CN117083942A

CN117083942A - Reference signal configuration for multi-beam communication in wireless networks

Info

Publication number: CN117083942A
Application number: CN202180096009.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张淑娟; 鲁照华; 吴昊; 邵诗佳; 潘煜
Original assignee: ZTE Corp
Current assignee: ZTE Corp
Priority date: 2021-04-02
Filing date: 2021-04-02
Publication date: 2023-11-17
Also published as: WO2022205452A1

Abstract

The present disclosure describes methods, systems, and devices for configuring reference signals for multi-beam communication in a mobile cellular network. An example method for wireless communication includes receiving, by a wireless terminal, a control message including a configuration indication, and identifying N reference signal elements based on the configuration indication, where N is a positive integer, one of the N reference signal elements comprising one reference signal resource or a set of reference signal resources.

Description

Reference signal configuration for multi-beam communication in wireless networks

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications.

Background

Wireless communication technology is pushing the world to an increasingly interconnected and networked society. Rapid developments in wireless communications and advances in technology have resulted in greater demands for capacity and connectivity. Other aspects of energy consumption, equipment cost, spectral efficiency, and latency are also important to meet the needs of various communication scenarios. Next generation systems and wireless communication technologies will provide support for more users and devices and support higher data rates through beamforming and multi-beam communication technologies than existing wireless networks.

Disclosure of Invention

The present disclosure relates to methods, systems, and apparatus for configuring reference signals for multi-beam communications in a mobile cellular network, including generation 5 (5G) and New Radio (NR) communication systems.

In one aspect, a method of wireless communication is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: receiving, by the wireless terminal, a control message including a configuration indication; and identifying N reference signal elements based on the configuration indication, wherein N is a positive integer, one of the N reference signal elements comprising one reference signal resource or a set of reference signal resources.

In another aspect, a wireless communication method is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: transmitting, by the network node, a control message comprising a configuration indication; identifying N reference signal elements based on the configuration indication; and transmitting the N reference signal elements, wherein N is a positive integer, and one of the N reference signal elements comprises one reference signal resource or a reference signal resource set.

In yet another aspect, a method of wireless communication is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: receiving, by the wireless terminal, a control message including N notified Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) states, where N is a positive integer; and determining, based on the one or more reference signal elements, a time unit to begin applying the one or more of the N notified TCI states.

In yet another aspect, a method of wireless communication is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: transmitting, by the network node, a control message including N notified Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) states to the wireless device, wherein N is a positive integer; determining, based on one or more reference signal elements, a time unit to begin applying one or more of the N notified TCI states; and transmitting a channel or signal to the wireless device having a TCI state of one of the N notified TCI states from the time unit.

In yet another aspect, the above-described method is embodied in the form of processor-executable code and stored in a computer-readable program medium.

In yet another aspect, an apparatus configured or operable to perform the above method is disclosed.

The above and other aspects and embodiments thereof are described in more detail in the accompanying drawings, description and claims.

Drawings

Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a Base Station (BS) and a User Equipment (UE) in wireless communication in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed technology.

Fig. 2 shows an example of a new Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state in mode 2, which is activated by a Media Access Control (MAC) -Control Element (CE) that starts to be applied after the transmission of the first Synchronization Signal Block (SSB).

Fig. 3 shows an example of a new TCI state in mode 1, which is activated by the MAC-CE starting the application after the RX refinement duration and the first SSB transmission.

Fig. 4 shows an example of a MAC-CE with a TCI state that triggers an aperiodic Reference Signal (RS) element.

Fig. 5 shows an example of a MAC-CE with a TCI state that triggers reference signal elements transmitted at multiple transmission occasions.

Fig. 6 shows an example of a UE-specific SSB mode.

Fig. 7 illustrates an example of a UE determining whether a new TCI state will trigger a reference element based on whether a corresponding SSB transmission is in a window.

Fig. 8 shows an example of a mapping between TCI status of N notifications and top N reference element configurations in a predefined reference element configuration list.

Fig. 9-11 illustrate examples of activation delays for new TCI states.

Fig. 12 is a block diagram representation of a portion of an apparatus that may be configured to implement some embodiments of the disclosed technology.

Fig. 13-16 illustrate examples of wireless communication methods corresponding to some embodiments of the disclosed technology.

Detailed Description

The 5G and NR systems are being configured to support a quasi co-sited (QCL) concept that can assist UEs in synchronization, channel estimation, and frequency offset error estimation procedures. Two antenna ports are said to be quasi co-located (QCL-ed) if the properties of the channel on which the symbols are transmitted on one antenna port can be inferred from the channel on which the symbols are transmitted on the other antenna port. For example, if a wireless device (e.g., UE) knows that the radio channels corresponding to two different antenna ports are QCL in terms of doppler shift, the UE may determine the doppler shift for one antenna port and then apply the result to both antenna ports for channel estimation. This avoids the UE calculating doppler for the two antenna ports separately.

Another technique employed in 5G and NR systems is beam switching, which is accomplished by switching TCI states. In existing implementations, the UE uses one or more TCI states corresponding to the channel to determine the massive properties of the target channel. Typically, the UE only tracks the reference signals in the active TCI state list. In these systems, the gNB may dynamically switch beams between beams specified in the beam state list. When the new TCI state is activated by the MAC-CE, the UE needs to wait for the first transmission of a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) quasi co-located with the Reference Signal (RS) in the new TCI state. The UE may determine the large-scale properties of the RS in the new TCI state using the SSB corresponding to the RS in the new TCI state.

