UE initiated reported under joint TCI framework

Abstract

An apparatus including: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: receiving condition triggering information related to signals between the apparatus and network equipment of a network; determining occurrence of an event based, at least partially, upon the received condition triggering information; and sending a report to the network regarding the determined occurrence of the event, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the user equipment.

Description

UE INITIATED REPORTED UNDER JOINT TCI FRAMEWORK RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to FI Application No.20245407 filed April 4, 2024, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The example and non-limiting embodiments relate generally to communications and, more particularly, to a user equipment report. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR DEVELOPMENTS

[0003] It is known to have a user equipment configured, by higher layer signaling such as with radio resource control (RRC), to have either a joint transmission configuration indicator (TCI) configuration or a separate transmission configuration indicator (TCI) configuration. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The following summary is merely intended to be an example. The summary is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

[0005] In accordance with one aspect, an example apparatus is provided comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: receiving condition triggering information related to signals between the apparatus and network equipment of a network; determining occurrence of an event based, at least partially, upon the received condition triggering information; and sending a report to the network regarding the determined occurrence of the event, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the user equipment.

[0006] In accordance with another aspect, an example method is provided comprising: receiving condition triggering information related to signals between an apparatus and networkequipment of a network; determining occurrence of an event based, at least partially, upon the received condition triggering information; and sending a report to the network regarding the determined occurrence of the event, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the user equipment.

[0007] In accordance with another aspect, an example apparatus is provided comprising: means for receiving condition triggering information related to signals between the apparatus and network equipment of a network; means for determining occurrence of an event based, at least partially, upon the received condition triggering information; and means for sending a report to the network regarding the determined occurrence of the event, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the user equipment.

[0008] In accordance with another aspect, an example is provided with a program storage device readable by an apparatus, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable with the apparatus for performing operations, the operations comprising: receiving condition triggering information related to signals between the apparatus and network equipment of a network; determining occurrence of an event based, at least partially, upon the received condition triggering information; and sending a report to the network regarding the determined occurrence of the event, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the user equipment.

[0009] In accordance with another aspect, an example apparatus is provided comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: sending condition triggering information, related to signals between the apparatus and a user equipment; receiving a report from the user equipment regarding a determined occurrence of an event at the user equipment, where the occurrence of the event was determined based, at least partially, upon the sent condition triggering information, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the user equipment; and determining, based upon the received report, whether to perform a switch of the transmission configuration indicator state for the user equipment.

[0010] In accordance with another aspect, an example method is provided comprising: sending condition triggering information, related to signals between an apparatus and a userequipment; receiving a report from the user equipment regarding a determined occurrence of an event at the user equipment, where the occurrence of the event was determined based, at least partially, upon the sent condition triggering information, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the user equipment; and determining, based upon the received report, whether to perform a switch of the transmission configuration indicator state for the user equipment.

[0011] In accordance with another aspect, an example apparatus is provided comprising: means for sending condition triggering information, related to signals between the apparatus and a user equipment; means for receiving a report from the user equipment regarding a determined occurrence of an event at the user equipment, where the occurrence of the event was determined based, at least partially, upon the sent condition triggering information, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the user equipment; and means for determining, based upon the received report, whether to perform a switch of the transmission configuration indicator state for the user equipment.

[0012] In accordance with another aspect, an example is provided with a program storage device readable by an apparatus, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable with the apparatus for performing operations, the operations comprising: sending condition triggering information, related to signals between the apparatus and a user equipment; receiving a report from the user equipment regarding a determined occurrence of an event at the user equipment, where the occurrence of the event was determined based, at least partially, upon the sent condition triggering information, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the user equipment; and determining, based upon the received report, whether to perform a switch of the transmission configuration indicator state for the user equipment.

[0013] According to some aspects, there is provided the subject matter of the independent claims. Some further aspects are provided in subject matter of the dependent claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0014] The foregoing aspects and other features are explained in the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0015] FIG.1 is a block diagram of one possible and non-limiting example system in which the example embodiments may be practiced;

[0016] FIG.2A is a diagram illustrating use of separate TCI configurations;

[0017] FIG.2B is a diagram illustrating use of a joint TCI configuration;

[0018] FIG.3 is a diagram illustrating an example method;

[0019] FIG.4 is a diagram illustrating an example method;

[0020] FIG.5 is a diagram illustrating an example method;

[0021] FIG.6 is a diagram illustrating an example method;

[0022] FIG.7 is a diagram illustrating an example method;

[0023] FIG.8 is a diagram illustrating an example method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The following abbreviations that may be found in the specification and / or the drawing figures are defined as follows: 3GPP third generation partnership project 5G fifth generation 5GC 5G core network AMF access and mobility management function A-MPR additional maximum power reduction CORESET control resource set CP cyclic prefix CSI channel state information CSI-RS channel state information reference signal CU central unit DCI downlink control information DL downlinkDU distributed unit eNB (or eNodeB) evolved Node B (e.g., an LTE base station) EN-DC E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity en-gNB or En-gNB node providing NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and acting as secondary node in EN-DC E-UTRA evolved universal terrestrial radio access, i.e., the LTE radio access technology gNB (or gNodeB) base station for 5G / NR, i.e., a node providing NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and connected via the NG interface to the 5GC I / F interface LTE long term evolution MAC medium access control MAC-CE MAC control element MCS modulation and coding scheme mDCI multi-DCI MPR maximum power reduction MRTD maximum receive timing difference mTRP multi-TRP MIMO multiple-input and multiple-output MME mobility management entity ng or NG new generation ng-eNB or NG-eNB new generation eNB NR new radio N / W or NW network PDCCH physical downlink control channel PDCP packet data convergence protocol PDSCH physical downlink shared channel PH power headroom PHY physical layer P-MPR power management maximum power reductionPUCCH physical uplink control channel PUSCH physical uplink shared channel QCL quasi co-location RAN radio access network Rel release Rel 17 release 17 Rel 18 release 18 Rel 19 release 19 RLC radio link control RRH remote radio head RRC radio resource control RS reference signal RSRP reference signal received power RSRQ reference signal received quality RSSI reference signal strength indicator RTD receive timing difference RU radio unit Rx receiver SDAP service data adaptation protocol sDCI single-DCI SGW serving gateway SINR signal to interference plus noise ratio SMF session management function SNR signal to noise ratio SRS sounding reference signal SSB synchronization signal block T / F time / frequency TCI transmission configuration indicator TRP transmission reception point TS technical specification Tx transmitter UCI uplink control informationUE user equipment (e.g., a wireless, typically mobile device) UEIBM UE-initiated / event-driven beam management UL uplink UPF user plane function

[0025] Turning to FIG.1, this figure shows a block diagram of one possible and non-limiting example in which the examples may be practiced. A user equipment (UE) 110, radio access network (RAN) node 170, and network element(s) 190 are illustrated. The RAN node 170 is on example of a transmission reception point (TRP) for the UE to communicate with the network. Examples of network equipment, network device, or a network entity might be understood to include, at least part of, a transmission reception point or a cell or a gNB or node for example. In the example of FIG. 1, the user equipment (UE) 110 is in wireless communication with a wireless network 100. A UE is a wireless device that can access the wireless network 100. The UE 110 includes one or more processors 120, one or more memories 125, and one or more transceivers 130 interconnected through one or more buses 127. Each of the one or more transceivers 130 includes a receiver, Rx, 132 and a transmitter, Tx, 133. The one or more buses 127 may be address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optics or other optical communication equipment, and the like. The one or more transceivers 130 are connected to one or more antennas 128. The one or more memories 125 include computer program code 123. The UE 110 includes a module 140, comprising one of or both parts 140-1 and / or 140-2, which may be implemented in a number of ways. The module 140 may be implemented in hardware as module 140-1, such as being implemented as part of the one or more processors 120. The module 140-1 may be implemented also as an integrated circuit or through other hardware such as a programmable gate array. In another example, the module 140 may be implemented as module 140-2, which is implemented as computer program code 123 and is executed by the one or more processors 120. For instance, the one or more memories 125 and the computer program code 123 may be configured to, with the one or more processors 120, cause the user equipment 110 to perform one or more of the operations as described herein. The UE 110 communicates with RAN node 170 via a wireless link 111.

