Determination of a transmit power for SRS transmission to a network device

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to determination of a transmit power for SRS transmission to a network device. In an aspect, a terminal device determines a transmit power for transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS) to a first network device. The terminal device transmits, to the first network device, the SRS based on the transmit power. By implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure, for the UL-only network device, the terminal device could determine the transmit power for SRS transmission to the UL-only network device in various manners.

Description

DETERMINATION OF A TRANSMIT POWER FOR SRS TRANSMISSION TO A NETWORK DEVICECROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to, and the benefit from, US Provisional Application No. 63 / 575210, filed April 5, 2024, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.FIELD

[0002] Various example embodiments generally relate to the field of communication, and in particular, to a terminal device, a network device, methods, apparatuses and a computer readable storage medium related to determination of a transmit power for sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission to a network device.BACKGROUND

[0003] A communication network can be seen as a facility that enables communications between two or more communication devices, or provides communication devices access to a data network. A mobile or wireless communication network is one example of a communication network.

[0004] Such communication networks operate in accordance with standards, such as those promulgated by 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) or ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute). Examples of such standards include the so-called 5G (5th Generation) standard or other standards promulgated by 3GPP.SUMMARY

[0005] In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a terminal device, a network device, methods, apparatuses and a computer readable storage medium for communication, for example, for determination of a transmit power for SRS transmission to a network device, especially for determination of an initial transmit power for SRS transmission to a UL-only network device.

[0006] In a first aspect, there is provided a terminal device. The terminal device may comprise at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device at least to: determine a transmit power for transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS) to a first network device; and transmit, to the first network device, the SRS based on the transmit power.

[0007] In a second aspect, there is provided a second network device. The second network device may comprise at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second network device at least to: transmit, to a terminal device, an indication related to a transmit power for transmission of a sounding reference signal (SRS) between the terminal device and a first network device.

[0008] In a third aspect, there is provided a method. The method may comprise: determining a transmit power for transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS) to a first network device; and transmitting, to the first network device, the SRS based on the transmit power.

[0009] In a fourth aspect, there is provided a method. The method may comprise: transmitting, to a terminal device, an indication related to a transmit power for transmission of a sounding reference signal (SRS) between the terminal device and a first network device.

[0010] In a fifth aspect, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus may comprise: means for determining a transmit power for transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS) to a first network device; and means for transmitting, to the first network device, the SRS based on the transmit power.

[0011] In a sixth aspect, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus may comprise: means for transmitting, to a terminal device, an indication related to a transmit power for transmission of a sounding reference signal (SRS) between the terminal device and a first network device.

[0012] In a seventh aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the third to fourth aspects.

[0013] In an eighth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions, which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus at least to: determine a transmit power for transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS) to a first network device; and transmit, to the first network device, the SRS based on the transmit power.

[0014] In a ninth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions, which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus at least to: transmit, to a terminal device, an indication related to a transmit power for transmission of a sounding reference signal (SRS) between the terminal device and a first network device.

[0015] In a tenth aspect, there is provided a terminal device. The terminal device may comprise a determining circuitry configured to determine a transmit power for transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS) to a first network device; a transmitting circuitry configured to transmit, to the first network device, the SRS based on the transmit power.

[0016] In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a second network device. The second network device may comprise a transmitting circuitry configured to transmit, to a terminal device, an indication related toa transmit power for transmission of a sounding reference signal (SRS) between the terminal device and a first network device.

[0017] It is to be understood that the summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an application scenario in which some example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0020] FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of an example method implemented at a terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0021] FIG. 3 illustrates an example diagram of a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) with pathloss offset payload for SRS transmission in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0022] FIG. 4 illustrates an example diagram of a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) with initial power level payload for SRS transmission in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0023] FIG. 5 illustrates an example diagram of an SRS-ResourceSet information element in a radio resource control (RRC) signaling for initial power level of SRS transmission in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG. 6 illustrates an example diagram of an Uplink-powerControl information element in a radio resource control (RRC) signaling for initial power level of SRS transmission in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0025] FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of an example method implemented at a second network device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0026] FIG. 8 illustrates an example simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0027] FIG. 9 illustrates an example block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0028] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein may be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

[0030] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which the present disclosure belongs.