The new TCI state is an active TCI state that is added to the list of active TCI states after an activation delay for a second instance of the new TCI state, as shown in fig. 2. As shown therein, the activation delay is the interval between the first instance and the second instance. The Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) of the MAC-CE carrying the new TCI state ends at the first instance, and the new TCI state is applied starting from the second instance. The new TCI state starting to be applied means that the UE can receive channels and/or signals with the new TCI state. I.e., QCL-RS of the channel and/or signal is RS in the new TCI state. The activation delay includes a duration corresponding to waiting for a first SSB transmission associated with the new TCI state, as shown in fig. 2. As previously described, when SSB cycles are large, the activation delay of the new TCI state may be excessive. This results in a slow beam switching speed and if the beam cannot be switched in time, a radio link failure.

In another case, if the new TCI state is the TCI state in mode 1 with QCL-Type D (e.g., unknown TCI state), as shown in fig. 3, the activation delay of the new TCI state will be greater than the activation delay of the TCI state in mode 2 (e.g., new known TCI state). Compared to the scenario in FIG. 2, the activation delay of the unknown new TCI state includes additional T _L1-RSRP Duration, the UE uses it to obtain receive (Rx) beam refinement. Duration T _L1-RSRP Including one or more SSB or CSI-RS periods corresponding to the RS in the new TCI state. The activation delay of the new unknown TCI state will typically be greater.

Fig. 1 shows an example of a wireless communication system (e.g., LTE, 5G, or New Radio (NR) cellular network) including a BS120 and one or more User Equipments (UEs) 111, 112, and 113. In some embodiments, the downlink transmission (141, 142, 143) includes a control message including a configuration indication followed by an identified reference signal element. The UE then transmits (131, 132, 133) data to the BS120 using the at least one reference signal element. The UE may be, for example, a smart phone, a tablet, a mobile computer, a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, a terminal, a mobile device, an internet of things (IoT) device, or the like.

As previously described, when a Medium Access Control (MAC) -Control Element (CE) or Downlink Control Information (DCI) activates a new TCI state, the new TCI state will start to be applied after the first SSB transmission associated with the new TCI state. If the period of the SSB is large, the activation delay of the new TCI state may be excessive. Embodiments of the disclosed technology provide methods and systems that reduce activation latency of new TCI states.

The section headings and subheadings are used in this disclosure to facilitate understanding and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosed techniques and embodiments to certain sections. Thus, the embodiments disclosed in the different sections may be used with each other. Furthermore, the present disclosure uses only examples from the 3GPP New Radio (NR) network architecture and 5G protocols to facilitate understanding, and the disclosed techniques and embodiments may be practiced in other wireless systems using different communication protocols than the 3GPP protocols.

Example embodiments for configuring TCI State

In some embodiments, the DCI or MAC-CE with the TCI status indication may trigger the UE to receive one or more reference signal resources (e.g., reference signal elements), each of which may be aperiodic as shown in fig. 4, or may be transmitted over multiple transmission occasions as shown in fig. 5. As shown in fig. 5, when transmitted with multiple transmission occasions, the period offset and/or the number of transmission occasions (denoted as M) may be configured, predefined, or based on whether the new TCI state is in mode 1 (e.g., an unknown TCI state). The reference signal resource may be Channel State Information (CSI) -Reference Signal (RS) or Synchronization Signal Block (SSB). In an example, the triggered SSB may be a UE-specific SSB having a pattern as shown in fig. 6. The triggered SSB, also referred to as SSB-like CSI-RS, has a pattern similar to the SSB shown in fig. 6. In another example, the pattern of CSI-RS like SSB is the same as the pattern of Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) and/or Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), but there is no PBCH in fig. 6.

In some embodiments, the DCI or MAC-CE with the TCI status indication may also trigger one or more reference signal resource sets (e.g., reference signal elements). The number of reference signal resources in the reference signal resource set is predefined or depends on whether the TCI state corresponding to the reference signal resource set is in mode 1 (e.g., unknown TCI state).

In some embodiments, the TCI state is known-the time available during which the switching of the active TCI state is completed, i.e. the TCI state, from the last transmission of the RS resources for the L1-RSRP measurement report of the TCI state, is fulfilled, e.g. the second example shown in FIG. 2, wherein the RS resources for the L1-RSRP measurement are RSs in the TCI state or quasi co-sited to the TCI state. Here, the TCI state switch command is received within 1280ms after the last transmission of the RS resource for beam reporting or measurement, and the UE has transmitted at least one L1-RSRP report of TCI state, e.g., MAC-CE, before the TCI state switch command, as shown in fig. 2. The TCI state and SSB associated with the TCI state remain detectable during the TCI state switch, with the SNR of the TCI state being ≡ -3dB. Otherwise, the TCI state is unknown. In an example, the pattern of TCI states includes known and unknown. In another example, additional modes may be introduced. For example, the pattern of the TCI state may be determined based on whether the SSB to which the TCI state corresponds is in a window or in a pool of SSBs.

In an example, the MAC-CE/DCI triggers one or more sets of CSI-RS resources, each set of resources including four CSI-RS resources. The four CSI-RS resources are in two consecutive slots, each slot comprising two of the four CSI-RS resources. The reference signal resource may be a TRS, which means that the TRS-info parameter of the CSI-RS set is set to true.

In the examples shown in fig. 4 and 5, the signaling with TCI status indication is MAC-CE. The triggered reference signal resource follows an Acknowledgement (ACK) message of the PDSCH. When the signaling is DCI, the interval between the DCI and the triggered reference signal resource does not include an ACK for the DCI. In other examples, whether the interval between the DCI and the triggered reference signal resource includes an ACK for the DCI is based on a particular configuration.

