Patent Description:
3GPP document R4-<NUM> describes aspects of timing for pathloss RS activated/updated by MAC-CE. 3GPP document R1-<NUM> describes aspects of mutli beam operation. <CIT> describes aspects of uplink transmit power control. <CIT> describes a method for receiving reference signal resources in a wireless communication system and apparatus.

A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment, UE is provided, the method comprising determining a path loss reference signal, PLRS, ready time that indicates a time interval after which a PLRS is to be ready for use in performing an uplink power control operation, wherein the PLRS is activated by a downlink control information, DCI, based PLRS activation command and; wherein when physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, repetition is used to transmit in association with communicating the DCI based PLRS activation command, the time interval begins after reception of a particular PDCCH repetition, the particular PDCCH repetition being indicated via DCI; and performing the uplink power control operation, based at least in part on the PLRS, after the PLRS ready time. Further aspects are described with reference to the appended claims.

In some aspects, the BSs may be interconnected to one another and/or to one or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) in the wireless network <NUM> through various types of back haul interfaces such as a direct physical connection, a virtual network, and/or the like using any suitable transport network.

In the example shown in <FIG>, a relay base station 110d may communicate with macro BS 110a and a UE 120d in order to facilitate communication between BS 110a and UE 120d. A relay base station may also be referred to as a relay BS, a relay station, a relay, and/or the like.

<FIG> shows a diagram of a design <NUM> of base station <NUM> and UE <NUM>, which may be one of the base stations and one of the UEs in <FIG>.

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 path loss reference signal (PLRS) ready time for a downlink control information (DCI) based PLRS activation command, 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.

In some aspects, UE <NUM> may include means for determining a PLRS ready time that indicates an interval after which a PLRS is to be ready for use in performing an uplink power control operation, wherein the PLRS is activated by a DCI based PLRS activation command, means for performing the uplink power control operation, based at least in part on the PLRS, after the PLRS ready time, and/or the like. 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 aspects, base station <NUM> may include means for transmitting DCI that includes an activation command for a PLRS, means for determining a PLRS ready time that indicates an interval after which the PLRS is to be ready for use by a UE in performing an uplink power control operation, and/or the like. In some aspects, such means may include one or more components of the base station <NUM> described in connection with <FIG>, such as transmit processor <NUM>, TX MIMO processor <NUM>, modulator <NUM>, antenna <NUM>, DEMOD <NUM>, MIMO detector <NUM>, receive processor <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, memory <NUM>, scheduler <NUM>, and/or the like.

In some aspects, "wireless communication structure" may refer to a periodic time-bounded communication unit defined by a wireless communication standard and/or protocol.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example SS hierarchy, which is an example of a synchronization communication hierarchy.

A UE may receive a PLRS from a BS in connection with an uplink power control operation of the UE. For example, the UE may perform measurement of the PLRS in order to determine a path loss of a channel with the BS, and may determine an adjustment to a transmit power that is to be used by the UE for an uplink communication based at least in part on the determined path loss.

In some wireless communication systems, the BS may transmit, via a medium access control control element (MAC-CE), a PLRS activation command that indicates a PLRS that the UE is to receive (e.g., in connection with performing an uplink power control operation). However, use of a MAC-CE may introduce latency and cause delay to the UE's performance of the uplink power control operation and transmission of an associated uplink communication. In some cases, the PLRS activation command may be DCI based rather than MAC-CE based in order to reduce latency and delays. However, in some wireless communication systems, the UE may not be enabled to determine a PLRS ready time, at which the PLRS is to be ready for use in an uplink power control operation, for a PLRS activated by DCI.

Some techniques and apparatuses described herein enable a UE to determine a PLRS ready time for a PLRS activated by DCI. In this way, the UE may determine when a PLRS is to be ready for use in an uplink power control operation, and may subsequently, after the PLRS is ready, perform the uplink power control operation based at least in part on the PLRS.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example <NUM> of PLRS ready time for a DCI based PLRS activation command, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, a UE <NUM> may communicate with a BS <NUM> in connection with a PLRS. In some aspects, the PLRS may be associated with an uplink communication of the UE <NUM>, such as a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) communication, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) communication, or a sounding reference signal (SRS) of the UE <NUM>. For example, the PLRS may be associated with a beam that the UE <NUM> is to use for the uplink communication. In some aspects, the PLRS may be used by the UE <NUM> to perform an uplink power control operation for determining a transmit power that is to be used by the UE <NUM> for the uplink communication.