[0031] References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[0032] It may be understood that although the terms “first”, “second”, “third”, “fourth”, “fifth” etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0033] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “has”, “having”, “includes” and / or “including”, when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof. As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

[0034] As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable):(i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and(ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and(c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s) that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

[0035] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0036] As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as new radio (NR), long term evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced (LTE-A), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), high-speed packet access (HSPA), narrow band Internet of things (NB-loT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, and / or beyond. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

[0037] As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a transmit-receive point (TRP), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology.

[0038] The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial, a relay node, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. In the following description, the terms “terminal device”, “communication device”, “terminal”, “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

[0039] As used herein, the term “resource”, “transmission resource”, “resource block”, “physical resource block” (PRB), “uplink (UL) resource” or “downlink (DL) resource” may refer to any resource for performing a communication, for example, a communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as a resource in time domain, a resource in frequency domain, a resource in space domain, a resource in code domain, a resource in a combination of more than one domain or any other resource enabling a communication, and the like. In the following, a resource in time domain (such as, a subframe) will be used as an example of a transmission resource for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It is noted that example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0040] In a communication technology, the third generation partnership project (3GPP) specified the way for the terminal device to determine a transmit power for SRS transmission to the network device, which will utilize a downlink pathloss factor estimated by the terminal device based on the downlink transmission from the network device to the terminal device. However, the inventors of the present application realized that as for the network device which does not perform downlink reference signal transmission to the terminal device (also could be called as UL-only network device, e.g., a UL-only TRP), there is no downlink reference signal transmission from the network device to the terminal device, thus the terminal device cannot estimate the downlink pathloss factor for the determination of the transmitpower for SRS transmission. How to determine the transmit power for SRS transmission to the UL-only network device needs to be studied.

[0041] Therefore, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for determination of a transmit power for SRS transmission to UL-only network device, especially for determination of an initial transmit power for SRS transmission to UL-only network device. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a terminal device (e.g., a UE) determines a transmit power for transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS) to a first network device (i.e., an UL-only network device). The first network device may not perform downlink reference signal transmission to the terminal device. Then, the terminal device transmits, to the first network device, the SRS based on the transmit power.

[0042] It is understood that the above procedure steps may work together, in a flow of operations as described below, partly together or independently of each other. By implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure, for the UL-only network device, the terminal device could determine the transmit power for SRS transmission to the UL-only network device.

[0043] For illustrative purposes, principles and example embodiments of the present disclosure of elimination of activation signal interference in a network will be described below with reference to FIG. 1 through FIG. 9. However, it is to be noted that these embodiments are given to enable the skilled in the art to understand inventive concepts of the present disclosure and implement the solution as proposed herein, and not intended to limit scope of the present application in any way.

[0044] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an application scenario 100 in which some example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The network environment 100, which may be a part of a communication network, includes two terminal devices 102-1 and 102-2, two first network devices 104-1 and 104-2, and a second network device 106. The terminal devices 102-1 and 102-2 could also be collectively referred to as a terminal device 102. The first network devices 104-1 and 104-2 could also be collectively referred to as a first network device 104.

[0045] As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the terminal device 102, the first network device 104 and the second network device 106 can communicate with each other. The terminal device 102 may also be referred to as a user equipment 102 or a UE 102. The first network device 104 is capable of performing uplink reception from the terminal device 102, but do not support downlink transmission to the terminal device 102. The first network device 104 may also be referred to as a UL-only network device 104. The second network device 106 is capable of performing uplink reception from the terminal device 102 and downlink transmission to the terminal device 102. The second network device 106 may also be referred to as a DL and UL-capable network device 106. The first network device 104 may be a UL-only TRP. The second network device 106 may be a DL and UL-capable TRP or gNB.

[0046] The terminal device 102 can perform uplink transmission to the first network device 104, but the first network device 104 cannot perform downlink transmission to the terminal device 102. The terminal device 102 can perform uplink transmission to the second network device 106, and the second network device 106 can perform downlink transmission to the terminal device 102. The first network device 104 may be deployed in an area close to the cell edge of a cell provided by the second network device 106. The second network device 106 may function as an anchor point and have backhaul connections with the first network device 104.

[0047] FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 200 implemented at a terminal device (for example, a terminal device 102 or a UE 102) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ease of understanding, the method 200 will be described from the perspective of the terminal device 102 with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 to FIG. 6.

