Patent Description:
<NPL>, discusses activation time for pathloss reference signals. <NPL>, discusses UE behavior for PUCCH transmissions. <NPL>, discusses CSI-RS timing and signalling.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are stipulated in the dependent claims. While several embodiments and/or examples have been disclosed in the description, the subject matter for which protection is sought is limited by the scope of the appended claims. The following aspects are provided for illustrative purposes.

In some aspects, a method of wireless communication, performed by a user equipment (UE), may include identifying one or more pathloss reference signals based at least in part on whether a configuration, that indicates a set of pathloss reference signals, has been received and based at least in part on whether a pathloss reference signal activation command has been received; and estimating pathloss using the one or more pathloss reference signals.

In some aspects, a method of wireless communication, performed by a UE, may include identifying one or more pathloss reference signals based at least in part on a configuration that indicates a set of pathloss reference signals, wherein a number of pathloss reference signals, included in the set of pathloss reference signals, is based at least in part on whether pathloss reference signal activation commands are enabled or disabled; and estimating pathloss using the one or more pathloss reference signals.

In some aspects, a UE for wireless communication may include a memory and one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory. The memory and the one or more processors may be configured to identify one or more pathloss reference signals based at least in part on whether a configuration, that indicates a set of pathloss reference signals, has been received and based at least in part on whether a pathloss reference signal activation command has been received; and estimate pathloss using the one or more pathloss reference signals.

In some aspects, a UE for wireless communication may include a memory and one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory. The memory and the one or more processors may be configured to identify one or more pathloss reference signals based at least in part on a configuration that indicates a set of pathloss reference signals, wherein a number of pathloss reference signals, included in the set of pathloss reference signals, is based at least in part on whether pathloss reference signal activation commands are enabled or disabled; and estimate pathloss using the one or more pathloss reference signals.

In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store one or more instructions for wireless communication. The one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors of a UE, may cause the one or more processors to identify one or more pathloss reference signals based at least in part on whether a configuration, that indicates a set of pathloss reference signals, has been received and based at least in part on whether a pathloss reference signal activation command has been received; and estimate pathloss using the one or more pathloss reference signals.

In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store one or more instructions for wireless communication. The one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors of a UE, may cause the one or more processors to identify one or more pathloss reference signals based at least in part on a configuration that indicates a set of pathloss reference signals, wherein a number of pathloss reference signals, included in the set of pathloss reference signals, is based at least in part on whether pathloss reference signal activation commands are enabled or disabled; and estimate pathloss using the one or more pathloss reference signals.

In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication may include means for identifying one or more pathloss reference signals based at least in part on whether a configuration, that indicates a set of pathloss reference signals, has been received and based at least in part on whether a pathloss reference signal activation command has been received; and means for estimating pathloss using the one or more pathloss reference signals.

In some aspects, an apparatus for wireless communication may include means for identifying one or more pathloss reference signals based at least in part on a configuration that indicates a set of pathloss reference signals, wherein a number of pathloss reference signals, included in the set of pathloss reference signals, is based at least in part on whether pathloss reference signal activation commands are enabled or disabled; and means for estimating pathloss using the one or more pathloss reference signals.

Controller/processor <NUM> of base station <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM> of UE <NUM>, and/or any other component(s) of <FIG> may perform one or more techniques associated with pathloss reference signal identification, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, controller/processor <NUM> of base station <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM> of UE <NUM>, and/or any other component(s) of <FIG> may perform or direct operations of, for example, process <NUM> of <FIG>, process <NUM> of <FIG>, and/or other processes as described herein. Memories <NUM> and <NUM> may store data and program codes for base station <NUM> and UE <NUM>, respectively. In some aspects, memory <NUM> and/or memory <NUM> may comprise a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions for wireless communication. For example, the one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the base station <NUM> and/or the UE <NUM>, may perform or direct operations of, for example, process <NUM> of <FIG>, process <NUM> of <FIG>, and/or other processes as described herein.

