WO2024085129A1 - Terminal, wireless communication method, and base station - Google Patents

Abstract

A terminal according to one aspect of the present disclosure comprises: a receiving unit that receives a cell switch command of a special cell (SpCell) by layer 1/layer 2 (L1/L2) signaling; and a control unit that makes different assumptions about the activation or deactivation status of a candidate cell on the basis of the type of the candidate cell. According to one aspect of the present disclosure, settings/processing at the time of cell switching can be appropriately performed.

Description

Terminal, wireless communication method and base station

This disclosure relates to terminals, wireless communication methods, and base stations in next-generation mobile communication systems.

Long Term Evolution (LTE) was specified for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) networks with the aim of achieving higher data rates and lower latency (Non-Patent Document 1). In addition, LTE-Advanced (3GPP Rel. 10-14) was specified for the purpose of achieving higher capacity and greater sophistication over LTE (Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP (registered trademark)) Release (Rel.) 8, 9).

Successor systems to LTE (e.g., 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G+ (plus), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), New Radio (NR), 3GPP Rel. 15 and later, etc.) are also under consideration.

In a wireless communication system, it is being considered that one or more cells/transmission/reception points (Transmission/Reception Points (TRPs)) (Multi-TRPs (MTRPs)) will perform downlink (DL) transmissions to a terminal (user terminal, User Equipment (UE)).

Incidentally, when multi-TRP is applied, it is being considered that cell switching will be performed using layer 1/layer 2 inter-cell mobility. For example, it is possible that the current SCell/PCell will become a candidate cell. In that case, the settings/control are not clear. This may result in processing after the cell switch not being performed properly, which could lead to problems such as a decrease in communication throughput.

Therefore, one of the objectives of this disclosure is to provide a terminal, a wireless communication method, and a base station that can appropriately perform settings/processing during a cell switch.

A terminal according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is characterized by having a receiver that receives a cell switch command for a special cell (SpCell) via Layer 1/Layer 2 (L1/L2) signaling, and a controller that makes different assumptions about the activation or deactivation status of a candidate cell based on the type of the candidate cell.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, settings/processing can be performed appropriately when switching the cell.

1A to 1D are diagrams showing examples of the configuration of a multi-TRP. 2A is a diagram showing an example of UE movement in Rel. 17. FIG. 2B is a diagram showing an example of UE movement in Rel. 18. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of association between a serving cell and a candidate cell. 4A is a diagram showing a first example of a ServingCellConfig of option 1. FIG. 4B is a diagram showing a second example of a ServingCellConfig of option 1. FIG. 5 shows a first example of option 2. 6A is a diagram showing a second example of option 2. FIG. 6B is a diagram showing a third example of option 2. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a serving cell switch example 1. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a serving cell switch example 2. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a serving cell switch example 3. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a serving cell configuration according to aspect 1.1. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a serving cell configuration according to aspect 1.2. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of setting a cell type in embodiment 2.1. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a base station according to an embodiment. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a user terminal according to an embodiment. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a base station and a user terminal according to an embodiment. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a vehicle according to an embodiment.

(Multi-TRP)
In NR, one or more transmission/reception points (TRPs) (multi-TRPs) are considered to perform DL transmission to a UE using one or more panels (multi-panels). It is also considered that a UE performs UL transmission to one or more TRPs.

Note that multiple TRPs may correspond to the same cell identifier (cell identifier (ID)) or different cell IDs. The cell ID may be a physical cell ID (PCI) or a virtual cell ID.

Figures 1A-1D show examples of multi-TRP scenarios. In these examples, we assume, but are not limited to, that each TRP is capable of transmitting four different beams.

Figure 1A shows an example of a case where only one TRP (TRP1 in this example) of the multi-TRP transmits to the UE (which may be called single mode, single TRP, etc.). In this case, TRP1 transmits both a control signal (PDCCH) and a data signal (PDSCH) to the UE.

Figure 1B shows an example of a case where only one TRP (TRP1 in this example) of the multi-TRP transmits a control signal to the UE, and the multi-TRP transmits a data signal (which may be called a single master mode). The UE receives each PDSCH transmitted from the multi-TRP based on one downlink control information (Downlink Control Information (DCI)).

Figure 1C shows an example of a case where each of the multi-TRPs transmits a part of a control signal to the UE and the multi-TRP transmits a data signal (which may be called a master-slave mode). TRP1 may transmit part 1 of the control signal (DCI) and TRP2 may transmit part 2 of the control signal (DCI). Part 2 of the control signal may depend on part 1. The UE receives each PDSCH transmitted from the multi-TRP based on these parts of DCI.

Figure 1D shows an example of a case where each of the multi-TRPs transmits a separate control signal to the UE, and the multi-TRP transmits a data signal (which may be called a multi-master mode). A first control signal (DCI) may be transmitted from TRP1, and a second control signal (DCI) may be transmitted from TRP2. The UE receives each PDSCH transmitted from the multi-TRP based on these DCIs.

When multiple PDSCHs from a multi-TRP such as that shown in FIG. 1B (which may also be called multiple PDSCHs) are scheduled using one DCI, the DCI may be called a single DCI (S-DCI, single PDCCH). Also, when multiple PDSCHs from a multi-TRP such as that shown in FIG. 1D are scheduled using multiple DCIs, these multiple DCIs may be called multiple DCIs (M-DCI, multiple PDCCHs).

Each TRP in a multi-TRP may transmit a different Transport Block (TB)/Code Word (CW)/different layer. Alternatively, each TRP in a multi-TRP may transmit the same TB/CW/layer.

Non-Coherent Joint Transmission (NCJT) is being considered as one form of multi-TRP transmission. In NCJT, for example, TRP1 modulates and maps a first codeword, and transmits a first PDSCH using a first number of layers (e.g., two layers) and a first precoding by layer mapping. TRP2 modulates and maps a second codeword, and transmits a second PDSCH using a second number of layers (e.g., two layers) and a second precoding by layer mapping.

Note that multiple PDSCHs (multi-PDSCHs) that are NCJTed may be defined as partially or completely overlapping with respect to at least one of the time and frequency domains. In other words, the first PDSCH from the first TRP and the second PDSCH from the second TRP may overlap with each other in at least one of the time and frequency resources.

The first PDSCH and the second PDSCH may be assumed to be not quasi-co-located (QCL). Reception of multiple PDSCHs may be interpreted as simultaneous reception of PDSCHs that are not of a certain QCL type (e.g., QCL type D).

In URLLC for multi-TRP, it is considered that PDSCH (transport block (TB) or codeword (CW)) repetition across multi-TRP is supported. It is considered that repetition methods (URLLC schemes, e.g., schemes 1, 2a, 2b, 3, 4) across multi-TRP in the frequency domain, layer (spatial) domain, or time domain are supported. In scheme 1, multi-PDSCH from multi-TRP is space division multiplexed (SDM). In schemes 2a and 2b, PDSCH from multi-TRP is frequency division multiplexed (FDM). In scheme 2a, the redundancy version (RV) is the same for multi-TRP. In scheme 2b, the RV may be the same or different for multi-TRP. In schemes 3 and 4, multiple PDSCHs from multiple TRPs are time division multiplexed (TDM). In scheme 3, multiple PDSCHs from multiple TRPs are transmitted in one slot. In scheme 4, multiple PDSCHs from multiple TRPs are transmitted in different slots.

Such a multi-TRP scenario allows for more flexible transmission control using channels with better quality.

NCJT using multiple TRPs/panels may use high rank. To support ideal and non-ideal backhaul between multiple TRPs, both single DCI (single PDCCH, e.g., FIG. 1B) and multiple DCI (multiple PDCCH, e.g., FIG. 1D) may be supported. For both single DCI and multiple DCI, the maximum number of TRPs may be 2.

For single PDCCH design (mainly for ideal backhaul), TCI extension is being considered. Each TCI code point in the DCI may correspond to TCI state 1 or 2. The TCI field size may be the same as that of Rel. 15.

(L1/L2 Inter-Cell Mobility)
As described above, it is considered that the UE performs UL transmission to one or more cells/TRPs. As a procedure in this case, the following scenario 1 or scenario 2 is considered. In this disclosure, the serving cell may be read as a TRP in the serving cell. Layer 1/layer 2 (L1/L2) and DCI/Medium Access Control Control Element (MAC CE) may be read as each other. In this disclosure, a PCI different from the physical cell identity (PCI) of the current serving cell may be simply described as a "different PCI". A non-serving cell, a cell having a different PCI, and an additional cell may be read as each other.

<Scenario 1>
Scenario 1 corresponds to, for example, multi-TRP inter-cell mobility, but it may also be a scenario that does not correspond to multi-TRP inter-cell mobility.

(1) The UE receives from the serving cell the configuration necessary to use radio resources for data transmission and reception, including an SSB configuration for beam measurement of a TRP corresponding to a PCI different from that of the serving cell, and resources of the different PCI.
(2) The UE performs beam measurements of TRPs corresponding to different PCIs and reports the beam measurement results to the serving cell.
(3) Based on the above report, the Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) states associated with the TRPs corresponding to different PCIs are activated by L1/L2 signaling from the serving cell.
(4) The UE transmits and receives using UE-specific (dedicated) channels on TRPs corresponding to different PCIs.
(5) The UE must always cover the serving cell, including in the case of multi-TRP. The UE must use common channels (Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH), Paging Channel (PCH)) from the serving cell, as in the conventional system.

In scenario 1, when the UE transmits and receives signals to and from an additional cell/TRP (a TRP corresponding to the PCI of the additional cell), the serving cell (the serving cell assumption in the UE) is not changed. The UE is configured with higher layer parameters related to the PCI of the non-serving cell from the serving cell. Scenario 1 may be applied, for example, in Rel. 17.

Figure 2A shows an example of UE movement in Rel. 17. Assume that the UE moves from a cell with PCI #1 (serving cell) to a cell with PCI #3 (additional cell) (which overlaps with the serving cell). In this case, in Rel. 17, the serving cell is not switched by L1/L2. The additional cell is a cell with an additional PCI that is different from the PCI of the serving cell. The UE can receive/transmit UE-specific (dedicated) channels from the additional cell. The UE needs to be within the coverage of the serving cell to receive UE common channels (e.g., system information/paging/short messages).

