Beam configuration for user equipment-initiated beam management report

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a beam configuration for User Equipment (UE)-Initiated Beam Management (UEIBM) report. A method comprises determining a set of active beams corresponding to a plurality of active transmission configuration indication (TCI) states; determining whether respective qualities of one or more new beams are better than a quality of an active beam having a specific order in the set of active beams; in accordance with a determination that the respective qualities of the one or more new beams are better than the quality of the active beam, determining reported beams based on a relationship between a first number M corresponding to the specific order and the second number N associated with the reported beams; and transmitting, to a second apparatus, a beam report indicating the reported beams including at least one new beam.

Description

BEAM CONFIGURATION FOR USER EQUIPMENT-INITIATED BEAM MANAGEMENT REPORTCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority from, and the benefit of, US Provisional Application 63 / 716901 , filed November 6, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.FIELDS

[0002] Various example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication and in particular, to methods, devices, apparatuses and computer readable storage medium of a beam configuration for User Equipment (UE)-lnitiated Beam Management (UEIBM) report.BACKGROUND

[0003] The UE-initiated Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI)-state / beam reporting feature refers to the case where the UE may be configured with at least one event / condition, and then the UE may start TCI-state beam reporting if this at least one event / condition occurs or is satisfied.SUMMARY

[0004] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus at least to: determine a set of active beams corresponding to a plurality of active TCI states; determine whether respective qualities of one or more new beams are better than a quality of an active beam having a specific order in the set of active beams; in accordance with a determination that the respective qualities of the one or more new beams are better than the quality of the active beam, determine reported beams based on a relationship between a first number M corresponding to the specific order and the second number N associated with the reported beams; and transmit, to a second apparatus, a beam report indicating the reported beams including at least one new beam.

[0005] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus at least to: configure a plurality of active TCI states for a first apparatus; and receive, from the first apparatus, a beam report indicating reported beams including at least one new beam which has a quality better than a quality of an active beam with a specific order in a set of active beams corresponding to the plurality of active TCI states.

[0006] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: determining a set of active beams corresponding to a plurality of active TCI states; determining whether respective qualities of one or more new beams are better than a quality of an active beam having a specific order in the set of active beams; in accordance with a determination that the respective qualities of the one or more new beams are better than the quality of the active beam, determining reported beams based on a relationship between a first number M corresponding to the specific order and the second number N associated with the reported beams; and transmitting, to a second apparatus, a beam report indicating the reported beams including at least one new beam.

[0007] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: configuring a plurality of active TCI states for a first apparatus; and receiving, from the first apparatus, a beam report indicating reported beams including at least one new beam which has a quality better than a quality of an active beam with a specific order in a set of active beams corresponding to the plurality of active TCI states.

[0008] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises means for determining a set of active beams corresponding to a plurality of active TCI states; means for determining whether respective qualities of one or more new beams are better than a quality of an active beam having a specific order in the set of active beams; means for in accordance with a determination that the respective qualities of the one or more new beams are better than the quality of the active beam, determining reported beams based on a relationship between a first number M corresponding to the specific order and the second number N associated with the reported beams; and means for transmitting, to a second apparatus, a beam report indicating the reported beams including at least one new beam.

[0009] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises means for configuring a plurality of active TCI states for a first apparatus; and means for receiving, from the first apparatus, a beam report indicating reported beams including at least one new beam which has a quality better than a quality of an active beam with a specific order in a set of active beams corresponding to the plurality of active TCI states.

[0010] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the third aspect.

[0011] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0012] It is to be understood that the Summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope ofthe present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, where:

[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

[0015] FIGS. 2A-2B illustrate examples of TCI state configuration;

[0016] FIG. 3 illustrates a signaling chart of communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate example processes for UEIBM reporting according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0020] FIG. 7 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. Embodiments described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

[0023] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0024] References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connectionwith an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[0025] It shall be understood that although the terms “first,” “second,”..., etc. in front of noun(s) and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another and they do not limit the order of the noun(s). For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0026] As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

[0027] As used herein, unless stated explicitly, performing a step “in response to A” does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs and one or more intervening steps may be included.

[0028] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “has”, “having”, “includes” and / or “including”, when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0029] As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable):(i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and(ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and(c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the softwaremay not be present when it is not needed for operation.

[0030] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0031] As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE- A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-loT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1 G), the second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G), 5.5G, the sixth generation (6G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

[0032] As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (I AB) node, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-ground network device such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology. In some example embodiments, radio access network (RAN) split architecture comprises a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node comprises a Mobile Terminal (IAB-MT) part that behaves like a UE toward the parent node, and a DU part of an IAB node behaves like a base station toward the next-hop IAB node.