[0048] At block 210, the terminal device 102 determines a transmit power for transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS) to a first network device 104 (for example, a UL-only TRP 104). At block 220, the terminal device 102 transmits, to the first network device 104, the SRS based on the transmit power.

[0049] In some example embodiments, the transmit power may be an initial transmit power for transmitting the SRS to the first network device 104.

[0050] In some example embodiments, the first network device 104 may not perform downlink reference signal transmission to the terminal device 102.

[0051] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 may receive, from a second network device 106 (for example, a DL and UL-capable TRP or gNB 106), an indication related to the transmit power, and determine the transmit power based on the indication related to the transmit power. In this way, the second network device 106 could directly indicate accurate transmit power to the terminal device 102. In some example embodiments, the second network device 106 may calculate the transmit power for SRS transmission to the first network device 104 based on location coordinates of the first network device 104, the second network device 106 and the terminal device 102, which may up to the implementations. For example, when the terminal device 102 is far away from the first network device 104 and the second network device 106, the second network device 106 may calculate a high transmit power for the terminal device 102.

[0052] In some example embodiments, the indication related to the transmit power may comprise a first indication of a transmit power level. In this way, in comparison with indicating the specific transmit power, indicating the transmit power level could save the signaling overhead.

[0053] In some example embodiments, the first indication of the transmit power level may be carried in a media access control (MAC) control element (CE). The MAC CE may be piggybacked within a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) to carry control information.

[0054] In some example embodiments, the MAC CE may be a first MAC CE for transmission of a pathloss offset, and the transmit power level and the pathloss offset may use at least one field in the first MAC CE. For an instance, one or more fields of the at least one field used by the transmit power level and the pathloss offset may be the same. In this way, the MAC CE used for pathloss offset indication is leveraged for also indicating the transmit power level, thus the transmit power level could be indicated to the terminal device 102 without introducing any additional signaling overhead. In addition, using the same MAC CE for indicating both the pathloss offset and the transmit power level would save one logical channel identifier (LCID) or enhanced LCID (eLCID).

[0055] FIG. 3 illustrates an example diagram 300 of a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) with pathloss offset payload for SRS transmission in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The MAC CE as shown in FIG. 3 is previously used for indicating the pathloss offset, which could be leveraged for also indicating the transmit power level. As shown in FIG. 3, the MAC CE may be aligned by octet (e.g., Oct 1 to Oct N+2) and starts with a MAC sub-header for carrying an LCID or eLCID and other sub-header control fields. The pathloss offset may also be called as a PL offset. A PL offset may occupy four bits of one octet.

[0056] FIG. 4 illustrates an example diagram 400 of a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) with initial power level payload for SRS transmission in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. When the field(s) for indicating the pathloss offset in the MAC CE as shown in FIG. 3 is leveraged for indicating the transmit power level, the MAC CE will present a structure as shown in FIG. 4.

[0057] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 may receive, from the second network device 106, a second indication via the first MAC CE, the second indication indicates whether the one or more fields indicate the transmit power level or the pathloss offset. At the same time, in a reverse direction, the second network device 106 may transmit, to the terminal device 102, the second indication via the first MAC CE. With reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the reserved bit “R” in octetl may be used for carrying the second indication. For example, if the bit “R” have a value of “0”, when decoding the MAC CE, the terminal device 102 will know the field in the first MAC CE is indicating the PL offset. Alternatively, if the bit “R” have a value of “1”, when decoding the MAC CE, the terminal device 102 will know the field in the first MAC CE is indicating the transmit power level. In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 may consider a same bit-field size or different bit-field sizes for the PL offset and the transmit power level. For example, the bit-field size for the PL offset and the transmit power level could both be four bits. Alternatively, the bit-field size for the PL offset may be four bits and the bit-field size for the transmit power level may be two bits. In this way, the terminal device 102 could know when the MAC CE for indication ofthe pathloss offset is actually used to indicate the transmit power level with the use of the reserved bit “R” in an explicit manner.

[0058] Alternatively or additionally, the terminal device 102 may determine the at least one field indicates the pathloss offset based on a value indicated by the at least one field belongs to a first set of values, and determine the at least one field indicates the transmit power level based on a value indicated by the at least one field belongs to a second set of values. In other words, the terminal device 102 may be defined or configured to consider the first set of values is to be interpreted as the indicated pathloss offset, and the second set of values is to be interpreted as the indicated transmit power level. The first set of values may be of a first range (e.g., in dB or number) with a first step size (e.g., in dB or number). The second set of values may be of a second range (e.g., in dB or number) with a second step size (e.g., in dB or number). In this way, the terminal device 102 could know when the MAC CE for indication of the pathloss offset is actually used to indicate the transmit power level by the value indicated in an implicit manner.

