Method and device for UE-initiated beam reporting operation

Abstract

This method performed by a UE for a beam reporting operation comprises the steps of: detecting an event; determining at least one beam reporting control parameter among a beam reporting period, the number of beam reports, and a beam reporting time according to the detected event; and transmitting, to a base station, a beam report based on the detected event according to the at least one beam reporting control parameter.

Description

Method and device for terminal-driven beam reporting operation

[0001] The present invention relates to a beam management method in a mobile communication system, and more particularly, to a UE-initiated / event-driven beam reporting method and a device therefor.

[0002] Communication networks (e.g., 5G communication networks, 6G communication networks, etc.) are being developed to provide improved communication services compared to existing communication networks (e.g., long term evolution (LTE), advanced LTE-A (LTE-A), etc.). 5G communication networks (e.g., new radio (NR) communication networks) can support frequency bands above 6 GHz as well as frequency bands below 6 GHz. That is, 5G communication networks can support FR1 bands and / or FR2 bands. 5G communication networks can support various communication services and scenarios compared to LTE communication networks. For example, usage scenarios of 5G communication networks can include enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC), massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), etc.

[0003] Compared to 5G, 6G communication networks can support a wider range of communication services and scenarios. 6G communication networks can meet requirements for ultra-high performance, ultra-high bandwidth, ultra-high space, ultra-high precision, ultra-intelligence, and / or ultra-reliability. 6G communication networks can support diverse and wide frequency bands and be applied to various usage scenarios (e.g., terrestrial communications, non-terrestrial communications, sidelink communications, etc.).

[0004] Meanwhile, 3GPP (3 rd In Release-19 of the 5GPP, standardization of user equipment-initiated (UEI) / event-driven (ED) beam management is underway to resolve the problems of conventional network-driven beam management. Unlike conventional network-driven beam management, UE-initiated / event-driven beam management is a method in which UEs proactively perform beam management because they can recognize the current beam status and beam change trends relatively quickly compared to base stations. However, specific beam reporting operations for UE-initiated / event-driven beam management have not yet been defined.

[0005] The purpose of the present disclosure to solve the above problems is to provide a UE-initiated / event-driven beam reporting method and a device therefor.

[0006] A method of a terminal according to embodiments of the present disclosure for achieving the above object may include: detecting an event; determining at least one beam report control parameter among a beam report period, a beam report number, or a beam report execution time according to the detected event; and transmitting a beam report based on the detected event to a base station according to the at least one beam report control parameter.

[0007] The method further comprises: receiving configuration information from the base station, the configuration information including at least one of the beam reporting period, the number of beam reports, or the beam reporting execution time, or including information necessary to determine at least one of the beam reporting period, the number of beam reports, or the beam reporting execution time, wherein the at least one beam reporting control parameter can be determined based on the configuration information.

[0008] The above setting information can be generated for each event type.

[0009] The at least one beam reporting control parameter may be determined by the terminal based on a state of the terminal, an operation of the terminal, and / or an environment of the terminal.

[0010] If the at least one beam report control parameter includes a beam report period, in the step of transmitting the beam report to the base station, the beam report can be performed continuously according to the beam report period until the triggering condition of the event is released.

[0011] If the at least one beam report control parameter includes a beam report count, in the step of transmitting the beam report to the base station, the beam report can be performed as many times as the beam report count.

[0012] Even if the number of times the beam report is performed does not reach the number of beam reports, the beam report may be stopped when the triggering condition of the event is released.

[0013] If the at least one beam report control parameter includes a beam report execution time, in the step of transmitting the beam report to the base station, the beam report can be performed during the beam report execution time until the triggering condition of the event is released.

[0014] A method of a terminal according to embodiments of the present disclosure for achieving the above object may include: detecting a first event when a triggering condition of the first event is satisfied; starting a first timer for withholding a beam report based on the first event; and transmitting a beam report based on the first event to a base station when the first timer expires and the triggering condition of the first event is maintained to be satisfied.

[0015] The method may further include: if a triggering condition of the first event is changed to not be satisfied before the first timer expires, canceling the first event without transmitting a beam report based on the first event to the base station.

[0016] The method may further include: starting a first timer to cancel the first event and suspend beam reporting based on the second event if a second event different from the first event is detected before expiration of the first timer.

[0017] The method may further include: if a second event different from the first event is detected before the expiration of the first timer, ignoring the second event.

[0018] The method further comprises: receiving configuration information including whether the first timer is applicable and / or a timer value for the first timer from the base station, wherein the first timer can be started based on the configuration information.

[0019] The above setting information can be generated for each event type.

[0020] Whether the first timer is applied and / or the timer value for the first timer may be determined by the terminal based on the status of the terminal, the operation of the terminal, and / or the environment of the terminal.

[0021] A method of a terminal according to embodiments of the present disclosure for achieving the above object may include: detecting a first event when a triggering condition of the first event is satisfied; starting a first timer to prevent repetition of a beam report based on the first event; and transmitting a beam report based on the first event to a base station when an event identical to the first event occurs less than a specific number of times before the expiration of the first timer.

[0022] The method may further include: if an event identical to the first event occurs a certain number of times or more before the expiration of the first timer, canceling the first event without transmitting a beam report based on the first event.

[0023] The method may further include: if a second event different from the first event is detected before the expiration of the first timer, canceling the first event and starting a first timer to prevent repetition of beam reporting based on the second event.

[0024] The method further comprises: receiving configuration information including whether the first timer is applicable and / or a timer value for the first timer from the base station, wherein the first timer can be started based on the configuration information.

[0025] Whether the first timer is applied and / or the timer value for the first timer may be determined by the terminal based on the status of the terminal, the operation of the terminal, and / or the environment of the terminal.

[0026] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, in terminal-driven / event-driven beam reporting operations, the beam reporting cycle, the number of beam reports, and / or the time for performing beam reports can be dynamically adjusted based on the terminal's status, operation, and / or environment. Furthermore, when an event is detected, beam reports can be withheld for a certain period of time instead of being transmitted immediately, or unnecessary beam reports can be prevented by detecting repetitive event detections over a certain period of time. Therefore, the overall system performance can be improved.

[0027] Figure 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a communication system.

[0028] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a communication node constituting a communication system.

[0029] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of communication nodes performing communication.

[0030] Figure 4a is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a transmission path.

[0031] Figure 4b is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a receiving path.

[0032] Figure 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a system frame in a communication system.

[0033] Figure 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a subframe in a communication system.

[0034] Figure 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a slot in a communication system.

[0035] Figure 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of time-frequency resources in a communication system.

[0036] Figure 9 is a flowchart for explaining Mode A operation to which embodiments of the present invention are applied.

[0037] Figure 10 is a flowchart for explaining Mode B operation to which embodiments of the present invention are applied.

[0038] FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining a method for setting a beam reporting operation according to embodiments of the present invention.

[0039] FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining a timer-based beam reporting operation according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining a timer-based beam reporting operation according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] This disclosure may be subject to various modifications and various embodiments. Specific embodiments are illustrated and described in detail in the drawings. However, this is not intended to limit the disclosure to specific embodiments, but rather to encompass all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and technical scope of the disclosure.

[0042] While terms such as "first" and "second" may be used to describe various components, these components should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used solely to distinguish one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, a first component could be referred to as a "second component," and similarly, a second component could also be referred to as a "first component." The term "and / or" may refer to a combination of multiple related items described herein or to any of multiple related items described herein.

[0043] In the present disclosure, “at least one of A and B” may mean “at least one of A or B” or “at least one of combinations of one or more of A and B.” Additionally, in the present disclosure, “at least one of A and B” may mean “at least one of A or B” or “at least one of combinations of one or more of A and B.”

[0044] In the present disclosure, (re)transmission may mean “transmission,” “retransmission,” or “transmission and retransmission,” (re)setting may mean “setting,” “resetting,” or “setting and resetting,” (re)connection may mean “connection,” “reconnection,” or “connection and reconnection,” and (re)connection may mean “connection,” “reconnection,” or “connection and reconnection.”

[0045] When a component is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that it may be directly connected or connected to that other component, but that there may be other components intervening. Conversely, when a component is referred to as being "directly connected" or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that there are no other components intervening.

[0046] The terminology used in this disclosure is only used to describe specific embodiments and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this disclosure, it should be understood that the terms "comprises" or "has" indicate the presence of a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0047] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology, and shall not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined herein.

[0048] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to the attached drawings. In order to facilitate an overall understanding in describing the present disclosure, the same reference numerals will be used for identical components in the drawings, and redundant descriptions of identical components will be omitted. In addition to the embodiments explicitly described in the present disclosure, operations may be performed according to combinations of embodiments, extensions of embodiments, and / or modifications of embodiments. The performance of some operations may be omitted, and the order of operation may be changed.