According to the invention, UE <NUM> includes means for identifying one or more pathloss reference signals based at least in part on whether a configuration, that indicates a set of pathloss reference signals, has been received and based at least in part on whether a pathloss reference signal activation command has been received; means for estimating pathloss using the one or more pathloss reference signals; and/or the like. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE <NUM> may include means for identifying one or more pathloss reference signals based at least in part on a configuration that indicates a set of pathloss reference signals, wherein a number of pathloss reference signals, included in the set of pathloss reference signals, is based at least in part on whether pathloss reference signal activation commands are enabled or disabled; means for estimating pathloss using the one or more pathloss reference signals. In some aspects, such means may include one or more components of UE <NUM> described in connection with <FIG>, such as controller/processor <NUM>, transmit processor <NUM>, TX MIMO processor <NUM>, MOD <NUM>, antenna <NUM>, DEMOD <NUM>, MIMO detector <NUM>, receive processor <NUM>, and/or the like.

In some scenarios, quasi co-location (QCL) information (e.g., a QCL property) and/or a QCL type may depend on or be a function of other information. A QCL property may include, for example, a Doppler shift, a Doppler spread, an average delay, a delay spread, or spatial receive parameters, among other examples. For example, one or more QCL types indicated to a UE can be based on a higher layer parameter QCL-Type and may take one or a combination of the following types:.

A UE may use spatial QCL assumptions (e.g., spatial receive parameters of QCL-TypeD) to select an analog or digital receive (Rx) beam (e.g., during a beam management procedure). For example, a synchronization signal block (SSB) resource indicator (SSBRI or SRI) may indicate that a same beam used for a previous reference signal should be used for a subsequent communication.

A UE may identify an initial control resource set (CORESET) (e.g., having CORESET ID <NUM> or simply CORESET#<NUM>) in NR during an initial procedure (e.g., via a field in a master information block (MIB)). A ControlResourceSet information element (CORESET IE) sent via radio resource control (RRC) signaling (e.g., included in an RRC message) may convey information regarding a CORESET configured for a UE. The CORESET IE generally includes a CORESET identifier (ID), an indication of frequency domain resources (e.g., a number of RBs) assigned to the CORESET, contiguous time duration of the CORESET in a number of symbols, and Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states.

A TCI state may indicate a directionality or a characteristic of a downlink beam, such as one or more QCL properties of the downlink beam. As noted above, a subset of the TCI states indicate QCL relationships between DL reference signals (RSs) in one reference signal (RS) set (e.g., TCI-Set) and physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports. A particular TCI state for a given UE (e.g., for unicast PDCCH) may be conveyed to the UE by a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (MAC-CE). The particular TCI state is generally selected from the set of TCI states conveyed by the CORESET IE, with the initial CORESET (CORESET#<NUM>) generally configured via MIB.

Search space information may also be provided via RRC signaling. For example, the Search Space IE is another RRC IE that defines resources where the UE is to search for PDCCH candidates for a given CORESET. Each search space is associated with one CORESET. The Search Space IE identifies a search space configured for a CORESET using a search space ID. In an aspect, the search space ID associated with CORESET#<NUM> is Search Space ID#<NUM>. The search space is generally configured via a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) (e.g., in a MIB).

In many cases, it is important for a UE to know which assumptions the UE can make on a channel corresponding to different transmissions. For example, the UE may need to know which reference signals the UE can use to estimate the channel in order to decode a transmitted signal or communication (e.g., a PDCCH communication or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) communication). It may also be important for the UE to be able to report relevant channel state information (CSI) to a base station for scheduling, link adaptation, and/or beam management purposes. In NR, the concept of QCL and TCI states is used to convey information about these assumptions.

QCL assumptions are generally defined in terms of channel properties. Per 3GPP TS <NUM>, "two antenna ports are said to be quasi-co-located if properties of the channel over which a symbol on one antenna port is conveyed can be inferred from the channel over which a symbol on the other antenna port is conveyed. " Different reference signals may be considered quasi co-located ("QCLed" or "QCL'd") if a receiver (e.g., a UE) can apply channel properties determined by detecting a first reference signal to help detect a second reference signal. TCI states generally include configurations such as QCL relationships, for example, between the DL RSs in one channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) set and the PDSCH DMRS ports.

In some cases, a UE may be configured with up to M TCI-States. Configuration of the M TCI-States can be via higher layer signalling, while a UE may be signalled to decode a PDSCH according to a detected PDCCH with downlink control information (DCI) indicating one of the TCI states. Each configured TCI state may include one RS set TCI-RS-SetConfig that indicates different QCL assumptions between certain source and target signals.