[0033] The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device may also be referred toas a communication device, user equipment (UE), a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. The terminal device may also correspond to a Mobile Termination (MT) part of an IAB node (e.g., a relay node). In the following description, the terms “terminal device”, “communication device”, “terminal”, “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

[0034] As used herein, the term “resource,” “transmission resource,” “resource block,” “physical resource block” (PRB), “uplink resource,” or “downlink resource” may refer to any resource for performing a communication, for example, a communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as a resource in time domain, a resource in frequency domain, a resource in space domain, a resource in code domain, or any other combination of the time, frequency, space and / or code domain resource enabling a communication, and the like. In the following, unless explicitly stated, a resource in both frequency domain and time domain will be used as an example of a transmission resource for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It is noted that example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0035] As used herein, the term “transmission reception point (TRP)” may refer to an antenna port or an antenna array (with one or more antenna elements) available to the network device located at a specific geographical location. For example, a network device may be coupled with multiple TRPs in different geographical locations to achieve better coverage. Alternatively, or in addition, multiple TRPs may be incorporated into a network device, or in other words, the network device may comprise the multiple TRPs. The term “TRP” may be also referred to as a cell, such as a macro-cell, a small cell, a p ico-cel I, a femto-cel I, a remote radio head, a relay node, etc. It is to be understood that the term “TRP” may refer to a logical concept which may be physically implemented by various manner. For example, a TRP may refer to or correspond to a physical cell identity (PCI) or control resource set (CORESET) Pool Index (i.e., CORESETPoollndex).

[0036] Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below withreference to the accompanying drawings.

[0037] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication network 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. As shown in FIG. 1 , the communication network 100 may comprise a first apparatus 110 which may be, for example, a terminal device. In some example embodiments, the terminal device may also be discussed as a UE.

[0038] The communication network 100 may further comprise a second apparatus 120, which may be, for example, a network device. In some example embodiments, the network device may be discussed as a BS, a gNB, or an eNB.

[0039] A serving area provided by the second apparatus 120 is called a cell. The first apparatus 110 may communicate with the second apparatus 120 within the cell 102. The cell currently serving the first apparatus 110 may be considered as a serving cell 102.

[0040] In the following, for the purpose of illustration, some example embodiments are described with the first apparatus 110 operating as a terminal device and the second apparatus 120 operating as a network device. However, in some example embodiments, operations described in connection with a terminal device may be implemented at a network device or other device, and operations described in connection with a network device may be implemented at a terminal device or other device.

[0041] In some example embodiments, if the first apparatus 110 is a terminal device and second apparatus 120 is a network device, a link from the second apparatus 120 to first apparatus 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL), while a link from the first apparatus 110 to second apparatus 120 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In DL, the second apparatus 120 is a transmitting (TX) apparatus (or a transmitter) and the first apparatus 110 is a receiving (RX) apparatus (or a receiver). In UL, the first apparatus 110 is a TX apparatus (or a transmitter) and the second apparatus 120 is a RX apparatus (or a receiver).

[0042] It is to be understood that the number of network devices and terminal devices shown in FIG. 1 is given for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations. The communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices.

[0043] Communications in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol(s), comprising, but not limited to, cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1 G), the second generation (2G), the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), the fifth generation (5G), the sixth generation (6G), and the like, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and / or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA),Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0044] In some solutions, the beam management has been specified in 3 procedures controlled by network: Procedure#! (P1), Procedure#2 (P2) and Procedure#3 (P3), as illustrated in FIG. 2. The following beam management procedures are supported within one or multiple transmission reception points (TRPs) of the serving cell:- P1 : is used to enable UE measurement on different TRP Tx beams to support selection of TRP Tx beams / UE Rx beam(s).• For beamforming at TRP, it typically includes an intra / inter-TRP Tx beam sweep from a set of different beams. For beamforming at UE, it typically includes a UE Rx beam sweep from a set of different beams. UE may scan its antennas / panels sequentially for each SS burst and average over e.g. 3 samples.- P2: is used to enable UE measurement on different TRP Tx beams to possibly change i nter / i ntra-TRP Tx beam(s).• From a possibly smaller set of beams for beam refinements than in P1 . Note that P2 can be a special case of P1. P2 may use narrower channel state information (CSI) beams compared to synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) beams.- P3: is used to enable UE measurement on the same TRP Tx beam to change UE Rx beam in the case UE uses beamforming (e.g. mmW arrays on UEs for FR2 operation). P3 may use aperiodic CSI-RS with ‘repetition’ flag ‘on’ which means that the same beam is repeated from network side to enable UE to refine its Rx beam.

[0045] In some solutions, periodic, semi-persistent and aperiodic channel state information (CSI) reporting is proposed. For example, CSI resource configuration may specify what type of reference signal (such as, non-zero-power CSI reference signal (RS) synchronization signal block (SSB) (nzp- CSI-RS-SSB), csi-interference measurement (IM)-Resource) is to be transmitted. It also configures the types of transmission (periodic, aperiodic, semipersistent).

[0046] In some solutions, an “unified” TCI framework is introduced, meaning that transmission configuration indication (TCI) states providing quasi co-location (QCL) assumptions for the reception of DL signals and channels can be used also to provide spatial sources for the transmission of UL signals and channels to determine UL TX spatial filter. Furthermore, the unified TCI framework defines the concept of indicated TCI state. That means that one or multiple (in case of multi-TRP for instance) of the configured TCI states is / are indicated TCI state(s) at a time. The indicated TCI state can be joint DL and UL TCI state or separate DL and separate UL TCI states.

