UE response to UEI CSI request for UE initiated beam reporting

Abstract

Various embodiments disclosed herein provide for a method for handling a Channel State Information (CSI) request for User Equipment (UE) initiated (UEI) CSI reporting, received from a network node. The method includes determining by the UE one of the following scenarios under which the CSI request / UEI reporting grant from the network is sent. Some of the scenarios include 1) in response to an indication sent in a first Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), about a UE initiated beam report, 2) a retransmission request of a UE initiated beam report, or 3) a false detection of a beam report indication in the first PUCCH by the network.

Description

UE RESPONSE TO UEI CSI REQUEST FOR UE INITIATED BEAM REPORTINGRELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 683,539, filed August 15, 2024, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a method and device for handling a Channel State Information (CSI) request for User Equipment (UE) initiated (UEI) CSI reporting in a wireless communications system.BACKGROUNDNR Frame Structure and Resource Grid

[0003] New Radio (NR) uses Cyclic Prefix (CP) Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) in both downlink (DL) (i.e. from a network node, gNB, or base station, to a User Equipment (UE)) and uplink (UL) (i.e. from UE to gNB). Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) spread OFDM is also supported in the uplink. In the time domain, NR downlink and uplink are organized into equally sized subframes of 1ms each. A subframe is further divided into multiple slots of equal duration. Each slot consists of 14 OFDM symbols. The number of slots in a subframe depends on subcarrier spacing. The supported subcarrier spacing values are given by A = (15 X 2M) / U / z, where z G 0,1, 2, 3, 4 . The number of slots per subframe equals to 2 . For subcarrier spacing of A = 15kHz, i.e., z = 0, there is only one slot per subframe.

[0004] In the frequency domain, a bandwidth part (BWP) is divided into resource blocks (RBs), each corresponding to 12 contiguous subcarriers. The RBs are numbered starting with 0 from one end of the system bandwidth. One OFDM subcarrier during one OFDM symbol interval forms one resource element (RE).

[0005] Downlink and uplink transmissions can be either dynamically scheduled or semi- persistently scheduled. In case of dynamic scheduling, the gNB transmits scheduling information (or downlink control information (DCI)) via PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) in a slot-by-slot basis. Actual UE data transmissions are carried on PDSCH (physical Downlink Shared Channel) in the Downlink and on PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel) in the uplink. Various DCI formats are defined in NR for DL and UL scheduling, e.g., DCIformat l_0, DCI format 1_1, and DCI format 1_2 for DL scheduling, and DO format 0-0, DCI format 0_l, and DCI format 0_2 for UL scheduling.

[0006] In the case of semi-persistent scheduling, scheduling information or grant is preconfigured. It is referred to as configured grant (CG) in the uplink. Two types of CG PUSCHs are supported, i.e., type 1 CG-PUSCH and type 2 CG-PUSCH. In type 1 CG-PUSCH, periodic uplink PUSCH resources are configured. In type 2 CG-PUSCH, periodic uplink PUSCH resources can be dynamically activated and de-activated via DCI.Beam Management with Unified TCI Framework

[0007] In NR, a spatial beam (or simply beam) is defined by a reference signal (RS) transmitted via the beam. The RS can be a Channel State Information (CSI) CSI-RS or a Synchronization Signal (SS) Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) Block (SSB). Beam management is about determining proper beams for downlink (DL) transmission from the gNB to a UE and uplink (UL) transmission from the UE to the gNB. In the DL, the UE needs to know the gNB transmission beam in order to use a proper receive beam to receive DL data. With beam correspondence, the UE can determine a UL transmit beam based on a DL receive beam for UL data transmission. Information about a DL beam used for data transmission to the UE is indicated via a TCI (Transmission Configuration Indicator) state. A TCI state comprises a type-D QCL (Quasi Co-location) RS. For example, if a TCI state with a RS for QCL typeD is indicated to UE for a PDSCH, it is assumed that a receive beam (or spatial filter) previously used for receiving the RS can be used by the UE to receive the PDSCH.

[0008] For beam management purposes, a list of TCI states can be configured for a UE in a higher layer parameter PDSCH-Config via RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling (see 3GPP TS 38.331 section 6.3.2 for details). Up to 8 TCI states from the list can be activated with a MAC (medium Access Control) CE (control element).

[0009] In NR Rel-17, a unified beam indication framework was introduced to simplify beam management, in which a common beam applicable to multiple channels and signals may be indicated to a UE via a unified TCI state.

[0010] Under the new framework, either “Joint DL / UL TCI” or “Separate DL / UL TCI” can be configured. For “Joint DL / UL TCI”, one Joint TCI state is used for both DL and UL (uplink) signals / channels. For “Separate DL / UL TCI”, one DL-only TCI state is used for DL channels / signals and one UL-only TCI state is used for UL signals / channels. A TCI state is also referred to as a unified TCI state.

[0011] A unified TCI state for DL or joint DL and UL comprises identifiers of two QCL source RSs, where the first RS is a QCL source RS for one of {typeA, typeB, typeC} QCL types, while the second RS is a QCL source RS for QCL typeD. The second RS is used to indicate a spatial beam or filter associated with the unified TCI state.

[0012] A unified TCI state can be updated with one of two alternatives:• Two-stage: RRC signaling is used to configure a list of unified TCI states in higher layer parameter PDSCH-config, and a MAC-CE is used to activate one unified TCI state in the list of unified TCI states.• Three-stage: RRC signaling is used to configure a list of unified TCI states in PDSCH- config, a MAC-CE is used to activate up to 8 unified TCI states in the list, and a 3-bit TCI state bitfield in DCI (Downlink Control Information) formats 1_1 or 1_2 is used to indicate one of the activate unified TCI states.

[0013] The one activated (in two-stage) or indicated (in three-stage) unified TCI state is used in subsequent DL transmissions until a new unified TCI state is activated or indicated.CSI Measurement Configuration for Beam Management (BM)

[0014] In 5G NR, to support beam management operation, a UE is configured by the network with a Channel State Information (CSI) measurement configuration e.g. IE CSI- MeasConfig received within an RRCReconfiguration message. That is configured per Serving Cell (within ServingCellConfig, e.g., of an SpCell), to associate a serving cell in which CSI reports are to be transmitted, e.g., Uplink (UL) channels of that serving cell. The signaling is defined in TS 38.331.

[0015] For each type of CSI report the UE needs to transmit, the network indicates an explicit list of CSI resources (also called CSI resource configuration(s)), comprising a list of reference signals to be measured, such as CSI-RSs sets (nzp-CSI-RS-ResourceSetList, IE SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxNrofNZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSetsPerConfig)) OF NZP-CSI-RS- ResourceSetld) and / or SSBs sets (csi-SSB-ResourceSetList, IE SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxNrofCSI-SSB-ResourceSetsPerConfig)) OF CSI-SSB-ResourceSetld) for a given serving cell the UE is configured with e.g. the SpCell of a cell group, or an SCell. Notice that the UE may measure CSI resources of a first serving cell and report in another serving cell.

[0016] CSI resources to be measured (or resource set with one or more RSs, indicated by SSB indexes and / or CSI-RS resource identifiers) are associated in the configuration to a CSI reporting configuration (CSI-ReportConfig), which configures an instance of a CSI report. A CSI report from the UE assists the network to perform beam management operations, such asthe activation (and / or deactivation) of a beam to transmit data and / or control channels to the UE (or a beam switching). In 5G NR terminology, the activation of a beam may be referred to as the activation of a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state, which is associated to a Quasi-Co-Location (QCL) source, corresponding to a Reference Signal (RS) such as an SSB and / or CSI-RS, transmitted in a spatial direction (beam) correlated to the same spatial direction (beam) in which the network may transmit a control (e.g., PDCCH) and / or data channel (e.g., PDSCH).

[0017] The CSI reporting configuration is used to configure a periodic or semi-persistent report sent on PUCCH on the serving cell in which the CSI-ReportConfig is included, or to configure a semi-persistent or aperiodic report sent on PUSCH triggered by a CSI request field in Downlink Control Indication (DCI) received on the cell in which the CSI-ReportConfig is included (in this case, the cell on which the report is sent is determined by the received DCI).

[0018] The field reportConfigType within CSI-ReportConfig indicates to the UE the UL channel to transmit the report and the time domain behavior for reporting the CSI measurements, which may also be called beam reporting in case it includes measurements used for beam management. The configuration indicates whether the report is periodic, aperiodic or semi-persistent, and associated configurations such as periodicity.