<Scenario 2>
In scenario 2, L1/L2 inter-cell mobility is applied. In L1/L2 inter-cell mobility, the serving cell can be changed using a function such as beam control without RRC reconfiguration. In other words, transmission and reception with an additional cell is possible without handover. Since handover requires RRC reconnection and creates a period during which data communication is not possible, by applying L1/L2 inter-cell mobility that does not require handover, data communication can be continued even when the serving cell is changed. In scenario 2, for example, the following procedure is performed.

(1) The UE receives SSB configuration of a cell (additional cell) with a different PCI from the serving cell for beam measurement/serving cell change.
(2) The UE performs beam measurements of cells using different PCIs and reports the measurement results to the serving cell.
(3) The UE may receive a configuration of a cell having a different PCI (serving cell configuration) by higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC). That is, a pre-configuration regarding a serving cell change is performed. This configuration may be performed together with the configuration in (1) or may be performed separately.
(4) Based on the above reports, the TCI states of cells with different PCIs are activated by L1/L2 signaling according to the change of serving cell. The activation of the TCI state and the change of serving cell may be performed separately.
(5) The UE changes the serving cell (assumed serving cell) and starts receiving/transmitting using a preconfigured UE-specific (dedicated) channel and TCI state.

In other words, in scenario 2, the serving cell (the assumed serving cell in the UE) is updated by L1/L2 signaling. Scenario 2 may be applied in Rel. 18.

Figure 2B shows an example of UE movement in Rel. 18. In Rel. 18, the serving cell is switched by L1/L2. The UE can receive/transmit UE-specific/common channels to/from the new serving cell. The UE may move out of the coverage of the previous serving cell.

(Setting multiple candidate cells)
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the association between a serving cell and a candidate cell. SpCell#0, SCell#1, or SCell#2 is assumed to be a serving cell. SpCell means a special cell (including a primary cell (PCell) and a primary secondary cell (PSCell)). SCell means a secondary cell. SpCell#0 is associated with candidate cell#0-1, candidate cell#0-2, and candidate cell#0-3. SCell#1 is associated with candidate cell#1-1. SCell#2 is associated with candidate cell#2-1, 2-2. In this way, one or more candidate cells (candidate serving cells) may be associated with a serving cell.

When changing the serving cell, the following options 1 and 2 can be considered for setting candidate cells (candidate cells).

<Option 1>
Like inter-cell mobility in Rel.17, the information in ServingCellConfig may include information about multiple candidate cells, which need to share the same PDCCH/PDSCH/UL etc. configurations as the serving cell.

For example, in Rel. 17 inter-cell mobility, it is being considered to add "mimoParam-r17" under ServingCellConfig and add PCI setting information (Figures 4A and 4B). This framework is applied when cells with different PCIs share the same PDCCH/PDSCH/UL settings, etc.

For each candidate cell, more settings may be applied, such as LTE CRS patterns, RACH settings, etc. Also, cell-specific CSI-RS settings (for CSI/TRS) may be taken into account, allowing different CSI-RS opportunities/resources to be set for each cell, reducing interference.

FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a first example of ServingCellConfig for option 1. In FIG. 4A, the ServingCellConfig includes configurations for additional cells (candidate cells). FIG. 4B is a diagram showing a second example of ServingCellConfig for option 1. In FIG. 4B, the ServingCellConfig includes configurations for additional cells (candidate cells) for L1/L2 inter-cell mobility. FIG. 4A corresponds, for example, to the above-mentioned scenario 1. FIG. 4B corresponds, for example, to the above-mentioned scenario 2.

As shown in Figures 4A and 4B, the candidate cells are pre-configured by the RRC. As an initial state, the candidate cells may be fixed to be activated/deactivated in the specification, or may be configured to be activated/deactivated by the RRC. Furthermore, the candidate cells for the L1/L2 cell switch may be activated/deactivated by the MAC CE. The L1/L2 cell switch indication may be sent only from the active cell.

<Option 2>
Multiple candidate cells may be associated with each serving cell by reusing the carrier aggregation (CA) configuration framework, with a complete configuration (e.g., ServingCellConfig) corresponding to each cell. The UE is provided with the complete configuration for each candidate cell, so that it can communicate properly with the candidate cells.

In the CA configuration framework, it is possible to configure an SpCell for each cell group and add multiple SCells. By reusing the CA framework, a serving cell may be configured and multiple candidate cells may be configured for each cell group for L1/L2 inter-cell mobility (Figure 5). Candidate cells may be activated/deactivated by the MAC CE. This method is considered to be beneficial to reduce the complexity of UE operations. As an example, the CellGroupConfig for cell group ID 0 is shown.

FIG. 6A shows a second example of Option 2. In the example of FIG. 6A, a common candidate cell pool for cell switching in the MCG/SCG is applied to the candidate cells. In other words, the candidate cells are treated as one pool (group) regardless of the frequency band.

Figure 6B is a diagram showing a third example of Option 2. In the example of Figure 6B, multiple cell groups are configured, and cell group switching is possible by L1/L2 signaling. Candidate cells are configured for each cell group, and the configuration of each group includes the indexes of the corresponding SpCell and SCell. The CellGroupConfig in Figure 6B shows the CellGroupConfig for cell group ID: 1 as an example, but the CellGroupConfig for cell group IDs: 2 and 3 are also configured separately.

(Signaling for Serving Cell Change Indication)
Implicit or explicit signaling for serving cell change indication is described.

[Aspect 1]
In aspect 1, implicit signaling for serving cell change indication is described.

[Option 1-1]
When a particular Control Resource Set (CORESET) (e.g., at least one of CORESET#0, CORESET of CH5 Type0-CSS, CORESET of CH6/CH7/CH8 CSS) is indicated (activated) by a MAC CE together with one or more TCI states associated with a cell of a PCI different from that of the serving cell (when, for a particular CORESET, one or more TCI states associated with a cell of a PCI different from that of the serving cell are indicated/activated by a MAC CE), the UE may determine to change the serving cell to another cell (cell x, a cell with a different PCI). That is, this activation may implicitly indicate changing the serving cell to another cell.

In this case, the UE may update beams of other CORESET IDs, other CORESETs using CH6/CH7/CH8, or other CORESETs using CSS to the same TCI state as the activated TCI state.

[Option 1-2]
When the MAC CE activates/deactivates the TCI states of the PDSCH, if all such TCI states activated by the MAC CE are associated with the same cell x with a PCI different from that of the serving cell, the UE may determine to change the serving cell to another cell (cell x), i.e., the association may implicitly indicate the change of the serving cell to another cell.

In cases where this option applies, if the NW (base station) does not change the serving cell, when the MAC CE activates the TCI state of a PDSCH associated with a cell with a different PCI, it must also include the TCI state related to another cell (e.g., the current serving cell or a cell with a second different PCI).

[Option 1-3]
When the MAC CE activates/deactivates unified TCI states (e.g., corresponding to the unified TCI framework in Rel. 17) and all the activated unified TCI states are associated with the same cell x with different PCIs, the UE may determine to change the serving cell to another cell (cell x), i.e., the association may implicitly indicate the serving cell change to another cell.

[Aspect 2]
In aspect 2, explicit signaling for a serving cell change instruction will be described. In aspect 2, for example, the above-mentioned scenario 2 is applied.

[Option 2-1]
An example of a serving cell change instruction will be described below. Note that activation/deactivation of a non-serving cell, change of a serving cell, and transmission/reception with another cell (non-serving cell) having a physical cell ID different from the physical cell ID of the serving cell may be read as interchangeable.

The UE may receive a new MAC CE including at least one of the fields (information) indicating the following (1) to (3) corresponding to the non-serving cell, which is used for activating/deactivating the non-serving cell. When the UE receives the MAC CE, the UE may decide to change the serving cell to another cell (non-serving cell). The UE may also control transmission and reception of DL signals/UL signals with the non-serving cell based on the information. Note that the non-serving cell may be one or multiple. In the example shown below, a MAC CE including multiple fields indicating multiple non-serving cell indexes is applied.

(1) Serving cell ID.
(2) BWP ID.
(3) Non-serving cell ID used for activation The non-serving cell ID may be replaced with any information corresponding to a non-serving cell (capable of identifying a non-serving cell).

As an example of (3), for example, any of (3-1) to (3-5) may be applied.
(3-1) PCI (PCI used directly). For example, 10 bits are used.
(3-2) Re-creation index (new ID) of non-serving cells. The new ID is associated with a part of the PCI and may be set only to serving cells and non-serving cells used (available) by the UE. The new ID can reduce the number of bits compared to the PCI.
(3-3) CSI reporting configuration ID (CSI-ReportConfigId) (when the CSI-ReportConfig corresponds to one or more non-serving cells).
(3-4) CSI resource configuration ID (CSI-ResourceConfigId) (when CSI-ResourceConfigId corresponds to one or more non-serving cells).
(3-5) A bitmap indicating the activation/deactivation of each non-serving cell. The size (number of bits) of the bitmap may be the same as the number of non-serving cells configured on this CC. For example, when activating the second non-serving cell among three non-serving cells, "010" is set.

At least one of the pieces of information included in the MAC CE may be included in the DCI. Or, at least one of the serving cells activated by the MAC CE may be indicated by the DCI. The MAC CE/DCI may include a field indicating the TCI status/SSB/CSI-RS from a cell with a different PCI so that the UE can recognize the DL beam to be monitored on the target cell (the serving cell after the change). The UE may create and transmit a beam report (CSI report) using the TCI status/SSB/CSI-RS.

[Option 2-2]
The UE may receive a MAC CE in which a new 1-bit field "C" is added to the existing MAC CE. The field indicates whether to change the serving cell. The UE may receive the MAC CE and determine whether to change the serving cell to another cell based on the field.

[Option 2-3]
For the MAC CE in Option 2-2, a field indicating the serving cell index/PCI/other ID (such as the new ID in Option 2-1 described above) and a field indicating the TCI state/SSB/CSI-RS of the target cell (the serving cell after the change) may be included in the MAC CE.

In this way, since the instruction to change the serving cell is given by the MAC CE/DCI, the UE can appropriately change the serving cell.

[Serving Cell Switch Example 1]
7 is a diagram showing a serving cell switch example 1. For example, in the serving cell SpCell#0 of the MCG/SCG, when the serving cell is instructed to be changed to the candidate cell #0-2 by L1/L2 signaling, the candidate cell #0-2 becomes the new serving cell SpCell#0. Also, for example, in the serving cell SCell#2 of the MCG/SCG, when the serving cell is instructed to be changed to the candidate cell #2-1 by L1/L2 signaling, the candidate cell #2-1 becomes the new serving cell SCell#2.