[0047] In some solutions, it introduces the unified TCI framework for s-TRP, with one indicated joint DL and UL at a time OR one indicated DL and one indicated UL TCI state at a time for the UE. An example of visual representation of unified TCI framework for s-TRP is shown in FIG. 2A. In some other solutions, it extends the unified TCI framework for m-TRP, with two indicated joint TCI states at a time or two indicated DL TCI states and two indicated UL TCI states at a time for the UE. An example of visual representation of unified TCI framework for m-TRP is shown in FIG. 2B.

[0048] In some solutions, UE-initiated beam management (UEIBM) is introduced. Some use cases where UE may benefit from initiating the UEIBM reporting are being identified (e.g., to facilitate beam switch). The UE-initiated TCI-state / beam reporting feature refers to the case where the UE may be configured with at least one event / condition, and then the UE may start TCI-state / beam reporting if this at least one event / condition occurs or is satisfied.

[0049] In the context of which event(s) may trigger a UEIBM report, Event-2, where the quality of at least one new beam, such as Layer 1 reference signal received power (L1 -RSRP), becomes a “threshold value” better than the current beam, has been agreed as the main event that can trigger a UEIBM report. For example, the network may configure the UE with a certain threshold, for example 3 dB, and when the UE measures a new beam to have an L1 -RSRP which is 3 dB better than the L1 - RSRP of the current beam, then a UEIBM report is triggered

[0050] In the context of what to report, i.e., the UL signal content of the UEIBM report with Event- 2 with L1-RSRP as quality metric, it has been agreed that the UE reports N beams, for example the top N beams, with N>1 configured by the network via RRC, and at least one of those N beams satisfies Event-2. Then, in addition to those N beams, the network may configure via RRC the UE to also report the current beam.

[0051] Regarding the number of beams to be reported, it has been discussed on UE- initiated / event-driven beam reporting, regarding L1-RSRP report format Option-3 depending on Event- 2, the candidate value of ‘N’ at least comprises {1 , 2, 3, 4}.

[0052] The improvements aimed by this feature may refer to overhead reduction, such that beam reports are sent by the UE only when needed, avoiding unnecessary beam reports that we may have in case of periodic reporting configured with small periodicities; and latency reduction, such that, as soon as certain events / conditions are met, a beam report can be sent, to avoid long delay that we may have in case of periodic reporting configured with large periodicities.

[0053] It has been agreed to specify enhancement to facilitate UE-initiated / event-driven beam management for reducing overhead and / or latency, assuming the unified TCI while leveraging (as much as possible) legacy CSI measurement and reporting configuration frameworks, targeting Frequence range (FR2) and sTRP with intra- and inter-cell beam management: a) UL signaling content(s) (and procedure(s) as required) for UE-initiated / event-driven beam reporting facilitating fastbeam switching; and b) UL signaling medium / container considering the UE-initiated / event-driven nature of the UL transmission, designed primarily for the purpose of beam reporting.

[0054] In the context of which RSs may be monitored / measured for current and new beams by the UE, for Event-2, the UE is supposed to monitor the current beam and a certain number of new beams. The “new” beams mentioned here may be sometimes referred to as well as “candidate beams” or “candidate new beams”.

[0055] More specifically, the RS for the current beam is related to the indicated TCI state, and there are two schemes under discussion, in particular if the RS is the actual RS in the indicated TCI state or if the RS is the SSB which is Quasi-Co-located (QCLed) with the actual RS in the indicated TCI state, to make sure that current and new beams are of the same “type”, e.g., either all SSBs or all CSI-RSs. The RS(s) for the new beam(s) are explicitly configured by the network via RRC.

[0056] The reporting of the candidate beams is based on CSI reports. On UE-initiated / event-driven beam reporting, regarding L1 -RSRP report format Option-3 depending on Event-2, the differential L1 - RSRP report format may be supported. For example, differential L1 -RSRP #2~#N / cu rrent beam may be determined based on the difference between measured L1-RSRP corresponding to the CRI / SSBRI #2~#N / current beam and the measured L1 -RSRP corresponding to CRI / SSBRI #1.

[0057] Besides Event-2, some other events are currently under discussion, for example Event-1 and Event-7 are expected to be supported, where for Event-1 , where the quality of the current beam is worse than a certain threshold, may be used to avoid costly procedures like BFR; and for Event-7, where the quality of at least one new beam, such as L1 -RSRP, becomes a threshold value better than the RS derived from the activated TCI state with the M-th best quality, may be used to update the active TCI state list.

[0058] The UE may be configured with UEIBM Event-7 to report one or more new beams that are better than the M-th active TCI state. It is not clear which beams are to be included in the UEIBM reporting.

[0059] In accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a solution for UEIBM reporting. In this solution, the second apparatus 120 configures a plurality of active TCI states for a first apparatus 110 and the first apparatus 110 determines a set of active beams corresponding to the plurality of active TCI states. If the first apparatus 110 determines respective qualities of the one or more new beams are better than the quality of the active beam having a specific order in the set of active beams, the first apparatus 110 determines reported beams based on a relationship between a first number M corresponding to the specific order and the second number N associated with the reported beams and transmits a beam report to the second apparatus 120. The beam report indicates the reported beams including at least one new beam.

[0060] Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below withreference to the accompanying drawings.

