Configuring RS resources for UE initiated beam reporting

Abstract

Systems and methods for configuring Reference Signal (RS) resources for User Equipment (UE) initiated beam reporting are provided. In some embodiments, a method performed by a UE includes: receiving a Channel State Information (CSI) report configuration configuring the UE 5 with a subset of beams of a serving cell for beam measurement; dynamically updating the subset of beams associated to the CSI resource configuration; and transmitting a beam report based on the updated subset of beams. This may result in savings in terms of UE power consumption because UE is configured to measure only a subset of beams at a given time. Also, compared to legacy beam reports, the UE initiated beam measurement and report results in low latency and 0 report overhead.

Description

CONFIGURING RS RESOURCES FOR UE INITIATED BEAM REPORTING RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 575,278, filed April 5, 2024, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to configuring resources. BACKGROUND

[0003] QCL and TCI states

[0004] In NR, two antenna ports are said to be Quasi Co-located (QCL) if certain large scale channel parameters associated to one of the two antenna ports can be inferred from the other antenna port. The supported QCL types in NR include: • 'QCL-TypeA': {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread} • 'QCL-TypeB': {Doppler shift, Doppler spread} • 'QCL-TypeC': {Doppler shift, average delay} • 'QCL-TypeD': {Spatial Rx parameter}

[0005] In NR, an antenna port is defined by a reference signal (RS). Therefore, if two RSs are QCL with certain QCL typeD, a receive spatial filter or beam used for receiving one of the RSs, referred to as target RS, can be used also for receiving the other RS, referred to as source RS. The source RS can be a NZP CSI-RS (Non-zero Power Channel State Information Reference Signal) or a SSB (Synchronization Signals and Physical Broadcast Channel block). The target RS can be a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) for PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) or PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel), or a CSI-RS.

[0006] QCL relation between two RSs is indicated by a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state. A TCI state is configured by the network via TCI-State information element (IE) as shown below, which can comprise up to two QCL types and for each QCL type, a source RS. For beam management, there are always two QCL types and one of the two QCL types is a QCL type-D.TCI-State information element -- ASN1START -- TAG-TCI-STATE-START TCI-State ::= SEQUENCE { tci-StateId TCI-StateId, qcl-Type1 QCL-Info, qcl-Type2 QCL-Info OPTIONAL, -- Need R ..., [[ additionalPCI-r17 AdditionalPCIIndex-r17 OPTIONAL, -- Need R pathlossReferenceRS-Id-r17 PathlossReferenceRS-Id- r17 OPTIONAL, -- Cond JointTCI1 ul-powerControl-r17 Uplink-powerControlId- r17 OPTIONAL -- Cond JointTCI ]], [[ tag-Id-ptr-r18 ENUMERATED {n0,n1} OPTIONAL -- Cond 2TA ]] } QCL-Info ::= SEQUENCE { cell ServCellIndex OPTIONAL, -- Need R bwp-Id BWP-Id OPTIONAL, -- Cond CSI-RS-Indicated referenceSignal CHOICE { csi-rs NZP-CSI-RS- ResourceId, ssb SSB-Index }, qcl-Type ENUMERATED {typeA, typeB, typeC, typeD}, ... } -- TAG-TCI-STATE-STOP -- ASN1STOP

[0007] Beam management with unified TCI framework

[0008] In NR, a spatial beam (or simply beam) is also defined by a reference signal (RS). The RS can be a CSI-RS or an SSB. Downlink (DL) beam management is about determining a downlink beam for downlink transmission to a UE and informing the UE about the downlink beamvia a TCI state comprising a RS for QCL typeD. For example, if a TCI state with a source RS for QCL typeD is indicated to UE for a PDSCH, it is assumed that a receive beam (or spatial filter) previously used for receiving the source RS would be used by the UE to receive the PDSCH.

[0009] For beam management purpose, a list of TCI states can be configured for a UE in a higher layer parameter PDSCH-Config via RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling (see 3gpp TS 38.331 section 6.3.2 for details). Up to 8 TCI states from the list can be activated with a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE).

[0010] In NR Rel-17, a unified beam indication framework was introduced to simplify beam management, in which a common beam applicable to multiple downlink channels and signals such as PDCCH and PDSCH may be indicated to a UE via a unified TCI state. The common beam framework is also referred to a unified TCI state framework.

[0011] The new framework can be RRC configured in one out two modes of operation, i.e., “Joint DL / UL TCI” or “Separate DL / UL TCI”. For “Joint DL / UL TCI”, one Joint TCI state is used for both DL and UL (uplink) signals / channels. For “Separate DL / UL TCI”, one DL-only TCI state is used for DL channels / signals and one UL-only TCI state is used for UL signals / channels. A TCI state configured under the newly introduced Rel-17 framework will henceforth be referred to as a unified TCI state.

[0012] A unified TCI state for DL or joint DL and UL comprises identifiers of two QCL source RSs as shown below, where the first RS is a QCL source RS for one of {typeA, typeB, typeC} QCL types, while the second RS is a QCL source RS for QCL typeD. The second RS is used to indicate a spatial beam or filter associated with the unified TCI state. DLorJoint-TCIState-r17 ::= SEQUENCE { tci-StateUnifiedId-r17 DLorJoint- TCIState-Id-r17, tci-StateType-r17 ENUMERATED {DLOnly, JointULDL}, qcl-Type1-r17 QCL-Info, qcl-Type2-r17 QCL-Info OPTIONAL -- Need R } QCL-Info ::= SEQUENCE { cell ServCellIndex OPTIONAL, -- Need R bwp-Id BWP-Id OPTIONAL, -- Cond CSI-RS-Indicated referenceSignal CHOICE { csi-rs NZP-CSI-RS- ResourceId,ssb SSB-Index }, qcl-Type ENUMERATED {typeA, typeB, typeC, typeD}, ...,

[0013] A unified TCI state can be updated with one of two alternatives: • Two-stage: RRC signaling is used to configure a list of unified TCI states in higher layer parameter PDSCH-config, and a MAC-CE is used to activate one unified TCI state in the list of unified TCI states. • Three-stage: RRC signaling is used to configure a list of unified TCI states in PDSCH- config, a MAC-CE is used to activate up to 8 unified TCI states in the list, and a 3-bit TCI state bitfield in Downlink Control Information (DCI) formats 1_1 or 1_2 is used to indicate one of the activate unified TCI states.

[0014] The one activated or indicated unified TCI state is used in subsequent DL transmissions until a new unified TCI state is activated or indicated.

[0015] In NR terminology, the activation of a TCI state is the same as activation of an associated beam. When a TCI state is activated, the corresponding SSB or CSI-RS with QCL typeD will be tracked by the UE in term of the associated time, frequency and spatial direction (or beam) so that the UE would know how to receive channels / signals transmitted in a associated beam. Therefore, the activated beams can be dynamically switched and indicated by DCI. To switch to a non-activated beam, the beam has to be activated first, which may take a longer time since the UE needs to wait for the next available RS associated to the beam to synchronize to it.

[0016] An example of beam indication with DCI is shown in Figure 1, where eight TCI states (TCI states #3, #7, #9, #12, #25, #36, #42 and #57) are activated. DCI code point 0 indicates the first activated TCI state, which is TCI state #3 in this example, DCI code point 1 indicates the second activated TCI state, which is TCI state #7 in this example, and so on.

[0017] CSI report configuration for beam management (BM)

[0018] The signal quality of a DL beam can be measured and reported by a UE based on a downlink RS, i.e., an SSB or a NZP CSI-RS, associated to the DL beam. The signal quality canbe one of L1-RSRP (layer one (L1) reference signal received power), L1-SINR (signal to interference and noise ratio), or L1-RSRQ (RS received quality).

[0019] In NR, a UE can be configured by the network (or gNB) with one or more Channel State Information (CSI) report configurations. Each CSI report configuration is used to configure a CSI report. A CSI report can be either periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic. CSI reports from the UE can be used to assist the network to perform beam management operations, such as determining a proper beam for transmitting data and / or control channels to the UE. In this case, CSI report is also referred to as beam report.