As shown in <FIG>, and by reference number <NUM>, the BS <NUM> may transmit, and the UE <NUM> may receive, a DCI based PLRS activation command. That is, the BS <NUM> may transmit DCI that indicates a PLRS (e.g., by a PLRS identifier) that is to be received by the UE <NUM>. In some aspects, the DCI also may indicate a resource in which the UE <NUM> is to receive the PLRS, a beam that the UE <NUM> is to use for receiving the PLRS, and/or the like.

The PLRS indicated by the DCI based PLRS activation command may be a new PLRS for the UE <NUM>. For example, the DCI based PLRS activation command may cause the UE <NUM> to switch from a previous (or current) PLRS to the new PLRS for use in performing a power control operation.

As shown by reference number <NUM>, the UE <NUM> may determine a PLRS ready time for the indicated PLRS based at least in part on receiving the DCI based PLRS activation command. The PLRS ready time may indicate a time at which the PLRS is to be ready for use in performing an uplink power control operation. For example, the PLRS ready time may indicate an interval after which the PLRS is to be ready for use in performing an uplink power control operation. In some aspects, the interval may be a quantity of samples of the PLRS or a time interval. In some aspects, the BS <NUM> may determine the PLRS ready time that is to be used by the UE <NUM> in a manner similar to that described herein for the UE <NUM>.

In some aspects, the UE <NUM> may determine the PLRS ready time based at least in part on a determination of whether the PLRS is known to the UE <NUM> or unknown to the UE <NUM>. For example, the PLRS ready time may be a longer interval when the PLRS is unknown to the UE <NUM> and may be a shorter interval when the PLRS is known to the UE <NUM>.

In some aspects, the UE <NUM> may determine that the PLRS is known to the UE <NUM> when the DCI based PLRS activation command is received by the UE <NUM> within a particular time period, and the PLRS, or a quasi co-located source synchronization signal block (SSB), is also detected by the UE <NUM> within the particular time period. Otherwise, in some aspects, the UE <NUM> may determine that the PLRS is unknown.

The UE <NUM> may determine the PLRS ready time (e.g., a quantity of samples or a time interval) based at least in part on one or more parameters (e.g., as a function of any combination of the parameters). For example, the UE <NUM> may determine the PLRS ready time for a known PLRS according to a first combination of one or more of the parameters, and determine the PLRS ready time for an unknown PLRS according to a second combination of one or more of the parameters.

In some aspects, a parameter may be THARQ, which represents a timing between a downlink transmission (e.g., a data transmission or a control transmission) and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment feedback for the downlink transmission. In some aspects, a parameter may be Tfirst-SSB, which represents a time to a first SSB transmission after a MAC-CE command (e.g., that configures communication of the SSB) is decoded by the UE <NUM>. In some aspects, a parameter may be TSSB-proc, which represents an SSB processing time (e.g., <NUM>) by the UE <NUM>. In some aspects, a parameter may be TL1-RSRP, which represents a time for a layer <NUM> (L1) RSRP measurement for receive beam refinement by the UE <NUM>.

In some aspects, a parameter may be TOk, which may represent whether the PLRS is active for the UE <NUM> (e.g., TOk may have a value of <NUM> when the PLRS is active or a value of <NUM> when the PLRS is not active). In some aspects, a parameter may be TOuk, which may represent whether the L1 RSRP measurement is based on a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or an SSB (e.g., TOuk may have a value of <NUM> when the L1 RSRP measurement is CSI-RS based or a value of <NUM> when the L1 RSRP measurement is SSB based). In some aspects, a parameter may be a numerology for a component carrier associated with the DCI based PLRS activation command, or a numerology for a component carrier associated with the PLRS.