[0061] Reference is now made to FIG. 3, which shows a signaling chart 300 for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the signaling chart 300 involves a first apparatus 110 and a second apparatus 120. For the purpose of discussion, reference is made to FIG. 1 to describe the signaling chart 300.

[0062] As shown in FIG. 3, the second apparatus 120 may configure (402) a plurality of active TCI states for the first apparatus 110. The first apparatus 110 may determine a set of active beams corresponding to the plurality of active TCI states.

[0063] In some embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may be configured with UEIBM Event-7 to report one or more new beams that are better than the M-th active TCI state, i.e., better than the M- th beam in the set of beams corresponding to the plurality of active TCI states. For example, the second apparatus 120 may configure and indicate (304) the value of M to the first apparatus 110.

[0064] As mentioned hereinafter, beam A is better than beam B means the quality of beam A is better than the quantity of beam B. The quality of beam may be determined based on different types of measurements, such as RSRP, SINR, etc.

[0065] As an example, the first apparatus 110 may be configured with 4 active TCI states, for example with L1 -RSRP reporting:• TCI#0 L1_RSRP(TCI#0)=-90 dBm,• TCI#1 L1_RSRP(TCI#1)=-82 dBm,• TCI#2 L1_RSRP(TCI#2)=-92 dBm,• TCI#3 L1_RSRP(TCI#3)=-100 dBm.

[0066] As an example, the first apparatus 110 may be configured with 4 active TCI states, for example with L1 -SINR reporting:• TCI#0 L1_SINR(TCI#0)=5 dB,• TCI#1 L1_SINR(TCI#1 )=10 dB,• TCI#2 L1_SINR(TCI#2)=8 dB,• TCI#3 L1_SINR(TCI#3)=6 dB,

[0067] Based on the examples above, TCI#1 has the best reported L1 -RSPR value and TCI#1 has the best L1 -SINR value. That is, the plurality of active TCI states may correspond to a set of best beams that are determined based on different types of measurements. In this case, the current beam is the indicated TCI state (with DCI) which may be up to the network (NW) and may be any of the above 4 beams e.g. TCI#1 .

[0068] In a case where the second apparatus 120 configures Event-7 as an event for UEIBM reporting, if the first apparatus 110, e.g., based on the beam measurements, one or more beams are better than the beams of the M-th best active TCI state, the first apparatus 110 may report the newbeam(s) to replace the beams of the M-best active TCI state.

[0069] For example, the first apparatus 110 may perform beam measurements and determines (306) one or more new beam(s) are better than the M-th beam in the set of active beams. In this situation, the Event-7 is triggered and the UEIBM reporting is to be reported by the first apparatus 110. The first apparatus 110 may determine (308) the reported beams for the UEIBM reporting. After that, the first apparatus 110 may generate the UEIBM reporting based on the determined reported beams and transmit (310) the UEIBM reporting to the second apparatus 120.

[0070] In a case where M is configured by the second apparatus 120 and one or more new beams are better than the M-th beam in the set of active beams. The first apparatus 110 may determine the reported beams to be in the UEIBM reporting based on the relationship between the M and the number N of reported beams to be included in the UEIBM reporting.

[0071] As an option, the relationship between the M and the number N of reported beams may be configured by the second apparatus 120. As another option, the number N may be configured by the second apparatus 120 and indicated to the first apparatus 110.

[0072] For example, when the first apparatus 110 is activated with 4 TCI states and it is also configured with event 7 and M=3, and the measurement results obtained by the first apparatus 110 are as follows.• TCI#0 L1_RSRP(TCI#0)=-90 dBm,• TCI#1 L1_RSRP(TCI#1)=-82 dBm,• TCI#2 L1_RSRP(TCI#2)=-92 dBm,• TCI#3 L1_RSRP(TCI#3)=-100 dBm,• New Beam 0 (non-active TCI) = -85dBm• New Beam 1 (non-active TCI) = -95 dBm• New Beam 2 (non-active TCI ) = - OdBrn

[0073] In this case, the 3rd best TCI is TCI#2 (-92dBm), and one beam (i.e., the new beam 0) is better than the 3rd best TCI.

[0074] Embodiments for determining the reported beams in the UEIBM reporting will be further described in detail as below. In the following, M corresponds to a number associated with an order that is configured by the second apparatus 120 for M-th best beam in the set of active beams and N represents the number of reported beams in the UEIBM reporting.

[0075] In some example embodiments, if M=1 (i.e., M is the first active TCI state), there is a possibility that Event-7 becomes equivalent to Event-2 if the plurality of active TCI states contains only 1 beam or if the first active TCI state is also the current beam (i.e., the first active TCI state is also the best reported beam for L1-RSRP and for L1 -SI NR, hence chosen as indicated beam by NW).

[0076] In any other case, Event-7 is not equivalent to Event-2 and gives a higher degree offlexibility for beam reporting and TCI state switching. Hence, M may be larger or equal to 1 , or M may be strictly larger than 1 to avoid any overlap with Event-2.

