a respective indication (e.g., a bit) associated with each included TCI state to indicate whether the TCI state activated or not. In some cases, the UE 115 may autonomously perform the TCI state management operation after a time offset from transmitting the CSI report or after a time offset from receiving a confirmation of the CSI report from the network entity 105. By performing a UE-initiated TCI state management operation, latency incurred from signaling associated with performing the TCI state management operation may be reduced or otherwise mitigated.
[0100] FIG. 2 shows an example of a wireless communications system 200 that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 200 may implement, or be implemented by, one or more aspects of the wireless communications system 100. For example, the wireless communications system 200 may illustrate signaling and operations performed by a UE 115-a and a network entity 105-a, which may be examples of corresponding devices described with reference to FIG. 1. In some cases, the wireless communications system 200 may support the UE 115-a performing a TCI state management operation autonomously (e.g., without receiving control signaling indicating the TCI state management operation) based on transmission of a CSI report.
[0101] In some cases, the UE 115-a and the network entity 105-a may communicate using beamformed communications. For example, the UE 115-a may support one or more transmit beams for transmitting data to the network entity 105-a and one or more receive beams for receiving data from the network entity 105-a. Similarly, the network entity 105-a may support one or more transmit beams for transmitting data to the UE 115-a and one or more receive beams for receiving data from the UE 115-a. In some cases, such beams may be associated with respective TCI states, which may indicate a configuration (e.g., QCL parameters) for a communication beam.
[0102] In some examples, the UE 115-a and the network entity 105-a may manage (e.g., update, reconfigure, modify) what TCI states and corresponding beams to use for subsequent communications using a TCI state management operation. For example, the UE 115-a may perform a TCI state management operation 205 to switch from a TCI state configuration 210-a to a TCI state configuration 210-b. Such TCI state configurations 210 may indicate, for a set of beams of the UE 115-a (e.g., receive beams or transmit beams) , a selected beam 215, one or more active beams 220, and one or more inactive beams 225. As described herein, a selected beam 215 may refer to a beam currently used by the UE 115-a for communications with the network entity 105-a, an active beam 220 may refer to a beam that is suitable for switching to in a subsequent TCI state switching operation, and an inactive beam 225 may refer to a beam that is not suitable for switching to (e.g., until the beam has been activated) . In some cases, the TCI state management operation 205 may include a TCI state activation operation, a TCI state switching operation, or both. In the example illustrated by the wireless communications system 200, the TCI state management operation 205 may include the UE 115-a performing a TCI state activation operation to update a set of active beams 220 and a set of inactive beams 225, and a TCI state switching operation to switch to using a new selected beam 215 (e.g., from the updated active beams 220) .
[0103] In some examples, the UE 115-a may perform the TCI state management operation 205 based on transmission of a CSI report 230 (which may be referred to as a UE-initiated TCI management operation) . For example, the UE 115-a may receive a set of reference signals 235 from the network entity 105-a, which may be associated with a set of respective TCI states. The UE 115-a may measure each of the reference signals 235 and may transmit the CSI report 230 to the network entity 105-a in response to receiving the reference signals 235. In some examples, the UE 115-a may include, in the CSI report 230, an indication of one or more reference signals 235 corresponding to one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states. For example, the CSI report 230 may indicate a set of TCI states that the UE 115-a intends to activate, a TCI state that the UE 115-a intends to switch to, or both using the TCI state management operation 205. The UE 115-a may perform the TCI state management operation 205 after transmitting the CSI report 230, which may be an example of an operation autonomously performed by the UE 115-a without receiving control signaling from the network entity 105-aindicating to perform the operation. For example, after transmitting the CSI report 230, the UE 115-a may perform a TCI state activation operation without receiving a TCI activation MAC-CE from the network entity 105-a, or may perform a TCI state switching operation without receiving a TCI indication DCI from the network entity 105-a.
[0104] In some cases, the UE 115-a may transmit the CSI report 230 via L1 signaling, such as via an uplink control information (UCI) message. In some cases, the UE 115-a may perform the TCI management operation 205 after transmitting the UCI message including the CSI report 230 without receiving a confirmation from the network entity 105-a. Alternatively, the network entity 105-a may transmit a CSI confirmation 240 to the UE 115-a in response to receiving the CSI report 230, which may indicate whether the network entity 105-a received the UCI message. For example, the network entity 105-a may transmit an ACK via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) message to indicate successful reception of the UCI message or may transmit a NACK to indicate a failure to receive the UCI message (e.g., where the UE 115-a may retransmit the CSI report 230, thereby improving reliability of communicating the CSI report 230) .
[0105] Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 115-a may transmit the CSI report 230 via L2 signaling, such as in an uplink MAC-CE (e.g., transmitted via a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) ) . In some cases, the network entity 105-a may communicate the CSI confirmation 240 to the UE 115-a as an implicit ACK. For example, the network entity 105-a may transmit scheduling information via a PDCCH message, which may indicate a PUSCH transmission with a same HARQ ID as a HARQ ID associated with the MAC-CE. If a new data indicator (NDI) field is toggled in such a PDCCH message, the UE 115-a may identify that the network entity 105-a successfully received the MAC-CE including the CSI report 230.
[0106] In some examples, the UE 115-a may perform the TCI state management operation 205 within a time offset from transmitting the CSI report 230 or receiving the CSI confirmation 240. For example, the UE 115-a may perform the TCI state management operation 205 within a first duration (e.g., a first time offset) from transmitting the CSI report 230 (e.g., without waiting to receive the CSI confirmation 240 from the network entity 105-a, thereby mitigating latency associated with beam switching or activation) . Alternatively, the UE 115-a may perform the TCI state management operation 205 within a second duration (e.g., a second time offset) from receiving the CSI confirmation 240 (e.g., thereby improving reliability of communicating the CSI report 230) . In such examples, the CSI confirmation 240 may be an explicit confirmation, such as an ACK in a PDCCH message or a downlink MAC-CE confirmation message, or the CSI confirmation 240 may be an implicit confirmation, such as a TCI indication DCI message indicating a TCI state included in the CSI report 230 (e.g., corresponding to a reference signal 235 reported by the UE 115-a) or a message scheduling a PUSCH transmission (e.g., with a corresponding HARQ ID and a NDI field toggled) .
[0107] In some cases, the UE 115-a may identify a trigger to transmit the CSI report 230 (e.g., a L1 CSI report) . In a first example, the network entity 105-a may trigger the UE 115-a to transmit the CSI report 230. For example, the network entity 105-a may transmit an RRC configuration message to the UE 115-a including an indication that the UE 115-a is to autonomously perform the TCI state management operation 205 after the transmission of the CSI report 230. In some cases, the UE 115-a may transmit the CSI report 230 upon receiving the RRC configuration message with the indication (e.g., upon also receiving the reference signals 235) . Alternatively, the RRC configuration message may configure the UE 115-a to autonomously perform the TCI state management operation 205 (e.g., via the indication) , and the network entity 105-a may transmit the trigger to transmit the CSI report 230 via a dynamic indication (e.g., in a DCI message) . In a second example, the UE 115-a may trigger the transmission of the CSI report 230. For example, the UE 115-a may identify the occurrence of one or more events (e.g., predefined events) to enable performing the TCI state management operation 205. As an example, the one or more events may include the UE 115-a identifying that a measurement of currently selected beam 215 (e.g., a selected beam 215 of the TCI state configuration 210-a) fails to satisfy a first threshold and identifying that a measurement of a previously unselected beam (e.g., an active beam 220 or an inactive beam 225 of the TCI state configuration 210-a) satisfies a second threshold. That is, if the UE 115-a identifies that a beam not currently used for communications with the network entity 105-a is significantly stronger than a currently used beam, the UE 115-a may trigger the transmission of (e.g., determine to transmit) the CSI report 230 and perform the TCI state management operation 205 (e.g., to switch to using the identified better beam) . The one or more events may be configured by the network entity 105 (e.g., via an RRC configuration message) .
[0108] In some cases, the UE 115-a may report variable quantities of reference signals 235 (e.g., corresponding to respective TCI states) in the CSI report 230. For example, the network entity 105-a may indicate (e.g., via an RRC configuration message) a first quantity of reference signals 235 the UE 115-a is to report in the CSI report 230. In some cases, the UE 115-a may report a second quantity of reference signals 235 that includes a subset of the first quantity of reference signals 235 (e.g., the UE 115-a may report less than the configured quantity of reference signals 235 in the CSI report 230) . For example, the UE 115-a may measure each of the reference signals 235 and may include reference signals 235 in the CSI report 230 corresponding to measurements that satisfy a threshold value (e.g., a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold) , which may indicate TCI states that are suitable for activation or switching. Alternatively, the second quantity of reference signals 235 may include a single reference signal 235 corresponding to a highest measurement value (e.g., a highest RSRP in comparison to other reference signals 235) . In some examples, the CSI report may include an indication of the second quantity (e.g., the UE 115-a may indicate a flexible quantity of reference signals 235 corresponding to TCI states to be activated) .
[0109] As another example, the UE 115-a may indicate a quantity of reference signals 235 in the CSI report 230 that is based on an event that triggers the transmission of the CSI report 230. For example, if the UE 115-a identifies an occurrence of an event that triggers a beam switching operation to switch from using a first beam to a second beam, the UE 115-a may determine a quantity of reference signals 235 to report based on the event (e.g., the event may indicate to include a reference signal 235 associated with the second beam in the CSI report 230) . Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 115-a may include the first quantity of reference signals 235 in the CSI report 230 and may include a respective field (e.g., a bit) with each reference signal 235 to indicate whether a corresponding TCI state will be active after performing the TCI state management operation 205 (e.g., a first binary value indicating an active TCI state and a second binary value indicating an inactive TCI state) .