[0020] A CSI report configuration is signaled in an information element (IE) CSI- ReportConfig in a RRC message. The IE CSI-ReportConfig is defined in TS 38.331, v18.0.0, clause 6.3, and is copied below. It comprises a CSI report identifier (ID), a CSI resource configuration ID for channel measurement, a serving cell index for a serving cell over which the CSI resources are to be measured, a CSI report type, i.e., whether it is periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic, a report quantity indicating what to be reported, and others. For beam management purpose, the report quantity can be L1-RSRP, L1-SINR, CRI (CSI-RS resource indicator), and SSBRI (SSB Resource Indicator). See also TS 38.214, v18.1.0, clause 5.2 for more details.CSI-ReportConfig information element -- ASN1START -- TAG-CSI-REPORTCONFIG-START CSI-ReportConfig ::= SEQUENCE { reportConfigId CSI-ReportConfigId, carrier ServCellIndex OPTIONAL, -- Need S resourcesForChannelMeasurement CSI- ResourceConfigId, csi-IM-ResourcesForInterference CSI-ResourceConfigId OPTIONAL, -- Need R nzp-CSI-RS-ResourcesForInterference CSI-ResourceConfigId OPTIONAL, -- Need R reportConfigType CHOICE { periodic SEQUENCE { reportSlotConfig CSI- ReportPeriodicityAndOffset, pucch-CSI-ResourceList SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofBWPs)) OF PUCCH-CSI-Resource }, semiPersistentOnPUCCH SEQUENCE { reportSlotConfig CSI- ReportPeriodicityAndOffset, pucch-CSI-ResourceList SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofBWPs)) OF PUCCH-CSI-Resource }, semiPersistentOnPUSCH SEQUENCE { reportSlotConfig ENUMERATED {sl5, sl10, sl20, sl40, sl80, sl160, sl320}, reportSlotOffsetList SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxNrofUL-Allocations)) OF INTEGER(0..32), p0alpha P0-PUSCH- AlphaSetId }, aperiodic SEQUENCE { reportSlotOffsetList SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofUL-Allocations)) OF INTEGER(0..32) } }, reportQuantity CHOICE { none NULL, cri-RI-PMI-CQI NULL, cri-RI-i1 NULL, cri-RI-i1-CQI SEQUENCE { pdsch-BundleSizeForCSI ENUMERATED {n2, n4}OPTIONAL -- Need S }, cri-RI-CQI NULL, cri-RSRP NULL,ssb-Index-RSRP NULL, cri-RI-LI-PMI-CQI NULL }, […] CHOICE { enabled NULL, disabled SEQUENCE { nrofReportedRS ENUMERATED {n1, n2, n3, n4} OPTIONAL -- Need S } }, […] r16 CHOICE { cri-SINR-r16 NULL, ssb-Index-SINR-r16 NULL } […] -- TAG-CSI-REPORTCONFIG-STOP -- ASN1STOP

[0021] A CSI resource configuration comprises a list of RS resource sets to be measured, such as NZP CSI-RS resource sets and / or SSB resource sets for a given serving cell. Notice that the UE may measure CSI resources of a first serving cell and report in another serving cell. The IE in which the CSI resource configuration(s) is provided to the UE is described in TS 38.331, v18.0.0, clause 6.3 and is shown below:CSI-ResourceConfig information element -- ASN1START -- TAG-CSI-RESOURCECONFIG-START CSI-ResourceConfig ::= SEQUENCE { csi-ResourceConfigId CSI-ResourceConfigId, csi-RS-ResourceSetList CHOICE { nzp-CSI-RS-SSB SEQUENCE { nzp-CSI-RS-ResourceSetList SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofNZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSetsPerConfig)) OF NZP-CSI-RS- ResourceSetId OPTIONAL, -- Need R csi-SSB-ResourceSetList SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofCSI-SSB-ResourceSetsPerConfig)) OF CSI-SSB- ResourceSetId OPTIONAL -- Need R }, csi-IM-ResourceSetList SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofCSI-IM-ResourceSetsPerConfig)) OF CSI-IM- ResourceSetId }, bwp-Id BWP-Id, resourceType ENUMERATED { aperiodic, semiPersistent, periodic }, ... } -- TAG-CSI-RESOURCECONFIG-STOP -- ASN1STOP

[0022] The CSI or beam report can be on carried on PUCCH (physical Uplink Control Channel) or PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel) as part of UCI (Uplink Control Information).

[0023] UE-initiated / event-driven beam management

[0024] In legacy, the CSI / beam reporting is always NW-initiated. The NW explicitly requests a certain report from the UE, by including a pointer to a certain CSI-ReportConfig in DCI.

[0025] In NR Rel-19, UE initiated beam reporting will be supported in which a UE keeps monitoring the quality of a set of DL beams and sends a beam report only when certain condition is met. Particularly, the following objective has been defined in Rel-19 WID (See, RP-234007, New WID: NR MIMO Phase 5, Dec.2023)Specify enhancement to facilitate UE-initiated / event-driven beam management for reducing overhead and / or latency, assuming the unified TCI while leveraging (as much as possible) legacy CSI measurement and reporting configuration frameworks, targeting FR2 and sTRP with intra- and inter-cell beam management a. UL signaling content(s) (and procedure(s) as required) for UE-initiated / event- driven beam reporting facilitating fast beam switching b. UL signaling medium / container considering the UE-initiated / event-driven nature of the UL transmission, designed primarily for the purpose of beam reporting.

[0026] Importantly, such UE-initiated processes are expected to become more important as the industry moves towards 6G. For instance, it is quite likely that even enhancements of UE- initiated reports will be discussed in Rel-20 or 6G. SUMMARY

[0027] Systems and methods for configuring Reference Signal (RS) resources for User Equipment (UE) initiated beam reporting are provided. In some embodiments, a method performed by a UE includes: receiving a Channel State Information (CSI) report configuration configuring the UE with a subset of beams of a serving cell for beam measurement; dynamically updating the subset of beams associated to the CSI resource configuration; and transmitting a beam report based on the updated subset of beams. This may result in savings in terms of UE power consumption because UE is configured to measure only a subset of beams at a given time. Also, compared to legacy beam reports, the UE initiated beam measurement and report results in low latency and report overhead.

[0028] In some embodiments, dynamically updating the subset comprises: receiving a command to update the set of Reference Signal, RS, resources by adding one or more new RS resources and / or removing one or more existing RS resources. In some embodiments, dynamically updating the subset comprises: receiving a command to activate L Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) states. In some embodiments, the command comprises a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE).

[0029] In some embodiments, the method further includes evaluating the one or more trigger conditions based on channel measurements on the set of RS resources. In some embodiments, the method further includes evaluating the one or more trigger conditions based on channel measurements on the updated RS resources in the set of RS resources.

[0030] In some embodiments, the beam report comprises information about L best beams and / or associated qualities for the one or more events. In some embodiments, transmitting the beam report comprises: sending a beam report to the network when one or more of the trigger conditions are satisfied, where the beam report comprising information of L RS resources in the set of RS resources and associated signal qualities.

[0031] In some embodiments, the updated RS resources comprising RS resources associated to the L TCI states and some non-activated states. In some embodiments, the one or more events are for switching indicated TCI state within the activated TCI states and / or updating activated TCI states.

[0032] In some embodiments, the UE dynamically update the RS resources in the RS resource set associated to the CSI resource configuration when at least one non-activated TCI state of the serving cell becomes an activated TCI state and / or when at least one activated TCI state of the serving cell is deactivated.

[0033] In some embodiments, the UE dynamically update the RS resources in the RS resource set associated to the CSI resource configuration in response to a command indicating to the UE to activate at least one non-activated TCI state of the serving cell and / or indicating to the UE to deactivate at least one activated TCI state of the serving cell.

[0034] In some embodiments, the beams include all currently activated beams and beams that are not activated but are potential candidate beams for future transmission to the UE if the UE moves.

[0035] In some embodiments, dynamically updating the subset of beams comprises updating the subset of beams upon reception of a command in a lower layer. In some embodiments, L is the number of currently activated TCI states.

[0036] In some embodiments, the CSI report configuration comprises a CSI resource configuration for channel measurements and a configuration of one or more events or trigger conditions for UE initiated beam reporting.

