Method executed by user equipment, and user equipment

Abstract

Provided in the present invention are a method executed by a user equipment (UE), and a UE. In the method executed by a UE, the UE uses a first mode or a second mode to perform a BMR process. The method comprises the following steps: a UE determining that there is at least one triggered BMR; on the basis of whether a given condition is met, the UE determining whether there is a valid PUCCH resource for the indication or notification of the BMR; and the UE performing a corresponding operation on the basis of whether there is a valid PUCCH resource.

Description

Methods executed by user equipment and user equipment Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and more particularly to a method performed by a user equipment and the user equipment itself. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid growth of mobile communications and tremendous technological advancements, the world is moving towards a fully interconnected network society, where anyone or anything can access information and share data anytime, anywhere. In 2020, the number of connected devices reached 50 billion, of which only about 10 billion were likely mobile phones and tablets; the rest were not machines for human interaction, but rather machines for interacting with each other. Therefore, how to design systems to better support the Internet of Things is a topic requiring in-depth research.

[0003] To this end, at the 3GPP RAN#64 plenary meeting held in March 2016, a research project on new 5G radio access technology was proposed (see non-patent document: RP-160671 New SID Proposal: Study on New Radio Access Technology). The project description stated that the operating frequency band of the new communication standard would be expandable to 100GHz, while simultaneously meeting at least the needs of enhanced mobile broadband services, the communication requirements of massive IoT UEs, and the service requirements of high reliability. The research work on this project concluded in 2018.

[0004] This research project plans to use beamforming for information transmission. Specifically, when using high-frequency communication, a thinner beam will be used to address the rapid fading of high-frequency channels. However, using a thinner beam for information transmission is susceptible to external changes, such as the rotation of the phone or obstruction from other objects.

[0005] In beamforming transmission scenarios, to promptly report the serving cell's beam signal quality and changes to the network, the UE can proactively send beam signal quality information to the network. This process is known as Beam Measurement Report (BMR). Such BMRs can be transmitted to the network via either Mode A or Mode B. In Mode B, the UE can send a BMR indication on the PUCCH of one carrier and a generated BMR on the PUSCH of another carrier. At any given time, only one active Bandwith Part (BWP) serves the UE on a single carrier. The BWP associated with the PUCCH or PUSCH configured in Mode B may not be active at the time the report is triggered or generated. Therefore, how to transmit the BMR in this situation is a problem that needs to be addressed. Summary of the Invention

[0006] To address the aforementioned problems, the present invention provides a method and a user equipment that are executed by a user equipment, enabling the transmission of beam measurement reports even when the bandwidth portion changes.

[0007] According to the present invention, a method executed by a user equipment (UE) for performing beam measurement reporting (BMR) in either a first mode or a second mode is proposed, comprising the following steps:

[0008] The UE determines that at least one BMR has been triggered;

[0009] The UE determines whether a valid Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resource exists for indication or notification of BMR based on whether given conditions are met; and

[0010] The UE will perform corresponding operations based on whether there are valid PUCCH resources.

[0011] In the above-described method performed by the user equipment, preferably,

[0012] The first mode includes:

[0013] The first step is to send signals or information on the pre-configured PUCCH channel to request resources for transmitting BMR from the base station or network side;

[0014] The second step involves monitoring the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) to receive scheduling information from the base station or network side, indicating relevant information about the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or PUCCH resources used for BMR transmission; and

[0015] The third step is to send a BMR on the acquired resources.

[0016] The second mode includes:

[0017] The first step involves sending indication information to the base station or network side on a pre-configured PUCCH channel to indicate or notify the UE that it is ready to perform BMR transmission; and

[0018] The second step is to send the BMR on the pre-configured PUSCH or PUCCH.

[0019] In the above-described method performed by the user equipment, preferably,

[0020] The given conditions include:

[0021] The first condition is that the PUCCH resource is located on the active bandwidth portion (BWP) when transmitting an indication or notification for BMR; and / or,

[0022] The second condition is that the PUSCH resource configured for the second step in the second mode is located on the active BWP.

[0023] In the above-described method performed by the user equipment, preferably,

[0024] The PUSCH resource in the second condition is associated with the PUCCH resource in the first condition in terms of configuration or time.

[0025] In the above-described method performed by the user equipment, preferably,

[0026] If the UE determines that a valid PUCCH resource exists...

[0027] The upper layer of the UE instructs the lower layer to send signals or BMR-related information on a valid PUCCH resource.

[0028] In the above-described method performed by the user equipment, preferably,

[0029] If the UE determines that there are no valid PUSCH resources based on the second condition.

[0030] The UE does not perform the operation of instructing the lower layer to send signals or BMR-related information on PUCCH resources; or,

[0031] For the serving cell where the PUSCH resource is located, the UE performs a BWP handover; or,

[0032] If the UE determines that there are no PUSCH resources associated with PUCCH transmission, then the UE will either re-trigger BMR or cancel the triggered BMR.

[0033] In the above-described method performed by the user equipment, preferably,

[0034] If the UE determines that a valid PUCCH resource exists, it further determines whether the transmission on that PUCCH resource is a priority transmission.

[0035] In the above-described method performed by the user equipment, preferably,

[0036] The UE determines whether the PUCCH resource overlaps with the PUCCH resource used for scheduling requests, or whether the PUCCH resource overlaps with the PUSCH resource, and thus determines whether the transmission on the PUCCH resource is a priority transmission.

[0037] In the above-described method performed by the user equipment, preferably,

[0038] The PUSCH resource used to determine whether it overlaps with the PUCCH resource is an uplink grant received in the random access response, an uplink grant with the UE's Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) as the address, or a PUSCH resource used to transmit BMR.

[0039] In addition, according to the present invention, a user equipment is provided, comprising: a processor; and a memory storing instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, perform the method described above.