[0026] The RAN node 170 in this example is a base station that provides access by wireless devices such as the UE 110 to the wireless network 100. The RAN node 170 may be, for example, a base station for 5G, also called New Radio (NR). In 5G, the RAN node 170 may be a NG-RAN node, which is defined as either a gNB or a ng-eNB. A gNB is a node providing NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and connected via the NG interface to a 5GC (such as, for example, the network element(s) 190). The ng-eNB is a node providing E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and connected via the NG interface to the 5GC. The NG-RAN node may include multiple gNBs, which may also include a central unit (CU) (gNB-CU) 196 and distributed unit(s) (DUs) (gNB-DUs), of which DU 195 is shown. Note that the DU may include or be coupled to and control a radio unit (RU). The gNB-CU is a logical node hosting RRC, SDAP and PDCP protocols of the gNB or RRC and PDCP protocols of the en-gNB that controls the operation of one or more gNB-DUs. The gNB-CU terminates the F1 interface connected with the gNB-DU. The F1 interface is illustrated as reference 198, although reference 198 also illustrates a link between remote elements of the RAN node 170 and centralized elements of the RAN node 170, such as between the gNB-CU 196 and the gNB-DU 195. The gNB-DU is a logical node hosting RLC, MAC and PHY layers of the gNB or en-gNB, and its operation is partly controlled by gNB-CU. One gNB-CU supports one or multiple cells. One cell is supported by only one gNB- DU. The gNB-DU terminates the F1 interface 198 connected with the gNB-CU. Note that the DU 195 is considered to include the transceiver 160, e.g., as part of a RU, but some examples of this may have the transceiver 160 as part of a separate RU, e.g., under control of and connected to the DU 195. The RAN node 170 may also be an eNB (evolved NodeB) base station, for LTE (long term evolution), or any other suitable base station or node.

[0027] The RAN node 170 includes one or more processors 152, one or more memories 155, one or more network interfaces (N / W I / F(s)) 161, and one or more transceivers 160 interconnected through one or more buses 157. Each of the one or more transceivers 160 includes a receiver, Rx, 162 and a transmitter, Tx, 163. The one or more transceivers 160 are connected to one or more antennas 158. The one or more memories 155 include computer program code 153. The CU 196 may include the processor(s) 152, memories 155, and network interfaces 161. Note that the DU 195 may also contain its own memory / memories and processor(s), and / or other hardware, but these are not shown.

[0028] The RAN node 170 includes a module 150, comprising one of or both parts 150-1 and / or 150-2, which may be implemented in a number of ways. The module 150 may be implemented in hardware as module 150-1, such as being implemented as part of the one or more processors 152. The module 150-1 may be implemented also as an integrated circuit or through other hardware such as a programmable gate array. In another example, the module 150 may be implemented as module 150-2, which is implemented as computer program code 153 and is executed by the one or more processors 152. For instance, the one or more memories 155 and the computer program code 153 are configured to, with the one or more processors 152, cause the RAN node 170 to perform one or more of the operations as described herein. Note that the functionality of the module 150 may be distributed, such as being distributed between the DU 195 and the CU 196, or be implemented solely in the DU 195.

[0029] The one or more network interfaces 161 communicate over a network such as via the links 176 and 131. Two or more gNBs 170 may communicate using, e.g., link 176. The link 176 may be wired or wireless or both and may implement, for example, an Xn interface for 5G, an X2 interface for LTE, or other suitable interface for other standards.

[0030] The one or more buses 157 may be address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optics or other optical communication equipment, wireless channels, and the like. For example, the one or more transceivers 160 may be implemented as a remote radio head (RRH) 195 for LTE or a distributed unit (DU) 195 for gNB implementation for 5G, with the other elements of the RAN node 170 possibly being physically in a different location from the RRH / DU, and the one or more buses 157 could be implemented in part as, for example, fiber optic cable or other suitable network connection to connect the other elements (e.g., a central unit (CU), gNB-CU) of the RAN node 170 to the RRH / DU 195. Reference 198 also indicates those suitable network link(s).

[0031] It is noted that description herein indicates that “cells” perform functions, but it should be clear that equipment which forms the cell will perform the functions. The cell makes up part of a base station. That is, there can be multiple cells per base station. For example, there could be three cells for a single carrier frequency and associated bandwidth, each cell covering one- third of a 360 degree area so that the single base station’s coverage area covers an approximateoval or circle. Furthermore, each cell can correspond to a single carrier and a base station may use multiple carriers. So if there are three 120 degree cells per carrier and two carriers, then the base station has a total of 6 cells.

[0032] The wireless network 100 may include a network element or elements 190 that may include core network functionality, and which provides connectivity via a link or links 181 with a further network, such as a telephone network and / or a data communications network (e.g., the Internet). Such core network functionality for 5G may include access and mobility management function(s) (AMF(S)) and / or user plane functions (UPF(s)) and / or session management function(s) (SMF(s)). Such core network functionality for LTE may include MME (Mobility Management Entity) / SGW (Serving Gateway) functionality. These are merely exemplary functions that may be supported by the network element(s) 190, and note that both 5G and LTE functions might be supported. The RAN node 170 is coupled via a link 131 to a network element 190. The link 131 may be implemented as, e.g., an NG interface for 5G, or an S1 interface for LTE, or other suitable interface for other standards. The network element 190 includes one or more processors 175, one or more memories 171, and one or more network interfaces (N / W I / F(s)) 180, interconnected through one or more buses 185. The one or more memories 171 include computer program code 173. The one or more memories 171 and the computer program code 173 are configured to, with the one or more processors 175, cause the network element 190 to perform one or more operations.

[0033] The wireless network 100 may implement network virtualization, which is the process of combining hardware and software network resources and network functionality into a single, software-based administrative entity, a virtual network. Network virtualization involves platform virtualization, often combined with resource virtualization. Network virtualization is categorized as either external, combining many networks, or parts of networks, into a virtual unit, or internal, providing network-like functionality to software containers on a single system. Note that the virtualized entities that result from the network virtualization are still implemented, at some level, using hardware such as processors 152 or 175 and memories 155 and 171, and also such virtualized entities create technical effects.

[0034] The computer readable memories 125, 155, and 171 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storagetechnology, such as semiconductor based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. The computer readable memories 125, 155, and 171 may be means for performing storage functions. The processors 120, 152, and 175 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The processors 120, 152, and 175 may be means for performing functions, such as controlling the UE 110, RAN node 170, and other functions as described herein.