[0019] For aperiodic CSI reporting, a UE is also configured with a list of aperiodic CSI trigger states, each associated to one or more CSI report configurations. Part of the CSI- AperiodicTriggerStateList information element defined in 3gpp TS 38.331 is shown below. If multiple reference signal (NZP CSI-RS or SSB) resource sets are configured in a CSI resource configuration in an associated CSI report configuration, one set is selected in the corresponding trigger state.

[0020] An aperiodic CSI report is triggered when the CSI request field in DCI indicates an aperiodic trigger state associated to the corresponding aperiodic CSI report configuration.NR Scheduling Request (SR)

[0021] In NR, retransmission for data on PUSCH is supported by Hybrid ARQ (Automatic Repeat Request) which is a combination of retransmission and error correction. When error correction is not possible, error will be detected, and retransmission is requested. The retransmission occurs at the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, and the receiver will combine one or more transmissions to increase the probability for correct decoding. Each serving cell has one MAC entity which can handle multiple HARQ processes and multiple data blocks simultaneously. At UE side, each HARQ process will maintain a retransmission buffer whichstores the PUSCH data. The data in the retransmission buffer is not removed until a new data of the same HARQ process is scheduled. Each HARQ process will operate independently, with its own Redundancy Version (RV), New Data Indicator (ND I) and ACK7NACK. The higher layer parameter nrofHARQ-ProcessesForPUSCH is configured in the PUSCH-ServingCellConfig IE (e.g., TS 38.331). In legacy NR, retransmission for a CSI report is not supported, i.e., the CSI report is discarded or overwritten after a transmission.UE Initiated Event Driven Beam Management

[0022] Prior to NR Rel-19, beam reporting is always NW-initiated, i.e., the NW explicitly requests a beam report from the UE by indicating a CSI report configuration in DO.

[0023] In NR Rel-19, UE initiated beam reporting will be supported in which a UE keeps monitoring the quality of a set of DL beams or associated reference signals and sends a beam report when conditions associated to one or more events are met. One such event, Event-2, was agreed to be supported in Rel-19. The definition of Event-2 is given as follows:

[0024] Event-2: Quality of at least one new beam, such as Ll-RSRP, becomes a threshold value better than the current beam.

[0025] In addition to the already agreed Event-2, additional events may also be supported in Rel-19. The possible additional events can be one or more of:• Event- 1 : Quality of the current beam is worse than a certain threshold.• Event-7a: Quality of at least one new beam, such as Ll-RSRP, becomes a threshold value better than the RS derived from the activated TCI state with the worst quality.• Event-7b: Quality of at least one new beam, such as Ll-RSRP, becomes a threshold value better than the RS derived from the activated TCI state with the best quality.

[0026] Regarding the triggering event determination for Event-2, it is also agreed in Rel-19 that:• Basic feature: once the Ll-RSRP of the new beam becomes a threshold value better than the current beam, UE initiated beam report occurs.• Based on the UE capability, UE can be configured with a time window wherein if the number of Event-2 instance(s) within the configured time window, for at least one same new beam, is greater than or equal to a configurable number M, UE initiated beam report occurs.

[0027] On UE initiated beam reporting, the following two modes will be supported in Rel- 19Mode A (dynamically scheduling UCI by gNB):• Step 1 : UE transmits a first PUCCH (one-bit) to request a resource for a second UL channel to carry beam report. Here, a periodic PUCCH resource (with PUCCH format 0 / 1) is configured by dedicated RRC signaling.• Step 2: UE detects the DO format to indicate a resource for a second UL channel to carry beam report.• Step 3: Beam report is transmitted in second UL channel.• This mode is basic UE capability (i.e. all UE supporting UE-initiated / event-driven beam reporting should support this feature).• Mode B (UCI in pre-configured resource(s) for second UL channel):• Step 1 : UE transmits a first PUCCH (one-bit) notifying a second UL channel to carry beam report. Here, a periodic PUCCH resource (with PUCCH format 0 / 1) is configured by dedicated RRC signaling.• Step 2: UE transmits the beam report in the second UL channel.• The notification in Stepl is in a separate reporting instance from the beam report in Step 2.

[0028] Examples of signaling in Mode A and Mode B are illustrated in Figure 1 and Figure 2 respectively.

[0029] In addition, it is agreed that the content of a beam report in case of Event-2 contains:• N > 1 beam(s) are reported in the report instance, o At least one of N reported beam(s) should satisfy the condition of Event-2 o N is configured by NW o RRC can enable or disable whether current beam is always reported in addition to the N beams. o A configurable window within which the number of Event-2 instance for at least one same new beam is greater than or equal to a configurable number M.SUMMARY

[0030] Various embodiments disclosed herein provide for a method for handling a Channel State Information (CSI) request for User Equipment (UE) initiated (UEI) CSI reporting, received from a network node. The method includes determining by the UE one of the following scenarios under which the CSI request / UEI reporting grant from the network is sent. Some of the scenarios include 1) in response to an indication sent in a first Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), about a UE initiated beam report, 2) a retransmission request of a UEinitiated beam report, or 3) a false detection of a beam report indication in the first PUCCH by the network.

[0031] In an embodiment, a method is provided for handling a CSI request for UE initiated (UEI) CSI reporting. The method includes receiving, from the network node, a CSI request for UEI CSI reporting, determining a response to the CSI request based on whether the UE had sent an indication to the network node that a trigger condition had been met and on whether the UE had already sent a UEI beam report associated to the indication to the network node, and performing the response to the CSI request.

[0032] The proposed methods will enable UE to respond properly to a CSI request for UEI CSI reporting from the NW, and it reduces the risk that NW misses the important notification from the UE when NW needs to, timely, perform a beam switch, and / or an update (activate / deactivate / indicate) of the TCI states. In addition, the proposed methods will enable:• retransmission of a UEI beam report when the original UEI report is not received properly by the network (NW) due to e.g., poor channel or traffic conditions etc. The retransmission can improve the reliability, robustness and efficiency of UEI beam reports and overall network performance.• detection of false detection of the 1stUL channel by NW and reduce the risk that NW continuously sends unnecessary requests to UE for event-driven beam reports and reserve UL resource needlessly due to false detection of the first PUCCH at NW side.

[0033] In an embodiment, a method is provided that is performed by a UE for handling a Channel State Information, CSI, request, received from a network node, for UE initiated, UEI, CSI reporting. The method includes receiving, from the network node, a CSI request for UEI CSI reporting; determining a response to the CSI request based on whether the UE had sent an indication to the network node that a trigger condition had been met and on whether the UE had already sent a UEI beam report associated to the indication to the network node; and performing the response to the CSI request.

[0034] In an embodiment, the UE had sent, on a first Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) the indication to the network node that the trigger condition had been met, and had not sent the UEI beam report to the network node, wherein the performing the response comprises: sending the UEI beam report, on a second uplink channel, to the network node.

[0035] In an embodiment, the UE had sent, on a first PUCCH the indication to the network node that the trigger condition had been met, and had sent the corresponding UEI beam report to the network node, wherein the performing the response comprises: sending a new UEI beam report, on a second uplink channel, to the network node.

[0036] In an embodiment, the CSI request is a second CSI request received by the UE, and the UEI beam report was sent in response to a first CSI request received by the UE.

[0037] In an embodiment, the new UEI beam report is a retransmitted UEI beam report.

[0038] In an embodiment, the second CSI request is a request for retransmission of the UEI beam report.

[0039] In an embodiment, the new UEI beam report comprises new measurements.

[0040] In an embodiment, the UE had not sent, on a first PUCCH the indication to the network node that the trigger condition had been met, and had not sent the UEI beam report to the network node, wherein the performing the response comprises: sending the UEI beam report to the network node, wherein the UEI beam report comprises an indication that the trigger condition has not been met.

[0041] In an embodiment, the indication that the trigger condition has not been met is an explicit indication comprising one or more of: a one-bit indicator that is an indication that the beam report was not trigger by the UE as a response to fulfillment of the trigger condition; or a one-bit indicator of a false scheduling request (SR).

[0042] In an embodiment, the indication that the trigger condition has not been met is an implicit indication.

[0043] In an embodiment, the implicit indication is a dummy UEI beam report.

[0044] In an embodiment, the implicit indication is a valid UEI beam report that comprises current measurements of downlink reference signals that indicate to the network node that the trigger condition has not been met.

