Methods on encoding of UEI new uci

Abstract

Systems and methods for encoding of User Equipment Initiated (UEI) new Uplink Control Information (UCI) are disclosed herein. A method includes: receiving a configuration of: a first L (≥ 1) Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resources for carrying a UEI Report Indicator, UEIRI,, a second K (≥ 1) resources for carrying a scheduling request, SR, and a third resource for carrying Hybrid Automatic Repeat request Acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK), or Channel State Information (CSI) report, the first, the second and the third resources partially overlap in a time slot; multiplexing information of the L UEIRIs, the K SRs, and the HARQ- ACK information or CSI reports to be transmitted in the time slot; and transmitting the multiplexed information in the third PUCCH resource. This facilitates decoding of the PUCCH and identifying the transmission of the UEIRI. This reduces network effort to decode the PUCCH and ensure timely network response.

Description

METHODS ON ENCODING OF UEI NEW UCIRELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.63 / 779,903, filed March 28, 2025, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The current disclosure is generally related to New Radio (NR), beam management, beam report, User Equipment (UE) initiated beam report, Beam Event Indicator (BEI), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Uplink Control Information (UCI).BACKGROUND

[0003] NR Frame Structure and Resource Grid

[0004] NR uses Cyclic Prefix Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (CP-OFDM) in both downlink (i.e., from a network node, gNB, or base station, to a UE) and uplink (i.e., from UE to gNB). DFT spread OFDM is also supported in the uplink. In the time domain, NR downlink and uplink are organized into equally sized subframes of 1ms each. A subframe is further divided into multiple slots of equal duration. Each slot consists of 14 OFDM symbols. The number of slots in a subframe depends on subcarrier spacing. The supported subcarrier spacing values are given by A = (15 X 2M) / U / z, where z G 0,1, 2, 3,4 . The number of slots per subframe equals to 2 . For subcarrier spacing of A = 15kHz, i.e., z = 0, there is only one slot per subframe.

[0005] In the frequency domain, a bandwidth part (BWP) is divided into resource blocks (RBs), each corresponding to 12 contiguous subcarriers. The RBs are numbered starting with 0 from one end of the system bandwidth. One OFDM subcarrier during one OFDM symbol interval forms one resource element (RE).

[0006] Downlink and uplink transmissions can be either dynamically scheduled or semi-persistently scheduled. In case of dynamic scheduling, the gNB transmits scheduling information (or downlink control information (DCI)) via PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) in a slot-by-slot basis. Actual UE data transmissions are carried on PDSCH (physical Downlink Shared Channel) in the Downlink and on PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel) in the uplink. Various DCI formats are defined in NR for DL and UL scheduling, e.g., DCI format l_0, DCI format 1_1, and DCI format 1_2 for DL scheduling, and DCI format 0_0, DCI format 0_l, and DCI format 0_2 for UL scheduling.

[0007] In case of semi-persistent scheduling, scheduling information or grant is preconfigured. It is referred to as configured grant (CG) in the uplink. Two types of CG PUSCHs are supported, i.e., type 1 CG-PUSCH and type 2 CG-PUSCH. In type 1 CG-PUSCH, periodic uplink PUSCH resources are configured. In type 2 CG-PUSCH, periodic uplink PUSCH resources can be dynamically activated and de-activated via DCI.

[0008] NR Scheduling Request (SR)

[0009] In NR, Scheduling Request (SR) is an UL message from UE to NW for requesting UL grant (carrying in DCI format 0_0 / 0_l) so that UE can transmit PUSCH. SR can be triggered either based on certain events where UE has some data to transmit but does not have any UL grant, or based on higher layer configured periodicity (in this case, regardless of if UE has data or not). A UE can be configured by higher layer parameter SchedulingRequestResourceConfig a set of configurations for SR in a PUCCH transmission using either PUCCH format 0 or PUCCH format 1. Further, the higher layer parameter SchedulingRequestID will associate an SR to a specific SR purpose, e.g., Link Recovery Request (LRR), positioning, etc.

[0010] In NR terminology, UE sends a positive SR when UE is actively requesting UL resources; while UE can explicitly send a negative SR to inform NW that UE has no UL data to send.

[0011] UE-initiated / event-driven (UEI) beam management

[0012] Up to NR Rel-19, the CSI / beam reporting is always NW-initiated, i.e., the NW explicitly configures or requests a UE to measure and send certain CSI report.

[0013] In NR Rel-19, UE initiated (UEI) beam reporting will be supported in which a UE keeps monitoring the quality of a set of DL beams (or reference signals) and sends a beam report only when certain triggering conditions are met, or certain event occur.

[0014] On triggering conditions or events, it has been agreed that the following three events will be supported:

[0015] Event- 1: Quality of the current beam is worse than a certain threshold.

[0016] Event-2: Quality of at least one new beam (i.e., a beam different from the current beam) becomes a threshold value better than the current beam, where the quality is at least Ll-RSRP.

[0017] Event-7: Quality of at least one new beam (i.e., a beam that is not yet activated), such as Ll-RSRP, becomes a threshold value better than the RS derived from the activated TCI state with the mth(m=l, 2, ..., L), where L is the number of activated beams or TCI states) best quality.

[0018] The new beams are explicitly configured in a RS resource set associated with an CSI reporting configuration, while the current beam is a beam corresponding to the indicated TCI state. The RS for the current beam is implicitly derived from a QCL RS of indicated TCI state or is an SSB which is QCLed with the QCL RS configured in the indicated TCI state.

[0019] As a basic feature, once the Ll-RSRP of the new beam becomes a threshold value better than the current beam, UE initiated beam report occurs. For reducing false trigger rate and subject to UE capability, a time window and a number, M, may be configured. If the number of Event-2 instance(s) for at least one same new beam is greater than or equal to M, UE initiated beam report occurs. An Event-2 instance for a new beam occurs when the Ll-RSRP of the new beam becomes a threshold value better than the current beam.

[0020] On beam report transmission procedure for UE-initiated / event-driven beam reporting, it has been agreed that the following two modes will be supported:

[0021] Mode A (dynamically scheduling UCI by gNB):a. Step 1: UE transmits a first PUCCH (one-bit), i.e., a Beam Event Indicator (BEI) in a first UL channel to indicate to the network that it has a beam report to send. b. Step 2: UE receives a CSI request in a DCI format indicating a UL resource for a second UL channel to carry the beam report.c. Step 3: Beam report is transmitted in second UL channel.

[0022] Mode B (UCI in pre-configured resource(s) for second UL channel):a. Step 1: UE transmits a first PUCCH (one-bit), i.e., a Beam Event Indicator (BEI) notifying the network that it has a beam report to send in a second UL channel. b. Step 2: UE transmits the beam report in the second UL channel.

[0023] The notification in Stepl is in a separate reporting instance from the beam report in Step 2.

[0024] Examples of signaling in Mode A and Mode B are illustrated in Error! Reference source not found.. RANI has agreed that the UEI first PUCCH (i.e., Beam Event Indicator (BEI)), is a new UCI type which is configured by dedicated higher layer parameter (firstPUCCHResourceConfig-UEIBR-rl9) with at least:periodicity AndOffsetPUCCH-ResourcelD

[0025] As used herein, the UEI first PUCCH (i.e., BEI) is referred to as the UEI new UCI.

[0026] A brief description about the main steps in a UE initiated beam reporting procedure is described below:

[0027] Step 1: Sending by a UE in a first channel an indication, i.e., a Beam Event Indicator (BEI) to a NW node indicating that a configured event or trigger condition is met, and a beam report is pending in case of Mode A or to be sent in a second UL channel in case of Mode B. The first channel is a PUCCH resource with format 0 or 1. The BEI is carried by a new UCI with one bit The PUCCH resource for the UEI new UCI is configured with a new RRC parameter, firstPUCCHResourceConfig-UEIBR, which is not associated with SchedulingRequestld.

[0028] Step 2: Receiving by the UE from the NW node a UEI CSI request together with an UL grant with a resource allocation for sending the beam report; note that this step is only needed in the case of UE initiated beam reporting with Mode A; for UE initiated beam reporting with Mode B, this step is not needed.

[0029] Step 3: Transmitting the beam report in the resource allocated via the UL grant (in the case of UE initiated beam reporting with Mode A) or in a preconfigured resource (in the case of UE initiated beam reporting with Mode B.

[0030] The report comprises information of N (> 1) beams and associated signal quality (e.g., Ll-RSRP or Ll-SINR) for each of the N beams. The information of N beams comprises at least an indication (e.g., CRI (CSLRS resource index / identifier) ) of an associated CSI-RS resource or an indication (e.g., SSBRI (SSB resource index)) of an associated SSB for each of the N beams.

[0031] NR UE procedure for SR multiplexing with HARQ-ACK and CSI

[0032] NR PUCCH (Physical Uplink control Channel) carries the following three types of information:

[0033] Scheduling request (SR) - UE request for uplink resource allocation

[0034] Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) - UE acknowledgement for downlink data reception

[0035] Channel State Information (CSI) - UE feedback on channel condition

[0036] In legacy NR, a collision between signals / channels transmitted on overlapping PUCCH resource can be solved by either dropping / prioritization rules or multiplexing rules. There are ongoing discussions in 3GPP on how to resolve collision between the UEI new UCI and legacy PUCCH carrying signals / channels (i.e., SRs, HARQ-ACKs, CSIs).

