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EP-4740354-A1 - UNIFIED TCI STATE SWITCHING ENHANCEMENTS FOR MTRP

EP4740354A1EP 4740354 A1EP4740354 A1EP 4740354A1EP-4740354-A1

Abstract

Apparatuses, systems, and methods for unified TCI state switching enhancements for mTRP operation, e.g., in 5GNR systems and beyond. For downlink unified TCI state switching during mTRP operation, a UE may determine a TCI code point with at least two TCI states is switching TCI states and that a first TCI state is switching to a known target TCI state and a second TCI state is switching to an unknown target TCI state. The UE may determine a switching delay for the at least two TCI states. The switching delay may be based, at least in part, on a delay for the unknown target TCI state. The switching delay may be based on an unknown switching delay as defined by Release 17 of the 3 GPP standard. The switching delay may be reduced as compared to an unknown switching delay as defined by Release 17 of the 3 GPP standard.

Inventors

  • RAGHAVAN, Manasa
  • CHEN, XIANG
  • CUI, JIE
  • TANG, YANG
  • LI, QIMING
  • ZHANG, DAWEI

Assignees

  • Apple Inc.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240808

Claims (20)

  1. 1. A method for downlink unified Transmission Control Information (TCI) state switching during multiple transmit reception point (mTRP) operation, comprising: determining a TCI code point with at least two TCI states is switching TCI states; determining a first TCI state of the at least two TCI states is switching to a known target TCI state and a second TCI state of the at least two TCI states is switching to an unknown target TCI state; and determining a switching delay for the at least two TCI states, wherein the switching delay is based, at least in part, on a delay for the unknown target TCI state.
  2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the switching delay is based on an unknown switching delay as defined by Release 17 of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) standard.
  3. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the switching delay is a first switching delay applicable to the second TCI state, and wherein a second switching delay is applicable to the first TCI state.
  4. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the switching delay is reduced as compared to an unknown switching delay as defined by Release 17 of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) standard.
  5. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein, to reduce the switching delay as compared to the switching delay as defined by Release 17 of the 3 GPP standard, a first antenna panel associated with the first TCI state assists a second antenna panel associated with the second TCI state with layer 1 (LI) measurements for the unknown target TCI state.
  6. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein a sweeping factor associated with the LI measurements for the unknown target TCI state is less than eight and specified by the 3GPP standard.
  7. 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: receiving, from a network, an indication of whether a reduced sweeping factor is enabled, wherein the sweeping factor comprises the reduced sweeping factor.
  8. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the reduced sweeping factor is enabled for a single Downlink Control Information (DCI) case; and wherein the reduced sweeping factor is disabled for a multi-DCI case.
  9. 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the indication is cell-specific.
  10. 10. The method of claim 5, further comprising: reporting, via a user equipment (UE) capability indication, a sweeping factor associated with the LI measurements for the unknown target TCI state.
  11. 11. The method of claim 5, further comprising: transmitting, to a network, an indication of a sweeping factor that overrides a default sweeping factor.
  12. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein transmitting, to the network, the indication of the sweeping factor further comprises transmitting, to the network an indication of a timer associated with the sweeping factor along with the indication of the sweeping factor.
  13. 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: reverting back to the default sweeping factor upon expiration of the timer.
  14. 14. A computer program product, comprising a computer program, which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 13.
  15. 15. A baseband processor, comprising: a memory; and processing circuitry in communication with the memory and configured to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 13.
  16. 16. A method for uplink unified Transmission Control Information (TCI) state switching during multiple transmit reception point (mTRP) operation, comprising: determining a TCI code point with at least two TCI states is switching TCI states; determining a first TCI state of the at least two TCI states is switching to a known target TCI state; determining that at least one pathloss (PL) reference signal (RS) associated with the at least two TCI states is not-maintained; and determining a switching delay for the at least two TCI states, wherein the switching delay is based, at least in part, on a delay for a non-maintained PL-RS.
  17. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the switching delay is based on a non-maintained PL-RS switching delay as defined by Release 17 of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) standard.
  18. 18. The method of claim 16, wherein the switching delay is a first switching delay applicable to the first TCI state, and wherein a second switching delay is applicable to a second TCI state of the at least two TCI states.
  19. 19. The method of claim 16, wherein a second TCI state of the at least two TCI states is switching to an other known target TCI state; and wherein the switching delay is reduced as compared to a non-maintained PL-RS switching delay as defined by Release 17 of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) standard.
  20. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein, to reduce the switching delay as compared to the switching delay as defined by Release 17 of the 3 GPP standard, a first antenna panel associated with the first TCI state assists a second antenna panel associated with the second TCI state with beam sweeping.