[0045] In an embodiment, a UE is provided for handling a CSI request received from a network node for UEI CSI reporting, where the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to receive, from the network node, a CSI request for UEI CSI reporting, determine a response to the CSI request based on whether the UE had sent an indication to the network node that a trigger condition had been met and on whether the UE had already sent a UEI beam report associated to the indication to the network node, and perform the response to the CSI request.

[0046] In an embodiment, the UE had sent, on a first Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) the indication to the network node that the trigger condition had been met, and had not sent the UEI beam report to the network node, wherein the performing the response comprises: sending the UEI beam report, on a second uplink channel, to the network node.

[0047] In an embodiment, the UE had sent, on a first PUCCH the indication to the network node that the trigger condition had been met, and had sent the corresponding UEI beam report tothe network node, wherein the performing the response comprises: sending a new UEI beam report, on a second uplink channel, to the network node.

[0048] In an embodiment, the CSI request is a second CSI request received by the UE, and the UEI beam report was sent in response to a first CSI request received by the UE.

[0049] In an embodiment, the new UEI beam report is a retransmitted UEI beam report.

[0050] In an embodiment, the second CSI request is a request for retransmission of the UEI beam report.

[0051] In an embodiment, the new UEI beam report comprises new measurements.

[0052] In an embodiment, the UE had not sent, on a first PUCCH the indication to the network node that the trigger condition had been met, and had not sent the UEI beam report to the network node, wherein the performing the response comprises: sending the UEI beam report to the network node, wherein the UEI beam report comprises an indication that the trigger condition has not been met.

[0053] In an embodiment, the indication that the trigger condition has not been met is an explicit indication comprising one or more of: a one-bit indicator that is an indication that the beam report was not trigger by the UE as a response to fulfillment of the trigger condition; or a one-bit indicator of a false scheduling request (SR).

[0054] In an embodiment, the indication that the trigger condition has not been met is an implicit indication.

[0055] In an embodiment, the implicit indication is a dummy UEI beam report.

[0056] In an embodiment, the implicit indication is a valid UEI beam report that comprises current measurements of downlink reference signals that indicate to the network node that the trigger condition has not been met.

[0057] In an embodiment a method performed by the network node for facilitating a CSI request for UEI CSI reporting comprises providing to the UE a CSI request for UEI CSI reporting, and receiving, from the UE at least one of: in response to receiving, on a first Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, an indication that a trigger condition has been met, and not sending a UEI beam report associated to the indication to the network node, receiving a UEI beam report on a second PUCCH; in response to receiving, on the first PUCCH, the indication that the trigger condition has been met, and sending the UEI beam report to the network node, receiving a new UEI beam report on the second PUCCH; and in response to not receiving, on the first PUCCH, the indication that the trigger condition has been met, and not sending the UEI beam report to the network node, receiving a UEI beam report on the second PUCCH indicating that the trigger condition has not been met.

[0058] In an embodiment, a network node for facilitate a CSI request for UEI CSI reporting is provided, where the network node comprises processing circuitry configured to provide to the UE a CSI request for UEI CSI reporting, and receive, from the UE at least one of: in response to receiving, on a first Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, an indication that a trigger condition has been met, and not sending a UEI beam report associated to the indication to the network node, receiving a UEI beam report on a second PUCCH; in response to receiving, on the first PUCCH, the indication that the trigger condition has been met, and sending the UEI beam report to the network node, receiving a new UEI beam report on the second PUCCH; and in response to not receiving, on the first PUCCH, the indication that the trigger condition has been met, and not sending the UEI beam report to the network node, receiving a UEI beam report on the second PUCCH indicating that the trigger condition has not been met.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0059] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

[0060] Figure 1 is an exemplary depiction of Mode A User Equipment initiated (UEI) beam reporting in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0061] Figure 2 is an exemplary depiction of Mode B User Equipment initiated (UEI) beam reporting in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0062] Figure 3 is a message sequence chart of a method for handling a User Equipment (UE) initiated (UEI) Channel State Information (CSI) request in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0063] Figure 4 is an exemplary depiction of a first UEI CSI request scenario in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0064] Figure 5 is an exemplary depiction of a second UEI CSI request scenario in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0065] Figure 6 is an exemplary depiction of a third UEI CSI request scenario in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0066] Figure 7 is an exemplary depiction of a fourth UEI CSI request scenario in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0067] Figure 8 is an exemplary depiction of a time interval associated to a first response scenario for UEI beam reporting in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0068] Figure 9 is an exemplary depiction of a time interval associated to a second response scenario for UEI beam reporting in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0069] Figure 10 is a reproduction of table 10.1.6.1-1 from TS 38.133 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0070] Figure 11 is an exemplary depiction of there being a new downlink reference signal before a scheduled uplink resource in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0071] Figure 12 is an exemplary depiction of there being no new downlink reference signal before a scheduled uplink resource in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0072] Figure 13 is an exemplary depiction of a graph showing reference signal received power in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0073] Figure 14 is an exemplary depiction of a UE provided with UL resource for multiple UEI reports for different events in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0074] Figure 15 is an exemplary depiction of a UE provided with UL resource for multiple UEI reports for different carrier components (CC) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0075] Figure 16 is an exemplary depiction of a UE provided with UL resource for a single UEI reports for different carrier components (CC) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0076] Figure 17 is an exemplary depiction of multiple co-scheduled UEI reports in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0077] Figure 18 is another exemplary depiction of multiple co-scheduled UEI reports in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0078] Figure 19 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0079] Figure 20 shows a User Equipment device (UE) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0080] Figure 21 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0081] Figure 22 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0082] The embodiments set forth below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure.

[0083] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0084] There currently exist certain challenge(s). In Rel-19 User Equipment (UE) initiated (UEI) beam report, a UEI beam report is sent to the network (NW) when pre-configured trigger condition is fulfilled. For both Mode A and Mode B, the first step of the UEI beam reporting is that UE transmits a first one-bit, similar to a Scheduling Request (SR) signal, on a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH). In the case of Mode A, the UE’s first one-bit transmission is to request a resource for a second uplink (UL) channel to carry UE initiated beam report. When the NW receives the SR, it will request the UEI report from the UE by sending a UEI Channel State Information (CSI) request trigger (or a UEI beam reporting grant). Upon receiving the CSI request trigger from the NW, the UE should transmit the UEI report. Due to the nature of the wireless communication channel, the UE may receive a CSI request trigger due to various erroneous reasons. In other words, in some cases, the UEI beam report request is expected by UE, but in some other cases, the UEI beam report request is not expected by the UE. In one example, at the NW side, there is a non-negligible risk of false detection, i.e., the NW detects an SR while UE has not sent any SR to notify NW about an upcoming UE initiated (UEI) beam report and request UL resource. In another example, a UEI report could be lost, or not received by the NW properly. In legacy beam reporting, if a beam report is not received successfully, the NW can trigger another beam report. In UE initiated beam reporting, however, the beam reporting is initiated by the UE, and how to identify a beam report decoding failure and request a retransmission of the same beam report is an open problem.

[0085] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Various embodiments disclosed herein provide for a method for handling a User Equipment (UE) initiated (UEI) Channel State Information (CSI) request, received from a network node. The method includes determining by the UE one of the following scenarios under which the CSI request / UEI reporting grant from the network is sent. Some of the scenarios include 1) in response to an indication sent in a first Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), about a UE initiated beam report, 2) a retransmission request of a UE initiated beam report, or 3) a false detection of a beam report indication in the first PUCCH by the network.

[0086] In one embodiment, the UE receives the CSI request after transmitting the SR on first UL channel, but before transmitting the beam report corresponding to the CSI request. In this case, the UE transmits the beam report corresponding to the CSI request over the second UL channel.

[0087] In one embodiment, UE receives the CSI request after transmitting the SR on the first UL channel, and after transmitting the beam report corresponding to the CSI request. This may happen if the NW failed to receive the first UEI beam report (over the second UL channel). In this case the UE may either retransmit exactly the same report, or the UE may send a new report based on the beam report configuration, e.g., based on new measurements.

[0088] In one embodiment, UE receives the CSI request without the UE transmitting the SR on the first UL channel. This may happen when the NW falsely detects the SR on the first UL channel and sends the UEI CSI request in response to that. In this case, the UE sends a report that indicates that no event was triggered.