[Serving Cell Switch Example 2]
The RRC/MAC CE can configure a global candidate cell ID (cell #0,...,5) for each cell group, band, FR, and UE. The UE may be instructed to switch serving cells by the global candidate cell ID.

Figure 8 shows a serving cell switch example 2. As in Figure 6A, a pool of multiple candidate cells can be configured, and the serving cell can be switched to any (activated) candidate cell in the pool by L1/L2 signaling. In this case, the configured candidate cell can be either an SpCell or a Sell based on L1/L2 signaling.

The UE may receive an instruction to change the serving cell (from cell #2-1 to candidate cell #4) via MAC CE/DCI. Then, the indicated candidate cell #4 becomes the SpCell of the new cell group.

[Serving Cell Switch Example 3]
The RRC/MAC CE can set a global candidate cell ID (cell #0-1, #0-1, ..., 2-2) for each cell group, band, FR, and UE. The UE may be instructed to switch the serving cell by the global candidate cell ID.

Figure 9 shows serving cell switch example 3. The UE receives an instruction to change the serving cell (from cell #2-0 to cell #2-1) via MAC CE/DCI. The indicated cell #2-1 then becomes the SpCell of the new cell group. Also, the cells (cell #0-0, cell #1-0) in the same cell group as the indicated cell #2-1 become Scell #1 and Scell #2. In other words, the serving cell group is switched.

(analysis)
As described above, when multi-TRP is applied, cell switching is considered to be performed by L1/L2 inter-cell mobility. For example, it is possible that the current SCell/PCell becomes a candidate cell (i.e., the target Pcell/SCell, the candidate cell is the current SCell/PCell). In that case, the setting/control is not clear. This may cause problems such as poor processing after cell switching, for example, a decrease in communication throughput.

For example, it is not clear how to set the current Scell/Pcell as a candidate cell. Also, when cells are switched, it is not clear how to handle the existing Scell, especially when the target cell is the current Scell. If these are not clear, there is a risk that continuous cell switching due to L1/L2 inter-cell mobility will not be performed smoothly.

The inventors therefore came up with the idea of a terminal, a wireless communication method, and a base station that can properly perform settings/processing during a cell switch.

Below, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The wireless communication methods according to the embodiments may be applied independently or in combination.

In this disclosure, "A/B" and "at least one of A and B" may be interpreted as interchangeable. Also, in this disclosure, "A/B/C" may mean "at least one of A, B, and C."

In this disclosure, terms such as notify, activate, deactivate, indicate (or indicate), select, configure, update, and determine may be read as interchangeable. In this disclosure, terms such as support, control, capable of control, operate, and capable of operating may be read as interchangeable.

In this disclosure, Radio Resource Control (RRC), RRC parameters, RRC messages, higher layer parameters, fields, information elements (IEs), settings, etc. may be interchangeable. In this disclosure, Medium Access Control (MAC Control Element (CE)), update commands, activation/deactivation commands, etc. may be interchangeable.

In the present disclosure, higher layer signaling may be, for example, Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling, broadcast information, or any combination thereof.

In the present disclosure, the MAC signaling may use, for example, a MAC Control Element (MAC CE), a MAC Protocol Data Unit (PDU), etc. The broadcast information may be, for example, a Master Information Block (MIB), a System Information Block (SIB), Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI), Other System Information (OSI), etc.

In the present disclosure, the physical layer signaling may be, for example, Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI), etc.

In this disclosure, the terms index, identifier (ID), indicator, resource ID, etc. may be interchangeable. In this disclosure, the terms sequence, list, set, group, cluster, subset, pool, etc. may be interchangeable.

In this disclosure, the terms panel, UE panel, panel group, beam, beam group, precoder, Uplink (UL) transmitting entity, Transmission/Reception Point (TRP), base station, Spatial Relation Information (SRI), spatial relation, SRS Resource Indicator (SRI), Control Resource Set (CONTROLLER RESOLUTION SET (CORESET)), Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), Codeword (CW), Transport Block (TB), Reference Signal (RS), Antenna Port (e.g., DeModulation Reference Signal (DMRS)) port), Antenna Port group (e.g., DMRS port group), group (e.g., spatial relationship group, Code Division Multiplexing (CDM) group, reference signal group, CORESET group, Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) group, PUCCH resource group), resource (e.g., reference signal resource, SRS resource), resource set (e.g., reference signal resource set), CORESET pool, downlink Transmission Configuration Indication state (TCI state) (DL TCI state), uplink TCI state (UL TCI state), unified TCI state, common TCI state, quasi-co-location (QCL), QCL assumption, etc. may be read as interchangeable.

Furthermore, the spatial relationship information identifier (ID) (TCI state ID) and the spatial relationship information (TCI state) may be read as interchangeable. "Spatial relationship information" may be read as "set of spatial relationship information", "one or more pieces of spatial relationship information", etc. TCI state and TCI may be read as interchangeable.

In this disclosure, terms such as drop, abort, cancel, puncture, rate match, postpone, do not transmit, etc. may be interpreted as interchangeable.

In the present disclosure, cell group, serving cell group, master cell group (MCG), and secondary cell group (SCG) may be interchangeable. L1/L2, L1/L2 signaling, and DCI/MAC CE may be interchangeable. A serving cell may be replaced with a cell that transmits a PDSCH. A candidate cell may refer to a cell that is a candidate to become a serving cell through L1/L2 inter-cell mobility.

In the present disclosure, cell, PCI, serving cell, SpCell, source serving cell, CC, BWP, BWP in CC, band may be interchanged. In the present disclosure, additional cell, other cell, non-serving cell, cell with a different PCI, candidate cell, candidate serving cell, cell with a PCI different from the PCI of the current serving cell, another serving cell, target cell, neighboring cell may be interchanged. In the present disclosure, switch, change, update may be interchanged. Serving cell may be interchanged with serving cell before switch or serving cell after switch.

Serving cell, SpCell, PSCell, PCell, and SCell may be interchangeable. Cell switch command, cell change instruction, and serving cell change instruction may be interchangeable.

(Wireless communication method)
<Embodiment 1>
A process for setting a current serving cell as a candidate cell will be described. For example, the above-mentioned L1/L2 inter-cell mobility scenario 2 may be applied to this embodiment. The UE may receive a setting/indication/parameter indicating whether the serving cell can be a candidate cell for layer 1/layer 2 (L1/L2) inter-cell mobility by higher layer signaling/physical layer signaling, and may control the switch of the serving cell based on the setting/indication/parameter.

[Aspect 1.1]
The UE may receive, via higher layer signaling/physical layer signaling, configurations/indications/parameters for each cell group (MCG/SCG) indicating whether all serving cells in the cell group can be candidate cells (or candidates for target SpCell/SCell) for L1/L2 inter-cell mobility, i.e., the UE may receive a (single) configuration/indication/parameter common to all serving cells in the cell group.

If the setting/instruction/parameter common to the serving cell indicates "No" (there is no cell that can be a candidate cell), only candidate cells that have been set in advance by RRC signaling, etc. are applied as candidate cells. For example, type C cells, which will be described later, do not need to be applied as candidate cells.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a serving cell in aspect 1.1. In FIG. 10, the UE receives a configuration/instruction/parameter indicating that a cell group including SpCell#0, SCell#1, and SCell#2 can be a candidate cell for L1/L2 inter-cell mobility. Note that candidate cells #3 to #7 may be configured in advance as candidate cells by RRC signaling, etc.

[Aspect 1.2]
The UE may receive configurations/indications/parameters via higher layer/physical layer signaling indicating whether each serving cell/CC in a cell group (MCG/SCG) can be a candidate cell (or a candidate for the target SpCell/SCell) for L1/L2 inter-cell mobility, i.e., the UE may receive separate configurations/indications/parameters for each serving cell.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a serving cell in aspect 1.2. In FIG. 11, the UE receives a configuration/instruction/parameter indicating that SCell#1 can be a candidate cell for L1/L2 inter-cell mobility. The UE may receive a configuration/instruction/parameter indicating that SpCell#0 and SCell#2 cannot be candidate cells for L1/L2 inter-cell mobility. Note that candidate cells #3 to #7 may be configured in advance to be candidate cells by RRC signaling, etc.

[supplement]
In addition, in aspects 1.1 and 1.2, the candidate cell set in the cell group may be included in both the candidate cell pools (groups) of the SpCell cell switch of the L1/L2 inter-cell mobility and the Scell cell switch of the L1/L2 inter-cell mobility. In other words, the serving cell that is the candidate cell may be switched to the SpCell or the Scell.

The UE may transmit (report) UE capability information indicating that it supports a serving cell (SpCell/SCell) as a candidate cell (can be a candidate cell). For example, when aspect 1.1 is applied, the UE may transmit UE capability information indicating that it supports all serving cells in a cell group as candidate cells. For example, when aspect 1.2 is applied, the UE may transmit UE capability information indicating that it supports each serving cell in a cell group as a candidate cell (can be a candidate cell).

According to this embodiment, appropriate settings can be made when the serving cell (SpCell/SCell) is a candidate cell.

<Embodiment 2.1>
The UE receives the cell switch command for the SpCell through L1/L2 signaling and may make different assumptions about the activation/deactivation status of a candidate cell (target cell) based on the type of the candidate cell.

If a cell switch command (serving cell change instruction) is sent by L1/L2 signaling, the UE may keep/store/maintain the RRC settings of the current SCell and the RRC settings of the candidate cells, unless it receives an RRC reconfiguration signal. The cell switch may be either a single cell switch, a multi-cell switch or a cell group switch.

For the purpose of explanation in this disclosure, the following four types of cells are defined. This embodiment is applicable to both aspect 1.1 and aspect 1.2 of the first embodiment. Each type of cell is applied, for example, as shown in FIG. 12. In this disclosure, type A, type B, type C, and type D may be read as interchangeable with each other.
Type A: SpCell.
Type B: An Scell that is not designated as a candidate cell.
Type C: Scell designated as a candidate cell.
Type D: Candidate cell configured by RRC (not the original SCell).

[Case a]
When a cell switch command for the SpCell is sent via L1/L2 signaling and the candidate cell (target cell, the cell that will become the new SpCell) is not an Scell (i.e., the target cell is a type D cell), the following options 1 or 2 are applied to the type D candidate cell, the following options 3B to 5B are applied to the type B serving cell, the following options 3C to 5C are applied to the type C serving cell/candidate cell, and the following option 6 is applied to the type A SpCell.

