Transmission configuration indicator state management for asymmetric transmission-reception point scenarios
By employing TCI state rules and pathloss offset values, the UE resolves ambiguity in asymmetric TRP scenarios, enhancing communication performance by determining appropriate downlink TCI states.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- PCT/CN2024/106653
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-07-22
- Publication Date
- 2026-01-29
AI Technical Summary
In asymmetric transmission-reception point (TRP) scenarios, user equipment (UE) experiences ambiguity in determining which downlink TCI state to use when communicating with a different quantity of downlink TRPs than uplink TRPs, leading to reduced performance.
The UE operates based on rules associated with joint or separate TCI state modes, using TCI codepoints and pathloss offset values to determine the appropriate downlink TCI states for communication, eliminating ambiguity and enhancing performance.
The proposed solution effectively resolves TCI state ambiguity in asymmetric TRP scenarios, improving communication performance by clarifying the use of downlink TCI states.
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Figure CN2024106653_29012026_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
TRANSMISSION CONFIGURATION INDICATOR STATE MANAGEMENT FOR ASYMMETRIC TRANSMISSION-RECEPTION POINT SCENARIOS
[0001] FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY
[0002] The following relates to wireless communications, including transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state management for asymmetric transmission-reception point (TRP) scenarios.BACKGROUND
[0003] Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power) . Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ technologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA) , time division multiple access (TDMA) , frequency division multiple access (FDMA) , orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) , or discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) . A wireless multiple-access communications system may include one or more base stations, each supporting wireless communication for communication devices, which may be known as user equipment (UE) .
[0004] In some examples, a UE may communicate with one or more network nodes using beamformed communications. For example, the UE may use a reception beam to receive signaling from a network node using a corresponding transmission beam (e.g., in a downlink scenario) or may use a transmission beam for transmitting signaling to a network node (e.g., in an uplink scenario) . The UE may manage one or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states to determine which beams to use for communications.SUMMARY
[0005] The systems, methods, and devices of this disclosure each have several innovative aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for the desirable attributes disclosed herein.
[0006] In some wireless communication systems, a user equipment (UE) may be configured to communicate with multiple transmission-reception points (TRPs) (e.g., network nodes) in a wireless communications system. The UE may establish a connection with the TRPs to support receiving downlink signaling and transmitting uplink signaling. In some examples, the UE may communicate with the multiple TRPs in an asymmetric deployment scenario, where a quantity of TRPs supporting downlink communications may be different than a quantity of TRPs supporting uplink communications. For example, the UE may communicate with a network entity (e.g., a first TRP) that supports both downlink signaling and uplink signaling, as well as one or more other network nodes (e.g., one or more second TRPs) that support uplink signaling while not supporting downlink signaling. In such scenarios, the UE may communicate with the TRPs using beamformed communications, and may manage which beams to use according to one or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states. For example, the UE may be configured to use one or more TCI codepoints that map up to two joint TCI states (e.g., in a joint TCI state mode) or up to two downlink TCI states and two uplink TCI states (e.g., in a separate TCI state mode) for communicating with the TRPs. However, if the UE communicates with a different quantity of downlink TRPs than uplink TRPs (e.g., a single downlink TRP and multiple uplink TRPs) , there may be ambiguity as to which downlink TCI state is to be used by the UE, which may reduce performance of the UE in the asymmetric deployment scenario.
[0007] To support communicating with multiple TRPs in an asymmetric scenario, a UE may operate according to one or more rules (e.g., a network configuration) associated with asymmetric TRP communications. In some cases, the one or more rules may be based on whether the UE is configured with a joint TCI state mode or a separate TCI state mode. For example, in a joint TCI state mode (e.g., where a single TCI state may define beams associated with both uplink and downlink communications) , the UE may receive an indication of a TCI codepoint, for example via a downlink control information (DCI) message, that corresponds to two joint TCI states that are the same or are associated with the same source reference signal. Additionally, or alternatively, if the UE receives a TCI codepoint corresponding to two different joint TCI states, the UE may determine a joint TCI state to use based on an ordering (e.g., indexing) of the TCI states in the TCI codepoint, a TCI state identifier (ID) associated with each TCI state, the presence of a pathloss offset value associated with a TCI state, a TCI selection field included in a scheduling DCI, an order of reception of TCI codepoints, or any combination thereof.
[0008] As another example, in a separate TCI state mode (e.g., where uplink TCI states and downlink TCI states may define beams separately) , the TCI codepoints activated for the UE may each correspond to up to one downlink TCI state (e.g., at most a single downlink TCI state) and up to two uplink TCI states, where the TCI codepoints that correspond to a single downlink TCI state may include a downlink TCI state at a same index within each TCI codepoint, the TCI codepoints activated for the UE may each correspond to up to two downlink TCI states (e.g., at most two downlink TCI states) and up to two uplink TCI states, where the TCI codepoints that correspond to two downlink TCI states may each correspond to two downlink TCI states associated with the same source reference signal, or any combination thereof. Additionally, or alternatively, in the separate TCI state mode, the UE may determine a downlink TCI state to use for receiving downlink signals according to an indexing of the downlink TCI states in a TCI codepoint, an order of reception of TCI codepoints, a TCI state ID associated with each TCI state, or any combination thereof. Such techniques may eliminate ambiguity associated with determining a TCI state for receiving downlink signals in an asymmetric TRP deployment scenario.
[0009] A method by a user equipment (UE) is described. The method may include receiving first control signaling activating a set of multiple transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states from one or more TCI state pools, the one or more TCI state pools including at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with a pathloss offset value, where the activated set of multiple TCI states are available for subsequent communications between the UE and one or more network nodes, and where the first control signaling indicates one or more TCI codepoints each corresponding to a respective set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states from among the activated set of multiple TCI states, receiving second control signaling indicating a first TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints, where the first TCI codepoint corresponds to a first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states, and receiving, from the one or more network nodes, one or more downlink signals using a first downlink-applicable TCI state included in the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states that corresponds to the first TCI codepoint, where use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state to receive the one or more downlink signals is in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value.
[0010] A UE is described. The UE may include one or more memories storing processor executable code, and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories. The one or more processors may individually or collectively be operable to execute the code to cause the UE to receive first control signaling activating a set of multiple TCI states from one or more TCI state pools, the one or more TCI state pools including at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with a pathloss offset value, where the activated set of multiple TCI states are available for subsequent communications between the UE and one or more network nodes, and where the first control signaling indicates one or more TCI codepoints each corresponding to a respective set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states from among the activated set of multiple TCI states, receive second control signaling indicating a first TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints, where the first TCI codepoint corresponds to a first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states, and receive, from the one or more network nodes, one or more downlink signals using a first downlink-applicable TCI state included in the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states that corresponds to the first TCI codepoint, where use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state to receive the one or more downlink signals is in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value.
[0011] Another UE is described. The UE may include means for receiving first control signaling activating a set of multiple TCI states from one or more TCI state pools, the one or more TCI state pools including at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with a pathloss offset value, where the activated set of multiple TCI states are available for subsequent communications between the UE and one or more network nodes, and where the first control signaling indicates one or more TCI codepoints each corresponding to a respective set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states from among the activated set of multiple TCI states, means for receiving second control signaling indicating a first TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints, where the first TCI codepoint corresponds to a first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states, and means for receiving, from the one or more network nodes, one or more downlink signals using a first downlink-applicable TCI state included in the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states that corresponds to the first TCI codepoint, where use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state to receive the one or more downlink signals is in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value.
[0012] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code is described. The code may include instructions executable by one or more processors to receive first control signaling activating a set of multiple TCI states from one or more TCI state pools, the one or more TCI state pools including at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with a pathloss offset value, where the activated set of multiple TCI states are available for subsequent communications between the UE and one or more network nodes, and where the first control signaling indicates one or more TCI codepoints each corresponding to a respective set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states from among the activated set of multiple TCI states, receive second control signaling indicating a first TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints, where the first TCI codepoint corresponds to a first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states, and receive, from the one or more network nodes, one or more downlink signals using a first downlink-applicable TCI state included in the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states that corresponds to the first TCI codepoint, where use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state to receive the one or more downlink signals is in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value.
[0013] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that may be associated with the pathloss offset value, each downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states may be associated with a same reference signal.
[0014] Some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving, after receiving the second control signaling, third control signaling indicating a second TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints, where the second TCI codepoint corresponds to a second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states.
[0015] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, a second quantity of downlink-applicable TCI states included in the second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states may be less than or equal to a first quantity of downlink-applicable TCI states included in the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states and in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that may be associated with the pathloss offset value, may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for switching from the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states to the second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states.
[0016] Some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for identifying a second downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states as inactive in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that may be associated with the pathloss offset value and the second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states not including the second downlink-applicable TCI state.
[0017] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that may be associated with the pathloss offset value, each of the one or more TCI codepoints corresponds to a same quantity of downlink-applicable TCI states.
[0018] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that may be associated with the pathloss offset value, use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state may be in response to a second downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states being associated with a respective pathloss offset value and the first downlink-applicable TCI state not being associated with a respective pathloss offset value.
[0019] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the second downlink-applicable TCI state may be associated with the pathloss offset value in accordance with the second downlink-applicable TCI state being associated, within the first TCI codepoint, with a lower index value than the first downlink-applicable TCI state.
[0020] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the second downlink-applicable TCI state may be associated with the pathloss offset value in accordance with the second downlink-applicable TCI state being associated, within the first TCI codepoint, with a higher index value than the first downlink-applicable TCI state.
[0021] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that may be associated with the pathloss offset value, use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state to receive the one or more downlink signals may be in response to the first downlink-applicable TCI state being associated, within the first TCI codepoint, with a lower index value than a second TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states, in response to the first downlink-applicable TCI state being associated with a lower TCI state identifier than a second downlink-applicable TCI state, or both.
[0022] Some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving, after receiving the second control signaling, third control signaling that schedules a downlink signal of the one or more downlink signals and includes a TCI selection field, where the TCI selection field indicates the first downlink-applicable TCI state, and where, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that may be associated with the pathloss offset value, use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state may be in response to the TCI selection field indicating the first downlink-applicable TCI state.
[0023] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the TCI selection field includes a one bit indication; or the TCI selection field includes a two bit indication.
[0024] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that may be associated with the pathloss offset value, each aperiodic channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource set of a set of multiple aperiodic CSI-RS resource sets may be associated with a same downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states.
[0025] Some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving third control signaling scheduling a first downlink signal of the one or more downlink signals and indicating a first aperiodic CSI-RS resource set associated with the first downlink signal the first downlink-applicable TCI state and receiving fourth control signaling scheduling a second downlink signal of the one or more downlink signals and indicating a second aperiodic CSI-RS resource set associated with the second downlink signal and a second downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states, where, in accordance with the activated set of multiple TCI states including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that may be associated with the pathloss offset value, the second downlink signal may be scheduled for a time that occurs after an application duration associated with the second control signaling indicating the first TCI codepoint.
[0026] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that may be associated with the pathloss offset value, each codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints includes at most a respective single downlink-applicable TCI state from among the activated set of multiple TCI states.
[0027] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that may be associated with the pathloss offset value, each of the respective single downlink-applicable TCI states may be associated with a same index value within each of the one or more TCI codepoints.
[0028] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that may be associated with the pathloss offset value, use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state may be in response to an indexing, within a corresponding TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints, of the first downlink-applicable TCI state relative to one or more other downlink-applicable TCI states, may be in response to an order of reception of a TCI codepoint corresponding to the first downlink-applicable TCI state relative to reception of one or more other TCI codepoints, or both.
[0029] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states comprises one or more joint TCI states in accordance with radio resource control (RRC) signaling indicating the UE may be to operate according to a joint TCI state mode.
[0030] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states comprises one or more downlink TCI states in accordance with RRC signaling indicating that the UE may be to operate according to a separate TCI state mode.
[0031] In some examples of the method, UEs, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that may be associated with the pathloss offset value may be associated with the UE being configured for communications via an asymmetric set of transmission-reception points (TRPs) , the asymmetric set of TRPs including a first quantity of one or more TRPs that each support downlink signaling to the UE and a second quantity of two or more TRPs that each support uplink communications by the UE, the second quantity greater than the first quantity.
[0032] Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims. Note that the relative dimensions of the following figures may not be drawn to scale.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0033] FIG. 1 shows an example of a wireless communications system that supports transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state management for asymmetric transmission-reception point (TRP) scenarios in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0034] FIG. 2 shows an example of a wireless communications system that supports TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0035] FIG. 3 shows an example of a signaling timeline that supports TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0036] FIG. 4 shows an example of a joint TCI codepoint configuration that supports TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0037] FIGs. 5A, 5B, and 5C show examples of separate TCI codepoint configurations that support TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0038] FIG. 6 shows an example of a process flow that supports TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0039] FIGs. 7 and 8 show block diagrams of devices that support TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0040] FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of a communications manager that supports TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0041] FIG. 10 shows a diagram of a system including a device that supports TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0042] FIG. 11 shows a flowchart illustrating methods that support TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0043] In some wireless communication systems, a user equipment (UE) may be configured to communicate with multiple transmission-reception points (TRPs) (e.g., network nodes) in a wireless communications system. The UE may establish a connection with the TRPs to support receiving downlink signaling and transmitting uplink signaling. In some examples, the UE may communicate with the multiple TRPs in an asymmetric deployment scenario, where a quantity of TRPs supporting downlink communications may be different than a quantity of TRPs supporting uplink communications. For example, the UE may communicate with a network entity (e.g., a first TRP) that supports both downlink signaling and uplink signaling, as well as one or more other network nodes (e.g., one or more second TRPs) that support uplink signaling while not supporting downlink signaling. In such scenarios, the UE may communicate with the TRPs using beamformed communications, and may manage which beams to use according to one or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states. For example, the UE may be configured to use one or more TCI codepoints that map up to two joint TCI states (e.g., in a joint TCI state mode) or up to two downlink TCI states and two uplink TCI states (e.g., in a separate TCI state mode) for communicating with the TRPs. However, if the UE communicates with a different quantity of downlink TRPs than uplink TRPs (e.g., a single downlink TRP and multiple uplink TRPs) , there may be ambiguity as to which downlink TCI state is to be used by the UE, which may reduce performance of the UE in the asymmetric deployment scenario.
[0044] To support communicating with multiple TRPs in an asymmetric scenario, a UE may operate according to one or more rules (e.g., a network configuration) associated with asymmetric TRP communications. In some cases, the one or more rules may be based on whether the UE is configured with a joint TCI state mode or a separate TCI state mode. For example, in a joint TCI state mode (e.g., where a single TCI state may define beams associated with both uplink and downlink communications) , the UE may receive an indication of a TCI codepoint, for example via a downlink control information (DCI) message, that corresponds to two joint TCI states that are the same or are associated with the same source reference signal. Additionally, or alternatively, if the UE receives a TCI codepoint corresponding to two different joint TCI states, the UE may determine a joint TCI state to use based on an ordering (e.g., indexing) of the TCI states in the TCI codepoint, a TCI state identifier (ID) associated with each TCI state, the presence of a pathloss offset value associated with a TCI state, a TCI selection field included in a scheduling DCI, an order of reception of TCI codepoints, or any combination thereof.