[0110] In some examples, the TCI states indicated by the CSI report 230 may be associated with one or more TCI codepoints. In some cases, the UE 115-a may identify a mapping (e.g., a preconfigured mapping) between an order of the TCI states included in the CSI report 230 and multiple TCI codepoints. As an example, in a single TRP (sTRP) scenario, a first reference signal 235 included in the CSI report 230 may map to a first TCI codepoint (e.g., indicated via a TCI selection DCI) , a second reference signal 235 included in the CSI report 230 may map to a second TCI codepoint (e.g., indicated via the TCI selection DCI) , and so on. As another example, in a multiple TRP (mTRP) scenario, a first reference signal group may map to a first TCI codepoint, a second reference signal group may map to a second TCI codepoint, and so on. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 115-a may update one or more TCI codepoints based on transmitting the CSI report 230. For example, after performing the TCI management operation 205, the UE 115-a may replace a previously-configured set of TCI codepoints with new TCI codepoints associated with TCI states included in the CSI report 230 (e.g., invalidating previous TCI codepoints) . In another example, the UE 115-a may replace a subset of the previously-configured TCI codepoints with the new TCI codepoints (e.g., the UE 115-a updates the first or last N previous TCI codepoints) . In another example, the UE 115-a may append the new TCI codepoints to the previously-configured TCI codepoints (e.g., the UE 115-a appends N TCI codepoints to the previous TCI codepoints and maintains the previous TCI codepoints) .
[0111] In some cases, the UE 115-a may report TCI information (e.g., explicitly) in the CSI report 230. For example, the UE 115-a may report one or more TCI IDs in the CSI report 230 (e.g., corresponding to indicated TCI states) . As another example, the UE 115-a may report one or more TCI codepoints in the CSI report 230, where each TCI codepoint may be mapped with a joint TCI state, a downlink TCI state, an uplink TCI state, or a pair of downlink and uplink TCI states (e.g., a unified TCI state) .
[0112] In some cases, by performing the UE-initiated TCI management operation 205, latency incurred from signaling associated with performing the TCI state management operation 205 may be reduced or otherwise mitigated.
[0113] FIG. 3 shows an example of a process flow 300 that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The process flow 300 may implement, or be implemented by, one or more aspects of the wireless communications systems 100 and 200. For example, the process flow 300 may show an example of signaling performed between a UE 115-b and a network entity 105-b, which may be examples of corresponding devices described with reference to FIGs. 1 and 2. In some examples, the process flow 300 may support the UE 115-b performing a UE-initiated TCI state switching operation, which may be an example of the TCI state management operation 205 described with reference to FIG. 2. Alternative examples of the following may be implemented, where some processes are performed in a different order than described or are not performed. In some cases, processes may include additional features not mentioned below, or further processes may be added.
[0114] At 305, the network entity 105-b may transmit one or more reference signals (e.g., CSI reference signals) to the UE 115-b. In some cases, the UE 115-b may measure the one or more reference signals to determine whether to perform a TCI state switching operation. For example, the UE 115-b may identify that a measurement of a reference signal received via a beam corresponding to a first TCI state (e.g., a selected TCI state) fails to satisfy a first threshold RSRP value and that a measurement of a reference signal received via a beam corresponding to a second TCI state (e.g., an unselected TCI state) satisfies a second threshold RSRP value. In such examples, the UE 115-b may determine to perform a TCI state switching operation to switch from using the first TCI state to the second TCI state.
[0115] At 310, the UE 115-b may transmit a CSI report to the network entity 105-b. In some cases, the CSI report may indicate a TCI state that the UE 115-b intends to switch to using after performing a TCI state switching operation (e.g., in accordance with techniques described with reference to FIG. 2) . For example, the UE 115-b may indicate, in the CSI report, the reference signal associated with the second TCI state.
[0116] At 315, the UE 115-b may store one or more QCL parameters associated with one or more TCI states included in the CSI report. For example, if the UE 115-b determines to switch to using the second TCI state and the second TCI state has not been previously activated, the UE 115-b may store QCL parameters (e.g., associated with the beam measurements for the reference signals) for the second TCI state according to a measurement of the corresponding reference signal. In some examples, the UE 115-b may apply a unified TCI state (e.g., a TCI state that applies to a receive beam and a corresponding transmit beam) to one or more other reference signals (e.g., associated channels and reference signals for a corresponding transmit beam) based on the reference signal selected in the CSI report.
[0117] At 320, the UE 115-b may perform a TCI state switching operation. In some cases, the TCI state switching operation may be UE-initiated based on the transmission of the CSI report. For example, the UE 115-b may perform the TCI state switching operation without waiting to receive a TCI indication DCI from the network entity 105-b and without transmitting an ACK in response to the DCI. In some cases, the TCI state switching operation may result in the UE 115-b switching from using a first beam associated with a first TCI state to using a second beam associated with a second TCI state included in the CSI report. In some cases, performing the TCI state switching operation without receiving the TCI indication DCI and without transmitting the ACK may reduce latency associated with performing the TCI state switching operation.
[0118] At 325, the UE 115-b and the network entity 105-b may communicate using a beam in accordance with the TCI state switching operation. For example, the UE 115-b and the network entity 105-b may communicate using a beam corresponding to a TCI state that is included in the CSI report.
[0119] FIG. 4 shows an example of a process flow 400 that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The process flow 400 may implement, or be implemented by, one or more aspects of the wireless communications systems 100 and 200. For example, the process flow 400 may show an example of signaling performed between a UE 115-c and a network entity 105-c, which may be examples of corresponding devices described with reference to FIGs. 1 and 2. In some examples, the process flow 400 may support the UE 115-c performing a UE-initiated TCI state activation operation, which may be an example of the TCI state management operation 205 described with reference to FIG. 2. Alternative examples of the following may be implemented, where some processes are performed in a different order than described or are not performed. In some cases, processes may include additional features not mentioned below, or further processes may be added.
[0120] At 405, the network entity 105-c may transmit one or more reference signals (e.g., CSI reference signals) to the UE 115-c. In some cases, the UE 115-c may measure the one or more reference signals to determine whether to perform a TCI state activation operation. For example, the UE 115-c may identify that measurements of reference signals received via beams corresponding to one or more TCI states satisfy a threshold RSRP value and may determine to activate the one or more TCI states for subsequent communications with the network entity 105-c. In such examples, the UE 115-c may determine to perform a TCI state activation operation to activate the one or more TCI states.
[0121] At 410, the UE 115-c may transmit a CSI report to the network entity 105-c. In some cases, the CSI report may indicate the one or more TCI states that the UE 115-c intends to activate after performing a TCI state activation operation (e.g., in accordance with techniques described with reference to FIG. 2) . For example, the UE 115-c may indicate, in the CSI report, one or more reference signals associated with the one or more TCI states.
[0122] At 415, the network entity 105-c may transmit an SSB to the UE 115-c. In some cases, the SSB may indicate one or more QCL parameters associated with the one or more TCI states that the UE 115-c intends to activate. For example, after receiving the SSB, the UE 115-c may update QCL parameters for the one or more TCI states.
[0123] Alternatively, the UE 115-c may identify and store the QCL parameters for the one or more TCI states based on beam measurements. For example, the UE 115-c may measure an SSB received with the reference signals (e.g., at 405) to identify the QCL parameters. In such examples, the network entity 105-c may refrain from transmitting the SSB at 415 (e.g., due to the UE 115-c identifying the appropriate parameters during beam measurement) .
[0124] At 420, the UE 115-c may perform a TCI state activation operation. In some cases, the TCI state activation operation may be UE-initiated based on the transmission of the CSI report. For example, the UE 115-c may perform the TCI state activation operation without waiting to receive a TCI activation MAC-CE from the network entity 105-c and without transmitting an ACK in response to the MAC-CE. Additionally, if the UE 115-c stores QCL parameters for the indicated TCI states according to beam measurements (e.g., instead of according to the subsequent SSB at 415) , the UE 115-c may perform the TCI state activation operation without waiting to receive an SSB from the network entity 105-c. In some cases, the TCI state activation operation may result in the UE 115-c activating the one or more TCI states included in the CSI report (e.g., beams which may be switched to using a TCI state switching operation) . In some cases, performing the TCI state activation operation without receiving the TCI activation MAC-CE, without transmitting the ACK, and, in some examples, without receiving the SSB may reduce latency associated with performing the TCI state activation operation.
[0125] At 425, the UE 115-c and the network entity 105-c may communicate using beams in accordance with the TCI state activation operation. For example, the UE 115-c and the network entity 105-c may communicate using a beam corresponding to a TCI state that is activated (e.g., by switching to an active beam after performing the TCI state activation operation) .
[0126] FIG. 5 shows an example of a process flow 500 that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The process flow 500 may implement, or be implemented by, one or more aspects of the wireless communications systems 100 and 200 as well as the process flows 300 and 400. For example, the process flow 500 may show an example of signaling performed between a UE 115-d and a network entity 105-d, which may be examples of corresponding devices described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 4. In some examples, the process flow 500 may support the UE 115-d performing a UE-initiated TCI state management operation, which may be an example of the TCI state management operation 205 described with reference to FIG. 2, the TCI state switching operation described with reference to FIG. 3, the TCI state activation operation described with reference to FIG. 4, or any combination thereof. Alternative examples of the following may be implemented, where some processes are performed in a different order than described or are not performed. In some cases, processes may include additional features not mentioned below, or further processes may be added.
[0127] At 505, the UE 115-d may receive an RRC configuration message from the network entity 105-d. In some cases, the RRC configuration message may indicate a first quantity of reference signals the UE 115-d is to report in a CSI report. Additionally, or alternatively, the RRC configuration message may include a trigger to transmit the CSI report and may indicate that the UE 115-d is to autonomously perform a TCI state management operation after transmitting the CSI report (e.g., enabling autonomous TCI state management at the UE 115-d) .
[0128] At 510, the UE 115-d may receive one or more reference signals from the network entity 105-d. For example, the UE 115-d may receive the first quantity of reference signals indicated in the RRC configuration message (e.g., a preconfigured quantity of reference signals) . In some cases, the set of reference signals may be associated with a set of TCI states. The UE 115-d may measure each of the reference signals to obtain respective measurement values (e.g., RSRP values) of the reference signals. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 115-d may identify QCL parameters for one or more TCI states based on measuring the reference signals (e.g., measuring an SSB associated with the reference signals) . For example, the UE 115-d may identify QCL parameters for a first TCI state based on measuring a first reference signal associated with the first TCI state, where the first TCI state may not be activated for the UE 115-d.