Option 1
The UE may assume that the activation/deactivation status of each type-D cell remains unchanged, and thus sequential L1/L2 cell changes may be possible.

Option 2
The UE may receive an indication of activation/deactivation of each type D cell in the same signaling (concurrent signaling) as the cell switch command.

In addition, in options 1 and 2, the candidate cell (target cell, the cell that will become the new SpCell) may be activated when it becomes the new SpCell, regardless of whether an activation signal is present.

<<Option 3B>>
The UE may assume that the activation/deactivation status of each type-B cell remains unchanged.

<<Option 4B>>
The UE may assume that each type-B cell is deactivated if it does not receive a new activation/deactivation instruction.

<<Option 5B>>
The UE may receive an indication of activation/deactivation of each type-B cell in the same signaling (concurrent signaling) as the cell switch command.

<<Option 3C>>
The UE may assume that the activation/deactivation status of each type-C cell remains unchanged.

<<Option 4C>>
The UE may assume that each Type-C cell has been deactivated if it does not receive a new activation/deactivation instruction.

<<Option 5C>>
The UE may receive activation/deactivation indications for each type-C cell in the same signaling (concurrent signaling) as the cell switch command.

Option 6:
After the cell switch command is sent to the UE, the SpCell of type A becomes a candidate cell of type D. The UE may assume that the state of the cell is activated or deactivated, or the UE may be instructed to activate/deactivate the cell by the cell switch command.

[Case b]
Case b is a case where the cell switch command for the SpCell is sent by L1/L2 signaling and the candidate cell (target cell, the cell that will become the new SpCell) is a type C SCell. In this case, the UE may assume that the state of the target cell, the type C SCell, is activated because it will become the new SpCell, regardless of the presence or absence of activation signaling. For other cells, each option in case a may be applied similarly.

[Case c]
When the UE receives a cell switch command for the SCell through an L1/L2 signaling signal, the same option as in case a or case b may be applied. That is, the SpCell in case a or case b may be replaced with the SCell.

[supplement]
The cell switch command may include an indication of the activation/deactivation status of each candidate/serving cell, or the cell switch command may be sent to the UE together with said indication.

For example, a bitmap may be used as the activation/deactivation indication. In this case, each bit may indicate activation/deactivation of each candidate cell/each serving cell. Also, some or all cell indices may be explicitly indicated in the activation/deactivation indication. The transmission of a cell index may implicitly indicate activation/deactivation of that cell.

For example, a signaling other than the activation/deactivation state indication (e.g., MAC CE/DCI) may be used as the cell switch command. For example, the UE may be instructed only on the activation/deactivation state of specific/some cells (such as the source cell of the cell switch, type B cells, type C cells, type D cells, etc.).

The UE may transmit UE capability information indicating whether it supports updating the activation/deactivation status of other cells (candidate cells/serving cells) during a cell switch.

<Embodiment 2.2>
In embodiment 2.2, not only activation/deactivation but also cell role change (e.g., serving cell/candidate cell, type A/B/C/D cell role) is described. For example, when a cell is switched, the target cell (candidate cell) becomes the serving cell and is also activated. For the original (pre-change) serving cell, the following options may be applied:

Option 1
The original serving cell becomes the candidate cell. The activation/deactivation may be determined based on embodiment 2.1.

Option 2
The original serving cell remains the serving cell and may be activated/deactivated. This option assumes the case, for example, where the roles of SpCell#0 and Scell#1 are swapped, with SpCell#0 becoming the Scell and Scell#1 becoming the new SpCell.

Option 3
The original serving cell may become a type C cell or a type B cell.

Option 4:
The UE may also receive a specific signal indicating whether or not a cell role is changed. The specific signal may be the same as the cell switch command/cell status indication, or may be a different signal. The specific signal may indicate only whether or not the original serving cell (source cell) role is changed (e.g., whether or not to change to a candidate cell, whether or not to change to a type-C cell). For example, the specific indication may indicate a role change indication for multiple/all cells.

Option 5:
The original serving cell may undergo role changes, etc., depending on the type of the target cell. For example, the UE may exchange roles with the original serving cell and the target cell when the target cell is type B or type C. For example, the UE may not exchange roles with the original serving cell and the target cell when the target cell is type A or type D.

<Embodiment 3>
For the serving cell and the candidate cells in the cell group, a specific index corresponding to the cell/PCI configured by the RRC may be indicated. The specific index is, for example, an index associated with a part of the PCI. The specific index is configured by the RRC to associate the PCI cell with a reconfiguration index. The specific index has a reduced number of bits compared to the PCI, and therefore can facilitate indication of the cell using a bitmap in the MAC CE/DCI, etc. After a cell switch, one of the following options may be applied regarding whether the specific index is updated:

Option 1
If the UE does not receive an RRC reconfiguration signal (until a new RRC reconfiguration occurs), the UE may retain the specific index, for example, a specific index "0" may or may not be for the current SpCell.

Option 2
Only in the case of SpCell switch, the UE may exchange the specific indexes of the original SpCell and the target cell, for example, the specific index "0" may be always set for the SpCell.

Option 3
When a cell switch occurs, the UE may exchange the specific indexes of the serving cell and the target cell, where the index of the serving cell may always be smaller (lower) than the index of the candidate cell.

Option 4:
The cell switch command may indicate specific indices of some/all serving/candidate cells. The indication of the specific indices may be included in the same signal as the cell switch command or in a separate signal (e.g., via MAC CE/DCI). The UE may send UE capability information indicating that it supports the Option 4 feature.

<Group switch case>
Each embodiment may also be applicable to the cell group switch case (eg, FIG. 9).

The embodiments 2.1 and 2.2 may be applied to the cell group switch. When the UE receives a cell group switch command through L1/L2 signaling, the following process may be performed.
The target cell group is activated.
The original (pre-change) serving cell group may be deactivated, may remain activated, or the activation/deactivation status may be explicitly indicated to the UE in new signaling.
Other candidate cell groups may be deactivated, their activation/deactivation may remain unchanged, or their activation/deactivation status may be explicitly indicated to the UE in new signaling.
Cell group activation/deactivation can be the same signal as cell group indication (switch indication) or a separate new signal (MAC CE/DCI).

The UE may be instructed to change the SpCell/Scell role for each cell group (or for a specific cell group, e.g., the target cell group). The UE may send UE capability information regarding cell group activation/deactivation updates.

Embodiment 3 may be applied to a cell group switch. For example, a specific index may be replaced with a specific cell group index, and a PCI may be replaced with a cell group index (original cell group index). The cell group indexes of the serving cell group and the candidate cell group may be retained, switched (switch between the target cell group and the original serving cell group), or explicitly indicated to the UE by new signaling. The UE may transmit UE capability information regarding the update of the cell group index.

<Additional Information>
[Notification of information to UE]
In the above-described embodiments, any information may be notified to the UE (from a network (NW) (e.g., a base station (BS))) (in other words, any information is received by the UE from the BS) using physical layer signaling (e.g., DCI), higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling, MAC CE), a specific signal/channel (e.g., PDCCH, PDSCH, reference signal), or a combination thereof.

When the above notification is performed by a MAC CE, the MAC CE may be identified by including a new Logical Channel ID (LCID) in the MAC subheader that is not specified in existing standards.

When the notification is made by a DCI, the notification may be made by a specific field of the DCI, a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) used to scramble Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) bits assigned to the DCI, the format of the DCI, etc.

Furthermore, notification of any information to the UE in the above-mentioned embodiments may be performed periodically, semi-persistently, or aperiodically.

[Information notification from UE]
In the above-described embodiments, notification of any information from the UE (to the NW) (in other words, transmission/report of any information from the UE to the BS) may be performed using physical layer signaling (e.g., UCI), higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling, MAC CE), a specific signal/channel (e.g., PUCCH, PUSCH, PRACH, reference signal), or a combination thereof.

If the notification is made by a MAC CE, the MAC CE may be identified by including a new LCID in the MAC subheader that is not specified in existing standards.

If the notification is made by UCI, the notification may be transmitted using PUCCH or PUSCH.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiments, notification of any information from the UE may be performed periodically, semi-persistently, or aperiodically.

[Application of each embodiment]
At least one of the above-mentioned embodiments may be applied when a specific condition is satisfied, which may be specified in a standard or may be notified to a UE/BS using higher layer signaling/physical layer signaling.

At least one of the above-described embodiments may be applied only to UEs that have reported or support a particular UE capability.

The particular UE capability may indicate support for particular processing/operations/control/information for at least one of the above embodiments.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned specific UE capabilities may be capabilities that are applied across all frequencies (commonly regardless of frequency), capabilities per frequency (e.g., one or a combination of a cell, band, band combination, BWP, component carrier, etc.), capabilities per frequency range (e.g., Frequency Range 1 (FR1), FR2, FR3, FR4, FR5, FR2-1, FR2-2), capabilities per subcarrier spacing (SubCarrier Spacing (SCS)), or capabilities per Feature Set (FS) or Feature Set Per Component-carrier (FSPC).

The specific UE capabilities may be capabilities that are applied across all duplexing methods (commonly regardless of the duplexing method), or may be capabilities for each duplexing method (e.g., Time Division Duplex (TDD) and Frequency Division Duplex (FDD)).

Furthermore, at least one of the above-mentioned embodiments may be applied when the UE configures/activates/triggers specific information related to the above-mentioned embodiments (or performs the operations of the above-mentioned embodiments) by higher layer signaling/physical layer signaling. For example, the specific information may be any RRC parameters for a specific release (e.g., Rel. 18/19), etc.

If the UE does not support at least one of the above specific UE capabilities or the above specific information is not configured, the UE may, for example, apply Rel. 15/16 operations.

(Additional Note)
With respect to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the following invention is noted.
[Appendix 1]
a receiving unit for receiving a configuration indicating whether a serving cell can be a candidate cell for Layer 1/Layer 2 (L1/L2) inter-cell mobility;
A control unit that controls a switch of the serving cell based on the setting;
A terminal having the above configuration.
[Appendix 2]
The terminal according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein the setting is a setting for each cell group indicating whether all the serving cells in the cell group can be the candidate cells for L1/L2 inter-cell mobility.
[Appendix 3]
The terminal according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein the setting indicates whether each serving cell in a cell group can be the candidate cell for L1/L2 inter-cell mobility.
[Appendix 4]
The terminal according to any one of Supplementary Note 1 to Supplementary Note 3, wherein the switch of the serving cell is a switch of the serving cell that is the candidate cell to a special cell (SpCell) or a secondary cell (SCell).