In some aspects, such as when the ready time indicates a time interval, the time interval may begin after the UE <NUM> receives the DCI based PLRS activation command (e.g., the time interval may be from an end of the DCI based PLRS activation command). When the BS <NUM> uses physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) repetition to transmit the DCI based PLRS activation command, the time interval begins after the UE <NUM> receives a particular PDCCH repetition of the DCI based PLRS activation command. For example, the particular PDCCH repetition may be a first transmission of a PDCCH including the DCI based PLRS activation command, or a last transmission of a PDCCH including the DCI based PLRS activation command. As another example, the particular PDCCH repetition may be other than the first transmission or the last transmission (e.g., the particular PDCCH repetition may be an intermediate transmission). In such a case, the BS <NUM> may transmit, and the UE <NUM> may receive, an indication of the particular PDCCH repetition that is to be used for beginning the time interval (e.g., via at least one of radio resource control (RRC) signaling, a MAC-CE, or DCI).

In some aspects, such as when the ready time indicates a time interval, the time interval may begin after the UE <NUM> transmits acknowledgment feedback for the DCI based PLRS activation command (e.g., the time interval may be from an end of the acknowledgment feedback). When the UE <NUM> uses uplink repetition (e.g., PUCCH repetition) to transmit the acknowledgment feedback, the time interval may begin after the UE <NUM> transmits a particular uplink repetition of the acknowledgment feedback. For example, the particular uplink repetition may be a first transmission of an uplink communication including the acknowledgment feedback, or a last transmission of an uplink communication including the acknowledgment feedback. As another example, the particular uplink repetition may be other than the first transmission or the last transmission (e.g., the particular uplink repetition may be an intermediate transmission). In such a case, the BS <NUM> may transmit, and the UE <NUM> may receive, an indication of the particular uplink repetition that is to be used for beginning the time interval (e.g., via at least one of RRC signaling, a MAC-CE, or DCI).

As shown by reference number <NUM>, the BS <NUM> may transmit, and the UE <NUM> may receive, the PLRS. For example, the UE <NUM> may receive the PLRS in accordance with the DCI based PLRS activation command. In some aspects, the UE <NUM> may determine that the PLRS is ready for use in performing an uplink power control operation based at least in part on a determination that the determined PLRS ready time is satisfied. For example, in cases in which the PLRS ready time is a quantity of samples, the UE <NUM> may determine that the PLRS is ready for use in performing an uplink power control operation based at least in part on a determination that the UE <NUM> has taken the quantity of samples of the PLRS, or that a time corresponding to the quantity of samples has expired. As another example, in cases in which the PLRS ready time is a time interval, the UE <NUM> may determine that that the PLRS is ready for use in performing an uplink power control operation based at least in part on a determination that the time interval has expired.

As shown by reference number <NUM>, the UE <NUM> may perform an uplink power control operation, based at least in part on the PLRS, after the PLRS ready time. For example, after determining that the PLRS is ready for use in performing an uplink power control operation, as described above, the UE <NUM> may perform the uplink power control operation using the PLRS. In some aspects, the UE <NUM>, according to the uplink power control operation, may determine a path loss of a channel between the UE <NUM> and the BS <NUM> based at least in part on the PLRS. For example, the UE <NUM> may determine an RSRP of the PLRS, and compare the RSRP to a power at which the PLRS was transmitted in order to determine the path loss. The UE <NUM> may determine, according to the uplink power control operation, a transmit power for transmitting an uplink communication (e.g., a PUCCH, a PUSCH, and/or an SRS) based at least in part on the determined path loss, and may transmit the uplink communication according to the transmit power. In some aspects, the UE <NUM> may transmit, and the BS <NUM> may receive, after the PLRS ready time, the uplink communication using the transmit power.

<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 PLRS ready time for a DCI based activation command.

As shown in <FIG>, in some aspects, process <NUM> may include determining a PLRS ready time that indicates an interval after which a PLRS is to be ready for use in performing an uplink power control operation, wherein the PLRS is activated by a DCI based PLRS activation command (block <NUM>). For example, the UE (e.g., using controller/processor <NUM>, and/or the like) may determine a PLRS ready time that indicates an interval after which a PLRS is to be ready for use in performing an uplink power control operation, as described above. In some aspects, the PLRS is activated by a DCI based PLRS activation command.