[0129] At 515, the UE 115-d may transmit, in response to receiving the reference signals, a CSI report to the network entity 105-d. In some cases, the UE 115-d may transmit the CSI report via a UCI message (e.g., L1 signaling) or in a MAC-CE (e.g., L2 signaling) . In some cases, the CSI report may indicate one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states (e.g., by indicating corresponding reference signals) associated with a TCI state management operation that the UE 115-d intends to perform. In some examples, the CSI report may include a second quantity of reference signals that may be different from the first quantity of reference signals. For example, the second quantity of reference signals may include at least a subset of the first quantity of reference signals, where respective measurements of the subset of the first quantity of reference signals may satisfy a threshold value (e.g., TCI states are indicated for beams above an RSRP threshold) . As another example, the second quantity of reference signals may include a first reference signal based on the first reference signal corresponding to a first measurement that is higher than respective measurements of other reference signals of the set of reference signals (e.g., a TCI state is indicated for a beam having a highest RSRP measurement) . As another example, the second quantity of reference signals may include the first quantity of reference signals, where the CSI report may include a respective indication (e.g., a bit) of whether each TCI state will be active after performing a TCI state management operation. In some examples, the CSI report may include an indication of the second quantity (e.g., an indication of how many reference signals are included in the CSI report) .
[0130] In some cases, the UE 115-d may transmit the CSI report in response to a trigger. For example, the UE 115-d may identify the trigger in a message received from the network entity 105-d (e.g., the RRC configuration message or a dynamic message) . Alternatively, the UE 115-d may identify the trigger based on the occurrence of one or more events. For example, the UE 115-d may determine to transmit the CSI report based on a first measurement of a first beam associated with a first TCI state used by the UE 115-d for communications with the network entity 105-d failing to satisfy a first threshold value and a second measurement of a second beam associated with a second TCI state not used by the UE 115-d for communications with the network entity 105-d satisfying a second threshold value (e.g., an unselected beam is identified to be more suitable than a selected beam) .
[0131] At 520, the UE 115-d may receive a CSI confirmation message from the network entity 105-d (e.g., in response to the CSI report) . For example, the CSI confirmation message may confirm reception, by the network entity 105-d, of the CSI report. In some cases, the CSI confirmation message may be an explicit confirmation, for example an ACK received via a PDCCH message or reception of a downlink MAC-CE confirmation. Alternatively, the CSI confirmation message may be an implicit confirmation, for example reception of a DCI indicating a TCI state included in the CSI report (e.g., a TCI indication DCI) or reception of scheduling information that schedules a PUSCH transmission (e.g., with a NDI field toggled) .
[0132] At 525, the UE 115-d may receive an SSB from the network entity 105-d. For example, the UE 115-d may receive the SSB after transmission of the CSI report that indicates a first TCI state and may update a set of QCL parameters associated with the first TCI state based on receiving the SSB. Alternatively, if the UE 115-d identifies the QCL parameters during beam measurement or already stores the QCL parameters (e.g., based on the first TCI state being previously activated or a unified TCI applying to the first TCI state) , the UE 115-d may refrain from receiving the SSB.
[0133] At 530, the UE 115-d may perform a TCI state management operation based on transmitting the CSI report. For example, the UE 115-d may perform a TCI state activation operation to activate one or more TCI states included in the CSI report or may perform a TCI state switching operation to switch to using a TCI state included in the CSI report. In some cases, the TCI state management operation may be UE-initiated such that the UE 115-d performs the TCI state management operation receiving control signaling from the network entity 105-d indicating to perform the TCI state management operation (e.g., without receiving a TCI activation MAC-CE or a TCI indication DCI) . In some examples, the UE 115-d may perform the TCI state management operation based on a time offset (e.g., within a configured duration) from the transmission of the CSI report. Alternatively, the UE 115-d may perform the TCI state management operation based on a time offset (e.g., within a configured duration) from the reception of the CSI confirmation message.
[0134] In some cases, performing the TCI state management procedure may update a set of TCI codepoints associated with the UE 115-d and the network entity 105-d. For example, one or more first reference signals associated with a first TCI state (e.g., a single reference signal in a sTRP scenario or a group of reference signals in a mTRP scenario) may correspond to a first TCI codepoint and one or more second reference signals associated with a second TCI state may correspond to a second TCI codepoint based on a mapping between an order of the one or more TCI states included in the CSI report and a set of multiple of TCI codepoints. Additionally, or alternatively, an updated set of one or more TCI codepoints may replace or be appended to a set of previously configured TCI codepoints. For example, the one or more TCI codepoints (e.g., corresponding to the one or more TCI states) may replace the previously configured set of TCI codepoints, the one or more TCI codepoints may replace a subset of the previously configured set of TCI codepoints, or the one or more TCI codepoints may be appended to the previously configured set of TCI codepoints.
[0135] At 535, the UE 115-d and the network entity 105-d may communicate according to the TCI state management operation. For example, the UE 115-d and the network entity 105-d may communicate using a first beam associated with a first TCI state included in the CSI report. In some examples, by performing a UE-initiated TCI state management operation, latency incurred from signaling associated with performing the TCI state management operation may be reduced or otherwise mitigated.
[0136] FIG. 6 shows a block diagram 600 of a device 605 that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 605 may be an example of aspects of a UE 115 as described herein. The device 605 may include a receiver 610, a transmitter 615, and a communications manager 620. The device 605, or one or more components of the device 605 (e.g., the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, the communications manager 620) , may include at least one processor, which may be coupled with at least one memory, to, individually or collectively, support or enable the described techniques. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .
[0137] The receiver 610 may provide a means for receiving information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to CSI report based beam switching) . Information may be passed on to other components of the device 605. The receiver 610 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.
[0138] The transmitter 615 may provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 605. For example, the transmitter 615 may transmit information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to CSI report based beam switching) . In some examples, the transmitter 615 may be co-located with a receiver 610 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 615 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.
[0139] The communications manager 620, the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, or various combinations or components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of CSI report based beam switching as described herein. For example, the communications manager 620, the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, or various combinations or components thereof may be capable of performing one or more of the functions described herein.
[0140] In some examples, the communications manager 620, the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communications management circuitry) . The hardware may include at least one of a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP) , a central processing unit (CPU) , an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a microcontroller, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting, individually or collectively, a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some examples, at least one processor and at least one memory coupled with the at least one processor may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., by one or more processors, individually or collectively, executing instructions stored in the at least one memory) .
[0141] Additionally, or alternatively, the communications manager 620, the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in code (e.g., as communications management software or firmware) executed by at least one processor (e.g., referred to as a processor-executable code) . If implemented in code executed by at least one processor, the functions of the communications manager 620, the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, or various combinations or components thereof may be performed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, a microcontroller, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., configured as or otherwise supporting, individually or collectively, a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure) .
[0142] In some examples, the communications manager 620 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, monitoring, outputting, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, or both. For example, the communications manager 620 may receive information from the receiver 610, send information to the transmitter 615, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.
[0143] The communications manager 620 may support wireless communications in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communications manager 620 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving a set of reference signals associated with a set of TCI states. The communications manager 620 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting, in response to receiving the set of reference signals, a CSI report indicating one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states. The communications manager 620 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for performing a TCI state management operation associated with the one or more TCI states based on transmitting the CSI report, where the UE performs the TCI state management operation without receiving control signaling from a network entity indicating to perform the TCI state management operation.
[0144] By including or configuring the communications manager 620 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 605 (e.g., at least one processor controlling or otherwise coupled with the receiver 610, the transmitter 615, the communications manager 620, or a combination thereof) may support techniques for UE-initiated TCI management operations, which may reduce latency associated managing beams used by the UE for communications with the network entity.
[0145] FIG. 7 shows a block diagram 700 of a device 705 that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 705 may be an example of aspects of a device 605 or a UE 115 as described herein. The device 705 may include a receiver 710, a transmitter 715, and a communications manager 720. The device 705, or one or more components of the device 705 (e.g., the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, the communications manager 720) , may include at least one processor, which may be coupled with at least one memory, to support the described techniques. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .
[0146] The receiver 710 may provide a means for receiving information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to CSI report based beam switching) . Information may be passed on to other components of the device 705. The receiver 710 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.
[0147] The transmitter 715 may provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 705. For example, the transmitter 715 may transmit information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to CSI report based beam switching) . In some examples, the transmitter 715 may be co-located with a receiver 710 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 715 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.
[0148] The device 705, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various aspects of CSI report based beam switching as described herein. For example, the communications manager 720 may include a signal reception component 725, a report transmission component 730, a beam management component 735, or any combination thereof. The communications manager 720 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 620 as described herein. In some examples, the communications manager 720, or various components thereof, may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, monitoring, outputting, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, or both. For example, the communications manager 720 may receive information from the receiver 710, send information to the transmitter 715, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.
[0149] The communications manager 720 may support wireless communications in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The signal reception component 725 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving a set of reference signals associated with a set of TCI states. The report transmission component 730 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting, in response to receiving the set of reference signals, a CSI report indicating one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states. The beam management component 735 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for performing a TCI state management operation associated with the one or more TCI states based on transmitting the CSI report, where the UE performs the TCI state management operation without receiving control signaling from a network entity indicating to perform the TCI state management operation.
[0150] FIG. 8 shows a block diagram 800 of a communications manager 820 that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The communications manager 820 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 620, a communications manager 720, or both, as described herein. The communications manager 820, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various aspects of CSI report based beam switching as described herein. For example, the communications manager 820 may include a signal reception component 825, a report transmission component 830, a beam management component 835, a data communication component 840, a signal measurement component 845, a parameter management component 850, or any combination thereof. Each of these components, or components or subcomponents thereof (e.g., one or more processors, one or more memories) , may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .
[0151] The communications manager 820 may support wireless communications in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The signal reception component 825 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving a set of reference signals associated with a set of TCI states. The report transmission component 830 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting, in response to receiving the set of reference signals, a CSI report indicating one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states. The beam management component 835 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for performing a TCI state management operation associated with the one or more TCI states based on transmitting the CSI report, where the UE performs the TCI state management operation without receiving control signaling from a network entity indicating to perform the TCI state management operation.
[0152] In some examples, the TCI state management operation includes a TCI state activation operation.