The following inventions are further described with respect to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
[Appendix 1]
a receiving unit for receiving a cell switch command of a special cell (SpCell) by Layer 1/Layer 2 (L1/L2) signaling;
A control unit that makes different assumptions about the activation or deactivation status of a candidate cell based on the type of the candidate cell;
A terminal having the above configuration.
[Appendix 2]
The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the control unit assumes that an activation or deactivation status of the candidate cell is not changed.
[Appendix 3]
The terminal according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the receiving unit receives an instruction to activate or deactivate the candidate cell.
[Appendix 4]
The terminal according to any one of Supplementary Note 1 to Supplementary Note 3, wherein the receiving unit receives an index associated with a part of a physical cell index (PCI) for a serving cell and a candidate cell in a cell group.

(Wireless communication system)
A configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below. In this wireless communication system, communication is performed using any one of the wireless communication methods according to the above embodiments of the present disclosure or a combination of these.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment. The wireless communication system 1 (which may simply be referred to as system 1) may be a system that realizes communication using Long Term Evolution (LTE) specified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), 5th generation mobile communication system New Radio (5G NR), or the like.

The wireless communication system 1 may also support dual connectivity between multiple Radio Access Technologies (RATs) (Multi-RAT Dual Connectivity (MR-DC)). MR-DC may include dual connectivity between LTE (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA)) and NR (E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC)), dual connectivity between NR and LTE (NR-E-UTRA Dual Connectivity (NE-DC)), etc.

In EN-DC, the LTE (E-UTRA) base station (eNB) is the master node (MN), and the NR base station (gNB) is the secondary node (SN). In NE-DC, the NR base station (gNB) is the MN, and the LTE (E-UTRA) base station (eNB) is the SN.

The wireless communication system 1 may support dual connectivity between multiple base stations within the same RAT (e.g., dual connectivity in which both the MN and SN are NR base stations (gNBs) (NR-NR Dual Connectivity (NN-DC))).

The wireless communication system 1 may include a base station 11 that forms a macrocell C1 with a relatively wide coverage, and base stations 12 (12a-12c) that are arranged within the macrocell C1 and form a small cell C2 that is narrower than the macrocell C1. A user terminal 20 may be located within at least one of the cells. The arrangement and number of each cell and user terminal 20 are not limited to the embodiment shown in the figure. Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the base stations 11 and 12, they will be collectively referred to as base station 10.

The user terminal 20 may be connected to at least one of the multiple base stations 10. The user terminal 20 may utilize at least one of carrier aggregation (CA) using multiple component carriers (CC) and dual connectivity (DC).

Each CC may be included in at least one of a first frequency band (Frequency Range 1 (FR1)) and a second frequency band (Frequency Range 2 (FR2)). Macro cell C1 may be included in FR1, and small cell C2 may be included in FR2. For example, FR1 may be a frequency band below 6 GHz (sub-6 GHz), and FR2 may be a frequency band above 24 GHz (above-24 GHz). Note that the frequency bands and definitions of FR1 and FR2 are not limited to these, and for example, FR1 may correspond to a higher frequency band than FR2.

In addition, the user terminal 20 may communicate using at least one of Time Division Duplex (TDD) and Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) in each CC.

The multiple base stations 10 may be connected by wire (e.g., optical fiber conforming to the Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI), X2 interface, etc.) or wirelessly (e.g., NR communication). For example, when NR communication is used as a backhaul between base stations 11 and 12, base station 11, which corresponds to the upper station, may be called an Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB) donor, and base station 12, which corresponds to a relay station, may be called an IAB node.

The base station 10 may be connected to the core network 30 directly or via another base station 10. The core network 30 may include at least one of, for example, an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), a 5G Core Network (5GCN), a Next Generation Core (NGC), etc.

The core network 30 may include network functions (Network Functions (NF)) such as, for example, a User Plane Function (UPF), an Access and Mobility management Function (AMF), a Session Management Function (SMF), a Unified Data Management (UDM), an Application Function (AF), a Data Network (DN), a Location Management Function (LMF), and Operation, Administration and Maintenance (Management) (OAM). Note that multiple functions may be provided by one network node. In addition, communication with an external network (e.g., the Internet) may be performed via the DN.

The user terminal 20 may be a terminal that supports at least one of the communication methods such as LTE, LTE-A, and 5G.

In the wireless communication system 1, a wireless access method based on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) may be used. For example, in at least one of the downlink (DL) and uplink (UL), Cyclic Prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform Spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), etc. may be used.

The radio access method may also be called a waveform. In the wireless communication system 1, other radio access methods (e.g., other single-carrier transmission methods, other multi-carrier transmission methods) may be used for the UL and DL radio access methods.

In the wireless communication system 1, a downlink shared channel (Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH)) shared by each user terminal 20, a broadcast channel (Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH)), a downlink control channel (Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)), etc. may be used as the downlink channel.

In addition, in the wireless communication system 1, an uplink shared channel (Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH)) shared by each user terminal 20, an uplink control channel (Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH)), a random access channel (Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH)), etc. may be used as an uplink channel.

User data, upper layer control information, System Information Block (SIB), etc. are transmitted via PDSCH. User data, upper layer control information, etc. may also be transmitted via PUSCH. Furthermore, Master Information Block (MIB) may also be transmitted via PBCH.

Lower layer control information may be transmitted by the PDCCH. The lower layer control information may include, for example, downlink control information (Downlink Control Information (DCI)) including scheduling information for at least one of the PDSCH and the PUSCH.

Note that the DCI for scheduling the PDSCH may be called a DL assignment or DL DCI, and the DCI for scheduling the PUSCH may be called a UL grant or UL DCI. Note that the PDSCH may be interpreted as DL data, and the PUSCH may be interpreted as UL data.

A control resource set (COntrol REsource SET (CORESET)) and a search space may be used to detect the PDCCH. The CORESET corresponds to the resources to search for DCI. The search space corresponds to the search region and search method of PDCCH candidates. One CORESET may be associated with one or multiple search spaces. The UE may monitor the CORESET associated with a search space based on the search space configuration.

A search space may correspond to PDCCH candidates corresponding to one or more aggregation levels. One or more search spaces may be referred to as a search space set. Note that the terms "search space," "search space set," "search space setting," "search space set setting," "CORESET," "CORESET setting," etc. in this disclosure may be read as interchangeable.

The PUCCH may transmit uplink control information (UCI) including at least one of channel state information (CSI), delivery confirmation information (which may be called, for example, Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest ACKnowledgement (HARQ-ACK), ACK/NACK, etc.), and a scheduling request (SR). The PRACH may transmit a random access preamble for establishing a connection with a cell.

Note that in this disclosure, downlink, uplink, etc. may be expressed without adding "link." Also, various channels may be expressed without adding "Physical" to the beginning.

In the wireless communication system 1, a synchronization signal (SS), a downlink reference signal (DL-RS), etc. may be transmitted. In the wireless communication system 1, as the DL-RS, a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a positioning reference signal (PRS), a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), etc. may be transmitted.

The synchronization signal may be, for example, at least one of a Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) and a Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS). A signal block including an SS (PSS, SSS) and a PBCH (and a DMRS for PBCH) may be called an SS/PBCH block, an SS Block (SSB), etc. In addition, the SS, SSB, etc. may also be called a reference signal.

In addition, in the wireless communication system 1, a measurement reference signal (Sounding Reference Signal (SRS)), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), etc. may be transmitted as an uplink reference signal (UL-RS). Note that the DMRS may also be called a user equipment-specific reference signal (UE-specific Reference Signal).

(base station)
14 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a base station according to an embodiment. The base station 10 includes a control unit 110, a transceiver unit 120, a transceiver antenna 130, and a transmission line interface 140. Note that one or more of each of the control unit 110, the transceiver unit 120, the transceiver antenna 130, and the transmission line interface 140 may be provided.

Note that this example mainly shows the functional blocks of the characteristic parts of this embodiment, and the base station 10 may also be assumed to have other functional blocks necessary for wireless communication. Some of the processing of each part described below may be omitted.

The control unit 110 controls the entire base station 10. The control unit 110 can be configured from a controller, a control circuit, etc., which are described based on a common understanding in the technical field to which this disclosure pertains.

The control unit 110 may control signal generation, scheduling (e.g., resource allocation, mapping), etc. The control unit 110 may control transmission and reception using the transceiver unit 120, the transceiver antenna 130, and the transmission path interface 140, measurement, etc. The control unit 110 may generate data, control information, sequences, etc. to be transmitted as signals, and transfer them to the transceiver unit 120. The control unit 110 may perform call processing of communication channels (setting, release, etc.), status management of the base station 10, management of radio resources, etc.

The transceiver unit 120 may include a baseband unit 121, a radio frequency (RF) unit 122, and a measurement unit 123. The baseband unit 121 may include a transmission processing unit 1211 and a reception processing unit 1212. The transceiver unit 120 may be composed of a transmitter/receiver, an RF circuit, a baseband circuit, a filter, a phase shifter, a measurement circuit, a transceiver circuit, etc., which are described based on a common understanding in the technical field to which the present disclosure relates.

The transceiver unit 120 may be configured as an integrated transceiver unit, or may be composed of a transmission unit and a reception unit. The transmission unit may be composed of a transmission processing unit 1211 and an RF unit 122. The reception unit may be composed of a reception processing unit 1212, an RF unit 122, and a measurement unit 123.

The transmitting/receiving antenna 130 can be configured as an antenna described based on common understanding in the technical field to which this disclosure pertains, such as an array antenna.

The transceiver 120 may transmit the above-mentioned downlink channel, synchronization signal, downlink reference signal, etc. The transceiver 120 may receive the above-mentioned uplink channel, uplink reference signal, etc.

The transceiver 120 may form at least one of the transmit beam and the receive beam using digital beamforming (e.g., precoding), analog beamforming (e.g., phase rotation), etc.

The transceiver 120 (transmission processing unit 1211) may perform Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer processing, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer processing (e.g., RLC retransmission control), Medium Access Control (MAC) layer processing (e.g., HARQ retransmission control), etc., on data and control information obtained from the control unit 110, and generate a bit string to be transmitted.