[0059] In some example embodiments, the MAC CE may be a second MAC CE which is different from the first MAC CE for transmission of a pathloss offset. In other words, a new MAC CE may be used for indication of the transmit power level. A separate LCID or eLCID may be allocated for the second MAC CE for indication of the transmit power level. The field for indicating the transmit power level may have a granularity of four bits as shown in FIG. 4. It should be understood that other granularities of the field for indicating the transmit power level are also possible, which will have different signaling overheads. In this way, the transmit power level for SRS transmission to the first network device 104 could be indicated to the terminal device 102 via a separate MAC CE.

[0060] Alternatively or additionally, the first indication of the transmit power level may be carried in a radio resource control (RRC) signaling. In this way, the transmit power level for SRS transmission to the first network device 104 could be indicated to the terminal device 102 via a RRC signaling. In some example embodiments, the first indication of the transmit power level may be carried in an SRS- ResourceSet information element in an SRS-Config information element in the RRC signaling.

[0061] FIG. 5 illustrates an example diagram 500 of an SRS-ResourceSet information element in a radio resource control (RRC) signaling for initial power level of SRS transmission in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a new optional entry (e.g., ulonlyTRPJnitialSRSPowerLevel-r19) may be added in the SRS-ResourceSet information element for indicating the transmit power level. The value indicated by the ulonlyTRPJnitialSRSPowerLevel-r19 may be in a unit of dBm. In some example embodiments, the ulonlyTRPJnitialSRSPowerLevel-r19 may only indicate even (not odd) values. In some other example embodiments, the ulonlyTRPJnitialSRSPowerLevel-r19 may have a larger granularity.

[0062] Alternatively or additionally, the first indication of the transmit power level may be carried in message 2 (Msg2) in a random access procedure. Alternatively or additionally, the first indication of the transmit power level may be carried in message 4 (Msg4) in a random access procedure. Alternatively or additionally, the first indication of the transmit power level may be carried in message B (MsgB) in a 2- step random access procedure. Alternatively or additionally, the first indication of the transmit power level may be carried in a downlink control information (DCI) signaling. The first indication may be carried by the Msg2, the Msg4, MsgB or the DCI signaling as an optional field. In this way, the transmit power level for SRS transmission to the first network device 104 could be indicated to the terminal device 102 via the Msg2, the Msg4 or the DCI signaling.

[0063] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 may determine a transmit power for transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS) to a first network device 104 by: determining the transmit power without considering a downlink pathloss between the terminal device 102 and the first network device 104. For example, the terminal device 102 may determine the transmit power based on the following equation (1):wherein PSRs,b,f,c(i> VS) represents the transmit power based on a configuration by an SRS- ResourceSetinformation element on an active UL BWP b of a carrier f of a serving cell c in an SRS transmission occasion i, PCMAX, / ,C(0 represents a maximum output power configured by the terminal device 102 for the carrier of the serving cell c in the SRS transmission occasion i,represents a nominal transmit power provided by pO for an active uplink bandwidth (UL BWP) b of the carrier / of the serving cell c and an SRS resource set qsprovided by an SRS-ResourceSet information element and an SRS-ResourceSetld information element, MSRS b f c(i) represents an SRS bandwidth expressed in a number of resource blocks for an SRS transmission occasion i on the active UL BWP b of the carrier / of the serving cell c and is a subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration. As shown in FIG. 5, the pO value may be carried in the SRS-ResourceSet information element in the RRL signaling.

[0064] As can be seen, in such example embodiments, the terminal device 102 will not consider any downlink pathloss factor in the determination of the transmit power for SRS transmission. Therefore, even if the UL-only network device cannot transmit downlink reference signals to the terminal device 102 and the terminal device 102 will not be able to estimate the downlink pathloss between the terminal device 102 and the UL-only network device, the terminal device 102 still could determine the transmit power for SRS transmission to the UL-only network device.