[0153] In some examples, the TCI state management operation includes a TCI state switching operation.
[0154] In some examples, the data communication component 840 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for communicating with the network entity using a first beam associated with a first TCI state based on performing the TCI state management operation.
[0155] In some examples, to support performing the TCI state management operation, the beam management component 835 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for performing the TCI state management operation based on a time offset from the transmission of the CSI report.
[0156] In some examples, to support transmitting the CSI report, the report transmission component 830 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting the CSI report via a UCI message.
[0157] In some examples, to support transmitting the CSI report, the report transmission component 830 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting the CSI report in a MAC-CE.
[0158] In some examples, the signal reception component 825 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving a message confirming reception of the CSI report, where performing the TCI state management operation is based on receiving the message.
[0159] In some examples, to support performing the TCI state management operation, the beam management component 835 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for performing the TCI state management operation based on a time offset from the reception of the message.
[0160] In some examples, the message includes an ACK received via a PDCCH, a downlink MAC-CE confirmation message, a DCI message indicating a TCI state included in the CSI report, scheduling information that schedules a PUSCH transmission, or any combination thereof.
[0161] In some examples, the signal reception component 825 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving a message including a trigger to transmit the CSI report, where the message indicates that the UE is to autonomously perform the TCI state management operation after the transmission of the CSI report, and where transmitting the CSI report is based on receiving the message.
[0162] In some examples, to support transmitting the CSI report, the report transmission component 830 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting the CSI report based on identifying an occurrence of one or more events, where the one or more events include an identification that a first measurement of a first beam associated with a first TCI state used by the UE for communications with the network entity does not satisfy a first threshold value and an identification that a second measurement of a second beam associated with a second TCI state not used by the UE for communications with the network entity satisfies a second threshold value.
[0163] In some examples, to support performing the TCI state management operation, the beam management component 835 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for performing a TCI state switching operation to switch from using the first TCI state to using the second TCI state. In some examples, to support performing the TCI state management operation, the beam management component 835 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for performing a TCI state activation operation to activate the second TCI state for use in subsequent communications.
[0164] In some examples, the signal reception component 825 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving a message indicating a first quantity of reference signals the UE is to report in the CSI report, where the set of reference signals includes the first quantity of reference signals. In some examples, the signal measurement component 845 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for measuring each reference signal of the set of reference signals, where the one or more TCI states included in the CSI report correspond to a second quantity of reference signals based on respective measurements of the set of reference signals.
[0165] In some examples, the second quantity of reference signals include at least a subset of the set of reference signals. In some examples, respective measurements of the subset of the set of reference signals satisfy a threshold value.
[0166] In some examples, the second quantity of reference signals include a first reference signal of the set of reference signals based on the first reference signal corresponding to a first measurement that is higher than respective measurements of other reference signals of the set of reference signals.
[0167] In some examples, the second quantity of reference signals include the first quantity of reference signals. In some examples, the CSI report includes a respective indication of whether each TCI state of the one or more TCI states will be active after performing the TCI state management operation based on the respective measurements of the set of reference signals.
[0168] In some examples, the CSI report includes an indication of the second quantity.
[0169] In some examples, one or more first reference signals associated with a first TCI state of the one or more TCI states corresponds to a first TCI codepoint and one or more second reference signals associated with a second TCI state of the one or more TCI states corresponds to a second TCI codepoint based on a mapping between an order of the one or more TCI states included in the CSI report and a set of multiple TCI codepoints.
[0170] In some examples, the signal measurement component 845 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for measuring a first reference signal of the set of reference signals. In some examples, the parameter management component 850 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for storing one or more QCL parameters associated with a first TCI state that is associated with the first reference signal based on measuring the first reference signal and the first TCI state not being activated for the UE prior to performing the TCI state management operation, where the CSI report indicates at least the first TCI state.
[0171] In some examples, the signal reception component 825 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving a SSB after transmission of the CSI report, the CSI report indicating a first TCI state. In some examples, the parameter management component 850 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for updating a set of QCL parameters associated with the first TCI state based on receiving the SSB.
[0172] In some examples, one or more TCI codepoints corresponding to the one or more TCI states replace a previously configured set of one or more TCI codepoints; the one or more TCI codepoints replace a subset of the previously configured set of one or more TCI codepoints; or the one or more TCI codepoints are appended to the previously configured set of one or more TCI codepoints.
[0173] FIG. 9 shows a diagram of a system 900 including a device 905 that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 905 may be an example of or include components of a device 605, a device 705, or a UE 115 as described herein. The device 905 may communicate (e.g., wirelessly) with one or more other devices (e.g., network entities 105, UEs 115, or a combination thereof) . The device 905 may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, such as a communications manager 920, an input / output (I / O) controller, such as an I / O controller 910, a transceiver 915, one or more antennas 925, at least one memory 930, code 935, and at least one processor 940. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more buses (e.g., a bus 945) .
[0174] The I / O controller 910 may manage input and output signals for the device 905. The I / O controller 910 may also manage peripherals not integrated into the device 905. In some cases, the I / O controller 910 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral. In some cases, the I / O controller 910 may utilize an operating system such as or another known operating system. Additionally, or alternatively, the I / O controller 910 may represent or interact with a modem, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, or a similar device. In some cases, the I / O controller 910 may be implemented as part of one or more processors, such as the at least one processor 940. In some cases, a user may interact with the device 905 via the I / O controller 910 or via hardware components controlled by the I / O controller 910.
[0175] In some cases, the device 905 may include a single antenna. However, in some other cases, the device 905 may have more than one antenna, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver 915 may communicate bi-directionally via the one or more antennas 925 using wired or wireless links as described herein. For example, the transceiver 915 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 915 may also include a modem to modulate the packets, to provide the modulated packets to one or more antennas 925 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the one or more antennas 925. The transceiver 915, or the transceiver 915 and one or more antennas 925, may be an example of a transmitter 615, a transmitter 715, a receiver 610, a receiver 710, or any combination thereof or component thereof, as described herein.
[0176] The at least one memory 930 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM) . The at least one memory 930 may store computer-readable, computer-executable, or processor-executable code, such as the code 935. The code 935 may include instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor 940, cause the device 905 to perform various functions described herein. The code 935 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. In some cases, the code 935 may not be directly executable by the at least one processor 940 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. In some cases, the at least one memory 930 may include, among other things, a basic I / O system (BIOS) which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.
[0177] The at least one processor 940 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices (e.g., one or more general-purpose processors, one or more DSPs, one or more central processing units (CPUs) , one or more graphics processing units (GPUs) , one or more neural processing units (NPUs) (also referred to as neural network processors or deep learning processors (DLPs) ) , one or more microcontrollers, one or more ASICs, one or more FPGAs, one or more programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic, one or more discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof) . In some cases, the at least one processor 940 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into the at least one processor 940. The at least one processor 940 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the at least one memory 930) to cause the device 905 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting CSI report based beam switching) . For example, the device 905 or a component of the device 905 may include at least one processor 940 and at least one memory 930 coupled with or to the at least one processor 940, the at least one processor 940 and the at least one memory 930 configured to perform various functions described herein. In some examples, the at least one processor 940 may include multiple processors and the at least one memory 930 may include multiple memories. One or more of the multiple processors may be coupled with one or more of the multiple memories, which may, individually or collectively, be configured to perform various functions described herein. In some examples, the at least one processor 940 may be a component of a processing system, which may refer to a system (such as a series) of machines, circuitry (including, for example, one or both of processor circuitry (which may include the at least one processor 940) and memory circuitry (which may include the at least one memory 930) ) , or components, that receives or obtains inputs and processes the inputs to produce, generate, or obtain a set of outputs. The processing system may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein. For example, the at least one processor 940 or a processing system including the at least one processor 940 may be configured to, configurable to, or operable to cause the device 905 to perform one or more of the functions described herein. Further, as described herein, being “configured to, ” being “configurable to, ” and being “operable to” may be used interchangeably and may be associated with a capability, when executing code 935 (e.g., processor-executable code) stored in the at least one memory 930 or otherwise, to perform one or more of the functions described herein.
[0178] The communications manager 920 may support wireless communications in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communications manager 920 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving a set of reference signals associated with a set of TCI states. The communications manager 920 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for transmitting, in response to receiving the set of reference signals, a CSI report indicating one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states. The communications manager 920 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for performing a TCI state management operation associated with the one or more TCI states based on transmitting the CSI report, where the UE performs the TCI state management operation without receiving control signaling from a network entity indicating to perform the TCI state management operation.
[0179] By including or configuring the communications manager 920 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 905 may support techniques for UE-initiated TCI management operations, which may reduce latency associated managing beams used by the UE for communications with a network entity.
[0180] In some examples, the communications manager 920 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the transceiver 915, the one or more antennas 925, or any combination thereof. Although the communications manager 920 is illustrated as a separate component, in some examples, one or more functions described with reference to the communications manager 920 may be supported by or performed by the at least one processor 940, the at least one memory 930, the code 935, or any combination thereof. For example, the code 935 may include instructions executable by the at least one processor 940 to cause the device 905 to perform various aspects of CSI report based beam switching as described herein, or the at least one processor 940 and the at least one memory 930 may be otherwise configured to, individually or collectively, perform or support such operations.
[0181] FIG. 10 shows a block diagram 1000 of a device 1005 that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1005 may be an example of aspects of a network entity 105 as described herein. The device 1005 may include a receiver 1010, a transmitter 1015, and a communications manager 1020. The device 1005, or one or more components of the device 1005 (e.g., the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, the communications manager 1020) , may include at least one processor, which may be coupled with at least one memory, to, individually or collectively, support or enable the described techniques. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .
[0182] The receiver 1010 may provide a means for obtaining (e.g., receiving, determining, identifying) information such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I / Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units) associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack) . Information may be passed on to other components of the device 1005. In some examples, the receiver 1010 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more antennas. Additionally, or alternatively, the receiver 1010 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, fiber optic) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof.