[0045] As another example, in a separate TCI state mode (e.g., where uplink TCI states and downlink TCI states may define beams separately) , the TCI codepoints activated for the UE may each correspond to up to one downlink TCI state (e.g., at most a single downlink TCI state) and up to two uplink TCI states, where the TCI codepoints that correspond to a single downlink TCI state may include a downlink TCI state at a same index within each TCI codepoint, the TCI codepoints activated for the UE may each correspond to up to two downlink TCI states (e.g., at most two downlink TCI states) and up to two uplink TCI states, where the TCI codepoints that correspond to two downlink TCI states may each correspond to two downlink TCI states associated with the same source reference signal, or any combination thereof. Additionally, or alternatively, in the separate TCI state mode, the UE may determine a downlink TCI state to use for receiving downlink signals according to an indexing of the downlink TCI states in a TCI codepoint, an order of reception of TCI codepoints, a TCI state ID associated with each TCI state, or any combination thereof. Such techniques may eliminate ambiguity associated with determining a TCI state for receiving downlink signals in an asymmetric TRP deployment scenario.
[0046] Aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the context of wireless communications systems. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to a signaling timeline, TCI codepoint configurations, and a process flow. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flowcharts that relate to TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios.
[0047] FIG. 1 shows an example of a wireless communications system 100 that supports TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 100 may include one or more devices, such as one or more network devices (e.g., network entities 105) , one or more UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, a New Radio (NR) network, or a network operating in accordance with other systems and radio technologies, including future systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.
[0048] The network entities 105 may be dispersed throughout a geographic area to form the wireless communications system 100 and may include devices in different forms or having different capabilities. In various examples, a network entity 105 may be referred to as a network element, a mobility element, a radio access network (RAN) node, or network equipment, among other nomenclature. In some examples, network entities 105 and UEs 115 may wirelessly communicate via communication link (s) 125 (e.g., a radio frequency (RF) access link) . For example, a network entity 105 may support a coverage area 110 (e.g., a geographic coverage area) over which the UEs 115 and the network entity 105 may establish the communication link (s) 125. The coverage area 110 may be an example of a geographic area over which a network entity 105 and a UE 115 may support the communication of signals according to one or more radio access technologies (RATs) .
[0049] The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout a coverage area 110 of the wireless communications system 100, and each UE 115 may be stationary, or mobile, or both at different times. The UEs 115 may be devices in different forms or having different capabilities. Some example UEs 115 are illustrated in FIG. 1. The UEs 115 described herein may be capable of supporting communications with various types of devices in the wireless communications system 100 (e.g., other wireless communication devices, including UEs 115 or network entities 105) , as shown in FIG. 1.
[0050] As described herein, a node of the wireless communications system 100, which may be referred to as a network node, or a wireless node, may be a network entity 105 (e.g., any network entity described herein) , a UE 115 (e.g., any UE described herein) , a network controller, an apparatus, a device, a computing system, one or more components, or another suitable processing entity configured to perform any of the techniques described herein. For example, a node may be a UE 115. As another example, a node may be a network entity 105. As another example, a first node may be configured to communicate with a second node or a third node. In one aspect of this example, the first node may be a UE 115, the second node may be a network entity 105, and the third node may be a UE 115. In another aspect of this example, the first node may be a UE 115, the second node may be a network entity 105, and the third node may be a network entity 105. In yet other aspects of this example, the first, second, and third nodes may be different relative to these examples. Similarly, reference to a UE 115, network entity 105, apparatus, device, computing system, or the like may include disclosure of the UE 115, network entity 105, apparatus, device, computing system, or the like being a node. For example, disclosure that a UE 115 is configured to receive information from a network entity 105 also discloses that a first node is configured to receive information from a second node.
[0051] In some examples, network entities 105 may communicate with a core network 130, or with one another, or both. For example, network entities 105 may communicate with the core network 130 via backhaul communication link (s) 120 (e.g., in accordance with an S1, N2, N3, or other interface protocol) . In some examples, network entities 105 may communicate with one another via backhaul communication link (s) 120 (e.g., in accordance with an X2, Xn, or other interface protocol) either directly (e.g., directly between network entities 105) or indirectly (e.g., via the core network 130) . In some examples, network entities 105 may communicate with one another via a midhaul communication link 162 (e.g., in accordance with a midhaul interface protocol) or a fronthaul communication link 168 (e.g., in accordance with a fronthaul interface protocol) , or any combination thereof. The backhaul communication link (s) 120, midhaul communication links 162, or fronthaul communication links 168 may be or include one or more wired links (e.g., an electrical link, an optical fiber link) or one or more wireless links (e.g., a radio link, a wireless optical link) , among other examples or various combinations thereof. A UE 115 may communicate with the core network 130 via a communication link 155.
[0052] One or more of the network entities 105 or network equipment described herein may include or may be referred to as a base station 140 (e.g., a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an NR base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB) , a next-generation NodeB or giga-NodeB (either of which may be referred to as a gNB) , a 5G NB, a next-generation eNB (ng-eNB) , a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or other suitable terminology) . In some examples, a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140) may be implemented in an aggregated (e.g., monolithic, standalone) base station architecture, which may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within one network entity (e.g., a network entity 105 or a single RAN node, such as a base station 140) .
[0053] In some examples, a network entity 105 may be implemented in a disaggregated architecture (e.g., a disaggregated base station architecture, a disaggregated RAN architecture) , which may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among multiple network entities (e.g., network entities 105) , such as an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) network, an open RAN (O-RAN) (e.g., a network configuration sponsored by the O-RAN Alliance) , or a virtualized RAN (vRAN) (e.g., a cloud RAN (C-RAN) ) . For example, a network entity 105 may include one or more of a central unit (CU) , such as a CU 160, a distributed unit (DU) , such as a DU 165, a radio unit (RU) , such as an RU 170, a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) , such as an RIC 175 (e.g., a Near-Real Time RIC (Near-RT RIC) , a Non-Real Time RIC (Non-RT RIC) ) , a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) system, such as an SMO system 180, or any combination thereof. An RU 170 may also be referred to as a radio head, a smart radio head, a remote radio head (RRH) , a remote radio unit (RRU) , or a transmission reception point (TRP) . One or more components of the network entities 105 in a disaggregated RAN architecture may be co-located, or one or more components of the network entities 105 may be located in distributed locations (e.g., separate physical locations) . In some examples, one or more of the network entities 105 of a disaggregated RAN architecture may be implemented as virtual units (e.g., a virtual CU (VCU) , a virtual DU (VDU) , a virtual RU (VRU) ) .
[0054] The split of functionality between a CU 160, a DU 165, and an RU 170 is flexible and may support different functionalities depending on which functions (e.g., network layer functions, protocol layer functions, baseband functions, RF functions, or any combinations thereof) are performed at a CU 160, a DU 165, or an RU 170. For example, a functional split of a protocol stack may be employed between a CU 160 and a DU 165 such that the CU 160 may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the DU 165 may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. In some examples, the CU 160 may host upper protocol layer (e.g., layer 3 (L3) , layer 2 (L2) ) functionality and signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) , service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) , Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) ) . The CU 160 (e.g., one or more CUs) may be connected to a DU 165 (e.g., one or more DUs) or an RU 170 (e.g., one or more RUs) , or some combination thereof, and the DUs 165, RUs 170, or both may host lower protocol layers, such as layer 1 (L1) (e.g., physical (PHY) layer) or L2 (e.g., radio link control (RLC) layer, medium access control (MAC) layer) functionality and signaling, and may each be at least partially controlled by the CU 160. Additionally, or alternatively, a functional split of the protocol stack may be employed between a DU 165 and an RU 170 such that the DU 165 may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the RU 170 may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. The DU 165 may support one or multiple different cells (e.g., via one or multiple different RUs, such as an RU 170) . In some cases, a functional split between a CU 160 and a DU 165 or between a DU 165 and an RU 170 may be within a protocol layer (e.g., some functions for a protocol layer may be performed by one of a CU 160, a DU 165, or an RU 170, while other functions of the protocol layer are performed by a different one of the CU 160, the DU 165, or the RU 170) . A CU 160 may be functionally split further into CU control plane (CU-CP) and CU user plane (CU-UP) functions. A CU 160 may be connected to a DU 165 via a midhaul communication link 162 (e.g., F1, F1-c, F1-u) , and a DU 165 may be connected to an RU 170 via a fronthaul communication link 168 (e.g., open fronthaul (FH) interface) . In some examples, a midhaul communication link 162 or a fronthaul communication link 168 may be implemented in accordance with an interface (e.g., a channel) between layers of a protocol stack supported by respective network entities (e.g., one or more of the network entities 105) that are in communication via such communication links.
[0055] In some wireless communications systems (e.g., the wireless communications system 100) , infrastructure and spectral resources for radio access may support wireless backhaul link capabilities to supplement wired backhaul connections, providing an IAB network architecture (e.g., to a core network 130) . In some cases, in an IAB network, one or more of the network entities 105 (e.g., network entities 105 or IAB node (s) 104) may be partially controlled by each other. The IAB node (s) 104 may be referred to as a donor entity or an IAB donor. A DU 165 or an RU 170 may be partially controlled by a CU 160 associated with a network entity 105 or base station 140 (such as a donor network entity or a donor base station) . The one or more donor entities (e.g., IAB donors) may be in communication with one or more additional devices (e.g., IAB node (s) 104) via supported access and backhaul links (e.g., backhaul communication link (s) 120) . IAB node (s) 104 may include an IAB mobile termination (IAB-MT) controlled (e.g., scheduled) by one or more DUs (e.g., DUs 165) of a coupled IAB donor. An IAB-MT may be equipped with an independent set of antennas for relay of communications with UEs 115 or may share the same antennas (e.g., of an RU 170) of IAB node (s) 104 used for access via the DU 165 of the IAB node (s) 104 (e.g., referred to as virtual IAB-MT (vIAB-MT) ) . In some examples, the IAB node (s) 104 may include one or more DUs (e.g., DUs 165) that support communication links with additional entities (e.g., IAB node (s) 104, UEs 115) within the relay chain or configuration of the access network (e.g., downstream) . In such cases, one or more components of the disaggregated RAN architecture (e.g., the IAB node (s) 104 or components of the IAB node (s) 104) may be configured to operate according to the techniques described herein.
[0056] For instance, an access network (AN) or RAN may include communications between access nodes (e.g., an IAB donor) , IAB node (s) 104, and one or more UEs 115. The IAB donor may facilitate connection between the core network 130 and the AN (e.g., via a wired or wireless connection to the core network 130) . That is, an IAB donor may refer to a RAN node with a wired or wireless connection to the core network 130. The IAB donor may include one or more of a CU 160, a DU 165, and an RU 170, in which case the CU 160 may communicate with the core network 130 via an interface (e.g., a backhaul link) . The IAB donor and IAB node (s) 104 may communicate via an F1 interface according to a protocol that defines signaling messages (e.g., an F1 AP protocol) . Additionally, or alternatively, the CU 160 may communicate with the core network 130 via an interface, which may be an example of a portion of a backhaul link, and may communicate with other CUs (e.g., including a CU 160 associated with an alternative IAB donor) via an Xn-C interface, which may be an example of another portion of a backhaul link.
[0057] IAB node (s) 104 may refer to RAN nodes that provide IAB functionality (e.g., access for UEs 115, wireless self-backhauling capabilities) . A DU 165 may act as a distributed scheduling node towards child nodes associated with the IAB node (s) 104, and the IAB-MT may act as a scheduled node towards parent nodes associated with IAB node (s) 104. That is, an IAB donor may be referred to as a parent node in communication with one or more child nodes (e.g., an IAB donor may relay transmissions for UEs through other IAB node (s) 104) . Additionally, or alternatively, IAB node (s) 104 may also be referred to as parent nodes or child nodes to other IAB node (s) 104, depending on the relay chain or configuration of the AN. The IAB-MT entity of IAB node (s) 104 may provide a Uu interface for a child IAB node (e.g., the IAB node (s) 104) to receive signaling from a parent IAB node (e.g., the IAB node (s) 104) , and a DU interface (e.g., a DU 165) may provide a Uu interface for a parent IAB node to signal to a child IAB node or UE 115.
[0058] For example, IAB node (s) 104 may be referred to as parent nodes that support communications for child IAB nodes, or may be referred to as child IAB nodes associated with IAB donors, or both. An IAB donor may include a CU 160 with a wired or wireless connection (e.g., backhaul communication link (s) 120) to the core network 130 and may act as a parent node to IAB node (s) 104. For example, the DU 165 of an IAB donor may relay transmissions to UEs 115 through IAB node (s) 104, or may directly signal transmissions to a UE 115, or both. The CU 160 of the IAB donor may signal communication link establishment via an F1 interface to IAB node (s) 104, and the IAB node (s) 104 may schedule transmissions (e.g., transmissions to the UEs 115 relayed from the IAB donor) through one or more DUs (e.g., DUs 165) . That is, data may be relayed to and from IAB node (s) 104 via signaling via an NR Uu interface to MT of IAB node (s) 104 (e.g., other IAB node (s) ) . Communications with IAB node (s) 104 may be scheduled by a DU 165 of the IAB donor or of IAB node (s) 104.
[0059] In the case of the techniques described herein applied in the context of a disaggregated RAN architecture, one or more components of the disaggregated RAN architecture may be configured to support test as described herein. For example, some operations described as being performed by a UE 115 or a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140) may additionally, or alternatively, be performed by one or more components of the disaggregated RAN architecture (e.g., components such as an IAB node, a DU 165, a CU 160, an RU 170, an RIC 175, an SMO system 180) .
[0060] A UE 115 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where the “device” may also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. A UE 115 may also include or may be referred to as a personal electronic device such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, a UE 115 may include or be referred to as a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or a machine type communications (MTC) device, among other examples, which may be implemented in various objects such as appliances, vehicles, or meters, among other examples.
[0061] The UEs 115 described herein may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as UEs 115 that may sometimes operate as relays, as well as the network entities 105 and the network equipment including macro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or gNBs, or relay base stations, among other examples, as shown in FIG. 1.
[0062] The UEs 115 and the network entities 105 may wirelessly communicate with one another via the communication link (s) 125 (e.g., one or more access links) using resources associated with one or more carriers. The term “carrier” may refer to a set of RF spectrum resources having a defined PHY layer structure for supporting the communication link (s) 125. For example, a carrier used for the communication link (s) 125 may include a portion of an RF spectrum band (e.g., a bandwidth part (BWP) ) that is operated according to one or more PHY layer channels for a given RAT (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR) . Each PHY layer channel may carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information) , control signaling that coordinates operation for the carrier, user data, or other signaling. The wireless communications system 100 may support communication with a UE 115 using carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. A UE 115 may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both frequency division duplexing (FDD) and time division duplexing (TDD) component carriers. Communication between a network entity 105 and other devices may refer to communication between the devices and any portion (e.g., entity, sub-entity) of a network entity 105. For example, the terms “transmitting, ” “receiving, ” or “communicating, ” when referring to a network entity 105, may refer to any portion of a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, a CU 160, a DU 165, a RU 170) of a RAN communicating with another device (e.g., directly or via one or more other network entities, such as one or more of the network entities 105) .