[0037] In some embodiments, the CSI resource configuration comprises a set of RS resources. In some embodiments, the set of RS resources comprises Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) or CSI-RS. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

[0039] Figure 1 illustrates an example of beam indication with Downlink Control Information (DCI), where eight Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) states (TCI states #3, #7, #9, #12, #25, #36, #42 and #57) are activated;

[0040] Figure 2 illustrates an example where there are in total 64 Downlink (DL) Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) beams, where five beams (beams 19, 26, 27, 28, 35) are activated and one of the activated beams (i.e., beam 27) is indicated by DCI;

[0041] Figure 3 illustrates an example of configuring and updating a subset of beams for User Equipment (UE) initiated beam reporting in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0042] Figure 4 illustrates a method performed by a UE in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0043] Figure 5 illustrates a method performed by a network node in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0044] Figure 6 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0045] Figure 7 shows a UE in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0046] Figure 8 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0047] Figure 9 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] The embodiments set forth below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure.

[0049] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0050] There currently exist certain challenge(s). In a previous disclosure, a method of UE initiated beam reporting was proposed in which one or more events are configured in a CSI reportand the UE sends a SR to inform the gNB when a condition of at least an event is satisfied. The gNB then sends a legacy aperiodic beam report request to the UE for a beam report on PUSCH. The drawback is that the gNB does not know what event has occurred and thus, what type of beam report should be requested.

[0051] In a previous disclosure, a method was proposed on how to update currently activated beams or TCI states based on UE initiated beam reporting, in which an event is introduced targeting the specific use case, i.e., UE initiates a beam report when, e.g., one or more inactivated beams are an offset / threshold better than any one of the activated beams. In this case, the UE would need to compare the quality between every inactivated beam configured in the CSI report and every activated beam.

[0052] In RAN1#116 meeting (See, Chair notes, RAN1#116, Athens, Greece, February 26th - March 1st, 2024), a list of possible events for UE initiated beam reporting was proposed as follows: • Event-1: Quality of the current beam is worse than a certain threshold. • Event-2: Quality of at least one new beam, such as L1-RSRP, becomes a threshold value better than the current beam. • Event-3: Quality of a new beam is better than a certain threshold. • Event-4: Quality of the current beam is worse than a threshold 1, and quality of at least one new beam is better than a threshold 2.

[0053] One problem is how to configure the RS resources when multiple events are configured for different use cases,. In one option, RS resources associated to all beams are configured for the UE to measure. For example, assume the case where there are in total 64 DL SSB beams as shown in Figure 2, where five beams (beams 19, 26, 27, 28, 35) are activated and one of the activated beams (i.e., beam 27) is indicated by DCI. In this case, all the 64 SSB resources associated to the 64 beams would be configured. It is costly for the UE to measure all the beams and compare the quality to the activated and / or indicated beams. The feedback overhead can also be high since for example, if beams 34, 43, and 36 are offset better than the currently activated beams 19, 26, 28, reporting each of the new beams and the currently activated beams 19, 26, 28 would need 6 bits.

[0054] Another problem is what the UE should include in a UE initiated beam report. In the above example, if the event is for updating the activated TCI states or beams (e.g. indicating which TCI states are to be activated, and which are to be deactivated) and if beams 34, 43, and 36 are an offset (XdB) better than the currently activated beams 19, 26, 28, the beam indices of both thenew beams (34, 43, 36) and the currently activated beams 19, 26, 28 would be needed so that the gNB can remove beams 19, 26, 28 from the set of the activated beams and add beams 34, 43, and 36 to the set of activated beams by activating them. Also, it may be required to indicate the absolute or the relative values of the measurements related to the new beams e.g. L1 RSRP and / or differential L1 RSRP values.

[0055] On the other hand, if the event is about switching the currently indicated beam (i.e., beam 27 in the above example) to another activated beam, e.g., beam 28 in the above example, then only beam 28 needs to be reported. Therefore, the reporting content would be different for different events. This is a problem for UCI based beam reporting because the gNB needs to know the content and size of the UCI in order to decode it. Without knowing the event which triggered the report, the gNB would not know the content and size of the UCI. In such cases, how to configure the RS resources for UE initiated beam report is an open problem.

[0056] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Some embodiments of the current disclosure include a method at a User equipment (UE) for UE-initiated / event-driven beam reporting, in which the UE is configured with a CSI report configuration comprising a CSI resource configuration for channel measurement and one or more events for UE initiated beam reporting (e.g., with one or more trigger conditions). The method comprising one or more of: • The UE receiving a CSI report configuration configuring the UE with a subset of beams of a serving cell for beam measurement. The beams include all currently activated beams and beams that are not activated but are potential candidate beams for future transmission to the UE if the UE moves. • The UE dynamically updating of the subset of beams associated to the CSI resource configuration (e.g., upon reception of a command in a lower layer), and • The UE transmitting a beam report comprising information about L best beams and associated qualities for the one or more events, where L is the number of currently activated TCI states.

[0057] A1: A method at a User equipment (UE) for UE-initiated / event-driven beam reporting, the method comprising: • Receiving from a network a CSI report configuration comprising a CSI resource configuration for channel measurements and a configuration of one or more events ortrigger conditions for UE initiated beam reporting, where the CSI resource configuration comprising a set of RS resources (e.g., SSB or CSI-RS). • Evaluating the one or more trigger conditions based on channel measurements on the set of RS resources. • Sending a beam report to the network when one or more of the trigger conditions are satisfied, where the beam report comprising information of L RS resources in the set of RS resources and associated signal qualities (e.g., L1-RSRP) (regardless which event triggers the beam report), L (L>1) is the number of activated TCI states. • Receiving a command (e.g., MAC CE) to activate L TCI states. • Receiving a command (e.g., a MAC CE) to updating the set of RS resources by adding one or more new RS resources and / or removing one or more existing RS resources, where the updated RS resources comprising RS resources associated to the L TCI states and some non-activated states. • Evaluating the one or more trigger conditions based on channel measurements on the updated RS resources in the set of RS resources.

[0058] A1+, where the one or more events are for switching indicated TCI state within the activated TCI states and / or updating activated TCI states.

[0059] A2. A method of A1 and all, wherein the UE dynamically update the RS resources in the RS resource set associated to the CSI resource configuration when at least one non-activated TCI state of the serving cell becomes an activated TCI state and / or when at least one activated TCI state of the serving cell is deactivated.

[0060] A3. A method of A1 and all, wherein the UE dynamically update the RS resources in the RS resource set associated to the CSI resource configuration in response to a command indicating to the UE to activate at least one non-activated TCI state of the serving cell and / or indicating to the UE to deactivate at least one activated TCI state of the serving cell.

[0061] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). The advantage of the method is savings in terms of UE power consumption because UE is configured to measure only a subset of beams at a given time. In addition, by reporting L CRIs / SSBRIs and the associated L1-RSRP / L1-RSRQ / L1-SINR, a same content and size is used in UE initiated beam reporting regardless of the events. This would allow the reports to be carried on either UCI or MAC CE with controlled overhead and enables the gNB to correctly decode thereceived report. Also, compared to legacy beam reports, the UE initiated beam measurement and report results in low latency and report overhead. The teachings of certain embodiments may improve power consumption.

[0062] Some embodiments of the present disclosure comprise methods of UE initiated, or event triggered beam reporting. The reporting will be used to assist the network to perform beam management i.e., in response to UE initiated beam reporting, the UE receives a command (e.g., MAC CE) to activate at least one new TCI state of a serving cell and / or deactivate at least one existing TCI state of the serving cell.

[0063] A beam is identified by a UE via a RS transmitted with the beam. Thus, the RS is associated with the beam. To indicate to a UE which beam is used for a downlink transmission, the UE is indicated with a TCI state containing a RS associated to the beam as the QCL source RS for QCL type D. In the context of the present disclosure, beam, RS, and TCI state may be used interchangeably.

[0064] In the context of the present disclosure, a beam associated to an activated TCI state is also referred to as an activated beam. A RS associated to an activated beam is also referred to as an activated RS. In the context of the present disclosure, activated TCI state, activated beam, and activated RS are used interchangeably.

[0065] Sometimes, the indicated TCI state may be referred to as the serving beam or the current beam. In other words, the UE assumes that signals received using the indicated TCI state are transmitted by the serving beam. In the context of the present disclosure, indicated TCI state, serving beam, and current beam are used interchangeably. Also, the terms, "candidate beam", "inactivated or non-activated beam" or "new beam" may be used interchangeably. Finally, RS may refer to SSB, CSI-RS or any other RS which is used for beam measurement and report purpose.

[0066] In addition, in the context of the present disclosure, CSI report and beam report are used interchangeably.