[0065] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 may determine, based on a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state for transmission of the SRS, whether or not to consider a downlink pathloss between the terminal device 102 and the first network device 104 when determining the transmit power. In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 may determine, based on the TCI state is associated with the first network device 104, not to consider the downlink pathloss between the terminal device 102 and the first network device 104 when determining the transmit power. In other words, if the TCI state for transmission of the SRS is directly or indirectly associated with the UL- only network device, the terminal device 102 will not consider the downlink pathloss factor in determination of the transmit power. In this way, based on the applicable TCI state for SRS transmission is associated with the UL-only network device, it could be determined not to use the downlink pathloss factor in calculation of the transmit power for the UL-only network device. Additionally, the terminal device 102 still could determine to use the downlink pathloss factor in calculation of the transmit power for the DL and UL-capable network device, which will be much accurate.

[0066] Alternatively or additionally, the terminal device 102 may determine, based on an information indicated or configured, whether or not to consider a downlink pathloss between the terminal device 102 and the first network device 104 when determining the transmit power. The information may be indicated or configured by a MAC CE or a RRC signaling. The information may be associated with the TCI state or separate from the TCI state.

[0067] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 may receive, from a second network device 106, a third indication indicating whether or not to consider a downlink pathloss between the terminal device 102 and the first network device 104 when determining the transmit power. At the same time, in a reverse direction, the second network device 106 may transmit, to the terminal device 102, the third indication indicating the terminal device 102 whether or not to consider a downlink pathloss between the terminal device 102 and the first network device 104 when determining the transmit power. Then, the terminal device 102 may determine, based on the third indication, whether or not to consider the downlink pathloss between the terminal device 102 and the first network device 104 when determining the transmit power. In this way, the terminal device 102 may be configured by the second network device 106 not to use the downlink pathloss factor in calculation of the transmit power for the UL-only network device. Alternatively of additionally, the terminal device 102 may be specified by the specification not to use the downlink pathloss factor in calculation of the transmit power for the UL-only network device.

[0068] In some example embodiments, the determination of the transmit power may be based on a first power value from a second network device 106. The second network device 106 may transmit, to the terminal device 102, the first power value for determination of the transmit power. The first power value may be a pO value as shown in FIG. 5 or a p0-r17 value as shown in FIG. 6, which illustrates anexample diagram 600 of an Uplink-powerControl information element in a radio resource control (RRC) signaling for initial power level of SRS transmission in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0069] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 may receive, from the second network device 106, an indication of a second power value for adjusting the transmit power, wherein the second power value is higher or lower than the first power value. At the same time, the second network device 106 may transmit, to the terminal device 102, the indication of a second power value for adjusting the transmit power. For example, the second power value may be carried in a radio resource control (RRC) signaling. The second network device 106 may take the terminal device 102’s inability to estimate the downlink pathloss into consideration when deciding the pO or p0-r17. If the first indicated pO or p0-r17 value is too low or too high and the SRS transmission at the UL-only network device does not meet performance requirements or overwhelms the capability of the receiver of the UL-only network device, the second network device 106 may indicate a second power value to the terminal device 102 so as to adjust the pO or p0-r17 value used for calculation of the transmit power.

[0070] Alternatively or additionally, the terminal device 102 may receive, from the second network device 106, a fourth indication of a transmit power level to be increased to or decreased from the transmit power. At the same time, in a reverse direction, the second network device 106 may transmit, to the terminal device 102, the fourth indication of a transmit power level to be increased to or decreased from the transmit power. For example, the fourth indication of the transmit power level may be carried in a downlink control information (DCI) signaling. The fourth indication may indicate a step (also could be called as a level) to be increased to or decreased from the transmit power. The increased or decreased step or level may be predefined by the second network device 106 or the specification. For example, the increased or decreased step or level may be 2dB, 4dB or 8dB, etc.

[0071] In some example embodiments, the determination of the transmit power may be based on a pathloss offset indicated in a first MAC CE from the second network device 106. Although the terminal device 102 may not be capable of estimating the pathloss between the terminal device 102 and the first network device 104 (i.e., the UL-only network device 104), it could estimate the pathloss offset between the terminal device 102 and the second network device 106 (i.e., the DL UL-only network device 106), and take the pathloss offset between the terminal device 102 and the second network device 106 into consideration in determination of the transmit power to the UL-only network device.