[0063] Signal waveforms transmitted via a carrier may be made up of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) ) . In a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may refer to resources of one symbol period (e.g., a duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, in which case the symbol period and subcarrier spacing may be inversely related. The quantity of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the coding rate of the modulation scheme, or both) , such that a relatively higher quantity of resource elements (e.g., in a transmission duration) and a relatively higher order of a modulation scheme may correspond to a relatively higher rate of communication. A wireless communications resource may refer to a combination of an RF spectrum resource, a time resource, and a spatial resource (e.g., a spatial layer, a beam) , and the use of multiple spatial resources may increase the data rate or data integrity for communications with a UE 115.
[0064] The time intervals for the network entities 105 or the UEs 115 may be expressed in multiples of a basic time unit which may, for example, refer to a sampling period of Ts=1 / (Δfmax·Nf) seconds, for which Δfmax may represent a supported subcarrier spacing, and Nf may represent a supported discrete Fourier transform (DFT) size. Time intervals of a communications resource may be organized according to radio frames each having a specified duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms) ) . Each radio frame may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023) .
[0065] Each frame may include multiple consecutively-numbered subframes or slots, and each subframe or slot may have the same duration. In some examples, a frame may be divided (e.g., in the time domain) into subframes, and each subframe may be further divided into a quantity of slots. Alternatively, each frame may include a variable quantity of slots, and the quantity of slots may depend on subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a quantity of symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix prepended to each symbol period) . In some wireless communications systems, such as the wireless communications system 100, a slot may further be divided into multiple mini-slots associated with one or more symbols. Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may be associated with one or more (e.g., Nf) sampling periods. The duration of a symbol period may depend on the subcarrier spacing or frequency band of operation.
[0066] A subframe, a slot, a mini-slot, or a symbol may be the smallest scheduling unit (e.g., in the time domain) of the wireless communications system 100 and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI) . In some examples, the TTI duration (e.g., a quantity of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable. Additionally, or alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system 100 may be dynamically selected (e.g., in bursts of shortened TTIs (sTTIs) ) .
[0067] Physical channels may be multiplexed for communication using a carrier according to various techniques. A physical control channel and a physical data channel may be multiplexed for signaling via a downlink carrier, for example, using one or more of time division multiplexing (TDM) techniques, frequency division multiplexing (FDM) techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. A control region (e.g., a control resource set (CORESET) ) for a physical control channel may be defined by a set of symbol periods and may extend across the system bandwidth or a subset of the system bandwidth of the carrier. One or more control regions (e.g., CORESETs) may be configured for a set of the UEs 115. For example, one or more of the UEs 115 may monitor or search control regions for control information according to one or more search space sets, and each search space set may include one or multiple control channel candidates in one or more aggregation levels arranged in a cascaded manner. An aggregation level for a control channel candidate may refer to an amount of control channel resources (e.g., control channel elements (CCEs) ) associated with encoded information for a control information format having a given payload size. Search space sets may include common search space sets configured for sending control information to UEs 115 (e.g., one or more UEs) or may include UE-specific search space sets for sending control information to a UE 115 (e.g., a specific UE) .
[0068] In some examples, a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) may be movable and therefore provide communication coverage for a moving coverage area, such as the coverage area 110. In some examples, coverage areas 110 (e.g., different coverage areas) associated with different technologies may overlap, but the coverage areas 110 (e.g., different coverage areas) may be supported by the same network entity (e.g., a network entity 105) . In some other examples, overlapping coverage areas, such as a coverage area 110, associated with different technologies may be supported by different network entities (e.g., the network entities 105) . The wireless communications system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous network in which different types of the network entities 105 support communications for coverage areas 110 (e.g., different coverage areas) using the same or different RATs.
[0069] The wireless communications system 100 may be configured to support ultra-reliable communications or low-latency communications, or various combinations thereof. For example, the wireless communications system 100 may be configured to support ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) . The UEs 115 may be designed to support ultra-reliable, low-latency, or critical functions. Ultra-reliable communications may include private communication or group communication and may be supported by one or more services such as push-to-talk, video, or data. Support for ultra-reliable, low-latency functions may include prioritization of services, and such services may be used for public safety or general commercial applications. The terms ultra-reliable, low-latency, and ultra-reliable low-latency may be used interchangeably herein.
[0070] In some examples, a UE 115 may be configured to support communicating directly with other UEs (e.g., one or more of the UEs 115) via a device-to-device (D2D) communication link, such as a D2D communication link 135 (e.g., in accordance with a peer-to-peer (P2P) , D2D, or sidelink protocol) . In some examples, one or more UEs 115 of a group that are performing D2D communications may be within the coverage area 110 of a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) , which may support aspects of such D2D communications being configured by (e.g., scheduled by) the network entity 105. In some examples, one or more UEs 115 of such a group may be outside the coverage area 110 of a network entity 105 or may be otherwise unable to or not configured to receive transmissions from a network entity 105. In some examples, groups of the UEs 115 communicating via D2D communications may support a one-to-many (1: M) system in which each UE 115 transmits to one or more of the UEs 115 in the group. In some examples, a network entity 105 may facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In some other examples, D2D communications may be carried out between the UEs 115 without an involvement of a network entity 105.
[0071] The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC) , which may include at least one control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME) , an access and mobility management function (AMF) ) and at least one user plane entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW) , a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW) , or a user plane function (UPF) ) . The control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for the UEs 115 served by the network entities 105 (e.g., base stations 140) associated with the core network 130. User IP packets may be transferred through the user plane entity, which may provide IP address allocation as well as other functions. The user plane entity may be connected to IP services 150 for one or more network operators. The IP services 150 may include access to the Internet, Intranet (s) , an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) , or a Packet-Switched Streaming Service.
[0072] The wireless communications system 100 may operate using one or more frequency bands, which may be in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz) . Generally, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is known as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelengths range from approximately one decimeter to one meter in length. UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features, which may be referred to as clusters, but the waves may penetrate structures sufficiently for a macro cell to provide service to the UEs 115 located indoors. Communications using UHF waves may be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than one hundred kilometers) compared to communications using the smaller frequencies and longer waves of the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portion of the spectrum below 300 MHz.
[0073] The wireless communications system 100 may utilize both licensed and unlicensed RF spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communications system 100 may employ License Assisted Access (LAA) , LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) RAT, or NR technology using an unlicensed band such as the 5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. While operating using unlicensed RF spectrum bands, devices such as the network entities 105 and the UEs 115 may employ carrier sensing for collision detection and avoidance. In some examples, operations using unlicensed bands may be based on a carrier aggregation configuration in conjunction with component carriers operating using a licensed band (e.g., LAA) . Operations using unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P transmissions, or D2D transmissions, among other examples.
[0074] A network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) or a UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, or beamforming. The antennas of a network entity 105 or a UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels, which may support MIMO operations or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some examples, antennas or antenna arrays associated with a network entity 105 may be located at diverse geographic locations. A network entity 105 may include an antenna array with a set of rows and columns of antenna ports that the network entity 105 may use to support beamforming of communications with a UE 115. Likewise, a UE 115 may include one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally, or alternatively, an antenna panel may support RF beamforming for a signal transmitted via an antenna port.
[0075] The network entities 105 or the UEs 115 may use MIMO communications to exploit multipath signal propagation and increase spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers. Such techniques may be referred to as spatial multiplexing. The multiple signals may, for example, be transmitted by the transmitting device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Likewise, the multiple signals may be received by the receiving device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Each of the multiple signals may be referred to as a separate spatial stream and may carry information associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams (e.g., different codewords) . Different spatial layers may be associated with different antenna ports used for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO techniques include single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) , for which multiple spatial layers are transmitted to the same receiving device, and multiple-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) , for which multiple spatial layers are transmitted to multiple devices.
[0076] Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a network entity 105, a UE 115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam, a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming may be achieved by combining the signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array such that some signals propagating along particular orientations with respect to an antenna array experience constructive interference while others experience destructive interference. The adjustment of signals communicated via the antenna elements may include a transmitting device or a receiving device applying amplitude offsets, phase offsets, or both to signals carried via the antenna elements associated with the device. The adjustments associated with each of the antenna elements may be defined by a beamforming weight set associated with a particular orientation (e.g., with respect to the antenna array of the transmitting device or receiving device, or with respect to some other orientation) .
[0077] A network entity 105 or a UE 115 may use beam sweeping techniques as part of beamforming operations. For example, a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays (e.g., antenna panels) to conduct beamforming operations for directional communications with a UE 115. Some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted by a network entity 105 multiple times along different directions. For example, the network entity 105 may transmit a signal according to different beamforming weight sets associated with different directions of transmission. Transmissions along different beam directions may be used to identify (e.g., by a transmitting device, such as a network entity 105, or by a receiving device, such as a UE 115) a beam direction for later transmission or reception by the network entity 105.
[0078] Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particular receiving device, may be transmitted by a transmitting device (e.g., a network entity 105 or a UE 115) along a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with the receiving device, such as another network entity 105 or UE 115) . In some examples, the beam direction associated with transmissions along a single beam direction may be determined based on a signal that was transmitted along one or more beam directions. For example, a UE 115 may receive one or more of the signals transmitted by the network entity 105 along different directions and may report to the network entity 105 an indication of the signal that the UE 115 received with a highest signal quality or an otherwise acceptable signal quality.
[0079] In some examples, transmissions by a device (e.g., by a network entity 105 or a UE 115) may be performed using multiple beam directions, and the device may use a combination of digital precoding or beamforming to generate a combined beam for transmission (e.g., from a network entity 105 to a UE 115) . The UE 115 may report feedback that indicates precoding weights for one or more beam directions, and the feedback may correspond to a configured set of beams across a system bandwidth or one or more sub-bands. The network entity 105 may transmit a reference signal (e.g., a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) , a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) ) , which may be precoded or unprecoded. The UE 115 may provide feedback for beam selection, which may be a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) or codebook-based feedback (e.g., a multi-panel type codebook, a linear combination type codebook, a port selection type codebook) . Although these techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted along one or more directions by a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) , a UE 115 may employ similar techniques for transmitting signals multiple times along different directions (e.g., for identifying a beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by the UE 115) or for transmitting a signal along a single direction (e.g., for transmitting data to a receiving device) .
[0080] A receiving device (e.g., a UE 115) may perform reception operations in accordance with multiple receive configurations (e.g., directional listening) when receiving various signals from a transmitting device (e.g., a network entity 105) , such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals. For example, a receiving device may perform reception in accordance with multiple receive directions by receiving via different antenna subarrays, by processing received signals according to different antenna subarrays, by receiving according to different receive beamforming weight sets (e.g., different directional listening weight sets) applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, or by processing received signals according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, any of which may be referred to as “listening” according to different receive configurations or receive directions. In some examples, a receiving device may use a single receive configuration to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving a data signal) . The single receive configuration may be aligned along a beam direction determined based on listening according to different receive configuration directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have a highest signal strength, highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) , or otherwise acceptable signal quality based on listening according to multiple beam directions) .
[0081] The wireless communications system 100 may be a packet-based network that operates according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communications at the bearer or PDCP layer may be IP-based. An RLC layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate via logical channels. A MAC layer may perform priority handling and multiplexing of logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer also may implement error detection techniques, error correction techniques, or both to support retransmissions to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, an RRC layer may provide establishment, configuration, and maintenance of an RRC connection between a UE 115 and a network entity 105 or a core network 130 supporting radio bearers for user plane data. A PHY layer may map transport channels to physical channels.
[0082] The UEs 115 and the network entities 105 may support retransmissions of data to increase the likelihood that data is received successfully. Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback is one technique for increasing the likelihood that data is received correctly via a communication link (e.g., the communication link (s) 125, a D2D communication link 135) . HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) ) , forward error correction (FEC) , and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ) ) . HARQ may improve throughput at the MAC layer in relatively poor radio conditions (e.g., low signal-to-noise conditions) . In some examples, a device may support same-slot HARQ feedback, in which case the device may provide HARQ feedback in a specific slot for data received via a previous symbol in the slot. In some other examples, the device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent slot, or according to some other time interval.
[0083] In some examples of the wireless communications system 100, a UE 115 may communicate with one or more network nodes using beamformed communications. For example, the UE 115 may receive downlink signaling using a reception beam and may transmit uplink data using a transmission beam. In some examples, the UE 115 may determine parameters (e.g., a configuration) for using a beam according to a TCI state. As described herein, a TCI state may include configurations such as quasi co-location (QCL) relationships between downlink reference signals in a CSI-RS set and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports, which may support the UE 115 identifying an appropriate communication beam.
[0084] In some cases, the UE 115 may be configured to use multiple TCI states, such as in a unified TCI framework. In such examples, the UE 115 may receive control signaling at various layers of a layered protocol stack which support the UE 115 using different TCI states for communicating different signals. For example, the UE 115 may receive RRC signaling (e.g., upper layer signaling) configuring the UE 115 with a list of TCI states, which may be candidate TCI states that the UE 115 may use for subsequent communications.
[0085] In some cases, the RRC signaling may configure the UE 115 with a unified TCI state type per component carrier, such as a joint TCI state type or a separate TCI state type. As an example, in a joint TCI state type scenario, the RRC signaling may configure the UE 115 with a list of up to 128 joint TCI states (e.g., via a parameter dl-OrJointTCI-StateList) for downlink operation and uplink operation. In the joint TCI configuration, one joint TCI state may provide the UE 115 with a QCL relationship between a reference signal and a PDSCH DMRS port and a CSI-RS and a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) DMRS port, and may further provide the UE 115 with information to support determining an uplink transmission spatial filter for dynamic physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) , configured grant (CG) , physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) , and sounding reference signal (SRS) communications. Alternatively, in a separate TCI state type scenario, the RRC signaling may configure the UE 115 with a list of up to 128 downlink TCI states (e.g., via a parameter dl-OrJointTCI-StateList) and a list of up to 64 uplink TCI states (e.g., via a parameter ul-TCI-ToAddModList) . In the separate TCI configuration, a downlink TCI state may provide the UE 115 with a QCL relationship between a reference signal and a PDSCH DMRS port and a CSI-RS and a PDCCH DMRS port, and an uplink TCI state may provide the UE 115 with information to support determining an uplink transmission spatial filter for dynamic PUSCH, CG, PUCCH, and SRS communications.