[0035] In general, the various embodiments of the user equipment 110 can include, but are not limited to, cellular telephones such as smart phones, tablets, personal digital assistants (PDAs) having wireless communication capabilities, portable computers having wireless communication capabilities, image capture devices such as digital cameras having wireless communication capabilities, gaming devices having wireless communication capabilities, music storage and playback appliances having wireless communication capabilities, Internet appliances permitting wireless Internet access and browsing, tablets with wireless communication capabilities, as well as portable units or terminals that incorporate combinations of such functions.

[0036] A TCI-state defines a QCL source(s) and QCL type(s) for a target reference signal and, hence, indicates a transmission configuration which includes QCL-relationships between the DL RSs in one RS set.

[0037] Rel 17 introduced a unified TCI framework meaning that TCI states, in regard to Rel 17 providing QCL assumptions for the reception of DL signals and channels, would be used also to provide spatial sources for the transmission of UL signals and channels to determine UL TX spatial filter. Furthermore, the unified TCI framework defines the concept of indicated TCI state. That means that one or multiple (in case of multi-TRP for instance) of the configured TCI states is / are indicated TCI state(s) at a time. The indicated TCI state can be a joint DL and UL TCI state, or a separate DL TCI state and a separate UL TCI state.

[0038] Indicated TCI state provides QCL source (DL) and spatial source (UL) for the set of downlink signals and channels and for the set of uplink signals and channels, respectively. In Rel 17 there can be one indicated joint DL and UL, or one indicated DL and one indicate UL TCI state for the UE. In Rel 18 there can be two indicated DL and UL TCI states.

[0039] For the unified TCI framework, the following aspects have been clarified / agreed in RAN1 so far: • Common TCI state (a.k.a. indicated TCI) for a set of signals and channels at a time. • TCI state can be joint DL / UL, separate DL TCI state and separate UL TCI state. • RRC configures set (or pool) of joint and / or separate TCI states. • MAC activates a number (e.g.8) of joint and / or separate TCI states • Before first indication, first activated TCI state is the current indicated TCI state • DCI indicates one of the activated TCI states to be indicated TCI state (which may be a common TCI state)

[0040] FIG.2A illustrates an example of a separate TCI configuration; showing UL and DL beams relative to the TPR. FIG. 2B illustrates an example of a joint TCI configuration; showing UL and DL beams relative to the TPR.

[0041] Rel-19 is now attempting to define UE-initiated / event-driven reports for beam management. In the scope of Rel-19, some use cases where UE could benefit from initiating the beam reporting and / or switch are being identified. The UE-initiated TCI-state / beam reporting / switch feature refers to the case where the UE may be configured with at least one event / condition, and then the UE may start TCI-state / beam reporting / switch if this at least one event / condition occurs or is satisfied.

[0042] RAN1 has specified periodic, semi-persistent and aperiodic CSI reporting. In [TS38.214], CSI-ResourceConfig specifies what type of reference signal (nzp-CSI-RS-SSB, csi-IM-Resource) is to be transmitted. It also configures the types of the transmission (periodic, aperiodic, semipersistent). The parameter reportConfigType indicates the scheduling method of the report. It can be periodic, aperiodic and semi-persistent as shown in the table below:

[0043] UE initiated reports would potentially need some RRC configuration (to be defined throughout Rel-19 discussions). If a UE is configured with a separate TCI framework and then the UE initiated beam reports will be configured for a DL TCI state or for a UL TCI state. Therefore, the UE would report preferred UL beams through UE-initiated beam reports, but with no effect on an indicated DL beam(s).

[0044] However, a UE may be configured for a joint TCI framework and also for UE- initiated reports. In that case, the UL TCI state and the DL TCI state are carried on a same beam. When the UE reports a preferred beam (from the perspective of the UE) with a UE- initiated report (e.g. to improve UL performance), the DL performance may be slightly degraded (or vice versa). This trade-off is not necessarily known at the network when the UE is reporting its preferred beam.

[0045] Examples of scenarios regarding this issue include the following: • Example 1: The UE reports a preferred UL TCI #2 due to e.g. MPR, P-MPR, A-MPR because this UL TCI state is another UE Panel with less UL impairment. However, due to e.g. reflection, path loss, the DL may be degraded by e.g.3 dB. In one example MPR can go up to 9 dB, P-MPR up to 12 dB and reflection loss in FR2 can be anywhere between 1 dB and 10 dB. So, overall, in some cases it is still a better systemperformance to switch and in others it is not. However, the network is not aware of the extra DL loss before the switch and, thus, the network cannot assess the extra DL loss. • Example 2: The UE reports a preferred beam or pair of beams due to higher rank in DL at the expense of slightly higher path loss. Overall DL throughput may be improved if additional path loss is e.g. below 3 dB. Else not. The UL throughput may be degraded by even more depending on (new) panel UL performance (which can be asymmetrical for UL or even covered by user). However, the network is not aware of the additional degradation caused in UL with switching to the UE preferred beam.

[0046] Features as described herein may be provided with multiple different options. With one type of option, the UE may determine whether there may be a potential improvement (a positive or beneficial improvement) and / or a potential degradation (a negative improvement or detriment) in UL and / or DL communications. The UE may report the potential improvement and / or degradation in UL or in DL incurred if the network chooses to select a preferred beam(s) reported by UE in a UE-initiated report(s) as the indicated beam(s). With another type of option, the network may configure the UE with one or more conditions under which to trigger the UE initiated report(s). Both of these options will be described in further detail below.

[0047] As noted above, with a first type of option, the UE may report the potential improvement and / or degradation in UL or in DL incurred if the network chooses to select a preferred beam(s) reported by UE to the network in a UE-initiated report(s) as the indicated beam(s). In the report, the UE may indicate whether the preferred beam is a preferred due to a DL improvement, due to a UL improvements or if it is improving both DL and UL. If the preferred beam is only improving one of the links, the UE may indicate in the report whether there is a quantifiable degradation on the opposite link as a consequence of switching to the beam preferred by UE. The UE may also indicate if this degradation is related to L1-RSRP, L1-SINR, rank, P-MPR, or PH. The UE may indicate a value of the expected degradation. For example, the UE may indicate a differential value such as x dB loss in L1-RSRP (where “x” is a number). Based on this information sent by the UE, the network may choose whether or not to switch to the preferred beam reported by UE.

[0048] As noted above, with a second type of option, the network may configure the UE with one or more conditions under which to trigger the report(s). For example, the conditions may comprise DL L1-RSRP or L1-SINR degradation being less than 3dB. When the network configures the UE for UE-initiated reporting, the network can configure condition(s) and threshold(s) under which a beam may be reported. For example, the condition(s) may be related to minimum improvement, related to maximum acceptable degradation, or related to both. In some examples, the threshold(s) may be absolute or the threshold(s) may be relative to an indicated beam. For example, the network may configure a UE to only report a beam that will improve the UL by at least 3 dB and not detrimentally affect DL by more than 1 dB. This is merely an example and should not be considered as limiting. For example, in one type of embodiment the UE may be configured to only report a beam that will improve the DL by at least X dB, and not affect the UL by more than Y dB (where “X” and “Y” are numbers).