In some embodiments, a reference signal resource/set of resources (e.g., reference signal elements) is triggered by a MAC-CE/DCI when a predefined condition is met. The predefined condition that is satisfied is based on at least one of: characteristics (or attributes) of the TCI state contained in the MAC-CE, an indication in the MAC-CE/DCI, whether there is an SSB transmission within a time window, or whether there is an SSB transmission in the SSB pool. For example, the MAC-CE/DCI triggers a reference signal resource/resource set when at least one of the following conditions is satisfied.

Condition 1。DCIAt least one new TCI state in the MAC-CE. The TCI state is a new TCI state, corresponding to a TCI state that is not in the active TCI state list, which is not activated prior to DCI/MAC-CE. The active TCI state list includes at least one of a TCI state activated/applied before DCI/MAC-CE and a TCI state designated for PDSCH and/or Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). In an example, a first DCI/MAC-CE activates TCI states 1-5 a first time and a second DCI/MAC-CE activates TCI states 1-4, 6 and 7 a second time; here, TCI states 6 and 7 are new TCI states.

Condition 2. There is at least one new unknown TCI state in the DCI/MAC-CE. As shown in fig. 5, the number of transmission occasions of the trigger reference signal resource corresponding to the new unknown TCI state is greater than the number of transmission occasions of the trigger reference signal resource corresponding to the new known TCI state.

Condition 3. The DCI/MAC-CE further indicates that the reference signal resource/resource set is to be triggered. The indication of DCI/MAC-CE may be a single bit indicating whether the DCI/MAC-CE will trigger the reference signal resource/resource set. Alternatively, the indication of DCI/MAC-CE may be one or more bits indicating which TCI states will trigger the corresponding reference signal resources/resource sets. Each of the one or more bits corresponds to a TCI state in a TCI state list included in the DCI/MAC-CE. In an example, the one or more bits may be a bitmap, and each of the one or more bits is associated with a TCI state in the DCI/MAC-CE.

Condition 4. At least one new TCI state trigger reference signal resource/resource set is configured. As shown in table 1, TCI state n configures not only QCL-RS but also parameters that trigger the reference signal resources/resource sets. If the TCI state n is a new TCI state in the MAC-CE/DCI, the MAC-CE/DCI triggers a reference signal resource/resource set corresponding to the TCI state n.

TABLE 1

TCI State n
		Information 1	(QCL-RS 1, QCL-A type)
Information 2	(QCL-RS 2, QCL-D type)
		Information 3	Parameters triggering reference signal resources/resource sets

Condition 5. There is at least one new TCI state and SSB transmission corresponding to the new TCI state not within the window and/or not in the SSB pool, based on the communication time of the MAC-CE/DCI and a predefined time length, e.g. one of window 1, window 2 or window 3, as shown in fig. 7. The SSB corresponding to the TCI state includes the SSB in the new TCI state or the SSB in the TCI state that is quasi co-located with the RS. In an example, the SSB pool includes one or more SSBs. The UE may be configured to track one or more SSBs of the one or more SSBs.

In some embodiments, SSB and RS are quasi co-located in TCI state for class a channel properties or class C channel properties. The class a channel properties include doppler shift, doppler spread, average delay, or delay spread. Class C channel properties include doppler shift or average delay.

Still referring to fig. 7, if the SSB corresponding to the new TCI state is SSB 2, the reference signal resource corresponding to the new TCI state is not triggered because SSB 2 is in window, i.e., window 2. If the SSB corresponding to the new TCI state is SSB3, the reference signal resource corresponding to the new TCI state is triggered because SSB3 is not in window 2. Both window 1 and window 2 start after the slot containing the MAC-CE/DCI. Window 2 starts at the end of the slot with MAC-CE/DCI and window 1 starts at the end of the slot with ACK for MAC-CE/DCI. The window may also start 3ms after the ACK of the MAC-CE/DCI. Window 3 starts before the slot containing the MAC-CE/DCI.

Condition 6. At least one new TCI state exists in the MAC-CE/DCI, and the period of the QCL-RS of the new TCI state is greater than a predetermined length.

In some embodiments, the number of reference signal resources (or resource sets) triggered by the MAC-CE/DCI (denoted Z) is determined by a TCI state (e.g., a signaled TCI state) having a predefined characteristic, including one of the following.

Case 1. The MAC-CE/DCI triggers a reference signal resource/resource set for each new TCI state in the MAC-CE/DCI.

Case 2. The MAC-CE/DCI triggers a reference signal resource/resource set for each unknown TCI state in the MAC-CE/DCI.

Case 3. The MAC-CE/DCI triggers a reference signal resource/resource set for each TCI state in the set of TCI states. The set of TCI states includes new TCI states in MAC-CE/DCI. If two new TCI states have at least one identical QCL RS or QCL-RS that satisfy a quasi co-sited relationship or correspond to identical SSBs, then it is assumed that the two new TCI states are one TCI state or equivalently, one of the two TCI states is deleted from the set of TCI states.

Tables 2-4 show examples of TCI states. In one example, one of TCI state k and TCI state j will be deleted from the set of TCI states because they have the same QCL-RS1. In another example, one of TCI state k and TCI state i will be deleted from the set of TCI states because QCL-RS1 and QCL-RS 5 are quasi co-located with respect to QCL-A.

TABLE 2

TCI state k
		Information 1	(QCL-RS 1, QCL-A type)
Information 2	(QCL-RS 2, QCL-D type)

TABLE 3 Table 3

TCI State j
		Information 1	(QCL-RS 1, QCL-A type)
Information 2	(QCL-RS 3, QCL-D type)

TABLE 4 Table 4

TCI State i
		Information 1	(QCL-RS 5, QCL-A type)
Information 2	(QCL-RS 4, QCL-D type)

Case 4. The MAC-CE/DCI indicates which TCI states trigger the reference signal resources/resource sets. For example, the MAC-CE/DCI includes X TCI states. It further indicates Y TCI states of the X TCI states. Each of the Y TCI states will trigger a triggered reference signal resource/resource set. X, Y is an integer. Y is less than or equal to X. Y may be 0.