[0040] Invention Effects

[0041] According to the present invention, it is possible to transmit beam measurement reports even when the bandwidth portion changes. Attached Figure Description

[0042] The above and other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0043] Figure 1 is a flowchart illustrating the method executed by the user equipment (UE) of the present invention.

[0044] Figure 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the user equipment involved in this invention. Detailed Implementation

[0045] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that the present invention should not be limited to the specific embodiments described below. Furthermore, for the sake of simplicity, detailed descriptions of well-known technologies not directly related to the present invention have been omitted to prevent confusion in understanding the present invention.

[0046] Before proceeding with the detailed description, the following explanation is provided for several terms mentioned in this invention. Unless otherwise specified, the terms used in this invention shall have the meanings described below.

[0047] UE User Equipment

[0048] RLF Radio Link Failure

[0049] NR New Radio: Next-Generation Wireless Technology

[0050] LTE Long Term Evolution technology

[0051] eLTE Enhanced Long Term Evolution (LTE)

[0052] MAC Medium Access Control (layer)

[0053] MAC CE MAC Control Element

[0054] PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel)

[0055] RRC Radio Resource Control (layer)

[0056] PHY physical layer

[0057] PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel

[0058] PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel)

[0059] PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel)

[0060] RA Random Access

[0061] PRACH Physical Random Access Channel

[0062] SSB Synchronization Signal Block

[0063] CSI-RS Channel State Information Reference signal

[0064] TCI Transmission Configuration Indicator

[0065] TCI state Transmission Configuration Indicator state Transmission configuration indicator status

[0066] RSRP Reference Signal Received Power

[0067] Serving Cell: a PCell, a PSCell, o SCell, serving cell, can be PCell, PSCell, or SCell.

[0068] SpCell: Special Cell, which can be either PCell or PSCell.

[0069] PCell: Primary Cell

[0070] PSCell: Primary SCG Cell

[0071] SCell: Secondary Cell

[0072] SCG: Secondary Cell Group

[0073] C-RNTI: Cell RNTI, Cell RNTI

[0074] RNTI: Radio Network Temporary Identifier

[0075] HARQ: Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request.

[0076] SINR: Signal to Noise and Interference Ratio.

[0077] TRP: Transmit / Receive Point (Send / Receive Port)

[0078] UL-CCCH: Uplink Common Control Channel

[0079] UCI: Uplink Control Information

[0080] MCG: Master Cell Group

[0081] SR: Scheduling Request

[0082] PHR: Power Heardroom Report

[0083] BSR: Buffer Status Report

[0084] ACTIVE time (active period / event period)

[0085] Non-active time (inactive period / active period)

[0086] DCI: Downlink Control Information

[0087] The following description uses the NR mobile communication system and its subsequent evolutions as an example application environment, taking NR-supporting base stations and UE devices as examples, to specifically describe several embodiments according to the present invention. However, it should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, but is applicable to many other wireless communication systems, such as eLTE communication systems, and can be applied to other base stations and UE devices, such as eLTE-supporting base stations and UE devices.

[0088] Since a serving cell can include a primary cell and a secondary cell, the serving cell mentioned below can be either a primary cell or a secondary cell unless otherwise specified.

[0089] Beamforming can be used in conjunction with carrier aggregation (CA) technology. The base station can configure multiple carriers for the UE, with different carriers corresponding to different serving cells. Among the multiple cells configured for the UE, there is at least one primary cell (Pcell) and one or more secondary cells (Scells). Both the primary and secondary cells can employ beamforming technology. Accordingly, by measuring the configured beams of each serving cell, the UE can report the beam quality of each cell.

[0090] UEs operating in Dual Connection (DC) mode are configured with MCG (Master Cell Group) and SCG (Secondary Cell Group). The master cell of the MCG is called Pcell, and the master cell of the SCG is called PScell. SPcell is usually used to refer to Pcell and PScell.

[0091] Bandwidth section

[0092] NR introduces the concept of "bandwidth part" or "partial bandwidth" (BWP) in carrier bandwidth. A BWP is a contiguous set of Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) on a given carrier. On the downlink channel, a UE can be configured with a maximum of four BWPs, each with its own BWP Identity (BWPID), and each BWP can be configured with independent parameters. Within a certain time range, only one BWP on a carrier or serving cell is in an active state (active BWP). The active BWP is the UE's currently active BWP, and PDSCH, PDCCH, or CSI-RS are transmitted within the active BWP. On the uplink channel, a UE can also be configured with a maximum of four BWPs, and only one can be in an active state at any given time.

[0093] The operation of a UE switching from one BWP to another can be called a BWP switch. A UE can perform a BWP switch under the following circumstances:

[0094] 1) Receive a PDCCH sent from the network side or base station. The DCI carried by the PDCCH indicates or contains information about BWP handover. Such a PDCCH can also be called a PDCCH for BWP handover.

[0095] 2) Timer bwp-InactivityTimer timeout: The MAC entity can configure the value of timer bwp-InactivityTimer for each serving cell. When a BWP is activated or in an active state, the timer bwp-InactivityTimer associated with that BWP can start or restart simultaneously. When the timer expires, the UE will switch to the pre-configured default BWP or, if no default BWP is configured, switch to the pre-configured initial BWP. Here, BWP generally refers to the downlink BWP.

[0096] Besides the situations mentioned above, UEs can also undergo BWP handover in other circumstances, such as during the UE's random access initiation process.

[0097] - If the currently active uplink BWP (here referred to as the first uplink BWP) is not configured with random access occasions (PRACH occasions), the UE will switch the uplink BWP to the initial uplink BWP (the second uplink BWP); and since the initial uplink BWP has its corresponding downlink BWP, namely the initial downlink BWP (the second downlink BWP), the UE will also switch the downlink BWP to the initial downlink BWP.

[0098] - If a configured random access opportunity exists on the currently active uplink BWP (first uplink BWP), and if the currently active downlink BWP is different from the BWP identifier (BWP ID) of the first uplink BWP, then the UE will switch the downlink BWP to the downlink BWP with the same BWP ID as the first uplink BWP.