[0037] PUCCH Format 0

[0038] PUCCH format 0 is a short PUCCH format which carries 1-2 bits using 1 or 2 symbols in a slot. The constellation point is determined by the values m0and mcswhich are used to compute a value of cyclic shift a (see TS 38.211 [6]). The initial cyclic shift m0is provided by ahigher-layer parameter initialCyclicShift, of PUCCH-formatO, and mcsis determined from either the value of one HARQ-ACK information bit or from the values of two HARQ-ACK information bits depending on if PUCCH format 0 carrying only HARQ-ACK information (see Table 9.2.3-3 and Table 9.2.3-4 from TS 38.213 [6]), or PUCCH format 0 carrying both HARQ-ACK information and positive / negative SR (see Table 9.2.5-1 and Table 9.2.5-2 from TS 38.213 [6]).

[0039] Table 9.2.3-3: Mapping of values for one HARQ-ACK information bit to sequences for PUCCH format 0 (TS 38.213 [6])

[0040] Table 9.2.3-4: Mapping of values for two HARQ-ACK information bits to sequences for PUCCH format 0 (TS 38.213 [6])

[0041] Table 9.2.5-1: Mapping of values for one HARQ-ACK information bit and positive SR to sequences for PUCCH format 0 (TS 38.213 [6])

[0042] Table 9.2.5-2: Mapping of values for two HARQ-ACK information bits and positive SR to sequences for PUCCH format 0 (TS 38.213 [6])

[0043] Figure 2 shows an example of PUCCH constellation points where positive / negative SR is multiplexed with 2 HARQ-ACK information bits.

[0044] PUCCH formats 2 / 3 / 4

[0045] In legacy NR, when multiple SRs are colliding with PUCCH format 2 / 3 / 4 carrying 0ACKHARQ-ACK bits or <9CSICSI report bits, one SR can be appended / prepended to the PUCCH carrying OACK HARQ-ACK bits or <9CSICSI bits [6]. It is up to UE to decide which SR to betransmitted, as exemplified in Figure 3. Assuming UE is configured to transmit K PUCCHs for respective K SRs in a slot.

[0046] If the colliding PUCCH format 2 / 3 / 4 carrying 0ACKHARQ-ACK information bits, the UE will transmit the multiplexed PUCCH with 0UCI= 0ACK+ [log2(K + 1)] bits.

[0047] If the colliding PUCCH format 2 / 3 / 4 carrying 0CSIHARQ-ACK information bits, the UE will transmit the multiplexed PUCCH with OUCI= [log2(K + 1)] + OCSIbits.

[0048] The X = [log2(K + 1)] bits sequence is used to inform NW about the transmitted SR, and each bit sequence is mapped to an identifier / signature of an SR as:• All-zero sequence indicates none of the K SR is triggered• The other sequences enumerate the transmitted SR by ascending order ofo the values of scehdulingRequestResourceldo a schedulingRequestResourceld assoicated with schedulingRequestID-BFR-Scell o a schedulingRequestResourceld assoicated with schedulingRequestID-BFR o a schedulingRequestResourceld assoicated with schedulingRequestID-BFR2 o a schedulingRequestResourceld assoicated with schedulingRequestID-LBT-Scell

[0049] If one of the SRs is a positive LRR, the value of the [log_2 (K+l)] bits indicates the positive LRR.SUMMARY

[0050] Systems and methods for encoding of User Equipment Initiated (UEI) new Uplink Control Information (UCI) are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, a method performed by a wireless device for wireless device initiated beam reporting includes: receiving a configuration of: a first L (> 1) Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resources for carrying a UEI Report Indicator (UEIRI), a second PUCCH K (> 1) resources for carrying a scheduling request, SR, and a third PUCCH resource for carrying Hybrid Automatic Repeat request Acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK), or Channel State Information (CSI) report, wherein the first, the second and the third PUCCH resources either fully or partially overlap in a time slot; multiplexing information of the L UEIRIs, the K SRs, and the HARQ-ACK information or CSI reports to be transmitted in the time slot, wherein the UEIRI is treated differently from the SR; and transmitting the multiplexed information in the third PUCCH resource. In some embodiments, this facilitates network decoding of the received 1-bit PUCCH and identifying the transmission of the UEIRI. Some embodiments can reduce network effort to decode the 1-bit PUCCH and ensure timely network response toUEIRI transmission. Some embodiments can also reduce network decoding error for the 1-bit PUCCH and therefore avoid erroneous network response to the UEIRI transmission.

[0051] In some embodiments, the multiplexing information of the UEIRI, the SR, and / or the HARQ-ACK comprises joint encoding of information for the UEIRI, the SR, and the HARQ-ACK with a cyclic shift when the third PUCCH resource is configured with one or two OFDM symbols and can carry up to two bits, wherein each combination of the UEIRI, the SR, and the HARQ-ACK information bits is represented by a unique cyclic shift value, where different cyclic values are associated to a positive UEIRIand a positive SR.

[0052] In some embodiments, the multiplexing information comprises appending one bit associated to the UEIRIto the HARQ-ACK information bits or prepending one bit associated to the UEIRIto the CSI information bits when the third PUCCH resource can carry more than 2 bits.

[0053] In some embodiments, the multiplexing information comprises a joint encoding of information for the UEIRIand the SR with two bits, and appending the two bits to the HARQ-ACK information bits or prepending the two bits to the CSI information bits when the third PUCCH resource can carry more than 2 bits, wherein value “00” of the two bits indicating a negative UEIRIand a negative SR, value “01” of the two bits indicates a positive UEIRIand a negative SR, value “10” indicating a negative UEIRIand a positive SR.

[0054] In some embodiments, the multiplexing information comprises an joint encoding of information for the UEIRIand the SR with two bits, and appending the two bits to the HARQ-ACK information bits or prepending the two bits to the CSI information bits when the third PUCCH resource can carry more than 2 bits, wherein value “00” of the two bits indicating a negative UEIRIand a negative SR, value “01” of the two bits indicates a negative UEIRIand a positive SR, value “10” indicating a positive UEIRIand a negative SR.

[0055] In some embodiments, when both a positive UEIRIand a positive SR are triggered, one of them is dropped based a pre-determined priority, wherein the dropped on is signaled as negative.

[0056] In some embodiments, the third PUCCH resource is configured with NR PUCCH format 0. In some embodiments, the third PUCCH resource is configured with NR PUCCH format 2, 3, or 4.

[0057] In some embodiments, when a number of L UEIRIs collide with the third PUCCH resource: if the third PUCCH resource carries O^c^HARQ-ACK information bits, the multiplexing comprises [log2(L + 1)] bits to the OACKbits to form a total payload of OUCI= OACK+ [log2(L + 1)] bits; or if the third PUCCH resource carries OCSICSI information bits, the multiplexing comprises [log2(L + 1)] bits to the OCSIbits to form a total payload of OUCI= [log2(L + 1)] + OCSIbits.

[0058] In some embodiments, when a number of K scheduling requests, and a number of L UEIRIs collide with the third PUCCH resource: if the third PUCCH resource carries OACKHARQ-ACK information bits, the multiplexing comprises [log2(K + L + 1)] bits to the OACKbits to form a total payload of OUCI= OACK+ [log2(K + L + 1)] bits; or if the third PUCCH resource carries OCSICSI information bits, the multiplexing comprises [log2(K + L + 1)] bits to the OCSIbits to form a total payload of OUCI= [log2(K + L + 1)] + OCSIbits.

[0059] In some embodiments, the multiplexing comprises mapping the L UEIRIs to specific bit positions based on an ascending order of a PUCCH resource ID associated with each of the L UEIRIs.

[0060] In some embodiments, the multiplexing comprises mapping the L UEIRIs to specific bit positions based on: an ascending order of SR IDs for the K scheduling requests, and an ascending order of a PUCCH resource ID associated with each of the L UEIRIs.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0061] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

[0062] Figure 1 illustrates an example of Mode A vs Mode B signaling;

[0063] Figure 2 illustrates an example of PUCCH constellation points where positive / negative SR is multiplexed with 2 HARQ-ACK information bits;

[0064] Figure 3 illustrates the legacy rule where multiple SRs are colliding with PUCCH format 2 / 3 / 4 carrying HARQ-ACK (AN) or CSI;

[0065] Figure 4 illustrates a method of operating a wireless device, according to some embodiments of the current disclosure;

[0066] Figure 5 illustrates Mcsvalues for one-bit HARQ-ACK information multiplexed with SR or UEI new UCI (e.g., UEIRI), according to some embodiments of the current disclosure;

[0067] Figure 6 illustrates an example of a new constellation when positive or negative SR is multiplexed with 2-bit ACK7NACK and 1-bit UEI new UCI, according to some embodiments of the current disclosure;

[0068] Figure 7 illustrates an example when multiple UEI new UCIs are colliding with PUCCH format 2 / 3 / 4 carrying HARQ-ACK (AN) or CSI, according to some embodiments of the current disclosure;

[0069] Figure 8: An example when multiple UEI new UCIs and SRs are colliding with PUCCH format 2 / 3 / 4 carrying HARQ-ACK (AN) or CSI bits, according to some embodiments of the current disclosure;

[0070] Figure 9 illustrates one example illustrating multiple SR and new UCI (SR2 and UCI3) are configured with same PUCCH resource IDs, according to some embodiments of the current disclosure;

[0071] Figure 10 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0072] Figure 11 is another example of a communication system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0073] Figure 12 shows a wireless device, which may be configured to operate in the communication system of Figure 10 or in the communication system of Figure 11 ;

[0074] Figure 13 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0075] Figure 14 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments of the present disclosure may be virtualized.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0076] The embodiments set forth below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure.