[0089] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). The proposed methods will enable UE to respond properly to a UEI CSI request from the NW, and it reduces the risk that NW misses the important notification from the UE when NW needs to, timely, perform a beam switch, and / or an update (activate / deactivate / indicate) of the Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states. In addition, the proposed methods will enable:• retransmission of a UEI beam report when the original UEI report is not received properly by the network (NW) due to e.g., poor channel or traffic conditions etc. The retransmission can improve the reliability, robustness and efficiency of UEI beam reports and overall network performance.• detection of false detection of the 1stUL channel by NW and reduce the risk that NW continuously sends unnecessary requests to UE for event-driven beam reports and reserve UL resource needlessly due to false detection of the first PUCCH at NW side.

[0090] In the context of this disclosure, beam, reference signal (RS), and TCI state may be used interchangeably. For beam measurement, a beam is defined by a downlink RS. For data transmission, a beam is indicated by a TCI state configured with a downlink RS for Quasi Co Location (QCL) type D.

[0091] A beam associated to an activated TCI state may also be referred to as an activated beam. In the context of this disclosure, activated TCI state and activated beam may be used interchangeably.

[0092] The indicated TCI state may also be referred to as the serving beam or the current beam. In the context of this disclosure, indicated TCI state, serving beam, and current beam are used interchangeably.

[0093] In addition, in the context of this disclosure, CSI report and beam report are used interchangeably. The terms UEI CSI request, UEI beam report request, and UEI beam report grant are used interchangeably.

[0094] Within this disclosure, reference signals (RS), that may also be referred to as Synchronization Signal (SS) Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) Block (SSBs), CSI-RS or any other RS which is used for beam measurement and reporting purpose.

[0095] For UE initiated, or event triggered beam reporting, it may comprise one or more of the following steps.

[0096] Referring now to Figure 3 which is a message sequence chart of a method for handling a UEI CSI requests, at step 302, optionally, the UE 2000 may send an indicator that a trigger condition has been met to the network node 2100. Sending by the UE 2000 in a first channel an indication to the network node 2100 indicating that a configured event or trigger condition is met, and a beam report is pending in case of Mode A or to be sent in a second UL channel in case of Mode B. The first channel is a PUCCH carrying a one-bit indication. This 1- bit PUCCH can be an SR-like signal as described above. Alternatively, this 1-bit PUCCH transmission has a new design which is different from the legacy SR.

[0097] At 303, the UE 2000 optionally may have sent a UEI beam report to the network node 2100.

[0098] At 304 though, the method includes receiving by the UE 2000 from the network node 2100 a UEI CSI request or an UL grant with a resource allocation for sending the beam report; note that this step is only needed in the case of UE initiated beam reporting with Mode A; for UE initiated beam reporting with Mode B, this step is not needed.

[0099] At 306, the method includes determining a response to the UEI CSI request based on whether the UE 2000 had sent at step 302 an indication to the network node 2100 that a triggercondition had been met and on whether the UE had already sent at step 303 a UEI beam report to the network node 2100.

[0100] Transmitting the beam report in the resource allocated via the UL grant (in the case of UE initiated beam reporting with Mode A) or in a preconfigured resource (in the case of UE initiated beam reporting with Mode B). a. The report comprises information of N (> 1) beams and associated signal quality (e.g., Ll-RSRP or Ll-SINR) for each of the N beams. The information of N beams comprises at least an indication (e.g., CRI (CSI-RS resource index / identifier)) of an associated CSI-RS resource or an indication (e.g., SSBRI (SSB resource index)) of an associated SSB for each of the N beams.

[0101] Optionally, the UE 2000 may receive from the network an ACK or NACK regarding the reception of the beam report. The NACK message can be a retransmission request due to a reception failure of the UEI beam report.

[0102] This disclosure considers an issue which is related to step 304 that UE may receive a UEI CSI request (or an UL grant for a UEI) for other reasons than the regular case described in the above procedure. Therefore, the UE will need to determine the reason for the UEI CSI request and respond to NW accordingly.

[0103] The description in this disclosure is mainly based on Mode A, but the embodiments are equally applicable to Mode B.

[0104] At step 308, the UE 2000 responds to the UEI CSI request in a variety of different ways depending on the determined response in step 306.

[0105] In one embodiment, where the UE 2000 had sent at step 302, on a first PUCCH the indication to the network node 2100 that the trigger condition had been met, and had not sent the UEI beam report to the network node at step 303, the performing the response at step 308 can include sending at step 310 the UEI beam report, on a second PUCCH, to the network node.

[0106] In one embodiment, where the UE 2000 had sent at step 302, on a first PUCCH the indication to the network node 2100 that the trigger condition had been met, and had sent the UEI beam report to the network node at step 303, the performing the response at step 308 can include sending at step 312 a new UEI beam report, on a second PUCCH, to the network node.

[0107] In one embodiment, wherein the UE 2000 had not sent at step 302, on a first PUCCH, the indication to the network node 2100 that the trigger condition had been met, and had not sent the UEI beam report to the network node at step 303, the performing can include sending (314) the UEI beam report to the network node (2100), wherein the UEI beam report comprises an indication that the trigger condition has not been met.Scenario Bl (Regular UEI CSI Request)

[0108] In this scenario, a UEI CSI request is sent by the NW when the NW has received the 1stUL PUCCH channel from UE operating in Mode A, but not yet the 2ndUL channel. This is referred to the UE expected (regular) UEI CSI request Scenario (Scenario-Bl), see Figure 4. UE can determine this scenario for example if it is the first UEI CSI request UE receives after sending the 1 -bit PUCCH on the 1stUL channel, and UE has not sent any UEI beam report.

[0109] Another example of a UE expected UEI CSI request could be in Mode B that NW grants the UE to transmit multiple UEI beam reports on the second UL channel associated to multiple carrier components or multiple events.

[0110] In some embodiments, the UE response to Scenario-B 1 can be one of the following reports, UE transmits the beam report corresponding to the UEI CSI request.Scenario-B2 (UEI CSI request for retransmission)

[0111] In this scenario, a UEI CSI request is sent by the NW when the NW has received the 1 -bit PUCCH on the 1stUL channel and thereafter sent UE a first UEI CSI request. But the NW failed to decode the UEI beam report on the 2ndUL channel. Hence, the NW may send a second UEI CSI request associated to the same CSI reporting configuration, see an example in Figure 5. The UE may determine this scenario since it has sent both 1-bit PUCCH on the 1stUL channel and a UEI beam report on the 2ndUL channel. Also, after sending the 1-bit PUCCH on the 1stUL channel, it receives two UEI CSI request pointing to the same CSI reporting configuration.

[0112] In some embodiments, the UE response to Scenario-B2 can be one of the following reports:• UE transmits the beam report corresponding to the UEI CSI request.• UE transmits a new beam report based on the beam report configuration, e.g., based on new measurement.Scenario-B3 (UEI CSI request due to false SR)

[0113] In this scenario, the NW may send a UEI CSI request due to a false detection of the 1-bit PUCCH (Scheduling Request SR). The UE may determine this scenario since it has not sent any SR on the first UL channel since the event triggering conditions are not met, see an example in Figure 6.

[0114] In some embodiments, the UE response to Scenario-B3 can be one of the following reports:• UE transmits the beam report with implicit indication on the false detection of the 1stUL channel.• UE transmits the beam report with explicit indication on the false detection of the 1stUL channel.Scenario-B4 (UEI CSI request in Mode B)

[0115] Normally, A UEI CSI request is not needed in Mode B since here the 2ndUL channel is a preconfigured UL resource. In other words, in Mode B, the UE can use the 2ndUL channel without a dynamic grant from the NW. Below, we give two examples that a UE may receive a UEI CSI request in Mode B.

[0116] In a first example, the system is operating in Mode B, but the NW may mistake detect the first UL channel associated to Mode A. Due to the detection error, the NW thinks the UE operates in Mode A and sends a UEI CSI request, see Figure 7. The UE may determine this scenario since it has sent a 1-bit PUCCH for Mode B upon a fulfillment of the event triggering condition(s), not a 1-bit PUCCH for Mode A, i.e., a UEI CSI request is not expected.

[0117] In a second example, the NW successively detects the 1stUL channel for Mode B but failed to decode the 2ndUL channel carrying a UEI report. In this case the NW may send a UEI CSI request to ask for a retransmit of the UEI beam report over the second UL channel. In some detailed embodiments, the second UL channel for retransmission can be the same type (PUCCH, CG PUSCH, DG PUSCH etc.) UL channel as the second UL channel for the initial transmission of UEI beam report. Alternatively, the second UL channel for retransmission can be a different type of UL channel (PUCCH, CG PUSCH, DG PUSCH etc.) used for initial transmission of UEI beam report.