[0099] When a UE performs a BWP handover, the BWP before the handover can be referred to as the source BWP, and the BWP after the handover can be referred to as the target BWP. After the handover is complete, the target BWP is in an active state, and correspondingly, its associated timer bwp-InactivityTimer is started and begins running; while the source BWP is in a deactivated state. Therefore, it can also be said that the UE switches from the active BWP to the target BWP.

[0100] Beam measurement and triggering of beam measurement reports

[0101] A UE can be configured with one or more serving cells, and each serving cell can be configured with at least one SSB or CSI-RS. Based on indications from the network side or base station side, such as the TCI state indication information sent to the UE by the network side, an SSB or CSI-RS can be indicated or associated. This SSB or CSI-RS can correspond to a specific beam, which can be referred to as the serving beam of the serving cell, or the currently operating beam, or the current beam, or the operating beam. Other non-serving beams or non-operating beams can be considered candidate beams of the serving cell. Both serving beams and candidate beams are the objects of UE measurement; essentially, it involves measuring the SSB or CSI-RS corresponding to these beams.

[0102] The UE measures the SSB or CSI-RS of the configured serving beam and candidate beams, using the measured L1-RSRP (Layer one-RSRP) value as the measurement quantity for the corresponding beam. Alternatively, it can use the measured L1-SINR as the measurement quantity. Both L1-RSRP and L1-SINR can be considered beam measurement results. Based on these results, the UE can determine whether one or more of the following events have occurred. If the UE determines that one or more of the following events have occurred, it can trigger or initiate a process or procedure to send a beam measurement report to the network or base station. Therefore, the following events can be considered trigger events for sending a beam measurement report.

[0103] Event 1: The measurement quality of the currently operating beam is below a preset threshold. The beam quality can be characterized by the beam's measurement quantity or measurement result. The current beam can refer to the beam currently used for transmission, also called the operating beam. When the measurement result of the current beam is below the preset threshold, Event 1 is considered to have occurred. The number of currently serving beams is not limited to one. If there is only one serving beam, the measurement quantity of that serving beam is used to characterize the measurement result, which is compared with the preset threshold to determine whether Event 1 has occurred. If there are more than one currently serving beam, a measurement result can be obtained based on the measurement results of these serving beams and compared with the preset threshold. This can be achieved by averaging or weighted averaging the measurement results of multiple serving beams, or by using a specific algorithm for filtering; there are no restrictions on this.

[0104] Event 2: At least one new beam exists whose measured value, such as L1-RSRP, is higher than the measured value of the currently operating beam by an offset value, and this offset value is not lower than a pre-set threshold. Here, a new beam refers to a beam different from the currently used operating beam and can be considered one of the candidate beams. Event 2 is considered to have occurred when at least one new beam meets the aforementioned conditions.

[0105] Event 3: At least one new beam has a measurement value that is higher than a pre-set threshold. Event 3 can be considered to have occurred at this time.

[0106] Event 4: The quality of the current beam is lower than the preset threshold 1 and at least one new beam has a quality higher than the preset threshold 2. Event 4 can be considered to have occurred at this time.

[0107] In addition to the four events mentioned above, other triggering events may exist, which are not defined here. That is, any event that may cause the UE to trigger the BMR transmission process can be called a BMR triggering event.

[0108] In the process of the UE sending information containing beam measurement results to the network side or base station, the information containing beam measurement results is called a beam measurement report (BMR) or a Layer 1 measurement report. Such a report can be generated when the aforementioned triggering event is detected or determined to have occurred, or when the UE obtains resources for transmitting the aforementioned BMR. The process of sending this report can also be referred to as reporting a beam measurement report to the network side or base station. Therefore, when the UE detects or determines at least one of the aforementioned events in a serving cell, it can be considered that a beam measurement report has been triggered. Alternatively, a beam measurement report can be considered triggered when the UE detects or determines that a certain triggering event has occurred multiple times in a serving cell. Here, "multiple times" can be a pre-configured value or a counter designed with a value starting from 0 and gradually increasing as the number of times the event is detected increases. When the value or index of the counter reaches a pre-configured value, a BMR can be considered triggered. Each time this triggering event is detected, it can be considered as an event instance occurring, or as an event instance being detected. This counter can be considered as the counter for the corresponding event instance. In this article, the phrase "triggering a BMR" can be used interchangeably with the phrase "the counter value / sequence number of the event instance reaches a predetermined value," both of which are used to determine the occurrence of the event.

[0109] The UE can include event information that triggered the BMR in the BMR, such as an event identifier, and information about the corresponding beam in the event. For example, if event 2 occurs, the corresponding report can include information about at least one new beam, such as identification information for the new beam, as well as measurement results or beam channel state information (CSI). Therefore, in this paper, beam measurement reports and beam channel state information can be interchanged.

[0110] The preset thresholds for the above events can be different and are used to determine or detect the corresponding events.

[0111] In the above event, the current beam can refer to the beam currently used for transmission, also called the working beam or the serving beam.

[0112] BMR can be transmitted on PUCCH or PUSCH in the form of UCI.

[0113] Beam Measurement Reporting Process

[0114] If any triggering event occurs once or multiple times, the UE can send information containing beam measurement results to the network side or base station. Depending on the UE's configuration, the UE can use either Mode A or Mode B to perform the beam measurement reporting process.

[0115] Mode A (first mode) includes at least the following three steps:

[0116] Step A.1 (first step) Send a signal or information on the pre-configured PUCCH channel. This signal / information is used to request resources from the base station or network side. The requested resources are used to transmit BMR. This step can also be referred to as reporting BMR to the base station or network side.