A UE may measure one or more downlink reference signals, received from a base station, to estimate pathloss between the UE and the base station. Pathloss indicates a reduction in power density of a signal as the signal propagates between wireless communication devices (e.g., a UE and a base station). For example, the base station may transmit a downlink reference signal with a transmit power that is known by the UE (e.g., due to an indication from the base station or due to a fixed transmit power). The UE may decode the downlink reference signal and measure a receive power that represents a power level at which the downlink reference signal is received by the UE. The UE may compare the transmit power (e.g., a reference signal transmit power) and the receive power (e.g., RSRP) to determine the pathloss. This is one example of estimating pathloss from a downlink reference signal, and the UE may estimate pathloss in another manner.

In some cases, a base station may configure (e.g., using a radio resource control (RRC) message) a set of pathloss reference signals, sometimes referred to as a pathloss reference signal pool. In some cases, the base station may instruct the UE to use one or more pathloss reference signals, of the configured set of pathloss reference signals, using a command (e.g., a signal, a message, and/or the like). For example, the base station may activate one or more pathloss reference signals, of the configured set of pathloss reference signals, by transmitting a pathloss reference signal activation command to the UE. In some cases, the pathloss reference signal activation command may be included in a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (collectively, MAC-CE). Upon receiving a MAC-CE that indicates one or more pathloss reference signals that are to be activated, the UE may measure those one or more activated pathloss reference signals and/or may use those one or more activated pathloss reference signals to estimate pathloss between the UE and the base station.

In addition to the activated pathloss reference signals for measuring and/or estimating pathloss, the UE may use one or more default pathloss reference signals, if any. The default pathloss reference signals for sounding reference signals (SRSs), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) communications, and physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) communications scheduled by DCI format 0_0 may be enabled by a corresponding RRC flag such as:.

If enabled, a default pathloss reference signal is QCLed (with one of QCL types A, B, C, or D) with reference signal QCL parameters or properties used for receiving the CORESET with the lowest ID in the active downlink bandwidth part (BWP) of the current component carrier (CC) of the UE. If no CORESETs are configured for the UE in the active downlink BWP, then the default pathloss reference signal is one QCL Type A, Type B, Type C, or Type D reference signal in the TCI state activated for PDSCH reception in the active DL BWP of the current CC of the UE. In some aspects, the default pathloss reference signals and the activated pathloss reference signals may be measured and/or used for estimation when a MAC-CE-based pathloss reference signal activation feature has been enabled (e.g., an RRC flag enablePLRSupdateForPUSCHSRS is set to true) and the total number of configured pathloss reference signals satisfies a threshold (e.g., is greater than four). In some aspects, all configured pathloss reference signals and activated pathloss reference signals may be measured and/or used for estimation when the MAC-CE-based pathloss reference signal activation feature has been enabled and the total number of configured pathloss reference signals does not satisfy the threshold (e.g., is less than or equal to four).

However, in some cases, a UE may receive a configuration that indicates the set of pathloss reference signals, but may fail to receive a MAC-CE that activates one or more pathloss reference signals of the configured set of pathloss reference signals. For example, the base station may fail to transmit the MAC-CE, the UE may fail to receive and/or successfully decode the MAC-CE, and/or the like. In these cases, there may be ambiguity about which pathloss reference signal(s) that the UE should use to estimate pathloss. For example, the base station may expect the UE to use a first pathloss reference signal (or a first set of pathloss reference signals) to estimate pathloss, but the UE may use a second pathloss reference signal (or a second set of pathloss reference signals) to estimate pathloss. This may result in improper uplink transmit power determination (e.g., selection, calculation, and/or the like) by the UE, such as when pathloss is used to determine a transmit power for the UE. Determination of an improper uplink transmit power may result in failed uplink communications if the UE selects a transmit power that is lower than necessary, and may result in excess consumption of UE resources (e.g., battery power) if the UE selects a transmit power that is higher than necessary. Similar issues may arise if the UE has not received a configured set of pathloss reference signals (e.g., due to failure of an RRC message, due to the configuration failing to indicate the set of pathloss reference signals, and/or the like).

Some techniques and apparatuses described herein enable a UE and a base station to reduce ambiguity in pathloss reference signal selection. For example, some techniques and apparatuses described herein provide rules for a UE to follow in various scenarios (e.g., when a configured set of pathloss reference signals is or is not received, when an activation command is or is not received, and/or the like) to select one or more pathloss reference signals. In this way, the UE may properly determine an uplink transmit power, which may improve reliability of uplink communications, may reduce latency and conserve network resources due to fewer failed communications, may conserve UE battery power by reducing the likelihood of determining an uplink transmit power that is too high, and/or the like.