[0049] In an embodiment, even if a method (e.g., transmitting or receiving a signal) performed by a first communication node among communication nodes is described, a corresponding second communication node can perform a method (e.g., receiving or transmitting a signal) corresponding to the method performed by the first communication node. That is, if an operation of a UE (user equipment) is described, a corresponding base station can perform an operation corresponding to the operation of the UE. Conversely, if an operation of a base station is described, a corresponding UE can perform an operation corresponding to the operation of the base station.

[0050] A base station may be referred to as a NodeB, an evolved NodeB, a gNodeB (next generation node B), a gNB, a device, an apparatus, a node, a communication node, a BTS (base transceiver station), a RRH (radio remote head), a TRP (transmission reception point), a RU (radio unit), an RSU (road side unit), a radio transceiver, an access point, an access node, etc. A UE may be referred to as a terminal, a device, an apparatus, a node, a communication node, an end node, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a station, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a portable subscriber station, an OBU (on-broad unit), etc.

[0051] In the present disclosure, signaling may be at least one of upper layer signaling, MAC signaling, or PHY (physical) signaling. A message used for upper layer signaling may be referred to as an "upper layer message" or an "upper layer signaling message." A message used for MAC signaling may be referred to as a "MAC message" or a "MAC signaling message." A message used for PHY signaling may be referred to as a "PHY message" or a "PHY signaling message." Upper layer signaling may refer to a transmission and reception operation of system information (e.g., a master information block (MIB), a system information block (SIB)) and / or an RRC message. MAC signaling may refer to a transmission and reception operation of a MAC control element (CE). PHY signaling may refer to a transmission and reception operation of control information (e.g., downlink control information (DCI), uplink control information (UCI), sidelink control information (SCI)).

[0052] In the present disclosure, “an operation (e.g., a transmission operation) is set” may mean that “setting information for the operation (e.g., an information element, a parameter)” and / or “information instructing the performance of the operation” is signaled. “An information element (e.g., a parameter) is set” may mean that the information element is signaled. In the present disclosure, “a signal and / or a channel” may mean a signal, a channel, or “a signal and a channel,” and a signal may be used to mean “a signal and / or a channel.”

[0053] The communication networks to which the embodiments are applied are not limited to those described below, and the embodiments may be applied to various communication networks (e.g., 4G communication networks, 5G communication networks, and / or 6G communication networks). Here, the term "communication network" may be used interchangeably with the term "communication system."

[0054] Figure 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a communication system.

[0055] Referring to FIG. 1, the communication system (100) may include a plurality of communication nodes (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2, 130-1, 130-2, 130-3, 130-4, 130-5, 130-6). In addition, the communication system (100) may further include a core network (e.g., a serving-gateway (S-GW), a packet data network (PDN)-gateway (P-GW), a mobility management entity (MME)). If the communication system (100) is a 5G communication system (e.g., a new radio (NR) system), the core network may include an access and mobility management function (AMF), a user plane function (UPF), a session management function (SMF), etc.

[0056] A plurality of communication nodes (110 to 130) can support a communication protocol (e.g., LTE communication protocol, LTE-A communication protocol, NR communication protocol, etc.) specified in the 3GPP (3rd generation partnership project) standard. The plurality of communication nodes (110 to 130) may support CDMA (code division multiple access) technology, WCDMA (wideband CDMA) technology, TDMA (time division multiple access) technology, FDMA (frequency division multiple access) technology, OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) technology, Filtered OFDM technology, CP (cyclic prefix)-OFDM technology, DFT-s-OFDM (discrete Fourier transform-spread-OFDM) technology, OFDMA (orthogonal frequency division multiple access) technology, SC (single carrier)-FDMA technology, NOMA (non-orthogonal multiple access) technology, GFDM (generalized frequency division multiplexing) technology, FBMC (filter bank multi-carrier) technology, UFMC (universal filtered multi-carrier) technology, SDMA (space division multiple access) technology, etc. Each of the plurality of communication nodes may have the following structure.

[0057] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a communication node constituting a communication system.

[0058] Referring to FIG. 2, a communication node (200) may include at least one processor (210), a memory (220), and a transmission / reception device (230) that is connected to a network and performs communication. In addition, the communication node (200) may further include an input interface device (240), an output interface device (250), a storage device (260), etc. Each component included in the communication node (200) may be connected by a bus (270) and communicate with each other.

[0059] The processor (210) can execute program commands stored in at least one of the memory (220) and the storage device (260). The processor (210) may refer to a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or a dedicated processor in which the methods according to embodiments of the present disclosure are performed. Each of the memory (220) and the storage device (260) may be configured with at least one of a volatile storage medium and a non-volatile storage medium. For example, the memory (220) may be configured with at least one of a read-only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM).

[0060] Referring again to FIG. 1, the communication system (100) may include a plurality of base stations (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2) and a plurality of terminals (130-1, 130-2, 130-3, 130-4, 130-5, 130-6). Each of the first base station (110-1), the second base station (110-2), and the third base station (110-3) may form a macro cell. Each of the fourth base station (120-1) and the fifth base station (120-2) may form a small cell. The fourth base station (120-1), the third terminal (130-3), and the fourth terminal (130-4) may be within the cell coverage of the first base station (110-1). The second terminal (130-2), the fourth terminal (130-4), and the fifth terminal (130-5) may be within the cell coverage of the second base station (110-2). The fifth base station (120-2), the fourth terminal (130-4), the fifth terminal (130-5), and the sixth terminal (130-6) may be within the cell coverage of the third base station (110-3). The first terminal (130-1) may be within the cell coverage of the fourth base station (120-1). The sixth terminal (130-6) may be within the cell coverage of the fifth base station (120-2).

[0061] Here, each of the plurality of base stations (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2) may be referred to as a NodeB (NB), an evolved NodeB (eNB), a gNB, an advanced base station (ABS), a high reliability-base station (HR-BS), a base transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station, a radio transceiver, an access point, an access node, a radio access station (RAS), a mobile multihop relay-base station (MMR-BS), a relay station (RS), an advanced relay station (ARS), a high reliability-relay station (HR-RS), a home NodeB (HNB), a home eNodeB (HeNB), a road side unit (RSU), a radio remote head (RRH), a transmission point (TP), a transmission and reception point (TRP), etc.

[0062] Each of the plurality of terminals (130-1, 130-2, 130-3, 130-4, 130-5, 130-6) may be referred to as a user equipment (UE), terminal equipment (TE), advanced mobile station (AMS), high reliability-mobile station (HR-MS), terminal, access terminal, mobile terminal, station, subscriber station, mobile station, portable subscriber station, node, device, on board unit (OBU), etc.

[0063] Meanwhile, each of the plurality of base stations (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2) may operate in a different frequency band or may operate in the same frequency band. Each of the plurality of base stations (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2) may be connected to each other via an ideal backhaul link or a non-ideal backhaul link, and may exchange information with each other via the ideal backhaul link or the non-ideal backhaul link. Each of the plurality of base stations (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2) may be connected to the core network via the ideal backhaul link or the non-ideal backhaul link. Each of the plurality of base stations (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2) can transmit a signal received from the core network to the corresponding terminal (130-1, 130-2, 130-3, 130-4, 130-5, 130-6), and can transmit a signal received from the corresponding terminal (130-1, 130-2, 130-3, 130-4, 130-5, 130-6) to the core network.

[0064] Additionally, each of the plurality of base stations (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2) may support MIMO transmission (e.g., single user (SU)-MIMO, multi user (MU)-MIMO, massive MIMO, etc.), coordinated multipoint (CoMP) transmission, carrier aggregation (CA) transmission, transmission in an unlicensed band, sidelink communication (e.g., device to device communication (D2D), proximity services (ProSe)), Internet of Things (IoT) communication, dual connectivity (DC), etc. Here, each of the plurality of terminals (130-1, 130-2, 130-3, 130-4, 130-5, 130-6) can perform an operation corresponding to the base station (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2) and an operation supported by the base station (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2). For example, the second base station (110-2) can transmit a signal to the fourth terminal (130-4) based on the SU-MIMO scheme, and the fourth terminal (130-4) can receive a signal from the second base station (110-2) by the SU-MIMO scheme. Alternatively, the second base station (110-2) can transmit signals to the fourth terminal (130-4) and the fifth terminal (130-5) based on the MU-MIMO method, and each of the fourth terminal (130-4) and the fifth terminal (130-5) can receive signals from the second base station (110-2) based on the MU-MIMO method.