[0072] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 may receive, from the second network device 106, a fifth indication indicating a third set of values or a fourth set of values is to be considered for determination of a pathloss offset or a transmit power level. At the same time, in a reverse direction, the second network device 106 may transmit, to the terminal device 102, the fifth indication indicating athird set of values or a fourth set of values is to be considered for determination of a pathloss offset or a transmit power level. The fifth indication may be carried in an existing or reserved field of the first MAC CE, a new field of the second MAC CE, an RRC signaling, or a DCI signaling. In this way, the terminal device 102 would know which set of values should be used for the determination of the transmit power as the pathloss offset or the transmit power level. In some example embodiments, at least one field for indicating the pathloss offset or the transmit power level when the fifth indication indicating the third set of values is to be considered has a field size same as or different from at least one field for indicating the pathloss offset or the transmit power level when the fifth indication indicating the fourth set of values is to be considered. In other words, the field for indicating a value corresponding to the third set of values may have a field size same as or different from the field for indicating a value corresponding to the fourth set of values.

[0073] By implementing the embodiments described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 6, determination of a transmit power for SRS transmission to a network device is supported. With the embodiments as described above, for the UL-only network device, the terminal device 102 could determine the transmit power for SRS transmission to the UL-only network device in various manners. The terminal device 102 may be directly indicated of the transmit power or does not consider the downlink pathloss factor in determination of the transmit power.

[0074] FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 700 implemented at a second network device 106 (for example, a second network device 106) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ease of understanding, the method 700 will be described from the perspective of the second network device 106 with reference to FIG. 1.

[0075] At block 710, the second network device 106 transmits, to a terminal device 102, an indication related to a transmit power for transmission of a sounding reference signal (SRS) between the terminal device 102 and a first network device 104.

[0076] In some example embodiments, the indication related to the transmit power comprises a first indication of a transmit power level.

[0077] In some example embodiments, the first indication of the transmit power level is carried in a media access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0078] In some example embodiments, the MAC CE is a first MAC CE for transmission of a pathloss offset, and the transmit power level and the pathloss offset use at least one field in the first MAC CE.

[0079] In some example embodiments, one or more fields of the at least one field used by the transmit power level and the pathloss offset are the same.

[0080] In some example embodiments, the second network device 106 is further caused to: transmit, to the terminal device 102, a second indication via the first MAC CE, the second indication indicates whether the one or more fields indicate the transmit power level or the pathloss offset.

[0081] In some example embodiments, the MAC CE is a second MAC CE which is different from a first MAC CE for transmission of a pathloss offset.

[0082] In some example embodiments, the first indication of the transmit power level is carried in a radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0083] In some example embodiments, the first indication of the transmit power level is carried in an SRS-ResourceSet information element in an SRS-Config information element in the RRC signaling.

[0084] In some example embodiments, the first indication of the transmit power level is carried in at least one of the following: message 2 (Msg2) in a random access procedure; message 4 (Msg4) in a random access procedure; or a downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

[0085] In some example embodiments, the second network device 106 is further caused to: transmit, to the terminal device 102, a third indication indicating the terminal device 102 whether or not to consider a downlink pathloss between the terminal device 102 and the first network device 104 when determining the transmit power.

[0086] In some example embodiments, the second network device 106 is further caused to: transmit, to the terminal device 102, a first power value for determination of the transmit power.

[0087] In some example embodiments, the second network device 106 is further caused to: transmit, to the terminal device 102, an indication of a second power value for adjusting the transmit power, wherein the second power value is higher or lower than the first power value.

[0088] In some example embodiments, the second power value is carried in a radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0089] In some example embodiments, the second network device 106 is further caused to: transmit, to the terminal device 102, a fourth indication of a transmit power level to be increased to or decreased from the transmit power.

[0090] In some example embodiments, the fourth indication of the transmit power level is carried in a downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

[0091] In some example embodiments, the second network device 106 is further caused to: transmit, to the terminal device 102, a fifth indication indicating a third set of values or a fourth set of values is to be considered for determination of a pathloss offset or a transmit power level.

[0092] In some example embodiments, at least one field for indicating the pathloss offset or the transmit power level when the fifth indication indicating the third set of values is to be considered has afield size same as or different from at least one field for indicating the pathloss offset or the transmit power level when the fifth indication indicating the fourth set of values is to be considered.

[0093] In some example embodiments, the transmit power is an initial transmit power for transmission of the SRS between the terminal device 102 and the first network device 104.

[0094] In some example embodiments, the first network device does not perform downlink reference signal transmission to the terminal device.