[0118] In some embodiments, the UE response to Scenario-B4 can be one of the following reports:• UE transmits the beam report corresponding to the UEI CSI request.• UE transmits a new beam report based on the beam report configuration, e.g., based on new measurement.

[0119] In a third step (Step C), based on the determined scenario from Step B, the UE will send a different response to the NW accordingly. For simplicity, the different UE responses are referred to as different type of beam reports, as described below:

[0120] Type-Cl UE Response: same UEI beam report as in the UEI CSI request.

[0121] Type-C2 UE Response: a new beam report which is different from the request UEI beam report in the UEI CSI request.

[0122] Type-C3 UE Response: a beam report with implicit indication on false detection of the first UL channel.

[0123] Type-C4 UE Response: a beam report with explicit indication on false detection of the first UL channel.

[0124] In some embodiments, the NW may configure the UE, via RRC signaling, how to perform the corresponding type of UE response responding to a certain scenario of UEI CSI request.

[0125] In some embodiments, the NW may dynamically indicate to the UE (e.g., via MAC CE or DCI) which type of UE response a UE should perform, depending on certain operation conditions. For example, if the NW-side decoding error is mainly due to congestion of the traffic, a UE response with the same UEI report (Type-Cl response) is preferred. On the other hand, if the NW-side decoding error is mainly due to the degradation of wireless channel, a UE response with new measurement result (Type-C2 response) is more helpful.Type-Cl Response

[0126] In some embodiments, the requested UEI beam report is the first UEI beam report UE sends to the NW on the second UL channel after the first UL channel.

[0127] In some embodiment, the requested UEI beam report is not the first UEI beam report UE sends to the NW on the second UL channel after the first UL channel. In other words, this could be a retransmission of a same UEI beam report which was sent to NW previously. In some related embodiments, the original UEI beam report is stored in a dedicated buffer until a dedicated acknowledgement message associated to UEI beam report is received.

[0128] In some embodiments, each UEI report has its dedicated buffer because more than one AP CSI trigger state can be configured for one UEI report.

[0129] In some related embodiments, there are limits on the maximum number of UEI reports the UE can retransmit. In one example, this can be limited by the maximum number of UEI reports the UE can be configured with.

[0130] In some related embodiments, the maximum number of UEI reports the UE can be configured with for initial transmission and / or retransmission is a UE capability parameter.

[0131] In some alternative embodiments, each UEI AP CSI trigger state may have its dedicated buffer. Upon receiving a retransmission request, associated to the AP CSI trigger state, the UEI report in the buffer is retransmitted.

[0132] In some embodiments, the CSI in a dedicated buffer is not removed until an acknowledgement is received.

[0133] In some related embodiments, the CSI in a dedicated buffer can be removed / deleted / overwritten if a new UEI beam report is triggered with another AP CSI trigger state, or event ID etc.

[0134] In other related embodiments, the CSI in a dedicated buffer is reset / cleared / removed / deleted / overwritten if a certain time window has elapsed.

[0135] In some embodiments, the maximum number of configurable HARQ processes are extended beyond the legacy value for UEI retransmission. In some embodiments, the UE may be configured with dedicated HARQ process IDs for UEI beam reporting.

[0136] In some embodiments, a UE may be provided with one 2ndUL resource for multiple co-scheduled UEI reports where each UEI report can be associated to one carrier component (CC). In this case, each CC may have its dedicated buffer to store the UEI report for the purpose of retransmission.

[0137] In some embodiments, a UE may be configured to monitor multiple events where each event may have its dedicated buffer to store the UEI report for the purpose of retransmission.

[0138] In another embodiment, a time interval (or time window) of size Tois either predefined in 3GPP specifications or configured from the gNB to the UE. In the example shown in Figure 8 for Mode A, the time interval begins in the slot (e.g., 1stsymbol, last symbol of the slot) in the first instance of the 2ndUL in which the UE transmits the UEI beam report for UEI beam reporting configuration X. In alternative embodiments, the time interval may begin in any one of the following:• the slot (e.g., 1stsymbol, last symbol of the slot) in which 1stUL channel (e.g., the 1-bit SR / PUCCH) corresponding to UEI beam reporting configuration X is transmitted by the UE, and• the slot (e.g., 1stsymbol, last symbol of the slot) in which the DCI carrying the first UEI CSI request corresponding to UEI beam reporting configuration X is received by the UE.

[0139] In some embodiments, in case another DCI with a new (other than the first) UEI CSI request corresponding to UEI beam reporting configuration X is received within the time interval Toas shown in Figure 8, then the UE performs a Type-Cl response to the UEI CSI request. Stated in other words, if another DCI is received with a new UEI (other than the first) CSI request corresponding to UEI beam reporting configuration X is received within the time interval To, then the same UEI beam report corresponding to UEI beam reporting configuration X is re-sent.

[0140] In some embodiments, if the UE does not receive another DCI with a new (other than the first) UEI CSI request corresponding to UEI beam reporting configuration X within the time interval To, then the UE assumes that the earlier UEI beam report corresponding to UEI beam reporting configuration X is received successfully by the gNB. In some embodiments, the dedicated buffer that is used to store the UEI beam report corresponding to UEI beam reporting configuration X is reset / cleared / removed / deleted / overwritten if the UE does not receive another DCI with a new UEI CSI request corresponding to UEI beam reporting configuration X within the time interval To.Type-C2 UE Response

[0141] In some scenarios, upon receiving a UEI CSI request, the UE may response with a beam report which is different from the one in the UEI CSI request. One or more of the following options may be applied to the “new beam report”:

[0142] In some embodiments, if at least one of the configured triggering conditions is fulfilled, the UE may send a UEI beam report based on the new measurement results.

[0143] In some detailed embodiments, a UEI beam report should contain one or more of the following information:• N reported beams including beam IDs (CRI / SSBRI) and L1-RSRP / L1-SINR.• The measurement (e.g., L1-RSRP / L1-SINR) of the current beam.• The measurement (e.g., L1-RSRP / L1-SINR) of the beam(s) which triggered the UEI beam report. In some embodiments, the event-triggering beam(s) fulfills the higher layer configured counter requirement, i.e., the event condition is met for M times within a time window T.• The triggered event ID(s)

[0144] In some embodiments, the original (first) UEI report may be triggered by Event A, but at the time instance of retransmission, Event B is fulfilled, but not Event A. In this case, the UE may transmit the initial UEI report associated to Event A, and re-transmit the second UEI report associated to Event B.

[0145] In some embodiments, at the instance for UE response of a new (other than the first) UEI CSI request, if there is no triggering condition / event has been met, the UE may transmit a legacy AP CSI report, in which the UE only reports N beams including beam IDs (CRI / SSBRI) and LI RSRP / L1-SINR, and in addition

[0146] In some embodiments, the UE is not expected / requested to apply any filter / counter associated to the configuration of the UEI beam report.

[0147] In some embodiments, the UE does not need to report any triggering beam(s), for example, UE may report “all zero” or “all one” in the bitfields assigned to the triggering beam(s).

[0148] In some embodiments, the UE does not need to report any event ID, for example, UE may report “all zero” or “all one” in the bitfield(s) assigned to the event ID(s). Alternatively, the UE may report the event ID of the original UEI beam report.

[0149] In some embodiments, a one-bit indicator is included in the beam report that UE explicitly notify NW that the retransmission report is not a valid UEI beam report, but a legacy AP CSI report. In an alternative embodiment, an implicit notification can also work since the NW can be made aware of that the beam report is not a valid UEI beam report from the reported beam measurement.

[0150] In some embodiments, when a CSI request associated to a CSI report configuration for UE initiated beam reporting is received in DCI, the UE sends a beam report in PUSCH scheduled by the DCI regardless of whether the conditions contained in one or more event(s) corresponding to the CSI report configuration are met or not. The beam report comprises N strongest beams and their associated Ll-RSRP or Ll-SINR values, where N is configured in the CSI report configuration and the Ll-RSRP or Ll-SINR values are the latest measured values by the UE according to the CSI report configuration.

[0151] In another embodiment, a time interval (or time window) of size Tois either predefined in 3GPP specifications or configured from the gNB to the UE. In the example shown in Figure 9 for Mode A, the time interval begins in the slot (e.g., 1stsymbol, last symbol of the slot) in the first instance of the 2ndUL in which the UE transmits the UEI beam report for UEI beam reporting configuration X. In alternative embodiments, the time interval may begin in any one of the following:• the slot (e.g., 1stsymbol, last symbol of the slot) in which 1stUL channel (e.g., the 1-bit SR) corresponding to UEI beam reporting configuration X is transmitted by the UE, and• the slot (e.g., 1stsymbol, last symbol of the slot) in which the DCI carrying the first UEI CSI request corresponding to UEI beam reporting configuration X is received by the UE.