[0067] In various embodiments, it is described that “the quality of a first beam becomes an offset or threshold better than a second beam” or simply “a first beam becomes an offset or threshold better than a second beam”. In the context of the present disclosure, it can be expressed as follows: • Quality of a first beam > Quality of a second beam + Offset (or threshold)

[0068] The quality of a beam can be one of followings described in 3GPP TS 38.214 v18.1.0. - L1 Reference Signal Received Power (L1-RSRP) - L1 Reference Signal Received Quality (L1-RSRQ)- L1 Signal-to-noise and Interference Ratio (L1-SINR)

[0069] The quality can also be filtered L1 measurements, e.g., filtered L1-RSRP, filtered L1- RSRQ, filtered L1-SINR etc.

[0070] In the following discussion, it is assumed that a CSI report configuration (i.e., IE CSI- ReportConfig) in NR is extended to include UE initiated reporting as a new report type and one or more events specifying the trigger conditions for triggering a beam report. The CSI report configuration further contains information of a CSI resource configuration (e.g. CSI resource configuration ID) for channel measurement. The CSI resource configuration further indicates a set of RS resources for channel measurement and information on what quality (e.g., L1-RSRP, L1- SINR) to report if one or more of the trigger conditions are satisfied. This may also be interpreted as ‘an initial CSI resource configuration’, and is assumed to be the CSI resource configuration associated to the reporting configuration until the UE receives a lower layer signaling modifying the association and indicating a new resource configuration ID to be associated to that reporting configuration e.g. by the UE receiving a reporting configuration ID and a new CSI resource configuration ID to be associated with.

[0071] The transmission of UE initiated or event triggered beam report may comprise one or more of the following steps. • sending an indication to NW node indicating that a configured event or trigger condition is met. That is, the UE may indicate to the NW node that it needs to send a beam associated with the CSI report configuration. • Receiving a UL grant / resource for transmission of beam report. • Transmitting the beam report in either UCI or MAC CE.

[0072] In response to the beam report, the UE may receive an indication (e.g., DCI) indicating a switching from a current indicated TCI state to another activated TCI state, or UE receives a MAC CE command to update the activated TCI states (e.g., addition or deletion of TCI states in the existing activated TCI states) based on the beam report.

[0073] Embodiments related to CSI resource configuration in a CSI report

[0074] In one option, all RS resources associated the activated TCI states (for QCL type D) are included in the CSI resource configuration for channel measurement (i.e., associated to “resourcesForChannelMeasurement”) in a CSI report configuration (e.g.,”CSI-ReportConfig”) for UE initiated beam reporting. However, this means that if the activated TCI states have beenchanged due to UE movement, the associated RS resources and RS resources associated to beams adjacent to the new activated beams / TCI states also need to be changed / updated.

[0075] One approach is to include RS resources associated to all the beams of a serving cell in the CSI resource configuration. Including RS resources associated to all the beams of a serving cell means that the UE must perform channel / beam measurement for all the RS resources and evaluate the configured events or trigger conditions for each beam, which can be costly and can incur higher power consumption at the UE which, in turn, affects the usefulness of the UE initiated beam reporting.

[0076] In most scenario, the best beam (with the highest quality) after a UE movement in a short time period is likely among the activated beams or beams adjacent to the activated beams. Therefore, only the activated beams or beams adjacent to the activated beams need to be measured and evaluated in most cases.

[0077] Thus, in one approach, the CSI report configuration is reconfigured via RRC signaling with a new CSI resource configuration ID for channel measurement.

[0078] In another approach, the CSI report configuration is removed and a new CSI report configuration comprising a new CSI resource configuration is added.

[0079] For both the approaches above, multiple CSI resource configurations are needed, each of the multiple CSI resource configurations would contain RS resources associated to a subset of the beams in a serving cell. To account for all possible scenarios, many CSI resource configurations would be needed.

[0080] In an alternative approach, a CSI resource configuration is updated with a new set of RS resources. Updating a set of RS resources can already be done via RRC signaling in NR. However, RRC signaling is slow in nature. Therefore, it is preferred to update the set of RS resources contained in the CSI resource configuration dynamically, for example, via MAC CE. The MAC CE can include information such as serving cell ID (e.g., PhyPCI), bandwidth part (BWP) ID, and a list of RS resource IDs to be included in the set of RS resources. When such a MAC CE is received, the UE replaces the existing RS resources in the set of RS resources with the RS resources associated to the list of RS resource IDs signaled in the MAC CE.

[0081] In some embodiment, UE receives explicit or implicit indication about indicated, activated RS resources in the said CSI resource configuration for UE initiated beam report. Since the UE is aware of indicated and activated TCI states, in some embodiment, an implicit indication of the RS resources associated to the activated TCI states may be used. In some embodiment, multiple subsets / lists of RS resources can be configured within one CSI-resource configuration. For example, the first sub list contains RS resources associated to the indicated beam(s), the secondsub list contains RS resources associated to activated beams, and the third sub list contains other RS resources. In some embodiment, the indicated beam(s) are always considered as activated beam(s), hence the second sub list only needs to contain activated beams which are not in the first sub list. Similarly, the indicated and activated beams are always considered as in the set of beams to measure, hence, the third sub list only needs to contain beams-to-measure which are not in the first and second sub lists. In this case, only the RS resources in the third sub list in the CSI resource configuration need to be dynamically updated explicitly with, for example, an MAC CE. The RS resources in the first and second sub lists are implicitly updated. In other words, the UE always perform channel / beam measurements on beams / RS resources associated to the activated TCI states.

[0082] Figure 3 illustrates an example of configuring and updating a subset of beams for UE initiated beam reporting. An example is shown in Figures 3A and 3B, where there are 64 beams in total in a serving cell. Figure 3A illustrates a subset of beams configured for UE initiated beam reporting at time t1. The green marked beam is the indicated beam; the green marked and yellow marked beams are the activated beams; the green marked, yellow marked and blue marked beams are the configured beams-to-measure for UE initiated reporting. Figure 3B illustrates a subset of beams configured for UE initiated beam reporting at time t2. The green marked beam is the indicated beam; the green marked and yellow marked beams are the activated beams; the green marked, yellow marked and blue marked beams are the configured beams-to-measure for UE initiated reporting.

[0083] At time t1, the subset of configured beams for UE initiated beam reporting contains beams {11, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 34, 35, 36, 43}, the activated beams are beams {19, 26, 27, 28, 35}, and the indicated beam is beam #27 as illustrated in Figure 3A. At certain time after time t1, a UE initiated beam report is triggered and based on the beam report, the gNB determines and signals a new indicated beam, a new set of activated beams, and a new set of beams to measure at time t2 as shown in Figure 3B, where the new indicated beam is beam #35, the new activated beams are {27, 34, 35, 36, 43}, and the new beams for beam measurement are {19, 26, 27, 28, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 42, 43, 44, 51}. Assuming the RS resource ID is the same as the associated beam ID, then {19, 26, 27, 28, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 42, 43, 44, 51} would be included in the MAC CE for updating the RS resources for UE initiated beam measurement in this case.

[0084] In one option, one reporting configuration is associated to multiple ‘K’ CSI resource configuration(s), each associated to a CSI resource configuration ID, 0, …,k,.., K-1. Thus, the UE may receive a command (e.g. a MAC CE and / or DCI) which includes a reporting configuration ID and a CSI resource configuration ID to be considered as the activated one e.g. CSI resourceconfiguration ‘k’. Then, when the UE receives the command, the UE considers that the CSI resource configuration with ID=k is associated to that reporting configuration (while others are considered deactivated i.e. non-applicable).