Description

Unified TCI State Switching Enhancements for Mtrp FIELD [0001] The invention relates to wireless communications, and more particularly to apparatuses, systems, and methods for unified transmission control information (TCI) state switching enhancements for multiple transmit-receive point (mTRP) operation, e.g., in 5G NR systems and beyond. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART [0002] Wireless communication systems are rapidly growing in usage. In recent years, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computers have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting telephone calls, many mobile devices now provide access to the internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using the global positioning system (GPS) and are capable of operating sophisticated applications that utilize these functionalities. [0003] Long Term Evolution (LTE) is currently the technology of choice for the majority of wireless network operators worldwide, providing mobile broadband data and high-speed Internet access to their subscriber base. LTE was first proposed in 2004 and was first standardized in 2008. Since then, as usage of wireless communication systems has expanded exponentially, demand has risen for wireless network operators to support a higher capacity for a higher density of mobile broadband users. Thus, in 2015 study of a new radio access technology began and, in 2017, a first release of Fifth Generation New Radio (5G NR) was standardized. [0004] 5G-NR, also simply referred to as NR, provides, as compared to LTE, a higher capacity for a higher density of mobile broadband users, while also supporting device-to-device, ultrareliable, and massive machine type communications with lower latency and/or lower battery consumption. Further, NR may allow for more flexible UE scheduling as compared to current LTE. Consequently, efforts are being made in ongoing developments of 5G-NR to take advantage of higher throughputs possible at higher frequencies. SUMMARY [0005] Embodiments relate to wireless communications, and more particularly to apparatuses, systems, and methods for unified transmission control information (TCI) state switching enhancements for multiple transmit-receive point (mTRP) operation, e.g., in 5G NR systems and beyond. [0006] For example, in some embodiments, for downlink unified TCI state switching during mTRP operation, a UE may be configured to determine a TCI code point with at least two TCI states is switching TCI states and determine a first TCI state of the at least two TCI states is switching to a known target TCI state and a second TCI state of the at least two TCI states is switching to an unknown target TCI state. In addition, the UE may be configured to determine a switching delay for the at least two TCI states. The switching delay may be based, at least in part, on a delay for the unknown target TCI state. Further, the switching delay may be based on an unknown switching delay as defined by Release 17 of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) standard. Additionally, the switching delay may be reduced as compared to an unknown switching delay as defined by Release 17 of the 3GPP standard, e.g., by enabling a first antenna panel associated with the first TCI state to assist a second antenna panel associated with the second TCI state with layer 1 (LI) measurements for the unknown target TCI state. [0007] As another example, in some embodiments, for uplink unified TCI state switching during mTRP operation, a UE may be configured to determine a TCI code point with at least two TCI states is switching TCI states and determine that at least one pathloss (PL) reference signal (RS) associated with the at least two TCI states is not-maintained. In addition, the UE may be configured to determine a switching delay for the at least two TCI states. The switching delay may be based, at least in part, on a delay for a non-maintained PL-RS. In some instances, the switching delay may be based on a non-maintained PL-RS switching delay as defined by Release 17 of the 3 GPP standard. [0008] As a further example, in some embodiments, for joint (e.g., combined uplink and downlink) unified TCI state switching during mTRP operation, a UE may be configured to determine a TCI code point with at least two TCI states is switching TCI states and determine that at least one PL-RS associated with the at least two TCI states is not-maintained. In addition, the UE may be configured to determine a switching delay for the at least two TCI states. The switching delay may be based, at least in part, on a delay for a non-maintained PL-RS. In some instances, the switching delay may be based on a non-maintained PL-RS switching delay as defined by Release 17 of the 3 GPP standard. [0009] The techniques described herein may be implemented in and/or used with a number of different types of devices, including but not limited to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned aerial controllers (UACs), a UTM server, base