As further shown in <FIG>, in some aspects, process <NUM> may include performing the uplink power control operation, based at least in part on the PLRS, after the PLRS ready time (block <NUM>). For example, the UE (e.g., using antenna <NUM>, DEMOD <NUM>, MIMO detector <NUM>, receive processor <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, and/or the like) may perform the uplink power control operation, based at least in part on the PLRS, after the PLRS ready time, as described above.

In a first aspect, the PLRS ready time is determined based at least in part on a determination of whether the PLRS is known to the UE or unknown to the UE. In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the PLRS is determined to be known to the UE when the DCI based PLRS activation command has been received within a particular time period, and the PLRS, or a quasi co-located source SSB, has been detected within the particular time period.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, the PLRS ready time is determined based at least in part on at least one of a timing between a downlink transmission and acknowledgment feedback for the downlink transmission, a time to a first SSB transmission after a MAC-CE command is decoded, an SSB processing time, a time for an L1 RSRP measurement for receive beam refinement, whether the PLRS is active for the UE, whether the L1 RSRP measurement is based on a CSI-RS or an SSB, or a numerology for at least one of a component carrier associated with the DCI based PLRS activation command or a component carrier associated with the PLRS.

In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, the interval is a quantity of samples of the PLRS or a time interval.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, the time interval begins after reception of the DCI based PLRS activation command.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, when PDCCH repetition is used in association with communicating the DCI based PLRS activation command, the time interval begins after reception of a particular PDCCH repetition. In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, the particular PDCCH repetition is a first transmission of a PDCCH including the DCI based PLRS activation command, an intermediate transmission of a PDCCH including the DCI based PLRS activation command, or a last transmission of a PDCCH including the DCI based PLRS activation command. In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, the particular PDCCH repetition is indicated via at least one of RRC signaling, a MAC-CE, or DCI.

In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, the time interval begins after transmission of acknowledgement feedback for the DCI based PLRS activation command.

In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, when uplink repetition is used in association with transmitting the acknowledgment feedback, the time interval begins after transmission of a particular uplink repetition. In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth aspects, the particular uplink repetition is a first transmission of an uplink communication including the acknowledgment feedback, an intermediate transmissions of an uplink communication including the acknowledgment feedback, or a last transmission of an uplink communication including the acknowledgment feedback. In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eleventh aspects, the particular uplink repetition is indicated via at least one of RRC signaling, a MAC-CE, or DCI.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example process <NUM> performed, for example, by a base station, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Example process <NUM> is an example where the base station (e.g., base station <NUM>) performs operations associated with PLRS ready time for a DCI based activation command.

As shown in <FIG>, in some aspects, process <NUM> may include transmitting DCI that includes an activation command for a PLRS (block <NUM>). For example, the base station (e.g., using transmit processor <NUM>, TX MIMO processor <NUM>, modulator <NUM>, antenna <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, and/or memory <NUM>) may transmit DCI that includes an activation command for a PLRS, as described above.

As further shown in <FIG>, in some aspects, process <NUM> may include determining a PLRS ready time that indicates an interval after which the PLRS is to be ready for use by a UE in performing an uplink power control operation (block <NUM>). For example, the base station (e.g., using controller/processor <NUM> and/or memory <NUM>) may determine a PLRS ready time that indicates an interval after which the PLRS is to be ready for use by a UE in performing an uplink power control operation, as described above.

In a first aspect, the PLRS ready time is determined based at least in part on a determination of whether the PLRS is known to the UE or unknown to the UE.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the PLRS is determined to be known to the UE when the DCI that includes the activation command for the PLRS has been received by the UE within a particular time period, and the PLRS, or a quasi co-located source SSB, has been detected by the UE within the particular time period.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, the PLRS ready time is determined based at least in part on at least one of a timing between a downlink transmission and acknowledgment feedback for the downlink transmission, a time to a first SSB transmission after a MAC-CE command is decoded, an SSB processing time of the UE, a time for a layer <NUM> RSRP measurement for receive beam refinement, whether the PLRS is active for the UE, whether the layer <NUM> RSRP measurement is based on a channel state information reference signal or an SSB, or a numerology for at least one of a component carrier associated with the DCI or a component carrier associated with the PLRS.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, the time interval begins after the UE receives the DCI that includes the activation command for the PLRS.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, when PDCCH repetition is used in association with transmitting the DCI that includes the activation command for the PLRS, the time interval begins after the UE receives a particular PDCCH repetition.