[0065] Each of the first base station (110-1), the second base station (110-2), and the third base station (110-3) can transmit a signal to the fourth terminal (130-4) based on the CoMP scheme, and the fourth terminal (130-4) can receive a signal from the first base station (110-1), the second base station (110-2), and the third base station (110-3) based on the CoMP scheme. Each of the plurality of base stations (110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 120-1, 120-2) can transmit and receive a signal with terminals (130-1, 130-2, 130-3, 130-4, 130-5, 130-6) within its cell coverage based on the CA scheme. Each of the first base station (110-1), the second base station (110-2), and the third base station (110-3) can control sidelink communication between the fourth terminal (130-4) and the fifth terminal (130-5), and each of the fourth terminal (130-4) and the fifth terminal (130-5) can perform sidelink communication under the control of the second base station (110-2) and the third base station (110-3), respectively.

[0066] Meanwhile, communication nodes performing communication in a communication network may be configured as follows. The communication node illustrated in Fig. 3 may be a specific embodiment of the communication node illustrated in Fig. 2.

[0067] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of communication nodes performing communication.

[0068] Referring to FIG. 3, each of the first communication node (300a) and the second communication node (300b) may be a base station or a UE. The first communication node (300a) may transmit a signal to the second communication node (300b). The transmission processor (311) included in the first communication node (300a) may receive data (e.g., a data unit) from a data source (310). The transmission processor (311) may receive control information from the controller (316). The control information may include at least one of system information, RRC configuration information (e.g., information configured by RRC signaling), MAC control information (e.g., MAC CE), or PHY control information (e.g., DCI, SCI).

[0069] The transmitting processor (311) may perform a processing operation on data (e.g., an encoding operation, a symbol mapping operation, etc.) to generate data symbol(s). The transmitting processor (311) may perform a processing operation on control information (e.g., an encoding operation, a symbol mapping operation, etc.) to generate control symbol(s). In addition, the transmitting processor (311) may generate synchronization / reference symbol(s) for a synchronization signal and / or a reference signal.

[0070] The Tx MIMO processor (312) may perform a spatial processing operation (e.g., a precoding operation) on data symbol(s), control symbol(s), and / or synchronization / reference symbol(s). The output (e.g., a symbol stream) of the Tx MIMO processor (312) may be provided to modulators (MODs) included in the transceivers (313a to 313t). The modulators (MODs) may perform a processing operation on the symbol stream to generate modulation symbols, and may perform an additional processing operation (e.g., an analog conversion operation, an amplification operation, a filtering operation, an upconversion operation) on the modulation symbols to generate signals. The signals generated by the modulators (MODs) of the transceivers (313a to 313t) may be transmitted via the antennas (314a to 314t).

[0071] Signals transmitted by the first communication node (300a) may be received by antennas (364a to 364r) of the second communication node (300b). Signals received by the antennas (364a to 364r) may be provided to demodulators (DEMODs) included in transceivers (363a to 363r). The demodulator (DEMOD) may perform a processing operation (e.g., a filtering operation, an amplification operation, a downconversion operation, a digital conversion operation) on the signal to obtain samples. The demodulator (DEMOD) may perform an additional processing operation on the samples to obtain symbols. The MIMO detector (362) may perform a MIMO detection operation on the symbols. The receiving processor (361) may perform a processing operation (e.g., a deinterleaving operation, a decoding operation) on the symbols. The output of the receiving processor (361) may be provided to a data sink (360) and a controller (366). For example, data may be provided to the data sink (360), and control information may be provided to the controller (366).

[0072] Meanwhile, the second communication node (300b) can transmit a signal to the first communication node (300a). The transmitting processor (368) included in the second communication node (300b) can receive data (e.g., data units) from a data source (367) and perform a processing operation on the data to generate data symbol(s). The transmitting processor (368) can receive control information from the controller (366) and perform a processing operation on the control information to generate control symbol(s). In addition, the transmitting processor (368) can perform a processing operation on a reference signal to generate reference symbol(s).

[0073] The Tx MIMO processor (369) may perform spatial processing operations (e.g., precoding operations) on data symbol(s), control symbol(s), and / or reference symbol(s). The output (e.g., symbol stream) of the Tx MIMO processor (369) may be provided to modulators (MODs) included in the transceivers (363a to 363t). The modulators (MODs) may perform processing operations on the symbol streams to generate modulation symbols, and may perform additional processing operations (e.g., analog conversion operations, amplification operations, filtering operations, upconversion operations) on the modulation symbols to generate signals. The signals generated by the modulators (MODs) of the transceivers (363a to 363t) may be transmitted via the antennas (364a to 364t).

[0074] Signals transmitted by the second communication node (300b) may be received by the antennas (314a to 314r) of the first communication node (300a). The signals received by the antennas (314a to 314r) may be provided to demodulators (DEMODs) included in the transceivers (313a to 313r). The demodulator (DEMOD) may perform a processing operation (e.g., a filtering operation, an amplification operation, a downconversion operation, a digital conversion operation) on the signal to obtain samples. The demodulator (DEMOD) may perform an additional processing operation on the samples to obtain symbols. The MIMO detector (320) may perform a MIMO detection operation on the symbols. The receiving processor (319) may perform a processing operation (e.g., a deinterleaving operation, a decoding operation) on the symbols. The output of the receiving processor (319) may be provided to a data sink (318) and a controller (316). For example, data may be provided to the data sink (318) and control information may be provided to the controller (316).

[0075] Memories (315 and 365) can store data, control information, and / or program code. Scheduler (317) can perform scheduling operations for communication. The processors (311, 312, 319, 361, 368, 369) and controllers (316, 366) illustrated in FIG. 3 may be the processor (210) illustrated in FIG. 2 and may be used to perform the methods described in the present disclosure.

[0076] FIG. 4a is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a transmission path, and FIG. 4b is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a reception path.

[0077] Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, a transmission path (410) may be implemented in a communication node that transmits a signal, and a reception path (420) may be implemented in a communication node that receives a signal. The transmission path (410) may include a channel coding and modulation block (411), an S-to-P (serial-to-parallel) block (512), an N IFFT (Inverse Fast Fourier Transform) block (413), a P-to-S (parallel-to-serial) block (414), a CP (cyclic prefix) addition block (415), and an UC (up-converter) (UC) (416). The receiving path (420) may include a DC (down-converter) (421), a CP removal block (422), an S-to-P block (423), an N FFT block (424), a P-to-S block (425), and a channel decoding and demodulation block (426). Here, N may be a natural number.

[0078] In the transmission path (410), information bits may be input to a channel coding and modulation block (411). The channel coding and modulation block (411) may perform a coding operation (e.g., a low-density parity check (LDPC) coding operation, a polar coding operation, etc.) and a modulation operation (e.g., a quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), etc.) on the information bits. The output of the channel coding and modulation block (411) may be a sequence of modulation symbols.

[0079] The S-to-P block (412) can convert modulation symbols in the frequency domain into parallel symbol streams to generate N parallel symbol streams. N can be an IFFT size or an FFT size. The N IFFT block (413) can perform an IFFT operation on the N parallel symbol streams to generate signals in the time domain. The P-to-S block (414) can convert the output (e.g., parallel signals) of the N IFFT block (413) into a serial signal to generate a serial signal.

[0080] The CP addition block (415) can insert a CP into a signal. The UC (416) can up-convert the frequency of the output of the CP addition block (415) to an RF (radio frequency) frequency. Additionally, the output of the CP addition block (415) can be filtered at the baseband before up-conversion.

[0081] A signal transmitted from a transmission path (410) may be input to a reception path (420). An operation in the reception path (420) may be the reverse operation of the operation in the transmission path (410). A DC (421) may down-convert the frequency of the received signal to a baseband frequency. A CP removal block (422) may remove a CP from a signal. The output of the CP removal block (422) may be a serial signal. An S-to-P block (423) may convert the serial signal into parallel signals. An N FFT block (424) may perform an FFT algorithm to generate N parallel signals. A P-to-S block (425) may convert the parallel signals into a sequence of modulation symbols. A channel decoding and demodulation block (426) may perform a demodulation operation on the modulation symbols and perform a decoding operation on the result of the demodulation operation to restore data.

[0082] In FIGS. 4A and 4B , Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) and Inverse DFT (IDFT) may be used instead of FFT and IFFT. Each of the blocks (e.g., components) in FIGS. 4A and 4B may be implemented by at least one of hardware, software, or firmware. For example, some of the blocks in FIGS. 4A and 4B may be implemented by software, and the remaining blocks may be implemented by hardware or a “combination of hardware and software.” In FIGS. 4A and 4B , a block may be subdivided into multiple blocks, multiple blocks may be integrated into a single block, some blocks may be omitted, and blocks supporting other functions may be added.

[0083] Figure 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a system frame in a communication system.

[0084] Referring to FIG. 5, time resources in a communication system can be divided into frame units. For example, system frames can be set consecutively in the time domain of the communication system. The length of a system frame can be 10 ms (milliseconds). The system frame number (SFN) can be set from #0 to #1023. In this case, 1024 system frames can be repeated in the time domain of the communication system. For example, the SFN of the system frame after system frame #1023 can be #0.