Furthermore, some techniques and apparatuses described herein conserve UE resources (e.g., processing resources, memory resources, battery power, and/or the like) by limiting a number of pathloss reference signals that are permitted to be configured when MAC-CE-based activation of pathloss reference signals is disabled. When MAC-CE-based activation of pathloss reference signals is disabled, configuring a large number (e.g., greater than a threshold number) of pathloss reference signals may result in the UE always measuring that large number of pathloss reference signals because a MAC-CE cannot be used to activate or deactivate pathloss reference signals. Thus, some techniques and apparatuses described herein conserve UE resources by setting a maximum number of pathloss reference signals that are permitted to be configured when MAC-CE-based activation of pathloss reference signals is disabled. These techniques and apparatuses may also improve flexibility in using pathloss reference signals by allowing more than the maximum number of pathloss reference signals to be configured when MAC-CE-based activation of pathloss reference signals is enabled.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example process <NUM> performed, for example, by a UE, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Example process <NUM> is an example where the UE (e.g., UE <NUM> and/or the like) performs operations associated with pathloss reference signal identification.

As shown in <FIG>, according to the invention, process <NUM> includes identifying one or more pathloss reference signals based at least in part on whether a configuration, that indicates a set of pathloss reference signals, has been received and based at least in part on whether a pathloss reference signal activation command has been received (block <NUM>). For example, the UE (e.g., using receive processor <NUM>, transmit processor <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, memory <NUM>, identification component <NUM> of <FIG>, and/or the like) may identify one or more pathloss reference signals based at least in part on whether a configuration, that indicates a set of pathloss reference signals, has been received and based at least in part on whether a pathloss reference signal activation command has been received.

As further shown in <FIG>, according to the invention, process <NUM> includes estimating pathloss using the one or more pathloss reference signals (block <NUM>). For example, the UE (e.g., using receive processor <NUM>, transmit processor <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, memory <NUM>, estimation component <NUM> of <FIG>, and/or the like) may estimate pathloss using the one or more pathloss reference signals.

In a first aspect, the one or more pathloss reference signals are identified based at least in part on at least one of: whether pathloss reference signal activation commands are enabled, a number of configured pathloss reference signals, whether the number of configured pathloss reference signals satisfies a threshold, or a combination thereof.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the one or more pathloss reference signals are identified based at least in part on a determination that pathloss reference signal activation commands are enabled and the number of configured pathloss reference signals satisfies a threshold. In some aspects, the UE may determine that pathloss reference signal activation commands are enabled based at least ine part on a determination that the configuration (e.g., an RRC message) includes a specific information element (IE) or bit (e.g., an enablePLRSupdateForPUSCHSRS IE or bit) that is set to a specific value. For example, a first value of the IE or bit (e.g., zero) may indicate that pathloss reference signal activation commands are disabled, and a second value of the IE or bit (e.g., one) may indicate that pathloss reference signal activation commands are enabled. In some aspects, the threshold is equal to four.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, the one or more pathloss reference signals are identified based at least in part on a determination that pathloss reference signal activation commands are enabled and the number of configured pathloss reference signals does not satisfy a threshold. In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, the one or more pathloss reference signals are identified based at least in part on a determination that pathloss reference signal activation commands are disabled and the number of configured pathloss reference signals satisfies a threshold. In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, the one or more pathloss reference signals are identified based at least in part on a determination that pathloss reference signal activation commands are disabled and the number of configured pathloss reference signals does not satisfy a threshold. In some aspects, the threshold is equal to four. In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, the pathloss reference signal activation commands are MAC-CE commands.

In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, the one or more pathloss reference signals are identified based at least in part on a determination that the configuration has been received and based at least in part on a determination that the pathloss reference signal activation command has been received. In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, the one or more pathloss reference signals are indicated in the pathloss reference signal activation command. In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, the one or more pathloss reference signals include the set of pathloss reference signals indicated in the configuration or a subset of the set of pathloss reference signals indicated in the configuration. For example, if the UE receives the configuration and the pathloss reference signal activation command, then the UE may use the pathloss reference signals indicated in the pathloss reference signal activation command to estimate pathloss.