[0077] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0078] There currently exist certain challenge(s). It was agreed in the 3GPP that the UEI new UCI (e.g., a UEIRI) will reuse encoding mechanism of positive / negative SR. However, the NW response to a UEI new UCI and an SR is completely different. Especially for Mode A, when the UEI new UCI is transmitted, UE expects NW to assign the resource for the second UL channel. Thereby, methods are needed for UE to notify the NW that a UEI new UCI is transmitted when a prioritization rule is applied, or multiplexing rule is applied.

[0079] Firstly, when the first PUCCH resource with PUCCH format 0 or 1 carrying UEI new UCI collides in time with a second PUCCH resource with PUCCH format 0 or 1 configured for SR or LRR, and a third PUCCH resource configured with PUCCH format 0 for HARQ-ACK with one or two bits, how to transmit a positive or negative UEI new UCI is an issue.

[0080] In the RAN1#12O meeting [5], RANI has agreed that if the UEI new UCI is collided / overlapped with a PUCCH carrying normal SR and / or a PUCCH carrying normal LRR (Link Recovery Request), only one of them is transmitted based on the following priority order: LRR > first PUCCH > normal SR

[0081] According to the above agreed priority rule, when both a positive SR and a positive UEI new UCI are triggered, the positive SR will be dropped and only the positive UEI new UCI will be sent in the third PUCCH resource. Similarly, when both a positive LRR and a positive UEI new UCI are triggered, the positive UEI new UCI will be dropped and only the positive LRR will be sent in the third PUCCH resource. In either case, the legacy encoding for SR would be used. On the NW side, the HARQ-ACK and positive SR would be detected in the third PUCCH resource. Since the same encoding is used for the UEI new UCI and the SR or LRR, the NW does not know if the UE sent a positive UEI new UCI, a positive SR or LRR. In case of a positive UEI new UCI in Mode A, the NW would send an AP-CSI trigger to request the UE to send a UE initiated beam report. On the other hand, in case of a positive SR or LRR, the NW would send a UL grant to allow the UE to send a BSR or a MAC CE for link recovery. Because the expected response from the NW would be different between a positive UEI new UCI and a positive SR or LRR, this is an issue.

[0082] Secondly, according to the existing HARQ-ACK, SR, and CSI multiplexing rules in NR, when PUCCH resources for K SRs collides in time with a PUCCH resource configured with PUCCH format 2, 3, or 4 for HARQ-ACK or CSI with more than two bits, log2(K + 1)] bits are appended to the HARQ-ACK information bits or prepended to the CSI information bits, where each of the K SR bit is mapped to a codeponit of the \log2(K + 1)] bits. The mapping is in ascending order of the values of schedulingRequestResourceld. For example, if K=3. the values of schedulingRequestResourceld associated to the PUCCH resources are 5, 8, 9, then \log2(K + 1)] = 2 and there are 4 codepoints: 00, 01, 10, 11, where the mapping to K SRs are as follows:codepoint “00”: negative SR across all K=3 SRscodepoint “01”: positive SR associated to schedulingRequestResourceld —5 codepoint “10”: positive SR associated to schedulingRequestResourceld =8 codepoint “11”: positive SR associated to schedulingRequestResourceld —9

[0083] If the UEI new UCI is treated the same as an SR above, which codepoint of the \log2(K + 1)] bits is mapped to the UEI new UCI is another issue.

[0084] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Methods are proposed on UE procedure for multiplexing the 1-bit UEI new UCI introduced for UE initiated beam reporting in NR Rel-19 and SR (and / or LRR) and HARQ-ACK, and / or CSI on PUCCH when the corresponding PUCCH resources collide in a slot:

[0085] A first set of embodiments are about multiplexing the UEI new UCI, SR, and HARQ-ACK information bits when up to 2 HARQ-ACK information bits are to be transmitted in a PUCCH resource with PUCCH format 0.

[0086] A second set of embodiments are about multiplexing the UEI new UCI, SR, and HARQ-ACK information bits when more than 2 HARQ-ACK information bits are to be transmitted in a PUCCH resource with PUCCH format 2, 3, or 4.

[0087] A third set of embodiments are multiplexing the UEI new UCI, SR, and CSI information bits when CSI information bits are to be transmitted in a PUCCH resource with PUCCH format 2, 3, or 4.

[0088] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). The main advantage is to facilitate NW decoding of the received 1-bit PUCCH and identify the transmission of the UEI new UCI. The proposed methods can reduce NW effort to decode the 1-bit PUCCH and ensure timely NW response to UEI new UCI transmission. The proposed methods can also reduce NW decoding error for the 1-bit PUCCH and therefore avoid erroneous NW response to the UEI new UCI transmission. The teachings of certain embodiments may improve the e.g., data rate, latency, power consumption, etc.

[0089] Some embodiments of the current disclosure consider UE procedures for multiplexing the 1 bit UEI new UCI introduced for UE initiated beam management with SR, HARQ-ACK, and / or CSI on PUCCH, where the UE is configured to transmit a first PUCCH for the 1 bit UEI new UCI in a slot and the transmission would overlap with K PUCCH transmission occasions for respectively K SRs and a transmission of a PUCCH with HARQ-ACK information from the UE in the slot, or a transmission of a PUCCH with CSI report(s) from the UE in the slot.

[0090] The first PUCCH and each of the K second PUCCHs are either PUCCH format 0 or PUCCH format 1 in NR. The PUCCH for HARQ-ACK is either PUCCH format 0 carrying one or two bits, or one of PUCCH format 2, PUCCH format 3, and PUCCH format 4 which can carry more than 2 bits. The PUCCH for CSI is one of PUCCH format 2, PUCCH format 3, and PUCCH format 4 which can carry more than 2 bits.

[0091] The UEI new UCI in a PUCCH resource which collides with other resources for one or more of SRs, and / or HARQ-ACKs, and / or CSIs. Thereby, the UE will need to inform NW about the transmitted UEI new UCI if the UEI new UCI is prioritized or multiplexed with HARQ-ACK bits or CSI bits.

[0092] In this disclosure, UE sends a positive UEI new UCI when UE is actively indicating a UEI beam / CSI report is triggered; while UE can explicitly send a negative UEI new UCI to inform NW that there is no valid UEI beam / CSI report.

[0093] In this disclosure, the terms “first PUCCH”, “BEI”, “UEI new UCI”, and “new UCI” may be used interchangeably. Also, the term “SR” may be used to indicate either a normal scheduling request or a scheduling request for LRR unless specifically indicated.

[0094] Figure 4 illustrates a method of operating a wireless device, according to some embodiments of the current disclosure.

[0095] In Step 400, UE receives higher layer configuration of a UEI beam report, including configurations for the UEI new UCI (firstPUCCHResourceConfig-UEIBR-rl9) comprising of at least a PUCCH-ResourcelD and time resource information e.g., periodicity and offset. This PUCCH resource is overlapped in a slot with one or more of other signals / channels, which can be SRs, and / or HARQ-ACKs, and / or CSIs.

[0096] In some embodiments, this is a configuration of: a first L (> 1) PUCCH resources each with configuration index and for carrying a User Equipment Initiated report indicator (UEIRI), a second K (> 1) PUCCH resources each with a configuration index for carrying a scheduling request, SR, from the wireless device and a third PUCCH resource for HARQ-ACK information or for transmission of CSI report(s), from the wireless device, wherein the first, the second and the third PUCCH resources either fully or partially overlap in a time slot.

[0097] In Step 402, UE performs beam measurement such as Ll-RSRP based on the configured set of reference signal resources and the current beam and monitoring conditions for the triggering events. When the UEI beam reporting triggering condition is fulfilled, UE transmits a positive UEI new UCI in the first PUCCH resource. Otherwise, the UE transmits a negative UEI new UCI in the first PUCCH. If other PUCCH carrying signals / channels overlap in a slot with the first PUCCH, the UE needs to determine how to multiplex the UEI new UCI transmission with the other PUCCH carrying signals / channels.