[0085] A system frame may include two half frames. A half frame may be 5 ms long. A half frame located at the beginning of the system frame may be referred to as "half frame #0," and a half frame located at the end of the system frame may be referred to as "half frame #1." A system frame may include 10 subframes. A subframe may be 1 ms long. The 10 subframes within a system frame may be referred to as "subframes #0-9."

[0086] Figure 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a subframe in a communication system.

[0087] Referring to FIG. 6, one subframe may include n slots, where n may be a natural number. Accordingly, one subframe may be composed of one or more slots.

[0088] Figure 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a slot in a communication system.

[0089] Referring to Figure 7, a single slot may include one or more symbols. A single slot illustrated in Figure 7 may include 14 symbols. The length of a slot may vary depending on the number and length of symbols contained in the slot. Alternatively, the length of a slot may vary depending on the numerology.

[0090] In a communication system, the numerology applied to physical signals and channels may be variable. The numerology may be variable to meet various technical requirements of the communication system. In a communication system applying CP (cyclic prefix)-based OFDM waveform technology, the numerology may include subcarrier spacing and CP length (or CP type). Table 1 may be a first embodiment of a method for configuring a numerology for a CP-OFDM-based communication system. At least some of the numerologies in Table 1 may be supported depending on the frequency band in which the communication system operates. In addition, the communication system may additionally support numerologies not listed in Table 1.

[0091] Subcarrier spacing 15kHz 30kHz 60kHz 120kHz 240kHz 480kHz OFDM symbol length (㎲) 66.733.316.78.34.22.1 CP length (㎲) 4.762.381.190.600.300.151 Number of OFDM symbols in ㎳ 142856112224448

[0092]

[0093] When the subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz (e.g., μ=0), the slot length can be 1 ms. In this case, one system frame can contain 10 slots. When the subcarrier spacing is 30 kHz (e.g., μ=1), the slot length can be 0.5 ms. In this case, one system frame can contain 20 slots.

[0094] When the subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz (e.g., μ=2), the slot length can be 0.25 ms. In this case, one system frame can contain 40 slots. When the subcarrier spacing is 120 kHz (e.g., μ=3), the slot length can be 0.125 ms. In this case, one system frame can contain 80 slots. When the subcarrier spacing is 240 kHz (e.g., μ=4), the slot length can be 0.0625 ms. In this case, one system frame can contain 160 slots.

[0095] A symbol may be configured as a downlink (DL) symbol, a flexible (FL) symbol, or an uplink (UL) symbol. A slot consisting solely of DL symbols may be referred to as a "DL slot," a slot consisting solely of FL symbols may be referred to as an "FL slot," and a slot consisting solely of UL symbols may be referred to as a "UL slot."

[0096] The slot format can be semi-statically configured by higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling). Information indicating the semi-static slot format can be included in the system information, and the semi-static slot format can be configured cell-specifically. In addition, the semi-static slot format can be additionally configured for each terminal through terminal-specific higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling). The flexible symbol of the cell-specifically configured slot format can be overridden to a downlink symbol or an uplink symbol by terminal-specific higher layer signaling. In addition, the slot format can be dynamically indicated by physical layer signaling (e.g., a slot format indicator (SFI) included in DCI). The semi-statically configured slot format can be overridden by a dynamically indicated slot format. For example, the semi-statically configured flexible symbol can be overridden to a downlink symbol or an uplink symbol by the SFI.

[0097] The reference signal may be a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS), a demodulation-reference signal (DM-RS), a phase tracking-reference signal (PT-RS), etc. The channel may be a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), etc. In the present disclosure, a control channel may mean a PDCCH, a PUCCH, or a PSCCH, and a data channel may mean a PDSCH, a PUSCH, or a PSSCH.

[0098] Figure 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first embodiment of time-frequency resources in a communication system.

[0099] Referring to FIG. 8, a resource consisting of one symbol (e.g., an OFDM symbol) in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain may be defined as a "RE (resource element)". Resources consisting of one OFDM symbol in the time domain and K subcarriers in the frequency domain may be defined as a "REG (resource element group)". A REG may include K REs. A REG may be used as a basic unit for resource allocation in the frequency domain. K may be a natural number. For example, K may be 12. N may be a natural number. In the slot illustrated in FIG. 7, N may be 14. N OFDM symbols may be used as a basic unit for resource allocation in the time domain.

[0100] In the present disclosure, RB may mean CRB (common RB). Alternatively, RB may mean PRB or VRB (virtual RB). In a communication system, CRB may mean RB that constitutes a set of consecutive RBs (e.g., a common RB grid) based on a reference frequency (e.g., point A). Carriers and / or bandwidth portions may be arranged on the common RB grid. That is, the carrier and / or bandwidth portions may be composed of CRB(s). RBs or CRBs that constitute the bandwidth portions may be referred to as PRBs, and within the bandwidth portions, the CRB index may be appropriately converted to the PRB index.

[0101] Downlink data can be transmitted via the PDSCH. The base station can transmit PDSCH configuration information (e.g., scheduling information) to the terminal via the PDCCH. The terminal can obtain the PDSCH configuration information by receiving the PDCCH (e.g., downlink control information (DCI)). For example, the PDSCH configuration information can include the MCS (modulation coding scheme) used for transmitting and receiving the PDSCH, time resource information of the PDSCH, frequency resource information of the PDSCH, feedback resource information for the PDSCH, etc. The PDSCH can refer to a radio resource through which downlink data is transmitted and received. Alternatively, the PDSCH can refer to the downlink data itself. The PDCCH can refer to a radio resource through which downlink control information (e.g., DCI) is transmitted and received. Alternatively, the PDCCH can refer to the downlink control information itself.

[0102] A terminal can perform a monitoring operation on the PDCCH to receive a PDSCH transmitted from a base station. The base station can inform the terminal of the configuration information for the PDCCH monitoring operation using a higher layer message (e.g., an RRC (radio resource control) message). The configuration information for the PDCCH monitoring operation can include CORESET (control resource set) information and search space information.

[0103] CORESET information may include PDCCH DMRS (demodulation reference signal) information, PDCCH precoding information, PDCCH occasion information, etc. The PDCCH DMRS may be a DMRS used to demodulate the PDCCH. The PDCCH occasion may be a region where the PDCCH can exist. That is, the PDCCH occasion may be a region where DCI can be transmitted. The PDCCH occasion may be referred to as a PDCCH candidate. The PDCCH occasion information may include time resource information and frequency resource information of the PDCCH occasion. In the time domain, the length of the PDCCH occasion may be indicated in symbol units. In the frequency domain, the size of the PDCCH occasion may be indicated in RB units (e.g., in PRB (physical resource block) units or CRB (common resource block) units).

[0104] The search space information may include a coreset identifier (ID) associated with the search space, a period of PDCCH monitoring, and / or an offset. The period and offset of PDCCH monitoring may each be indicated on a slot-by-slot basis. In addition, the search space information may further include an index of the symbol at which the PDCCH monitoring operation begins.

[0105] A base station can configure a bandwidth part (BWP) for downlink communication. The BWP can be configured differently for each terminal. The base station can inform the terminal of the BWP configuration information using higher layer signaling. The higher layer signaling can mean "transmission operation of system information" and / or "transmission operation of RRC (radio resource control) message." The number of BWPs configured for one terminal can be one or more. The terminal can receive BWP configuration information from the base station and check the BWP(s) configured by the base station based on the BWP configuration information. When multiple BWPs are configured for downlink communication, the base station can activate one or more BWPs among the multiple BWPs. The base station can transmit the configuration information of the activated BWP(s) to the terminal using at least one of higher layer signaling, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), or DCI. The base station can perform downlink communication using the activated BWP(s). The terminal can identify the activated BWP(s) by receiving configuration information of the activated BWP(s) from the base station, and perform a downlink reception operation in the activated BWP(s).

[0106]

[0107] Discussions are underway to improve intra-cell and inter-cell beam management, based on the work item description (WID) for 3GPP Rel-19 NR MIMO discussions. These improvements primarily target FR2 bands and single transmission / reception point (sTRP) scenarios, leveraging existing legacy CSI measurement and reporting configuration procedures while reducing overhead and latency.

[0108] To this end, UE-initiated (UEI) / event-driven (ED) beam management procedures are being discussed. The beam management methods defined up to Rel-18 were network-based. In other words, in network-initiated beam management, the network (i.e., the base station) can instruct the terminal to switch to a specific beam for DL ​​reception or UL transmission. In this case, the base station receives a measurement report from the terminal and issues an instruction based on the measurement report, so the base station cannot determine the optimal beam until it receives the measurement report transmitted by the terminal.

[0109] If the beam management operation is initiated from the terminal side, which can first detect the change in the beam, the delay time (e.g., the time required for the base station to instruct the terminal to perform a measurement report and to receive the measurement report from the terminal based on the instruction) and signal overhead (e.g., the overhead of the signal from the network to instruct the terminal to perform a measurement report) can be reduced compared to the network-based beam management operation.