[0049] It should also be noted that the first and second options noted above are not exclusive. For example, another option may be provided which is a mixture of features of the first option and the second option. In some situations, for a beam preferred to be used by the UE, both UL and DL may be improved. In some situations, for the beam preferred to be used by the UE, UL may be improved but DL may either not be improved or be degraded. There is also the situation that there would be a UL improvement and the DL is stable (e.g. a same RSRP as current beam). This would still be an overall improvement for both links. In some situations, for the beam preferred to be used by the UE, UL may either not be improved or be degraded but DL may be improved. These are merely some examples. Also, as noted above, terms such as improved, degraded, stable, etc. regarding a proposed or preferred beam may be based upon a threshold value or relative value, and are not limited to absolute terminology to value(s) with a current beam.

[0050] Referring also to FIG. 3, an example in regard to the first option described above is shown where a UE initiated report(s) may be provided regarding potential improvement and / or degradation in UL and / or DL. Steps 1-7 may comprise the TRP sending the following to the UE: 1. RRC configuration for joint TCI framework; 302 2. RRC configuration for UEIBM; 3043. DL-RSs; 306 4. MAC activation of TCI state(s) for joint UL and DL communication; 308 5. DL-RSs; 310 6. DCI indication of TCI state(s) for joint UL and DL communication; 312 7. PDSCH; 314 With step 8, the UE may provide 316 a PUSCH to the TRP , and the TRP may provide 318 DL-RSs to the UE as shown in step 9.

[0051] As illustrated with 320, the UE may determine DL-RSs measurements. Depending upon conditions the UE may determine a more suitable beam for UL throughput. For example, the UE may review conditions such as Tx antenna gain, MPR, P-MPR, A-MPR and Tx impairments. For example, the UE may determine a more suitable beam for UL throughput although the L1-RSRP measurement yields a smaller value than the indicated TCI state.

[0052] As illustrated with 322, the UE may then send a UE report(s) to the TRP regarding a preferred DL-RS in UEIBM. In one example this report informs the network that the preference is related to UL improvement. The report may optionally provide a value for the UL improvement. In one example this report may inform the network that a DL degradation would occur. The report may optionally provide a value for the DL degradation. Please note that this is merely one example and should not be considered as limiting.

[0053] As illustrated with 324, based, at least partially, upon receipt of the UE report(s), the network may determine whether or not to perform a TCI switch. Depending on the UL improvement and the DL degradation of the preferred TCI state reported in the UEIBM, the network may decide (or not decide) to perform the TCI state switch and to indicate the new TCI state to the UE. At step 13, the TRP may send 326 a DCI indication of the new TCI state for the joint UL and DL communication to the UE, and a PDSCH is sent 328 at step 14. The UE may then send 330 a PUSCH at step 15.

[0054] Referring also to FIG. 4, an example in regard to the second option described above is shown where the network configures the UE with one or more conditions. At step 1 the TRP may provide 402 the UE with a RRC configuration for joint TCI framework. At step 2 the TRP may provide 404 the UE with a RRC configuration for UEIBM. In this example, this mayinclude a threshold value (threshold1) for a minimum UL improvement and a threshold value (threshold2) for a maximum DL degradation. Steps 3-7 may comprise the TRP sending the following to the UE: 3. DL-RSs; 406 4. MAC activation of TCI state(s) for joint UL and DL communication; 408 5. DL-RSs; 410 6. DCI indication of TCI state(s) for joint UL and DL communication; 412 7. PDSCH; 414 With step 8, the UE may provide 416 a PUSCH to the TRP , and the TRP may provide 418 DL-RSs to the UE as shown in step 9.

[0055] As illustrated with 420, the UE may determine DL-RSs measurements. Depending upon conditions the UE may determine a more suitable beam for UL throughput. For example, the UE may review conditions such as Tx antenna gain, MPR, P-MPR, A-MPR and Tx impairments. The UE may select the more suitable beam based upon the threshold(s) sent at step 2; 404, such as UL improvement being greater than (or equal to) the configured threshold1 and / or the DL degradation being less than (or equal to) the configured threshold2.

[0056] As illustrated with 422, the UE may then send a UE report(s) to the network regarding a preferred DL-RS in the UEIBM. As illustrated with 424, based, at least partially, upon receipt of the UE report(s), the network may determine whether or not to perform a TCI switch. Depending on the UL improvement and / or the DL degradation of the preferred TCI state reported in the UEIBM, the network may decide (or not decide) to perform the TCI state switch and to indicate the new TCI state to the UE. At step 13, the TRP may send 426 a DCI indication of the new TCI state for the joint UL and DL communication to the UE, and a PDSCH is sent 428 at step 14. The UE may then send 430 a PUSCH at step 15.

[0057] The network may also configure the UE with different event triggering related parameters such as, for example, a threshold for DL beam and a UL beam reporting triggering. In various examples, the UE may indicate whether the event is for DL and UL beam reporting via one of the following means:• UE is configured with multiple event indication and / or UL resource request signals where at least one corresponds to DL beam reporting and at least one corresponds UL beam reporting. An example could be that UE is configured separate scheduling request resource for DL and UL. • UE explicitly informs in the beam report that the reported DL RS is for DL or UL beam.

[0058] With features as describe herein, the network may be provided with a full understanding of the impact on both DL and UL regarding switching the TCI state to the UE preferred TCI state (reported in the UEIBM). The network may optimize both UL and DL throughput simultaneously by deciding whether or not to switch to the new beam. The network may decide not to switch to the new TCI state if the degradation in UL or DL is considered too large (perhaps a predetermined value or a relative value for example). Alternatively, the network may decide to reduce the amount of reporting by restricting it to the cases where the degradation in UL or DL is negligeable, or for some other value setting or condition.

[0059] The examples described above in regard to FIGS. 3 and 4 mention degradation. However, as noted above, the devices and methods are not necessarily limited to use in regard to a degradation. Computer instructions for implementing features as described herein may be configured to consider degradation and / or stable and / or improvement regarding UL and DL in regard to a proposed or preferred beam(s).

[0060] With features as described herein, a UE-initiated report(s) could be utilized for the UE to report its preferred beam to a network, in addition to currently measured and reported beams. The UE-initiated / event-driven beam management report(s) may be referred to as UEIBM reports.

[0061] In addition to the above options, another option may comprise the network only configuring UE-initiated reports for separate TCI framework rather than joint TCI framework. Additionally, an option may comprise the network configuring UE-initiated reports for both separate TCI framework and joint TCI framework.

[0062] As noted above, conventionally the UE might be using a joint TCI state for the uplink and the downlink. So, if the UE would initiate a report of or a switch to another preferred TCI / beam due to DL reasons, then the UL performance might be degraded (or vice versa) andthe base station would not be aware of the degradation before the switch. Features as described herein may be used to provide a new method of UE initiated beam management.

[0063] A UE, configured with a joint UL-DL TCI states, may transmit, to a base station / TRP / gNB, a UE-initiated report comprising: a preferred beam / TCI state; an indication if the preferred beam is expected to improve at least one of the following: a downlink, an uplink or both the UL and the DL; and a degradation which is expected to occur if the base station / TRP / gNB uses / switches to the reported preferred beam / TCI as an indicated TCI state. The degradation may be comprised in the report if the preferred beam is expected to improve only one of the downlink or the uplink.