[0077] In some other example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may report N beams (e.g. with N=4) that are better than the M-th activated TCI state (even if e.g., M=2). In this case, and if all are better than the M-th beam, the second apparatus 120 may activate the N reported new beams and replace all four active TCI state beams by the new beams reported by the first apparatus 110. To keep the fixed size of active TCI state list (e.g., the plurality of active TCI state configured by the NW), the last active beams may be discarded from the list. Hence, N may be configured to be smaller, equal or even larger than M.

[0078] In some other example embodiments, if non-activated beams are found by the first apparatus 110 to be better than the M-th activated TCI beam and are reported to the second apparatus 120 as triggered by Event-7, the non-activated beams are indicated by the first apparatus 110 to the second apparatus 120 as future-to-be-activated TCI beams.

[0079] In the UEIBM reporting, the first apparatus 110 may indicate to the second apparatus 120 that the reported new beams (or part of the N reported beams) may be activated by the second apparatus 120. If all N reported beams are non-activated TCI states (i.e., all N reported beams are new beams), then the first apparatus 110 may indicate that all N reported beams may be added by the second apparatus 120 to the activated TCI list. If a part of the reported beams are non-activated TCI states (i.e., the number of new beams to be reported is less than the number N of reported beams in UEIBM reporting), then the first apparatus 110 may indicate which of the reported new beams may be added by the second apparatus 120 to the activated TCI list.

[0080] In addition to the reported beams, the first apparatus 110 may also indicate, to the second apparatus 120, which one is the M-th active beam in the set of active beams. The M-th active beam may or may not be included in the UEIBM reporting. For example, if all N reported beams are nonactivated TCI states, the M-th active beam is not included in the UEIBM reporting.

[0081] As an option, to indicate the M-th active to the second apparatus, regardless of whether M- th active beam is included in the UEIBM reporting, the first apparatus 110 may transmit to the second apparatus 120, an indication of a TCI codepoint corresponding to the M-th active beam.

[0082] As another option, a bitmap may be transmitted from the first apparatus 110 to the second apparatus 120 to indicate at least one active beam in the reported beams having a quality better than a quality of the at least one new beam.

[0083] Some embodiments for reporting N reported beams with respect to the number M and for indicating the M-th active beam will be further described with reference to FIGs. 4A-4C. In some embodiments, N may be equal to or may be greater than M. In some other embodiments, N may be less than M.

[0084] As mentioned above, as one option, all N reported beams may be new beams better than the M-th active beam. As another option, a part of N reported beams may be new beams. That is, the reported beam may comprise at least one active beam from the set of active beams corresponding to the plurality of active TCI states.

[0085] As described above, the relationship between the M and the number N of reported beams may be configured by the second apparatus 120. Optionally or alternatively, the number N may be configured by the second apparatus 120 and indicated to the first apparatus 110.

[0086] As shown in FIG. 4A, the list 410 comprises a plurality of active TCI states, namely:TCI#0 =-90 dBm,TCI#1 =-82 dBm,TCI#2=-92 dBm,TCI#3 =-100 dBm.

[0087] If M=3, the TCI#2=-92 dBm corresponds to the M-th active beam.

[0088] In some embodiments, in a case where N=M and the first apparatus 110 reports N reported beams out of the set of active beams corresponding to the plurality of active TCI states and one or more new beams better than the M-th active beam, if the first apparatus 110 is configured with M=3 and N=3 and the first apparatus 110 determines a new beam “New Beam 0 (non-active TCI) = -85dBm” having a quality better than the quality of M-th active beam, the first apparatus 110 may report the list 420 as the UEIBM reporting which includes TCI#0 =-90 dBm, TCI#1 =-82 dBm and the New Beam 0 = -85dBm. That is, the reported beams comprise both new beam and active beam.

[0089] After UEIBM reporting, the active TCI state list may be shown in the list 430.

[0090] In this case, the second apparatus 120 may update active TCI state set by including new beam 0 together with TCI #0 and #1. The second apparatus 120 then may use three beams for PDSCH scheduling.

[0091] As shown in FIG. 4B, the list 440 comprises a plurality of active TCI states, namely:TCI#0 =-90 dBm,TCI#1 =-82 dBm,TCI#2=-92 dBm,TCI#3 =-100 dBm.

[0092] If M=3, the TCI#2=-92 dBm corresponds to the M-th active beam.

[0093] In some embodiments, in a case where N>M and the first apparatus 110 reports N reported beams out of the set of active beams corresponding to the plurality of active TCI states and one or more new beams better than the M-th active beam, if the first apparatus 110 is configured with M=3 and N=4 and the first apparatus 110 determines a new beam “New Beam 0 (non-active TCI) = -85dBm” having a quality better than the quality of M-th active beam, the first apparatus 110 may report the list450 as the UEIBM reporting which includes TCI#0 =-90 dBm, TCI#1 =-82 dBm, TCI#2=-92 dBm and the New Beam 0 = -85dBm. That is, the reported beams comprise both new beam and active beam.

[0094] After UEIBM reporting, the active TCI state list may be shown in the list 460.

[0095] In this case, the second apparatus 120 may update active TCI state set by including new beam 0 together with TCI#0, TCI#1 and / or TCI#2. The second apparatus 120 can use three or four beams for PDSCH scheduling. In this case, the M-th active beam / active TCI state may be implicitly known to the second apparatus 120 by reporting result.