Case 5. RRC signaling configures the TCI state using parameters that trigger the reference signal resources/resource sets as shown in table 1. If the TCI state is in the DCI/MAC-CE and is a new TCI state or an unknown new TCI state, the reference signal resource/resource set associated with that TCI state is triggered. For new/unknown TCI states without reference signal resources/resource sets, the reference signal resources/resource sets are not triggered after MAC-CE/DCI.

In some embodiments, the parameters that trigger the reference signal resources/resource sets are determined using at least one of the following methods. In one example, the parameters include one or more of sequence parameters, time domain resource parameters (e.g., OFDM symbols, time slots of resources/resource sets), frequency domain resource parameters (e.g., subcarriers, physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) of resources/resource sets), power parameters, QCL-RS parameters, or repetition parameters that may be on or off.

Method 1. The parameters of the trigger reference signal resources/resource sets correspond to the trigger reference signal resources/resource sets based on the TCI status contained in the DCI/MAC-CE. The DCI/MAC-CE indicates which TCI states are used to obtain parameters that trigger the reference signal resources/resource sets. For example, one or more of the sequence parameter, time domain resource parameter, frequency domain resource parameter, or power parameter may be the same as the parameters of the QCL-RS in the TCI state, which is a new TCI state, an unknown TCI state, a resource/resource with associated trigger reference signal One of the TCI states of the source set. At this time, the QCL-RS triggering the reference signal resource is the QCL-RS in the TCI state.

Method 2. The parameters triggering the reference signal resources may also configure the TCI state as shown in table 1. The parameter is based on a configuration parameter associated with a TCI state corresponding to the triggered reference signal resource/resource set.

Method 3. First, the number Z (also referred to herein as N) of trigger reference signal resources/resource sets is determined, for example using the methods described in cases 1-5 above. Then, based on a first Z reference signal resources/resource sets (e.g., top N reference signal element configurations) in a predefined or configured reference signal resource/resource set list, a first class of Z trigger reference signal resources/resource sets parameters are determined. The QCL-RS of the Z trigger reference signal resources/resource sets are determined from the Z TCI states in the DCI or MAC-CE. That is, the first type of parameters does not include QCL-RSs of the Z trigger reference signal resources/resource sets. The mapping of the Z trigger reference signal resources/resource sets to the Z TCI states is sequential or rule-based. One of the Z TCI states (e.g., one or more notified TCI states) is new, unknown, has a predefined characteristic TCI state (also referred to as a notified TCI state), or has an indication in the DCI/MAC-CE as described in conditions 1-6.

In the example shown in FIG. 8, the new TCI state { TCI state 2, TCI state 4} maps to the trigger reference resource/resource set of the first two configurations at time t1, and the new TCI state { TCI state 8, TCI state 29, TCI state 40, TCI state 49, TCI state 58} maps to the trigger reference resource/resource set of the first five configurations at time t 2.

In some embodiments, the Z trigger reference signal resources/resource sets are within one or more time units, starting from the first time unit after the MAC-CE/DCI. The time unit may be a slot, a sub-slot or an OFDM symbol.

In some embodiments, the first time unit is determined from a time interval comprising one of: a first interval between a channel carrying MAC-CE/DCI (e.g., a first example shown in fig. 4 or 5) and a reference signal resource/resource set (e.g., a fourth example shown in fig. 4 or 5); a second interval between an ACK message of PDSCH or PDCCH and a reference signal element, or a third interval 3ms later between an ACK message of PDSCH or PDCCH and a reference signal element. Here, the PDSCH carries MAC-CE, or the PDSCH is scheduled by DCI, or the PDCCH carries DCI.

In other embodiments, the interval is determined based on an interval associated with a channel or signal scheduled by the control message. For example, if the control message is DCI, the interval of the Z reference signal resources/resource sets is determined as the interval of PDSCH/PUCCH/CSI-RS scheduled by the DCI. Here, the interval of PDSCH is the time offset of PDCCH and PDSCH, the interval of PUCCH is the time offset of PDSCH and PUCCH, and the interval of PUCCH is the time offset of PDCCH and CSI-RS.

In a further embodiment, the time units are determined from the time of the channel or signal scheduled by the control message. For example, if the control message is DCI, the DCI scheduled channel or signal includes DCI scheduled PDSCH, PUCCH, and/or CSI-RS.

Example embodiments for reducing activation delay

In some embodiments, when the new TCI state corresponds to a trigger reference signal resource/resource set as shown in fig. 9-11, the activation delay of the new TCI state will not include a duration associated with waiting for the first transmission of the SSB corresponding to the new TCI state. However, it will include a duration T _RS Which corresponds to waiting for transmission of a trigger reference signal resource/resource set corresponding to a new TCI state, as shown in fig. 9-11. The new TCI state will be applied after the triggered reference signal resource/resource set.

In fig. 9, from time slot n+t _HARQ +T _{predefined-length2} +(T _RS +T _{predefined-length1} ) the/NR slot length starts to apply a new TCI state, where T _HARQ The duration from time slot n of PDSCH with MAC-CE to time slot with ACK for PDSCH, T _{predefined-length2} Is a predefined length of time, for example 3ms. T (T) _RS From ACK to having a trigger reference signalThe duration of the resources/time slots of the resource set. T (T) _{predefined-length1} Is a predefined length of time, e.g. 2ms. Alternatively T _{predefined-length1} Including the duration of the trigger reference signal resource/resource set and a predefined length of time from the end of the trigger reference signal resource/resource set. Triggering reference signal resource/resource set at n+T _HARQ +T _{predefined-length2} After that, the process is performed.

