Patent Description:
<NPL> discusses enhancements for multi-TRP/panel transmission considering previous agreements and objectives of WI for NR MIMO enhancements in Rel-<NUM> NR. <NPL>, is also acknowledged.

In accordance with the present invention, there are provided: an apparatus for wireless communication at a base station as recited by claim <NUM>, a method of wireless communication at a base station as recited by claim <NUM>, an apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment as recited by claim <NUM>, and a method of wireless communication at a user equipment as recited by claim <NUM>. Preferred features are set out in the dependent claims.

These features are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspects may be employed in accordance with the appended claims.

By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, combinations of the types of computer-readable media, or any other medium that can be used to store computer executable code in the form of instructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer.

According to the invention as claimed, the base station <NUM>/<NUM> may include a slot aggregation and SFN configuration component <NUM> configured to configure slot aggregation for a transmission and transmit some of the slots within the slot aggregation under the SFN. For example, the slot aggregation and SFN configuration component <NUM> may configure a slot to be transmitted with multiple repetitions, where some of the repetitions may be transmitted using SFN slots and some of the repetitions may be transmitted using non-SFN slots. In one configuration, the slot aggregation and SFN configuration component <NUM> may be configured to configure a UE to receive multiple repetitions of a transmission using a slot aggregation. In such a configuration, the slot aggregation and SFN configuration component <NUM> may be configured to indicate to the UE one or more beams used for each repetition of the transmission. In such a configuration, the slot aggregation and SFN configuration component <NUM> may be configured to transmit the multiple repetitions of the transmission based on the one or more beams indicated to the UE, wherein at least one of the multiple repetitions of the transmission is transmitted based on SFN operation using more than one beams.

According to the invention as claimed, the UE <NUM> may include a slot aggregation and SFN determination component <NUM> configured to receive slots that are transmitted under the SFN mode and slots transmitted under the non-SFN mode. The slot aggregation and SFN determination component <NUM> may further determine whether a slot is transmitted under the SFN mode, and may configure one or more different beam for receiving the SFN slots. In one configuration, the slot aggregation and SFN determination component <NUM> may be configured to receive a configuration from a base station for receiving multiple repetitions of a transmission in a slot aggregation. In such a configuration, the slot aggregation and SFN determination component <NUM> may be configured to receive an indication indicating one or more beams used for the multiple repetitions of the transmission. In such a configuration, the slot aggregation and SFN determination component <NUM> may be configured to receive a first repetition of the transmission in a first slot based on SFN operation using at least one configuration that is different from a configuration used for receiving a second repetition in a second slot based on non-SFN operation.

Frequency range bands include frequency range <NUM> (FR1), which includes frequency bands below <NUM>, and frequency range <NUM> (FR2), which includes frequency bands above <NUM>. Although a portion of FR1 is greater than <NUM>, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a "Sub-<NUM>" band in various documents and articles. A similar nomenclature issue sometimes occurs with regard to FR2, which is often referred to (interchangeably) as a mmW band in documents and articles, despite being different from the EHF band which is identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a mmW band.

Communications using the mmW / near mmW radio frequency (RF) band (e.g., <NUM> - <NUM>) has extremely high path loss and a short range. Base stations / UEs may operate within one or more frequency range bands.

In the examples provided by <FIG>, the <NUM> NR frame structure is assumed to be TDD, with subframe <NUM> being configured with slot format <NUM> (with mostly DL), where D is DL, U is UL, and F is flexible for use between DL/UL, and subframe <NUM> being configured with slot format <NUM> (with mostly UL).

For slot configuration <NUM>, different numerologies µ <NUM> to <NUM> allow for <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> slots, respectively, per subframe. Accordingly, for slot configuration <NUM> and numerology µ, there are <NUM> symbols/slot and 2µ slots/subframe. <FIG> provide an example of slot configuration <NUM> with <NUM> symbols per slot and numerology µ=<NUM> with <NUM> slots per subframe. The slot duration is <NUM>, the subcarrier spacing is <NUM>, and the symbol duration is approximately <NUM>. Within a set of frames, there may be one or more different bandwidth parts (BWPs) (see <FIG>) that are frequency division multiplexed. Each BWP may have a particular numerology.

A PDCCH within one BWP may be referred to as a control resource set (CORESET). Additional BWPs may be located at greater and/or lower frequencies across the channel bandwidth. Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the locations of the DM-RS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH), which carries a master information block (MIB), may be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form a synchronization signal (SS)/PBCH block (also referred to as SS block (SSB)).