[0095] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing the method 200 (for example, the terminal device 102) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of the method 200. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

[0096] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for determining a transmit power for transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS) to a first network device 104; and means for transmitting, to the first network device 104, the SRS based on the transmit power.

[0097] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other processes in some embodiments of the method 700. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the performance of the apparatus.

[0098] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing the method 700 (for example, the second network device 106) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of the method 700. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

[0099] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for transmitting, to a terminal device 102, an indication related to a transmit power for transmission of a sounding reference signal (SRS) between the terminal device 102 and a first network device 104.

[0100] FIG. 8 illustrates an example simplified block diagram of a device 800 that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 800 may be provided to implement a communication device or a network element, for example, the terminal device 102, the first network device 104 or the second network device 106 as shown in FIG. 1 . As shown, the device 800 includes one or more processors 810, one or more memories 820 may couple to the processor 810, and one or more communication modules 840 may couple to the processor 810.

[0101] The communication module 840 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 840 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements, for examplethe communication interface may be wireless or wireline to other network elements, or software based interface for communication.

[0102] The processor 810 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as nonlimiting examples. The device 800 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

[0103] The memory 820 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM) 824, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD), a digital video disk (DVD), and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random access memory (RAM) 822 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

[0104] A computer program 830 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 810. The program 830 may be stored in the ROM 824. The processor 810 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 830 into the RAM 822.

[0105] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program so that the device 800 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIG. 1 or FIG. 7. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0106] In some example embodiments, the program 830 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 800 (such as in the memory 820) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 800. The device 800 may load the program 830 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 822 for execution. The computer readable medium may include any types of tangible non-volatile storage, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. FIG. 9 shows an example of the computer readable medium 900 in form of CD or DVD. The computer readable medium has the program 830 stored thereon.

[0107] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, specialpurpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0108] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computerexecutable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor, to carry out the methods 200 or 700 as described above with reference to FIG. 2 or FIG. 7. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0109] Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program codes, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

[0110] In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like.

[0111] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable readonly memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. The term “non-transitory,” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0112] Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub- combination.

[0113] Although the present disclosure has been described in languages specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A terminal device comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device at least to: determine a transmit power for transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS) to a first network device; and transmit, to the first network device, the SRS based on the transmit power.

2. The terminal device of claim 1 , wherein the terminal device is further caused to: receive, from a second network device, an indication related to the transmit power; and determine the transmit power based on the indication related to the transmit power.

3. The terminal device of claim 2, wherein the indication related to the transmit power comprises a first indication of a transmit power level.

4. The terminal device of claim 3, wherein the first indication of the transmit power level is carried in a media access control (MAC) control element (CE).

5. The terminal device of claim 4, wherein the MAC CE is a first MAC CE for transmission of a pathloss offset, and the transmit power level and the pathloss offset use at least one field in the first MAC CE.

6. The terminal device of claim 5, wherein one or more fields of the at least one field used by the transmit power level and the pathloss offset are the same.

7. The terminal device of claim 6, wherein the terminal device is further caused to: receive, from the second network device, a second indication via the first MAC CE, the second indication indicates whether the one or more fields indicate the transmit power level or the pathloss offset.

8. The terminal device of claim 6, wherein the terminal device is further caused to: determine the at least one field indicates the pathloss offset based on a value indicated by the at least one field belongs to a first set of values; anddetermine the at least one field indicates the transmit power level based on a value indicated by the at least one field belongs to a second set of values.

9. The terminal device of claim 4, wherein the MAC CE is a second MAC CE which is different from a first MAC CE for transmission of a pathloss offset.

10. The terminal device of claim 3, wherein the first indication of the transmit power level is carried in at least one of: a radio resource control (RRC) signaling; an SRS-ResourceSet information element in an SRS-Config information element in a RRC signaling. a message 2 (Msg2) in a random access procedure; a message 4 (Msg4) in a random access procedure; or a downlink control information (DCI) signaling.11 . The terminal device of claim 1 , wherein the terminal device is caused to determine a transmit power for transmitting a sounding reference signal to a first network device by: determining the transmit power without considering a downlink pathloss between the terminal device and the first network device.

12. The terminal device of claim 1 , wherein the terminal device is further caused to: determine, based on a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state for transmission of the SRS, whether or not to consider a downlink pathloss between the terminal device and the first network device when determining the transmit power.