[0117] Step A.2 (Second Step): Listen to the downlink PDCCH and receive scheduling information from the base station or network side. This scheduling information can be included in the DCI. Specifically, the scheduling information can be related to PUSCH / PUCCH resources used for BMR transmission. The base station can schedule one or more PUSCH / PUCCH resources in the DCI for BMR transmission. To highlight that the PUSCH scheduled by the DCI is for BMR transmission, the DCI can also include indication information. For example, a specific CSI trigger state can be indicated in the Channel State Information (CSI) request field of the DCI, and this CSI trigger state is associated with BMR. Based on this indication information, the UE can transmit BMR in the corresponding PUSCH.

[0118] Step A.3 (Third Step): Send a beam measurement report on the resources obtained in Step A.2.

[0119] Mode B (second mode) includes at least the following two steps:

[0120] Step B.1 (first step) Send indication information to the base station or network side on the pre-configured PUCCH channel to indicate / notify the UE to prepare for BMR transmission. This can be simply referred to as indicating or notifying BMR transmission, or reporting BMR.

[0121] Step B.2 (Second Step) Send a beam measurement report on a pre-configured uplink transmission resource, which can be a pre-configured PUSCH or PUCCH.

[0122] Based on the indication or notification information in step B.1, the base station can receive the beam measurement report on the resources in step B.2.

[0123] It can be seen that when any triggering event is determined to occur once or multiple times, the UE can at least execute step A.1 of mode A or step B.1 of mode B.

[0124] Regardless of whether Mode A or Mode B is used for BMR transmission, the PUSCH or PUCCH resources in step A.2 or B.2 are used to transmit uplink transmission resources for BMR to the base station. Furthermore, although the PUCCH in steps A.1 and B.1 is not directly used for BMR transmission, it is indirectly used to request BMR transmission resources or notify of BMR transmission; therefore, it can also be considered as uplink transmission resources for transmitting BMR to the base station.

[0125] When a UE is configured to use mode A, it can be assumed that the UE needs to report the corresponding BMR on a PUSCH indicated by a DCI (such as in step A.2), for example, it can report CSI for one or more beams; when a UE is configured to use mode B, it can be assumed that the UE needs to report the corresponding BMR on a pre-configured PUSCH, the starting position of which can be one or more symbols after the end of the PUCCH shown in step B.1, and the period of the PUSCH is the same as the period of the PUCCH.

[0126] After a BMR is triggered, the UE needs to transmit on pre-configured PUCCH resources, whether it's the PUCCH in step A.1 or step B.1. Such a PUCCH can be considered for BMR indication / notification, or for BMR (in this document, "for BMR indication / notification" and "for BMR" can be used interchangeably). Furthermore, since beam CSI information can be reported in BMR, such PUCCH transmission can also be considered for CSI indication, which is a UE-initiated CSI. The UE transmits on the PUCCH resources associated with its configured reporting mode. Before or after PUCCH transmission, the UE can assign a value to the variable COUNT, for example, by incrementing the current value of COUNT by 1 and then reassigning it. This variable records the number of PUCCH transmissions. Generally, the number of PUCCH transmissions is limited; a maximum number of transmissions can be predetermined. If this maximum number is exceeded, the UE can cancel the triggered BMR. Furthermore, after sending the PUCCH, the UE can start a disable timer associated with the triggered BMR. During the execution of this disable timer, the UE is prohibited from sending / transmitting the PUCCH for its associated BMR. The UE can only send / transmit the PUCCH if the disable timer is not running or has timed out.

[0127] In Mode B, the UE is configured to associate the PUCCH resources used for step B.1 with an uplink BWP-A, and the PUSCH resources used for step B.2 with an uplink BWP-B. The serving cell or serving carrier to which BWP-A and BWP-B belong can be the same or different.

[0128] In one scenario, BWP-A and BWP-B can both belong to serving cell A, and they share the same serving cell index. In this case, BWP-A and BWP-B are generally the same BWP, meaning they have the same BWP identity (BWP ID).

[0129] In another scenario, BWP-A and BWP-B belong to different serving cells. BWP-A is associated with Serving cell A, while BWP-B is associated with Serving cell B. Serving cell A and Serving cell B are different serving cells. In this case, BWP-A and BWP-B are different BWPs. Their corresponding BWP identifiers may be different or the same, but because they are associated with different serving cells, they are different BWPs.

[0130] Uplink grant

[0131] Uplink grant is an uplink transmission resource allocated to the UE by the base station or network side for the UE's uplink transmission. When the UE receives an uplink grant, it performs uplink transmission on the PUSCH included in or corresponding to the uplink grant.

[0132] The uplink grant pre-configured by the network to the UE can be called a configured grant. It is generally a periodically occurring PUSCH(s). The information configured by the base station for the UE includes information about the PUSCH resources, such as the period, frequency, or offset value. Based on this configuration information, the UE can perform uplink transmissions on the corresponding PUSCH.

[0133] Uplink grants can also be dynamically scheduled. For example, the DCI sent to the UE by the network or base station may contain information about PUSCH resources. This PUSCH is used for the UE's uplink transmission. The PUSCH included here is an uplink grant allocated by the network side through dynamic scheduling of the UE. This DCI is contained in the PDCCH and scrambled by the UE's C-RNTI. Therefore, it can be referred to as an uplink grant with the UE's C-RNTI as the address.

[0134] Since uplink grant always corresponds to the transmission of a PUSCH, the term "uplink grant" in this article can be used interchangeably with its corresponding PUSCH.

[0135] Beam failure recovery in the service cell

[0136] For a serving cell that uses beamforming transmission, if the serving cell is configured with beam failure detection (BFD), once the UE detects that the measurement result of the measurement reference signal corresponding to that Scell ​​(e.g., the downlink control channel decoding error probability, or the downlink control channel hypothetical error rate) is weak or exceeds a pre-configured threshold, or when the measured L1-RSRP is lower than a configured threshold, the UE's physical layer will indicate to the MAC layer that this indication is called a beam failure instance (BFI).