At least one of the TX processor <NUM>, the RX processor <NUM>, and the controller/processor <NUM> may be configured to perform aspects in connection with the slot aggregation and SFN determination component <NUM> of <FIG>.

At least one of the TX processor <NUM>, the RX processor <NUM>, and the controller/processor <NUM> may be configured to perform aspects in connection with the slot aggregation and SFN configuration component <NUM> of <FIG>.

A communication network may support a single frequency network (SFN) operation. Under the SFN operation, base stations (e.g., cells, TRPs, etc.) may use the same frequency to transmit (e.g., multicast, broadcast, etc.) the same information. This may enable the network to extend the coverage area without the use of additional frequencies. For example, <FIG> is a diagram 400A illustrating an example of an SFN, where Cell A, Cell B and Cell C may operate under a same frequency to communicate with a UE <NUM>, such as transmitting the same data on the same frequency and time resources to the UE <NUM>. <FIG> is a diagram 400B illustrating an example of a non-SFN or a multi-frequency network (MFN), where each cell (e.g., Cell A, Cell B and Cell C) may operate under different frequencies, and may communicate with the UE <NUM> using different frequencies and/or time resources. A network may support both the SFN mode and the non-SFN mode, and may switch between the SFN and the non-SFN modes while communicating with a UE. Under the SFN mode, interference between base stations and the UE may be reduced as multiple base stations may serve the UE with the same frequency. In some examples, the SFN mode may improve the communication (e.g., transmission power) from the base station as more base stations may be used for transmitting the data. The SFN may also support information broadcast, where multiple base stations may broadcast information to multiple UEs at the same time.

As described previously, a base station may communicate with a UE based on beamforming. When a network is operating under the non-SFN mode and a UE is communicating with a base station, the beam from the UE (e.g., Tx and/or Rx beam(s) of the UE) and the beam from the base station (e.g., Tx and/or Rx beam(s) of the base station) may be pointing toward each other or aligned in a related direction. For example, <FIG> is a diagram 500A illustrating an example of a beamforming under a non-SFN mode. A base station <NUM> may use a beam <NUM> to communicate with a UE <NUM>, such as transmitting data to the UE <NUM>, and the UE <NUM> may use a beam <NUM> to communicate with the base station <NUM>, such as receiving the data from the base station <NUM>. On the other hand, when the network is operating under the SFN mode, a UE may be communicating with multiple base stations, such as shown by <FIG>. In some examples, an SFN may be a transparent SFN or a non-transparent SFN. Under the transparent SFN, a UE may not know if a transmission/communication from a base station is coming from multiple base stations/TRPs and/or from other base station(s) /TRP(s), whereas under the non-transparent SFN, a UE may know if a transmission/communication from a base station is coming from multiple base stations/TRPs and/or from other base station(s) /TRP(s).

<FIG> is a diagram 500B illustrating an example of a transparent SFN. The UE <NUM> may be served by a base stations <NUM> and a base station <NUM>, where the base stations <NUM> and <NUM> may simultaneously transmit a same data using a same frequency resource to the UE <NUM> with beams <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively. However, the UE <NUM> may not be aware of the transmission from the base station <NUM> or the beam <NUM>, and the UE <NUM> may not have a configured beam to communicate with the base station <NUM>. For example, the UE <NUM> may use a beam <NUM> to communicate with the base station <NUM>, but the beam <NUM> may not in whole or in part aligned with the beam <NUM>. In other words, the UE <NUM> may not know that a transmission is transmitted or broadcasted from multiple base stations or other base station(s) under the transparent SFN operation. Note that while the example illustrates the concept for two base stations <NUM> and <NUM>, the concept may be applied for more than two base stations (e.g., four, six etc.) that may be deployed to communicate with the UE <NUM> using same frequency resources under the SFN.