[0064] The report may comprise an improvement which is expected to occur if the base station / TRP uses / switches to the preferred beam / TCI as an indicated TCI state. The report may comprise an indication if the degradation is related to at least one of the following: L1-RSRP, L1-SINR, rank, power headroom, or maximum power reduction. The improvement may be in regard to an uplink improvement and the degradation may be in regard a downlink degradation. The improvement may be in regard a downlink improvement and the degradation may be in regard an uplink degradation. The improvement / degradation may be in regard at least one of the following: an absolute value or a differential value (e.g. x dB loss) relative to the indicated beam TCI state. The base station / TRP / gNB may determine based on the report whether or not to switch to the preferred beam / TCI state. The UE may receive a configuration, from by the base station / TRP / gNB, of a condition to trigger / transmit the UE-initiated report, where the condition includes at least one of the following: 1. A threshold of minimum improvement in UL 2. A threshold of maximum degradation in the DL 3. A threshold of minimum improvement in DL 4. A threshold of maximum degradation in the UL

[0065] The threshold may be an absolute value or a differential value (e.g. in [dB]) relative to the indicated beam / TCI state and the threshold is related to at least one of the following: L1- RSRP, L1-SINR, power headroom, or maximum power reduction. The indicated beam / TCIstated may be indicated by a DCI. The UE may indicate, to the base station / TRP / gNB, if the UE-initiated report is related to an UL event or a DL event by at least one of the following: 1. An indication in the UE-initiated report, or 2. Separate scheduling request resources for DL beam reporting and for UL beam reporting.

[0066] Features may be used to provide report content which enables the base station / TRP / gNB to make an informed decision whether to follow the UE suggested beam / TCI switch based on the corresponding expected UL and DL loss and / or gain. The network equipment, such as the gNB or TRP, may be enabled to make an informed decision regarding proposed UE-initiated TCI switching so that the UL or DL performance can be improved and the DL or UL performance degradation can be avoided or minimized, such as not deciding on a switch if the performance degradation would be considered excessive.

[0067] An example embodiment may be provided with an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: determining whether use of a beam will provide an improvement regarding a first communication link with a network; determining whether use of the beam will affect a second communication link with the network; and sending information to the network regarding: the beam, and whether use of the beam will affect the second communication link with the network.

[0068] The apparatus may comprise a user equipment configured with a joint uplink and downlink transmission configuration indicator state. The information may comprise an indication that use of the beam will improve the first communication link. The information may comprise an indication that use of the beam will improve an uplink, a downlink or both the uplink or the downlink. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform, based upon determining that use of the beam will provide the improvement regarding the first communication link with the network and not provide an improvement regarding the second communication link with the network, the information sent to the network comprising an expected degradation of the second communication link with use of the beam. The information may comprise the expected degradation of the secondcommunication link related to at least one of L1-RSRP, RSRQ, L1-SINR, rank, modulation and coding scheme (MCS), power headroom, or maximum power reduction. The apparatus may provide one of: if the first communication link is an uplink, where the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, determine an improvement in the uplink, and the second communication link is a downlink, where the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, determine whether there is degradation in the downlink; or if the first communication link is a downlink, where the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, determine an improvement in the downlink, and the second communication link is an uplink, where the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, determine whether there is degradation in the uplink. The improvement regarding the first communication link and / or the affect regarding the second communication link may be at least one of: an absolute value, or a differential value relative to an indicated beam transmission configuration indicator state. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform receiving an instruction from the network for the apparatus to switch to the beam. The instruction may be indicated with a downlink control information (DCI). The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: receiving condition triggering information related to signals between the apparatus and the network, where the condition triggering information is related to reporting of reference signal measurements; determining occurrence of an event based, at least partially, upon the received condition triggering information; and sending a report to the network regarding the determined occurrence of the event, where the report comprises information regarding the beam. The report may comprise a channel state information (CSI) report. The condition triggering information may comprise at least one of: a threshold of minimum improvement in uplink, a threshold of maximum degradation in the downlink, a threshold of minimum improvement in downlink, or a threshold of maximum degradation in the uplink. The threshold may be an absolute value or a differential value relative to the beam or a transmission configuration indicator state, and the threshold may be related to at least one of: L1-RSRP, RSRQ, L1-SINR, rank, modulation and coding scheme (MCS), power headroom, or maximum power reduction. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform an indication that the information is related to an uplink event or a downlink event by at least one of: an indication in a report containing the information, or a scheduling request regarding resources for downlink beam reporting, or a scheduling request regarding resourcesfor uplink beam reporting. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: receiving condition triggering information related to signals between the apparatus and the network, where the condition triggering information is related to switching of a transmission configuration indicator state; determining occurrence of an event based, at least partially, upon the received condition triggering information; and sending a report to the network regarding the determined occurrence of the event, where the report comprises information regarding the beam. The sending of the information may comprise sending the information in a channel state information (CSI) report.

[0069] Referring also to Fig. 5, an example embodiment may be provided with a method comprising: determining whether use of a beam will provide an improvement regarding a first communication link with a network as illustrated with block 502; determining whether use of the beam will affect a second communication link with the network as illustrated with block 504; and sending information to the network as illustrated with block 506 regarding: the beam, and whether use of the beam will affect the second communication link with the network. The example embodiment may be provided in an apparatus comprises a user equipment configured with a joint uplink and downlink transmission configuration indicator state. The information may comprise an indication that use of the beam will improve the first communication link. The information may comprise an indication that use of the beam will improve an uplink, a downlink or both the uplink and the downlink. The method may comprise, based upon determining that use of the beam will provide the improvement regarding the first communication link with the network and not provide an improvement regarding the second communication link with the network, the information sent to the network comprising an expected degradation of the second communication link with use of the beam. The information may comprise the expected degradation of the second communication link being related to at least one of L1-RSRP, RSRQ, L1-SINR, rank, modulation and coding scheme (MCS), power headroom, or maximum power reduction. The method may comprise one of: the first communication link being an uplink and the method comprises determining an improvement in the uplink, and the second communication link is a downlink and the method comprises determining whether there is degradation in the downlink; or the first communication link being a downlink and the method comprises determining an improvement in the downlink, and the second communication link is an uplink and the method comprises determining whether thereis degradation in the uplink. The improvement regarding the first communication link and / or the affect regarding the second communication link may be at least one of: an absolute value, or a differential value relative to an indicated beam transmission configuration indicator state. The method may comprise receiving an instruction from the network for the apparatus to switch to the beam. The instruction may be indicated with a downlink control information (DCI). The method may comprise: receiving condition triggering information related to signals between the apparatus and the network, where the condition triggering information is related to reporting of reference signal measurements; determining occurrence of an event based, at least partially, upon the received condition triggering information; and sending a report to the network regarding the determined occurrence of the event, where the report comprises information regarding the beam. The report may comprise a channel state information (CSI) report. The condition triggering information may comprise at least one of: a threshold of minimum improvement in uplink, a threshold of maximum degradation in the downlink, a threshold of minimum improvement in downlink, or a threshold of maximum degradation in the uplink. The threshold may be an absolute value or a differential value relative to the beam or a transmission configuration indicator state, and the threshold may be related to at least one of: L1-RSRP, RSRQ, L1-SINR, rank, modulation and coding scheme (MCS), power headroom, or maximum power reduction. The method may comprise indicating that the information is related to an uplink event or a downlink event by at least one of: an indication in a report containing the information, or a scheduling request regarding resources for downlink beam reporting, or a scheduling request regarding resources for uplink beam reporting. The method may comprise: receiving condition triggering information related to signals between the apparatus and the network, where the condition triggering information is related to switching of a transmission configuration indicator state; determining occurrence of an event based, at least partially, upon the received condition triggering information; and sending a report to the network regarding the determined occurrence of the event, where the report comprises information regarding the beam. The sending of the information may comprise sending the information in a channel state information (CSI) report.