[0086] In some cases, the UE 115 may receive a MAC-CE (e.g., via a MAC layer, via lower layer signaling) that activates one or more TCI states configured for the UE 115 by the RRC signaling. In some examples, the TCI activation MAC-CE may activate up to 8 TCI states (e.g., joint TCI states) or pairs of TCI states (e.g., separate TCI states) , where each pair may include one downlink TCI state and one uplink TCI state. In another example, the TCI activation MAC-CE may activate up to 8 sets of TCI states, where each set of TCI states may include up to two TCI states for downlink and uplink communications (e.g., joint TCI states) or each set of TCI states may include up to two TCI states for downlink communications and up to two TCI states for uplink communications (e.g., separate TCI states) . In such examples, when TCI states are activated in sets, the TCI activation MAC-CE may map, via a DCI field of the MAC-CE, each set of TCI states to respective TCI codepoints.
[0087] As an example, in a joint TCI state type configuration, the TCI activation MAC-CE may include information according to Table 1 below:
[0088] Table 1
[0089] With reference to Table 1, the TCI activation MAC-CE may include information indicating joint TCI state activation for multiple TCI codepoints. In some cases, one or more octets (e.g., octet 2 and octet 3 as shown in Table 1) may include fields showing, for each TCI codepoint, which TCI states of the TCI codepoint are activated by the MAC-CE. For example, a field Fi, j in the TCI activation MAC-CE may indicate, for a TCI codepoint i, whether the jth joint TCI state of the TCI codepoint is present, active, or both. As an example, the field F1, 1 may indicate whether the 1st joint TCI state of TCI codepoint 1 is active and the field F1, 2 may indicate whether the 2nd joint TCI state of the TCI codepoint 1 is present, active, or both. In this example, if the field F1, 1 includes a first binary value (e.g., binary 1) , the UE 115 may determine that the 1st joint TCI state of the TCI codepoint 1 is present, active, or both, and if the field F1, 2 includes a second binary value (e.g., binary 0) , the UE 115 may determine that the 2nd joint TCI state of the TCI codepoint 1 is not present, active, or both. The UE 115 may make similar determinations for other TCI codepoints (e.g., TCI codepoints 2 through 8) according to the values of respective fields in the TCI activation MAC-CE. As described herein, each TCI codepoint may include zero, one, or more active joint TCI states according to the values of the fields in the TCI activation MAC-CE.
[0090] As another example, in a separate TCI state type configuration, the TCI activation MAC-CE may include information according to Table 2 below:
[0091] Table 2
[0092] With reference to Table 2, the TCI activation MAC-CE may include information indicating separate TCI state activation for multiple TCI codepoints. In some cases, one or more octets (e.g., octets 3 through 6 as shown in Table 2) may include fields showing, for each TCI codepoint, which TCI states of the TCI codepoint are activated by the MAC-CE. For example, a field Fi, j in the TCI activation MAC-CE may indicate, for a TCI codepoint i, whether the jth downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint is present, active, or both. Further, a field Si, j may indicate, for the TCI codepoint i, whether the jth uplink TCI state of the TCI codepoint is present, active, or both. As an example, the field F1, 1 may indicate whether the 1st downlink TCI state of TCI codepoint 1 is present, active, or both, the field F1, 2 may indicate whether the 2nd downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 1 is present, active, or both, the field S1, 1 may indicate whether the 1st uplink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 1 is present, active, or both, and the field S1, 2 may indicate whether the 2nd uplink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 1 is present, active, or both. In this example, if the field F1, 1 includes a first binary value (e.g., binary 1) , the UE 115 may determine that the 1st downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 1 is present, active, or both, if the field F1, 2 includes a second binary value (e.g., binary 0) , the UE 115 may determine that the 2nd downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 1 is not present, is inactive, or both, if the field S1, 1 includes the first binary value, the UE 115 may determine that the 1st uplink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 1 is present, active, or both, and if the field S1, 2 includes the first binary value, the UE 115 may determine that the 2nd uplink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 1 is present, active, or both. The UE 115 may make similar determinations for other TCI codepoints (e.g., TCI codepoints 2 through 8) according to the values of respective fields in the TCI activation MAC-CE. As described herein, each TCI codepoint may include zero, one, or more active separate TCI states according to the values of the fields in the TCI activation MAC-CE.
[0093] In some examples, the UE 115 may receive a DCI message indicating a TCI codepoint for the UE 115 to use for upcoming communications. For example, the UE 115 may receive a TCI codepoint DCI indicating the TCI codepoint 1, where one or more joint or separate TCI states of the TCI codepoint 1 may be active or inactive according to the TCI activation MAC-CE. The UE 115 may apply the active TCI states of the indicated TCI codepoint for receiving downlink signaling or transmitting uplink signaling.
[0094] However, in some cases, the UE 115 may experience ambiguity as to which active TCI state to apply for communications, such as when the UE 115 communicates with an asymmetric set of TRPs. For example, the UE 115 may establish a connection with a set of network nodes, where a first quantity of the network nodes may support both uplink and downlink signaling with the UE 115 (e.g., network entities 105) and a second quantity of the network nodes may support uplink signaling by the UE 115 while not supporting downlink signaling to the UE 115 (e.g., uplink-only network nodes) . In such examples, the UE 115 may apply multiple (e.g., up to 2) uplink TCI states for uplink communications, but may apply a single downlink TCI state for downlink communications, which may result in the UE 115 being unaware of which downlink TCI state to use when multiple downlink-applicable TCI states (which may refer to a joint TCI state or a separate downlink TCI state) are activated for the UE 115 for an indicated TCI codepoint.
[0095] In some examples, the UE 115 may identify the asymmetric TRP scenario due to being configured with an uplink TCI state that includes a pathloss offset value. For example, due to some network nodes only supporting uplink communications, the UE 115 may not have an opportunity to measure path loss from a downlink reference signal from such network nodes, and a network entity 105 may configure (e.g., in advance) an estimated pathloss offset value for communicating with the network nodes, where the network entity 105 may determine the pathloss offset value based on a measurement of an uplink signal (e.g., an SRS) . For example, the network entity 105 may measure an SRS-reference signal received power (RSRP) difference between a network node supporting downlink (e.g., the network entity 105) and an uplink-only network node. The UE 115 may measure the pathloss between UE 115 and the network node supporting downlink based on a pathloss reference signal transmitted by the network entity node supporting downlink, such that the UE 115 may derive the pathloss between UE 115 and uplink-only network node based on the pathloss (e.g., between UE and the network node supporting downlink) and the pathloss offset indicated by network entity 105.
[0096] To support communicating with multiple TRPs in an asymmetric scenario, the UE 115 may operate according to one or more rules (e.g., a network configuration) associated with asymmetric TRP communications. For example, the UE 115 may receive an indication of two downlink-applicable TCI states that are the same or are associated with the same source reference signal. Additionally, or alternatively, if the UE 115 receives a TCI codepoint corresponding to two different downlink-applicable TCI states, the UE may determine a downlink-applicable TCI state to use based on an indexing of the downlink-applicable TCI states in the TCI codepoint, a TCI state ID associated with each downlink-applicable TCI state, the presence of a pathloss offset value associated with a TCI state, a TCI selection field included in a scheduling DCI, an order of reception of TCI codepoints, or any combination thereof. Such techniques may eliminate ambiguity associated with determining a downlink-applicable TCI state for receiving downlink signals in an asymmetric TRP deployment scenario.
[0097] FIG. 2 shows an example of a wireless communications system 200 that supports TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 200 may implement, or be implemented by, one or more aspects of the wireless communications system 100. For example, the wireless communications system 200 may illustrate an example of a communication network between a UE 115-a, a network entity 105, and one or more network nodes 205 (e.g., a network node 205-a, a network node 205-b, and a network node 205-c) , which may be examples of corresponding devices described with reference to FIG. 1.
[0098] In some cases, the wireless communications system 200 may show an example of the UE 115-a communicating in an asymmetric TRP deployment scenario. For example, the UE 115-a may communicate via one or more downlink communications links 210 (e.g., from the network entity 105-a) and via one or more uplink communications links 215 (e.g., to the network entity 105-a and the network nodes 205) , where the quantity of downlink communications links 210 may be different from (e.g., less than) the quantity of uplink communications links 215.
[0099] In some examples, due to the asymmetric TRP deployment scenario, the UE 115-a may have multiple downlink-applicable TCI states activated for communications (e.g., from an activation MAC-CE as described with reference to FIG. 1) , but may be unaware of which downlink-applicable TCI state to use for receiving downlink signals from the network entity 105-a. For example, the UE 115-a may receive an indication of a TCI codepoint including multiple downlink-applicable TCI states and multiple uplink-applicable TCI states (e.g., in either a joint or separate configuration) . In such examples, the UE 115-a may apply the multiple uplink-applicable TCI states for communicating via the multiple uplink communications links 215, but may be unaware of which single downlink-applicable TCI state to use for communicating via the single downlink communications link 210.
[0100] As described herein, the UE 115-a may operate according to one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications to determine an appropriate downlink-applicable TCI state to use for communicating via the downlink communications link 210. The one or more rules may define a network configuration for activating and indicating downlink-applicable TCI states, behavior of the UE 115-a in response to receiving a TCI codepoint that is associated with multiple downlink-applicable TCI states, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the UE 115-a may identify the asymmetric TRP deployment scenario (e.g., determine to operate according to the one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications) based on being configured with an uplink-applicable TCI state is associated with a pathloss offset value. For example, due to the network nodes 205 not supporting downlink communications, the UE 115-a may not have an opportunity to measure path loss (e.g., via a downlink reference signal) from the network nodes 205, and the network entity 105-a may configure (e.g., in advance) an estimated pathloss offset value for communicating with the network nodes 205.
[0101] In some cases, the network entity 105-a may determine the pathloss offset value based on a measurement of an uplink signal (e.g., an SRS) . For example, the network entity 105-a can measure an SRS-RSRP difference between a network node supporting downlink (e.g., the network entity 105-a) and an uplink-only network node 205. The UE 115-a may measure the pathloss between UE 115-a and the network entity 105-a based on a pathloss reference signal transmitted by the network entity 105-a (e.g., supporting downlink) , such that the UE 115-a may derive the pathloss between UE 115-a and uplink-only network node 205 based on the pathloss (e.g., between UE 115-a and the network entity 105-a) and the pathloss offset indicated by network entity 105-a. Thus, use of the one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications may be in accordance with a configured set of TCI states for the UE 115 including at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with a pathloss offset value.
[0102] In some cases, the one or more rules may be associated with a joint TCI state type configuration (e.g., as described in greater detail with reference to FIG. 4) or a separate TCI state type configuration (e.g., as described in greater detail with reference to FIGs. 5A, 5B, and 5C) . In some examples, the UE 115-a may apply the one or more rules based on signaling received from the network entity 105-a, such as receiving different TCI codepoints in different DCI messages (e.g., as described in greater detail with reference to FIG. 3) . By applying the one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications, the UE 115-a may eliminate or otherwise ameliorate communication issues resulting from ambiguity as to which downlink-applicable TCI state to use for receiving downlink signaling.
[0103] FIG. 3 shows an example of a signaling timeline 300 that supports TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The signaling timeline 300 may implement, or be implemented, one or more aspects of the wireless communications systems 100 and 200. For example, the signaling timeline 300 may illustrate an example of communications received by a UE 115 over a duration (e.g., a set of one or more slots) , which may be an example of a UE 115 described with reference to FIGs. 1 and 2. In some cases, the signaling timeline 300 may support the UE 115 receiving downlink signaling using a downlink-applicable TCI state, where use of the downlink-applicable TCI state may be in accordance with one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications, as described with reference to FIGs. 1 and 2.
[0104] In some cases, the UE 115 may receive a DCI message including an indication of a TCI codepoint from a set of TCI codepoints activated for the UE 115 (e.g., activated by a TCI activation MAC-CE) . For example, the UE 115 may receive a TCI codepoint indication DCI 305-a (e.g., a DCI message having format 1_1 or 1_2, which may or may not include PDSCH scheduling) indicating a first TCI codepoint for the UE 115 to use for subsequent communications, such as during an application duration 320-a associated with the TCI codepoint indication DCI 305-a. The first TCI codepoint may correspond to a first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states, such as one or more joint TCI states (e.g., in a joint TCI state type configuration, as described in greater detail with reference to FIG. 4) or one or more downlink TCI states (e.g., in a separate TCI state type configuration, as described in greater detail with reference to FIGs. 5A, 5B, and 5C) . As described with reference to FIG. 1, each downlink-applicable TCI state may be indicated as active or inactive according to a TCI activation MAC-CE, and as such each TCI codepoint may include zero, one, or more active downlink-applicable TCI states.
[0105] In some examples, the UE 115 may use a first downlink-applicable TCI state included in the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states to receive downlink signaling (e.g., from a network entity 105) . As an example, the UE 115 may receive a scheduling DCI 310-a (which may be separate from or included with the TCI codepoint indication DCI 305) that schedules a PDSCH 315-a. The UE 115 may use the first downlink-applicable TCI state for receiving the PDSCH 315-a (e.g., a beamformed downlink transmission) , where use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state may be in accordance with the one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications.
[0106] For example, in a joint TCI state type configuration (e.g., described with greater detail with reference to FIG. 4) , the UE 115 may use the first downlink-applicable TCI state based on the first TCI codepoint being associated with one or more downlink-applicable TCI states that are the same, share a same source reference signal, or both, a second downlink-applicable TCI state of the first TCI codepoint being associated with a pathloss offset value, an indexing, within the first TCI codepoint, of the first downlink-applicable TCI state relative to other downlink-applicable TCI states of the first TCI codepoint, a TCI state ID associated with the first downlink-applicable TCI state, a TCI selection field of the scheduling DCI 310-a indicating the first downlink-applicable TCI state, or any combination thereof, among other examples. Additionally, or alternatively, the network entity 105 may configure, in accordance with the one or more rules, the TCI codepoints indicated to the UE 115 to each include a same quantity of downlink-applicable TCI states.
[0107] As another example, in a separate TCI state type configuration (e.g., described with greater detail with reference to FIGs. 5A, 5B, and 5C) , the network entity 105 may configure, in accordance with the one or more rules, the TCI codepoints indicated to the UE 115 to each include at most a single downlink-applicable TCI state (e.g., the first downlink-applicable TCI state) and one or more uplink-applicable TCI states, to each include a downlink-applicable TCI state mapped to a same index within each TCI codepoint, or to each include a same quantity of downlink-applicable TCI states. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 115 may determine to use the first downlink-applicable TCI state based on the indexing, within the first TCI codepoint, of the first downlink-applicable TCI state.