In fig. 10, from time slot n+t _HARQ +(T _RS +T _{predefined-length1} ) the/NR slot length starts to apply the new TCI state. Triggering reference signal resource/resource set at n+T _HARQ After that, the process is performed.

In fig. 11, from time slot n+t _HARQ +T _{predefined-length2} +(M×T _RS +T _{predefined-length1} ) the/NR slot length starts to apply the new TCI state. The new TCI state starts to apply from a time unit after the M triggered reference signal resources/resource sets. If the new TCI state does not trigger a reference signal resource/resource set and there is an SSB in the time window, as shown in FIG. 7, the new TCI state is in slot n+T _HARQ +T _{predefined-length2} +(T _SSB +T _{predefined-length1} ) Available in the length of/NR time slots, where T _SSB Is the duration of the SSB corresponding to waiting for the new TCI state. In other embodiments, the new TCI state is in slot n+T _HARQ +T _{predefined-length2} +(min(T _SSB ，T _RS )+T _{predefined-length1} ) Available in the/NR slot length, where min (T _SSB ，T _RS ) Is T _SSB And T _RS And a minimum value therebetween. In some embodiments, the UE determines a time to start applying the TCI state from reference signal elements including reference signal elements triggered by the TCI state or corresponding SSBs not triggered by the TCI state.

In some embodiments, if the MAC-CE/DCI includes more than one new TCI state, the more than one new TCI states may be applied starting from the same time corresponding to the end of the Z reference signal resources/resource sets. Alternatively, each of the more than one new TCI states will be applied from a respective time after the reference signal resource/resource set corresponding to one TCI state.

Example embodiments and methods of the disclosed technology

Fig. 12 is a block diagram representation of a portion of an apparatus according to some embodiments of the disclosed technology. The apparatus 1205, e.g., a base station or a wireless device (or UE), may include processor electronics 1210, e.g., a microprocessor, that implements one or more of the techniques presented in this disclosure. The apparatus 1205 may include transceiver electronics 1215 to transmit and/or receive wireless signals over one or more communication interfaces, such as an antenna 1220. The apparatus 1205 may include other communication interfaces for sending and receiving data. The apparatus 1205 may include one or more memories (not explicitly shown) configured to store information such as data and/or instructions. In some implementations, the processor electronics 1210 can include at least a portion of transceiver electronics 1215. In some embodiments, at least some of the disclosed techniques, modules, or functions are implemented using the apparatus 1205.

Fig. 13 illustrates an example of a wireless communication method 1300. At step 1310, the method 1300 includes receiving, by the wireless terminal, a control message including a configuration indication.

At step 1320, the method 1300 includes identifying N reference signal elements based on the configuration indication, N being a positive integer, one of the N reference signal elements including one reference signal resource or a set of reference signal resources.

In some embodiments, the method 1300 further comprises the steps of: the method includes receiving N reference signal elements, transmitting a Channel State Information (CSI) message or a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) Acknowledgement (ACK) message for a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) using a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state determined based on at least one of the N reference signal elements.

Fig. 14 illustrates an example of a wireless communication method 1400. At step 1410, method 1400 includes transmitting, by the network node, a control message including a configuration indication.

At step 1420, method 1400 includes identifying N reference signal elements based on the configuration indication, N being a positive integer.

At step 1430, method 1400 includes transmitting N reference signal elements, one of the N reference signal elements including one reference signal resource or a set of reference signal resources.

In some embodiments, the reference signal resources include channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resources or Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) resources.

In some embodiments, the trs-info parameter of the reference signal resource set is set to true.

In some embodiments, the number of reference signal resources included in a set is predetermined or based on whether a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state corresponding to the set is in a first mode. In an example, a first mode (denoted as mode 1) may correspond to an unknown TCI state. Similarly, a second mode (denoted as mode 2) may correspond to a new TCI state, and so on.

In some embodiments, the reference signal element is non-periodic, having one or more transmission opportunities.

In some embodiments, the parameter associated with the plurality of transmission occasions is determined based on at least one of signaling, a predetermined value, or a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state corresponding to the reference signal element, whether the TCI state is in the first mode. In an example, the signaling is signaling received at the wireless device. In another example, the signaling is signaling transmitted at a network node.

In some embodiments, the parameter comprises at least one of a number, period, or period offset of the plurality of transmission opportunities.

In some embodiments, the N reference signal elements are in one or more time units starting from a first time unit after the control message.

In some embodiments, the first time unit is based on an interval based on (i) a first interval between the control message and the N reference signal elements, (ii) a second interval between an Acknowledgement (ACK) message corresponding to the control message and the N reference signal elements, or (iii) a third interval between 3ms and the N reference signal elements after the ACK message.

In some embodiments, the interval is based on an interval associated with a channel or signal scheduled by the control message.

In some embodiments, the first time unit is based on a time of a channel or signal scheduled by the control message.

In some embodiments, the configuration indication is used to indicate one or more Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) states, each of the one or more TCI states corresponding to one of the N reference signal elements.

In some embodiments, one or more TCI states belong to a list of TCI states included in the control message.

In some embodiments, the configuration indication includes one or more bits, each of the one or more bits associated with a TCI state in the control message.