[0070] An example embodiment may be provided with an apparatus comprising: means for determining whether use of a beam will provide an improvement regarding a first communication link with a network; means for determining whether use of the beam will affecta second communication link with the network; and means for sending information to the network regarding: the beam, and whether use of the beam will affect the second communication link with the network.

[0071] An example embodiment may be provided with a program storage device readable by an apparatus, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable with the apparatus for performing operations, the operations comprising: determining whether use of a beam will provide an improvement regarding a first communication link with a network; determining whether use of the beam will affect a second communication link with the network; and sending information to the network regarding: the beam, and whether use of the beam will affect the second communication link with the network.

[0072] An example embodiment may be provided with an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: receiving information from a user equipment, where the information comprises information regarding a determined beam for improvement regarding a first communication link between the user equipment and a network, and information regarding whether use of the beam will affect a second communication link between the user equipment and the network; and determining, based upon the received information, whether to perform a switch of a transmission configuration indicator state.

[0073] The transmission configuration indicator state may comprise a joint uplink and downlink transmission configuration indicator state. The information may comprise an indication that use of the determined beam will improve the first communication link. The information may comprise an indication that use of the determined beam will improve an uplink, or a downlink or both the uplink or the downlink. The information may comprise an indication that use of the beam is expected to degrade the second communication link. The indication that use of the beam is expected to degrade the second communication link may be related to at least one of L1-RSRP, L1-SINR, rank, power headroom, or maximum power reduction. The apparatus may be configured such that one of: the first communication link is an uplink, the second communication link is a downlink, and the determining is based upon an improvement in the uplink and a degrade in the downlink which is determined to be acceptable to perform the switch, or the first communication link is a downlink, the second communicationlink is an uplink, and the determining is based upon an improvement in the downlink and a degrade in the uplink which is determined to be acceptable to perform the switch. The improvement regarding the first communication link and / or the affect regarding the second communication link may be at least one of: an absolute value, or a differential value relative to the transmission configuration indicator state. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform sending an instruction from the apparatus for the user equipment to switch to the determined beam. The instruction may be indicated with a downlink control information (DCI). The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: sending condition triggering information related to signals between the apparatus and the user equipment, where the condition triggering information is related to switching of the transmission configuration indicator state upon occurrence of an event; and receiving a report from the user equipment regarding occurrence of the event, where the report comprises information regarding the determined beam. The condition triggering information may comprise at least one of: a threshold of minimum improvement in uplink, a threshold of maximum degradation in the downlink, a threshold of minimum improvement in downlink, or a threshold of maximum degradation in the uplink. The threshold may be an absolute value or a differential value relative to the beam or a transmission configuration indicator state, and the threshold may be related to at least one of: L1-RSRP, L1-SINR, power headroom, or maximum power reduction. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to receive an indication from the user equipment that the information is related to an uplink event or a downlink event by at least one of: an indication in a report containing the information, or a separate scheduling request regarding resources for downlink beam reporting and for uplink beam reporting.

[0074] Referring also to Fig. 6, an example embodiment may be provided with a method comprising: receiving information from a user equipment as illustrated with block 602, where the information comprises information regarding a determined beam for improvement regarding a first communication link between the user equipment and a network, and information regarding whether use of the beam will affect a second communication link between the user equipment and the network; and determining as illustrated with block 604, based upon the received information, whether to perform a switch of a transmission configuration indicator state. The transmission configuration indicator state may comprise ajoint uplink and downlink transmission configuration indicator state. The information may comprise an indication that use of the determined beam will improve the first communication link. The information may comprise an indication that use of the determined beam will improve an uplink, or a downlink or both the uplink or the downlink. The information may comprise an indication that use of the beam is expected to degrade the second communication link. The indication that use of the beam is expected to degrade the second communication link may be related to at least one of L1-RSRP, L1-SINR, rank, power headroom, or maximum power reduction. The method may comprise one of: the first communication link being an uplink, the second communication link is a downlink, and the determining is based upon an improvement in the uplink and a degrade in the downlink which is determined to be acceptable to perform the switch, or the first communication link being a downlink, the second communication link is an uplink, and the determining is based upon an improvement in the downlink and a degrade in the uplink which is determined to be acceptable to perform the switch. The improvement regarding the first communication link and / or the affect regarding the second communication link may be at least one of: an absolute value, or a differential value relative to the transmission configuration indicator state. The method may comprise sending an instruction for the user equipment to switch to the determined beam. The instruction may be indicated with a downlink control information (DCI). The method may comprise: sending condition triggering information related to signals between an apparatus and the user equipment, where the condition triggering information is related to switching of the transmission configuration indicator state upon occurrence of an event; and receiving a report from the user equipment regarding occurrence of the event, where the report comprises information regarding the determined beam. The condition triggering information may comprise at least one of: a threshold of minimum improvement in uplink, a threshold of maximum degradation in the downlink, a threshold of minimum improvement in downlink, or a threshold of maximum degradation in the uplink. The threshold may be an absolute value or a differential value relative to the beam or a transmission configuration indicator state, and the threshold may be related to at least one of: L1-RSRP, L1-SINR, power headroom, or maximum power reduction. The method may comprise receiving an indication from the user equipment that the information is related to an uplink event or a downlink event by at least one of: an indication in a report containing the information, or a separate scheduling request regarding resources for downlink beam reporting and for uplink beam reporting.

[0075] An example embodiment may be provided with an apparatus comprising: means for receiving information from a user equipment, where the information comprises information regarding a determined beam for improvement regarding a first communication link between the user equipment and a network, and information regarding whether use of the beam will affect a second communication link between the user equipment and the network; and means for determining, based upon the received information, whether to perform a switch of a transmission configuration indicator state.

[0076] An example embodiment may be provided with a program storage device readable by an apparatus, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable with the apparatus for performing operations, the operations comprising: receiving information from a user equipment, where the information comprises information regarding a determined beam for improvement regarding a first communication link between the user equipment and a network, and information regarding whether use of the beam will affect a second communication link between the user equipment and the network; and determining, based upon the received information, whether to perform a switch of a transmission configuration indicator state.

[0077] An example embodiment may be provided with an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: receiving condition triggering information related to signals between the apparatus and network equipment of a network; determining occurrence of an event based, at least partially, upon the received condition triggering information; and sending a report to the network regarding the determined occurrence of the event, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the user equipment.