[0108] In some examples, the UE 115 may receive a TCI codepoint indication DCI 305-b (e.g., after receiving the TCI codepoint indication DCI 305-a) , which may indicate a second TCI codepoint different from the first TCI codepoint. For example, the second TCI codepoint may correspond to a second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states for the UE 115 to use for subsequent communications, such as during an application duration 320-b associated with the TCI codepoint indication DCI 305-b. The UE 115 may receive a scheduling DCI 310-b that schedules a PDSCH 315-b, and the UE 115 may use a downlink-applicable TCI state to receive the PDSCH 315-b according to the one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications. For example, the UE 115 may switch from using the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states to the second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states based on receiving the TCI codepoint indication DCI 305-b after receiving the TCI codepoint indication DCI 305-a. In such examples, the UE 115 may identify the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states as inactive (e.g., releasing the TCI states) in response to switching to the second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states. Alternatively, the UE 115 may update a subset of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states with the second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states or may ignore the second TCI codepoint (e.g., refrain from applying the second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states) in accordance with the one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications.
[0109] By applying the one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications, the UE 115 may reduce ambiguity as to which downlink-applicable TCI state to use for receiving downlink signaling, thereby improving performance of the UE 115.
[0110] FIG. 4 shows an example of a joint TCI codepoint configuration 400 that supports TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The joint TCI codepoint configuration 400 may implement, or be implemented by, one or more aspects of the wireless communications systems 100 and 200, as well as the signaling timeline 300. For example, the joint TCI codepoint configuration 400 may show an example of a set of TCI codepoints configured for a UE 115 to use for performing beamformed communications, as described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 3. In some cases, the joint TCI codepoint configuration 400 may support the UE 115 using a downlink-applicable TCI state for receiving downlink signaling in an asymmetric TRP deployment scenario according to one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications. As described herein, a joint TCI state may include parameters or information associated with both uplink beamforming and downlink beamforming.
[0111] In some examples, each TCI codepoint included in the joint TCI codepoint configuration 400 may correspond (e.g., be mapped to) a set of one or more joint TCI states, where each joint TCI state may be active or inactive according to a TCI activation MAC-CE (e.g., described with reference to FIG. 1) . For example, as illustrated in the joint TCI codepoint configuration 400, the TCI codepoint 000 may correspond to a 1st joint TCI state (e.g., a first index within the TCI codepoint) that is inactive and a 2nd joint TCI state (e.g., a second index within the TCI codepoint) that is active, the TCI codepoint 001 may correspond to a 1st joint TCI state index that is active and a 2nd joint TCI state that is inactive, the TCI codepoint 010 may correspond to a 1st joint TCI state that is active and a 2nd joint TCI state that is active, and so on. It should be noted that the activation status of each TCI codepoint is not limited to the example illustrated by the joint TCI codepoint configuration 400, and the joint TCI states corresponding to each TCI codepoint may have any activation status. The UE 115 may use a joint TCI state of a TCI codepoint for receiving downlink signaling according to the one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications. For example, the UE 115 may identify the asymmetric TRP scenario based on at least one joint TCI state being configured or associated with a pathloss offset value.
[0112] In some cases, a network entity 105 may configure the set of TCI codepoints according to the one or more rules. For example, if a TCI codepoint includes two active joint TCI states (e.g., the TCI codepoint 010 in the example illustrated by the joint TCI codepoint configuration 400) , each joint TCI state may be associated with a same source reference signal, each joint TCI state may be configured to be the same TCI state, or both. Additionally, or alternatively, the network entity 105 may configure each TCI codepoint to map to a same quantity of joint TCI states, for example such that each TCI codepoint corresponds to two joint TCI states or each TCI codepoint corresponds to a single joint TCI state. In some other examples, the TCI codepoints may correspond to different quantities of joint TCI states, and the UE 115 may update a currently-applied set of joint TCI states when receiving a TCI codepoint corresponding to a lesser quantity of TCI states. For example, the UE 115 may receive (e.g., via a TCI codepoint indication DCI 305 described with reference to FIG. 3) a first TCI codepoint corresponding to two joint TCI states, may receive (e.g., after receiving the first TCI codepoint) a second TCI codepoint corresponding to one joint TCI state, and may switch to using the single joint TCI state of the second TCI codepoint and release the two joint TCI states of the first TCI codepoint.
[0113] In some examples, the UE 115 may determine a joint TCI state to use for receiving downlink signaling according to the one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications. For example, if the UE 115 receives a TCI codepoint including two joint TCI states, the UE 115 may determine to use a joint TCI state that is not associated with a pathloss offset value for receiving the downlink signaling. In some examples, the network entity 105 may activate the TCI codepoints such that the joint TCI state having the pathloss offset value is indexed (e.g., mapped) , within a corresponding TCI codepoint, at a same index value. For example, the joint TCI state having the pathloss offset value may be mapped to the 1st joint TCI state in each TCI codepoint or may be mapped to the 2nd joint TCI state in each TCI codepoint.
[0114] Alternatively, the joint TCI state having the pathloss offset value may be mapped to either of the 1st joint TCI state or the 2nd joint TCI state in each TCI codepoint. In such examples, the UE 115 may receive an indication of two joint TCI states that each have a pathloss offset value, such as if the UE 115 updates a currently-applied set of joint TCI states (e.g., a 1st joint TCI state with a pathloss offset value and a 2nd joint TCI state without a pathloss offset value) with a joint TCI state of a second TCI codepoint (e.g., indicating a 2nd joint TCI state having a pathloss offset value, which the UE 115 may update to apply the newly indicated 2nd joint TCI state having the pathloss offset value) . To determine a joint TCI state to use when indicated with two joint TCI states having respective pathloss offset values, the UE 115, in accordance with the one or more rules, may select a joint TCI state according to a fixed or default joint TCI selection scheme (e.g., selecting the 1st joint TCI state or the joint TCI state having the lowest TCI state ID) or may determine a joint TCI state according to an indication in a TCI selection field (e.g., of a scheduling DCI 310 described with reference to FIG. 3) .
[0115] Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 115 may use the fixed or default joint TCI selection scheme whenever the UE 115 receives a TCI codepoint corresponding to two different joint TCI states. For example, the UE 115 may assume to use the 1st joint TCI state of the TCI codepoint (e.g., due to being indexed before the 2nd joint TCI state in the TCI codepoint) or may assume to use the TCI state having the lowest TCI state ID (e.g., indicated in a TCI activation MAC-CE) . In some other examples, the UE 115 may receive a DCI including a TCI selection field that indicates one of the joint TCI states for the UE 115 to use for receiving downlink data signals, such as PDSCH transmissions. In some cases, the TCI selection field may include a one bit indication. Alternatively, the TCI selection field may include a two bit indication, where the network entity 105 may refrain from indicating a TCI selection field value that maps to both the 1st joint TCI state and the 2nd joint TCI state (e.g., the UE 115 may not expect to receive a TCI selection field value mapped to index ‘2’ ) . In such examples, the UE 115 may expect that subsequent DCI messages include TCI selection field values that are the same as the previously-indicated TCI selection field value (e.g., at least before receiving a subsequent DCI indicating a new TCI codepoint) .
[0116] Further, for determining a joint TCI state for receiving downlink control signals, such as PDCCH transmissions, the UE 115 may receive RRC signaling indicating whether to apply the 1st joint TCI state or the 2nd joint TCI state. Additionally, or alternatively, in such examples, the UE 115 may expect that each CORESET is configured to apply the same indicated joint TCI state. For example, the network entity 105 may configure each CORESET of a wireless channel between the network entity 105 and the UE 115 to apply either the 1st joint TCI state or the 2nd joint TCI state.
[0117] In some examples, an aperiodic CSI-RS resource set may be configured to follow a unified TCI state. In some cases, the network entity 105 may configure the joint TCI states such that the 1st joint TCI state and the 2nd joint TCI state are not associated with different aperiodic CSI-RS resource sets. For example, the UE 115 may not expect to be configured to apply the 1st joint TCI state for a first aperiodic CSI-RS resource set and apply the 2nd joint TCI state for a second aperiodic CSI-RS. Alternatively, the network entity 105 may configure the joint TCI states to be associated with different aperiodic CSI-RS resource sets, where the network entity 105 may schedule the UE 115 with a first aperiodic CSI-RS resource set configured to apply the 1st joint TCI state and may refrain from scheduling the UE 115 with a second aperiodic CSI-RS resource set configured to apply the 2nd joint TCI state within an application duration of a beam indication DCI (e.g., an application duration 320 associated with a TCI codepoint indication DCI 305 as described with reference to FIG. 3) .
[0118] By applying the one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications, the UE 115 may reduce ambiguity as to which joint TCI state to use for receiving downlink signaling, thereby improving performance of the UE 115.
[0119] FIGs. 5A, 5B, and 5C show examples of separate TCI codepoint configurations 501, 502, and 503, respectively, that support TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The separate TCI codepoint configurations 501, 502, and 503 each may implement, or be implemented by, one or more aspects of the wireless communications systems 100 and 200, as well as the signaling timeline 300. For example, the separate TCI codepoint configurations 501, 502, and 503 may show respective examples of a set of TCI codepoints configured for a UE 115 to use for performing beamformed communications, as described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 3. In some cases, the separate TCI codepoint configurations 501, 502, and 503 may support the UE 115 using a downlink-applicable TCI state for receiving downlink signaling in an asymmetric TRP deployment scenario according to one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications. As described herein, a separate TCI state may include parameters or information associated with a single communication direction, such as a downlink TCI state or an uplink TCI state.
[0120] In some examples, each TCI codepoint included in each separate TCI codepoint configuration 501, 502, and 503 may correspond to a set of one or more downlink TCI states and a set of one or more uplink TCI states (e.g., separate TCI states) , where each separate TCI state may be active or inactive according to a TCI activation MAC-CE (e.g., described with reference to FIG. 1) . It should be noted that the activation status of each TCI codepoint is not limited to the examples illustrated by the separate TCI codepoint configurations 501, 502, and 503, and the separate TCI states corresponding to each TCI codepoint may have any activation status. The UE 115 may use a downlink TCI state of a TCI codepoint for receiving downlink signaling according to the one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications. For example, the UE 115 may identify the asymmetric TRP scenario based on at least one uplink TCI state being configured or associated with a pathloss offset value.
[0121] Referring to the separate TCI codepoint configuration 501 illustrated by FIG. 5A, the TCI codepoints of the separate TCI codepoint configuration 501 may be configured according to the one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications. For example, in the example illustrated by the separate TCI codepoint configuration 501, up to one downlink TCI state and up to two uplink TCI states may be mapped to a TCI codepoint. In such examples, a network entity 105 may configure each TCI codepoint to include a downlink TCI state at a same index within each TCI codepoint. For example, as illustrated by the separate TCI codepoint configuration 501, the network entity 105 may configure each TCI codepoint of the separate TCI codepoint configuration 501 to include the downlink TCI state in the 1st downlink TCI state (e.g., the 2nd downlink TCI state may be inactive for each TCI codepoint) . Alternatively, the network entity 105 may configure each TCI codepoint of the separate TCI codepoint configuration 501 to include the downlink TCI state in the 2nd downlink TCI state (e.g., the 1st downlink TCI state may be inactive for each TCI codepoint) . Thus, the UE 115 may not expect that a downlink TCI state is mapped to the 1st downlink TCI state for a first TCI codepoint while a downlink TCI state is mapped to the 2nd downlink TCI state for a second TCI codepoint. In such examples, scheduling DCI messages may not include a TCI selection field (e.g., configured to be absent) due to a single downlink TCI state being mapped to each TCI codepoint.
[0122] Referring to the separate TCI codepoint configuration 502 illustrated by FIG. 5B, the TCI codepoints of the separate TCI codepoint configuration 502 may be configured according to the one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications. For example, similar to the TCI codepoint configuration 501, each TCI codepoint may be mapped to up to one downlink TCI state and up to two uplink TCI states. In the example illustrated by the TCI codepoint configuration 502, a first portion of the TCI codepoints may map the single downlink TCI state to the 1st downlink TCI state (e.g., the TCI codepoints 000 through 011) and a second portion of the TCI codepoints may map the single downlink TCI state to the 2nd downlink TCI state (e.g., the TCI codepoints 100 through 111) .
[0123] As an example, the UE 115 may, in accordance with the one or more rules, determine to use a downlink TCI state mapped to the 1st downlink TCI state (e.g., the downlink TCI state mapped to the 1st downlink TCI state of a TCI codepoint is used for receiving downlink signaling) . For example, the UE 115 may receive a first DCI indicating the TCI codepoint 000 having a first downlink TCI state mapped to the 1st downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 000 and may receive a second DCI (e.g., after receiving the first DCI) indicating the TCI codepoint 101 having a second downlink TCI state mapped to the 2nd downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 101. In this example, the UE 115 may apply the first downlink TCI state in response to receiving the indication of the TCI codepoint 000 and may ignore the second downlink TCI state (e.g., refrain from applying the second downlink TCI state) due to the one or more rules indicating to use downlink TCI states mapped to the 1st downlink TCI state of a TCI codepoint.
[0124] As another example, the UE 115 may, in accordance with the one or more rules, determine to use a downlink TCI state mapped to the 2nd downlink TCI state (e.g., the downlink TCI state mapped to the 2nd downlink TCI state of a TCI codepoint is used for receiving downlink signaling) . For example, the UE 115 may receive a first DCI indicating the TCI codepoint 000 having a first downlink TCI state mapped to the 1st downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 000 and may receive a second DCI (e.g., after receiving the first DCI) indicating the TCI codepoint 101 having a second downlink TCI state mapped to the 2nd downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 101. In this example, the UE 115 may ignore (e.g., refrain from applying) the first downlink TCI state in response to receiving the indication of the TCI codepoint 000, and may instead apply a default downlink TCI state due to the TCI codepoint 000 not including an active downlink TCI state at the 2nd downlink TCI state and the one or more rules indicating to use downlink TCI states mapped to the 2nd downlink TCI state of a TCI codepoint. In some cases, the UE 115 may apply the second downlink TCI state in response to receiving the indication of the TCI codepoint 101 due to the TCI codepoint 101 including the second downlink TCI state at the 2nd downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint.
[0125] As another example, the UE 115 may, in accordance with the one or more rules, determine to use a downlink TCI state according to a most-recently received TCI codepoint. For example, the UE 115 may receive a first DCI indicating the TCI codepoint 000 having a first downlink TCI state mapped to the 1st downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 000 and may receive a second DCI (e.g., after receiving the first DCI) indicating the TCI codepoint 101 having a second downlink TCI state mapped to the 2nd downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 101. In this example, the UE 115 may apply the first downlink TCI state in response to receiving the indication of the TCI codepoint 000 and may apply the second downlink TCI state (e.g., switch to the second downlink TCI state from the first downlink TCI state) in response to receiving the indication of the TCI codepoint 101 due to the one or more rules indicating that the UE 115 is to maintain a downlink TCI state indicated by a latest beam indication DCI.