The transceiver 120 (transmission processor 1211) may perform transmission processing such as channel coding (which may include error correction coding), modulation, mapping, filtering, Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) processing (if necessary), Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing, precoding, and digital-to-analog conversion on the bit string to be transmitted, and output a baseband signal.

The transceiver unit 120 (RF unit 122) may perform modulation, filtering, amplification, etc., on the baseband signal to a radio frequency band, and transmit the radio frequency band signal via the transceiver antenna 130.

On the other hand, the transceiver unit 120 (RF unit 122) may perform amplification, filtering, demodulation to a baseband signal, etc. on the radio frequency band signal received by the transceiver antenna 130.

The transceiver 120 (reception processing unit 1212) may apply reception processing such as analog-to-digital conversion, Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) processing, Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform (IDFT) processing (if necessary), filtering, demapping, demodulation, decoding (which may include error correction decoding), MAC layer processing, RLC layer processing, and PDCP layer processing to the acquired baseband signal, and acquire user data, etc.

The transceiver 120 (measurement unit 123) may perform measurements on the received signal. For example, the measurement unit 123 may perform Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements, Channel State Information (CSI) measurements, etc. based on the received signal. The measurement unit 123 may measure received power (e.g., Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP)), received quality (e.g., Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR), Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)), signal strength (e.g., Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI)), propagation path information (e.g., CSI), etc. The measurement results may be output to the control unit 110.

The transmission path interface 140 may transmit and receive signals (backhaul signaling) between devices included in the core network 30 (e.g., network nodes providing NF), other base stations 10, etc., and may acquire and transmit user data (user plane data), control plane data, etc. for the user terminal 20.

In addition, the transmitting unit and receiving unit of the base station 10 in this disclosure may be configured by at least one of the transmitting/receiving unit 120, the transmitting/receiving antenna 130, and the transmission path interface 140.

The transceiver unit 120 may also transmit a setting indicating whether the serving cell can be a candidate cell for Layer 1/Layer 2 (L1/L2) inter-cell mobility.

The control unit 110 may control the switch of the serving cell based on the setting.

The transceiver unit 120 may transmit a cell switch command for a special cell (SpCell) via Layer 1/Layer 2 (L1/L2) signaling.

The control unit 110 may perform different control over the activation or deactivation status of a candidate cell based on the type of the candidate cell.

(User terminal)
15 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a user terminal according to an embodiment. The user terminal 20 includes a control unit 210, a transceiver unit 220, and a transceiver antenna 230. Note that the control unit 210, the transceiver unit 220, and the transceiver antenna 230 may each include one or more.

Note that this example mainly shows the functional blocks of the characteristic parts of this embodiment, and the user terminal 20 may also be assumed to have other functional blocks necessary for wireless communication. Some of the processing of each part described below may be omitted.

The control unit 210 controls the entire user terminal 20. The control unit 210 can be configured from a controller, a control circuit, etc., which are described based on a common understanding in the technical field to which this disclosure pertains.

The control unit 210 may control signal generation, mapping, etc. The control unit 210 may control transmission and reception using the transceiver unit 220 and the transceiver antenna 230, measurement, etc. The control unit 210 may generate data, control information, sequences, etc. to be transmitted as signals, and transfer them to the transceiver unit 220.

The transceiver unit 220 may include a baseband unit 221, an RF unit 222, and a measurement unit 223. The baseband unit 221 may include a transmission processing unit 2211 and a reception processing unit 2212. The transceiver unit 220 may be composed of a transmitter/receiver, an RF circuit, a baseband circuit, a filter, a phase shifter, a measurement circuit, a transceiver circuit, etc., which are described based on a common understanding in the technical field to which the present disclosure relates.

The transceiver unit 220 may be configured as an integrated transceiver unit, or may be composed of a transmission unit and a reception unit. The transmission unit may be composed of a transmission processing unit 2211 and an RF unit 222. The reception unit may be composed of a reception processing unit 2212, an RF unit 222, and a measurement unit 223.

The transmitting/receiving antenna 230 can be configured as an antenna described based on common understanding in the technical field to which this disclosure pertains, such as an array antenna.

The transceiver 220 may receive the above-mentioned downlink channel, synchronization signal, downlink reference signal, etc. The transceiver 220 may transmit the above-mentioned uplink channel, uplink reference signal, etc.

The transceiver 220 may form at least one of the transmit beam and receive beam using digital beamforming (e.g., precoding), analog beamforming (e.g., phase rotation), etc.

The transceiver 220 (transmission processor 2211) may perform PDCP layer processing, RLC layer processing (e.g., RLC retransmission control), MAC layer processing (e.g., HARQ retransmission control), etc. on the data and control information acquired from the controller 210, and generate a bit string to be transmitted.

The transceiver 220 (transmission processor 2211) may perform transmission processing such as channel coding (which may include error correction coding), modulation, mapping, filtering, DFT processing (if necessary), IFFT processing, precoding, and digital-to-analog conversion on the bit string to be transmitted, and output a baseband signal.

Whether or not to apply DFT processing may be based on the settings of transform precoding. When transform precoding is enabled for a certain channel (e.g., PUSCH), the transceiver unit 220 (transmission processing unit 2211) may perform DFT processing as the above-mentioned transmission processing in order to transmit the channel using a DFT-s-OFDM waveform, and when transform precoding is not enabled, it is not necessary to perform DFT processing as the above-mentioned transmission processing.

The transceiver unit 220 (RF unit 222) may perform modulation, filtering, amplification, etc., on the baseband signal to a radio frequency band, and transmit the radio frequency band signal via the transceiver antenna 230.

On the other hand, the transceiver unit 220 (RF unit 222) may perform amplification, filtering, demodulation to a baseband signal, etc. on the radio frequency band signal received by the transceiver antenna 230.

The transceiver 220 (reception processor 2212) may apply reception processing such as analog-to-digital conversion, FFT processing, IDFT processing (if necessary), filtering, demapping, demodulation, decoding (which may include error correction decoding), MAC layer processing, RLC layer processing, and PDCP layer processing to the acquired baseband signal to acquire user data, etc.

The transceiver 220 (measurement unit 223) may perform measurements on the received signal. For example, the measurement unit 223 may perform RRM measurements, CSI measurements, etc. based on the received signal. The measurement unit 223 may measure received power (e.g., RSRP), received quality (e.g., RSRQ, SINR, SNR), signal strength (e.g., RSSI), propagation path information (e.g., CSI), etc. The measurement results may be output to the control unit 210.

In addition, the transmitting unit and receiving unit of the user terminal 20 in this disclosure may be configured by at least one of the transmitting/receiving unit 220 and the transmitting/receiving antenna 230.

The transceiver 220 may receive a configuration indicating whether the serving cell can be a candidate cell for Layer 1/Layer 2 (L1/L2) inter-cell mobility.

The control unit 210 may control the switch of the serving cell based on the setting.

The setting may be a setting for each cell group indicating whether all the serving cells in the cell group can be candidate cells for L1/L2 inter-cell mobility.

The setting may be a setting indicating whether each serving cell in a cell group can be a candidate cell for L1/L2 inter-cell mobility.

The serving cell switch may be a switch of the serving cell that is the candidate cell to a special cell (SpCell) or a secondary cell (SCell).

The transceiver unit 220 may receive a cell switch command for a special cell (SpCell) via Layer 1/Layer 2 (L1/L2) signaling.

The control unit 210 may make different assumptions about the activation or deactivation status of a candidate cell based on the type of the candidate cell.

The control unit 210 may assume that the activation or deactivation status of the candidate cell is not changed.

The transceiver unit 220 may receive an instruction to activate or deactivate the candidate cell.

The transceiver 220 may receive an index associated with a portion of the physical cell index (PCI) for the serving cell and candidate cells in the cell group.

(Hardware configuration)
The block diagrams used in the description of the above embodiments show functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. The method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using one device that is physically or logically coupled, or may be realized using two or more devices that are physically or logically separated and directly or indirectly connected (for example, using wires, wirelessly, etc.). The functional blocks may be realized by combining the one device or the multiple devices with software.

Here, the functions include, but are not limited to, judgement, determination, judgment, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, election, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, deeming, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, and assignment. For example, a functional block (component) that performs the transmission function may be called a transmitting unit, a transmitter, and the like. In either case, as mentioned above, there are no particular limitations on the method of realization.

For example, a base station, a user terminal, etc. in one embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that performs processing of the wireless communication method of the present disclosure. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a base station and a user terminal according to one embodiment. The above-mentioned base station 10 and user terminal 20 may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a storage 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, etc.

In addition, in this disclosure, the terms apparatus, circuit, device, section, unit, etc. may be interpreted as interchangeable. The hardware configuration of the base station 10 and the user terminal 20 may be configured to include one or more of the devices shown in the figures, or may be configured to exclude some of the devices.

For example, although only one processor 1001 is shown, there may be multiple processors. Furthermore, processing may be performed by one processor, or processing may be performed by two or more processors simultaneously, sequentially, or using other techniques. Furthermore, the processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips.

The functions of the base station 10 and the user terminal 20 are realized, for example, by loading specific software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 1001 and memory 1002, causing the processor 1001 to perform calculations, control communications via the communication device 1004, and control at least one of the reading and writing of data in the memory 1002 and storage 1003.

The processor 1001, for example, runs an operating system to control the entire computer. The processor 1001 may be configured as a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic unit, registers, etc. For example, at least a portion of the above-mentioned control unit 110 (210), transmission/reception unit 120 (220), etc. may be realized by the processor 1001.

The processor 1001 also reads out programs (program codes), software modules, data, etc. from at least one of the storage 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002, and executes various processes according to these. The programs used are those that cause a computer to execute at least some of the operations described in the above embodiments. For example, the control unit 110 (210) may be realized by a control program stored in the memory 1002 and running on the processor 1001, and similar implementations may be made for other functional blocks.

Memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be composed of at least one of, for example, Read Only Memory (ROM), Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), Electrically EPROM (EEPROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), and other suitable storage media. Memory 1002 may also be called a register, cache, main memory, etc. Memory 1002 can store executable programs (program codes), software modules, etc. for implementing a wireless communication method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be composed of at least one of a flexible disk, a floppy disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk (Compact Disc ROM (CD-ROM)), a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray disk), a removable disk, a hard disk drive, a smart card, a flash memory device (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a magnetic stripe, a database, a server, or other suitable storage medium. Storage 1003 may also be referred to as an auxiliary storage device.