In some embodiments, one or more bits satisfy at least one of the following conditions: the number of one or more bits is based on the number of TCI states in the list, the number of one or more bits is based on the maximum number of TCI states in the list, or the value of N is equal to the number of single valued bits in the one or more bits, wherein the list includes TCI states in the control message.

In some embodiments, the configuration indication includes a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state of one or more notifications.

In some embodiments, one of the one or more notified TCI states includes a new TCI state.

In some embodiments, one of the one or more notified TCI states includes a quasi co-sited reference signal (QCL-RS) having a period greater than a predefined duration.

In some embodiments, the one of the one or more notified TCI states includes a TCI state configured with parameters of one of the N reference signal elements.

In some embodiments, the one of the one or more notified TCI states includes a TCI state associated with a bit having a value indicating that the TCI state corresponds to one of the N reference signal elements.

In some embodiments, one of the one or more notified TCI states includes a quasi co-sited reference signal (QCL-RS) with a corresponding Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) that is not within a time window or within an SSB pool.

In some embodiments, the corresponding SSBs are quasi co-located with the QCL-RS with respect to the first type of channel characteristics or the second type of channel characteristics.

In some embodiments, the time window is based on the time of the control message and a predefined duration.

In some embodiments, one of the one or more notified TCI states is at least one of the following states: a new TCI state, an unknown TCI state, a TCI state comprising a quasi co-sited reference signal (QCL-RS) with a period greater than a predefined duration, a TCI state configured with parameters of one of the N reference signal elements, a TCI state associated with a bit having a value indicating that the TCI state corresponds to another of the N reference signal elements, or a TCI state comprising a QCL-RS with a corresponding Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) that is not within a time window or in a SSB pool.

In some embodiments, N is the number of TCI states based on one or more notifications in the control message.

In some embodiments, upon determining that the TCI state of the first notification and the TCI state of the second notification satisfy the condition, the number of notified TCI states in the control message is only the TCI state of the first notification.

In some embodiments, the condition includes that the TCI state of the first notification and the TCI state of the second notification correspond to the same SSB or QCL-RS of the TCI state of the first notification and the TCI state of the second notification are quasi co-located.

In some embodiments, each of the N reference signal elements corresponds to a respective notified TCI state of the one or more notified TCI states.

In some embodiments, the parameters of the N reference signal elements are based on a first N reference signal element configurations in a predefined reference signal element configuration list, each of the N reference signal elements being mapped to one of the first N reference signal element configurations.

In some embodiments, one or more quasi co-sited reference signals (QCL-RSs) of one of the N reference signal elements are based on one or more QCL-RSs in the TCI state corresponding to the notification of the reference signal element.

In some embodiments, parameters of one of the N reference signal elements are included in a signaled TCI state corresponding to the reference signal element in parameters of one or more quasi co-located reference signals (QCL-RS).

In some embodiments, the parameter of one of the N reference signal elements is based on a configuration parameter associated with the signaled TCI state corresponding to the reference signal element.

In some embodiments, the number of one or more notified TCI states is N, and the one or more notified TCI states are contained in a list of TCI states in the control message.

In some embodiments, each of the N reference signal elements corresponds to one of the N notified TCI states, each of the N notified TCI states corresponding to a reference signal element of the N reference signal elements.

In some embodiments, the parameters include at least one of the following: sequence parameters, time domain resource parameters, frequency domain resource parameters, power parameters, repetition parameters, or quasi co-sited reference signal (QCL-RS) parameters.

In some embodiments, the configuration indication includes a bit indicating whether the control message triggers at least one of the N reference signal elements.

In some embodiments, the control message includes Downlink Control Information (DCI) or a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE).

In some embodiments, the application of the notified TCI state corresponding to one of the N reference signal elements begins after the reference signal element, the notified TCI state being included in one or more of the notified TCI states.

In some embodiments, the notified TCI state corresponding to one of the N reference signal elements is applied beginning a predefined duration after the reference signal element, the notified TCI state being included in the one or more notified TCI states.

In some embodiments, the application of one or more notified TCI states begins after N reference signal elements.

Fig. 15 illustrates an example of a wireless communication method 1500. At step 1510, the method 1500 includes receiving, by the wireless terminal, a control message including a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state of N notifications, N being a positive integer.

At step 1520, the method 1500 includes determining a time unit to begin applying one or more of the N notified TCI states based on the one or more reference signal elements.

Fig. 16 illustrates an example of a wireless communication method 1600. At step 1610, the method 1600 includes transmitting, by the network node, a control message including N notified Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) states to the wireless device, N being a positive integer.

At step 1620, method 1600 includes determining, based on the one or more reference signal elements, a time unit to begin applying one or more of the N notified TCI states.

At step 1630, the method 1600 includes transmitting a channel or signal to the wireless device having a TCI state of one of the N notifications from the time cell.

In some embodiments, the time unit is a time unit that is applied starting from one of the N notified TCI states.

In some embodiments, the time unit is a time unit after a predefined duration after a reference signal element of the one or more reference signal elements, the reference signal element corresponding to a notified TCI state.

In some embodiments, the time cell is a time cell that begins applying the TCI state of N notifications, while beginning to apply the TCI state of all N notifications.

In some embodiments, the time units are time units after a predefined duration after the one or more reference signal elements.

In some embodiments, the TCI state of one of the N notified TCI states includes at least one of the following states: a new TCI state, a TCI state in a first mode, a TCI state comprising a quasi co-sited reference signal (QCL-RS) with a period greater than a predefined duration, a TCI state configured with parameters of reference signal elements, a TCI state associated with a single value bit indicating whether the TCI state corresponds to a reference signal element, a TCI state comprising a QCL-RS with a corresponding Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) that is not within a time window, or a TCI state comprising a QCL-RS with a corresponding SSB that is not within a SSB pool.