[0126] Referring to the separate TCI codepoint configuration 503 illustrated by FIG. 5C, the TCI codepoints of the separate TCI codepoint configuration 503 may be configured according to the one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications. In the example illustrated by the TCI codepoint configuration 503, each TCI codepoint may be mapped to up to two downlink TCI states and up to two uplink TCI states. For example, the TCI codepoint 000 may be mapped to a downlink TCI state at both the 1st downlink TCI state and the 2nd downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 000. Additionally, or alternatively, some TCI codepoints may include a single downlink TCI state, such as the TCI codepoints 100 and 101 including a downlink TCI state only at the 2nd downlink TCI state.
[0127] As an example, the downlink TCI states of a TCI codepoint that includes two downlink TCI states (e.g., the TCI codepoints 000, 001, 010, 011, 110, and 111 in the example illustrated by the separate TCI codepoint configuration 503) may be configured to be associated with a same source reference signal, may be activated to be the same downlink TCI state, or both. In such examples, if the quantity of downlink TCI states mapped to the TCI codepoints of the separate TCI codepoint configuration 503 varies between TCI codepoints (e.g., the TCI codepoint 000 including two downlink TCI states and the TCI codepoint 101 including one downlink TCI state) , the UE 115 may determine to apply the one or more downlink TCI states of a most-recently indicated TCI codepoint. For example, if the UE 115 receives a first DCI message indicating the TCI codepoint 000, the UE 115 may apply the downlink TCI states mapped to the 1st downlink TCI state and the 2nd downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 000, and if the UE 115 receives a second DCI message (e.g., after receiving the first DCI message) indicating the TCI codepoint 101, the UE 115 may apply the downlink TCI state mapped to the 2nd downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 101 (e.g., switch to using the downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 101 and releasing the downlink TCI states of the TCI codepoint 000) due to the one or more rules indicating to apply downlink TCI states of a latest beam indication DCI. Alternatively, the network entity 105 may configure each TCI codepoint of the separate TCI codepoint configuration 503 to include a same quantity of downlink TCI states (not illustrated) . For example, the network entity 105 may configure each TCI codepoint to correspond to two downlink TCI states (e.g., that are the same or are associated with a same source reference signal) or may configure each TCI codepoint to correspond to a single downlink TCI state.
[0128] As another example, the downlink TCI states of a TCI codepoint that includes two downlink TCI states may be configured as different TCI states, and the UE 115 may determine a downlink TCI state to use for receiving downlink signaling according to the one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications. For example, the one or more rules may indicate to use a downlink TCI state mapped to the 1st downlink TCI state. In this example, the UE 115 may receive a first DCI message indicating the TCI codepoint 000 and may determine to apply the downlink TCI state mapped to the 1st downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 000 (e.g., ignoring the downlink TCI state mapped to the 2nd downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 000) . Additionally, if the UE 115 receives a second DCI message indicating the TCI codepoint 101, the UE 115 may ignore (e.g., refrain from applying) the TCI codepoint 101 due to the TCI codepoint 101 not including a downlink TCI state at the 1st downlink TCI state.
[0129] In another example, the one or more rules may indicate to use a downlink TCI state mapped to the 2nd downlink TCI state. In this example, the UE 115 may receive a first DCI message indicating the TCI codepoint 000 and may determine to apply the downlink TCI state mapped to the 2nd downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 000 (e.g., ignoring the downlink TCI state mapped to the 1st downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 000) . Additionally, if the UE 115 receives a second DCI message indicating the TCI codepoint 101, the UE 115 may update to using (e.g., apply) the 2nd downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 101 due to the one or more rules indicating to use a downlink TCI state mapped to the 2nd downlink TCI state.
[0130] In another example, the one or more rules may indicate to use a certain TCI state index when the UE 115 receives a TCI codepoint corresponding to two downlink TCI states and to use the indicated TCI state when the UE 115 receives a TCI codepoint corresponding to a single TCI state. In this example, the UE 115 may receive a first DCI message indicating the TCI codepoint 000 and may determine to apply the downlink TCI state mapped to the 1st or the 2nd downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 000 (e.g., where the selection of the 1st or the 2nd downlink TCI state may be fixed or configured in advance by the network) . Additionally, if the UE 115 receives a second DCI message indicating the TCI codepoint 101, the UE 115 may update to using (e.g., apply) the 2nd downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 101 due to the one or more rules indicating to use the single downlink TCI state mapped to the TCI codepoint 101 and the UE 115 may release (e.g., identify as inactive) the 1st or the 2nd downlink TCI state of the TCI codepoint 000 used prior to receiving the indication of the TCI codepoint 101. In such examples where the UE 115 may receive a TCI codepoint mapped to two different downlink TCI states, scheduling DCI messages may be configured to not include or otherwise not use the TCI selection field (e.g., due to the UE 115 determining an appropriate downlink TCI state according to the one or more rules) .
[0131] By applying the one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications, the UE 115 may reduce ambiguity as to which downlink TCI state to use for receiving downlink signaling, thereby improving performance of the UE 115
[0132] In some aspects, the UE 115 may indicate, via UE 115 capability signaling, a quantity of indicated downlink TCI states that the UE 115 is capable of supporting per component carrier. Further, the UE 115 may indicate, via the UE 115 capability signaling, a quantity of indicated uplink TCI states that the UE 115 is capable of supporting per component carrier. In some cases, the network entity 105 may determine the quantity of indicated downlink and uplink TCI states based on the UE 115 capability signaling.
[0133] FIG. 6 shows an example of a process flow 600 that supports TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The process flow 600 may implement, or be implemented by, one or more aspects of wireless communications systems 100 and 200, the signaling timeline 300, the joint TCI codepoint configuration 400, and the separate TCI codepoint configurations 501, 502, and 503. For example, the process flow 600 may show an example of signaling between a UE 115-b and a network entity 105-b, which may be examples of corresponding devices described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 5C. In some cases, the process flow 600 may support the UE 115-b applying a downlink-applicable TCI state for receiving downlink signaling from the network entity 105-b, where use of the downlink-applicable TCI state may be in accordance with one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications, as described with reference to FIGs. 2 through 5C. Alternative examples of the following may be implemented, where some processes are performed in a different order than described or are not performed. In some cases, processes may include additional features not mentioned below, or further processes may be added.
[0134] At 605, the UE 115-b may receive a TCI state list and a configuration associated with the TCI states (e.g., one or more TCI state pools) . For example, the network entity 105-b may transmit RRC signaling to the UE 115-b indicating a list of candidate TCI states available for use by the UE 115-b and indicating whether the TCI states are associated with a joint TCI type configuration or a separate TCI type configuration (e.g., the RRC signaling may indicate whether the UE 115-b is to operate according to a joint TCI mode or according to a separate TCI mode) . In a joint TCI mode, each joint TCI state may be considered a downlink-applicable TCI state and an uplink-applicable TCI state, and in a separate TCI mode, a downlink TCI state may be considered a downlink-applicable TCI state and an uplink TCI state may be considered an uplink-applicable TCI state. The TCI state list may configure at least one uplink-applicable TCI state for the UE 115-b that is associated with a pathloss offset value, which may be indicative of an asymmetric TRP scenario as described herein. For example, the UE 115-b may be configured for communications via an asymmetric set of TRPs, where the asymmetric set of TRPs may include a first quantity of one or more TRPs that each support downlink signaling to the UE 115-b and a second quantity of two or more TRPs that each support uplink communications by the UE 115-b, the second quantity greater than the first quantity. In some cases, based on the TCI state list configuring the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, the UE 115-b may employ one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications to determine a downlink-applicable TCI state to use for communications.
[0135] At 610, the UE 115-b may receive a TCI activation message. For example, the network entity 105-b may transmit a TCI activation MAC-CE (which may be referred to as first control signaling) that activates a set of multiple TCI states of the list of candidate TCI states. In some cases, the activated set of TCI states may be available for subsequent communications between the UE 115-b and one or more network nodes (e.g., the network entity 105-b, one or more other network nodes) .
[0136] The TCI activation message may indicate one or more TCI codepoints each corresponding to a respective set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states from among the activated set of TCI states. In some examples, the one or more TCI codepoints may be activated in accordance with the TCI state list (e.g., the one or more TCI state pools) including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value. For example, the network entity 105-b may activate each TCI codepoint to correspond to a same quantity of downlink-applicable TCI states, such as configuring each TCI codepoint to correspond to one downlink-applicable TCI state or two downlink-applicable TCI states. Additionally, or alternatively, each TCI codepoint may be configured to include at most a respective single downlink-applicable TCI state and up to two uplink applicable TCI states, where each of the respective single downlink-applicable TCI states may be associated with a same index value within each of the one or more TCI codepoints (e.g., mapped to the 1st TCI state or mapped to the 2nd TCI state within each of the one or more TCI codepoints) .
[0137] At 615, the UE 115-b may receive an indication of a first TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints. For example, the network entity 105-b may transmit a beam indication DCI (which may be referred to as second control signaling) to the UE 115-b indicating the first TCI codepoint, where the first TCI codepoint may correspond to a first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states. In some cases, the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states may include two downlink-applicable TCI states, and, in accordance with the TCI state list including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, each downlink- applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states may be associated with a same reference signal. Additionally, or alternatively, in accordance with the TCI state list including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, each aperiodic CSI-RS resource set of multiple aperiodic CSI-RS resource sets may be associated with a same downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states.
[0138] At 620, the UE 115-b may receive a scheduling DCI message. For example, the UE 115-b may receive, after receiving the second control signaling, third control signaling that schedules a downlink signal of the one or more downlink signals and includes a TCI selection field. In some cases, in accordance with the TCI state list including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, the TCI selection field may indicate the first downlink-applicable TCI state. In some cases, the TCI selection field may be a one bit indication. In some other cases, the TCI selection field may be a two bit indication, and the network entity 105-b may refrain from indicating a TCI selection field value corresponding to multiple downlink-applicable TCI states (e.g., TCI selection field index ‘2’ ) .
[0139] Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 115-b may receive multiple DCI messages scheduling downlink signals associated with different aperiodic CSI-RS resource sets. For example, the UE 115-b may receive the third control signaling scheduling the first downlink signal and indicating a first aperiodic CSI-RS resource set associated with the first downlink signal the first downlink-applicable TCI state. Further, the UE 115-b may receive fourth control signaling scheduling a second downlink signal of the one or more downlink signals and indicating a second aperiodic CSI-RS resource set associated with the second downlink signal and a second downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states, where, in accordance with the TCI state list including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, the second downlink signal may be scheduled for a time that occurs after an application duration associated with the second control signaling indicating the first TCI codepoint.
[0140] At 625, the UE 115-b may apply a first downlink-applicable TCI state to use for receiving one or more downlink signals (e.g., from the network entity 105-b) . In some examples, the UE 115-b may apply the first downlink-applicable TCI state based on the first downlink-applicable TCI state being indicated by the TCI selection field of the scheduling DCI message. In some cases, the first downlink-applicable TCI state may be included in the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states, and the UE 115-b may apply the first downlink-applicable TCI state in accordance with the TCI state list including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value (e.g., and the one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications) .
[0141] For example, use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state may be in response to a second downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states being associated with a respective pathloss offset value and the first downlink-applicable TCI state not being associated with a respective pathloss offset value (e.g., the one or more rules may indicate to use a downlink-applicable TCI sate that is not associated with a respective pathloss offset value) . In such examples, the second downlink-applicable TCI state may be associated with the pathloss offset value based on the second downlink-applicable TCI state being associated, within the first TCI codepoint, with a lower index value than the first downlink-applicable TCI state (e.g., the one or more rules may indicate that the downlink-applicable TCI state associated with a respective pathloss offset value is mapped to the 1st TCI state) . Alternatively, the second downlink-applicable TCI state may be associated with the pathloss offset value based on the second downlink-applicable TCI state being associated, within the first TCI codepoint, with a higher index value than the first downlink-applicable TCI state (e.g., the one or more rules may indicate that the downlink-applicable TCI state associated with a respective pathloss offset value is mapped to the 2nd TCI state) .
[0142] As another example, in accordance with the TCI state list including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, the UE 115-b may apply the first downlink-applicable TCI state according to a fixed or default selection scheme. In this example, use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state to receive the one or more downlink signals may be in response to the first downlink-applicable TCI state being associated, within the first TCI codepoint, with a lower index value than the second TCI state, may be in response to the first downlink-applicable TCI state being associated with a lower TCI state ID than the second downlink-applicable TCI state, or both.
[0143] At 630, the UE 115-b may receive an indication of a second TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints. For example, the network entity 105-b may transmit, after transmitting the second control signaling, a second beam indication DCI (which may be referred to as third control signaling) indicating the second TCI codepoint, where the second TCI codepoint may correspond to a second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states.
[0144] At 635, the UE 115-b may apply a downlink-applicable TCI state in response to receiving the indication of the second TCI codepoint. For example, a second quantity of downlink-applicable TCI states included in the second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states may be less than or equal to a first quantity of downlink-applicable TCI states included in the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states, and, in accordance with the TCI state list comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, the UE 115-b may switch from using the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states to using the second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states. In such examples, the UE 115-b may identify the second downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states as inactive (e.g., release) based on the second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states not including a downlink-applicable TCI state mapped to a same index as the second downlink-applicable TCI state. In some cases, in accordance with the TCI state list comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, use of a downlink-applicable TCI state may be in response to an order of reception of a TCI codepoint corresponding to the first downlink-applicable TCI state relative to reception of one or more other TCI codepoints, and the UE 115-b may apply a downlink-applicable TCI state of the second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states based on the second TCI codepoint being a most recently-indicated TCI codepoint.
[0145] At 640, the UE 115-b may receive one or more downlink signals from the network entity 105-b. In some examples, the UE 115-b may receive the one or more downlink signals using a first downlink-applicable TCI state included in the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states that corresponds to the first TCI codepoint, where use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state to receive the one or more downlink signals may be in accordance with the TCI state list including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value (e.g., in accordance with the one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications) .
[0146] By applying the one or more rules associated with asymmetric TRP communications, the UE 115-b may reduce ambiguity as to which downlink-applicable TCI state to use for receiving downlink signaling, thereby improving performance of the UE 115-b.
[0147] FIG. 7 shows a block diagram 700 of a device 705 that supports TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 705 may be an example of aspects of a UE 115 as described herein. The device 705 may include a receiver 710, a transmitter 715, and a communications manager 720. The device 705, or one or more components of the device 705 (e.g., the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, the communications manager 720) , may include at least one processor, which may be coupled with at least one memory, to, individually or collectively, support or enable the described techniques. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .
[0148] The receiver 710 may provide a means for receiving information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios) . Information may be passed on to other components of the device 705. The receiver 710 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.
[0149] The transmitter 715 may provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 705. For example, the transmitter 715 may transmit information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios) . In some examples, the transmitter 715 may be co-located with a receiver 710 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 715 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.
[0150] The communications manager 720, the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, or various combinations or components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios as described herein. For example, the communications manager 720, the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, or various combinations or components thereof may be capable of performing one or more of the functions described herein.