In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, the one or more pathloss reference signals are identified based at least in part on a determination that the configuration has been received and based at least in part on a determination that the pathloss reference signal activation command has not been received. In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth aspects, the one or more pathloss reference signals include a synchronization signal block used to obtain a master information block. In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eleventh aspects, the one or more pathloss reference signals include a subset of the set of pathloss reference signals. In a thirteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twelfth aspects, the subset is identified based at least in part on a rule. In a fourteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirteenth aspects, the subset includes a specific number of pathloss reference signals (e.g., four pathloss reference signals).

In a fifteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourteenth aspects, the subset includes one of: a subset of pathloss reference signals, included in the set of pathloss reference signals, having highest reference signal identifiers among the set of pathloss reference signals; a subset of pathloss reference signals, included in the set of pathloss reference signals, having lowest reference signal identifiers among the set of pathloss reference signals; a subset of pathloss reference signals, included in the set of pathloss reference signals, having highest reference signal identifiers, in a serving cell, among the set of pathloss reference signals; a subset of pathloss reference signals, included in the set of pathloss reference signals, having lowest reference signal identifiers, in the serving cell, among the set of pathloss reference signals; a subset of pathloss reference signals, included in the set of pathloss reference signals, having highest reference signal identifiers, in an active bandwidth part of the serving cell, among the set of pathloss reference signals; or a subset of pathloss reference signals, included in the set of pathloss reference signals, having lowest reference signal identifiers, in an active bandwidth part of the serving cell, among the set of pathloss reference signals.

In a sixteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifteenth aspects, the one or more pathloss reference signals are indicated by a base station or are specified by a wireless communication standard. For example, the base station and/or the wireless communication standard may indicate that a specific CSI-RS (e.g., having a particular CSI-RS identifier, such as <NUM>) is to be used for pathloss estimation if the UE has not received the configuration and/or has not received the pathloss reference signal activation command. In a seventeenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixteenth aspects, the one or more pathloss reference signals are not included in the set of pathloss reference signals.

In an eighteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventeenth aspects, the one or more pathloss reference signals include a subset of pathloss reference signals, of the set of pathloss reference signals, that is indicated in the configuration. In a nineteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighteenth aspects, the subset of pathloss reference signals includes at least one of: a pathloss reference signal indicated in association with a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) power control configuration (e.g., for PUSCH power control, the UE may use a pathloss reference signal indicated in an SRI-PUSCH-PowerControl IE of the configuration), a pathloss reference signal indicated in association with an activated physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) spatial relation (e.g., for PUCCH power control, the UE may use a pathloss reference signal configured in association with a PUCCH spatial relation that is activated by a MAC-CE), a pathloss reference signal indicated in association with a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource set (e.g., for SRS power control, the UE may use a pathloss reference signal indicated in an SRS resource set for that SRS), or a combination thereof. In a twentieth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through nineteenth aspects, a number of pathloss reference signals, included in the subset of pathloss reference signals, is less than or equal to a threshold (e.g., four).

In a twenty-first aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twentieth aspects, the one or more pathloss reference signals are identified based at least in part on a determination that the configuration has not been received and based at least in part on a determination that the pathloss reference signal activation command has not been received. In a twenty-second aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-first aspects, the one or more pathloss reference signals include a synchronization signal block used to obtain a master information block. In a twenty-third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-second aspects, the one or more pathloss reference signals are indicated by a base station or are specified by a wireless communication standard. For example, the base station and/or the wireless communication standard may indicate that a specific CSI-RS (e.g., having a particular CSI-RS identifier, such as <NUM>) is to be used for pathloss estimation if the UE has not received the configuration and/or has not received the pathloss reference signal activation command.

In a twenty-fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-third aspects, the one or more pathloss reference signals are identified for a particular uplink channel or a particular uplink reference signal. For example, the one or more pathloss reference signals may be identified for a PUCCH (e.g., a PUCCH communication), a PUSCH (e.g., a PUSCH communication), a physical random access channel (PRACH) (e.g., a PRACH communication), an SRS, and/or the like. In a twenty-fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-fourth aspects, different uplink channels (e.g., PUCCH, PUSCH, PRACH, and/or the like) or different uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) are associated with at least one of: different configurations that indicate corresponding sets of pathloss reference signals for a corresponding uplink channel or uplink reference signal, different pathloss reference signal activation commands, or a combination thereof.