[0137] At the MAC layer, the UE uses a counter BFI_COUNTER to count the number of received BFIs for the serving cell. Each serving cell that needs to detect beam failure has a corresponding counter BFI_COUNTER.

[0138] Each time an instruction is received, the beamFailureDetectionTimer will be started or restarted, and the BFI_COUNTER value will be incremented by 1. Similarly, each serving cell that needs to detect beam failure has a corresponding beamFailureDetectionTimer.

[0139] When the value of BFI_COUNTER is equal to (or exceeds) a specific value, such as the value of BFI_COUNTER being equal to the maximum configured BFI value plus one (beamFailureInstanceMaxCount + 1), or the value of BFI_COUNTER being greater than or equal to the maximum configured allowed BFI value, the MAC layer will determine the serving cell type and perform corresponding operations based on the determination result.

[0140] If the serving cell is an Scell, the MAC layer will trigger a beam failure report / beam failure recovery (BFR) process for that serving cell, or simply triggering BFR. Essentially, this means that when certain conditions are met (e.g., BFI_COUNTER is greater than or equal to its maximum value), the UE begins performing operations related to beam failure reporting / recovery. These operations include the UE reporting beam failure-related information about the Scell ​​to the network side, and also reporting information about potential candidate beams, such as identifiers or sequence numbers indicating candidate beams.

[0141] If the serving cell is not an Scell, it indicates that the serving cell is an Spcell, and the MAC layer can initiate a random access procedure on the Spcell.

[0142] When the beamFailureDetectionTimer times out, the UE sets BFI_COUNTER to its initial value (for example, the initial value of BFI_COUNTER can be zero).

[0143] When BFR is triggered, if the UE has available uplink transmission resources, the UE can instruct the Multiplexing and Assembly Entity to generate a BFR MAC CE and transmit the generated BFR MAC CE on the available uplink transmission resources.

[0144] If the UE does not have available uplink transmission resources, it can trigger a scheduling request. This type of scheduling request can be referred to as a BFR-triggered scheduling request. The purpose of the scheduling request is to request the network side to allocate available uplink transmission resources. Once the network side allocates available uplink transmission resources to the UE, the UE can instruct the Multiplexing and Assembly Entity to generate a BFR MAC CE and transmit the generated BFR MAC CE on the available uplink transmission resources.

[0145] In a multi-TRP scenario, a cell can have multiple TRPs. The network can configure reference signals or sets of reference signals for each TRP for BFD and / or BFR, which can be referred to as the BFD / BFR configuration for each TRP or the TRP-specific BFD / BFR configuration. These reference signals or sets of reference signals may or may not overlap. Each set of reference signals can be represented by an index, and each index corresponds to a TRP. When the UE detects that the downlink quality corresponding to a certain TRP is too low (as described above, or it may be that a new threshold value for judging link quality has been defined), the physical layer reports a beam failure instance indication to the MAC layer. The MAC layer determines whether a beam failure has occurred by accumulating the number of indications to the maximum value and whether the timer has expired, as described above. The beamFailureDetectionTimer and beamFailureInstanceMaxCount of different TRPs may be configured with different values, or they may be configured with the same value (multiple TRPs correspond to one parameter value, or each TRP is configured with two sets of parameters and the two sets of parameter values ​​are equal). To support individual processing for each TRP, the BFI_COUNTER variable, used to count the number of beam failure instance indications, is also unique for each TRP. The UE can detect the set of reference signals for BFD and / or BFR corresponding to the TRP to find candidate reference signals in the event of a beam failure. When the MAC determines that a beam failure has occurred, it initiates a BFR procedure for the TRP, which can be achieved by sending a BFR MACCE.

[0146] For the sake of simplicity, in this article, "a triggering event occurs" can be used interchangeably with "trigger a BMR", "a triggering event occurs" can also be used interchangeably with "initiate a process to send beam measurement results to the network side or base station", "trigger a BMR" can be used interchangeably with "initiate a process to send beam measurement results to the network side or base station", and "trigger a BMR" can be used interchangeably with "initiate a beam measurement report process".

[0147] Depending on the purpose or application of beam measurement, the UE can perform different types of beam measurements:

[0148] If the purpose of beam measurement is to perform beam switching or beam change, such as selecting a potential beam as the serving beam from the candidate beams of the serving cell, selecting the beam with the best or most suitable signal quality, and switching the serving beam to the candidate beam in a timely manner when the service quality of the current serving beam level deteriorates, beam measurement performed to achieve this purpose can be called serving cell beam measurement.

[0149] If the purpose of beam measurement is to perform handover or switch of the serving cell, for example, by measuring the beams of one or more candidate cells (hereinafter referred to as candidate cells) belonging to the target cell of the handover, if the serving beam quality of the current serving cell deteriorates and there is no suitable candidate beam belonging to the current serving cell for handover, then a suitable candidate cell can be selected from the candidate cells to perform the handover; or, for example, in order to perform uplink synchronization as early as possible on the candidate cell, obtain the timing advance value, and shorten the handover completion time, it is necessary to send a PRACH signal in the appropriate beam direction of the candidate cell, then it is necessary to measure the beams of these candidate cells. Beam measurement performed to achieve this purpose can be called candidate cell beam measurement.

[0150] Furthermore, beam measurements can be classified according to the type of beam measured by the UE. If the beam being measured is a candidate beam of the serving cell, then such a beam measurement can be called a serving cell beam measurement; if the beam being measured is a candidate cell beam, where the candidate cell is a cell different from the serving cell, then such a beam measurement can be called a candidate cell beam measurement.

[0151] The UE can determine whether a beam is a candidate beam of the serving cell or a beam of a candidate cell by receiving configuration information. For a serving cell that requires beam measurement, its corresponding cell configuration information may include the configuration information of the SSB or CSI-RS corresponding to these candidate beams. After receiving such cell configuration information, the UE can determine and perform beam measurement of the serving cell. If the configuration information of a candidate cell contains SSBs or CSI-RS corresponding to one or more beams, then these beams are candidate cell beams, and the measurements performed on these beams are candidate cell beam measurements.