[0151] In some examples, the communications manager 720, the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communications management circuitry) . The hardware may include at least one of a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP) , a central processing unit (CPU) , an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a microcontroller, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting, individually or collectively, a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some examples, at least one processor and at least one memory coupled with the at least one processor may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., by one or more processors, individually or collectively, executing instructions stored in the at least one memory) .
[0152] Additionally, or alternatively, the communications manager 720, the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in code (e.g., as communications management software or firmware) executed by at least one processor (e.g., referred to as a processor-executable code) . If implemented in code executed by at least one processor, the functions of the communications manager 720, the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, or various combinations or components thereof may be performed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, a microcontroller, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., configured as or otherwise supporting, individually or collectively, a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure) .
[0153] In some examples, the communications manager 720 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, monitoring, outputting, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, or both. For example, the communications manager 720 may receive information from the receiver 710, send information to the transmitter 715, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.
[0154] For example, the communications manager 720 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving first control signaling activating a set of multiple TCI states from one or more TCI state pools, the one or more TCI state pools including at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with a pathloss offset value, where the activated set of multiple TCI states are available for subsequent communications between the UE and one or more network nodes, and where the first control signaling indicates one or more TCI codepoints each corresponding to a respective set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states from among the activated set of multiple TCI states. The communications manager 720 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving second control signaling indicating a first TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints, where the first TCI codepoint corresponds to a first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states. The communications manager 720 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving, from the one or more network nodes, one or more downlink signals using a first downlink-applicable TCI state included in the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states that corresponds to the first TCI codepoint, where use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state to receive the one or more downlink signals is in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value.
[0155] By including or configuring the communications manager 720 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 705 (e.g., at least one processor controlling or otherwise coupled with the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, the communications manager 720, or a combination thereof) may support techniques for improved performance in asymmetric TRP deployment scenarios by mitigating ambiguity as to which downlink-applicable TCI state to use for receiving downlink signals.
[0156] FIG. 8 shows a block diagram 800 of a device 805 that supports TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 805 may be an example of aspects of a device 705 or a UE 115 as described herein. The device 805 may include a receiver 810, a transmitter 815, and a communications manager 820. The device 805, or one or more components of the device 805 (e.g., the receiver 810, the transmitter 815, the communications manager 820) , may include at least one processor, which may be coupled with at least one memory, to support the described techniques. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .
[0157] The receiver 810 may provide a means for receiving information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios) . Information may be passed on to other components of the device 805. The receiver 810 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.
[0158] The transmitter 815 may provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 805. For example, the transmitter 815 may transmit information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios) . In some examples, the transmitter 815 may be co-located with a receiver 810 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 815 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.
[0159] The device 805, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various aspects of TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios as described herein. For example, the communications manager 820 may include a control signaling reception component 825 a downlink reception component 830, or any combination thereof. The communications manager 820 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 720 as described herein. In some examples, the communications manager 820, or various components thereof, may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, monitoring, outputting, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 810, the transmitter 815, or both. For example, the communications manager 820 may receive information from the receiver 810, send information to the transmitter 815, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 810, the transmitter 815, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.
[0160] The control signaling reception component 825 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving first control signaling activating a set of multiple TCI states from one or more TCI state pools, the one or more TCI state pools including at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with a pathloss offset value, where the activated set of multiple TCI states are available for subsequent communications between the UE and one or more network nodes, and where the first control signaling indicates one or more TCI codepoints each corresponding to a respective set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states from among the activated set of multiple TCI states. The control signaling reception component 825 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving second control signaling indicating a first TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints, where the first TCI codepoint corresponds to a first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states. The downlink reception component 830 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving, from the one or more network nodes, one or more downlink signals using a first downlink-applicable TCI state included in the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states that corresponds to the first TCI codepoint, where use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state to receive the one or more downlink signals is in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value.
[0161] FIG. 9 shows a block diagram 900 of a communications manager 920 that supports TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The communications manager 920 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 720, a communications manager 820, or both, as described herein. The communications manager 920, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various aspects of TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios as described herein. For example, the communications manager 920 may include a control signaling reception component 925, a downlink reception component 930, a TCI management component 935, or any combination thereof. Each of these components, or components or subcomponents thereof (e.g., one or more processors, one or more memories) , may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .
[0162] The control signaling reception component 925 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving first control signaling activating a set of multiple TCI states from one or more TCI state pools, the one or more TCI state pools including at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with a pathloss offset value, where the activated set of multiple TCI states are available for subsequent communications between the UE and one or more network nodes, and where the first control signaling indicates one or more TCI codepoints each corresponding to a respective set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states from among the activated set of multiple TCI states. In some examples, the control signaling reception component 925 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving second control signaling indicating a first TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints, where the first TCI codepoint corresponds to a first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states. The downlink reception component 930 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving, from the one or more network nodes, one or more downlink signals using a first downlink-applicable TCI state included in the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states that corresponds to the first TCI codepoint, where use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state to receive the one or more downlink signals is in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value.
[0163] In some examples, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, each downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states is associated with a same reference signal.
[0164] In some examples, the control signaling reception component 925 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving, after receiving the second control signaling, third control signaling indicating a second TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints, where the second TCI codepoint corresponds to a second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states.
[0165] In some examples, a second quantity of downlink-applicable TCI states included in the second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states is less than or equal to a first quantity of downlink-applicable TCI states included in the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states. In some examples, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, the TCI management component 935 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for switching from the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states to the second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states.
[0166] In some examples, the TCI management component 935 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for identifying a second downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states as inactive in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value and the second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states not including the second downlink-applicable TCI state.
[0167] In some examples, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, each of the one or more TCI codepoints corresponds to a same quantity of downlink-applicable TCI states.
[0168] In some examples, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state is in response to a second downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states being associated with a respective pathloss offset value and the first downlink-applicable TCI state not being associated with a respective pathloss offset value.
[0169] In some examples, the second downlink-applicable TCI state is associated with the pathloss offset value in accordance with the second downlink-applicable TCI state being associated, within the first TCI codepoint, with a lower index value than the first downlink-applicable TCI state.
[0170] In some examples, the second downlink-applicable TCI state is associated with the pathloss offset value in accordance with the second downlink-applicable TCI state being associated, within the first TCI codepoint, with a higher index value than the first downlink-applicable TCI state.
[0171] In some examples, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state to receive the one or more downlink signals is in response to the first downlink-applicable TCI state being associated, within the first TCI codepoint, with a lower index value than a second TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states, is in response to the first downlink-applicable TCI state being associated with a lower TCI state identifier than a second downlink-applicable TCI state, or both.
[0172] In some examples, the control signaling reception component 925 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving, after receiving the second control signaling, third control signaling that schedules a downlink signal of the one or more downlink signals and includes a TCI selection field, where the TCI selection field indicates the first downlink-applicable TCI state, and where, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state is in response to the TCI selection field indicating the first downlink-applicable TCI state.
[0173] In some examples, the TCI selection field includes a one bit indication; or the TCI selection field includes a two bit indication.
[0174] In some examples, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, each aperiodic CSI-RS resource set of a set of multiple aperiodic CSI-RS resource sets is associated with a same downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states.
[0175] In some examples, the control signaling reception component 925 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving third control signaling scheduling a first downlink signal of the one or more downlink signals and indicating a first aperiodic CSI-RS resource set associated with the first downlink signal the first downlink-applicable TCI state. In some examples, the control signaling reception component 925 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving fourth control signaling scheduling a second downlink signal of the one or more downlink signals and indicating a second aperiodic CSI-RS resource set associated with the second downlink signal and a second downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states, where, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, the second downlink signal is scheduled for a time that occurs after an application duration associated with the second control signaling indicating the first TCI codepoint.
[0176] In some examples, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, each codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints includes at most a respective single downlink-applicable TCI state from among the activated set of multiple TCI states.
[0177] In some examples, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, each of the respective single downlink-applicable TCI states is associated with a same index value within each of the one or more TCI codepoints.
[0178] In some examples, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state is in response to an indexing, within a corresponding TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints, of the first downlink-applicable TCI state relative to one or more other downlink-applicable TCI states, is in response to an order of reception of a TCI codepoint corresponding to the first downlink-applicable TCI state relative to reception of one or more other TCI codepoints, or both.
[0179] In some examples, the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states comprises one or more joint TCI states in accordance with RRC signaling indicating the UE is to operate according to a joint TCI state mode.
[0180] In some examples, the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states comprises one or more downlink TCI states in accordance with RRC signaling indicating that the UE is to operate according to a separate TCI state mode.
[0181] In some examples, the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value is associated with the UE being configured for communications via an asymmetric set of TRPs, the asymmetric set of TRPs including a first quantity of one or more TRPs that each support downlink signaling to the UE and a second quantity of two or more TRPs that each support uplink communications by the UE, the second quantity greater than the first quantity.
[0182] FIG. 10 shows a diagram of a system 1000 including a device 1005 that supports TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1005 may be an example of or include components of a device 705, a device 805, or a UE 115 as described herein. The device 1005 may communicate (e.g., wirelessly) with one or more other devices (e.g., network entities 105, UEs 115, or a combination thereof) . The device 1005 may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, such as a communications manager 1020, an input / output (I / O) controller, such as an I / O controller 1010, a transceiver 1015, one or more antennas 1025, at least one memory 1030, code 1035, and at least one processor 1040. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more buses (e.g., a bus 1045) .
[0183] The I / O controller 1010 may manage input and output signals for the device 1005. The I / O controller 1010 may also manage peripherals not integrated into the device 1005. In some cases, the I / O controller 1010 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral. In some cases, the I / O controller 1010 may utilize an operating system such as or another known operating system. Additionally, or alternatively, the I / O controller 1010 may represent or interact with a modem, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, or a similar device. In some cases, the I / O controller 1010 may be implemented as part of one or more processors, such as the at least one processor 1040. In some cases, a user may interact with the device 1005 via the I / O controller 1010 or via hardware components controlled by the I / O controller 1010.
[0184] In some cases, the device 1005 may include a single antenna. However, in some other cases, the device 1005 may have more than one antenna, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver 1015 may communicate bi-directionally via the one or more antennas 1025 using wired or wireless links as described herein. For example, the transceiver 1015 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1015 may also include a modem to modulate the packets, to provide the modulated packets to one or more antennas 1025 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the one or more antennas 1025. The transceiver 1015, or the transceiver 1015 and one or more antennas 1025, may be an example of a transmitter 715, a transmitter 815, a receiver 710, a receiver 810, or any combination thereof or component thereof, as described herein.
[0185] The at least one memory 1030 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM) . The at least one memory 1030 may store computer-readable, computer-executable, or processor-executable code, such as the code 1035. The code 1035 may include instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor 1040, cause the device 1005 to perform various functions described herein. The code 1035 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. In some cases, the code 1035 may not be directly executable by the at least one processor 1040 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. In some cases, the at least one memory 1030 may include, among other things, a basic I / O system (BIOS) which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.
[0186] The at least one processor 1040 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices (e.g., one or more general-purpose processors, one or more DSPs, one or more CPUs, one or more graphics processing units (GPUs) , one or more neural processing units (NPUs) (also referred to as neural network processors or deep learning processors (DLPs) ) , one or more microcontrollers, one or more ASICs, one or more FPGAs, one or more programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic, one or more discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof) . In some cases, the at least one processor 1040 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into the at least one processor 1040. The at least one processor 1040 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the at least one memory 1030) to cause the device 1005 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios) . For example, the device 1005 or a component of the device 1005 may include at least one processor 1040 and at least one memory 1030 coupled with or to the at least one processor 1040, the at least one processor 1040 and the at least one memory 1030 configured to perform various functions described herein.
[0187] In some examples, the at least one processor 1040 may include multiple processors and the at least one memory 1030 may include multiple memories. One or more of the multiple processors may be coupled with one or more of the multiple memories, which may, individually or collectively, be configured to perform various functions described herein. In some examples, the at least one processor 1040 may be a component of a processing system, which may refer to a system (such as a series) of machines, circuitry (including, for example, one or both of processor circuitry (which may include the at least one processor 1040) and memory circuitry (which may include the at least one memory 1030) ) , or components, that receives or obtains inputs and processes the inputs to produce, generate, or obtain a set of outputs. The processing system may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein. For example, the at least one processor 1040 or a processing system including the at least one processor 1040 may be configured to, configurable to, or operable to cause the device 1005 to perform one or more of the functions described herein. Further, as described herein, being “configured to, ” being “configurable to, ” and being “operable to” may be used interchangeably and may be associated with a capability, when executing code 1035 (e.g., processor-executable code) stored in the at least one memory 1030 or otherwise, to perform one or more of the functions described herein.
[0188] For example, the communications manager 1020 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving first control signaling activating a set of multiple TCI states from one or more TCI state pools, the one or more TCI state pools including at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with a pathloss offset value, where the activated set of multiple TCI states are available for subsequent communications between the UE and one or more network nodes, and where the first control signaling indicates one or more TCI codepoints each corresponding to a respective set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states from among the activated set of multiple TCI states. The communications manager 1020 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving second control signaling indicating a first TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints, where the first TCI codepoint corresponds to a first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states. The communications manager 1020 is capable of, configured to, or operable to support a means for receiving, from the one or more network nodes, one or more downlink signals using a first downlink-applicable TCI state included in the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states that corresponds to the first TCI codepoint, where use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state to receive the one or more downlink signals is in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value.
[0189] By including or configuring the communications manager 1020 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 1005 may support techniques for improved performance in asymmetric TRP deployment scenarios by mitigating ambiguity as to which downlink-applicable TCI state to use for receiving downlink signals.
[0190] In some examples, the communications manager 1020 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the transceiver 1015, the one or more antennas 1025, or any combination thereof. Although the communications manager 1020 is illustrated as a separate component, in some examples, one or more functions described with reference to the communications manager 1020 may be supported by or performed by the at least one processor 1040, the at least one memory 1030, the code 1035, or any combination thereof. For example, the code 1035 may include instructions executable by the at least one processor 1040 to cause the device 1005 to perform various aspects of TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios as described herein, or the at least one processor 1040 and the at least one memory 1030 may be otherwise configured to, individually or collectively, perform or support such operations.
[0191] FIG. 11 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1100 that supports TCI state management for asymmetric TRP scenarios in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1100 may be implemented by a UE or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1100 may be performed by a UE 115 as described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 10. In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.
[0192] At 1105, the method may include receiving first control signaling activating a set of multiple TCI states from one or more TCI state pools, the one or more TCI state pools including at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with a pathloss offset value, where the activated set of multiple TCI states are available for subsequent communications between the UE and one or more network nodes, and where the first control signaling indicates one or more TCI codepoints each corresponding to a respective set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states from among the activated set of multiple TCI states. The operations of 1105 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1105 may be performed by a control signaling reception component 925 as described with reference to FIG. 9.
[0193] At 1110, the method may include receiving second control signaling indicating a first TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints, where the first TCI codepoint corresponds to a first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states. The operations of 1110 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1110 may be performed by a control signaling reception component 925 as described with reference to FIG. 9.