[0098] In Step 404, based on the determination in Step 402, the UE encodes the multiplexed information in one of the PUCCH resources. In some embodiments, this is multiplexing information of the L UEIRIs, the K SRs, and the HARQ-ACK information or CSI report(s) to be transmitted in the time slot, wherein the UEIRIs are treated differently from the SRs.

[0099] In Step 406, UE transmits the encoded UEI new UCI and informs NW about the triggered UEI beam / CSI report.

[0100] Some detailed examples of encoding of UEI new UCI are provided below.

[0101] Embodiments related to UEI new UCI colliding with PUCCH format 0 carrying HARQ-ACK and SRs

[0102] In some embodiments, when the UEI new UCI collides with PUCCH format 0 / carrying HARQ-ACK, the UE transmits the UEI new UCI bit together with the HARQ-ACK bit(s) in the PUCCH resource using PUCCH format 0 for HARQ-ACK information. In case a positive UEI new UCI is to be transmitted, the UE determine a value of mcsfor computing a value of cyclic shift a from the value of one HARQ-ACK information bit as shown in Table 1 and the value of two HARQ-ACK information bits from Table 2.

[0103] Table 1 : Mapping of values for one HARQ-ACK information bit and positive UEI new UCI to sequences for PUCCH format 0

[0104] Table 2: Mapping of values for two HARQ-ACK information bits and positive UEI new UCI to sequences for PUCCH format 0

[0105] Table 1 is illustrated in a constellation form in Figure 5, where each constellation point corresponds to one Mcsvalue and different Mcsvalues are used to indicate HARQ-ACK multiplexed with the UEI new UCI and HARQ-ACK multiplexed with SR. Note that only one of a positive UEI new UCI and a positive SR can be transmitted.

[0106] Figure 6 shows a constellation example associated with Table 2 when two bits HARQ-ACK are transmitted, where different constellation points are used for HARQ-ACK multiplexing with the UEI new UCI.

[0107] In some example embodiments, the new PUCCH constellation points in the PSK constellation can be used if both positive / negative SR and positive / negative UEI new UCI are configured with 2-bits HARQ-ACK in the same PUCCH format 0 resource. In this case, a prioritization rule is applied to SR and UEI new UCI, i.e., either SR or UEI new UCI can be transmitted. In some detailed example embodiments, negative SR and negative UEI new UCI canshare the same constellation points while positive SR and positive UEI new UCI will be assigned separate constellation points.

[0108] In some related detailed embodiments, the PUCCH associated to UEI new UCI transmission is encoded in the cyclic shift (Mcs) of the PUCCH.

[0109] In some example embodiments, new PUCCH constellation points can be used when positive / negative UEI new UCI are multiplexed with positive / negative SR and 1 -bit HARQ-ACK, see for example in Figure 6.

[0110] Alternatively, the same encoding used for SR is used for the UEI new UCI. When the NW detect a positive SR / new UCI, it assumes that either a positive SR or a positive UEI new UCI has occurred. Hence it sends both an AP-CSI trigger and a UL grant to the UE. If a positive UEI new UCI occurred, the UE sends a UE initiated beam report. If a positive SR occurred, the UE sends both a beam report and a MAC CE associated to the SR. In the UE initiated beam report, the UE indicates that none of the reported RS satisfies the conditions of the configured event(s), so the NW knows that no event is triggered.

[0111] Embodiments related to UEI new UCI colliding with PUCCH format 2 / 3 / 4 carrying HARQ-ACK bits or CSI bits

[0112] In some embodiments, when the UEI new UCI collides with PUCCH format 2 / 3 / 4 carrying HARQ-ACK or CSIs in a slot, the UEI new UCI transmission can be multiplexed with the information bits of HARQ-ACK or CSI in the PUCCH resource for the HARQ-ACK or CSI with PUCCH format 2, 3, or 4.

[0113] In some example embodiments, if L UEI new UCIs are colliding with PUCCH format 2 / 3 / 4 carrying HARQ-ACK or CSI bits, UE can multiplex the UEI new UCI in PUCCH resource with the HARQ-ACK or CSI bits. As illustrated Figure 7.

[0114] If the colliding PUCCH format 2 / 3 / 4 carryingHARQ-ACK information bits, the UE will append [log2(L + 1)] bits to the HARQ-ACK bits as 0UCI= 0ACK+ [log2(L + 1)] bits.

[0115] If the colliding PUCCH format 2 / 3 / 4 carrying 0CS[CSI information bits, the UE will prepend [log2(L + 1)] bits to the CSI report bits as 0UCI= [log2(L + 1)] + 0CSIbits.

[0116] Here, the X = [log2(L + 1)] bit sequence is used to inform NW about the transmitted UEI new UCI, and each codepoint is mapped a UEI new UCI. All-zero codepoint indicates none of the K UEI new UCIs is triggered. The other codepoints enumerate the transmitted UEI new UCI by ascending order of the values of PUCCH resource ID.

[0117] Note that in some embodiments, only one positive UEI new UCI can be sent by the UE. In some alternative embodiments, the other sequences enumerate the transmit UEI new UCIs by descending order of the values of PUCCH resource IDs.

[0118] In some embodiments, if K SRs and L UEI new UCIs are colliding with PUCCH format 2 / 3 / 4 carrying HARQ-ACK or CSI bits, UE will multiplex [log2K + L + 1)] bits with the HARQ-ACK or CSI bits. As illustrated Figure 8: If the colliding PUCCH format 2 / 3 / 4 carrying OACKHARQ-ACK information bits, the UE appends [log2(K + L + 1)] bits to the HARQ-ACK bits as OUCI= OACK+ [log2(K + L + 1)] bits. If the colliding PUCCH format 2 / 3 / 4 carrying OCSICSI information bits, the UE prepends [log2(K + L + 1)] bits to the CSI bits as OUCI= [log2(K + L + 1)] 4- OCsi bits.

[0119] Here, each codepoint of the X = [log2(K + L + 1)] bits is mapped to an SR or a UEI new UCI as follows:

[0120] All-zero codepoint indicates none of the K SRs and L UEI new UCIs is triggered

[0121] The other codepoints enumerate the transmitted SR or UEI new UCI bya. Ascending order of the values of scehdulingRequestResourceldb. a schedulingRequestResourceld assoicated with schedulingRequestID-BFR-Scell c. a schedulingRequestResourceld assoicated with schedulingRequestID-BFR d. a schedulingRequestResourceld assoicated with schedulingRequestID-BFR2 e. a schedulingRequestResourceld assoicated with schedulingRequestID-LBT-Scell f. Ascending order of the values of PUCCH resource ID for the UEI new UCIs

[0122] In some alternative embodiments, the other codepoints than the all-zero sequence may enumerate the transmitted SR or UEI new UCI by:a. Ascending order of the values of PUCCH resource ID for the UEI new UCIs b. Ascending order of the values of scehdulingRequestResourceldc. a schedulingRequestResourceld assoicated with schedulingRequestID-BFR-Scell d. a schedulingRequestResourceld assoicated with schedulingRequestID-BFR e. a schedulingRequestResourceld assoicated with schedulingRequestID-BFR2 f. a schedulingRequestResourceld assoicated with schedulingRequestID-LBT-Scell

[0123] In some example embodiments, NW may only need to know there may come one UEI report, but it is not important for NW to know which UEI reporting is triggered in the first PUCCH channel. Then only one bit is sufficient to indicate the transmission of the UEI new UCI. In this case, UE can select one SR or one UEI new UCI to append / prepend to HARQ-ACK or CSI bits as:

[0124] If the colliding PUCCH format 2 / 3 / 4 carrying O^c^HARQ information bits, the UE appends [log2(K + 1)] + 1 bits to the HARQ-ACK bits, where one bit for the UEI new UCI can be either prepended or appended to the [log2(K + 1)] bits, i.e., OUCI= OACK+ [log2(K + 1)] + 1 bits, or OUCI= OACK+ 1 + flog2(K + 1)] bits.

[0125] If the colliding PUCCH format 2 / 3 / 4 carrying OCS[CSI information bits, the UE prepends [log2(K + 1)] + 1 bits to the CSI bits, where one bit for the UEI new UCI can be either prepended or appended to the [log2(K + 1)] bits, i.e., OUCI= [log2(K + 1)] + 1 + OCSIbits , or uci=1 + nog2(K + 1)] + OCSIbits.