In some embodiments, the one or more reference signal elements comprise reference signal elements triggered by a control message.

In some embodiments, the one or more reference signal elements include reference signal elements that are not triggered by the control message.

In some embodiments, the one or more reference signal elements include a reference signal element that is not triggered by a control message and a reference signal element that is triggered by a control message.

In some embodiments, the one or more reference signal elements comprise a reference signal resource or a set of reference signal resources.

In some embodiments, the number of one or more reference signal elements is a value based on N.

In some embodiments, each of the one or more reference signal elements corresponds to a signaled TCI state of one of the N signaled TCI states.

Some embodiments described herein are described in the general context of methods or processes, which may be implemented in one embodiment by a computer program product embodied in a computer-readable medium, including computer-executable instructions, such as program code, executed by computers in network environments. Computer readable media can include removable and non-removable storage devices including, but not limited to, read Only Memory (ROM), random Access Memory (RAM), compact Discs (CD), digital Versatile Discs (DVD), and the like. Thus, the computer readable medium may include a non-transitory storage medium. Generally, program modules may include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Computer or processor executable instructions, associated data structures, and program modules represent examples of program code for executing steps of the methods disclosed herein. The particular sequence of such executable instructions or associated data structures represents examples of corresponding acts for implementing the functions described in such steps or processes.

Some disclosed embodiments may be implemented as a device or module using hardware circuitry, software, or a combination thereof. For example, a hardware circuit implementation may include discrete analog and/or digital components that are integrated, for example, as part of a printed circuit board. Alternatively or additionally, the disclosed components or modules may be implemented as Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) and/or Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) devices. Some implementations may additionally or alternatively include a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) that is a special purpose microprocessor having an architecture optimized for the operational needs of the digital signal processing associated with the functions of the present disclosure. Similarly, the various components or sub-components within each module may be implemented in software, hardware, or firmware. Any connection methods and media known in the art may be used to provide connectivity between modules and/or components within modules, including but not limited to communication over the Internet, wired or wireless networks using appropriate protocols.

While this disclosure contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in this disclosure in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Furthermore, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination. Similarly, although operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results.

Only a few embodiments and examples have been described, and other embodiments, modifications, and variations are possible based on what is described and illustrated in the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

receiving, by the wireless terminal, a control message including a configuration indication; and

identifying N reference signal elements based on the configuration indication,

wherein N is a positive integer, an

Wherein one of the N reference signal elements comprises one reference signal resource or a set of reference signal resources.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the N reference signal elements; and

a Channel State Information (CSI) message or a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) Acknowledgement (ACK) message for a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) is transmitted based on at least one of the N reference signal elements using a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state determined based on the at least one of the N reference signal elements.

3. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

transmitting, by the network node, a control message comprising a configuration indication;

identifying N reference signal elements based on the configuration indication; and

The N reference signal elements are transmitted,

wherein N is a positive integer, an

4. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein the reference signal resources comprise channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resources or Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) resources.

5. A method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the trs-info parameter of the reference signal resource set is set to true.

6. A method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the number of reference signal resources comprised in the set is predetermined or based on whether a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state corresponding to the set is in the first mode.

7. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the reference signal element is aperiodic with one or more transmission occasions.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the parameter associated with the plurality of transmission occasions is determined based on at least one of signaling, a predetermined value, or a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state corresponding to the reference signal element, whether in a first mode.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the parameter comprises at least one of a number, period, or period offset of the plurality of transmission occasions.

10. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the N reference signal elements are in one or more time units starting from a first time unit after the control message.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first time unit is based on an interval based on one or more of (i) a first interval between the control message and the N reference signal elements, (ii) a second interval between an Acknowledgement (ACK) message corresponding to the control message and the N reference signal elements, or (iii) a third interval between 3ms after the ACK message and the N reference signal elements.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the interval is based on an interval associated with a channel or signal scheduled by the control message.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the first time unit is based on a time of a channel or signal scheduled by the control message.

14. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein the configuration indication is to indicate one or more Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) states, and wherein each of the one or more TCI states corresponds to one of the N reference signal elements.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more TCI states belong to a list of TCI states included in the control message.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the configuration indication comprises one or more bits, each of the one or more bits associated with a TCI state in the control message.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the one or more bits satisfy at least one of the following conditions:

the number of one or more bits is based on the number of TCI states in the list,

the number of the one or more bits is based on the maximum number of TCI states in the list, or

The value of N is equal to the number of single value bits of the one or more bits,

wherein the list includes TCI status in the control message.

18. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the configuration indication comprises one or more notified Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) status.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein one of the one or more notified TCI states comprises a new TCI state.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein one of the one or more notified TCI states comprises a quasi co-sited reference signal (QCL-RS) having a period greater than a predefined duration.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein one of the one or more notified TCI states comprises a TCI state configured with parameters of one of the N reference signal elements.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein one of the one or more notified TCI states comprises a TCI state associated with a bit having a value indicating that the TCI state corresponds to one of the N reference signal elements.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein one of the one or more notified TCI states comprises a quasi co-sited reference signal (QCL-RS) with a respective Synchronization Signal Block (SSB), wherein the respective SSB is not within a time window or within a SSB pool.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the respective SSB is quasi co-located with the QCL-RS with respect to a first type of channel characteristic or a second type of channel characteristic.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the time window is based on a time of the control message and a predefined duration.