[0085] In another embodiment, the CSI resource configuration is updated based on the TCI state activation or TCI state indication. In other words, the UE determines the CSI resource configuration based on which TCI states are activated or indicated. In one example, the mapping between an indicated TCI state and the CSI resource configuration is provided by a table. An example of a mapping between an indicated TCI state and a set of CSI-RS resources. The UE is configured with this table, and when the UE, for example, is indicated with TCI state 3, it automatically updates the CSI resource configuration to contain CSI-RS-2, CSI-RS-10, CSI-RS- 11, CSI-RS-12, CSI-RS-4. An example of such a table is provided. Indicated CSI resource configuration TCI state TCI1 CSI-RS-2, CSI-RS-9, CSI-RS-10 TCI2 CSI-RS-1, CSI-RS-9, CSI-RS-10, CSI-RS-11, CSI-RS-3 TCI3 CSI-RS-2, CSI-RS-10, CSI-RS-11, CSI-RS-12, CSI-RS-4 TCI4 CSI-RS-3, CSI-RS-11, CSI-RS-12, CSI-RS-13, CSI-RS-5 (a) An example illustrating the TCI states are mapped only to CSI-RS IDs Indicated CSI resource configuration TCI state TCI1 SSB-index-2, SSB-index-9, SSB-index-10 TCI2 SSB-index-1, SSB-index-9, SSB-index-10, SSB-index-11, SSB-index-3 TCI3 SSB-index-2, SSB-index-10, SSB-index-11, SSB-index-12, SSB-index-4 TCI4 SSB-index-3, SSB-index-11, SSB-index-12, SSB-index-13, SSB-index-5 (b) An example illustrating the TCI states are mapped only to SSB-indicesIndicated CSI resource configuration TCI state TCI1 SSB-index-2, SSB-index-9, SSB-index-10 TCI2 SSB-index-1, SSB-index-9, SSB-index-10, SSB-index-11, SSB- index-3 TCI3 CSI-RS-2, CSI-RS-10, CSI-RS-11, CSI-RS-12, CSI-RS-4 TCI4 CSI-RS-3, CSI-RS-11, CSI-RS-12, CSI-RS-13, CSI-RS-5 (c) An example illustrating the TCS states are mapped to both CSI-RS IDs and SSB-indices

[0086] The table can also be used when the UE is activated with multiple TCI states. In this case, the UE would include the CSI-RS resources corresponding to any activated TCI state. Referring to the example table in, if TCI states 2 and 3 are activated, the UE determines the CSI- RS resource configuration to contain CSI-RS-1, CSI-RS-2, CSI-RS-9, CSI-RS-10, CSI-RS-11, CSI-RS-12, CSI-RS-4 and CSI-RS-3.

[0087] In some embodiment, CSI-RS-X in includes a pair of CSI-RS resource set ID and CSI-RS resource ID, or a pair of CSI-SSB-Resource ID and SSB index.

[0088] In some embodiment, since SSBs are cell common DL RSs, NW may configure one mapping table between TCI states and SSB indices common to all BWPs of a serving cell.

[0089] In another approach, a dynamic update to the fields of the IE CSI-ResourceConfig can be made via a MAC CE which signals the UE to restrict reports for measurements on the specific type of RS. Specifically, this means that the UE is constrained report measurements for SSB beams which are few compared to CSI-RS beams.

[0090] In a related embodiment, the set of RS resources associated with a UE initiated beam report is updated simultaneously across multiple serving cells, based on the activated TCI states in one of the serving cells.

[0091] Embodiments related to content of UE initiated beam report

[0092] In a first use case scenario, the UE triggers UE initiated or event triggered CSI report when, for a serving cell, the quality of at least one non-activated beam (e.g., a beam associated to a SSB or CSI-RS configured for CSI report but not associated to any of the activated TCI states) becomes offset better than the quality of at least one activated beam (e.g., a beam that is configured for CSI report and is associated to one of the activated TCI states). See Figure 3 for examples. In this case, the report would include information about the at least one non-activated beam and the at least one activated beam, and the associated signal quality such as L1-RSRP, L1-RSRQ, L1- SINR (in the absolute or relative value). Using the example shown in Figure 3A, the at least onepreviously non-activated beam are beams {34, 36, 43} and the at least one previously activated beam which are supposed to be deactivated are {19, 26, 28}. When the gNB receives the information, the gNB would activate beams {34, 36, 43} and deactivate beams {19, 26, 28}. In one embodiment of the gNB may receive {27, 34, 35, 36, 43} as the set of beams to be activated.

[0093] In a second use case scenario, the UE triggers UE initiated, or event triggered CSI report when, for a serving cell, the quality of one or more activated beams become offset better than the quality of the current indicated beam. In this case, the report would include information about the one or more activated beams and possibly the associated signal quality such as L1-RSRP or information about the best beam(s) among the one or more activated beams. Using the example shown in Figure 3B, the one or more “better” activated beams is beam #35 and the current indicated beam is beam #27. When the gNB receives the information, the gNB would switch the indicated beam from beam #27 to beam #35. In one embodiment, the report may also contain the associated signal quality such as L1-RSRP, L1-RSRQ, L1-SINR (in the absolute or relative value).

[0094] Note that the report contents are different for the two scenarios. If events representing both the two scenarios are configured, the gNB needs to know the event that triggers a beam report in order to receive the beam report correctly if the beam report is carried on UCI.

[0095] In one embodiment, when L TCI states are activated for a UE and a beam report is triggered, the UE reports information about the L top best beams (or L RS resource indicators (RI)) and the associated qualities of the L beams regardless which event triggers the report. The benefit of this approach is that a same beam report can be used for both updating the activated beams and switching the indicated beam, independently of the triggered event. In practice, it is likely that both updating the activated beams and switching the indicated beam are needed at the same time. In some embodiment, the value “L” changes dynamically following e.g., TCI States Activation / Deactivation MAC CEs, and both NW and UE are aware of the change of value “L”. In some embodiment, the value “L” is determined by the number of active TCI states of QCL type D, i.e., the value “L” does not include the active TCI states of e.g., QCL type A.

[0096] In one embodiment, the UE may be implicitly configured with a number of beams to be included in the UE initiated beam report based on, e.g., the maximum number of activated beams (8 in NR).

[0097] Using the example in Figure 3, there are five activated TCI states (i.e., L=5). Therefore, the UE reports L five beam indices {RI(i), i=1,…,5} and their associated beam qualities {Q(i),i=1,…,5}, i.e., • {RI(i), i=1,…,L} = {27,34,35,36,43} • {Q(i),i=1,…,L}

[0098] When the gNB receives the above information, it activates the L beams {27,34,35,36,43}. Based on the beam quality information, the gNB can determine whether the current indicated beam needs to be switched. In this example, the quality of beam 35 is offset better than beam #27, so the gNB determines to switch the indicated beam to beam #35.

[0099] In one embodiment, the UE may report the beam indices {RI(i), i=0,..,L-1} and associated beam qualities {Q(i), i=0,..,L-1} without specific order.

[0100] In one embodiment, the UE may report the beam indices {RI(i), i=0,..,L-1} and associated beam qualities {Q(i)m i=0,..,L-1} following a specific order, e.g., with respect to triggered events: {RI(i)s, Q(i)s} triggered by the Event A {RI(i)s, Q(i)s} triggered by the Event B …

[0101] In some scenarios relating the feedback overhead can be lowered for instance looking at instances related to Event 3 (stated above) the UE only reports a list of pointers within the ordered activated list of TCI states for those beams that are a threshold worse than a new beam.

[0102] In some embodiments, the UE can be configured with a number M of beams to include in the UE initiated beam report where M can be different compared to the number of activated beams L, and / or be different to the number of maximum activated beams Lmax (Lmax in NR is 8, where each of the maximum 8 activated TCI states are associated to a codepoint of a TCI bitfield in DCI). This could be useful for example to reduce beam report overhead if the number of activated beams L is large or Lmax is large. In one related embodiment, a bitfield is included in the beam report, indicating which M out of L (or Lmax) activated beams that should be updated based on a UE initiated report. In one related embodiment, a bitfield of length L (or Lmax) is used, where each bit is indicating if the corresponding activated TCI state should be updated or not (for example, if the length of the bitfield is equal to Lmax=8 and M is set to 2, then a codepoint of 10000001 can be used to indicate that the two beams included in the UE initiated beam report should be used to update the first and the last activated TCI state (e.g., the activated TCI state associated with the first and the last codepoint of the TCI bitfield in DCI). In another embodiment, to save reporting overhead, different codepoints of the bitfield are associated with different candidate options of which M of the L (or Lmax) activated TCI states that should be updated.