[0110]

[0111] Meanwhile, at the 3GPP RAN 1 meetings (RAN #116 and RAN #116-bis), outline beam report transmission procedures for UEI / ED beam reporting were approved.

[0112] First, the beam report transmission procedure is largely divided into Mode A and Mode B, and the outline of the procedure for each mode is as follows.

[0113] First, Mode A is a method of dynamically scheduling uplink control information (UCI) for beam reporting by the base station, and can be performed in the following three steps.

[0114] Step 1: The terminal may transmit the first UL channel requesting resources for the second UL channel for transmitting the beam report. The first UL channel consists of a PUCCH (i.e., the first PUCCH) containing single-bit information or multi-bit information, and the PUCCH may follow the existing SR (scheduling request) type or the new UCI type.

[0115] Step 2: The terminal can detect the DCI format indicating the resources of the second UL channel. In this case, no new DCI format is introduced.

[0116] Step 3: The terminal can transmit a beam report on a second UL channel. In this case, the second UL channel can be PUCCH, PUSCH, or both.

[0117] Mode A is a basic function of the terminal, and all terminals that support UEI / ED beam reporting must support this function.

[0118] Meanwhile, Mode B is a method of transmitting UCI on pre-configured resources for the second UL channel, and can be performed in the following two-step operation.

[0119] Step 1: The UE may transmit a first UL channel notifying that a beam report will be transmitted on a second UL channel. The first UL channel consists of a PUCCH (i.e., the first PUCCH) containing single-bit information or multi-bit information, and the PUCCH may follow the existing SR (scheduling request) type or the new UCI type.

[0120] Step 2: The terminal can transmit a beam report on a second UL channel. As in Mode A, the second UL channel can be PUCCH, PUSCH, or both.

[0121] In Mode B, the notification in step 1 and the beam report in step 2 are transmitted as separate reporting instances, and it is not determined whether the terminal receives confirmation information in response to each step in Mode A and Mode B.

[0122] Additionally, cross-CC (component carrier) beam reporting can be supported in both Mode A and Mode B in the above procedures.

[0123]

[0124] As described above, for UEI / ED beam reporting operation, a process (Step 1) is required in all modes, where information is first transmitted from the terminal to the base station. In Mode A, where resources for beam reporting are not pre-allocated, the terminal can request resources for beam reporting from the base station. In Mode B, where resources for beam reporting are pre-allocated, the terminal can notify the base station that it will use the pre-allocated resources for beam reporting.

[0125]

[0126] Figure 9 is a flowchart for explaining Mode A operation to which embodiments of the present invention are applied.

[0127] Referring to FIG. 9, a terminal may detect at least one event (S910). In this case, the terminal may detect at least one event among the previously described event(s) (e.g., Event-1 to Event-9). If at least one event is detected, the terminal requests resources for beam reporting through a first UL channel (i.e., first PUCCH) (S920), and a base station that receives the first UL channel may indicate resources of a second UL channel to be used by the terminal to transmit the beam report through DCI (S930). Thereafter, the terminal may transmit the second UL channel including the beam report by utilizing the corresponding resources (S940).

[0128] Figure 10 is a flowchart for explaining Mode B operation to which embodiments of the present invention are applied.

[0129] Referring to FIG. 10, a terminal may detect at least one event (S1010). In this case, the terminal may detect at least one event among the previously described event(s) (e.g., Event-1 to Event-9). If at least one event is detected, the terminal may notify the base station that it will transmit second UL channel(s) using preset resources via the first UL channel (i.e., the first PUCCH) (S1020). Thereafter, the terminal may transmit the second UL channel(s) including a beam report to the base station using the preset resources (S1040).

[0130] In this case, the terminal may transmit the second UL channel(s) after receiving an acknowledgement message (e.g., an ACK (acknowledgement) message or a notification message consisting of a 1-bit indicator) (i.e., S1330 of FIG. 13) indicating that the first PUCCH has been received from the base station. Alternatively, the terminal may transmit the second UL channel(s) in a slot or symbol after a predetermined offset from a time point associated with transmission of the first PUCCH (e.g., a slot or symbol in which the first PUCCH (e.g., the last symbol constituting the first PUCCH) is transmitted) without receiving an acknowledgement message for the first PUCCH from the base station. For example, if it is not confirmed that the first PUCCH has not been normally received by the base station until the predetermined offset has elapsed from the time point associated with transmission of the first PUCCH, the terminal may transmit the second UL channel(s) in a slot or symbol after a predetermined offset from the time point associated with transmission of the first PUCCH. In this case, the offset may be set from the base station to the terminal in symbol, subslot, slot, subframe, or absolute time units, or may be predefined in the technical specifications. Meanwhile, since there may be cases where the terminal does not receive the acknowledgement message even though the base station has transmitted the acknowledgement message, the base station may transmit the acknowledgement message more than once.

[0131]

[0132] Meanwhile, the following events are being discussed as events that trigger the above-described UEI / ED beam report.

[0133] -Event-1: The quality of the current beam (e.g. L1-RSRP, etc.) falls below a certain threshold.

[0134] -Event-2: The quality of at least one new beam is improved by a threshold amount compared to the current beam.

[0135] -Event-3: The quality of the new beam exceeds a certain threshold.

[0136] -Event-4: The quality of the current beam becomes lower than threshold 1, and the quality of at least one new beam becomes higher than threshold 2.

[0137] -Event-5: The absolute value of the difference between the quality of the current beam and the quality of at least one new beam becomes less than a certain threshold.

[0138] -Event-6: The current beam is not included in the top K(>1) beams configured for measurement and reporting.

[0139] -Event-7a: The quality of at least one new beam (e.g. L1-RSRP) improves by a certain threshold compared to the quality derived from the lowest quality RS among the active TCI states.

[0140] -Event-7b: The quality of at least one new beam (e.g. L1-RSRP) improves by a certain threshold compared to the quality derived from the highest quality RS among the active TCI states.

[0141] -Event-8: The quality of M(>1) new beams (e.g. L1-RSRP) is improved by a certain threshold compared to the current beam.

[0142] -Event-9: The quality of at least one new beam (e.g. L1-RSRP) is improved by a certain threshold compared to the configured reference RS (possibly SSB or CSI-RS).

[0143]

[0144] As described above, only various events that trigger beam reporting and their triggering conditions have been defined, but specific procedures for operations after event triggering have not yet been defined. With regard to operations after event triggering, a procedure for stopping the beam reporting operation may be considered. Here, the procedure for stopping the beam reporting operation may mean a procedure for stopping the beam reporting operation when a condition for stopping the beam reporting operation (e.g., an event release condition) is satisfied after the above event occurs and the terminal (UE) performs a beam report to the base station.

[0145] Additionally, a procedure for controlling the periodicity of performing beam reporting, the number of times the beam reporting operation is performed, and / or the time for performing the beam reporting operation before a condition for stopping the beam reporting operation is reached may be considered. The total number of beam reporting operations transmitted from the terminal to the base station may be determined based on the period, number of times, and / or time described above.

[0146] However, if the number of beam reporting operations increases excessively, the frequent beam reporting may increase overhead. Furthermore, unnecessary and frequent beam switching procedures may be triggered at the terminal or base station. Therefore, methods are required to control the frequency, number of times, or duration of beam reporting before reaching a condition that stops the beam reporting operation, as well as the conditions for triggering the beam reporting event.

[0147] Below, methods for controlling the beam report cycle, the number of beam reports, or the beam report execution time (i.e., beam report control parameter(s)) for performing beam reports in a beam report operation are described.

[0148]

[0149] Controlling the cycle of performing beam reporting

[0150] In one embodiment, the periodicity for performing beam reporting before a condition (e.g., an event release condition) that stops beam reporting operation is reached may be set based on specific conditions. The specific conditions may include factors related to the state or operation of the terminal, or the surrounding environment in which the terminal is located.

[0151] Specifically, the status conditions related to the terminal may include signal quality indicators for the quality of the current beam (e.g., L1-RSRP, L1-RSRQ, L1-SINR) or the quality of the new beam (e.g., L1-RSRP, L1-RSRQ, L1-SINR). In addition, a beam reporting period may be set by comparing the quality with a specific threshold value. For example, if the quality of the current beam is high, i.e., the signal strength is strong and the channel environment is stable, the beam reporting period may be set long. On the other hand, if the quality of the current beam is low or has high variability, more frequent beam reporting may be required, and thus the beam reporting period may be set short.

[0152] Operating conditions related to the terminal can also influence the beam reporting cycle setting. For example, if the terminal is moving, especially at a fast speed, the channel environment is likely to change significantly. In such cases, a short beam reporting cycle can be set to perform frequent beam reports, allowing for more precise determination of beam switching or handover timing. Conversely, if the terminal is moving slowly or stationary, the channel environment is likely to be relatively stable, so a long beam reporting cycle can be set.