[0126] In some related embodiments, if K SRs and L UEI new UCIs are colliding with PUCCH format 2 / 3 / 4 carrying HARQ-ACK or CSI bits, UE may, as legacy, multiplex [log2(K + 1)] bits with the HARQ-ACK information bits or CSI bits. In this case UE will use the X = [log2(K + 1)] bits to indicate K-l SRs and one UEI new UCI. In particular, one of the K SRs is dropped based on a prioritization / dropping rule, for example the SR configured with lowest or highest schedulingRequestResourceld will be dropped. Then, each codepoint of the X = [log2(K + 1)] bits is mapped to an SR (of total K-l SRs) or a UEI new UCI as:

[0127] All-zero codepoint indicates none of the K-l SRs and 1 UEI new UCI is triggered

[0128] The other codepoints enumerate the transmitted SR or UEI new UCI bya. Ascending order of the values of scehdulingRequestResourceldb. a schedulingRequestResourceld assoicated with schedulingRequestID-BFR-Scell c. a schedulingRequestResourceld assoicated with schedulingRequestID-BFR d. a schedulingRequestResourceld assoicated with schedulingRequestID-BFR2 e. a schedulingRequestResourceld assoicated with schedulingRequestID-LBT-Scell f. one UEI new UCI

[0129] In some example embodiments, UE is configured with K SRs and L UEI new UCIs, where M 1-bit SRs and / or 1-bit UEI new UCIs are configured with same PUCCH resource (see example of SR2 and UCI3 in Figure 9), and UE may only append or prepend one of the SRs or UEI new UCIs to the PUCCH format 2 / 3 / 4 carrying HARQ / ACK or CSI. In some related embodiment, UE may multiplex [log2(K + L + 1)] bits to HARQ / ACK or CSI bits, i.e., UE may select any of the K SRs or L UEI new UCIs to transmit.

[0130] Alternatively, UE may first apply prioritization rule among the M SRs and UEI new UCIs which are configured with same PUCCH resource (via same or different PUCCH resource IDs), and thereafter determine which SR or UEI new UCI to be appended / prepended to HARQ-ACK or CSI bits from the remining L-M+l SRs and UEI new UCIs. In the case, UE may multiplex[log2(L — M + 1 + 1)] bits to HARQ / ACK, where each codepoint of the X = [log2(L — M + 1 + 1)] bits is mapped to an SR or a UEI new UCI as for example:

[0131] All-0 codepoint indicates none of the L-M+l SRs and UEI new UCIs is triggered

[0132] The other codepoints enumerate the transmitted SR or UEI new UCI bya. Ascending order of the values of scehdulingRequestResourceldb. a schedulingRequestResourceld assoicated with schedulingRequestID-BFR-Scell c. a schedulingRequestResourceld assoicated with schedulingRequestID-BFR d. a schedulingRequestResourceld assoicated with schedulingRequestID-BFR2 c. a schedulingRequestResourceld assoicated with schedulingRequestID-LBT-Scell f. Ascending order of PUCCH resource IDs for the UEI new UCIs

[0133] Figure 10 shows an example of a communication system 1000 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0134] In the example, the communication system 1000 includes a telecommunications network 1002 that includes an access network 1004, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 1006, which includes one or more core network nodes 1008. The access network 1004 includes one or more access network nodes or base stations of various types, access network nodes 1010A and 1010B are depicted (which may be collectively referred to as network nodes 1010), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points (APs). Some embodiments of the access network 1004 may include more than one access network technology. The network nodes 1010 of access network 1004 facilitate direct or indirect connection of wireless devices, also referred to as user equipments (UEs), such as by connecting UEs 1012A, 1012B, 1012C, and 1012D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1012) to the core network 1006 over one or more wireless connections.

[0135] Moreover, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunications network 1002 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a network node in the telecommunications network 1002 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other network nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any network node in the telecommunications network 1002, including one or more access network nodes 1010 and / or core network nodes 1008.

[0136] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). An ORAN network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN network node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the 0-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies.

[0137] The network nodes 1010 facilitate direct or indirect connection of one or more UEs 1012 to the core network 1006 over one or more wireless connections. Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 1000 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 1000 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0138] The UEs 1012 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 1010 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1008, 1010 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly (e.g., via other devices of telecommunications network 1002) with the UEs 1012 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunications network 1002 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunications network 1002. More specifically, UEs 1012 may send messages, data, and / or other signals to network nodes 1008, 1010 or other elements of the telecommunicationsnetwork 1002 by transmitting such signals to the relevant device directly without the signals passing through any intervening devices or by transmitting such signals to the relevant device indirectly through an intervening device (or multiple intervening devices) that then transmit the signal to the relevant device. Similarly, network nodes 1008, 1010 may send messages, data, and other signals to UEs 10122, other network nodes 1008, 1010, and other devices in telecommunications network 1002 directly or indirectly. As one specific example, a core network node 108 may transmit a particular message to a UE 1012 by transmitting the message to an access network node 1010 that will then transmit the message to the intended UE 1012. Similarly, a core network node 108 may receive a particular message from a UE 1012 by receiving the message from an access network node 1010 that itself received the message from the UE 1012.

[0139] In the depicted example, the core network 1006 connects elements of the access network 1004 (e.g., one or more of the network nodes 1010) to one or more host computing systems, such as host 1016. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 1006 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1008) of various types, one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1008. Network nodes 1008 are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, access network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 1008. Example core network nodes provide functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDE), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0140] The host 1016 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1004 and / or the telecommunications network 1002. The host 1016 may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 1016 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remotedevices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0141] As a whole, the communication system 1000 of Figure 10 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system 1000 may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (Wi-Fi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (Wi-Max), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, Li-Fi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox. Moreover, the communication system 1000 may be configured to support multiple different standards, protocols, or other rule sets, with individual components supporting all of the relevant rule sets or with different components or sub-systems within the communication system 1000 supporting different standards, protocols, or rule sets.

[0142] As one example, in certain embodiments, access network 1004 may contain some access network nodes 1010 that support 3GPP radio access technologies (RAT), such as LTE or NR, while other access network nodes 1010 support (or the same access network nodes 1010 additionally support) non-3GPP RATs, such as Wi-Fi or a proprietary RAT. As another example, telecommunications network 1002 may support multiple generations of related communication standards (e.g., 4G and 5G 3GPP communication standards) and, as a result, may include an access network 104 and / or a core network 106 that supports multiple different standard generations or may include multiple access networks 104 and / or multiple core networks 106 with individual networks 104, 106 supporting different standard generations.

[0143] Telecommunications network 1002 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunications network 1002. For example, the telecommunications network 1002 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0144] In some examples, one or more of the UEs 1012 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 1004 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered byan internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1004. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e., being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0145] In the example, the hub 1014 communicates with the access network 1004 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1012C and / or 1012D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1010B). In some examples, the hub 1014 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 1014 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 1006 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 1014 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 1010, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 1014.

[0146] As another example, the hub 1014 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 1014 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 1014 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 1014 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 1014 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0147] The hub 1014 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1010B. The hub 1014 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 1014 and UEs (e.g., UE 1012C and / or 1012D), and between the hub 1014 and the core network 1006. In other examples, the hub 1014 is connected to the core network 1006 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 1014 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1004 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 1010 while still connected via the hub 1014 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1014 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 1010B. In other embodiments, the hub 1014 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to routecommunications between the UEs and network node 1010B, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0148] Figure 11 is another example of a communication system 1100 according to some embodiments. As used herein, the communication system 1100 includes multiple access points (APs) 1110 (with four exemplary APs 1110A, 1110B, 1110C, and 1110D being depicted) and multiple wireless devices, referred to in the context of communication system 1100 as stations (STAs) 1112 (referred to individually as STA 1112A, STA 1112B, STA 1112C, STA 1112D, and STA 1112E). STA 1112A is served by AP 1110A in a first basic service set (BSS) 1120A. STA 1110B and STA 1110C are served by AP 1110B in a second BSS, BSS 1120B. STA 1112D is served by AP 1110C in a third BSS, BSS 1120C. STA 1112E is served by AP 1110D in a fourth BSS, BSS 1120D. Stations 1112 may be non-AP STAs and correspond to various kinds of wireless devices, for example, user terminals, such as mobile or stationary computing devices like smartphones, laptop computers, desktop computers, tablet computers, gaming devices, headmounted displays (HMDs) for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), or the like. Further, stations 1112 could, for example, correspond to other kinds of equipment like smart home devices, printers, multimedia devices, data storage devices, or the like.

[0149] Each of STAs 1112 may connect through a radio link to one of APs 1110. For example, depending on location or channel conditions experienced by a given STA 1112, the STA may select an appropriate AP and BSS for establishing the radio link. The radio link may be based on one or more orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) carriers from a frequency spectrum that is shared on the basis of a contention-based mechanism, e.g., an unlicensed or license exempt band like 2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band, the 5 GHz band, the 6 GHz band, or the 60 GHz band.

[0150] Each AP 1110 may provide data connectivity to STAs 1112 connected to a particular AP 1110. As illustrated, APs 1110 may be connected to a data network 1130. In this way, APs 1110 may also provide data connectivity between STAs 1112 and other entities, e.g., to one or more servers, service providers, data sources, data sinks, user terminals, or the like. Accordingly, the radio link established between a given STA 1112 and its serving AP 1110 may be used for providing various kinds of services to STA 1112, e.g., a voice service, a multimedia service, or other data service. Such services may be based on applications that are executed on STA 1112 and / or on a device linked to STA 1112. By way of example, Figure 11 illustrates an application service platform 1132 provided in data network 1130. The application(s) executed on STA 1112 and / or on one or more other devices linked to STA 1112 may use the radio link for datacommunication with one or more other STA 1112 and / or the application service platform 1132, thereby enabling utilization of the corresponding service(s) at STA 1112.