In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, the particular PDCCH repetition is a first transmission of a PDCCH including the DCI, an intermediate transmission of a PDCCH including the DCI, or a last transmission of a PDCCH including the DCI.

In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, the particular PDCCH repetition is indicated via at least one of RRC signaling, a MAC-CE, or DCI.

In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, the time interval begins after the UE transmits acknowledgement feedback for the DCI that includes the activation command for the PLRS.

In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, when uplink repetition is used in association with transmitting the acknowledgment feedback, the time interval begins after the UE transmits a particular uplink repetition.

In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth aspects, the particular uplink repetition is a first transmission of an uplink communication including the acknowledgment feedback, an intermediate transmissions of an uplink communication including the acknowledgment feedback, or a last transmission of an uplink communication including the acknowledgment feedback.

In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eleventh aspects, the particular uplink repetition is indicated via at least one of RRC signaling, a MAC-CE, or DCI.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example apparatus <NUM> for wireless communication, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The apparatus <NUM> may be a UE, or a UE may include the apparatus <NUM>. In some aspects, the apparatus <NUM> includes a reception component <NUM> and a transmission component <NUM>, which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and/or one or more other components). As shown, the apparatus <NUM> may communicate with another apparatus <NUM> (such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device) using the reception component <NUM> and the transmission component <NUM>. As further shown, the apparatus <NUM> may include one or more of a determination component <NUM> or a power control component <NUM>, among other examples.

In some aspects, the apparatus <NUM> may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection with <FIG>. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus <NUM> may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process <NUM> of <FIG>, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the apparatus <NUM> and/or one or more components shown in <FIG> may include one or more components of the UE described above in connection with <FIG>. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown in <FIG> may be implemented within one or more components described above in connection with <FIG>. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by a controller or a processor to perform the functions or operations of the component.

The determination component <NUM> may determine a PLRS ready time that indicates an interval after which a PLRS is to be ready for use in performing an uplink power control operation. In some aspects, the PLRS is activated by a DCI based PLRS activation command. The power control component <NUM> may perform the uplink power control operation, based at least in part on the PLRS, after the PLRS ready time.

The quantity and arrangement of components shown in <FIG> are provided as an example.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example apparatus <NUM> for wireless communication. The apparatus <NUM> may be a base station, or a base station may include the apparatus <NUM>. In some aspects, the apparatus <NUM> includes a reception component <NUM> and a transmission component <NUM>, which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and/or one or more other components). As shown, the apparatus <NUM> may communicate with another apparatus <NUM> (such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device) using the reception component <NUM> and the transmission component <NUM>. As further shown, the apparatus <NUM> may include a determination component <NUM>, among other examples.

In some aspects, the apparatus <NUM> may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection with <FIG>. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus <NUM> may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process <NUM> of <FIG>, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the apparatus <NUM> and/or one or more components shown in <FIG> may include one or more components of the base station described above in connection with <FIG>. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown in <FIG> may be implemented within one or more components described above in connection with <FIG>. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by a controller or a processor to perform the functions or operations of the component.

In some aspects, the reception component <NUM> may include one or more antennas, a demodulator, a MIMO detector, a receive processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the base station described above in connection with <FIG>.

In some aspects, the transmission component <NUM> may include one or more antennas, a modulator, a transmit MIMO processor, a transmit processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the base station described above in connection with <FIG>.

The transmission component <NUM> may transmit DCI that includes an activation command for a PLRS. The determination component <NUM> may determine a PLRS ready time that indicates an interval after which the PLRS is to be ready for use by a UE in performing an uplink power control operation.

Claim 1:
A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment, UE, comprising:
determining (<NUM>) a path loss reference signal, PLRS, ready time that indicates a time interval after which a PLRS is to be ready for use in performing an uplink power control operation,
wherein the PLRS is activated by a downlink control information, DCI, based PLRS activation command and;
wherein when physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, repetition is used to transmit the DCI based PLRS activation command, the time interval begins after reception of a particular PDCCH repetition, the particular PDCCH repetition being indicated via DCI; and
performing (<NUM>) the uplink power control operation, based at least in part on the PLRS, after the PLRS ready time.