[0096] As shown in FIG. 4B, the list 470 comprises a plurality of active TCI states, namely:TCI#0 =-90 dBm,TCI#1 =-82 dBm,TCI#2=-92 dBm,TCI#3 =-100 dBm.

[0097] If M=4, TCI#3 =-100 dBm corresponds to the M-th active beam.

[0098] In some embodiments, in a case where N<M and the first apparatus 110 reports N reported beams out of one or more new beams better than the M-th active beam only, if the first apparatus 110 is configured with M=4 and N=2 and the first apparatus 110 determines new beams “New Beam 0 (non-active TCI) = -85dBm” and “New Beam 1 (non-active TCI) = -95 dBm” each having a quality better than the quality of M-th active beam, the first apparatus 110 may report the list 480 as the UEIBM reporting which includes the New Beam 0 = -85dBm and New Beam 1 = -95 dBm. That is, all reported beams are new beams.

[0099] After UEIBM reporting, the active TCI state list may be shown in the list 490.

[0100] In this case, the second apparatus 120 may replace TCI#3 by new beamO in the active TCI state list, hence leading to a set composed by {TCI#0, new beam 0, TCI#1 and TCI#2}. Thus, the relationship N<M gives implicit knowledge to the second apparatus 120 of best beams and M-th best active TCI state.

[0101] In some other embodiments, when M and N are large, the reporting overhead can be large. In this case we can consider another option for supporting small N value.

[0102] If the first apparatus 110 is configured to report N=1 beam, then the first apparatus 110 may report that new beam 0. In this situation, the second apparatus 120 may not be aware of the 3rdbest active TCI state. Then the first apparatus 110 may report explicitly what TCI is corresponding to the 3rdbest active TCI state. Then the second apparatus 120 may replace TCI #3 by new beam 0.

[0103] In addition, if the first apparatus 110 reports a bitmap for active TCI states which are better than new beams, it is very useful. In above example, the first apparatus 110 may report new beam 0 for beams fulfilling event triggering condition, and it may report a bitmap that 1100 which indicates that TCI#0 and #1 are better than reported new beam. Then the report may consist of:• RSRP and RS index of the new beam 0,• Bitmap 1100TCI of 3rd best TCI state: 10 (#2)

[0104] In some embodiments, if N>1 , the first apparatus 110 may additionally report best N beams including new beam(s).

[0105] FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of an example method 500 implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 500 will be described from the perspective of the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0106] At block 510, the first apparatus determines a set of active beams corresponding to a plurality of active TCI states.

[0107] At block 520, the first apparatus determines whether respective qualities of one or more new beams are better than a quality of an active beam having a specific order in the set of active beams.

[0108] In accordance with a determination that the respective qualities of the one or more new beams are better than the quality of the active beam, at block 530, the first apparatus determines reported beams based on a relationship between a first number M corresponding to the specific order and the second number N associated with the reported beams.

[0109] At block 540, the first apparatus transmits, to a second apparatus, a beam report indicating the reported beams including at least one new beam.

[0110] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: obtaining, from the second apparatus, an indication of the specific order.

[0111] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: obtaining, from the second apparatus, a configuration of the relationship between the first number M and the second number N.

[0112] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: obtaining, from the second apparatus, an indication of the second number N; and determining the relationship between the first number M and the second number N.

[0113] In some example embodiments, the second number equals to or is greater than the first number.

[0114] In some example embodiments, the second number is less than the first number.

[0115] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: selecting, based on the second number and respective qualities of the one or more new beams and the set of active beams, the reported beams from the one or more new beams and the set of active beams, wherein the reported beams have respective qualities better than respective qualities of other beams in the one or more new beams and the set of active beams.

[0116] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: selecting, based on the second number and respective qualities of the one or more new beams, the reported beams from the one or more new beams, wherein the reported beams have respective qualities better than respective qualities of other beams in the one or more new beams.

[0117] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: transmitting, to the second apparatus along with the beam report, an indication indicative of an active beam having the specific order in the set of active beams.

[0118] In some example embodiments, the indication comprises a TCI codepoint corresponding to the active beam.

[0119] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: transmitting, to the second apparatus along with the beam report, a bitmap indicating at least one active beam in the reported beams having a quality better than a quality of the at least one new beam.

[0120] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: transmitting, to the second apparatus along with the beam report, an indication indicative of at least one expected beam to be activated by the second apparatus from the reported beams.

[0121] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network node.

[0122] FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an example method 600 implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 600 will be described from the perspective of the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

[0123] At block 610, the second apparatus configures a plurality of active TCI states for a first apparatus.

[0124] At block 620, the second apparatus receives, from the first apparatus, a beam report indicating reported beams including at least one new beam which has a quality better than a quality of an active beam with a specific order in a set of active beams corresponding to the plurality of active TCI states.

[0125] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises: transmitting, to the first apparatus, an indication of the specific order.

[0126] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises: transmitting, to the first apparatus, a configuration of the relationship between the first number M and the second number N.

[0127] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises: transmitting, to the first apparatus, an indication of the second number N.