[0194] At 1115, the method may include receiving, from the one or more network nodes, one or more downlink signals using a first downlink-applicable TCI state included in the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states that corresponds to the first TCI codepoint, where use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state to receive the one or more downlink signals is in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools including the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value. The operations of 1115 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1115 may be performed by a downlink reception component 930 as described with reference to FIG. 9.
[0195] The following provides an overview of aspects of the present disclosure:
[0196] Aspect 1: A method by a UE, comprising: receiving first control signaling activating a plurality of transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states from one or more TCI state pools, the one or more TCI state pools comprising at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with a pathloss offset value, wherein the activated plurality of TCI states are available for subsequent communications between the UE and one or more network nodes, and wherein the first control signaling indicates one or more TCI codepoints each corresponding to a respective set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states from among the activated plurality of TCI states; receiving second control signaling indicating a first TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints, wherein the first TCI codepoint corresponds to a first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states; and receiving, from the one or more network nodes, one or more downlink signals using a first downlink-applicable TCI state included in the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states that corresponds to the first TCI codepoint, wherein use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state to receive the one or more downlink signals is in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value.
[0197] Aspect 2: The method of aspect 1, wherein in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, each downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states is associated with a same reference signal.
[0198] Aspect 3: The method of any of aspects 1 through 2, further comprising: receiving, after receiving the second control signaling, third control signaling indicating a second TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints, wherein the second TCI codepoint corresponds to a second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states.
[0199] Aspect 4: The method of aspect 3, wherein a second quantity of downlink-applicable TCI states included in the second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states is less than or equal to a first quantity of downlink-applicable TCI states included in the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states, and in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, the method further comprises switching from the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states to the second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states.
[0200] Aspect 5: The method of aspect 4, further comprising: identifying a second downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states as inactive in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value and the second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states not including the second downlink-applicable TCI state.
[0201] Aspect 6: The method of any of aspects 1 through 5, wherein in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, each of the one or more TCI codepoints corresponds to a same quantity of downlink-applicable TCI states.
[0202] Aspect 7: The method of any of aspects 1 through 6, wherein in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state is in response to a second downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states being associated with a respective pathloss offset value and the first downlink-applicable TCI state not being associated with a respective pathloss offset value.
[0203] Aspect 8: The method of aspect 7, wherein the second downlink-applicable TCI state is associated with the pathloss offset value in accordance with the second downlink-applicable TCI state being associated, within the first TCI codepoint, with a lower index value than the first downlink-applicable TCI state.
[0204] Aspect 9: The method of any of aspects 7 through 8, wherein the second downlink-applicable TCI state is associated with the pathloss offset value in accordance with the second downlink-applicable TCI state being associated, within the first TCI codepoint, with a higher index value than the first downlink-applicable TCI state.
[0205] Aspect 10: The method of any of aspects 1 through 9, wherein in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state to receive the one or more downlink signals is in response to the first downlink-applicable TCI state being associated, within the first TCI codepoint, with a lower index value than a second TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states, in response to the first downlink-applicable TCI state being associated with a lower TCI state identifier than a second downlink-applicable TCI state, or both.
[0206] Aspect 11: The method of any of aspects 1 through 10, further comprising: receiving, after receiving the second control signaling, third control signaling that schedules a downlink signal of the one or more downlink signals and comprises a TCI selection field, wherein the TCI selection field indicates the first downlink-applicable TCI state, and wherein, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state is in response to the TCI selection field indicating the first downlink-applicable TCI state.
[0207] Aspect 12: The method of aspect 11, wherein the TCI selection field comprises a one bit indication; or the TCI selection field comprises a two bit indication.
[0208] Aspect 13: The method of any of aspects 1 through 12, wherein in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, each aperiodic CSI-RS resource set of a plurality of aperiodic CSI-RS resource sets is associated with a same downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states.
[0209] Aspect 14: The method of any of aspects 1 through 13, further comprising: receiving third control signaling scheduling a first downlink signal of the one or more downlink signals and indicating a first aperiodic CSI-RS resource set associated with the first downlink signal the first downlink-applicable TCI state; and receiving fourth control signaling scheduling a second downlink signal of the one or more downlink signals and indicating a second aperiodic CSI-RS resource set associated with the second downlink signal and a second downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states, wherein, in accordance with the activated plurality of TCI states comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, the second downlink signal is scheduled for a time that occurs after an application duration associated with the second control signaling indicating the first TCI codepoint.
[0210] Aspect 15: The method of any of aspects 1 through 14, wherein in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, each codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints comprises at most a respective single downlink-applicable TCI state from among the activated plurality of TCI states.
[0211] Aspect 16: The method of aspect 15, wherein in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, each of the respective single downlink-applicable TCI states is associated with a same index value within each of the one or more TCI codepoints.
[0212] Aspect 17: The method of any of aspects 1 through 16, wherein in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state is in response to an indexing, within a corresponding TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints, of the first downlink-applicable TCI state relative to one or more other downlink-applicable TCI states, is in response to an order of reception of a TCI codepoint corresponding to the first downlink-applicable TCI state relative to reception of one or more other TCI codepoints, or both.
[0213] Aspect 18: The method of any of aspects 1 through 17, wherein the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states comprises one or more joint TCI states in accordance with RRC signaling indicating the UE is to operate according to a joint TCI state mode.
[0214] Aspect 19: The method of any of aspects 1 through 18, wherein the first set of downlink-applicable TCI states comprises one or more downlink TCI states in accordance with RRC signaling indicating that the UE is to operate according to a separate TCI state mode.
[0215] Aspect 20: The method of any of aspects 1 through 19, wherein the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value is associated with the UE being configured for communications via an asymmetric set of TRPs, the asymmetric set of TRPs comprising a first quantity of one or more TRPs that each support downlink signaling to the UE and a second quantity of two or more TRPs that each support uplink communications by the UE, the second quantity greater than the first quantity.
[0216] Aspect 21: A UE comprising one or more memories storing processor-executable code, and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to perform a method of any of aspects 1 through 20.
[0217] Aspect 22: A UE comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of aspects 1 through 20.
[0218] Aspect 23: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code the code comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to perform a method of any of aspects 1 through 20.
[0219] It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations. The operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and other implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined.
[0220] Although aspects of an LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR system may be described for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, the techniques described herein are applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR networks. For example, the described techniques may be applicable to various other wireless communications systems such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) , Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi) , IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX) , IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, as well as other systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.
[0221] Information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.
[0222] The various illustrative blocks and components described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, a graphics processing unit (GPU) , a neural processing unit (NPU) , an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor but, in the alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration) . Any functions or operations described herein as being capable of being performed by a processor may be performed by multiple processors that, individually or collectively, are capable of performing the described functions or operations.
[0223] The functions described herein may be implemented using hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented using software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored as or transmitted using one or more instructions or code of a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations.
[0224] Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one location to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM) , flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that may be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL) , or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of computer-readable medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD) , floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc. Disks may reproduce data magnetically, and discs may reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media. Any functions or operations described herein as being capable of being performed by a memory may be performed by multiple memories that, individually or collectively, are capable of performing the described functions or operations.
[0225] As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of” or “one or more of” ) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C) . Also, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step that is described as “based on condition A” may be based on both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in part on. ”
[0226] As used herein, including in the claims, the article “a” before a noun is open-ended and understood to refer to “at least one” of those nouns or “one or more” of those nouns. Thus, the terms “a, ” “at least one, ” “one or more, ” and “at least one of one or more” may be interchangeable. For example, if a claim recites “a component” that performs one or more functions, each of the individual functions may be performed by a single component or by any combination of multiple components. Thus, the term “a component” having characteristics or performing functions may refer to “at least one of one or more components” having a particular characteristic or performing a particular function. Subsequent reference to a component introduced with the article “a” using the terms “the” or “said” may refer to any or all of the one or more components. For example, a component introduced with the article “a” may be understood to mean “one or more components, ” and referring to “the component” subsequently in the claims may be understood to be equivalent to referring to “at least one of the one or more components. ” Similarly, subsequent reference to a component introduced as “one or more components” using the terms “the” or “said” may refer to any or all of the one or more components. For example, referring to “the one or more components” subsequently in the claims may be understood to be equivalent to referring to “at least one of the one or more components. ”
[0227] The term “determine” or “determining” encompasses a variety of actions and, therefore, “determining” can include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (such as via looking up in a table, a database, or another data structure) , ascertaining, and the like. Also, “determining” can include receiving (e.g., receiving information) , accessing (e.g., accessing data stored in memory) , and the like. Also, “determining” can include resolving, obtaining, selecting, choosing, establishing, and other such similar actions.
[0228] In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label or other subsequent reference label.
[0229] The description set forth herein, in connection with the appended drawings, describes example configurations and does not represent all the examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims. The term “example” used herein means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration” and not “preferred” or “advantageous over other examples. ” The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques. These techniques, however, may be practiced without these specific details. In some figures, known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.
[0230] The description herein is provided to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
Claims
A user equipment (UE) , comprising:one or more memories storing processor-executable code; andone or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:receive first control signaling activating a plurality of transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states from one or more TCI state pools, the one or more TCI state pools comprising at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with a pathloss offset value, wherein the activated plurality of TCI states are available for subsequent communications between the UE and one or more network nodes, and wherein the first control signaling indicates one or more TCI codepoints each corresponding to a respective set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states from among the activated plurality of TCI states;receive second control signaling indicating a first TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints, wherein the first TCI codepoint corresponds to a first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states; andreceive, from the one or more network nodes, one or more downlink signals using a first downlink-applicable TCI state included in the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states that corresponds to the first TCI codepoint, wherein use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state to receive the one or more downlink signals is in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value.The UE of claim 1, wherein, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, each downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states is associated with a same reference signal.The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:receive, after receiving the second control signaling, third control signaling indicating a second TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints, wherein the second TCI codepoint corresponds to a second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states.The UE of claim 3, wherein a second quantity of downlink-applicable TCI states included in the second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states is less than or equal to a first quantity of downlink-applicable TCI states included in the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states, and wherein, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to switch from the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states to the second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states.The UE of claim 4, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:identify a second downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states as inactive in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value and the second set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states not including the second downlink-applicable TCI state.The UE of claim 1, wherein, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, each of the one or more TCI codepoints corresponds to a same quantity of downlink-applicable TCI states.The UE of claim 1, wherein, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to use the first downlink-applicable TCI state in response to a second downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states being associated with a respective pathloss offset value and the first downlink-applicable TCI state not being associated with a respective pathloss offset value.The UE of claim 7, wherein the second downlink-applicable TCI state is associated with the pathloss offset value in accordance with the second downlink-applicable TCI state being associated, within the first TCI codepoint, with a lower index value than the first downlink-applicable TCI state.The UE of claim 7, wherein the second downlink-applicable TCI state is associated with the pathloss offset value in accordance with the second downlink-applicable TCI state being associated, within the first TCI codepoint, with a higher index value than the first downlink-applicable TCI state.The UE of claim 1, wherein, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to use the first downlink-applicable TCI state to receive the one or more downlink signals in response to the first downlink-applicable TCI state being associated, within the first TCI codepoint, with a lower index value than a second TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states, in response to the first downlink-applicable TCI state being associated with a lower TCI state identifier than a second downlink-applicable TCI state, or both.The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:receive, after receiving the second control signaling, third control signaling that schedules a downlink signal of the one or more downlink signals and comprises a TCI selection field, wherein the TCI selection field indicates the first downlink-applicable TCI state, and wherein, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to use the first downlink-applicable TCI state in response to the TCI selection field indicating the first downlink-applicable TCI state.The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:receive third control signaling scheduling a first downlink signal of the one or more downlink signals and indicating a first aperiodic channel state information reference signal resource set associated with the first downlink signal the first downlink-applicable TCI state; andreceive fourth control signaling scheduling a second downlink signal of the one or more downlink signals and indicating a second aperiodic channel state information reference signal resource set associated with the second downlink signal and a second downlink-applicable TCI state of the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states, wherein, in accordance with the activated plurality of TCI states comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, the second downlink signal is scheduled for a time that occurs after an application duration associated with the second control signaling indicating the first TCI codepoint.The UE of claim 1, wherein, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, each codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints comprises at most a respective single downlink-applicable TCI state from among the activated plurality of TCI states.The UE of claim 13, wherein, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, each of the respective single downlink-applicable TCI states is associated with a same index value within each of the one or more TCI codepoints.The UE of claim 1, wherein, in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to use the first downlink-applicable TCI state in response to an indexing, within a corresponding TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints, of the first downlink-applicable TCI state relative to one or more other downlink-applicable TCI states, in response to an order of reception of a TCI codepoint corresponding to the first downlink-applicable TCI state relative to reception of one or more other TCI codepoints, or both.The UE of claim 1, wherein the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states comprises one or more joint TCI states in accordance with radio resource control signaling indicating the UE is to operate according to a joint TCI state mode.The UE of claim 1, wherein the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states comprises one or more downlink TCI states in accordance with radio resource control signaling indicating that the UE is to operate according to a separate TCI state mode.The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value is associated with the UE being configured for communications via an asymmetric set of transmission-reception points, the asymmetric set of transmission-reception points comprising a first quantity of one or more transmission-reception points that each support downlink signaling to the UE and a second quantity of two or more transmission-reception points that each support uplink communications by the UE, the second quantity greater than the first quantity.A method by a user equipment (UE) , comprising:receiving first control signaling activating a plurality of transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states from one or more TCI state pools, the one or more TCI state pools comprising at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with a pathloss offset value, wherein the activated plurality of TCI states are available for subsequent communications between the UE and one or more network nodes, and wherein the first control signaling indicates one or more TCI codepoints each corresponding to a respective set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states from among the activated plurality of TCI states;receiving second control signaling indicating a first TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints, wherein the first TCI codepoint corresponds to a first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states; andreceiving, from the one or more network nodes, one or more downlink signals using a first downlink-applicable TCI state included in the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states that corresponds to the first TCI codepoint, wherein use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state to receive the one or more downlink signals is in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value.A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code, the code comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to:receive first control signaling activating a plurality of transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states from one or more TCI state pools, the one or more TCI state pools comprising at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with a pathloss offset value, wherein the activated plurality of TCI states are available for subsequent communications between a user equipment (UE) and one or more network nodes, and wherein the first control signaling indicates one or more TCI codepoints each corresponding to a respective set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states from among the activated plurality of TCI states;receive second control signaling indicating a first TCI codepoint of the one or more TCI codepoints, wherein the first TCI codepoint corresponds to a first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states; andreceive, from the one or more network nodes, one or more downlink signals using a first downlink-applicable TCI state included in the first set of one or more downlink-applicable TCI states that corresponds to the first TCI codepoint, wherein use of the first downlink-applicable TCI state to receive the one or more downlink signals is in accordance with the one or more TCI state pools comprising the at least one uplink-applicable TCI state that is associated with the pathloss offset value.
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