In a twenty-sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-fifth aspects, the configuration and the pathloss reference signal activation command are specific to an uplink channel (e.g., PUCCH, PUSCH, PRACH, and/or the like), an uplink reference signal (e.g., SRS), a group of uplink channels (e.g., PUCCH, PUSCH, PRACH, and/or the like), a group of uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS in multiple SRS resource sets), or a group that includes at least one uplink channel and at least one uplink reference signal. In a twenty-seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-sixth aspects, the one or more pathloss reference signals are identified for all uplink channels and all uplink reference signals.

According to the invention, in a twenty-eight aspect, a number of pathloss reference signals, included in the set of pathloss reference signals, is based at least in part on whether pathloss reference signal activation commands are enabled or disabled. In a twenty-ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-eighth aspects, the number of pathloss reference signals is permitted to be greater than a threshold (e.g., four) if pathloss reference signal activation commands are enabled, and is not permitted to be greater than the threshold (e.g., four) if pathloss reference signal activation commands are disabled.

In a thirtieth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twenty-ninth aspects, the configuration is included in a radio resource control message. In a thirty-first aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirtieth aspects, the pathloss reference signal activation command is a MAC-CE message. In a thirty-second aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirty-first aspects, the set of pathloss reference signals includes at least one channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

In a thirty-first aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirtieth aspects, the one or more pathloss reference signals comprise one or more default pathloss reference signals.

As shown in <FIG>, in some aspects, process <NUM> may include identifying one or more pathloss reference signals based at least in part on a configuration that indicates a set of pathloss reference signals, wherein a number of pathloss reference signals, included in the set of pathloss reference signals, is based at least in part on whether pathloss reference signal activation commands are enabled or disabled (block <NUM>). For example, the UE (e.g., using receive processor <NUM>, transmit processor <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, memory <NUM>, identification component <NUM> of <FIG>, and/or the like) may identify one or more pathloss reference signals based at least in part on a configuration that indicates a set of pathloss reference signals. In some aspects, a number of pathloss reference signals, included in the set of pathloss reference signals, is based at least in part on whether pathloss reference signal activation commands are enabled or disabled.

As further shown in <FIG>, in some aspects, process <NUM> may include estimating pathloss using the one or more pathloss reference signals (block <NUM>). For example, the UE (e.g., using receive processor <NUM>, transmit processor <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, memory <NUM>, estimation component <NUM> of <FIG>, and/or the like) may estimate pathloss using the one or more pathloss reference signals.

In a first aspect, the number of pathloss reference signals is permitted to be greater than a threshold if pathloss reference signal activation commands are enabled, and is not permitted to be greater than the threshold if pathloss reference signal activation commands are disabled.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the one or more pathloss reference signals comprise one or more default pathloss reference signals.

<FIG> is a data flow diagram <NUM> illustrating a data flow between different components in an apparatus <NUM>. The apparatus <NUM> is UE. The apparatus <NUM> includes a reception component <NUM>, an identification component <NUM>, an estimation component <NUM>, and/or a transmission component <NUM>. As shown, the apparatus <NUM> may communicate with another apparatus <NUM> (e.g., a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device) using the reception component <NUM> and/or the transmission component <NUM>. As shown the apparatus <NUM> may communicate with an apparatus <NUM>, such as a base station.

According to the invention, the identification component <NUM> identifies one or more pathloss reference signals based at least in part on whether a configuration, that indicates a set of pathloss reference signals, has been received and based at least in part on whether a pathloss reference signal activation command has been received. In some aspects, the identification component <NUM> may determine whether the configuration and/or the pathloss reference signal activation command has been received based at least in part on information received from the reception component <NUM>. In some aspects, the reception component <NUM> may receive (or may not receive) the configuration from the apparatus <NUM> and/or may receive (or may not receive) the pathloss reference signal activation command from the apparatus <NUM>. The reception component <NUM> may indicate, to the identification component <NUM>, whether the configuration has been received and/or whether the pathloss reference signal activation command has been received. Additionally, or alternatively, the reception component <NUM> may provide the configuration and/or the pathloss reference signal activation command to the identification component <NUM>. In some aspects, the identification component <NUM> may identify the one or more pathloss reference signals based at least in part on the configuration and/or based at least in part on the pathloss reference signal activation command.