The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmitting/receiving device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also called, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module. The communication device 1004 may be configured to include a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc., to realize at least one of Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD). For example, the above-mentioned transmitting/receiving unit 120 (220), transmitting/receiving antenna 130 (230), etc. may be realized by the communication device 1004. The transmitting/receiving unit 120 (220) may be implemented as a transmitting unit 120a (220a) and a receiving unit 120b (220b) that are physically or logically separated.

The input device 1005 is an input device (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that accepts input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (e.g., a display, a speaker, a Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamp, etc.) that outputs to the outside. The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into one structure (e.g., a touch panel).

Furthermore, each device such as the processor 1001 and memory 1002 is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between each device.

Furthermore, the base station 10 and the user terminal 20 may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized using the hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

(Modification)
In addition, the terms described in this disclosure and the terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, a channel, a symbol, and a signal (signal or signaling) may be read as mutually interchangeable. A signal may also be a message. A reference signal may be abbreviated as RS, and may be called a pilot, a pilot signal, or the like depending on the applied standard. A component carrier (CC) may also be called a cell, a frequency carrier, a carrier frequency, or the like.

A radio frame may be composed of one or more periods (frames) in the time domain. Each of the one or more periods (frames) constituting a radio frame may be called a subframe. Furthermore, a subframe may be composed of one or more slots in the time domain. A subframe may have a fixed time length (e.g., 1 ms) that is independent of numerology.

Here, the numerology may be a communication parameter that is applied to at least one of the transmission and reception of a signal or channel. The numerology may indicate, for example, at least one of the following: SubCarrier Spacing (SCS), bandwidth, symbol length, cyclic prefix length, Transmission Time Interval (TTI), number of symbols per TTI, radio frame configuration, a specific filtering process performed by the transceiver in the frequency domain, a specific windowing process performed by the transceiver in the time domain, etc.

A slot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain (such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbols, etc.). A slot may also be a time unit based on numerology.

A slot may include multiple minislots. Each minislot may consist of one or multiple symbols in the time domain. A minislot may also be called a subslot. A minislot may consist of fewer symbols than a slot. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted in a time unit larger than a minislot may be called PDSCH (PUSCH) mapping type A. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted using a minislot may be called PDSCH (PUSCH) mapping type B.

A radio frame, a subframe, a slot, a minislot, and a symbol all represent time units when transmitting a signal. A different name may be used for a radio frame, a subframe, a slot, a minislot, and a symbol, respectively. Note that the time units such as a frame, a subframe, a slot, a minislot, and a symbol in this disclosure may be read as interchangeable.

For example, one subframe may be called a TTI, multiple consecutive subframes may be called a TTI, or one slot or one minislot may be called a TTI. In other words, at least one of the subframe and the TTI may be a subframe (1 ms) in existing LTE, a period shorter than 1 ms (e.g., 1-13 symbols), or a period longer than 1 ms. Note that the unit representing the TTI may be called a slot, minislot, etc., instead of a subframe.

Here, TTI refers to, for example, the smallest time unit for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, a base station schedules each user terminal by allocating radio resources (such as frequency bandwidth and transmission power that can be used by each user terminal) in TTI units. Note that the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

The TTI may be a transmission time unit for a channel-coded data packet (transport block), a code block, a code word, etc., or may be a processing unit for scheduling, link adaptation, etc. When a TTI is given, the time interval (e.g., the number of symbols) in which a transport block, a code block, a code word, etc. is actually mapped may be shorter than the TTI.

Note that when one slot or one minislot is called a TTI, one or more TTIs (i.e., one or more slots or one or more minislots) may be the minimum time unit of scheduling. In addition, the number of slots (minislots) that constitute the minimum time unit of scheduling may be controlled.

A TTI having a time length of 1 ms may be called a normal TTI (TTI in 3GPP Rel. 8-12), normal TTI, long TTI, normal subframe, normal subframe, long subframe, slot, etc. A TTI shorter than a normal TTI may be called a shortened TTI, short TTI, partial or fractional TTI, shortened subframe, short subframe, minislot, subslot, slot, etc.

Note that a long TTI (e.g., a normal TTI, a subframe, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a time length of more than 1 ms, and a short TTI (e.g., a shortened TTI, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a TTI length shorter than the TTI length of a long TTI and equal to or greater than 1 ms.

A resource block (RB) is a resource allocation unit in the time domain and frequency domain, and may include one or more consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be the same regardless of numerology, and may be, for example, 12. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be determined based on numerology.

Furthermore, an RB may include one or more symbols in the time domain and may be one slot, one minislot, one subframe, or one TTI in length. One TTI, one subframe, etc. may each be composed of one or more resource blocks.

In addition, one or more RBs may be referred to as a physical resource block (Physical RB (PRB)), a sub-carrier group (Sub-Carrier Group (SCG)), a resource element group (Resource Element Group (REG)), a PRB pair, an RB pair, etc.

Furthermore, a resource block may be composed of one or more resource elements (REs). For example, one RE may be a radio resource area of one subcarrier and one symbol.

A Bandwidth Part (BWP), which may also be referred to as a partial bandwidth, may represent a subset of contiguous common resource blocks (RBs) for a given numerology on a given carrier, where the common RBs may be identified by an index of the RB relative to a common reference point of the carrier. PRBs may be defined in a BWP and numbered within the BWP.

The BWP may include a UL BWP (BWP for UL) and a DL BWP (BWP for DL). One or more BWPs may be configured for a UE within one carrier.

At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the UE may not expect to transmit or receive a given signal/channel outside the active BWP. Note that "cell," "carrier," etc. in this disclosure may be read as "BWP."

Note that the above-mentioned structures of radio frames, subframes, slots, minislots, and symbols are merely examples. For example, the number of subframes included in a radio frame, the number of slots per subframe or radio frame, the number of minislots included in a slot, the number of symbols and RBs included in a slot or minislot, the number of subcarriers included in an RB, as well as the number of symbols in a TTI, the symbol length, and the cyclic prefix (CP) length can be changed in various ways.

In addition, the information, parameters, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using absolute values, may be represented using relative values from a predetermined value, or may be represented using other corresponding information. For example, a radio resource may be indicated by a predetermined index.

The names used for parameters and the like in this disclosure are not limiting in any respect. Furthermore, the formulas and the like using these parameters may differ from those explicitly disclosed in this disclosure. The various channels (PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements may be identified by any suitable names, and therefore the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not limiting in any respect.

The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

Information, signals, etc. may be output from a higher layer to a lower layer and/or from a lower layer to a higher layer. Information, signals, etc. may be input/output via multiple network nodes.

Input/output information, signals, etc. may be stored in a specific location (e.g., memory) or may be managed using a management table. Input/output information, signals, etc. may be overwritten, updated, or added to. Output information, signals, etc. may be deleted. Input information, signals, etc. may be transmitted to another device.

The notification of information is not limited to the aspects/embodiments described in this disclosure, and may be performed using other methods. For example, the notification of information in this disclosure may be performed by physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI)), higher layer signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), etc.), Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling), other signals, or a combination of these.

The physical layer signaling may be called Layer 1/Layer 2 (L1/L2) control information (L1/L2 control signal), L1 control information (L1 control signal), etc. The RRC signaling may be called an RRC message, for example, an RRC Connection Setup message, an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, etc. The MAC signaling may be notified, for example, using a MAC Control Element (CE).

Furthermore, notification of specified information (e.g., notification that "X is the case") is not limited to explicit notification, but may be implicit (e.g., by not notifying the specified information or by notifying other information).

The determination may be based on a value represented by a single bit (0 or 1), a Boolean value represented by true or false, or a comparison of numerical values (e.g., with a predetermined value).

Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

Software, instructions, information, etc. may also be transmitted and received via a transmission medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using at least one of wired technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), and/or wireless technologies (such as infrared, microwave, etc.), then at least one of these wired and wireless technologies is included within the definition of a transmission medium.

As used in this disclosure, the terms "system" and "network" may be used interchangeably. "Network" may refer to the devices included in the network (e.g., base stations).

In this disclosure, terms such as "precoding," "precoder," "weight (precoding weight)," "Quasi-Co-Location (QCL)," "Transmission Configuration Indication state (TCI state)," "spatial relation," "spatial domain filter," "transmit power," "phase rotation," "antenna port," "antenna port group," "layer," "number of layers," "rank," "resource," "resource set," "resource group," "beam," "beam width," "beam angle," "antenna," "antenna element," and "panel" may be used interchangeably.

In this disclosure, terms such as "Base Station (BS)", "Radio base station", "Fixed station", "NodeB", "eNB (eNodeB)", "gNB (gNodeB)", "Access point", "Transmission Point (TP)", "Reception Point (RP)", "Transmission/Reception Point (TRP)", "Panel", "Cell", "Sector", "Cell group", "Carrier", "Component carrier", etc. may be used interchangeably. Base stations may also be referred to by terms such as macrocell, small cell, femtocell, picocell, etc.

A base station can accommodate one or more (e.g., three) cells. When a base station accommodates multiple cells, the entire coverage area of the base station can be divided into multiple smaller areas, and each smaller area can also provide communication services by a base station subsystem (e.g., a small base station for indoor use (Remote Radio Head (RRH))). The term "cell" or "sector" refers to a part or the entire coverage area of at least one of the base station and base station subsystems that provide communication services in this coverage.

In this disclosure, a base station transmitting information to a terminal may be interpreted as the base station instructing the terminal to control/operate based on the information.

In this disclosure, terms such as "Mobile Station (MS)", "user terminal", "User Equipment (UE)", and "terminal" may be used interchangeably.

A mobile station may also be referred to as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable terminology.

At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be called a transmitting device, a receiving device, a wireless communication device, etc. In addition, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be a device mounted on a moving object, the moving object itself, etc.

The moving body in question refers to an object that can move, and the moving speed is arbitrary, and of course includes the case where the moving body is stationary. The moving body in question includes, but is not limited to, vehicles, transport vehicles, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, connected cars, excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, dump trucks, forklifts, trains, buses, handcarts, rickshaws, ships and other watercraft, airplanes, rockets, artificial satellites, drones, multicopters, quadcopters, balloons, and objects mounted on these. The moving body in question may also be a moving body that moves autonomously based on an operating command.