[0152] This article uses the beam measurement and reporting of the serving cell as an example to illustrate the solution, but the solution in this article can also be applied to the beam measurement and reporting of candidate cells.

[0153] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below.

[0154] Figure 1 is a flowchart illustrating the method executed by the User Equipment (UE) of the present invention. For example, the UE can perform a Beam Measurement Report (BMR) process using either a first mode (Mode A) or a second mode (Mode B). For example, the first mode (Mode A) may include: a first step (Step A.1), sending a signal or information on a pre-configured PUCCH channel to request resources for transmitting the BMR from the base station or network side; a second step (Step A.2), listening to the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) and receiving scheduling information from the base station or network side, indicating relevant information about the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or PUCCH resources for transmitting the BMR; and a third step (Step A.3), transmitting the BMR on the acquired resources. For example, the second mode (Mode B) may include: a first step (Step B.1), sending indication information on a pre-configured PUCCH channel to the base station or network side to indicate or notify the UE to prepare for BMR transmission; and a second step (Step B.2), transmitting the BMR on the pre-configured PUSCH or PUCCH.

[0155] As shown in Figure 1, firstly, in step 101, the UE determines that at least one triggered BMR exists, and this triggered BMR has not been canceled. The triggering mechanism of the BMR is as described above; it can be that a BMR is triggered when an event is determined to occur. This triggered BMR can be referred to as the first triggered BMR. Since a triggered BMR exists, the UE can perform the following operations.

[0156] In step 102, the UE determines whether there is a valid PUCCH resource for BMR indication or notification based on whether a given condition is met. The determination of whether there is a valid PUCCH resource (one or more) can be based on whether the following conditions are met:

[0157] Condition 1 (First Condition): The PUCCH resource is located on an active BWP at the time of BMR indication transmission occasion;

[0158] Condition 2 (Second Condition): The PUSCH resources (one or more) configured for step B.2 by the UE are located on an active BWP. Such PUSCH resources can be considered valid PUSCH resources. Preferably, the PUSCH resource is located on an active BWP when used for BMR transmission. Preferably, the PUSCH resource used for this determination can also be a PUSCH resource that is associated with the PUCCH resource in Condition 1.

[0159] - This association can be reflected in the fact that the PUSCH resource can be associated with the PUCCH resource described in Condition 1 in terms of configuration, that is, it is configured for BMR reporting of the same event. If the PUSCH resource is configured for event X, and the PUCCH resource in Condition 1 is configured for BMR reporting of event Y, then there is no association between the PUSCH resource and the PUCCH resource.

[0160] This association can also be reflected in temporal relationships. The PUSCH resource can be a PUSCH resource located after the time of a PUCCH resource described in condition one. For example, the PUCCH resource is at time 1, and the PUSCH resource is at time 2, which is after time 1. The duration between time 1 and time 2 should be greater than or equal to a pre-configured value, which can be called the offset value. That is, time 2 occurs at time 1 plus the offset value. The unit of the offset value can be milliseconds, symbol length, slot length, etc. Preferably, this associated PUSCH resource can be the first available PUSCH resource for BMR that occurs after time 1 plus the offset value. The UE can determine (or pre-estimate) whether the BWP associated with the PUSCH resource is active at time 1, or the UE can determine (or pre-estimate) whether the BWP associated with the PUSCH resource is active after adding the offset value at time 1, or the UE can determine whether the BWP associated with the PUSCH resource is active (or activated) at any time between the current time (i.e., the time when the BMR is triggered) and time 2. When there is a temporal correlation between the PUSCH resource and the PUCCH resource, preferably, for the PUSCH resource appearing after adding the offset value at time 1, only the first available PUSCH resource is considered, while the second or third, and other available PUSCH resources, are not considered in this condition.

[0161] In condition two, the UE may consider only one or more configuration-associated PUSCHs, or consider both configuration-associated and time-associated PUSCHs simultaneously.

[0162] In one scenario, for example, if condition one is met, the UE can determine that a valid PUCCH resource exists, and thus proceed with the next operation. For instance, if the UE is configured with mode A or mode B transmission mode, when the UE determines that a valid PUCCH resource exists based on condition one, the UE can perform the following operation / step, such as step 103. Alternatively, if no PUCCH resource satisfies condition one, the UE can determine that a valid PUCCH resource does not exist, and the UE may not perform step 103.

[0163] In another scenario, both conditions one and two must be met simultaneously for the UE to determine the existence of a valid PUCCH resource and proceed with the next steps, such as step 103.

[0164] For example, when the UE is configured with mode B transmission, the UE can first determine whether there is a PUCCH that satisfies condition one based on condition one. If there is a PUCCH resource that satisfies condition one, the UE can further determine whether there is a valid PUCCH resource based on condition two:

[0165] Scenario 1: If the PUSCH resource configured for BMR by the UE is associated with or located in a deactivated BWP, then even if there is a PUCCH resource that satisfies Scenario 1, the UE can still consider that there is no valid PUCCH resource.

[0166] Scenario 2: The PUSCH resource configured for BMR by the UE is associated with or located on an active BWP. Preferably, the PUSCH is located on an active BWP during the transmission timing for BMR. In this case, combined with the judgment of condition 1 above, there exists a PUSCH resource that satisfies condition 1, and condition 2 is also satisfied. Therefore, the UE can determine that a valid PUSCH resource exists.

[0167] For example, when the UE is configured with mode B transmission mode, the UE can first determine whether there is a PUCCH that satisfies condition one based on condition one. If there is no PUCCH resource that satisfies condition one, then the UE can determine that there is no valid PUCCH resource.