[0153] Additionally, cases where signal quality changes rapidly due to terminal rotation or blockage caused by obstacles can be considered. If the terminal rotates rapidly, the signal strength of the current beam may decrease rapidly, necessitating a switch to a new beam. Therefore, setting a short beam reporting period can support rapid selection of the optimal beam. Conversely, if the terminal maintains a constant orientation, setting a long beam reporting period can be used.

[0154] The surrounding environment where a terminal is located can also affect the beam reporting period. For example, if the terminal is located in a multipath environment, such as a densely populated building, tunnel, or indoor environment, the channel environment is likely to be unstable, so setting a shorter beam reporting period may be advantageous. Conversely, if the terminal is located in an open area or high-altitude location, signal quality fluctuations may be relatively minimal, allowing for a longer beam reporting period.

[0155] Considering these conditions comprehensively, the beam reporting period can be dynamically set. For example, if the current beam quality is high and / or the terminal speed is slow, the beam reporting period can be set relatively long. Conversely, if the current beam quality is low or unstable and / or the terminal speed is fast, the beam reporting period can be set short.

[0156] The above-described beam reporting cycle may be determined by the terminal itself based on factors related to the state or operation related to the terminal, or the surrounding environment in which the terminal is located, or the base station may determine the beam reporting cycle by checking information about the state or operation related to the terminal, or the surrounding environment in which the terminal is located, and provide the terminal with setting information about the determined beam reporting cycle. In this case, the information about the state or operation related to the terminal, or the surrounding environment in which the terminal is located, may be explicitly or implicitly reported by the terminal to the base station. Additionally or alternatively, the information about the state or operation related to the terminal, or the surrounding environment in which the terminal is located, may be derived by the base station based on information collected by the base station, or may be predicted by the base station.

[0157] Such beam reporting cycle configuration information can be delivered to the terminal in various ways. For example, beam reporting cycle configuration information can be delivered via Uplink Control Information (UCI), Medium Access Control Control Element (MAC-CE), and / or Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. Additionally, depending on specific conditions, beam reporting cycle configuration information may be delivered via another transmission channel.

[0158] In certain circumstances, the base station can provide the UE with beam reporting cycle configuration information via higher-layer signals (in table format). In this case, the UE can apply the beam reporting cycle based on predefined conditions. For example, the cycle can be set to a longer cycle if a certain quality standard is met, or to a shorter cycle if a certain speed range is exceeded.

[0159] Meanwhile, if a beam reporting cycle is not set, the terminal can only perform a single beam reporting operation when a condition triggering a beam report occurs. That is, the terminal performs a beam report only when a specific event occurs (e.g., failing to meet a specific quality standard, exceeding a specific speed, etc.), and may not perform additional beam reports thereafter.

[0160]

[0161] Control the number of times beam reports are performed

[0162] In another embodiment, the number of times beam reporting is performed before a condition (e.g., an event release condition) is reached that stops beam reporting operations may be set based on specific conditions. The specific conditions may be set differently based on the status or operation of the terminal, network requirements, etc., and the specific conditions may include factors related to the status or operation of the terminal, or the surrounding environment in which the terminal is located.

[0163] Specifically, the status conditions related to the terminal may include signal quality indicators for the quality of the current beam (e.g., L1-RSRP, L1-RSRQ, L1-SINR) or the quality of the new beam (e.g., L1-RSRP, L1-RSRQ, L1-SINR). In addition, the number of beam reports may be set by comparing the quality with a specific threshold value. For example, if the quality of the current beam is maintained above a certain level, i.e., if the signal quality of the beam currently received by the terminal is sufficiently good, the need to perform beam reports may decrease. Conversely, if the quality of the current beam deteriorates rapidly, more frequent beam reports may be required, in which case the number of beam reports may increase. In addition, in a situation where the terminal must switch to a new beam, the quality of the new beam may also be an important criterion. For example, if the signal quality of the new beam is sufficiently stable, the number of beam reports can be reduced, but if the quality of the new beam is unstable, continuous beam reports may be required.

[0164] Operating conditions related to a terminal may include factors such as terminal speed, whether the terminal is rotating, and whether blockage (signal blocking) occurs for the terminal. For example, the faster the terminal speed, the more rapid changes in the channel environment, which may require more frequent beam reporting. Conversely, if the terminal is very slow or stationary, the number of beam reports can be reduced, or beam reporting can be performed only when necessary. Furthermore, the need for beam reporting when the terminal is moving in a fixed direction may differ from the need for beam reporting when the terminal is rotating. For example, a terminal moving in a fixed direction is likely to use a relatively constant beam, but a terminal that is continuously rotating may need to perform beam reporting more frequently to maintain the optimal beam. Similarly, if there is a high possibility of signal blockage in a specific direction due to the presence of buildings or obstacles in the vicinity, the terminal can perform beam reporting before reaching the area where signal blockage is likely, thereby quickly selecting the optimal beam.

[0165] Additionally, the surrounding environmental conditions of the terminal can also influence the determination of the beam report frequency. For example, the beam report frequency can be set differently depending on the terminal's geographical location. In environments with densely distributed base stations and beams, such as urban areas, the terminal is likely to need to change beams frequently, so the number of beam reports may increase. Conversely, in open areas (e.g., wide open plains or over the sea), the need for beam changes may be relatively low, so the number of beam reports may decrease. Furthermore, beam report settings can be adjusted depending on the network load. For example, during times of high network traffic, the number of beam reports may be limited to reduce unnecessary beam reports, while during times of low network traffic, frequent beam reports may be allowed for more precise beam optimization.

[0166] The number of beam reports can also be set to infinity. For example, if the current beam quality is low and the terminal is moving rapidly, more frequent beam reports may be required. Specifically, if the number of beam reports is set to infinity, the terminal can continuously perform beam reports (according to the configured beam report cycle) until a condition that stops beam reporting (e.g., an event clear condition) is reached. This can be useful when the terminal is moving at very high speeds or in environments where the signal environment changes rapidly, and can help the base station allocate more appropriate beams more quickly.

[0167] The above-described number of beam reports may be determined by the terminal itself based on factors related to the state or operation related to the terminal, or the surrounding environment in which the terminal is located, or the base station may determine the number of beam reports by checking information about the state or operation related to the terminal, or the surrounding environment in which the terminal is located, and provide the terminal with setting information about the determined number of beam reports. In this case, the information about the state or operation related to the terminal, or the surrounding environment in which the terminal is located, may be explicitly or implicitly reported by the terminal to the base station. Additionally or alternatively, the information about the state or operation related to the terminal, or the surrounding environment in which the terminal is located, may be derived by the base station based on information collected by the base station, or may be predicted by the base station.

[0168] This beam report count configuration information can be delivered to the terminal in various ways. For example, the beam report count configuration information can be delivered via UCI, MAC-CE, and / or RRC signaling. Additionally, depending on specific conditions, the beam report count configuration information can also be delivered via another transmission channel.

[0169] If the terminal has performed a set number of beam reports, it can stop beam reporting even before a condition that suspends beam reporting (e.g., an event release condition) occurs. For example, if the terminal has performed a set number of beam reports and the current beam quality is sufficiently stable, the terminal may determine that additional beam reports are unnecessary and stop beam reporting.

[0170] Conversely, conditions may arise that cause the terminal to stop beam reporting before the set number of beam reports is reached. For example, if the quality of the current beam has drastically improved, making additional beam reports unnecessary (i.e., the event triggering condition has been released), the terminal may stop beam reporting even before the set number of beam reports is reached. Furthermore, if the terminal detects a change in network settings or a specific environmental change (e.g., connection to a new base station), the terminal may stop beam reporting even before the set number of beam reports is reached.

[0171]

[0172] Controlling the time at which beam reporting is performed

[0173] In another embodiment, the time for performing beam reporting before a condition for stopping beam reporting operation (e.g., an event release condition) is reached may be set according to a specific condition. Here, the specific condition may be set differently depending on the status or operation of the terminal, network requirements, etc., and the specific condition may include factors related to the status or operation of the terminal, or the surrounding environment in which the terminal is located. In addition, the time for performing beam reporting may refer to the length of time from the time an event is detected (i.e., the triggering time) to the time when the beam report according to the event is last transmitted.

[0174] Specifically, the terminal-related status conditions may include signal quality indicators for the quality of the current beam (e.g., L1-RSRP, L1-RSRQ, L1-SINR) or the quality of the new beam (e.g., L1-RSRP, L1-RSRQ, L1-SINR). In addition, a time for performing beam reporting may be set by comparing the quality with a specific threshold value.