[0128] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises: receiving, from the first apparatus along with the beam report, an indication indicative of an active beam having the specific order in the set of active beams.

[0129] In some example embodiments, the indication comprises a TCI codepoint corresponding to the active beam.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises: receiving, from the first apparatus along with the beam report, a bitmap indicating at least one active beam in the reported beams having a quality better than a quality of the at least one new beam.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises: receiving, from the first apparatus along with the beam report, an indication indicative of at least one expected beam to be activated by the second apparatus from the reported beams.

[0132] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network node.

[0133] In some example embodiments, a first apparatus capable of performing any of the method 500 (for example, the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1 ) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 500. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1 .

[0134] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for determining a set of active beams corresponding to a plurality of active TCI states; means for determining whether respective qualities of one or more new beams are better than a quality of an active beam having a specific order in the set of active beams; means for in accordance with a determination that the respective qualities of the one or more new beams are better than the quality of the active beam, determining reported beams based on a relationship between a first number M corresponding to the specific order and the second number N associated with the reported beams; and means for transmitting, to a second apparatus, a beam report indicating the reported beams including at least one new beam.

[0135] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for obtaining, from the second apparatus, an indication of the specific order.

[0136] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for obtaining, from the second apparatus, a configuration of the relationship between the first number M and the second number N.

[0137] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for obtaining, from the second apparatus, an indication of the second number N; and means for determining the relationship between the first number M and the second number N.

[0138] In some example embodiments, the second number equals to or is greater than the first number.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the second number is less than the first number.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for selecting, based on the second number and respective qualities of the one or more new beams and the set of active beams, the reported beams from the one or more new beams and the set of active beams, wherein the reported beams have respective qualities better than respective qualities of other beams in the one or more new beams and the set of active beams.

[0141] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for selecting, based on the second number and respective qualities of the one or more new beams, the reported beams from the one or more new beams, wherein the reported beams have respective qualities better than respective qualities of other beams in the one or more new beams.

[0142] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the second apparatus along with the beam report, an indication indicative of an active beam having the specific order in the set of active beams.

[0143] In some example embodiments, the indication comprises a TCI codepoint corresponding to the active beam.

[0144] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the second apparatus along with the beam report, a bitmap indicating at least one active beam in the reported beams having a quality better than a quality of the at least one new beam.

[0145] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the second apparatus along with the beam report, an indication indicative of at least one expected beam to be activated by the second apparatus from the reported beams.

[0146] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network node.

[0147] In some example embodiments, a second apparatus capable of performing any of the method 600 (for example, the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1 ) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 600. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The second apparatus may be implemented as or included in the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

[0148] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for configuring a plurality of active TCI states for a first apparatus; and means for receiving, from the first apparatus, a beam report indicating reported beams including at least one new beam which has a quality better than a quality of an active beam with a specific order in a set of active beams corresponding to the plurality of active TCI states.

[0149] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the first apparatus, an indication of the specific order.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means fortransmitting, to the first apparatus, a configuration of the relationship between the first number M and the second number N.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the first apparatus, an indication of the second number N.

[0152] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the first apparatus along with the beam report, an indication indicative of an active beam having the specific order in the set of active beams.

[0153] In some example embodiments, the indication comprises a TCI codepoint corresponding to the active beam.

[0154] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the first apparatus along with the beam report, a bitmap indicating at least one active beam in the reported beams having a quality better than a quality of the at least one new beam.

[0155] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the first apparatus along with the beam report, an indication indicative of at least one expected beam to be activated by the second apparatus from the reported beams.

[0156] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network node.

[0157] FIG. 7 is a simplified block diagram of a device 700 that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 700 may be provided to implement a communication device, for example, the first apparatus 110 or the second apparatus 120 as shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the device 700 includes one or more processors 710, one or more memories 720 coupled to the processor 710, and one or more communication modules 740 coupled to the processor 710.

[0158] The communication module 740 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 740 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interfaces may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 740 may include at least one antenna.

[0159] The processor 710 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 700 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

[0160] The memory 720 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatilememories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 724, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD), a digital video disk (DVD), an optical disk, a laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random-access memory (RAM) 722 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

[0161] A computer program 730 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 710. The instructions of the program 730 may include instructions for performing operations / acts of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 730 may be stored in the memory, e.g., the ROM 724. The processor 710 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 730 into the RAM 722.

[0162] The example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 730 so that the device 700 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 6. The example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0163] In some example embodiments, the program 730 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 700 (such as in the memory 720) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 700. The device 700 may load the program 730 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 722 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer readable medium may include any types of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. The term “non-transitory,” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e. , tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0164] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, and other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. Although various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0165] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer readable medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such asthose included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor, to carry out any of the methods as described above. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machineexecutable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0166] Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

[0167] In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like.

[0168] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0169] Further, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, although several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Unless explicitly stated, certain features that are described inthe context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, unless explicitly stated, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in a plurality of embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

[0170] Although the present disclosure has been described in languages specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A first apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus at least to: determine a set of active beams corresponding to a plurality of active transmission configuration indication, TCI, states; determine whether respective qualities of one or more new beams are better than a quality of an active beam having a specific order in the set of active beams; in accordance with a determination that the respective qualities of the one or more new beams are better than the quality of the active beam, determine reported beams based on a relationship between a first number M corresponding to the specific order and the second number N associated with the reported beams; and transmit, to a second apparatus, a beam report indicating the reported beams including at least one new beam.