[0103] In one embodiment, there is a rule in the specification that maps a reported beam in a UE initiated beam report to a codepoint of the TCI bitfield in DCI. In one related embodiment, a first reported beam in the UE initiated beam report is associated with a first activated TCI statethat should be updated (i.e., an activated TCI state associated with the lowest codepoint of the TCI bitfield in DCI of the activated TCI states that should be updated of the UE initiated beam report), a second reported beam in the UE initiated beam report is associated with a second activated TCI state that should be updated (i.e., an activated TCI state associated with the second lowest codepoint of the TCI bitfield in DCI of the activated TCI states that should be updated of the UE initiated beam report) and so on. For example, assume that 8 TCI states are activated, and they are mapped to TCI field codepoints 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Assume further that a UE initiated beam report contains 8 beams, then the first reported beam in the beam report will be associated with TCI codepoint 0, the second beam in the beam report will be associated with the TCI codepoint 1, and so. By using this implicit mapping, it is not needed to explicitly indicate which reported beams are associated with which TCI bitfield codepoint, which saves overhead signaling.

[0104] In one embodiment related to the first use case scenario above, one or more of the codepoint(s) in activation MAC-CE and / or the “TCI field” in the beam indication DCI are reserved to be used for indicating TCI states associated with UE initiated beam report. In this way, no additional MAC CE activation or deactivation is needed if UE report a non-activated TCI state in the UE initiated beam report. In one example codepoint 3 is reserved to indicate UE selected non- activated TCI, and e.g., beam {34} in Figure 3 is the beam UE reported in the UE initiated report that becomes better than current indicated beam or at least one activated beam, the UE will keep / store the QCL context of this reported beam {34} for a certain period of time after the UE has initiated the reporting procedure or has sent out the UE initiated report to the network. If within this period of time, the gNB would send a beam indication DCI to the UE indicating the reserved codepoint 3 in the TCI field, the UE performs beam switch to the new beam {34} without requiring additional MAC CE activation. If the gNB didn’t sent beam indication DCI using reserved codepoint within certain period of time, the UE will no longer store the QCL context / property of the indicated non-activated beam. This certain period of time is known to the network and UE, the time can be either a pre-defined time period in the specs, or a configured value that is signaled by higher level signaling. One example value of the time period is 100 ms or 100 slots.

[0105] In one alternative embodiment, instead of using “reserved” codepoint, a new field in the DCI is used to indicate the UE to beam switch to the reported “better” beam.

[0106] Figure 4 illustrates a method performed by a user equipment. The method comprises one or more of: receiving (400) a CSI report configuration configuring the UE with a subset of beams of a serving cell for beam measurement; dynamically (402) updating of the subset of beams associated to the CSI resource configuration; and transmitting (404) a beam report.

[0107] Figure 5 illustrates a method performed by a network node. The method comprises one or more of: transmitting (500) a CSI report configuration configuring the UE with a subset of beams of a serving cell for beam measurement; and receiving (502) a beam report based on a dynamically updated subset of beams associated to the CSI resource configuration.

[0108] Figure 6 shows an example of a communication system 600 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0109] In the example, the communication system 600 includes a telecommunication network 602 that includes an access network 604, such as a Radio Access Network (RAN), and a core network 606, which includes one or more core network nodes 608. The access network 604 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 610A and 610B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 610), or any other similar Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP Access Points (APs). Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 602 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 602 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 602, including one or more network nodes 610 and / or core network nodes 608.

[0110] Examples of an ORAN network node include an Open Radio Unit (O-RU), an Open Distributed Unit (O-DU), an Open Central Unit (O-CU), including an O-CU Control Plane (O- CU-CP) or an O-CU User Plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non- real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an A1, F1, W1, E1, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platformorchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 610 facilitate direct or indirect connection of User Equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 612A, 612B, 612C, and 612D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 612) to the core network 606 over one or more wireless connections.

[0111] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 600 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 600 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0112] The UEs 612 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 610 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 610 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 612 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 602 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 602.

[0113] In the depicted example, the core network 606 connects the network nodes 610 to one or more hosts, such as host 616. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 606 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 608) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 608. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-Concealing Function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0114] The host 616 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 604 and / or the telecommunication network 602, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 616 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0115] As a whole, the communication system 600 of Figure 6 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system 600 may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable Second, Third, Fourth, or Fifth Generation (2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G) standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., Sixth Generation (6G)); Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0116] In some examples, the telecommunication network 602 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunication network 602 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 602. For example, the telecommunication network 602 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / massive Internet of Things (IoT) services to yet further UEs.

[0117] In some examples, the UEs 612 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 604 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 604. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-Radio Access Technology (RAT) or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of WiFi, New Radio (NR),and LTE, i.e. being configured for Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC), such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN) NR - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0118] In the example, a hub 614 communicates with the access network 604 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 612C and / or 612D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 610B). In some examples, the hub 614 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 614 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 606 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 614 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 610, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 614. As another example, the hub 614 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 614 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a Virtual Reality (VR) headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 614 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 614 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 614 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy IoT devices.

[0119] The hub 614 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 610B. The hub 614 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 614 and UEs (e.g., UE 612C and / or 612D), and between the hub 614 and the core network 606. In other examples, the hub 614 is connected to the core network 606 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 614 may be configured to connect to a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) service provider over the access network 604 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 610 while still connected via the hub 614 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 614 may be a dedicated hub – that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 610B. In other embodiments, the hub 614 may be a non-dedicated hub – that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and the network node 610B, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0120] Figure 7 shows a UE 700 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate wirelesslywith network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), wireless camera, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, Laptop Embedded Equipment (LEE), Laptop Mounted Equipment (LME), smart device, wireless Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3GPP, including a Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UE, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0121] A UE may support Device-to-Device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I), or Vehicle- to-Everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0122] The UE 700 includes processing circuitry 702 that is operatively coupled via a bus 704 to an input / output interface 706, a power source 708, memory 710, a communication interface 712, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 7. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0123] The processing circuitry 702 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 710. The processing circuitry 702 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 702 may include multiple Central Processing Units (CPUs).

[0124] In the example, the input / output interface 706 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 700. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0125] In some embodiments, the power source 708 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 708 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 708 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 700 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 708. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 708 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 700 to which power is supplied.

[0126] The memory 710 may be or be configured to include memory such as Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Programmable ROM (PROM), Erasable PROM (EPROM), Electrically EPROM (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 710 includes one or more application programs 714, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 716. The memory 710 may store, for use by the UE 700, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0127] The memory 710 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, High Density Digital Versatile Disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, Holographic Digital Data Storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini Dual In-line Memory Module (DIMM),Synchronous Dynamic RAM (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a tamper resistant module in the form of a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) including one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), such as a Universal SIM (USIM) and / or Internet Protocol Multimedia Services Identity Module (ISIM), other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as a ‘SIM card.’ The memory 710 may allow the UE 700 to access instructions, application programs, and the like stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system, may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 710, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0128] The processing circuitry 702 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 712. The communication interface 712 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 722. The communication interface 712 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 718 and / or a receiver 720 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 718 and receiver 720 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., the antenna 722) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0129] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 712 may include cellular communication, WiFi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short- range communications such as Bluetooth, NFC, location-based communication such as the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, NR, UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Quick User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection (QUIC), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0130] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 712, via a wireless connection to a network node.Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected, an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0131] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0132] A UE, when in the form of an IoT device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an IoT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a television, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or VR, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an IoT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the IoT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 700 shown in Figure 7.

[0133] As yet another specific example, in an IoT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship, an airplane, or other equipment thatis capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0134] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0135] Figure 8 shows a network node 800 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, APs (e.g., radio APs), Base Stations (BSs) (e.g., radio BSs, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), NR Node Bs (gNBs)), and O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0136] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node), and / or Remote Radio Units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such RRUs may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a Distributed Antenna System (DAS).

[0137] Other examples of network nodes include multiple Transmission Point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, Multi-Standard Radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as Radio Network Controllers (RNCs) or BS Controllers (BSCs), Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, Multi-Cell / Multicast Coordination Entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0138] The network node 800 includes processing circuitry 802, memory 804, a communication interface 806, and a power source 808. The network node 800 may be composedof multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 800 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 800 may be configured to support multiple RATs. In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 804 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 810 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 800 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 800, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within the network node 800.

[0139] The processing circuitry 802 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, CPU, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 800 components, such as the memory 804, to provide network node 800 functionality.

[0140] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 802 includes a System on a Chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 802 includes one or more of Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 812 and baseband processing circuitry 814. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 812 and the baseband processing circuitry 814 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 812 and the baseband processing circuitry 814 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0141] The memory 804 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, RAM, ROM, mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD), or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable, and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 802. The memory 804 may store any suitable instructions,data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 802 and utilized by the network node 800. The memory 804 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 802 and / or any data received via the communication interface 806. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 802 and the memory 804 are integrated.