[0183] The transmitter 1015 may provide a means for outputting (e.g., transmitting, providing, conveying, sending) information generated by other components of the device 1005. For example, the transmitter 1015 may output information such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I / Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units) associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack) . In some examples, the transmitter 1015 may support outputting information by transmitting signals via one or more antennas. Additionally, or alternatively, the transmitter 1015 may support outputting information by transmitting signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, fiber optic) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the transmitter 1015 and the receiver 1010 may be co-located in a transceiver, which may include or be coupled with a modem.
[0184] The communications manager 1020, the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, or various combinations or components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of CSI report based beam switching as described herein. For example, the communications manager 1020, the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, or various combinations or components thereof may be capable of performing one or more of the functions described herein.
[0185] In some examples, the communications manager 1020, the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communications management circuitry) . The hardware may include at least one of a processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, a microcontroller, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting, individually or collectively, a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some examples, at least one processor and at least one memory coupled with the at least one processor may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., by one or more processors, individually or collectively, executing instructions stored in the at least one memory) .
[0186] Additionally, or alternatively, the communications manager 1020, the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in code (e.g., as communications management software or firmware) executed by at least one processor (e.g., referred to as a processor-executable code) . If implemented in code executed by at least one processor, the functions of the communications manager 1020, the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, or various combinations or components thereof may be performed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, a microcontroller, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., configured as or otherwise supporting, individually or collectively, a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure) .
[0187] In some examples, the communications manager 1020 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, monitoring, outputting, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, or both. For example, the communications manager 1020 may receive information from the receiver 1010, send information to the transmitter 1015, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.
[0188] The communications manager 1020 may support wireless communications in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communications manager 1020 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting a set of reference signals associated with a set of TCI states. The communications manager 1020 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for obtaining, from a UE based on transmitting the set of reference signals, a CSI report indicating one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states. The communications manager 1020 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for communicating with the UE using a first beam associated with a first TCI state of the one or more TCI states based on receiving the CSI report and without transmitting control signaling indicating for the UE to perform a TCI state management operation.
[0189] By including or configuring the communications manager 1020 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 1005 (e.g., at least one processor controlling or otherwise coupled with the receiver 1010, the transmitter 1015, the communications manager 1020, or a combination thereof) may support techniques for UE-initiated TCI management operations, which may reduce latency associated managing beams used by the UE for communications with a network entity.
[0190] FIG. 11 shows a block diagram 1100 of a device 1105 that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1105 may be an example of aspects of a device 1005 or a network entity 105 as described herein. The device 1105 may include a receiver 1110, a transmitter 1115, and a communications manager 1120. The device 1105, or one or more components of the device 1105 (e.g., the receiver 1110, the transmitter 1115, the communications manager 1120) , may include at least one processor, which may be coupled with at least one memory, to support the described techniques. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .
[0191] The receiver 1110 may provide a means for obtaining (e.g., receiving, determining, identifying) information such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I / Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units) associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack) . Information may be passed on to other components of the device 1105. In some examples, the receiver 1110 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more antennas. Additionally, or alternatively, the receiver 1110 may support obtaining information by receiving signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, fiber optic) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof.
[0192] The transmitter 1115 may provide a means for outputting (e.g., transmitting, providing, conveying, sending) information generated by other components of the device 1105. For example, the transmitter 1115 may output information such as user data, control information, or any combination thereof (e.g., I / Q samples, symbols, packets, protocol data units, service data units) associated with various channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels, channels associated with a protocol stack) . In some examples, the transmitter 1115 may support outputting information by transmitting signals via one or more antennas. Additionally, or alternatively, the transmitter 1115 may support outputting information by transmitting signals via one or more wired (e.g., electrical, fiber optic) interfaces, wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the transmitter 1115 and the receiver 1110 may be co-located in a transceiver, which may include or be coupled with a modem.
[0193] The device 1105, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various aspects of CSI report based beam switching as described herein. For example, the communications manager 1120 may include a signal output component 1125, a report obtaining component 1130, a data communication component 1135, or any combination thereof. The communications manager 1120 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 1020 as described herein. In some examples, the communications manager 1120, or various components thereof, may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, monitoring, outputting, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 1110, the transmitter 1115, or both. For example, the communications manager 1120 may receive information from the receiver 1110, send information to the transmitter 1115, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 1110, the transmitter 1115, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.
[0194] The communications manager 1120 may support wireless communications in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The signal output component 1125 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting a set of reference signals associated with a set of TCI states. The report obtaining component 1130 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for obtaining, from a UE based on transmitting the set of reference signals, a CSI report indicating one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states. The data communication component 1135 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for communicating with the UE using a first beam associated with a first TCI state of the one or more TCI states based on receiving the CSI report and without transmitting control signaling indicating for the UE to perform a TCI state management operation.
[0195] FIG. 12 shows a block diagram 1200 of a communications manager 1220 that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The communications manager 1220 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 1020, a communications manager 1120, or both, as described herein. The communications manager 1220, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various aspects of CSI report based beam switching as described herein. For example, the communications manager 1220 may include a signal output component 1225, a report obtaining component 1230, a data communication component 1235, or any combination thereof. Each of these components, or components or subcomponents thereof (e.g., one or more processors, one or more memories) , may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) . The communications may include communications within a protocol layer of a protocol stack, communications associated with a logical channel of a protocol stack (e.g., between protocol layers of a protocol stack, within a device, component, or virtualized component associated with a network entity 105, between devices, components, or virtualized components associated with a network entity 105) , or any combination thereof.
[0196] The communications manager 1220 may support wireless communications in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The signal output component 1225 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting a set of reference signals associated with a set of TCI states. The report obtaining component 1230 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for obtaining, from a UE based on transmitting the set of reference signals, a CSI report indicating one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states. The data communication component 1235 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for communicating with the UE using a first beam associated with a first TCI state of the one or more TCI states based on receiving the CSI report and without transmitting control signaling indicating for the UE to perform a TCI state management operation.
[0197] In some examples, the TCI state management operation includes a TCI state activation operation.
[0198] In some examples, the TCI state management operation includes a TCI state switching operation.
[0199] In some examples, to support obtaining the CSI report, the report obtaining component 1230 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for obtaining the CSI report via a UCI message.
[0200] In some examples, to support obtaining the CSI report, the report obtaining component 1230 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for obtaining the CSI report in a MAC-CE.
[0201] In some examples, the signal output component 1225 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting a message confirming reception of the CSI report, where communicating with the UE using the first beam is based on outputting the message.
[0202] In some examples, the message includes an ACK transmitted via a PDCCH, a downlink MAC-CE confirmation message, a DCI message indicating a TCI state included in the CSI report, scheduling information that schedules a PUSCH transmission, or any combination thereof.
[0203] In some examples, the signal output component 1225 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting a message including a trigger to transmit the CSI report, where the message indicates that the UE is to autonomously perform the TCI state management operation after communicating the CSI report, and where obtaining the CSI report is based on outputting the message.
[0204] In some examples, the data communication component 1235 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for communicating, prior to receiving the CSI report, with the UE using a second beam associated with a second TCI state that is different from the first TCI state.
[0205] In some examples, the signal output component 1225 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting a message indicating a first quantity of reference signals the UE is to report in the CSI report, where the set of reference signals includes the first quantity of reference signals, and where the one or more TCI states included in the CSI report correspond to a second quantity of reference signals based on respective measurements, by the UE, of the set of reference signals.
[0206] In some examples, the second quantity of reference signals include a first reference signal of the set of reference signals based on the first reference signal corresponding to a first measurement that is higher than respective measurements of other reference signals of the set of reference signals.
[0207] In some examples, the second quantity of reference signals include the first quantity of reference signals. In some examples, the CSI report includes a respective indication of whether each TCI state of the one or more TCI states will be active after communicating the CSI report based on the respective measurements, by the UE, of the set of reference signals.
[0208] In some examples, the CSI report includes an indication of the second quantity.
[0209] In some examples, one or more first reference signals associated with a first TCI state of the one or more TCI states corresponds to a first TCI codepoint and one or more second reference signals associated with a second TCI state of the one or more TCI states corresponds to a second TCI codepoint based on a mapping between an order of the one or more TCI states included in the CSI report and a set of multiple TCI codepoints.
[0210] In some examples, the one or more TCI codepoints corresponding to the one or more TCI states replace a previously configured set of one or more TCI codepoints; the one or more TCI codepoints replace a subset of the previously configured set of one or more TCI codepoints; or the one or more TCI codepoints are appended to the previously configured set of one or more TCI codepoints.
[0211] FIG. 13 shows a diagram of a system 1300 including a device 1305 that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1305 may be an example of or include components of a device 1005, a device 1105, or a network entity 105 as described herein. The device 1305 may communicate with other network devices or network equipment such as one or more of the network entities 105, UEs 115, or any combination thereof. The communications may include communications over one or more wired interfaces, over one or more wireless interfaces, or any combination thereof. The device 1305 may include components that support outputting and obtaining communications, such as a communications manager 1320, a transceiver 1310, one or more antennas 1315, at least one memory 1325, code 1330, and at least one processor 1335. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more buses (e.g., a bus 1340) .
[0212] The transceiver 1310 may support bi-directional communications via wired links, wireless links, or both as described herein. In some examples, the transceiver 1310 may include a wired transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wired transceiver. Additionally, or alternatively, in some examples, the transceiver 1310 may include a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. In some examples, the device 1305 may include one or more antennas 1315, which may be capable of transmitting or receiving wireless transmissions (e.g., concurrently) . The transceiver 1310 may also include a modem to modulate signals, to provide the modulated signals for transmission (e.g., by one or more antennas 1315, by a wired transmitter) , to receive modulated signals (e.g., from one or more antennas 1315, from a wired receiver) , and to demodulate signals. In some implementations, the transceiver 1310 may include one or more interfaces, such as one or more interfaces coupled with the one or more antennas 1315 that are configured to support various receiving or obtaining operations, or one or more interfaces coupled with the one or more antennas 1315 that are configured to support various transmitting or outputting operations, or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the transceiver 1310 may include or be configured for coupling with one or more processors or one or more memory components that are operable to perform or support operations based on received or obtained information or signals, or to generate information or other signals for transmission or other outputting, or any combination thereof. In some implementations, the transceiver 1310, or the transceiver 1310 and the one or more antennas 1315, or the transceiver 1310 and the one or more antennas 1315 and one or more processors or one or more memory components (e.g., the at least one processor 1335, the at least one memory 1325, or both) , may be included in a chip or chip assembly that is installed in the device 1305. In some examples, the transceiver 1310 may be operable to support communications via one or more communications links (e.g., communication link (s) 125, backhaul communication link (s) 120, a midhaul communication link 162, a fronthaul communication link 168) .