[0168] For example, the UE can also make a judgment based on condition two. If there is no PUSCH resource that satisfies condition two, then the UE can also determine that there is no valid PUSCH resource.

[0169] For example, the UE can first make a judgment based on condition two. If there is a PUSCH resource that satisfies condition two, the UE can further judge whether there is a PUCCH resource that satisfies condition one based on condition one. If there is one or more PUCCH resources that satisfy condition one, then combined with the aforementioned judgment that condition two is also satisfied, the UE can determine that there is a valid PUCCH resource.

[0170] It is evident that the order of condition one and condition two in the judgment process does not matter whether the UE determines the validity of the PUCCH resource. In practical applications, the two conditions can be applied in any order. Therefore, a possible implementation of step 102 is: the UE determines whether a valid PUCCH resource exists based on condition one and condition two.

[0171] In step 103, the UE performs corresponding operations based on the judgment in step 102. Specifically, the UE performs corresponding operations based on whether there are valid PUCCH resources.

[0172] For example, if the UE determines that a valid PUCCH resource exists, the UE's upper layer, such as the MAC layer, can instruct the UE's lower layer, such as the physical layer below the MAC layer, to send a signal on a valid PUCCH resource.

[0173] Optionally, the UE's upper layer, such as the MAC layer, can instruct the UE's lower layer, such as the physical layer below the MAC layer, to send BMR-related information on a valid PUSCH resource.

[0174] As described in step 102, the UE can determine whether a valid PUCCH exists simply by checking whether condition one is met. Therefore, the validity of the PUSCH resource (i.e., the PUSCH that satisfies condition two) can be determined in step 103.

[0175] Another possible implementation of step 103 is:

[0176] Based on the judgment in step 102, if the UE determines that there is a valid PUCCH resource, the upper layer of the UE, such as the MAC layer, can instruct the lower layer of the UE, such as the physical layer below the MAC layer, to send a signal on a valid PUCCH resource.

[0177] Optionally, the UE determines whether there are valid PUSCH resources. Preferably, this operation is performed when the UE is configured in mode B or when PUSCH resources for mode B are configured.

[0178] If the UE determines that a valid PUSCH resource exists based on the aforementioned condition two, the UE's upper layer, such as the MAC layer, can instruct the UE's lower layer, such as the physical layer below the MAC layer, to send information related to BMR on a valid PUSCH resource.

[0179] If the UE determines, based on the aforementioned condition two, that there is no valid PUSCH resource, the UE may not perform the aforementioned operation of instructing the lower layer to send PUSCH resources.

[0180] If the UE determines, based on condition two above, that there is no valid PUSCH resource, the UE may also perform the following operations:

[0181] For the serving cell where the PUSCH resource is located, the UE performs a BWP handover. Preferably, this refers to an uplink BWP handover. The UE switches the serving cell's BWP from the currently active BWP-X to the BWP where the PUSCH resource is located (here referred to as BWP-Y), making the BWP where the PUSCH resource is located the active BWP. Then, the UE's upper layer, such as the MAC layer, can instruct the UE's lower layer, such as the physical layer below the MAC layer, to send BMR-related information on a valid PUSCH resource. Preferably, when performing a BWP handover, the UE needs to determine whether there is an ongoing random access procedure on BWP-X. If not, the UE can perform the aforementioned BWP handover; if so, the BWP handover is not performed.

[0182] After completing the transmission of this PUSCH, the UE can perform another BWP handover, that is, switch back from BWP-Y to the previous BWP (BWP-X). Alternatively, it can consider BWP-Y as active until a new handover indication is received or detected.

[0183] If the UE determines that there is no valid PUSCH resource according to the aforementioned condition 2, and if the UE determines that there is no PUSCH resource associated with the PUCCH transmission performed in step 103, then the UE can re-trigger the BMR described in step 101, or cancel the triggered BMR.

[0184] The actions that re-trigger BMR here can include one or more of the following:

[0185] - Resets the count of the COUNT value to its initial value, such as 0 or 1;

[0186] - If a running timer exists, such as a disabled timer, you can stop or restart it;

[0187] - For the BMR triggered in step 101, perform the operation in step 102 again.

[0188] One possible reason why there is no PUSCH resource associated with the PUCCH transmission performed in step 103 is that the UE performed a BWP handover after sending the PUCCH: on the new BWP, the PUSCH resource has its associated or corresponding PUCCH resource, which is different from the previously sent PUCCH resource; or the new BWP is not configured for BMR, or there is no configuration associated with BMR; or the new BWP is a dormant BWP. For the latter two cases, preferably, the UE cancels the triggered BMR.

[0189] In one scenario, although a valid PUCCH resource exists, it may conflict with other PUCCH resources, potentially preventing the UE from transmitting signals on that PUCCH resource. Therefore, another implementation of step 103 could be:

[0190] Based on the judgment in step 102, if the UE determines that a valid PUCCH resource exists, it further determines whether the transmission on that PUCCH resource, i.e., the transmission of BMR indication information or notification information, is a prioritized transmission. The specific judgment method could be:

[0191] The UE determines whether the PUCCH resource overlaps with the PUCCH resource used for scheduling requests. Specifically, this can mean that the two resources overlap in duration, either completely or partially. For example, there may be some overlap in time slots or symbols. The UE can assume that such overlap will cause a collision when the UE transmits the two PUCCHs.

[0192] In one scenario, when the UE determines that the PUCCH resource overlaps with the PUCCH resource used for scheduling requests, it considers the transmission of the PUCCH used for BMR indication / notification as a priority transmission.

[0193] In another scenario, if the UE determines that the PUCCH resource overlaps with the PUCCH resource used for a scheduling request, but the scheduling request is not for a BFR, then the UE can consider the transmission of the PUCCH used for BMR indication / notification as a priority transmission. Otherwise, if the UE determines that the PUCCH resource overlaps with the PUCCH resource used for a scheduling request, and the scheduling request is for a BFR, the UE does not consider the transmission of the PUCCH used for BMR indication / notification as a priority transmission; that is, the UE considers the transmission of the PUCCH used for BMR indication / notification as a de-prioritized transmission.