[0142] The communication interface 806 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 806 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 816 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 806 also includes radio front-end circuitry 818 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 810. The radio front-end circuitry 818 comprises filters 820 and amplifiers 822. The radio front-end circuitry 818 may be connected to the antenna 810 and the processing circuitry 802. The radio front-end circuitry 818 may be configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 810 and the processing circuitry 802. The radio front-end circuitry 818 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 818 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of the filters 820 and / or the amplifiers 822. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 810. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 810 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 818. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 802. In other embodiments, the communication interface 806 may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0143] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 800 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 818; instead, the processing circuitry 802 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 810. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 812 is part of the communication interface 806. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 806 includes the one or more ports or terminals 816, the radio front-end circuitry 818, and the RF transceiver circuitry 812 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 806 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 814, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0144] The antenna 810 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 810 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 818 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / orsignals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 810 is separate from the network node 800 and connectable to the network node 800 through an interface or port.

[0145] The antenna 810, the communication interface 806, and / or the processing circuitry 802 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node 800. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 810, the communication interface 806, and / or the processing circuitry 802 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node 800. Any information, data, and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment.

[0146] The power source 808 provides power to the various components of the network node 800 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 808 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 800 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 800 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid or an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 808. As a further example, the power source 808 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0147] Embodiments of the network node 800 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 8 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 800 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 800 and to allow output of information from the network node 800. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 800. In some embodiments providing a core network node, such as core network node 108 of FIG. 6, some components, such as the radio front-end circuitry 818 and the RF transceiver circuitry 812 may be omitted.

[0148] Figure 9 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 900 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may includevirtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices, and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more Virtual Machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtualization environments 900 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, a UE, a core network node, or a host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 900 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface. Virtualization may facilitate distributed implementations of a network node, a UE, a core network node, or a host.

[0149] Applications 902 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 900 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0150] Hardware 904 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, an input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 906 (also referred to as hypervisors or Virtual Machine Monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 908A and 908B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 908), and / or perform any of the functions, features, and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 906 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 908.

[0151] The VMs 908 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking, or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 906. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 902 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 908, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as Network Function Virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers and customer premise equipment.

[0152] In the context of NFV, a VM 908 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 908, and that part of the hardware 904 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 908 on top of the hardware 904 and corresponds to the application 902.

[0153] The hardware 904 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. The hardware 904 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 904 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 910, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of the applications 902. In some embodiments, the hardware 904 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 912 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0154] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining, or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components maybe partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0155] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[0156] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

[0157] EMBODIMENTS

[0158] Group A Embodiments

[0159] Embodiment 1: A method performed by a user equipment, the method comprising one or more of: receiving (400) a CSI report configuration configuring the UE with a subset of beams of a serving cell for beam measurement; dynamically (402) updating of the subset of beams associated to the CSI resource configuration; and transmitting (404) a beam report.

[0160] Embodiment 2: The method of any of the previous embodiments further comprising: evaluating the one or more trigger conditions based on channel measurements on the set of RS resources.

[0161] Embodiment 3: The method of any of the previous embodiments further comprising: receiving a command (e.g., MAC CE) to activate L TCI states.

[0162] Embodiment 4: The method of any of the previous embodiments further comprising: receiving a command (e.g., a MAC CE) to update the set of RS resources by adding one or more new RS resources and / or removing one or more existing RS resources.

[0163] Embodiment 5: The method of any of the previous embodiments further comprising: evaluating the one or more trigger conditions based on channel measurements on the updated RS resources in the set of RS resources.

[0164] Embodiment 6: The method of the previous embodiment wherein the beam report comprises information about L best beams and / or associated qualities for the one or more events.

[0165] Embodiment 7: The method of the previous embodiment wherein transmitting the beam report comprises: sending a beam report to the network when one or more of the trigger conditions are satisfied, where the beam report comprising information of L RS resources in the set of RS resources and associated signal qualities (e.g., L1-RSRP).

[0166] Embodiment 8: The method of the previous embodiment wherein the updated RS resources comprising RS resources associated to the L TCI states and some non-activated states.

[0167] Embodiment 9: The method of the previous embodiment wherein the one or more events are for switching indicated TCI state within the activated TCI states and / or updating activated TCI states.

[0168] Embodiment 10: The method of the previous embodiment wherein the UE dynamically update the RS resources in the RS resource set associated to the CSI resource configuration when at least one non-activated TCI state of the serving cell becomes an activated TCI state and / or when at least one activated TCI state of the serving cell is deactivated.

[0169] Embodiment 11: The method of the previous embodiment wherein the UE dynamically update the RS resources in the RS resource set associated to the CSI resource configuration in response to a command indicating to the UE to activate at least one non-activated TCI state of the serving cell and / or indicating to the UE to deactivate at least one activated TCI state of the serving cell.

[0170] Embodiment 12: The method of the previous embodiment wherein the beams include all currently activated beams and beams that are not activated but are potential candidate beams for future transmission to the UE if the UE moves.

[0171] Embodiment 13: The method of any of the previous embodiments wherein dynamically updating the subset of beams comprises updating the subset of beams upon reception of a command in a lower layer.

[0172] Embodiment 14: The method of any of the previous embodiments wherein L is the number of currently activated TCI states.

[0173] Embodiment 15: The method of any of the previous embodiments wherein the CSI report configuration comprises a CSI resource configuration for channel measurements and a configuration of one or more events or trigger conditions for UE initiated beam reporting.

[0174] Embodiment 16: The method of any of the previous embodiments wherein the CSI resource configuration comprises a set of RS resources.

[0175] Embodiment 17: The method of any of the previous embodiments wherein the set of RS resources comprises SSB or CSI-RS.

[0176] Group B Embodiments

[0177] Embodiment 18: A method performed by a network node, the method comprising one or more of: transmitting (500) a CSI report configuration configuring the UE with a subset of beams of a serving cell for beam measurement; and receiving (502) a beam report based on a dynamically updated subset of beams associated to the CSI resource configuration.

[0178] Embodiment 19: The method of any of the previous embodiments further comprising: transmitting a command (e.g., MAC CE) to activate L TCI states.

[0179] Embodiment 20: The method of any of the previous embodiments further comprising: transmitting a command (e.g., a MAC CE) to update the set of RS resources by adding one or more new RS resources and / or removing one or more existing RS resources.

[0180] Embodiment 21: The method of the previous embodiment wherein the beam report comprises information about L best beams and / or associated qualities for the one or more events.

[0181] Embodiment 22: The method of the previous embodiment wherein receiving the beam report comprises: sending a beam report to the network when one or more of the trigger conditions are satisfied, where the beam report comprising information of L RS resources in the set of RS resources and associated signal qualities (e.g., L1-RSRP).

[0182] Embodiment 23: The method of the previous embodiment wherein the updated RS resources comprising RS resources associated to the L TCI states and some non-activated states.

[0183] Embodiment 24: The method of the previous embodiment wherein the one or more events are for switching indicated TCI state within the activated TCI states and / or updating activated TCI states.

[0184] Embodiment 25: The method of the previous embodiment wherein the UE dynamically update the RS resources in the RS resource set associated to the CSI resource configuration when at least one non-activated TCI state of the serving cell becomes an activated TCI state and / or when at least one activated TCI state of the serving cell is deactivated.

[0185] Embodiment 26: The method of the previous embodiment wherein the UE dynamically update the RS resources in the RS resource set associated to the CSI resource configuration in response to a command indicating to the UE to activate at least one non-activated TCI state of the serving cell and / or indicating to the UE to deactivate at least one activated TCI state of the serving cell.

[0186] Embodiment 27: The method of the previous embodiment wherein the beams include all currently activated beams and beams that are not activated but are potential candidate beams for future transmission to the UE if the UE moves.

[0187] Embodiment 28: The method of any of the previous embodiments wherein dynamically updating the subset of beams comprises updating the subset of beams upon reception of a command in a lower layer.

[0188] Embodiment 29: The method of any of the previous embodiments wherein L is the number of currently activated TCI states.

[0189] Embodiment 30: The method of any of the previous embodiments wherein the CSI report configuration comprises a CSI resource configuration for channel measurements and a configuration of one or more events or trigger conditions for UE initiated beam reporting.