[0078] The sending of the report to the network may comprise sending information regarding signal degradation related to use of the determined beam between the apparatus and the network equipment. The condition triggering information may comprise at least one of: a threshold of minimum improvement in uplink, a threshold of maximum degradation in downlink, a threshold of minimum improvement in the downlink, or a threshold of maximum degradation in the uplink. The threshold may be an absolute value or a differential value relative to the beam or the transmission configuration indicator state, and the threshold may be related to atleast one of: L1-RSRP, RSRQ, L1-SINR, rank, modulation and coding scheme (MCS), power headroom, or maximum power reduction. The event may comprise one of: exceeding the threshold of minimum improvement in the uplink and not exceeding the threshold of maximum degradation in the downlink, or exceeding the threshold of minimum improvement in the downlink and not exceeding the threshold of maximum degradation in the uplink. The information regarding the beam may comprise at least one of: information regarding improvement of the uplink with use of the beam; information regarding improvement of the downlink with use of the beam; information regarding degradation of the uplink with use of the beam; or information regarding degradation of the uplink with use of the beam. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform receiving an indication from the network regarding a new transmission configuration indicator state for the apparatus for a joint uplink and downlink transmission configuration indicator. The indication may be a downlink control information (DCI) indication. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: determining whether use of the beam will provide an improvement regarding a first communication link with a network; and determining whether use of the beam will affect a second communication link with the network. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: sending information to the network regarding: the beam, and whether use of the beam will affect the second communication link with the network. The condition triggering information may be related to switching of a transmission configuration indicator state.

[0079] Referring also to Fig. 7, an example embodiment may be provided with a method comprising: receiving condition triggering information related to signals between an apparatus and network equipment of a network as illustrated with block 702; determining occurrence of an event based, at least partially, upon the received condition triggering information as illustrated with block 704; and sending a report to the network regarding the determined occurrence of the event as illustrated with block 706, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the user equipment. The sending of the report to the network may comprise sending information regarding signal degradation related to use of the determined beam between the apparatus and the network equipment. The condition triggering information may comprise at least one of: a threshold of minimum improvement in uplink, athreshold of maximum degradation in downlink, a threshold of minimum improvement in the downlink, or a threshold of maximum degradation in the uplink. The threshold may be an absolute value or a differential value relative to the beam or the transmission configuration indicator state, and the threshold may be related to at least one of: L1-RSRP, RSRQ, L1-SINR, rank, modulation and coding scheme (MCS), power headroom, or maximum power reduction. The event may comprise one of: exceeding the threshold of minimum improvement in the uplink and not exceeding the threshold of maximum degradation in the downlink, or exceeding the threshold of minimum improvement in the downlink and not exceeding the threshold of maximum degradation in the uplink. The information regarding the beam may comprise at least one of: information regarding improvement of the uplink with use of the beam; information regarding improvement of the downlink with use of the beam; information regarding degradation of the uplink with use of the beam; or information regarding degradation of the uplink with use of the beam. The method may comprise receiving an indication from the network regarding a new transmission configuration indicator state for the apparatus for a joint uplink and downlink transmission configuration indicator. The indication may be a downlink control information (DCI) indication. The method may comprise: determining whether use of the beam will provide an improvement regarding a first communication link with a network; and determining whether use of the beam will affect a second communication link with the network. The method may comprise: sending information to the network regarding: the beam, and whether use of the beam will affect the second communication link with the network. The condition triggering information may be related to switching of a transmission configuration indicator state.

[0080] An example embodiment may be provided with an apparatus comprising: means for receiving condition triggering information related to signals between the apparatus and network equipment of a network; means for determining occurrence of an event based, at least partially, upon the received condition triggering information; and means for sending a report to the network regarding the determined occurrence of the event, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the user equipment.

[0081] An example embodiment may be provided with a program storage device readable by an apparatus, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable with the apparatusfor performing operations, the operations comprising: receiving condition triggering information related to signals between the apparatus and network equipment of a network; determining occurrence of an event based, at least partially, upon the received condition triggering information; and sending a report to the network regarding the determined occurrence of the event, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the user equipment.

[0082] An example embodiment may be provided with an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: sending condition triggering information, related to signals between the apparatus and a user equipment; receiving a report from the user equipment regarding a determined occurrence of an event at the user equipment, where the occurrence of the event was determined based, at least partially, upon the sent condition triggering information, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the user equipment; and determining, based upon the received report, whether to perform a switch of the transmission configuration indicator state for the user equipment.

[0083] The report may comprise information regarding signal degradation related to use of the determined beam between the apparatus and the user equipment. The condition triggering information may comprise at least one of: a threshold of minimum improvement in uplink, a threshold of maximum degradation in downlink, a threshold of minimum improvement in the downlink, or a threshold of maximum degradation in the uplink. The threshold may be an absolute value or a differential value relative to the beam or the transmission configuration indicator state, and the threshold may be related to at least one of: L1-RSRP, RSRQ, L1-SINR, rank, modulation and coding scheme (MCS), power headroom, or maximum power reduction. The event may comprise one of: exceeding the threshold of minimum improvement in the uplink and not exceeding the threshold of maximum degradation in the downlink, or exceeding the threshold of minimum improvement in the downlink and not exceeding the threshold of maximum degradation in the uplink. The information regarding the beam may comprise at least one of: information regarding improvement of the uplink with use of the beam; information regarding improvement of the downlink with use of the beam; information regarding degradation of the uplink with use of the beam; or information regarding degradationof the uplink with use of the beam. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform sending an indication from the apparatus regarding a new transmission configuration indicator state for the user equipment for a joint uplink and downlink transmission configuration indicator. The indication may be a downlink control information (DCI) indication. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: receiving information from the user equipment, where the information has been configured by the user equipment based upon: determining whether use of the beam will provide an improvement regarding a first communication link with a network; and determining whether use of the beam will affect a second communication link with the network. The instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, may cause the apparatus to perform: receiving the information from the user equipment, where the information from the user equipment is in regard to: the beam, and whether use of the beam will affect the second communication link with the network. The condition triggering information may be related to switching a transmission configuration indicator state.

[0084] Referring also to Fig. 8, an example embodiment may be provided with a method comprising: sending condition triggering information, related to signals between an apparatus and a user equipment as illustrated with block 802; receiving a report from the user equipment regarding a determined occurrence of an event at the user equipment as illustrated with block 804, where the occurrence of the event was determined based, at least partially, upon the sent condition triggering information, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the user equipment; and determining as illustrated with block 806, based upon the received report, whether to perform a switch of the transmission configuration indicator state for the user equipment. The report may comprise information regarding signal degradation related to use of the determined beam between the apparatus and the user equipment. The condition triggering information may comprise at least one of: a threshold of minimum improvement in uplink, a threshold of maximum degradation in downlink, a threshold of minimum improvement in the downlink, or a threshold of maximum degradation in the uplink. The threshold may be an absolute value or a differential value relative to the beam or the transmission configuration indicator state, and the threshold may be related to at least one of: L1-RSRP, RSRQ, L1-SINR, rank, modulation and coding scheme (MCS), power headroom, or maximum power reduction. The event may comprise one of: exceeding thethreshold of minimum improvement in the uplink and not exceeding the threshold of maximum degradation in the downlink, or exceeding the threshold of minimum improvement in the downlink and not exceeding the threshold of maximum degradation in the uplink. The information regarding the beam may comprise at least one of: information regarding improvement of the uplink with use of the beam; information regarding improvement of the downlink with use of the beam; information regarding degradation of the uplink with use of the beam; or information regarding degradation of the uplink with use of the beam. The method may comprise sending an indication from the apparatus regarding a new transmission configuration indicator state for the user equipment for a joint uplink and downlink transmission configuration indicator. The indication may be a downlink control information (DCI) indication. The method may comprise: receiving information from the user equipment, where the information has been configured by the user equipment based upon: determining whether use of the beam will provide an improvement regarding a first communication link with a network; and determining whether use of the beam will affect a second communication link with the network. The method may comprise: receiving the information from the user equipment, where the information from the user equipment is in regard to: the beam, and whether use of the beam will affect the second communication link with the network. The condition triggering information may be related to switching a transmission configuration indicator state.