2. The first apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first apparatus is caused to: obtain, from the second apparatus, an indication of the specific order.

3. The first apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first apparatus is caused to: obtain, from the second apparatus, a configuration of the relationship between the first number M and the second number N.

4. The first apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first apparatus is caused to: obtain, from the second apparatus, an indication of the second number N; and determine the relationship between the first number M and the second number N.

5. The first apparatus of any of claims 1 -4, wherein the second number equals to or is greater than the first number.

6. The first apparatus of any of claims 1 -4, wherein the second number is less than the first number.

7. The first apparatus of any of claims 1 -6, wherein the first apparatus is caused to: select, based on the second number and respective qualities of the one or more new beams and the set of active beams, the reported beams from the one or more new beams and the set of active beams, wherein the reported beams have respective qualities better than respective qualities of other beams in the one or more new beams and the set of active beams.

8. The first apparatus of any of claims 1 -6, wherein the first apparatus is caused to: select, based on the second number and respective qualities of the one or more new beams, the reported beams from the one or more new beams, wherein the reported beams have respective qualities better than respective qualities of other beams in the one or more new beams.

9. The first apparatus of any of claims 1 -8, wherein the first apparatus is caused to: transmit, to the second apparatus along with the beam report, an indication indicative of an active beam having the specific order in the set of active beams.

10. The first apparatus of claim 9, wherein the indication comprises a TCI codepoint corresponding to the active beam.11 . The first apparatus of any of claims 1 -10, wherein the first apparatus is caused to: transmit, to the second apparatus along with the beam report, a bitmap indicating at least one active beam in the reported beams having a quality better than a quality of the at least one new beam.

12. The first apparatus of any of claims 1-11 , wherein the first apparatus is caused to: transmit, to the second apparatus along with the beam report, an indication indicative of at least one expected beam to be activated by the second apparatus from the reported beams.

13. The first apparatus of any of claims 1-12, wherein the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network node.

14. A second apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus at least to: configure a plurality of active TCI states for a first apparatus; and receive, from the first apparatus, a beam report indicating reported beams including at leastone new beam which has a quality better than a quality of an active beam with a specific order in a set of active beams corresponding to the plurality of active TCI states.

15. The second apparatus of claim 14, wherein the second apparatus is caused to: transmit, to the first apparatus, an indication of the specific order.

16. The second apparatus of claim 14 or 15, wherein the second apparatus is caused to: transmit, to the first apparatus, a configuration of the relationship between the first number M and the second number N.

17. The second apparatus of claim 14 or 15, wherein the second apparatus is caused to: transmit, to the first apparatus, an indication of the second number N.

18. The second apparatus of any of claims 14-17, wherein the second apparatus is caused to: receive, from the first apparatus along with the beam report, an indication indicative of an active beam having the specific order in the set of active beams.

19. The second apparatus of claim 18, wherein the indication comprises a TCI codepoint corresponding to the active beam.

20. The second apparatus of any of claims 14-19, wherein the second apparatus is caused to: receive, from the first apparatus along with the beam report, a bitmap indicating at least one active beam in the reported beams having a quality better than a quality of the at least one new beam.21 . The second apparatus of any of claims 14-20, wherein the second apparatus is caused to: receive, from the first apparatus along with the beam report, an indication indicative of at least one expected beam to be activated by the second apparatus from the reported beams.

22. The second apparatus of any of claims 14-21 , wherein the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network node.

23. A method comprising: determining a set of active beams corresponding to a plurality of active TCI states; determining whether respective qualities of one or more new beams are better than a quality of an active beam having a specific order in the set of active beams;in accordance with a determination that the respective qualities of the one or more new beams are better than the quality of the active beam, determining reported beams based on a relationship between a first number M corresponding to the specific order and the second number N associated with the reported beams; and transmitting, to a second apparatus, a beam report indicating the reported beams including at least one new beam.

24. A method comprising: configuring a plurality of active TCI states for a first apparatus; and receiving, from the first apparatus, a beam report indicating reported beams including at least one new beam which has a quality better than a quality of an active beam with a specific order in a set of active beams corresponding to the plurality of active TCI states.

25. A first apparatus comprising: means for determining a set of active beams corresponding to a plurality of active TCI states; means for determining whether respective qualities of one or more new beams are better than a quality of an active beam having a specific order in the set of active beams; means for in accordance with a determination that the respective qualities of the one or more new beams are better than the quality of the active beam, determining reported beams based on a relationship between a first number M corresponding to the specific order and the second number N associated with the reported beams; and means for transmitting, to a second apparatus, a beam report indicating the reported beams including at least one new beam.

26. A second apparatus comprising: means for configuring a plurality of active TCI states for a first apparatus; and means for receiving, from the first apparatus, a beam report indicating reported beams including at least one new beam which has a quality better than a quality of an active beam with a specific order in a set of active beams corresponding to the plurality of active TCI states.

27. A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus at least to perform the method of claim 23 or the method of claim 24.

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