[0213] The at least one memory 1325 may include RAM, ROM, or any combination thereof. The at least one memory 1325 may store computer-readable, computer-executable, or processor-executable code, such as the code 1330. The code 1330 may include instructions that, when executed by one or more of the at least one processor 1335, cause the device 1305 to perform various functions described herein. The code 1330 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. In some cases, the code 1330 may not be directly executable by a processor of the at least one processor 1335 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. In some cases, the at least one memory 1325 may include, among other things, a BIOS which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices. In some examples, the at least one processor 1335 may include multiple processors and the at least one memory 1325 may include multiple memories. One or more of the multiple processors may be coupled with one or more of the multiple memories which may, individually or collectively, be configured to perform various functions herein (for example, as part of a processing system) .
[0214] The at least one processor 1335 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices (e.g., one or more general-purpose processors, one or more DSPs, one or more central processing units (CPUs) , one or more graphics processing units (GPUs) , one or more neural processing units (NPUs) (also referred to as neural network processors or deep learning processors (DLPs) ) , one or more microcontrollers, one or more ASICs, one or more FPGAs, one or more programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic, one or more discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof) . In some cases, the at least one processor 1335 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into one or more of the at least one processor 1335. The at least one processor 1335 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., one or more of the at least one memory 1325) to cause the device 1305 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting CSI report based beam switching) . For example, the device 1305 or a component of the device 1305 may include at least one processor 1335 and at least one memory 1325 coupled with one or more of the at least one processor 1335, the at least one processor 1335 and the at least one memory 1325 configured to perform various functions described herein. The at least one processor 1335 may be an example of a cloud-computing platform (e.g., one or more physical nodes and supporting software such as operating systems, virtual machines, or container instances) that may host the functions (e.g., by executing code 1330) to perform the functions of the device 1305. The at least one processor 1335 may be any one or more suitable processors capable of executing scripts or instructions of one or more software programs stored in the device 1305 (such as within one or more of the at least one memory 1325) . In some examples, the at least one processor 1335 may include multiple processors and the at least one memory 1325 may include multiple memories. One or more of the multiple processors may be coupled with one or more of the multiple memories, which may, individually or collectively, be configured to perform various functions herein. In some examples, the at least one processor 1335 may be a component of a processing system, which may refer to a system (such as a series) of machines, circuitry (including, for example, one or both of processor circuitry (which may include the at least one processor 1335) and memory circuitry (which may include the at least one memory 1325) ) , or components, that receives or obtains inputs and processes the inputs to produce, generate, or obtain a set of outputs. The processing system may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein. For example, the at least one processor 1335 or a processing system including the at least one processor 1335 may be configured to, configurable to, or operable to cause the device 1305 to perform one or more of the functions described herein. Further, as described herein, being “configured to, ” being “configurable to, ” and being “operable to” may be used interchangeably and may be associated with a capability, when executing code stored in the at least one memory 1325 or otherwise, to perform one or more of the functions described herein.
[0215] In some examples, a bus 1340 may support communications of (e.g., within) a protocol layer of a protocol stack. In some examples, a bus 1340 may support communications associated with a logical channel of a protocol stack (e.g., between protocol layers of a protocol stack) , which may include communications performed within a component of the device 1305, or between different components of the device 1305 that may be co-located or located in different locations (e.g., where the device 1305 may refer to a system in which one or more of the communications manager 1320, the transceiver 1310, the at least one memory 1325, the code 1330, and the at least one processor 1335 may be located in one of the different components or divided between different components) .
[0216] In some examples, the communications manager 1320 may manage aspects of communications with a core network 130 (e.g., via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links) . For example, the communications manager 1320 may manage the transfer of data communications for client devices, such as one or more UEs 115. In some examples, the communications manager 1320 may manage communications with one or more other network entities 105, and may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with UEs 115 (e.g., in cooperation with the one or more other network devices) . In some examples, the communications manager 1320 may support an X2 interface within an LTE / LTE-A wireless communications network technology to provide communication between network entities 105.
[0217] The communications manager 1320 may support wireless communications in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communications manager 1320 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for outputting a set of reference signals associated with a set of TCI states. The communications manager 1320 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for obtaining, from a UE based on transmitting the set of reference signals, a CSI report indicating one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states. The communications manager 1320 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for communicating with the UE using a first beam associated with a first TCI state of the one or more TCI states based on receiving the CSI report and without transmitting control signaling indicating for the UE to perform a TCI state management operation.
[0218] By including or configuring the communications manager 1320 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 1305 may support techniques for UE-initiated TCI management operations, which may reduce latency associated managing beams used by the UE for communications with a network entity.
[0219] In some examples, the communications manager 1320 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, monitoring, outputting, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the transceiver 1310, the one or more antennas 1315 (e.g., where applicable) , or any combination thereof. Although the communications manager 1320 is illustrated as a separate component, in some examples, one or more functions described with reference to the communications manager 1320 may be supported by or performed by the transceiver 1310, one or more of the at least one processor 1335, one or more of the at least one memory 1325, the code 1330, or any combination thereof (for example, by a processing system including at least a portion of the at least one processor 1335, the at least one memory 1325, the code 1330, or any combination thereof) . For example, the code 1330 may include instructions executable by one or more of the at least one processor 1335 to cause the device 1305 to perform various aspects of CSI report based beam switching as described herein, or the at least one processor 1335 and the at least one memory 1325 may be otherwise configured to, individually or collectively, perform or support such operations.
[0220] FIG. 14 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1400 that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1400 may be implemented by a UE or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1400 may be performed by a UE 115 as described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 9. In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.
[0221] At 1405, the method may include receiving a set of reference signals associated with a set of TCI states. The operations of 1405 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1405 may be performed by a signal reception component 825 as described with reference to FIG. 8.
[0222] At 1410, the method may include transmitting, in response to receiving the set of reference signals, a CSI report indicating one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states. The operations of 1410 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1410 may be performed by a report transmission component 830 as described with reference to FIG. 8.
[0223] At 1415, the method may include performing a TCI state management operation associated with the one or more TCI states based on transmitting the CSI report, where the UE performs the TCI state management operation without receiving control signaling from a network entity indicating to perform the TCI state management operation. The operations of 1415 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1415 may be performed by a beam management component 835 as described with reference to FIG. 8.
[0224] FIG. 15 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1500 that supports CSI report based beam switching in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1500 may be implemented by a network entity or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1500 may be performed by a network entity as described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 5 and 10 through 13. In some examples, a network entity may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the network entity to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the network entity may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.
[0225] At 1505, the method may include outputting a set of reference signals associated with a set of TCI states. The operations of 1505 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1505 may be performed by a signal output component 1225 as described with reference to FIG. 12.
[0226] At 1510, the method may include obtaining, from a UE based on transmitting the set of reference signals, a CSI report indicating one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states. The operations of 1510 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1510 may be performed by a report obtaining component 1230 as described with reference to FIG. 12.
[0227] At 1515, the method may include communicating with the UE using a first beam associated with a first TCI state of the one or more TCI states based on receiving the CSI report and without transmitting control signaling indicating for the UE to perform a TCI state management operation. The operations of 1515 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1515 may be performed by a data communication component 1235 as described with reference to FIG. 12.
[0228] The following provides an overview of aspects of the present disclosure:
[0229] Aspect 1: A method for wireless communications by a UE, comprising: receiving a set of reference signals associated with a set of TCI states; transmitting, in response to receiving the set of reference signals, a CSI report indicating one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states; and performing a TCI state management operation associated with the one or more TCI states based at least in part on transmitting the CSI report, wherein the UE performs the TCI state management operation without receiving control signaling from a network entity indicating to perform the TCI state management operation.
[0230] Aspect 2: The method of aspect 1, wherein the TCI state management operation comprises a TCI state activation operation.
[0231] Aspect 3: The method of aspect 1, wherein the TCI state management operation comprises a TCI state switching operation.
[0232] Aspect 4: The method of any of aspects 1 through 3, further comprising: communicating with the network entity using a first beam associated with a first TCI state based at least in part on performing the TCI state management operation.
[0233] Aspect 5: The method of any of aspects 1 through 4, wherein performing the TCI state management operation comprises: performing the TCI state management operation based at least in part on a time offset from the transmission of the CSI report.
[0234] Aspect 6: The method of any of aspects 1 through 5, wherein transmitting the CSI report comprises: transmitting the CSI report via a UCI message.
[0235] Aspect 7: The method of any of aspects 1 through 5, wherein transmitting the CSI report comprises: transmitting the CSI report in a MAC-CE.
[0236] Aspect 8: The method of any of aspects 1 through 7, further comprising: receiving a message confirming reception of the CSI report, wherein performing the TCI state management operation is based at least in part on receiving the message.
[0237] Aspect 9: The method of aspect 8, wherein performing the TCI state management operation comprises: performing the TCI state management operation based at least in part on a time offset from the reception of the message.
[0238] Aspect 10: The method of any of aspects 8 through 9, wherein the message comprises an ACK received via a PDCCH, a downlink MAC-CE confirmation message, a DCI message indicating a TCI state included in the CSI report, scheduling information that schedules a PUSCH transmission, or any combination thereof.
[0239] Aspect 11: The method of any of aspects 1 through 10, further comprising: receiving a message comprising a trigger to transmit the CSI report, wherein the message indicates that the UE is to autonomously perform the TCI state management operation after the transmission of the CSI report, and wherein transmitting the CSI report is based at least in part on receiving the message.
[0240] Aspect 12: The method of any of aspects 1 through 10, wherein transmitting the CSI report comprises: transmitting the CSI report based at least in part on identifying an occurrence of one or more events, wherein the one or more events comprise an identification that a first measurement of a first beam associated with a first TCI state used by the UE for communications with the network entity does not satisfy a first threshold value and an identification that a second measurement of a second beam associated with a second TCI state not used by the UE for communications with the network entity satisfies a second threshold value.