13. The terminal device of claim 12, wherein the terminal device is further caused to: determine, based on the TCI state is associated with the first network device, not to consider the downlink pathloss between the terminal device and the first network device when determining the transmit power.

14. The terminal device of claim 1 , wherein the terminal device is further caused to: receive, from a second network device, a third indication indicating whether or not to consider a downlink pathloss between the terminal device and the first network device when determining the transmit power; anddetermine, based on the third indication, whether or not to consider the downlink pathloss between the terminal device and the first network device when determining the transmit power.

15. The terminal device of any of claims 1 to 14, wherein the determination of the transmit power is based on a first power value from a second terminal device.

16. The terminal device of claim 15, wherein the terminal device is further caused to: receive, from the second terminal device, an indication of a second power value for adjusting the transmit power, wherein the second power value is higher or lower than the first power value.

17. The terminal device of claim 15, wherein the terminal device is further caused to: receive, from the second terminal device, a fourth indication of a transmit power level to be increased to or decreased from the transmit power.

18. The terminal device of claim 17, wherein the fourth indication of the transmit power level is carried in a downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

19. The terminal device of any of claims 1 to 18, wherein the determination of the transmit power is based on a pathloss offset indicated in a first MAC CE from the second network device.

20. The terminal device of any of claims 1 to 19, wherein the terminal device is further caused to: receive, from the second network device, a fifth indication indicating a third set of values or a fourth set of values is to be considered for determination of a pathloss offset or a transmit power level.21 . The terminal device of claim 20, wherein at least one field for indicating the pathloss offset or the transmit power level when the fifth indication indicating the third set of values is to be considered has a field size same as or different from at least one field for indicating the pathloss offset or the transmit power level when the fifth indication indicating the fourth set of values is to be considered.

22. The terminal device of any of claims 1 to 21 , wherein the transmit power is an initial transmit power for transmitting the SRS to the first network device.

23. The terminal device of any of claims 1 to 22, wherein the terminal device does not receive downlink reference signals from the first network device.

24. A second network device comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second network device at least to: transmit, to a terminal device, an indication related to a transmit power for transmission of a sounding reference signal (SRS) between the terminal device and a first network device.

25. The second network device of claim 24, wherein the indication related to the transmit power comprises a first indication of a transmit power level.

26. The second network device of claim 25, wherein the first indication ofthe transmit power level is carried in a media access control (MAC) control element (CE).

27. The second network device of claim 26, wherein the MAC CE is a first MAC CE for transmission of a pathloss offset, and the transmit power level and the pathloss offset use at least one field in the first MAC CE; and wherein one or more fields of the at least one field used by the transmit power level and the pathloss offset are the same; and wherein the second network device is further caused to: transmit, to the terminal device, a second indication via the first MAC CE, the second indication indicates whether the one or more fields indicate the transmit power level or the pathloss offset.

28. The second network device of claim 26, wherein the MAC CE is a second MAC CE which is different from a first MAC CE for transmission of a pathloss offset.

29. The second network device of claim 26, wherein the first indication ofthe transmit power level is carried in at least one of: a radio resource control (RRC) signaling; an SRS-ResourceSet information element in an SRS-Config information element in RRC signaling. a message 2 (Msg2) in a random access procedure; a message 4 (Msg4) in a random access procedure; or a downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

30. The second network device of claim 24, wherein the second network device is further caused to at least one of: transmit, to the terminal device, a third indication indicating the terminal device whether or not to consider a downlink pathloss between the terminal device and the first network device when determining the transmit power. transmit, to the terminal device, a first power value for determination of the transmit power. transmit, to the terminal device, an indication of a second power value for adjusting the transmit power, wherein the second power value is higher or lower than the first power value. transmit, to the terminal device, a fourth indication of a transmit power level to be increased to or decreased from the transmit power. transmit, to the terminal device, a fifth indication indicating a third set of values or a fourth set of values is to be considered for determination of a pathloss offset or a transmit power level.31 . The second network device of claim 30, wherein at least one field for indicating the pathloss offset or the transmit power level when the fifth indication indicating the third set of values is to be considered has a field size same as or different from at least one field for indicating the pathloss offset or the transmit power level when the fifth indication indicating the fourth set of values is to be considered.

32. The second network device of any of claims 24 to 31, wherein the transmit power is an initial transmit power transmission of the SRS between the terminal device and the first network device.

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