The estimation component <NUM> estimates pathloss using the one or more pathloss reference signals. For example, the identification component <NUM> may indicate the identified one or more pathloss reference signals to the estimation component <NUM>. Additionally, or alternatively, the reception component <NUM> may provide received pathloss reference signals (e.g., from the configured set of pathloss reference signals) to the estimation component <NUM>. The estimation component <NUM> may use the identified one or more pathloss reference signals to estimate pathloss. In some aspects, the estimation component <NUM> may indicate the estimated pathloss to the transmission component <NUM>. In some aspects, the transmission component <NUM> may use the estimated pathloss to communicate with the apparatus <NUM>, such as to determine a transmit power for a communication to be transmitted to the apparatus <NUM>.

The apparatus may include additional components that perform each of the blocks of the algorithm in the aforementioned process <NUM> of <FIG>, process <NUM> of <FIG>, and/or the like. Each block in the aforementioned process <NUM> of <FIG>, process <NUM> of <FIG>, and/or the like may be performed by a component and the apparatus may include one or more of those components.

<FIG> is a diagram <NUM> illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus <NUM> employing a processing system <NUM>. The apparatus <NUM> may be a UE.

The processing system <NUM> may be implemented with a bus architecture, represented generally by the bus <NUM>. The bus <NUM> may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specific application of the processing system <NUM> and the overall design constraints. The bus <NUM> links together various circuits including one or more processors and/or hardware components, represented by the processor <NUM>, the components <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or <NUM>, and the computer-readable medium / memory <NUM>. The bus <NUM> may also link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art, and therefore will not be described any further.

The processing system <NUM> may be coupled to a transceiver <NUM>. The transceiver <NUM> is coupled to one or more antennas <NUM>. The transceiver <NUM> provides a means for communicating with various other apparatuses over a transmission medium. The transceiver <NUM> receives a signal from the one or more antennas <NUM>, extracts information from the received signal, and provides the extracted information to the processing system <NUM>, specifically the reception component <NUM>. In addition, the transceiver <NUM> receives information from the processing system <NUM>, specifically the transmission component <NUM>, and based at least in part on the received information, generates a signal to be applied to the one or more antennas <NUM>.

The processing system <NUM> includes a processor <NUM> coupled to a computer-readable medium / memory <NUM>. The processor <NUM> is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium / memory <NUM>. The software, when executed by the processor <NUM>, causes the processing system <NUM> to perform the various functions described herein for any particular apparatus. The computer-readable medium / memory <NUM> may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the processor <NUM> when executing software. The processing system further includes at least one of the components <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or <NUM>. The components may be software modules running in the processor <NUM>, resident/stored in the computer readable medium / memory <NUM>, one or more hardware modules coupled to the processor <NUM>, or some combination thereof.

In some aspects, the processing system <NUM> may be a component of the UE <NUM> and may include the memory <NUM> and/or at least one of the TX MIMO processor <NUM>, the RX processor <NUM>, and/or the controller/processor <NUM>. In some aspects, the apparatus <NUM> for wireless communication includes means for identifying one or more pathloss reference signals based at least in part on whether a configuration, that indicates a set of pathloss reference signals, has been received and based at least in part on whether a pathloss reference signal activation command has been received; means for estimating pathloss using the one or more pathloss reference signals; and/or the like. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus <NUM> for wireless communication may include means for identifying one or more pathloss reference signals based at least in part on a configuration that indicates a set of pathloss reference signals, wherein a number of pathloss reference signals, included in the set of pathloss reference signals, is based at least in part on whether pathloss reference signal activation commands are enabled or disabled; means for estimating pathloss using the one or more pathloss reference signals; and/or the like. The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned components of the apparatus <NUM> and/or the processing system <NUM> of the apparatus <NUM> configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. As described elsewhere herein, the processing system <NUM> may include the TX MIMO processor <NUM>, the RX processor <NUM>, and/or the controller/processor <NUM>. In one configuration, the aforementioned means may be the TX MIMO processor <NUM>, the RX processor <NUM>, and/or the controller/processor <NUM> configured to perform the functions and/or operations recited herein.

Claim 1:
A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment, UE, comprising:
identifying (<NUM>) one or more pathloss reference signals based at least in part on whether a configuration, that indicates a set of pathloss reference signals, has been received and based at least in part on whether a pathloss reference signal activation command has been received,
wherein a number of pathloss reference signals, included in the set of pathloss reference signals, is permitted to be greater than a threshold if pathloss reference signal activation commands are enabled, and is not permitted to be greater than the threshold if pathloss reference signal activation commands are disabled; and
estimating (<NUM>) pathloss using the one or more pathloss reference signals.