[0085] An example embodiment may be provided with an apparatus comprising: means for sending condition triggering information, related to signals between the apparatus and a user equipment; means for receiving a report from the user equipment regarding a determined occurrence of an event at the user equipment, where the occurrence of the event was determined based, at least partially, upon the sent condition triggering information, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the user equipment; and means for determining, based upon the received report, whether to perform a switch of the transmission configuration indicator state for the user equipment.

[0086] An example embodiment may be provided with a program storage device readable by an apparatus, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable with the apparatus for performing operations, the operations comprising: sending condition triggeringinformation, related to signals between the apparatus and a user equipment; receiving a report from the user equipment regarding a determined occurrence of an event at the user equipment, where the occurrence of the event was determined based, at least partially, upon the sent condition triggering information, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the user equipment; and determining, based upon the received report, whether to perform a switch of the transmission configuration indicator state for the user equipment.

[0087] In one example embodiment an apparatus may be provided comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: determining a beam for communication with equipment of a network; and sending information to the network regarding the determined beam and regarding signal degradation related to use of the determined beam between the apparatus and the equipment.

[0088] In one example embodiment an apparatus may be provided comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: determining whether use of a beam will provide an improvement regarding a first communication link with a network; determining whether use of the beam will provide an improvement regarding a second communication link with the network; and sending information to the network regarding: the beam, and whether use of the beam will provide improvement regarding the second communication link or a signal degradation regarding the second communication link.

[0089] In one example embodiment an apparatus may be provided comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: determining that use of a beam will provide an improvement regarding a first communication link with a network; determining that use of the beam will provide a degradation regarding a second communication link with the network; and sending information to the network regarding: the beam, preference of the beam is related to improvement of the first communication link, and the degradation regarding the second communication link using the beam.

[0090] 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).

[0091] 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 (iii) 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.”

[0092] 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.

[0093] It should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative. Various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art. For example, features recited in the various dependent claims could be combined with each other in any suitable combination(s). In addition, features from different embodiments described above could beselectively combined into a new embodiment. Accordingly, the description is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: receiving condition triggering information related to signals between the apparatus and a network equipment of a network; determining occurrence of an event based, at least partially, upon the received condition triggering information; and sending a report to the network regarding the determined occurrence of the event, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the apparatus.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 where the sending of the report to the network comprises sending information regarding signal degradation related to use of the determined beam between the apparatus and the network equipment.

3. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1-2 where the condition triggering information comprises at least one of: a threshold of minimum improvement in uplink, a threshold of maximum degradation in downlink, a threshold of minimum improvement in the downlink, or a threshold of maximum degradation in the uplink.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3 where the threshold is an absolute value or a differential value relative to the beam or the transmission configuration indicator state, and the threshold is related to at least one of: L1-RSRP, RSRQ, L1-SINR, rank, modulation and coding scheme (MCS), power headroom, or maximum power reduction.

5. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1-4 where the event comprises one of: exceeding the threshold of minimum improvement in the uplink and not exceeding the threshold of maximum degradation in the downlink, or exceeding the threshold of minimum improvement in the downlink and not exceeding the threshold of maximum degradation in the uplink.

6. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1-5 where the information regarding the beam comprises at least one of: information regarding improvement of the uplink with use of the beam; information regarding improvement of the downlink with use of the beam; information regarding degradation of the uplink with use of the beam; or information regarding degradation of the uplink with use of the beam.

7. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1-6 where the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform receiving an indication from the network regarding a new transmission configuration indicator state for the apparatus for a joint uplink and downlink transmission configuration indicator.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7 where the indication is a downlink control information (DCI) indication.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 where the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: determining whether use of the beam will provide an improvement regarding a first communication link with a network; anddetermining whether use of the beam will affect a second communication link with the network.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9 where the instructions, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: sending information to the network regarding: the beam, and whether use of the beam will affect the second communication link with the network.

11. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1-10 where the condition triggering information is related to switching of a transmission configuration indicator state.

12. A method comprising: receiving condition triggering information related to signals between a user equipment and a network equipment of a network; determining occurrence of an event based, at least partially, upon the received condition triggering information; and sending a report to the network regarding the determined occurrence of the event, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the user equipment.

13. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: sending condition triggering information, related to signals between the apparatus and a user equipment;receiving a report from the user equipment regarding a determined occurrence of an event at the user equipment, where the occurrence of the event was determined based, at least partially, upon the sent condition triggering information, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the user equipment; and determining, based upon the received report, whether to perform a switch of the transmission configuration indicator state for the user equipment.

14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 13 where the report comprises information regarding signal degradation related to use of the determined beam between the apparatus and the user equipment.

15. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 13-14 where the condition triggering information comprises at least one of: a threshold of minimum improvement in uplink, a threshold of maximum degradation in downlink, a threshold of minimum improvement in the downlink, or a threshold of maximum degradation in the uplink.

16. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 13-15 where the event comprises one of: exceeding the threshold of minimum improvement in the uplink and not exceeding the threshold of maximum degradation in the downlink, or exceeding the threshold of minimum improvement in the downlink and not exceeding the threshold of maximum degradation in the uplink.

17. The apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 13-16 where the information regarding the beam comprises at least one of: information regarding improvement of the uplink with use of the beam;information regarding improvement of the downlink with use of the beam; information regarding degradation of the uplink with use of the beam; or information regarding degradation of the uplink with use of the beam.

18. An apparatus comprising means for: receiving condition triggering information related to signals between the apparatus and a network equipment of a network; determining occurrence of an event based, at least partially, upon the received condition triggering information; and sending a report to the network regarding the determined occurrence of the event, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the apparatus.

19. An apparatus comprising means for: sending condition triggering information, related to signals between the apparatus and a user equipment; receiving a report from the user equipment regarding a determined occurrence of an event at the user equipment, where the occurrence of the event was determined based, at least partially, upon the sent condition triggering information, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the user equipment; and determining, based upon the received report, whether to perform a switch of the transmission configuration indicator state for the user equipment.

20. A computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving condition triggering information related to signals between the apparatus and a network equipment of a network;determining occurrence of an event based, at least partially, upon the received condition triggering information; and sending a report to the network regarding the determined occurrence of the event, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the apparatus.

21. A computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: sending condition triggering information, related to signals between the apparatus and a user equipment; receiving a report from the user equipment regarding a determined occurrence of an event at the user equipment, where the occurrence of the event was determined based, at least partially, upon the sent condition triggering information, where the report comprises information regarding a beam determined by the user equipment; and determining, based upon the received report, whether to perform a switch of the transmission configuration indicator state for the user equipment.

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