[0190] Embodiment 31: The method of any of the previous embodiments wherein the CSI resource configuration comprises a set of RS resources.

[0191] Embodiment 32: The method of any of the previous embodiments wherein the set of RS resources comprises SSB or CSI-RS.

[0192] Group C Embodiments

[0193] Embodiment 33: A user equipment, comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0194] Embodiment 34: A network node, the network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0195] Embodiment 35: A user equipment (UE), the UE comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A method performed by a User Equipment, UE, the method comprising: receiving (400), from a network, a Channel State Information, CSI, report configuration comprising information of a set of reference signal, RS, resources in a serving cell for beam measurement; receiving, from the network, a command to update the set of RS resources with a new set of RS resources in the CSI resource configuration; updating the information of the set of RS resources in the CSI resource configuration with information of the new set of RS resources; performing beam measurement based on the new set of reference signal resources; and, if needed: transmitting (404), to the network, a beam report based on the beam measurement.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the set of RS resources is associated with a beam.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the CSI report configuration is via Radio Resource Control, RRC, signaling.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: receiving a command to activate L (≥ 1) Transmission Configuration Indication, TCI,states, where each of the L TCI states is associated to a reference signal resource.

5. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the beam measurement further comprises beam measurement based on the reference signal resources associated to the L activated TCI states.

6. The method of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the method further comprises: receiving an indication indicating a serving TCI state out of the L activated TCI state, wherein the serving TCI state is referred to as an indicated TCI state.

7. The method of any of claims 1 to 6 where the command comprises a Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Element, CE.

8. The method of any of claims 1 to 7 further comprising:evaluating the one or more trigger conditions based on channel measurements on the updated RS resources in the set of RS resources.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the beam report comprises information about L best beams among the updated RS resources in the set of RS resources and the RS resources associated to the L TCI states, and / or associated beam qualities.

10. The method of any of claims 1 to 9 wherein transmitting the beam report comprises: sending a beam report to the network when one or more of the trigger conditions are satisfied, where the beam report comprising information of L RS resources associated to the L best beams and associated beam qualities.

11. The method of any of claims 1 to 10 wherein the updated RS resources comprising RS resources associated to the L TCI states.

12. The method of any of claims 1 to 11 wherein the one or more events are for switching the indicated TCI state within the activated TCI states and / or updating the activated TCI states.

13. The method of any of claims 1 to 12 wherein the UE dynamically update the RS resources in the RS resource set associated to the CSI report configuration when at least one non-activated TCI state of the serving cell becomes an activated TCI state and / or when at least one activated TCI state of the serving cell is deactivated.

14. The method of any of claims 1 to 13 wherein the UE dynamically update the RS resources in the RS resource set associated to the CSI resource configuration in response to a command indicating to the UE to activate at least one non-activated TCI state of the serving cell and / or indicating to the UE to deactivate at least one activated TCI state of the serving cell.

15. The method of any of claims 1 to 14 wherein the beams include all currently activated beams and beams that are not activated but are potential candidate beams for future transmission to the UE if the UE moves.

16. The method of any of claims 1 to 15 wherein dynamically updating the subset of beams comprises updating the subset of beams upon reception of a command in a lower layer.

17. The method of any of claims 1 to 16 wherein L is the number of currently activated TCI states.

18. The method of any of claims 1 to 17 wherein the CSI report configuration comprises a CSI resource configuration for channel measurements and a configuration of one or more events or trigger conditions for UE initiated beam reporting.

19. The method of any of claims 1 to 18 wherein the CSI resource configuration comprises a set of RS resources.

20. The method of any of claims 1 to 19 wherein the set of RS resources comprises Synchronization Signal Block, SSB, or CSI-RS.

21. A method performed by a network node, the method comprising: transmitting (500), to a User Equipment, UE, a Channel State Information, CSI, report configuration comprising information of a set of reference signal, RS, resources in a serving cell for beam measurement; transmitting, to the UE, a command to update the set of RS resources with a new set of RS resources in the CSI resource configuration; and receiving (502), from the UE, a beam report based on the new set of RS resources.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein each of the set of RS resources is associated with a beam.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein receiving the CSI report configuration is via Radio Resource Control, RRC, signaling.

24. The method of claim 20 further comprising: transmitting a command to activate L (≥ 1) Transmission Configuration Indication, TCI,states, where each of the L TCI states is associated to a reference signal resource.

25. The method of any of claims 21 to 24, wherein the beam measurement further comprises beam measurement based on the reference signal resources associated to the L activated TCI states.

26. The method of any of claims 21 to 25, wherein the method further comprises: transmitting an indication indicating a serving TCI state out of the L activated TCI state, wherein the serving TCI state is referred to as an indicated TCI state.

27. The method of any of claims 21 to 26 further comprising: transmitting a command to update the set of Reference Signal, RS, resources by adding one or more new RS resources and / or removing one or more existing RS resources.

28. The method of any of claims 2210 or 27 where the command comprises a Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Element, CE.

29. The method of any of claims 21 to 28 wherein the beam report comprises information about L best beams among the updated RS resources in the set of RS resources and the RS resources associated to the L TCI states and / or associated beam qualities for the one or more events.

30. The method of any of claims 21 to 29 wherein receiving the beam report comprises: sending a beam report to the network when one or more of the trigger conditions are satisfied, where the beam report comprising information of L RS resources in the set of RS resources and associated beam qualities.

31. The method of any of claims 21 to 30 wherein the updated RS resources comprising RS resources associated to the L TCI states.

32. The method of any of claims 21 to 31 wherein the one or more events are for switching the indicated TCI state within the activated TCI states and / or updating the activated TCI states.

33. The method of any of claims 21 to 32 wherein the UE dynamically update the RS resources in the RS resource set associated to the CSI report configuration when at least one non-activated TCI state of the serving cell becomes an activated TCI state and / or when at least one activated TCI state of the serving cell is deactivated.

34. The method of any of claims 21 to 33 wherein the UE dynamically update the RS resources in the RS resource set associated to the CSI resource configuration in response to a command indicating to the UE to activate at least one non-activated TCI state of the serving cell and / orindicating to the UE to deactivate at least one activated TCI state of the serving cell.

35. The method of any of claims 21 to 34 wherein the beams include all currently activated beams and beams that are not activated but are potential candidate beams for future transmission to the UE if the UE moves.

36. The method of any of claims 21 to 35 wherein dynamically updating the subset of beams comprises updating the subset of beams upon reception of a command in a lower layer.

37. The method of any of claims 21 to 36 wherein L is the number of currently activated TCI states.

38. The method of any of claims 21 to 37 wherein the CSI report configuration comprises a CSI resource configuration for channel measurements and a configuration of one or more events or trigger conditions for UE initiated beam reporting.

39. The method of any of claims 21 to 38 wherein the CSI resource configuration comprises a set of RS resources.

40. The method of any of claims 21 to 39 wherein the set of RS resources comprises Synchronization Signal Block, SSB, or CSI-RS.

41. A User Equipment, UE, (700) comprising processing circuitry (702) and memory (710), the memory (710) comprising instructions to cause the UE (700) to: receive (400), from a network, a Channel State Information, CSI, report configuration comprising information of a set of reference signal, RS, resources in a serving cell for beam measurement; receive, from the network, a command to update the set of RS resources with a new set of RS resources in the CSI resource configuration; update the information of the set of RS resources in the CSI resource configuration with information of the new set of RS resources; perform beam measurement based on the new set of reference signal resources; and, if needed: transmit (404), to the network, a beam report based on the beam measurement.

42. The UE (700) of claim 41 further comprising instructions to cause the UE (700) to: implement any of the features of claims 2-20.

43. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

44. A network node (800) comprising processing circuitry (802) and memory (804), the memory (804) comprising instructions to cause the network node (800) to: transmit (500), to a User Equipment, UE, a Channel State Information, CSI, report configuration comprising information of a set of reference signal, RS, resources in a serving cell for beam measurement; transmit, to the UE, a command to update the set of RS resources with a new set of RS resources in the CSI resource configuration; and receive (502), from the UE, a beam report based on the new set of RS resources.

45. The network node (800) of claim 44 further comprising instructions to cause the network node (800) to: implement any of the features of claims 21-40.

46. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any one of claims 20 to 40.

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