[0194] The UE can also determine whether the PUCCH resource overlaps with the PUSCH resource. The PUSCH resource here can be an uplink grant received in the random access response, an uplink grant addressed to the UE's C-RNTI, or a PUSCH resource used to transmit BMR.

[0195] If the UE determines that the PUCCH resource overlaps with the PUSCH resource corresponding to the uplink grant received in the random access response, the transmission of the PUCCH used for BMR indication / notification can be considered a de-prioritized transmission.

[0196] If the UE determines that the PUCCH resource overlaps with a PUSCH resource corresponding to an uplink grant with the UE's C-RNTI address, the transmission of the PUCCH used for BMR indication / notification can be considered a prioritized transmission.

[0197] If the UE determines that the PUCCH resource overlaps with a PUSCH resource used for BMR transmission, the transmission of the PUCCH used for BMR indication / notification can be considered a prioritized transmission, or a de-prioritized transmission.

[0198] For a PUCCH that is determined to be prioritized for transmission, based on this determination, the UE's upper layer, such as the MAC layer, can instruct the UE's lower layer, such as the physical layer below the MAC layer, to send a signal on a valid PUCCH resource. Optionally, before or after PUCCH transmission, the UE can assign a value to the variable COUNT, for example, by incrementing the current value of COUNT by 1 and then reassigning the variable. This variable records the number of PUCCH transmissions. Generally, the number of PUCCH transmissions is limited; a maximum number of transmissions can be predetermined. If this maximum number is exceeded, the UE can cancel the triggered BMR. Furthermore, after sending the PUCCH, the UE can start a disable timer associated with the triggered BMR. During the execution of this disable timer, the UE is prohibited from sending / transmitting PUCCHs for its associated BMR. The UE can only send / transmit PUCCHs when the disable timer is not running or after it has timed out.

[0199] [Variation Example]

[0200] Figure 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the user equipment involved in this invention.

[0201] As shown in Figure 2, the user equipment UE200 includes a processor 201 and a memory 202. The processor 201 may include, for example, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, an embedded processor, etc. The memory 202 may include, for example, volatile memory (such as random access memory, RAM), a hard disk drive (HDD), non-volatile memory (such as flash memory), or other memory. Program instructions are stored in the memory 202. When executed by the processor 201, these instructions can perform the methods described in detail herein, executed by the user equipment.

[0202] A program running on a device according to the invention can be a program that enables a computer to perform the functions of embodiments of the invention by controlling a central processing unit (CPU). The program, or the information processed by the program, can be temporarily stored in volatile memory (such as random access memory, RAM), hard disk drive (HDD), non-volatile memory (such as flash memory), or other memory systems.

[0203] Programs used to implement the functions of the various embodiments of the present invention can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The corresponding functions can be implemented by causing a computer system to read and execute the programs recorded on the recording medium. The term "computer system" here can refer to a computer system embedded in the device, and may include an operating system or hardware (such as peripheral devices). "Computer-readable recording medium" can be a semiconductor recording medium, an optical recording medium, a magnetic recording medium, a short-time dynamic storage program recording medium, or any other computer-readable recording medium.

[0204] Various features or functional modules of the devices used in the above embodiments can be implemented or executed by circuits (e.g., monolithic or multi-chip integrated circuits). Circuits designed to perform the functions described in this specification may include general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination of the above devices. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or any existing processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The above circuits may be digital circuits or analog circuits. In cases where advancements in semiconductor technology have led to new integrated circuit technologies that replace existing integrated circuits, one or more embodiments of the present invention may also be implemented using these new integrated circuit technologies.

[0205] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. Although various examples of the embodiments have been described, the present invention is not limited thereto. Fixed or non-mobile electronic devices installed indoors or outdoors can be used as UE devices or communication devices, such as AV devices, kitchen equipment, cleaning equipment, air conditioners, office equipment, vending machines, and other household appliances.

[0206] As described above, embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the specific structure is not limited to the above embodiments, and the present invention also includes any design modifications that do not depart from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, various modifications can be made to the present invention within the scope of the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included within the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, components with the same effects described in the above embodiments can be substituted for each other.

Claims

1. A method executed by a user equipment (UE) for performing a beam measurement report (BMR) process in a first mode or a second mode, comprising the following steps: The UE determines that at least one BMR has been triggered; The UE determines whether there is a valid physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource for BMR indication or notification based on whether a given condition is met. as well as The UE will perform corresponding operations based on whether there are valid PUCCH resources. The first mode includes: The first step is to send signals or information on the pre-configured PUCCH channel to request resources for transmitting BMR from the base station or network side; The second step involves monitoring the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) to receive scheduling information from the base station or network side, indicating relevant information about the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resources used for BMR transmission; and The third step is to send a BMR on the acquired resources. The second mode includes: The first step involves sending indication information to the base station or network side on a pre-configured PUCCH channel to indicate or notify the UE that it is ready to perform BMR transmission; and The second step is to send the BMR on the pre-configured PUSCH. The given conditions include: The first condition is that the PUCCH resource is located on the active bandwidth portion (BWP) when transmitting an indication or notification for BMR; and / or, The second condition is that the PUSCH resource configured for the second step in the second mode is located on the active BWP. If the UE determines that a valid PUCCH resource exists based on the first condition and / or the second condition. The upper layer of the UE instructs the lower layer to send signals or BMR-related information on a valid PUCCH resource. If the UE determines that there are no valid PUSCH resources based on the second condition. The UE does not perform operations that instruct the lower layer to send signals or BMR-related information on PUCCH resources.

2. A user equipment, comprising: processor; as well as Memory, which stores instructions The instructions, when executed by the processor, perform the method described in claim 1, which is executed by the user equipment.

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