[0241] Aspect 13: The method of aspect 12, wherein performing the TCI state management operation comprises: performing a TCI state switching procedure to switch from using the first TCI state to using the second TCI state; or performing a TCI state activation procedure to activate the second TCI state for use in subsequent communications.
[0242] Aspect 14: The method of any of aspects 1 through 13, further comprising: receiving a message indicating a first quantity of reference signals the UE is to report in the CSI report, wherein the set of reference signals comprises the first quantity of reference signals; and measuring each reference signal of the set of reference signals, wherein the one or more TCI states included in the CSI report correspond to a second quantity of reference signals based at least in part on respective measurements of the set of reference signals.
[0243] Aspect 15: The method of aspect 14, wherein the second quantity of reference signals comprise at least a subset of the set of reference signals, respective measurements of the subset of the set of reference signals satisfy a threshold value.
[0244] Aspect 16: The method of aspect 14, wherein the second quantity of reference signals comprise a first reference signal of the set of reference signals based at least in part on the first reference signal corresponding to a first measurement that is higher than respective measurements of other reference signals of the set of reference signals.
[0245] Aspect 17: The method of aspect 14, wherein the second quantity of reference signals comprise the first quantity of reference signals, and the CSI report comprises a respective indication of whether each TCI state of the one or more TCI states will be active after performing the TCI state management operation based at least in part on the respective measurements of the set of reference signals.
[0246] Aspect 18: The method of any of aspects 14 through 17, wherein the CSI report comprises an indication of the second quantity.
[0247] Aspect 19: The method of any of aspects 1 through 18, wherein one or more first reference signals associated with a first TCI state of the one or more TCI states corresponds to a first TCI codepoint and one or more second reference signals associated with a second TCI state of the one or more TCI states corresponds to a second TCI codepoint based at least in part on a mapping between an order of the one or more TCI states included in the CSI report and a plurality of TCI codepoints.
[0248] Aspect 20: The method of any of aspects 1 through 19, further comprising: measuring a first reference signal of the set of reference signals; and storing one or more QCL parameters associated with a first TCI state that is associated with the first reference signal based at least in part on measuring the first reference signal and the first TCI state not being activated for the UE prior to performing the TCI state management operation, wherein the CSI report indicates at least the first TCI state.
[0249] Aspect 21: The method of any of aspects 1 through 20, further comprising: receiving a SSB after transmission of the CSI report, the CSI report indicating a first TCI state; and updating a set of QCL parameters associated with the first TCI state based at least in part on receiving the SSB.
[0250] Aspect 22: The method of any of aspects 1 through 21, wherein one or more TCI codepoints corresponding to the one or more TCI states replace a previously configured set of one or more TCI codepoints; the one or more TCI codepoints replace a subset of the previously configured set of one or more TCI codepoints; or
[0251] Aspect 23: A method for wireless communications by a network entity, comprising: outputting a set of reference signals associated with a set of TCI states; obtaining, from a UE based at least in part on transmitting the set of reference signals, a CSI report indicating one or more TCI states of the set of TCI states; and communicating with the UE using a first beam associated with a first TCI state of the one or more TCI states based at least in part on receiving the CSI report and without transmitting control signaling indicating for the UE to perform a TCI state management operation.
[0252] Aspect 24: The method of aspect 23, wherein the TCI state management operation comprises a TCI state activation operation.
[0253] Aspect 25: The method of aspect 23, wherein the TCI state management operation comprises a TCI state switching operation.
[0254] Aspect 26: The method of any of aspects 23 through 25, wherein obtaining the CSI report comprises: obtaining the CSI report via a UCI message.
[0255] Aspect 27: The method of any of aspects 23 through 25, wherein obtaining the CSI report comprises: obtaining the CSI report in a MAC-CE.
[0256] Aspect 28: The method of any of aspects 23 through 27, further comprising: outputting a message confirming reception of the CSI report, wherein communicating with the UE using the first beam is based at least in part on outputting the message.
[0257] Aspect 29: The method of aspect 28, wherein the message comprises an ACK transmitted via a PDCCH, a downlink MAC-CE confirmation message, a DCI message indicating a TCI state included in the CSI report, scheduling information that schedules a PUSCH transmission, or any combination thereof.
[0258] Aspect 30: The method of any of aspects 23 through 29, further comprising: outputting a message comprising a trigger to transmit the CSI report, wherein the message indicates that the UE is to autonomously perform the TCI state management operation after communicating the CSI report, and wherein obtaining the CSI report is based at least in part on outputting the message.
[0259] Aspect 31: The method of any of aspects 23 through 30, further comprising: communicating, prior to receiving the CSI report, with the UE using a second beam associated with a second TCI state that is different from the first TCI state.
[0260] Aspect 32: The method of any of aspects 23 through 31, further comprising: outputting a message indicating a first quantity of reference signals the UE is to report in the CSI report, wherein the set of reference signals comprises the first quantity of reference signals, and wherein the one or more TCI states included in the CSI report correspond to a second quantity of reference signals based at least in part on respective measurements, by the UE, of the set of reference signals.
[0261] Aspect 33: The method of aspect 32, wherein the second quantity of reference signals comprise a first reference signal of the set of reference signals based at least in part on the first reference signal corresponding to a first measurement that is higher than respective measurements of other reference signals of the set of reference signals.
[0262] Aspect 34: The method of aspect 32, wherein the second quantity of reference signals comprise the first quantity of reference signals, and the CSI report comprises a respective indication of whether each TCI state of the one or more TCI states will be active after communicating the CSI report based at least in part on the respective measurements, by the UE, of the set of reference signals.
[0263] Aspect 35: The method of any of aspects 32 through 34, wherein the CSI report comprises an indication of the second quantity.
[0264] Aspect 36: The method of any of aspects 23 through 35, wherein one or more first reference signals associated with a first TCI state of the one or more TCI states corresponds to a first TCI codepoint and one or more second reference signals associated with a second TCI state of the one or more TCI states corresponds to a second TCI codepoint based at least in part on a mapping between an order of the one or more TCI states included in the CSI report and a plurality of TCI codepoints.
[0265] Aspect 37: The method of any of aspects 23 through 36, wherein one or more TCI codepoints corresponding to the one or more TCI states replace a previously configured set of one or more TCI codepoints; the one or more TCI codepoints replace a subset of the previously configured set of one or more TCI codepoints; or the one or more TCI codepoints are appended to the previously configured set of one or more TCI codepoints.
[0266] Aspect 38: A UE for wireless communications, comprising one or more memories storing processor-executable code, and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to perform a method of any of aspects 1 through 22.
[0267] Aspect 39: A UE for wireless communications, comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of aspects 1 through 22.
[0268] Aspect 40: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications, the code comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to perform a method of any of aspects 1 through 22.
[0269] Aspect 41: A network entity for wireless communications, comprising one or more memories storing processor-executable code, and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to perform a method of any of aspects 23 through 37.
[0270] Aspect 42: A network entity for wireless communications, comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of aspects 23 through 37.
[0271] Aspect 43: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications, the code comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to perform a method of any of aspects 23 through 37.
[0272] It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations. The operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and other implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined.
[0273] Although aspects of an LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR system may be described for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, the techniques described herein are applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR networks. For example, the described techniques may be applicable to various other wireless communications systems such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) , Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi) , IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX) , IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, as well as other systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.
[0274] Information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.
[0275] The various illustrative blocks and components described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, a graphics processing unit (GPU) , a neural processing unit (NPU) , an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor but, in the alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration) . Any functions or operations described herein as being capable of being performed by a processor may be performed by multiple processors that, individually or collectively, are capable of performing the described functions or operations.
[0276] The functions described herein may be implemented using hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented using software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored as or transmitted using one or more instructions or code of a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations.
[0277] Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one location to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM) , flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that may be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL) , or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of computer-readable medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD) , floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc. Disks may reproduce data magnetically, and discs may reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media. Any functions or operations described herein as being capable of being performed by a memory may be performed by multiple memories that, individually or collectively, are capable of performing the described functions or operations.
[0278] As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of” or “one or more of” ) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C) . Also, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step that is described as “based on condition A” may be based on both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in part on. ”
[0279] As used herein, including in the claims, the article “a” before a noun is open-ended and understood to refer to “at least one” of those nouns or “one or more” of those nouns. Thus, the terms “a, ” “at least one, ” “one or more, ” and “at least one of one or more” may be interchangeable. For example, if a claim recites “a component” that performs one or more functions, each of the individual functions may be performed by a single component or by any combination of multiple components. Thus, the term “acomponent” having characteristics or performing functions may refer to “at least one of one or more components” having a particular characteristic or performing a particular function. Subsequent reference to a component introduced with the article “a” using the terms “the” or “said” may refer to any or all of the one or more components. For example, a component introduced with the article “a” may be understood to mean “one or more components, ” and referring to “the component” subsequently in the claims may be understood to be equivalent to referring to “at least one of the one or more components. ” Similarly, subsequent reference to a component introduced as “one or more components” using the terms “the” or “said” may refer to any or all of the one or more components. For example, referring to “the one or more components” subsequently in the claims may be understood to be equivalent to referring to “at least one of the one or more components. ”
[0280] The term “determine” or “determining” encompasses a variety of actions and, therefore, “determining” can include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (such as via looking up in a table, a database, or another data structure) , ascertaining, and the like. Also, “determining” can include receiving (e.g., receiving information) , accessing (e.g., accessing data stored in memory) , and the like. Also, “determining” can include resolving, obtaining, selecting, choosing, establishing, and other such similar actions.
[0281] In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label or other subsequent reference label.
[0282] The description set forth herein, in connection with the appended drawings, describes example configurations and does not represent all the examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims. The term “example” used herein means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration” and not “preferred” or “advantageous over other examples. ” The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques. These techniques, however, may be practiced without these specific details. In some figures, known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.