[0151] Figure 12 shows a wireless device 1200, which may be configured to operate in communication system 1000 of Figure 10 or in communication system 1100 of Figure 11. The wireless device 1200 may be alternatively referred to as a UE 1200, like a UE 1012 within the context of communication system 1000, or as a station (STA) 1200 or as a non-access-point station (non-AP STA) 1200, like a STA 1112 within the context of the communication system 1100, in accordance with respective embodiments. As used herein, a wireless device refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other wireless devices. Examples of a wireless device include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, and wireless terminal. Other examples include any type of UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0152] A wireless device 1200 may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, wireless device 1200 may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, wireless device 1200 may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, wireless device 1200 may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0153] In particular embodiments, wireless device 1200 includes processing circuitry 1202 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1204 to an input / output interface 1206, a power source 1208, a memory 1210, a communication interface 1212, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain embodiments of wireless device 1200 may include all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 12. The level of integration between the components may vary fromone embodiment of wireless device 1200 to another. In general, in a particular embodiment of wireless device 1200, processing circuitry 1202, input / output interface 1206, power source 1208, memory 1210, and communication interface 1212 may, in whole or in part, represent or include physical components common to or shared by one or more of the other elements of wireless device 1200. Further, certain embodiments of wireless devices 1200 may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0154] The processing circuitry 1202 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 1210. The processing circuitry 1202 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 1202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0155] In the example, the input / output interface 1206 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into wireless device 1200. Examples of an input device include a touch- sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0156] In some embodiments, the power source 1208 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used to supply power to circuitry or to charge an associated battery. The power source 1208 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1208 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of wireless device 1200 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Powersource 1208 may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to make accessible power suitable for the respective components of the wireless device 1200 to which power is supplied.

[0157] The memory 1210 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 1210 includes one or more programs 1214, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1216. The memory 1210 may store, for use by wireless device 1200, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0158] The memory 1210 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 1210 may allow wireless device 1200 to access instructions, programs, and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 1210, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0159] The processing circuitry 1202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network via or using the communication interface 1212. The communication interface 1212 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1222. The communication interface 1212 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another wireless device or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1218 and / or a receiver 1220 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 1218 and receiver 1220 may be coupled toone or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1222) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0160] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 1212 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication (e.g., according to an IEEE 802.11 family standard), LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0161] In particular embodiments, wireless device 1200 may provide an output of data captured via a sensor, through its communication interface 1212, via a wireless connection to a network node, and / or in any appropriate manner. Data captured by sensors of a wireless device 1200 can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another wireless device 1200. In particular embodiments, such output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected, an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0162] As another example, wireless device 1200 comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, wireless device 1200 may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0163] Wireless device 1200, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voicecontrolled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. In particular embodiments, wireless device 1200 represents an loT device that comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the example embodiment of wireless device 1200 shown in Figure 12.

[0164] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, wireless device 1200 may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another wireless device and / or a network node. Wireless device 1200 may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, wireless device 1200 may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, wireless device 1200 may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0165] In practice, any number of wireless devices 1200 may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first wireless device 1200 might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second wireless device 1200 that is a remote controller operating the drone. When a user makes changes from the remote controller, the first wireless device 1200 may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second wireless device 1200 can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, wireless device 1200 might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0166] Figure 13 shows a network node 1300 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunications network. In accordance with respective embodiments, network node 1300 may be configured to operate in communication system 1000 of Figure 10, like network nodes 1008 or 1010, or in communication system 1100 of Figure 11, like an AP 1110 or a station 1112.Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0167] Network nodes 1300 may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. Network node 1300 may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. Network nodes 1300 may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0168] Other examples of network nodes 1300 include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0169] In particular embodiments, network node 1300 includes a processing circuitry 1302, a memory 1304, a communication interface 1306, and a power source 1308. In general, in a particular embodiment of network node 1300, processing circuitry 1302, memory 1304, communication interface 1306, and power source 1308 may, in whole or in part, represent or include physical components common to or shared by one or more of the other elements of network node 1300.

[0170] The network node 1300 may be composed of multiple distinct network entities (e.g., a NodeB entity and an RNC entity, or a BTS entity and a BSC entity, etc.), which may each have or utilize their own respective physical components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 1300 comprises multiple such entities (e.g., BTS and BSC), one or more of the separate entities may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, somecomponents may be duplicated (e.g., separate memories 1304 or portions of memory 1304 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1310 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1300 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1300, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, Wi-Fi (e.g., according to an IEEE 802.11 family standard), Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 1300.

[0171] The processing circuitry 1302 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application- specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other components, such as the memory 1304, to provide network node 1300 functionality.

[0172] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1312 and baseband processing circuitry 1314. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 1312 and the baseband processing circuitry 1314 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1312 and baseband processing circuitry 1314 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0173] The memory 1304 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 1302. The memory 1304 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 1302 and utilized by the network node 1300. The memory 1304 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1302 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1306. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1302 and memory 1304 is integrated.

[0174] The communication interface 1306 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data with UEs, other network nodes, and / or any other network equipment. In the illustrated embodiment, communication interface 1306 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1316 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. In particular embodiments, network node 1200 may be capable of wireless communication and communication interface 1306 may also include radio front-end circuitry 1318 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, an antenna 1310. Particular embodiments of radio front-end circuitry 1318 include filter(s) 1320 and amplifier(s) 1322. The radio front-end circuitry 1318 may be connected to an antenna 1310 and processing circuitry 1302. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1310 and processing circuitry 1302. The radio front-end circuitry 1318 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 1318 may convert the digital data into a radio signal(s) having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1320 and / or amplifiers 1322. The radio signal(s) may then be transmitted via the antenna 1310. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1310 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1318. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0175] In certain alternative embodiments, network node 1300 may be capable of wireless communication but does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1318, instead, the processing circuitry 1302 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1312 is part of the communication interface 1306. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1306 includes one or more ports or terminals 1316, the radio front-end circuitry 1318, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1312, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1306 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1314, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0176] The antenna 1310 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1310 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 1318 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1310 is separate from the network node 1300 and connectable to the network node 1300 through one or more interfaces or ports.

[0177] The antenna 1310, communication interface 1306, and / or the processing circuitry 1302 may be configured to perform some or all of the receiving operations and / or obtaining operationsdescribed herein as being performed by the network node 1300. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1310, the communication interface 1306, and / or the processing circuitry 1302 may be configured to perform some or all of the transmitting or sending operations described herein as being performed by the network node 1300. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment.

[0178] The power source 1308 provides power to the various components of network node 1300 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1308 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1300 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1300 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 1308. As a further example, the power source 1308 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0179] Embodiments of the network node 1300 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 13 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1300 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1300 and to allow output of information from the network node 1300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1300.

[0180] Figure 14 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1400 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1400 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as an access network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, inembodiments in which a virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1400 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface.

[0181] Applications 1402 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 1300 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0182] Hardware 1404 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1406 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VM 1408A and VM 1408B (which may be collectively referred to as VMs 1408), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1406 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to one or more of the VMs 1408.

[0183] The VMs 1408 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by virtualization layer 1406. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1402 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1408, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0184] In the context of NFV, each of the VMs 1408 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1408, and that part of hardware 1404 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more of the VMs 1408 on top of the hardware 1404 and corresponds to an application 1402.

[0185] Hardware 1404 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1404 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1404 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1410, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1402. In some embodiments, hardware 1404 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1412 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0186] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0187] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[0188] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

[0189] EMBODIMENTS

[0190] Group A Embodiments

[0191] Embodiment 1: A method performed by a wireless device (e.g., a User Equipment (UE)) for wireless device initiated beam reporting, the method comprising: receiving a configuration of a first (e.g., PUCCH) resource for carrying a UEI new UCI for UE initiated beam management, a second (e.g., PUCCH) resource for carrying a scheduling request, SR, and a third (e.g., PUCCH) resource for carrying HARQ-ACK or channel state information, CSI, report, wherein the first, the second and the third PUCCH resources either fully or partially overlap in a time slot; multiplexing information of the UEI new UCI, the SR, and the HARQ-ACK or CSI to be transmitted in the time slot, wherein the UEI new UCI is treated differently from the SR; and transmitting the multiplexed information in the third PUCCH resource.

[0192] Embodiment 2: The method of any of the previous embodiments wherein the multiplexing information of the UEI new UCI, the SR, and / or the HARQ-ACK comprises joint encoding of information for the UEI new UCI, the SR, and the HARQ-ACK with a cyclic shift when the third PUCCH resource is configured with one or two OFDM symbols and can carry up to two bits, wherein each combination of the UEI new UCI, the SR, and the HARQ-ACK information bits is represented by a unique cyclic shift value, where different cyclic values are associated to a positive UEI new UCI and a positive SR.

[0193] Embodiment 3: The method of any of the previous embodiments wherein the multiplexing information comprises appending one bit associated to the UEI new UCI to the HARQ-ACK information bits or prepending one bit associated to the UEI new UCI to the CSI information bits when the third PUCCH resource can carry more than 2 bits.