[0152] In some embodiments, in case another DCI with a new (other than the first) UEI CSI request corresponding to UEI beam reporting configuration X is received beyond the time interval Toas shown in Figure 9, then the UE performs a Type-C2 response to the UEI CSI request. Stated in other words, if another DCI is received with a new (other than the first) UEI CSI request corresponding to UEI beam reporting configuration X is received beyond the timeinterval To, then an updated UEI beam report corresponding to UEI beam reporting configuration X is sent (note that the updated UEI beam report corresponding to UEI beam reporting configuration X may be different from the original UEI beam report sent).

[0153] In some embodiments, the UE response can be a second UE initiated beam report in the 2ndchannel if the conditions of Event-2 remain fulfilled. The second UE initiated beam report can be the same as or different than the first UE initiated beam report, depending on whether the one or more new beams are the same or different. For different events, the UE may monitor different messages from the gNB to determine whether an associated UE initiated beam report is received successfully. The length of the time window may be either pre-specified or configured by the gNB. The time window can start from either the 1stUL channel (e.g., for ModeB) or the 2ndUL channel (e.g., for Mode A) over which the first UE initiated beam report is indicated or sentType-C3 UE Response

[0154] In one embodiment, upon receiving a UEI CSI request due to false SR detection at NW, the UE may send a dummy beam report to notify the NW about the false SR implicitly.

[0155] In some embodiments, the UEI beam report includes the eventID to report the event which triggers the beam report. The UE may send the UEI beam report with invalid codepoint for eventID to notify NW about the false SR.

[0156] In some embodiments, the UE may send the UEI beam report with invalid values for SS-RSRP or CSLRSRP to notify NW about the false SR. According to TS 38.133, the reporting range of SS-RSRP and CSI-RSRP for LI reporting is defined from -140 to -44dBm with IdB resolution. As illustrated in Figure 10 (Table 10.1.6.1-1 from TS 38.133), some reported values are not valid for LI SS-RSRP and CSI-RSRP.

[0157] In some embodiments, the UE may report invalid TCI states, SSBRIs or CRIs to notify the NW about the false SR. For example, the UE may report TCI states (or SSBRIs, or CRIs) which are not within the configured set of Reference Signals for the “new beams”. In another example, the UE may report SSBRIs or CRIs which are not in the set of configured TCI states.

[0158] In one embodiment, upon receiving a UEI CSI request due to false SR detection at NW, the UE may send a valid (not a dummy) beam report and notify the NW about the false SR implicitly.

[0159] In some embodiments, a valid beam report will be based on new measurement of the DL RS. An example is shown in Figure 11 where there is a new DL RS before the scheduled UL resource for UE to transmit the UEI report. In this case, the UE can send a UEI report with currentbest N beams and their RSRP values. Since the triggering event is not satisfied, the NW will be made aware of the false SR.

[0160] In some embodiments, a valid beam report will be based on stored LI RSRP measurement. An example is shown in Figure 12 where there is no new DL RS before the scheduled UL resource for UE to transmit the UEI report. In this case, the UE can send a UEI report with stored results of the best N beams and their RSRP values. Since the triggering event is not satisfied, i.e., there is no new beam which has Ll-RSRP higher than the current serving beam plus a threshold value (i.e., event-2 trigger condition). Hence, the NW is made aware of the false SR after receiving the report.Type-C4 UE Response

[0161] In one embodiment, upon receiving a UEI CSI request due to false SR detection at NW, the UE may send a valid beam report and notify the NW about the false SR with an explicit indication.

[0162] One example is given in Figure 13 to illustrate the need for an explicit indication on false SR. In this example, besides the threshold for Ll-RSRP, the Event-2 is also configured with a time window and a counter by a higher layer configuration, i.e., a valid UEI reporting should be triggered when Event-2 has occurred M times (M=3 in Figure 13). When UE receives a UEI reporting request due to a false SR detection at NW side, the UE may send a UEI report with measurement results of N best beams and their RSRP values, where at least one new beam has Ll-RSRP becomes the threshold value better than the current beam. However, in this example, the NW could not know that Event-2 has not fulfilled M times and the received UEI report is triggered by a false SR. Hence an explicit indication about the false SR could be useful here.

[0163] One or more of the following options may be used for explicitly indicating a false SR in a UEI beam report:• In some embodiments, a one-bit indicator is included in the UEI beam report to notify that this beam report is not triggered by UE as a response to fulfillment of event triggering condition.• In some embodiments, the one-bit indicator of false SR is carried in the beginning of a UEI report. Alternatively, the one-bit indicator of false SR is carried at the end of the UEI report.• In some embodiments, UE may be provided with an UL resource for multiple UEI reports due to false SR detection by NW. As illustrated in Figure 14 and Figure 15, the multiple UEI reports can be associated to different EventIDs, or different carrier components (CCs).In one example embodiment, the one-bit explicit indication about false SR is carried by each UEI report. In another example embodiment, the one-bit explicit indication can be carried by the first UEI report.• In some embodiments, UE may be provided with an UL resource to transmit one single UEI report containing measurement results for multiple CCs, see e.g., Figure 16. The UE may include a multi-bit indicator to notify the NW about the false SR. For example, if the event triggering conditions are satisfied for CC#1 and CC#2, but not CC#3, the UE can use the multi-bit indicator to notify the NW that the UEI reports for CC#1 and CC#2 are valid, but not for CC#3Other Embodiments

[0164] In some embodiments, the CSI request for a UEI beam report can use an enhanced AP CSI request for which the higher layer configuration of an AP CSI trigger states contains specific parameters / configurations associated to a UEI report, e.g., eventID etc. In some related embodiment, the eventID can be the same event ID for the initial UEI transmission and retransmission, for example for Type-Cl UE response. Alternatively, for Type-C2 UE response, the event ID could be different for the initial UEI report and the retransmitted UEI reports.

[0165] In some embodiments, UE maybe be provided with an UL resource for multiple coscheduled UEI reports. As illustrated in Figure 17 and Figure 18, the multiple UEI reports can be associated to different carrier components (CCs).

[0166] In some embodiments, since the multiple UEI beam reports are multiplexed and encoded together, a decoding failure means all reports are not decoded, upon receiving a UEI CSI request of Scenario-B2, the UE will perform a Type-Cl response for all UEI reports which are coscheduled for the same UL resource, as illustrated in Figure 17.

[0167] In some embodiments, in the time instance of retransmission only one or a few UEI beam reports have met the event trigger condition, the UE may only perform a Type-C2 response for those valid UEI reports, e.g., for CC#2 in Figure 18.

[0168] Figure 19 shows an example of a communication system 1900 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0169] In the example, the communication system 1900 includes a telecommunication network 1902 that includes an access network 1904, such as a Radio Access Network (RAN), and a core network 1906, which includes one or more core network nodes 1908. The access network 1904 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1910A and 1910B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1910), or any othersimilar Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP Access Points (APs). Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 1902 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 1902 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 1902, including one or more network nodes 1910 and / or core network nodes 1908.

[0170] Examples of an ORAN network node include an Open Radio Unit (O-RU), an Open Distributed Unit (O-DU), an Open Central Unit (O-CU), including an O-CU Control Plane (O- CU-CP) or an O-CU User Plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non- real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 1910 facilitate direct or indirect connection of User Equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 1912A, 1912B, 1912C, and 1912D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1912) to the core network 1906 over one or more wireless connections.

[0171] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 1900 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of dataand / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 1900 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0172] The UEs 1912 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 1910 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1910 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 1912 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 1902 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 1902.

[0173] In the depicted example, the core network 1906 connects the network nodes 1910 to one or more hosts, such as host 1916. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 1906 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1908) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 1908. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-Concealing Function (SIDE), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0174] The host 1916 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1904 and / or the telecommunication network 1902, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 1916 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0175] As a whole, the communication system 1900 of Figure 19 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system 1900 may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM);Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable Second, Third, Fourth, or Fifth Generation (2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G) standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., Sixth Generation (6G)); Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0176] In some examples, the telecommunication network 1902 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunication network 1902 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 1902. For example, the telecommunication network 1902 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / massive Internet of Things (loT) services to yet further UEs.