[0175] For example, if the current beam quality is high, the time it takes for the terminal to perform beam reporting may be relatively longer, which can contribute to optimizing resource usage by reducing unnecessary beam reporting. Conversely, if the current quality degrades or the quality of the new beam increases above a certain threshold, the time it takes for the terminal to perform beam reporting may be shortened, allowing for faster beam reporting.

[0176] As another example, operating conditions related to the terminal (e.g., terminal speed, whether the terminal is rotating, blockage (signal blocking) occurring for the terminal) may also affect the time it takes to perform a beam report. For example, the faster the terminal is moving, the shorter the time the current beam is likely to be maintained, which may result in a shorter beam report time. Conversely, the slower the terminal is moving, the longer the current beam is likely to be maintained, which may result in a longer beam report time. Additionally, if the terminal is rotating in a certain direction or an obstacle (blockage) occurs, the quality of the current beam may degrade rapidly, which may require more frequent beam reports, which may result in a shorter beam report time.

[0177] As another example, the terminal's surrounding environmental conditions can also affect the time it takes to perform a beam report. For example, if the terminal is in a specific geographic location and the beam is stable at that location, the time it takes to perform a beam report may be relatively long. On the other hand, in an environment with many surrounding obstacles or radio interference, the beam quality may change rapidly, so a shorter beam report time may be set. The beam report time may also vary depending on environmental factors, such as inside a specific building, a densely populated urban area, or an open space.

[0178] The time for performing the above-described beam report may be determined by the terminal itself based on factors related to the state or operation related to the terminal, or the surrounding environment in which the terminal is located, or the base station may determine the time for performing the beam report by checking information about the state or operation related to the terminal, or the surrounding environment in which the terminal is located, and may provide the terminal with setting information about the time for performing the determined beam report. In this case, the information about the state or operation related to the terminal, or the surrounding environment in which the terminal is located, may be explicitly or implicitly reported by the terminal to the base station. Additionally or alternatively, the information about the state or operation related to the terminal, or the surrounding environment in which the terminal is located, may be derived by the base station based on information collected by the base station, or may be predicted by the base station.

[0179] Such beam report execution time configuration information can be delivered to the terminal in various ways. For example, beam report execution time configuration information can be delivered via UCI, MAC-CE, and / or RRC signaling. Additionally, depending on specific conditions, beam report execution time configuration information may be delivered via another transmission channel.

[0180]

[0181] Meanwhile, the beam report execution time may be related to the beam report cycle and beam report count described above. For example, if the beam report execution time is set long, the number of times the terminal performs beam reports may decrease. Conversely, if the beam report execution time is set short, the number of times the terminal performs beam reports may increase.

[0182] For example, assuming that two terminals that perform beam reporting with periods of A and B (A < B) respectively have the same beam reporting execution time, the terminal that performs beam reporting with a shorter period (A) will perform beam reporting relatively more frequently than the terminal that performs beam reporting with a longer period (B). In other words, the beam reporting period and beam reporting execution time can influence each other. Therefore, the base station can consider this information to establish a strategy for allocating resources for efficient beam reporting.

[0183] At this time, the base station can comprehensively consider the beam report cycle (described above), the number of beam reports, and the beam report execution time to allocate resources for transmitting the beam report operation to the terminal. For example, the base station can pre-allocate appropriate resources so that the terminal can efficiently perform the beam report during the set beam report execution time, thereby ensuring that the beam report of the terminal is smoothly transmitted to the network. Alternatively, when a specific condition for the terminal to perform the beam report is met, and an event that triggers the beam report is detected, the terminal may request the base station for resources to perform the report. For example, when the quality of the current beam degrades below a threshold or the quality of a new beam increases above a certain level, a beam report event may be detected, and the terminal may request the base station for resources for the beam report. Meanwhile, the base station can perform a beam management operation by analyzing one or more beam reports received from the terminal. That is, the base station can select an optimal beam based on the beam report(s) received from the terminal, and perform beam switching so that the terminal can maintain the optimal beam.

[0184]

[0185] Beam report cycle / frequency / time adjustment procedure

[0186] FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining a method for setting a beam reporting operation according to embodiments of the present invention.

[0187] Referring to FIG. 11, the base station can transmit configuration information for an event-based beam reporting operation to the terminal, and the terminal can receive configuration information for the event-based beam reporting operation from the base station (S1101). At this time, the configuration information for the event-based beam reporting operation may be transmitted by being included in a conventional CSI report configuration, or may be transmitted via a separate signaling message. The configuration information may include information for the beam reporting period, the number of beam reports, and / or the beam reporting execution time described above, or information necessary to determine the beam reporting period, the number of beam reports, and / or the beam reporting execution time described above. Meanwhile, as described above, since the beam reporting period, the number of beam reports, and / or the beam reporting execution time may be determined by the terminal itself, the step of receiving configuration information for the event-based beam reporting operation (S1101) may be an optional procedure.

[0188] Meanwhile, the configuration information for the event-based beam reporting operation may include information on the beam reporting cycle, the number of beam reports, and / or the beam reporting execution time by event type, or information necessary to determine the beam reporting cycle, the number of beam reports, and / or the beam reporting execution time.

[0189] Next, the terminal can detect an event (S1110). The detected event may be at least one of the events described above and events to be further defined. If an event is detected, the terminal can transmit a beam report based on the detected event to the base station (S1120). Here, the beam report may be transmitted to the base station via Mode A operation or Mode B operation, as previously described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

[0190] Next, the terminal can determine the beam report cycle, the number of beam reports, and / or the beam report execution time for the detected event (S1130). In FIG. 11, the step (S1130) is illustrated as being performed after the step (S1120) of transmitting the beam report, but the step (S1130) may also be performed before the step (S1120) of transmitting the beam report. That is, when at least one beam report must be guaranteed for the detected event (i.e., the conventional event-based beam report operation), the step (S1130) may be performed as part of an operation for determining whether to perform an additional beam report operation after the step (S1120) is performed. Meanwhile, when the step (S1120) is performed after the step (S1130), the step (S1120) may be interpreted as a step of transmitting the first beam report according to the beam report cycle, the number of beam reports, and / or the beam report execution time determined by the step (S1130).

[0191] The terminal may perform beam reporting (S1131, S1132, S1133, S1334) according to the beam reporting cycle, number of beam reports, and / or beam reporting execution time determined in step (S1130). Although Fig. 11 illustrates a situation in which beam reporting is performed four times (or a situation in which beam reporting is performed four times within the beam reporting execution period according to the set beam reporting cycle), this is only for convenience of explanation, and the number of beam reports is not limited to four.

[0192]

[0193] Event Timer

[0194] Meanwhile, the conditions for triggering an event need to be more clearly defined. For certain events, the same event may be detected repeatedly over a short period of time, depending on factors such as the current status of the terminal (UE) or the channel conditions between the base station and the terminal.

[0195] In such cases, the terminal may perform frequent beam reporting whenever an event is detected, which may increase signaling overhead. Furthermore, unnecessary and frequent beam switching procedures may occur at the terminal or base station.

[0196] Therefore, in order to prevent a situation in which beam reporting is performed continuously or periodically due to events being detected continuously or periodically for a short period of time in a specific environment, when the aforementioned event or an event to be further defined is detected and beam reporting based on the event is performed, a predetermined timer(s) may be applied. For example, a timer (T1) for holding beam reporting performance and / or a timer (T2) for preventing recurrence may be considered. Whether the timer(s) are applied may be determined based on specific conditions, a timer stop condition may be determined, and a timer set value may be determined.

[0197] FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining a timer-based beam reporting operation according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0198] Referring to FIG. 12, even if a specific event is detected (S1210), the terminal may not perform a beam report immediately, but may start a timer T1 at the time the event is detected (S1220). If the timer T1 expires, the terminal may perform a beam report based on the event (S1230). That is, if the event triggering condition is maintained until the timer T1 expires (i.e., the generated event is not cleared), the terminal may perform a beam report based on the event to the base station. Conversely, if the event triggering condition is changed to not be satisfied until the timer T1 expires (i.e., the generated event is cleared), the terminal may not perform a beam report based on the event to the base station (i.e., the event may be canceled).

[0199] In addition, when a specific event (hereinafter referred to as 'Event-N') is detected and a timer T1 for Event-N is set, even if another event (hereinafter referred to as 'Event-M') is detected before the timer T1 expires, if the triggering condition of Event-N is maintained until the timer T1 expires, the terminal can ignore (cancel) Event-M. Conversely, in the above situation, Event-N can be ignored (cancelled) and a new timer T1' can be set based on the detection time of Event-M. If the triggering condition of Event-M is maintained at the time when the new timer T1' expires, the terminal can perform beam reporting based on Event-M. At this time, T1 and T1' may be set for each event type, or may be set to the same values ​​for all event types.