[0283] The description herein is provided to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
Claims
1.A user equipment (UE) for wireless communications, comprising:one or more memories storing processor-executable code; andone or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:receive a set of reference signals associated with a set of transmission configuration indicator states;transmit, in response to receiving the set of reference signals, a channel state information report indicating one or more transmission configuration indicator states of the set of transmission configuration indicator states; andperform a transmission configuration indicator state management operation associated with the one or more transmission configuration indicator states based at least in part on transmitting the channel state information report, wherein the UE performs the transmission configuration indicator state management operation without receiving control signaling from a network entity indicating to perform the transmission configuration indicator state management operation.2.The UE of claim 1, wherein the transmission configuration indicator state management operation comprises a transmission configuration indicator state activation operation.3.The UE of claim 1, wherein the transmission configuration indicator state management operation comprises a transmission configuration indicator state switching operation.4.The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:communicate with the network entity using a first beam associated with a first transmission configuration indicator state based at least in part on performing the transmission configuration indicator state management operation.5.The UE of claim 1, wherein, to perform the transmission configuration indicator state management operation, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:perform the transmission configuration indicator state management operation based at least in part on a time offset from the transmission of the channel state information report.6.The UE of claim 1, wherein, to transmit the channel state information report, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:transmit the channel state information report via an uplink control information message.7.The UE of claim 1, wherein, to transmit the channel state information report, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:transmit the channel state information report in a media access control control element.8.The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:receive a message confirming reception of the channel state information report, wherein performing the transmission configuration indicator state management operation is based at least in part on receiving the message.9.The UE of claim 8, wherein, to perform the transmission configuration indicator state management operation, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:perform the transmission configuration indicator state management operation based at least in part on a time offset from the reception of the message.10.The UE of claim 8, wherein the message comprises an acknowledgment received via a physical downlink control channel, a downlink media access control control element confirmation message, a downlink control information message indicating a transmission configuration indicator state included in the channel state information report, scheduling information that schedules a physical uplink shared channel transmission, or any combination thereof.11.The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:receive a message comprising a trigger to transmit the channel state information report, wherein the message indicates that the UE is to autonomously perform the transmission configuration indicator state management operation after the transmission of the channel state information report, and wherein transmitting the channel state information report is based at least in part on receiving the message.12.The UE of claim 1, wherein, to transmit the channel state information report, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:transmit the channel state information report based at least in part on identifying an occurrence of one or more events, wherein the one or more events comprise an identification that a first measurement of a first beam associated with a first transmission configuration indicator state used by the UE for communications with the network entity does not satisfy a first threshold value and an identification that a second measurement of a second beam associated with a second transmission configuration indicator state not used by the UE for communications with the network entity satisfies a second threshold value.13.The UE of claim 12, wherein, to perform the transmission configuration indicator state management operation, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:perform a transmission configuration indicator state switching operation to switch from using the first transmission configuration indicator state to using the second transmission configuration indicator state; orperform a transmission configuration indicator state activation operation to activate the second transmission configuration indicator state for use in subsequent communications.14.The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:receive a message indicating a first quantity of reference signals the UE is to report in the channel state information report, wherein the set of reference signals comprises the first quantity of reference signals; andmeasure each reference signal of the set of reference signals, wherein the one or more transmission configuration indicator states included in the channel state information report correspond to a second quantity of reference signals based at least in part on respective measurements of the set of reference signals.15.The UE of claim 14, wherein the second quantity of reference signals comprise at least a subset of the set of reference signals, wherein respective measurements of the subset of the set of reference signals satisfy a threshold value.16.The UE of claim 14, wherein the second quantity of reference signals comprise a first reference signal of the set of reference signals based at least in part on the first reference signal corresponding to a first measurement that is higher than respective measurements of other reference signals of the set of reference signals.17.The UE of claim 14, wherein the second quantity of reference signals comprise the first quantity of reference signals, and wherein the channel state information report comprises a respective indication of whether each transmission configuration indicator state of the one or more transmission configuration indicator states will be active after performing the transmission configuration indicator state management operation based at least in part on the respective measurements of the set of reference signals.18.The UE of claim 14, wherein the channel state information report comprises an indication of the second quantity.19.The UE of claim 1, wherein one or more first reference signals associated with a first transmission configuration indicator state of the one or more transmission configuration indicator states corresponds to a first transmission configuration indicator codepoint and one or more second reference signals associated with a second transmission configuration indicator state of the one or more transmission configuration indicator states corresponds to a second transmission configuration indicator codepoint based at least in part on a mapping between an order of the one or more transmission configuration indicator states included in the channel state information report and a plurality of transmission configuration indicator codepoints.20.The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:measure a first reference signal of the set of reference signals; andstore one or more quasi co-location parameters associated with a first transmission configuration indicator state that is associated with the first reference signal based at least in part on measuring the first reference signal and the first transmission configuration indicator state not being activated for the UE prior to performing the transmission configuration indicator state management operation, wherein the channel state information report indicates at least the first transmission configuration indicator state.21.The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:receive a synchronization signal block after transmission of the channel state information report, the channel state information report indicating a first transmission configuration indicator state; andupdate a set of quasi co-location parameters associated with the first transmission configuration indicator state based at least in part on receiving the synchronization signal block.22.The UE of claim 1, wherein:one or more transmission configuration indicator codepoints corresponding to the one or more transmission configuration indicator states replace a previously configured set of one or more transmission configuration indicator codepoints;the one or more transmission configuration indicator codepoints replace a subset of the previously configured set of one or more transmission configuration indicator codepoints; orthe one or more transmission configuration indicator codepoints are appended to the previously configured set of one or more transmission configuration indicator codepoints.23.A network entity for wireless communications, comprising:one or more memories storing processor-executable code; andone or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to:output a set of reference signals associated with a set of transmission configuration indicator states;obtain, from a user equipment (UE) based at least in part on transmitting the set of reference signals, a channel state information report indicating one or more transmission configuration indicator states of the set of transmission configuration indicator states; andcommunicate with the UE using a first beam associated with a first transmission configuration indicator state of the one or more transmission configuration indicator states based at least in part on receiving the channel state information report and without transmitting control signaling indicating for the UE to perform a transmission configuration indicator state management operation.24.The network entity of claim 23, wherein the transmission configuration indicator state management operation comprises a transmission configuration indicator state activation operation.25.The network entity of claim 23, wherein the transmission configuration indicator state management operation comprises a transmission configuration indicator state switching operation.26.The network entity of claim 23, wherein, to obtain the channel state information report, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to:obtain the channel state information report via an uplink control information message.27.The network entity of claim 23, wherein, to obtain the channel state information report, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to:obtain the channel state information report in a media access control control element.28.The network entity of claim 23, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to:output a message confirming reception of the channel state information report, wherein communicating with the UE using the first beam is based at least in part on outputting the message.29.The network entity of claim 28, wherein the message comprises an acknowledgment transmitted via a physical downlink control channel, a downlink media access control control element confirmation message, a downlink control information message indicating a transmission configuration indicator state included in the channel state information report, scheduling information that schedules a physical uplink shared channel transmission, or any combination thereof.30.The network entity of claim 23, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to:output a message comprising a trigger to transmit the channel state information report, wherein the message indicates that the UE is to autonomously perform the transmission configuration indicator state management operation after communicating the channel state information report, and wherein obtaining the channel state information report is based at least in part on outputting the message.31.The network entity of claim 23, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to:communicate, prior to receiving the channel state information report, with the UE using a second beam associated with a second transmission configuration indicator state that is different from the first transmission configuration indicator state.32.The network entity of claim 23, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to:output a message indicating a first quantity of reference signals the UE is to report in the channel state information report, wherein the set of reference signals comprises the first quantity of reference signals, and wherein the one or more transmission configuration indicator states included in the channel state information report correspond to a second quantity of reference signals based at least in part on respective measurements, by the UE, of the set of reference signals.33.The network entity of claim 32, wherein the second quantity of reference signals comprise a first reference signal of the set of reference signals based at least in part on the first reference signal corresponding to a first measurement that is higher than respective measurements of other reference signals of the set of reference signals.34.The network entity of claim 32, wherein the second quantity of reference signals comprise the first quantity of reference signals, and wherein the channel state information report comprises a respective indication of whether each transmission configuration indicator state of the one or more transmission configuration indicator states will be active after communicating the channel state information report based at least in part on the respective measurements, by the UE, of the set of reference signals.35.The network entity of claim 32, wherein the channel state information report comprises an indication of the second quantity.36.The network entity of claim 23, wherein one or more first reference signals associated with a first transmission configuration indicator state of the one or more transmission configuration indicator states corresponds to a first transmission configuration indicator codepoint and one or more second reference signals associated with a second transmission configuration indicator state of the one or more transmission configuration indicator states corresponds to a second transmission configuration indicator codepoint based at least in part on a mapping between an order of the one or more transmission configuration indicator states included in the channel state information report and a plurality of transmission configuration indicator codepoints.37.The network entity of claim 23, wherein:one or more transmission configuration indicator codepoints corresponding to the one or more transmission configuration indicator states replace a previously configured set of one or more transmission configuration indicator codepoints;the one or more transmission configuration indicator codepoints replace a subset of the previously configured set of one or more transmission configuration indicator codepoints; orthe one or more transmission configuration indicator codepoints are appended to the previously configured set of one or more transmission configuration indicator codepoints.38.A method for wireless communications by a user equipment (UE) , comprising:receiving a set of reference signals associated with a set of transmission configuration indicator states;transmitting, in response to receiving the set of reference signals, a channel state information report indicating one or more transmission configuration indicator states of the set of transmission configuration indicator states; andperforming a transmission configuration indicator state management operation associated with the one or more transmission configuration indicator states based at least in part on transmitting the channel state information report, wherein the UE performs the transmission configuration indicator state management operation without receiving control signaling from a network entity indicating to perform the transmission configuration indicator state management operation.39.A method for wireless communications by a network entity, comprising:outputting a set of reference signals associated with a set of transmission configuration indicator states;obtaining, from a user equipment (UE) based at least in part on transmitting the set of reference signals, a channel state information report indicating one or more transmission configuration indicator states of the set of transmission configuration indicator states; andcommunicating with the UE using a first beam associated with a first transmission configuration indicator state of the one or more transmission configuration indicator states based at least in part on receiving the channel state information report and without transmitting control signaling indicating for the UE to perform a transmission configuration indicator state management operation.
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