[0177] In some examples, the UEs 1912 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 1904 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1904.Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-Radio Access Technology (RAT) or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of WiFi, New Radio (NR), and LTE, i.e. being configured for Multi- Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC), such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN) NR - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0178] In the example, a hub 1914 communicates with the access network 1904 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1912C and / or 1912D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1910B). In some examples, the hub 1914 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 1914 may be a broadband router enabling access to thecore network 1906 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 1914 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 1910, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 1914. As another example, the hub 1914 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 1914 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a Virtual Reality (VR) headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 1914 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 1914 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 1914 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0179] The hub 1914 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1910B. The hub 1914 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 1914 and UEs (e.g., UE 1912C and / or 1912D), and between the hub 1914 and the core network 1906. In other examples, the hub 1914 is connected to the core network 1906 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 1914 may be configured to connect to a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) service provider over the access network 1904 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 1910 while still connected via the hub 1914 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1914 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 1910B. In other embodiments, the hub 1914 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and the network node 1910B, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0180] Figure 20 shows a UE 2000 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), wireless camera, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, Laptop Embedded Equipment (LEE), Laptop Mounted Equipment (LME), smart device, wireless Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted orvehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3GPP, including a Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UE, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0181] A UE may support Device-to-Device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), Vehicle-to- Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I), or Vehicle- to-Everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller).Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0182] The UE 2000 includes processing circuitry 2002 that is operatively coupled via a bus 2004 to an input / output interface 2006, a power source 2008, memory 2010, a communication interface 2012, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 20. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0183] The processing circuitry 2002 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 2010. The processing circuitry 2002 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 2002 may include multiple Central Processing Units (CPUs).

[0184] In the example, the input / output interface 2006 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 2000.Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0185] In some embodiments, the power source 2008 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 2008 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 2008 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 2000 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 2008. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 2008 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 2000 to which power is supplied.

[0186] The memory 2010 may be or be configured to include memory such as Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Programmable ROM (PROM), Erasable PROM (EPROM), Electrically EPROM (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 2010 includes one or more application programs 2014, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 2016. The memory 2010 may store, for use by the UE 2000, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0187] The memory 2010 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, High Density Digital Versatile Disc (HD- DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, Holographic Digital Data Storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini Dual In-line Memory Module (DIMM), Synchronous Dynamic RAM (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a tamper resistant module in the form of a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) including one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), such as a Universal SIM(USIM) and / or Internet Protocol Multimedia Services Identity Module (ISIM), other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as a ‘SIM card.’ The memory 2010 may allow the UE 2000 to access instructions, application programs, and the like stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system, may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 2010, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0188] The processing circuitry 2002 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 2012. The communication interface 2012 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 2022. The communication interface 2012 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 2018 and / or a receiver 2020 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 2018 and receiver 2020 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., the antenna 2022) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0189] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 2012 may include cellular communication, WiFi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short- range communications such as Bluetooth, NFC, location-based communication such as the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, NR, UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Quick User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection (QUIC), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0190] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 2012, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from severalsensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected, an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0191] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0192] A UE, when in the form of an loT device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a television, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or VR, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 2000 shown in Figure 20.

[0193] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship, an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0194] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0195] Figure 21 shows a network node 2100 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, APs (e.g., radio APs), Base Stations (BSs) (e.g., radio BSs, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), NR Node Bs (gNBs)), and O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O- CU).

[0196] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node), and / or Remote Radio Units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such RRUs may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a Distributed Antenna System (DAS).

[0197] Other examples of network nodes include multiple Transmission Point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, Multi-Standard Radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as Radio Network Controllers (RNCs) or BS Controllers (BSCs), Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, Multi-Cell / Multicast Coordination Entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0198] The network node 2100 includes processing circuitry 2102, memory 2104, a communication interface 2106, and a power source 2108. The network node 2100 may becomposed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 2100 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 2100 may be configured to support multiple RATs. In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 2104 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 2110 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 2100 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 2100, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within the network node 2100.

[0199] The processing circuitry 2102 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, CPU, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 2100 components, such as the memory 2104, to provide network node 2100 functionality.

[0200] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 2102 includes a System on a Chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 2102 includes one or more of Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 2112 and baseband processing circuitry 2114. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 2112 and the baseband processing circuitry 2114 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 2112 and the baseband processing circuitry 2114 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0201] The memory 2104 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer- readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, RAM, ROM, mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD), or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable, and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 2102. The memory 2104 may store anysuitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 2102 and utilized by the network node 2100. The memory 2104 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 2102 and / or any data received via the communication interface 2106. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 2102 and the memory 2104 are integrated.

[0202] The communication interface 2106 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 2106 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 2116 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 2106 also includes radio front-end circuitry 2118 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 2110. The radio front-end circuitry 2118 comprises filters 2120 and amplifiers 2122. The radio front-end circuitry 2118 may be connected to the antenna 2110 and the processing circuitry 2102. The radio front-end circuitry 2118 may be configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 2110 and the processing circuitry 2102. The radio front-end circuitry 2118 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 2118 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of the filters 2120 and / or the amplifiers 2122. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 2110. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 2110 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 2118. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 2102. In other embodiments, the communication interface 2106 may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0203] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 2100 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 2118; instead, the processing circuitry 2102 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 2110. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 2112 is part of the communication interface 2106. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 2106 includes the one or more ports or terminals 2116, the radio front-end circuitry 2118, and the RF transceiver circuitry 2112 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 2106 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 2114, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0204] The antenna 2110 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 2110 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 2118 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / orsignals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 2110 is separate from the network node 2100 and connectable to the network node 2100 through an interface or port.

[0205] The antenna 2110, the communication interface 2106, and / or the processing circuitry 2102 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node 2100. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 2110, the communication interface 2106, and / or the processing circuitry 2102 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node 2100. Any information, data, and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment.

[0206] The power source 2108 provides power to the various components of the network node 2100 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 2108 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 2100 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 2100 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid or an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 2108. As a further example, the power source 2108 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0207] Embodiments of the network node 2100 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 21 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 2100 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 2100 and to allow output of information from the network node 2100. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 2100. In some embodiments providing a core network node, such as core network node 108 of FIG. 19, some components, such as the radio front-end circuitry 2118 and the RF transceiver circuitry 2112 may be omitted.

[0208] Figure 22 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 2200 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may includevirtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices, and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more Virtual Machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtualization environments 2200 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, a UE, a core network node, or a host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 2200 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface. Virtualization may facilitate distributed implementations of a network node, a UE, a core network node, or a host.

[0209] Applications 2202 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 2200 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0210] Hardware 2204 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, an input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 2206 (also referred to as hypervisors or Virtual Machine Monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 2208A and 2208B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 2208), and / or perform any of the functions, features, and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 2206 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 2208.

[0211] The VMs 2208 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking, or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 2206. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 2202 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 2208, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as Network Function Virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers and customer premise equipment.

[0212] In the context of NFV, a VM 2208 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 2208, and that part of the hardware 2204 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 2208 on top of the hardware 2204 and corresponds to the application 2202.

[0213] The hardware 2204 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. The hardware 2204 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 2204 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 2210, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of the applications 2202. In some embodiments, the hardware 2204 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 2212 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0214] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining, or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface maybe configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0215] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[0216] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

[0217] Some of the references cited herein include:1. RP-234007, New WID: NR MIMO Phase 5, Dec. 2023.2. Chair notes, RANl#116bis, Changsha, Chain, April 15-19, 2024

[0218] Some of the embodiments described herein include:

[0219] Embodiment 1: A method performed by a User Equipment (UE) for handling a UE initiated (UEI) Channel State Information (CSI) request, received from a network node, the method comprising: receiving, from the network node, a UEI CSI request; determining a response to the UEI CSI request based on whether the UE had sent an indication to the network node that a trigger condition had been met and on whether the UE had already sent a UEI beam report to the network node; and performing the response to the UEI CSI request.

[0220] Embodiment 2: The method of embodiment 1, wherein the UE had sent, on a first Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) the indication to the network node that the trigger condition had been met, and had not sent the UEI beam report to the network node, wherein the performing the response comprises: sending the UEI beam report, on a second PUCCH, to the network node.

[0221] Embodiment 3: The method of embodiment 1, wherein the UE had sent, on a first PUCCH the indication to the network node that the trigger condition had been met, and had sent the UEI beam report to the network node, wherein the performing the response comprises: sending a new UEI beam report, on a second PUCCH, to the network node.