26. The method of any of claims 18 to 25, wherein the TCI state of one of the one or more notifications is at least one of: a new TCI state, an unknown TCI state, a TCI state comprising a quasi co-sited reference signal (QCL-RS) with a period greater than a predefined duration, a TCI state configured with parameters of one of the N reference signal elements, a TCI state associated with a bit having a value indicating that the TCI state corresponds to another of the N reference signal elements, or a TCI state comprising a QCL-RS with a corresponding Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) that is not within a time window or in an SSB pool.

27. The method of any of claims 18 to 26, wherein N is a number of TCI states based on one or more notifications in the control message.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein upon determining that the TCI state of the first notification and the TCI state of the second notification satisfy the condition, the number of notified TCI states in the control message is only the TCI state of the first notification.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the condition comprises that the TCI state of the first notification and the TCI state of the second notification correspond to the same SSB or QCL-RS of the TCI state of the first notification and the TCI state of the second notification are quasi co-located.

30. The method of any of claims 18 to 29, wherein each of the N reference signal elements corresponds to a respective notified TCI state of the one or more notified TCI states.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein parameters of the N reference signal elements are based on a first N reference signal element configurations in a predefined reference signal element configuration list, and wherein each of the N reference signal elements is mapped to one of the first N reference signal element configurations.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein one or more quasi co-sited reference signals (QCL-RSs) of one of the N reference signal elements are based on one or more QCL-RSs in the signaled TCI state corresponding to the reference signal element.

33. The method of claim 30, wherein the parameter of one of the N reference signal elements is based on a parameter of one or more quasi co-sited reference signals (QCL-RS) included in the signaled TCI state corresponding to the reference signal element.

34. The method of claim 30, wherein the parameter of one of the N reference signal elements is based on a configuration parameter associated with a TCI state of the notification, the TCI state of the notification corresponding to the reference signal element.

35. The method of any of claims 18 to 34, wherein the number of the one or more notified TCI states is N, and wherein the one or more notified TCI states are included in a list of TCI states in the control message.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein each of the N reference signal elements corresponds to a signaled TCI state of one of the N signaled TCI states, and wherein each of the N signaled TCI states corresponds to a reference signal element of the N reference signal elements.

37. The method of claim 31, 33 or 34, wherein the parameters include at least one of the following: sequence parameters, time domain resource parameters, frequency domain resource parameters, power parameters, repetition parameters, or quasi co-sited reference signal (QCL-RS) parameters.

38. A method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the configuration indication comprises a bit indicating whether the control message triggers at least one of the N reference signal elements.

39. The method of any one of claims 1 to 38, wherein the control message comprises Downlink Control Information (DCI) or a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE).

40. The method of any of claims 18 to 38, wherein a notified TCI state corresponding to one of the N reference signal elements is started to be applied after the reference signal element, and wherein the notified TCI state is included in the one or more notified TCI states.

41. The method of any of claims 18 to 38, wherein a predefined duration after the reference signal element begins to apply a signaled TCI state corresponding to one of the N reference signal elements, and wherein the signaled TCI state is included in the one or more signaled TCI states.

42. The method of any of claims 18 to 38, wherein the application of the one or more notified TCI states begins after the N reference signal elements.

43. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

receiving, by the wireless terminal, a control message including N notified Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) states, where N is a positive integer; and

Based on the one or more reference signal elements, a time unit is determined to begin applying the one or more of the N notified TCI states.

44. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

transmitting, by the network node, a control message including N notified Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) states to the wireless device, wherein N is a positive integer;

determining, based on one or more reference signal elements, a time unit to begin applying one or more of the N notified TCI states; and

a channel or signal is transmitted to the wireless device having a TCI state of one of the N notified TCI states from the time unit.

45. The method of claim 43 or 44, wherein the time unit is a time unit to start an application from a notified TCI state of one of the N notified TCI states.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein the time unit is a time unit after a predefined duration after a reference signal element of the one or more reference signal elements, and wherein the reference signal element corresponds to the one signaled TCI state.

47. The method of claim 43 or 44, wherein the time unit is a time unit that begins applying TCI states of the N notifications, and wherein TCI states of all of the N notifications begin to be applied simultaneously.

48. The method of claim 43 or 44, wherein the time unit is a time unit after a predefined duration after the one or more reference signal elements.

49. The method of any of claims 43 to 48, wherein the TCI state of one of the N notified TCI states comprises at least one of: a new TCI state, a TCI state in a first mode, a TCI state comprising a quasi co-sited reference signal (QCL-RS) with a period greater than a predefined duration, a TCI state configured with parameters of the reference signal element, a TCI state associated with a single value bit indicating whether the TCI state corresponds to the reference signal element, a TCI state comprising a QCL-RS with a corresponding Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) that is not within a time window, or a TCI state comprising a QCL-RS with a corresponding SSB that is not within a SSB pool.

50. The method of any one of claims 43 to 48, wherein the one or more reference signal elements comprise reference signal elements triggered by the control message.

51. The method of any one of claims 43 to 48, wherein the one or more reference signal elements comprise reference signal elements that are not triggered by the control message.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein the one or more reference signal elements comprise the reference signal element not triggered by the control message and a reference signal element triggered by the control message.

53. The method of any one of claims 43 to 48, wherein the one or more reference signal elements comprise a reference signal resource or a set of reference signal resources.

54. The method of claim 53, wherein the reference signal resources comprise channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resources or Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) resources.

55. The method of any one of claims 43 to 48, wherein the number of one or more reference signal elements is a value based on N.

56. The method of any of claims 43 to 48, wherein each of the one or more reference signal elements corresponds to a signaled TCI state of one of the N signaled TCI states.

57. A wireless communication device comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is configured to read code from the memory and perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 56.

58. A computer program product comprising computer readable program medium code stored thereon, which when executed by a processor causes the processor to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 56.