[0194] Embodiment 4: The method of any of the previous embodiments wherein the multiplexing information comprises an joint encoding of information for the UEI new UCI and the SR with two bits, and appending the two bits to the HARQ-ACK information bits or prepending the two bits to the CSI information bits when the third PUCCH resource can carry more than 2 bits, wherein value “00” of the two bits indicating a negative UEI new UCI and a negative SR, value “01” of the two bits indicates a positive UEI new UCI and a negative SR, value “10” indicating a negative UEI new UCI and a positive SR.

[0195] Embodiment 5: The method of any of the previous embodiments wherein the multiplexing information comprises an joint encoding of information for the UEI new UCI and the SR with two bits, and appending the two bits to the HARQ-ACK information bits or prepending the two bits to the CSI information bits when the third PUCCH resource can carry more than 2 bits, wherein value “00” of the two bits indicating a negative UEI new UCI and a negative SR, value “01” of the two bits indicates a negative UEI new UCI and a positive SR, value “10” indicating a positive UEI new UCI and a negative SR.

[0196] Embodiment 6: The method of any of the previous embodiments wherein when both a positive UEI new UCI and a positive SR are triggered, one of them is dropped based a predetermined priority, wherein the dropped on is signaled as negative.

[0197] Embodiment 7: The method of any of the previous embodiments wherein the third PUCCH resource is configured with NR PUCCH format 0.

[0198] Embodiment 8: The method of any of the previous embodiments wherein the third PUCCH resource is configured with NR PUCCH format 2, 3, or 4.

[0199] Embodiment 9: The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node.

[0200] Group B Embodiments

[0201] Embodiment 10: A method performed by a network node, the method comprising: any of the features of the Group A Embodiments.

[0202] Embodiment 11 : The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment.

[0203] Group C Embodiments

[0204] Embodiment 12: A wireless device, comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group A embodiments; and a power source configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0205] Embodiment 13: A network node, the network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B embodiments; a power source circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0206] Embodiment 14: A wireless device, the wireless device comprising: one or more antennas; communication interface connected to the one or more antennas and to processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group A embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a power source connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

[0207] REFERENCES:

[0208] [1] RP-234007, New WID: NR MIMO Phase 5, Dec. 2023. [2] Chair notes, 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #116-bis, Changsha, Hunan Province, China, April 15th - 19th, 2024. [3] Chair notes, 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #117, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka, Japan, May 20th - 24th, 2024. [4] Chair notes, 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #118, Maastricht, NL, August 19th - 23rd, 2024. [5] Chair notes, 3GPPTSGRAN WG1#12O, Athens, Greece, February IV l51, 2025. [6] TS 38.211, “NR; Physical channels and modulation”, 3GPP, V18.5.0, Jan 2025. [7] TS 38.213, “NR; Physical Layer Procedure for Control”, 3GPP, V18.5.0, Jan 2025.ABBREVIATIONSAt least some of the following abbreviations may be used in this disclosure. If there is an inconsistency between abbreviations, preference should be given to how it is used above. If listed multiple times below, the first listing should be preferred over any subsequent listing(s).3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project5G 5th Generation6G 6thGenerationABS Almost Blank SubframeARQ Automatic Repeat RequestAWGN Additive White Gaussian NoiseBCCH Broadcast Control ChannelBCH Broadcast ChannelCA Carrier AggregationCC Carrier ComponentCCCH SDU Common Control Channel SDUCDMA Code Division Multiplex AccessCGI Cell Global IdentityCIR Channel Impulse ResponseCP Cyclic PrefixCPICH Common Pilot ChannelCQI Channel Quality InformationC-RNTI Cell RNTICSI Channel State InformationDCCH Dedicated Control ChannelDL DownlinkDM DemodulationDMRS Demodulation Reference SignalDRX Discontinuous ReceptionDTX Discontinuous TransmissionDTCH Dedicated Traffic ChannelDUT Device Under TestE-CID Enhanced Cell-ID (positioning method)Ec / No Received energy per chip divided by the power density in the band eMBMS Evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast ServicesECGI Evolved CGIeNB E-UTRAN NodeBePDCCH Enhanced Physical Downlink Control ChannelE-SMLC Evolved Serving Mobile Location CenterE-UTRAN Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access NetworkFDD Frequency Division DuplexFFS For Further StudygNB Base station in NRGNSS Global Navigation Satellite SystemHARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat RequestHO HandoverHSPA High Speed Packet AccessHRPD High Rate Packet DataLOS Line of SightLPP LTE Positioning ProtocolLTE Long-Term EvolutionMAC Medium Access ControlMAC Message Authentication CodeMBSFN Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service Single Frequency Network MBSFN ABS MBSFN Almost Blank SubframeMDT Minimization of Drive TestsMIB Master Information BlockMME Mobility Management EntityMSC Mobile Switching CenterNPDCCH Narrowband Physical Downlink Control ChannelNR New RadioOCNG OFDMA Channel Noise GeneratorOFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division MultiplexingOFDMA Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple AccessOSS Operations Support SystemOTDOA Observed Time Difference of ArrivalO&M Operation and MaintenancePBCH Physical Broadcast ChannelP-CCPCH Primary Common Control Physical ChannelPCell Primary CellPCFICH Physical Control Format Indicator ChannelPDCCH Physical Downlink Control ChannelPDCP Packet Data Convergence ProtocolPDP Power Delay ProfilePDSCH Physical Downlink Shared ChannelPGW Packet GatewayPHICH Physical Hybrid- ARQ Indicator ChannelPLMN Public Land Mobile NetworkPMI Precoding Matrix IndicatorPRACH Physical Random Access ChannelPRS Positioning Reference SignalPSS Primary Synchronization SignalPUCCH Physical Uplink Control ChannelPUSCH Physical Uplink Shared ChannelRACH Random Access ChannelQAM Quadrature Amplitude ModulationRAN Radio Access NetworkRAT Radio Access TechnologyRLC Radio Link ControlRLM Radio Link MonitoringRNC Radio Network ControllerRNTI Radio Network Temporary IdentifierRRC Radio Resource ControlRRM Radio Resource ManagementRS Reference SignalRSCP Received Signal Code PowerRSRP Reference Symbol Received Power ORReference Signal Received PowerRSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality OR Reference Symbol Received QualityRSSI Received Signal Strength IndicatorRSTD Reference Signal Time DifferenceSCH Synchronization ChannelSCell Secondary CellSDAP Service Data Adaptation ProtocolSDU Service Data UnitSFN System Frame NumberSGW Serving GatewaySI System InformationSIB System Information BlockSNR Signal to Noise RatioSON Self- Organizing NetworkSS Synchronization SignalSSS Secondary Synchronization SignalTDD Time Division DuplexTDOA Time Difference of ArrivalTOA Time of ArrivalTSS Tertiary Synchronization SignalTTI Transmission Time IntervalUE User EquipmentUL UplinkUMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System USIM Universal Subscriber Identity Module UTDOA Uplink Time Difference of Arrival WCDMA Wideband CDMAWLAN Wireless Local Area Network

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method performed by a wireless device for indicating a User Equipment, UE, initiated report, UEIR, the method comprising:receiving (400) a configuration of:a first L ( > 1 ) Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, resources each with configuration index and for carrying a User Equipment Initiated report indicator, UEIRI ,a second K (> 1) PUCCH resources each with a configuration index for carrying a scheduling request, SR, from the wireless device anda third PUCCH resource for carrying Hybrid Automatic Repeat request Acknowledgment, HARQ-ACK, information or for transmission of channel state information, CSI, report(s), from the wireless device, wherein the first, the second and the third PUCCH resources either fully or partially overlap in a time slot;multiplexing (404) information of the L UEIRIs, the K SRs, and the HARQ-ACK information or CSI report(s) to be transmitted in the time slot, wherein the UEIRIs are treated differently from the SRs; andtransmitting (406) the multiplexed information in the third PUCCH resource.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein when K=L= I and the third PUCCH resource is configured with one or two OFDM symbols and can carry up to two bits, the multiplexing information of the UEIRI , the SR, and / or the HARQ-ACK information comprises joint encoding of information for the UEIRI, the SR, and the HARQ-ACK information with a cyclic shift, wherein each combination of the UEIRI, the SR, and the HARQ-ACK information bits is represented by a unique cyclic shift value.

3. The method of any of claims 1-2 wherein the multiplexing information comprises appending one bit associated to the UEIRI to the HARQ-ACK information bits or prepending one bit associated to the UEIRI to the CSI information bits when the third PUCCH resource can carry more than 2 bits.

4. The method of any of claims 1-3 wherein the multiplexing information comprises a joint encoding of information for the UEIRI and the SR with two bits, and appending the two bits to the HARQ-ACK information bits or prepending the two bits to the CSI information bits when the third PUCCH resource can carry more than 2 bits, wherein value “00” of the two bits indicating anegative UEIRI and a negative SR, value “01” of the two bits indicates a positive UEIRI and a negative SR, value “10” indicating a negative UEIRI and a positive SR.