The moving object may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned moving object (e.g., a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned). Note that at least one of the base station and the mobile station may also include devices that do not necessarily move during communication operations. For example, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be an Internet of Things (IoT) device such as a sensor.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a vehicle according to an embodiment. The vehicle 40 includes a drive unit 41, a steering unit 42, an accelerator pedal 43, a brake pedal 44, a shift lever 45, left and right front wheels 46, left and right rear wheels 47, an axle 48, an electronic control unit 49, various sensors (including a current sensor 50, a rotation speed sensor 51, an air pressure sensor 52, a vehicle speed sensor 53, an acceleration sensor 54, an accelerator pedal sensor 55, a brake pedal sensor 56, a shift lever sensor 57, and an object detection sensor 58), an information service unit 59, and a communication module 60.

The drive unit 41 is composed of at least one of an engine, a motor, and a hybrid of an engine and a motor, for example. The steering unit 42 includes at least a steering wheel (also called a handlebar), and is configured to steer at least one of the front wheels 46 and the rear wheels 47 based on the operation of the steering wheel operated by the user.

The electronic control unit 49 is composed of a microprocessor 61, memory (ROM, RAM) 62, and a communication port (e.g., an Input/Output (IO) port) 63. Signals are input to the electronic control unit 49 from various sensors 50-58 provided in the vehicle. The electronic control unit 49 may also be called an Electronic Control Unit (ECU).

Signals from the various sensors 50-58 include a current signal from a current sensor 50 that senses the motor current, a rotation speed signal of the front wheels 46/rear wheels 47 acquired by a rotation speed sensor 51, an air pressure signal of the front wheels 46/rear wheels 47 acquired by an air pressure sensor 52, a vehicle speed signal acquired by a vehicle speed sensor 53, an acceleration signal acquired by an acceleration sensor 54, a depression amount signal of the accelerator pedal 43 acquired by an accelerator pedal sensor 55, a depression amount signal of the brake pedal 44 acquired by a brake pedal sensor 56, an operation signal of the shift lever 45 acquired by a shift lever sensor 57, and a detection signal for detecting obstacles, vehicles, pedestrians, etc. acquired by an object detection sensor 58.

The information service unit 59 is composed of various devices, such as a car navigation system, audio system, speakers, displays, televisions, and radios, for providing (outputting) various information such as driving information, traffic information, and entertainment information, and one or more ECUs that control these devices. The information service unit 59 uses information acquired from external devices via the communication module 60, etc., to provide various information/services (e.g., multimedia information/multimedia services) to the occupants of the vehicle 40.

The information service unit 59 may include input devices (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, a touch panel, etc.) that accept input from the outside, and may also include output devices (e.g., a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, a touch panel, etc.) that perform output to the outside.

The driving assistance system unit 64 is composed of various devices that provide functions for preventing accidents and reducing the driver's driving load, such as a millimeter wave radar, a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), a camera, a positioning locator (e.g., a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)), map information (e.g., a High Definition (HD) map, an Autonomous Vehicle (AV) map, etc.), a gyro system (e.g., an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), an Inertial Navigation System (INS), etc.), an Artificial Intelligence (AI) chip, and an AI processor, and one or more ECUs that control these devices. The driving assistance system unit 64 also transmits and receives various information via the communication module 60 to realize a driving assistance function or an autonomous driving function.

The communication module 60 can communicate with the microprocessor 61 and components of the vehicle 40 via the communication port 63. For example, the communication module 60 transmits and receives data (information) via the communication port 63 between the drive unit 41, steering unit 42, accelerator pedal 43, brake pedal 44, shift lever 45, left and right front wheels 46, left and right rear wheels 47, axles 48, the microprocessor 61 and memory (ROM, RAM) 62 in the electronic control unit 49, and the various sensors 50-58 that are provided on the vehicle 40.

The communication module 60 is a communication device that can be controlled by the microprocessor 61 of the electronic control unit 49 and can communicate with an external device. For example, it transmits and receives various information to and from the external device via wireless communication. The communication module 60 may be located either inside or outside the electronic control unit 49. The external device may be, for example, the above-mentioned base station 10 or user terminal 20. The communication module 60 may also be, for example, at least one of the above-mentioned base station 10 and user terminal 20 (it may function as at least one of the base station 10 and user terminal 20).

The communication module 60 may transmit at least one of the signals from the various sensors 50-58 described above input to the electronic control unit 49, information obtained based on the signals, and information based on input from the outside (user) obtained via the information service unit 59 to an external device via wireless communication. The electronic control unit 49, the various sensors 50-58, the information service unit 59, etc. may be referred to as input units that accept input. For example, the PUSCH transmitted by the communication module 60 may include information based on the above input.

The communication module 60 receives various information (traffic information, signal information, vehicle distance information, etc.) transmitted from an external device and displays it on an information service unit 59 provided in the vehicle. The information service unit 59 may also be called an output unit that outputs information (for example, outputs information to a device such as a display or speaker based on the PDSCH (or data/information decoded from the PDSCH) received by the communication module 60).

The communication module 60 also stores various information received from external devices in memory 62 that can be used by the microprocessor 61. Based on the information stored in memory 62, the microprocessor 61 may control the drive unit 41, steering unit 42, accelerator pedal 43, brake pedal 44, shift lever 45, left and right front wheels 46, left and right rear wheels 47, axles 48, various sensors 50-58, and the like provided on the vehicle 40.

Furthermore, the base station in the present disclosure may be read as a user terminal. For example, each aspect/embodiment of the present disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a user terminal is replaced with communication between multiple user terminals (which may be called, for example, Device-to-Device (D2D), Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), etc.). In this case, the user terminal 20 may be configured to have the functions of the base station 10 described above. Furthermore, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" may be read as terms corresponding to terminal-to-terminal communication (for example, "sidelink"). For example, the uplink channel, downlink channel, etc. may be read as the sidelink channel.

Similarly, the user terminal in this disclosure may be interpreted as a base station. In this case, the base station 10 may be configured to have the functions of the user terminal 20 described above.

In this disclosure, operations that are described as being performed by a base station may in some cases be performed by its upper node. In a network that includes one or more network nodes having base stations, it is clear that various operations performed for communication with terminals may be performed by the base station, one or more network nodes other than the base station (such as, but not limited to, a Mobility Management Entity (MME) or a Serving-Gateway (S-GW)), or a combination of these.

Each aspect/embodiment described in this disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched between depending on the implementation. In addition, the processing procedures, sequences, flow charts, etc. of each aspect/embodiment described in this disclosure may be rearranged as long as there is no inconsistency. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an exemplary order, and are not limited to the particular order presented.

Each aspect/embodiment described in this disclosure includes Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), xth generation mobile communication system (xG (x is, for example, an integer or decimal)), Future Radio Access (FRA), New-Radio The present invention may be applied to systems that use Access Technology (RAT), New Radio (NR), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM (registered trademark)), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (registered trademark), and other appropriate wireless communication methods, as well as next-generation systems that are expanded, modified, created, or defined based on these. In addition, multiple systems may be combined (for example, a combination of LTE or LTE-A and 5G, etc.).

As used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly stated otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

Any reference to elements using designations such as "first," "second," etc., used in this disclosure does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed or that the first element must precede the second element in some way.

The term "determining" as used in this disclosure may encompass a wide variety of actions. For example, "determining" may be considered to be judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, search, inquiry (e.g., looking in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining, etc.

"Determining" may also be considered to mean "determining" receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), etc.

"Judgment" may also be considered to mean "deciding" to resolve, select, choose, establish, compare, etc. In other words, "judgment" may also be considered to mean "deciding" to take some kind of action.

In addition, "judgment (decision)" may be interpreted as "assuming," "expecting," "considering," etc.

The "maximum transmit power" referred to in this disclosure may mean the maximum value of transmit power, may mean the nominal UE maximum transmit power, or may mean the rated UE maximum transmit power.

As used in this disclosure, the terms "connected" and "coupled," or any variation thereof, refer to any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" to each other. The coupling or connection between the elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, "connected" may be read as "accessed."

In this disclosure, when two elements are connected, they may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to one another using one or more wires, cables, printed electrical connections, and the like, as well as using electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency range, microwave range, light (both visible and invisible) range, and the like, as some non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples.

In this disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "combined" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different."

When the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are used in this disclosure, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Additionally, the term "or," as used in this disclosure, is not intended to be an exclusive or.

In this disclosure, where articles have been added through translation, such as a, an, and the in English, this disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are plural.

In this disclosure, terms such as "less than", "less than", "greater than", "more than", "equal to", etc. may be read as interchangeable. In addition, in this disclosure, terms meaning "good", "bad", "big", "small", "high", "low", "fast", "slow", "wide", "narrow", etc. may be read as interchangeable, not limited to positive, comparative and superlative. In addition, in this disclosure, terms meaning "good", "bad", "big", "small", "high", "low", "fast", "slow", "wide", "narrow", etc. may be read as interchangeable, not limited to positive, comparative and superlative, as expressions with "ith" (i is any integer) (for example, "best" may be read as "ith best").

In this disclosure, the terms "of," "for," "regarding," "related to," "associated with," etc. may be read interchangeably.

　The invention disclosed herein has been described in detail above, but it is clear to those skilled in the art that the invention disclosed herein is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The invention disclosed herein can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the disclosure is intended as an illustrative example and does not impose any limiting meaning on the invention disclosed herein.

This application is based on Patent Application No. 2022-166495, filed on October 17, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety.

Claims (6)

1. a receiving unit for receiving a cell switch command of a special cell (SpCell) by Layer 1/Layer 2 (L1/L2) signaling;
   a control unit that makes different assumptions about the activation or deactivation status of a candidate cell based on the type of the candidate cell;
   A terminal having the above configuration.
2. The terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit assumes that an activation or deactivation status of the candidate cell is unchanged.
3. The terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the receiving unit receives an instruction to activate or deactivate the candidate cell.
4. The terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the receiving unit receives an index associated with a portion of a physical cell index (PCI) for a serving cell and a candidate cell in a cell group.
5. receiving a cell switch command for a special cell (SpCell) via Layer 1/Layer 2 (L1/L2) signaling;
   making different assumptions about the activation or deactivation status of a candidate cell based on the type of the candidate cell;
   A wireless communication method for a terminal having the above configuration.
6. A transmitter that transmits a cell switch command of a special cell (SpCell) by Layer 1/Layer 2 (L1/L2) signaling;
   A control unit that performs different control on an activation or deactivation status of a candidate cell based on the type of the candidate cell;
   A base station having

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