[0200] FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining a timer-based beam reporting operation according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0201] Referring to Fig. 13, even if a specific event is detected (S1310), the terminal may not perform a beam report immediately, but may start a timer T2 at the time the event is detected (S1320). If a specific condition is not satisfied, the terminal may cancel the event and not perform a beam report. Here, the specific condition may be a condition that the same event must be detected less than a specific number of times before the repetition prevention timer T2 set at the time the event is detected expires. That is, if the same event is detected more than a specific number of times before the timer T2 expires, the terminal may not perform a beam report to the base station. Conversely, if the specific condition is satisfied, the terminal may transmit a beam report based on the detected event to the base station (S1330).

[0202] As a specific example, if a specific event (hereinafter referred to as 'Event-N') is detected and a timer T2 for Event-N is set, and another event (hereinafter referred to as 'Event-M') is detected before the timer T2 expires, and the same event (i.e., Event-M) is detected a certain number of times or more before the timer T2' for Event-M expires, the terminal may not perform a beam report. That is, if an event (i.e., Event-M) different from the previously detected event (i.e., Event-N) occurs, the timer for the previously detected event (i.e., Event-N) may be reset. At this time, T2 and T2' may be set for each event type, or may be set to the same values ​​for all event types. For example, from the terminal's perspective, the same anti-repetition timer may be used regardless of the type of event, and if the same event occurs repeatedly a certain number of times or more before the timer expires, the terminal may not perform a beam report.

[0203]

[0204] In the above embodiments, whether timers (e.g., T1 and / or T1', T2 and / or T2', etc.) are applied and the values ​​of the timers may vary depending on the event type. Therefore, it may be necessary to notify the base station that an event change has occurred or to specify what the changed event is. To this end, the terminal may transmit parameters such as an event change indicator (consisting of 1 bit, where 0 indicates no event change, and 1 indicates an event change) and / or an event ID to the base station.

[0205] In the above embodiments, the parameter(s) and / or timer value(s) may be transmitted via MAC CE signaling, RRC signaling, PHY signaling (i.e., downlink control information (DCI) or uplink control information (UCI)), and / or other various signaling. Alternatively, the parameter(s) and / or timer value(s) may be predefined by the technical specification or may be pre-set in the terminal.

[0206] In the above embodiments, the parameter(s) and / or timer value(s) may be determined depending on conditions related to the terminal (e.g., quality of the current beam and / or quality of the new beam and / or threshold(s)), the state of the terminal (e.g., speed of the terminal, whether the terminal is rotating, whether blockage occurs for the terminal), and / or the environment of the terminal (e.g., geographical location of the terminal).

[0207] In the above embodiments, the fact that a terminal-led beam management operation (or beam reporting operation) is performed can be extended to mean that the terminal transmits signaling to the base station indicating whether or not the terminal-led beam management operation (or beam reporting operation) is performed.

[0208] In the above embodiments, the term “stopping or interrupting the terminal-led beam management operation (or beam reporting operation)” may be extended to mean that the terminal (or base station) transmits a signaling indicating the stop or interruption of the terminal-led beam management operation (or beam reporting operation) to the base station (or the terminal). Alternatively, the term “stopping or interrupting the terminal-led beam management operation (or beam reporting operation)” may be definitively interpreted to mean that the existing base station-led beam management operation is performed without performing the terminal-led beam management operation (or beam reporting operation).

[0209] In the above embodiments, when performing a beam reporting operation through the above defined events, the beam report may be transmitted only a specific number of times (at a specific cycle) or may be transmitted continuously (at a specific cycle).

[0210] The methods proposed through the above embodiments can be applied identically or similarly to additionally defined events in addition to the events defined above. The methods proposed through the above embodiments can be applied to intra-cell and / or inter-cell beam management. The methods proposed through the above embodiments can also be applied identically or similarly to mTRP (multi-TRP) operations.

[0211]

[0212] The operations of the method according to the present disclosure can be implemented as a computer-readable program or code on a computer-readable recording medium. A computer-readable recording medium includes any type of recording device that stores information readable by a computer system. Furthermore, a computer-readable recording medium can be distributed across network-connected computer systems, allowing the computer-readable program or code to be stored and executed in a distributed manner.

[0213] Additionally, the computer-readable recording medium may include hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, etc. The program instructions may include not only machine language codes produced by a compiler, but also high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter, etc.

[0214] While some aspects of the present disclosure have been described in the context of a device, they may also represent a description of a corresponding method, wherein a block or device corresponds to a method step or a feature of a method step. Similarly, aspects described in the context of a method may also be described as a corresponding block or item or a feature of a corresponding device. Some or all of the method steps may be performed by (or using) a hardware device, such as, for example, a microprocessor, a programmable computer, or an electronic circuit. In some embodiments, at least one or more of the most significant method steps may be performed by such a device.

[0215] A programmable logic device (e.g., a field-programmable gate array) may be used to perform some or all of the functions of the methods described in the present disclosure. The field-programmable gate array may operate in conjunction with a microprocessor to perform one of the methods described in the present disclosure. In general, the methods are preferably performed by some hardware device.

[0216] Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes may be made to the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as set forth in the claims below.

Claims

1. As a terminal method for beam reporting operation, Step of detecting an event; A step of determining at least one beam report control parameter among a beam report cycle, a beam report count, or a beam report execution time according to the detected event; and A step of transmitting a beam report based on the detected event to a base station according to at least one beam report control parameter, Terminal method.

2. In claim 1, Further comprising a step of receiving configuration information from the base station, the configuration information including at least one of the beam reporting period, the number of beam reports, or the beam reporting execution time, or the configuration information including information necessary to determine at least one of the beam reporting period, the number of beam reports, or the beam reporting execution time, wherein at least one beam report control parameter is determined based on the setting information, Terminal method.

3. In claim 1, The above setting information is generated by event type. Terminal method.

4. In claim 1, The at least one beam reporting control parameter is determined by the terminal based on the state of the terminal, the operation of the terminal, and / or the environment of the terminal. Terminal method.

5. In claim 1, If the at least one beam report control parameter includes a beam report cycle, in the step of transmitting the beam report to the base station, the beam report is continuously performed according to the beam report cycle until the triggering condition of the event is released. Terminal method.

6. In claim 1, If the at least one beam report control parameter includes a beam report count, in the step of transmitting the beam report to the base station, the beam report is performed as many times as the beam report count. Terminal method.

7. In claim 1, Even if the number of times the beam report is performed does not reach the number of beam reports, if the triggering condition of the event is released, the beam report is stopped. Terminal method.

8. In claim 1, If the at least one beam report control parameter includes a beam report execution time, in the step of transmitting the beam report to the base station, the beam report is performed during the beam report execution time until the triggering condition of the event is released. Terminal method.

9. As a terminal method for beam reporting operation, A step of detecting the first event upon fulfillment of a triggering condition of the first event; a step of starting a first timer for withholding a beam report based on the first event; and A step of transmitting a beam report based on the first event to a base station when the first timer expires and the triggering condition of the first event remains satisfied, Terminal method.

10. In claim 9, If the triggering condition of the first event is changed to not be satisfied before the first timer expires, the step of canceling the first event without transmitting a beam report based on the first event to the base station is further included. Terminal method.

11. In claim 9, Further comprising the step of starting a first timer for canceling the first event and suspending beam reporting based on the second event if a second event different from the first event is detected before the expiration of the first timer. Terminal method.

12. In claim 9, If a second event different from the first event is detected before the expiration of the first timer, the method further includes a step of ignoring the second event. Terminal method.

13. In claim 9, Further comprising a step of receiving setting information including whether the first timer is applied and / or a timer value for the first timer from the base station, The above first timer is started based on the above setting information, Terminal method.

14. In claim 13, The above setting information is generated by event type. Terminal method.

15. In claim 1, Whether the first timer is applied and / or the timer value for the first timer is determined by the terminal based on the status of the terminal, the operation of the terminal, and / or the environment of the terminal. Terminal method.

16. As a terminal method for beam reporting operation, A step of detecting the first event upon fulfillment of a triggering condition of the first event; A step of starting a first timer to prevent repetition of beam reports based on the first event; and A step of transmitting a beam report based on the first event to a base station when an event identical to the first event occurs less than a certain number of times before the expiration of the first timer, Terminal method.

17. In claim 16, If an event identical to the first event occurs a certain number of times or more before the expiration of the first timer, the method further includes canceling the first event without transmitting a beam report based on the first event. Terminal method.

18. In claim 16, If a second event different from the first event is detected before the expiration of the first timer, the method further includes the step of starting a first timer to cancel the first event and prevent repetition of beam reporting based on the second event. Terminal method.

19. In claim 16, Further comprising a step of receiving setting information including whether the first timer is applied and / or a timer value for the first timer from the base station, The above first timer is started based on the above setting information, Terminal method.

20. In claim 16, Whether the first timer is applied and / or the timer value for the first timer is determined by the terminal based on the status of the terminal, the operation of the terminal, and / or the environment of the terminal. Terminal method.

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