[0222] Embodiment 4: The method of embodiment 3, wherein the UEI CSI request is a second UEI CSI request received by the UE, and the UEI beam report was sent in response to a first UEI CSI request received by the UE.

[0223] Embodiment 5: The method of any of embodiments 3 to 4, wherein the new UEI beam report is a retransmitted UEI beam report.

[0224] Embodiment 6: The method of any of embodiments 4 to 5, wherein the second UEI CSI request is a request for retransmission of the UEI beam report.

[0225] Embodiment 7: The method of any of embodiments 3 to 4, wherein the new UEI beam report comprises new measurements.

[0226] Embodiment 8: The method of embodiment 1, wherein the UE had not sent, on a first PUCCH the indication to the network node that the trigger condition had been met, and had not sent the UEI beam report to the network node, wherein the performing the response comprises: sending the UEI beam report to the network node, wherein the UEI beam report comprises an indication that the trigger condition has not been met.

[0227] Embodiment 9: The method of embodiment 8, wherein the indication that the trigger condition has not been met is an explicit indication comprising one or more of: a one-bit indicator that is an indication that the beam report was not trigger by the UE as a response to fulfillment of the trigger condition; or a one-bit indicator of a false scheduling request (SR).

[0228] Embodiment 10: The method of embodiment 8, wherein the indication that the trigger condition has not been met is an implicit indication.

[0229] Embodiment 11: The method of embodiment 10, wherein the implicit indication is a dummy UEI beam report.

[0230] Embodiment 12: The method of embodiment 10, wherein the implicit indication is a valid UEI beam report that comprises current measurements of downlink reference signals that indicate to the network node that the trigger condition has not been met.

[0231] Embodiment 13: A User Equipment, UE, for handling a UE initiated (UEI) Channel State Information (CSI) request, received from a network node, the UE comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of embodiments 1 to 12.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method performed by a User Equipment, UE, (2000) for handling a Channel State Information, CSI, request, received from a network node (2100), for UE initiated, UEI, CSI reporting, the method comprising: receiving (304), from the network node (2100), a CSI request for UEI CSI reporting; determining (306) a response to the CSI request based on whether the UE (2000) had sent (302) an indication to the network node (2100) that a trigger condition had been met and on whether the UE had already sent (303) a UEI beam report associated to the indication to the network node (2100); and performing (308) the response to the CSI request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE (2000) had sent, on a first Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, the indication to the network node (2100) that the trigger condition had been met, and had not sent the UEI beam report to the network node (2100), wherein the performing the response comprises: sending (310) the UEI beam report, on a second uplink channel, to the network node (2100).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE (2000) had sent, on a first Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, the indication to the network node (2100) that the trigger condition had been met, and had sent the corresponding UEI beam report to the network node (2100), wherein the performing the response comprises: sending (312) a new UEI beam report, on a second uplink channel, to the network node (2100).

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the CSI request is a second CSI request received by the UE, and the UEI beam report was sent in response to a first CSI request received by the UE.

5. The method of any of claims 3 to 4, wherein the new UEI beam report is a retransmitted UEI beam report.

6. The method of any of claims 4 to 5, wherein the second CSI request is a request for retransmission of the UEI beam report.

7. The method of any of claims 3 to 4, wherein the new UEI beam report comprises new measurements.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE (2000) had not sent, on a first Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, the indication to the network node (2100) that the trigger condition had been met, and had not sent the UEI beam report to the network node (2100), wherein the performing the response comprises: sending (314) the UEI beam report to the network node (2100), wherein the UEI beam report comprises an indication that the trigger condition has not been met.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the indication that the trigger condition has not been met is an explicit indication comprising one or more of: a one-bit indicator that is an indication that the beam report was not trigger by the UE (2000) as a response to fulfillment of the trigger condition; or a one bit indicator of a false scheduling request, SR.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the indication that the trigger condition has not been met is an implicit indication.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the implicit indication is a dummy UEI beam report.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the implicit indication is a valid UEI beam report that comprises current measurements of downlink reference signals that indicate to the network node (2100) that the trigger condition has not been met.

13. A User Equipment, UE, (2000) for handling a Channel State Information, CSI, request, received from a network node (2100), for UE initiated, UEI, CSI reporting, the UE (2000) comprising processing circuitry (2002) configured to: receive (304), from the network node (2100), a CSI request for UEI CSI reporting; determine (306) a response to the CSI request based on whether the UE (2000) had sent (302) an indication to the network node (2100) that a trigger condition had been met and on whether the UE had already sent (303) a UEI beam report associated to the indication to the network node (2100); andperform (308) the response to the CSI request.

14. The UE (2000) of claim 13, wherein the UE (2000) had sent, on a first Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, the indication to the network node (2100) that the trigger condition had been met, and had not sent the UEI beam report to the network node (2100), wherein the performing the response comprises: sending (310) the UEI beam report, on a second uplink channel, to the network node (2100).

15. The UE (2000) of claim 13, wherein the UE (2000) had sent, on a first Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, the indication to the network node (2100) that the trigger condition had been met, and had sent the corresponding UEI beam report to the network node (2100), wherein the performing the response comprises: sending (312) a new UEI beam report, on a second uplink channel, to the network node (2100).

16. The UE (2000) of claim 15, wherein the CSI request is a second CSI request received by the UE, and the UEI beam report was sent in response to a first CSI request received by the UE.

17. The UE (2000) of any of claims 15 to 16, wherein the new UEI beam report is a retransmitted UEI beam report.

18. The UE (2000) of any of claims 16 to 17, wherein the second CSI request is a request for retransmission of the UEI beam report.

19. The UE (2000) of any of claims 15 to 16, wherein the new UEI beam report comprises new measurements.

20. The UE (2000) of claim 13, wherein the UE (2000) had not sent, on a first Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, the indication to the network node (2100) that the trigger condition had been met, and had not sent the UEI beam report to the network node (2100), wherein the performing the response comprises: sending (314) the UEI beam report to the network node (2100), wherein the UEI beam report comprises an indication that the trigger condition has not been met.

21. The UE (2000) of claim 20, wherein the indication that the trigger condition has not been met is an explicit indication comprising one or more of: a one-bit indicator that is an indication that the beam report was not trigger by the UE (2000) as a response to fulfillment of the trigger condition; or a one bit indicator of a false scheduling request, SR.

22. The UE (2000) of claim 20, wherein the indication that the trigger condition has not been met is an implicit indication.

23. The UE (2000) of claim 22, wherein the implicit indication is a dummy UEI beam report.

24. The UE (2000) of claim 22, wherein the implicit indication is a valid UEI beam report that comprises current measurements of downlink reference signals that indicate to the network node (2100) that the trigger condition has not been met.

25. A method performed by a network node (2100) for facilitating a Channel State Information, CSI, request for User Equipment, UE, initiated, UEI, CSI reporting, the method comprising: providing, to a UE (2000), a CSI request for UEI CSI reporting; and receiving (308), from the UE (2000) at least one of: in response to receiving (302), on a first Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, an indication that a trigger condition has been met, and not sending (303) a UEI beam report associated to the indication to the network node (2100), receiving (310) a UEI beam report on a second PUCCH; in response to receiving (302), on the first PUCCH, the indication that the trigger condition has been met, and sending (303) the UEI beam report to the network node (2100), receiving (312) a new UEI beam report on the second PUCCH; and in response to not receiving (302), on the first PUCCH, the indication that the trigger condition has been met, and not sending (303) the UEI beam report to the network node (2100), receiving (314) a UEI beam report on the second PUCCH indicating that the trigger condition has not been met.

26. A network node (2100) for facilitating a Channel State Information, CSI, request, forUser Equipment, UE, initiated, UEI, CSI reporting, the network node (2100) comprising processing circuitry (2102) configured to: provide, to a UE (2000), a CSI request for UEI CSI reporting; and receive (308), from the UE (2000) at least one of: in response to receiving (302), on a first Physical Uplink Control Channel,PUCCH, an indication that a trigger condition has been met, and not sending (303) a UEI beam report associated to the indication to the network node (2100), receiving (310) a UEI beam report on a second PUCCH; in response to receiving (302), on the first PUCCH, the indication that the trigger condition has been met, and sending (303) the UEI beam report to the network node(2100), receiving (312) a new UEI beam report on the second PUCCH; and in response to not receiving (302), on the first PUCCH, the indication that the trigger condition has been met, and not sending (303) the UEI beam report to the network node (2100), receiving (314) a UEI beam report on the second PUCCH indicating that the trigger condition has not been met.

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