5. The method of any of claims 1-4 wherein the multiplexing information comprises an joint encoding of information for the UEIRI and the SR with two bits, and appending the two bits to the HARQ-ACK information bits or prepending the two bits to the CSI information bits when the third PUCCH resource can carry more than 2 bits, wherein value “00” of the two bits indicating a negative UEIRI and a negative SR, value “01” of the two bits indicates a negative UEIRI and a positive SR, value “10” indicating a positive UEIRI and a negative SR.

6. The method of any of claims 1-5 wherein when both a positive UEIRI and a positive SR are triggered, one of them is dropped based a pre-determined priority rule, wherein the dropped one is signaled as negative.

7. The method of any of claims 1-6 wherein the third PUCCH resource is configured with NR PUCCH format 0.

8. The method of any of claims 1-7 wherein the third PUCCH resource is configured with NR PUCCH format 2, 3, or 4.

9. The method of any of claims 1-8 wherein, when K=0 and the third PUCCH resource can carry more than 2 bits:if the third PUCCH resource carries 0ACKHARQ-ACK information bits, the multiplexing comprises appending [log2(L + 1)] bits to the 0ACKbits to form a total payload of 0UCI= ACK + [log2(L + 1)1 bits; orif the third PUCCH resource carries OCSICSI information bits, the multiplexing comprises appending [log2(L + 1)1 bits to the 0CSIbits to form a total payload of 0UCI= [log2(L + 1)1 + Ocsi bits,wherein the [log_2 (L+ 1)1 bits representing a negative or positive UEIRI in ascending order of the corresponding configuration indices of the first PUCCH resources and an all-zero value for the [log_2 (L+ 1)1 bits represents a negative UEIRI value across all the L UEIRIs.

10. The method of any of claims 1-9 wherein, when K>0 and L>0 and the third PUCCH resource can carry more than two bits:if the third PUCCH resource carries 0ACKHARQ-ACK information bits, the multiplexing comprises appending [log2(K + L + 1)] bits to the 0ACKbits to form a total payload of 0UCI= OACK + riog2( + i + 1)1 bits; orif the third PUCCH resource carries 0CSICSI information bits, the multiplexing comprises appending [log2(K + L + 1)] bits to the 0CSIbits to form a total payload of 0UCI=[log2(K + L + 1)1 + 0CS[bits,wherein the [log_2 (K+L+l)l bits representing a negative or positive SR or UEIRI in ascending order of the configuration indices of the corresponding second K PUCCH resources and then ascending order of the configuration indices of the corresponding first L PUCCH resources, and an all-zero value for the [log2(K + L + 1)1 bits represents a negative SR or UEIRI value across all the L UEIRIs and K SRs.

11. A method performed by a network node, the method comprising:configuring (400) a wireless device with a configuration of:a first L ( > 1 ) Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, resources each with configuration index and for carrying a User Equipment Initiated report indicator, UEIRI,a second K (> 1) PUCCH resources each with a configuration index for carrying a scheduling request, SR, from the wireless device, anda third PUCCH resource for carrying Hybrid Automatic Repeat request Acknowledgment, HARQ-ACK, information or for transmission of channel state information, CSI, report(s), from the wireless device, wherein the first, the second and the third PUCCH resources either fully or partially overlap in a time slot; andreceiving (406) multiplexed information of the L UEIRIs , the K SRs, and the HARQ-ACK information or CSI report(s).

12. The method of claim 11 wherein when K=L= I and the third PUCCH resource is configured with one or two OFDM symbols and can carry up to two bits, the multiplexing information of the UEIRI , the SR, and / or the HARQ-ACK information comprises joint encoding of information for the UEIRI, the SR, and the HARQ-ACK information with a cyclic shift, wherein each combination of the UEIRI, the SR, and the HARQ-ACK information bits is represented by a unique cyclic shift value.

13. The method of any of claims 11-12 wherein the multiplexing information comprises appending one bit associated to the UEIRI to the HARQ-ACK information bits or prepending onebit associated to the UEIRI to the CSI information bits when the third PUCCH resource can carry more than 2 bits.

14. The method of any of claims 11-13 wherein the multiplexing information comprises a joint encoding of information for the UEIRI and the SR with two bits, and appending the two bits to the HARQ-ACK information bits or prepending the two bits to the CSI information bits when the third PUCCH resource can carry more than 2 bits, wherein value “00” of the two bits indicating a negative UEIRI and a negative SR, value “01” of the two bits indicates a positive UEIRI and a negative SR, value “10” indicating a negative UEIRI and a positive SR.

15. The method of any of claims 11-14 wherein the multiplexing information comprises an joint encoding of information for the UEIRI and the SR with two bits, and appending the two bits to the HARQ-ACK information bits or prepending the two bits to the CSI information bits when the third PUCCH resource can carry more than 2 bits, wherein value “00” of the two bits indicating a negative UEIRI and a negative SR, value “01” of the two bits indicates a negative UEIRI and a positive SR, value “10” indicating a positive UEIRI and a negative SR.

16. The method of any of claims 11-15 wherein when both a positive UEIRI and a positive SR are triggered, one of them is dropped based a pre-determined priority rule, wherein the dropped on is signaled as negative.

17. The method of any of claims 11-16 wherein the third PUCCH resource is configured with NR PUCCH format 0.

18. The method of any of claims 11-17 wherein the third PUCCH resource is configured with NR PUCCH format 2, 3, or 4.

19. The method of any of claims 11-18 wherein,when K=0 and the third PUCCH resource can carry more than 2 bits:if the third PUCCH resource carries 0ACKHARQ-ACK information bits, the multiplexing comprises appending [log2(L + 1)] bits to the 0ACKbits to form a total payload of 0UCI= 0ACK + [log2(L + 1)] bits; orif the third PUCCH resource carries OCSICSI information bits, the multiplexing comprises appending [log2(L + 1)] bits to the 0CSIbits to form a total payload of 0UCI= [log2(L + 1)] +0CSibits,wherein the [log_2 (L+l)] bits representing a negative or positive UEIRI in ascending order of the corresponding configuration indices of the first PUCCH resources and an all-zero value for the [log_2 (L+l) bits represents a negative UEIRI value across all the L UEIRIs.

20. The method of any of claims 11-19 wherein,when K>0 and L>0 and the third PUCCH resource can carry more than two bits:if the third PUCCH resource carries 0ACKHARQ-ACK information bits, the multiplexing comprises appending [log2(K + L + 1)] bits to the 0ACKbits to form a total payload of 0UCI= 0ACK + riog2( + L + 1)] bits; orif the third PUCCH resource carries 0CSICSI information bits, the multiplexing comprises appending [log2(K + L + 1)] bits to the OCSIbits to form a total payload of 0UCI=[log2K + L + 1)] + 0CS[bits,wherein the [log_2 (K+L+l)] bits representing a negative or positive SR or UEIRI in ascending order of the configuration indices of the corresponding second K PUCCH resources and then ascending order of the configuration indices of the corresponding first L PUCCH resources, and an all-zero value for the [log2( / f + L + 1)] bits represents a negative SR or UEIRI value across all the L UEIRIs and K SRs.

21. A User Equipment, UE, (1200) comprising processing circuitry (1202) and memory (1210), the memory (1210) comprising instructions to cause the UE (1200) to:receive (400) a configuration of:a first L ( > 1 ) Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, resources each with configuration index and for carrying a User Equipment Initiated report indicator, UEIRI ,, a second K (> 1) PUCCH resources each with a configuration index for carrying a scheduling request, SR, from the wireless device, anda third PUCCH resource for carrying Hybrid Automatic Repeat request Acknowledgment, HARQ-ACK, information or for transmission of channel state information, CSI, report(s), from the wireless device, wherein the first, the second and the third PUCCH resources either fully or partially overlap in a time slot;multiplex (404) information of the L UEIRIs , the K SRs, and the HARQ-ACK information or CSI report(s) to be transmitted in the time slot, wherein the UEIRIs are treated differently from the SRs; andtransmit (406) the multiplexed information in the third PUCCH resource.

22. The UE (1200) of claim 21 further comprising instructions to cause the UE (1200) to: implement any of the features of claims 2-10.

23. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1-10.

24. A network node (1300) comprising processing circuitry (1302) and memory (1304), the memory (1304) comprising instructions to cause the network node (1300) to:configure (400) a wireless device with a configuration of:a first L ( > 1 ) Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, resources each with configuration index and for carrying a User Equipment Initiated report indicator, UEIRI,a second K (> 1) PUCCH resources each with a configuration index for carrying a scheduling request, SR, from the wireless device, anda third PUCCH resource for carrying Hybrid Automatic Repeat request Acknowledgment, HARQ-ACK, information or for transmission of channel state information, CSI, report(s), from the wireless device, wherein the first, the second and the third PUCCH resources either fully or partially overlap in a time slot; andreceive (406) multiplexed information of the L UEIRIs , the K SRs, and the HARQ-ACK information or CSI report(s).

25. The network node (1300) of claim 24 further comprising instructions to cause the network node (1300) to: implement any of the features of claims 12-20.

26. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any one of claims 11-20.

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