Under the non-transparent SFN, such as shown by diagram 500C in <FIG>, a UE <NUM> may receive an indication from a serving base station <NUM> that one or more transmission beams (e.g., beams <NUM> and <NUM>) may be used for communicating with the UE <NUM> from different or with multiple base stations (e.g., base stations <NUM> and <NUM>). In other words, the base station <NUM> may indicate to the UE <NUM> that the transmission is transmitted under the SFN mode. In response, the UE <NUM> may configure a beam <NUM> for communicating with (e.g., receiving data from) the base station <NUM>, and may configure another beam <NUM> for communicating with the base station <NUM>. Optionally, instead of using a separate or additional beam (e.g., the <NUM>) for communicating with the base station <NUM>, the UE <NUM> may also configure a beam that is able to communicate with both base stations <NUM> and <NUM>, such as by using a wider beam. Thus, the UE <NUM> may optimize the communication (e.g., data reception) if the UE <NUM> is aware that one or more transmissions are transmitted from multiple base stations (e.g., transmitted under the SFN mode).

In some examples, a base station may inform a UE regarding beam(s) used by the base station(s)/TRP(s) for communicating with the UE by sending a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state to the UE, such as via a DCI. For example, the base station may indicate to the UE that it is using a first TCI state (e.g., TCI state #<NUM>) to communicate with the UE, where the first TCI state may correspond to a Tx/Rx beam or a set of Tx/Rx beams of the base station. In response, the UE may adjust its beam(s) for communicating with the base station. If the TCI state include a set of beams (e.g., multiple beams), each beam in the set of beams may come from different base stations under the SFN mode. For example, the TCI state may indicate that the base station is using three beams to communicate with (e.g., to transmit to) the UE, where one beam may come from a first base station (e.g., base station A), one beam may come from a second base station (e.g., base station B), and one beam may come from a third base station (e.g., base station C), etc. Under the transparent SFN mode, the UE may not be aware that the transmission is transmitted from the three base stations. Thus, the UE may treat the transmission as if there is no SFN, such as by receiving the transmission using one beam that is aligned with one base station. On the other hand, under the non-transparent SFN, the UE may be made aware of the transmission from multiple base stations and beam(s) used by each base station.

A network may improve the reliability of a transmission based on slot aggregation. Under slot aggregation, an initial transmission of a packet may be followed by repetitions of the same packet, such as in consecutive slots. An aggregation factor (e.g., number of repetitions) K may be configured by a higher layer of the network, where K=<NUM> may indicate there is no aggregation (e.g., repetition) after the initial transmission and K=<NUM> may indicate there is seven aggregations after the initial transmission. As a same packet (e.g., data) may be transmitted multiple times by a transmitting device (e.g., a base station or a UE), a receiving device may have a higher chance of accurately/successfully receiving the packet, thereby improving the reliability of the transmission. In addition, each repetition of the slot aggregation may be transmitted from a different beam of a base station and/or from a different base station (e.g., TRP). For example, a first repetition (e.g., repetition#<NUM>) may be transmitted from a first TRP (e.g., TRP#<NUM>) based on a first (e.g., beam <NUM>) of the first TRP, and second repetition (e.g., repetition#<NUM>) may be transmitted from a second TRP (e.g., TRP#<NUM>) or a second beam (e.g., beam <NUM>) of the first TRP, etc..

Aspects presented herein may enable a network to optimize a communication between a base station and a UE by applying slot aggregation and an SFN mode to the communication. In one aspect, the slot aggregation may be combined with an SFN transmission, where a data packet may be transmitted from one or more base stations using same frequency resources under the SFN mode, and the data packet may also be transmitted with repetitions over slots (e.g., based on the slot aggregation).

In some examples, a UE may experience that a combined transmission from multiple channels/beams or base stations under the SFN mode may have a worse performance than a transmission (e.g., a non-combined single channel transmission) from an individual base station (e.g., under the non-SFN mode). For example, feedings from different beams and base stations may cancel each other instead of combining. In other examples, the UE may experience that the combined transmission under the SFN yields better performance than the single channel transmission. As such, by enabling a network to apply/configure both the slot aggregation and the SFN mode for transmissions, the network (e.g., the base station and/or the UE) may have more flexibility in scheduling and configuring transmissions. For example, a wireless device (e.g., a base station or UE) may transmit different data repetitions from different base stations/beams, or transmit one or more repetitions under the SFN mode and one or more repetitions under the non-SFN mode, etc. For example, a UE may be configured to receive a first repetition (e.g., repetition#<NUM>) from a first base station/TRP (e.g., base station <NUM> or TRP1), receive a second repetition (repetition#<NUM>) from a second base station/TRP (e.g., base station <NUM> or TRP2), and receive a third repetition (e.g., repetition#<NUM>) from both of the first base station and the second base station (e.g., under the SFN mode), etc. In some examples, if a base station is under a broadcast mode (e.g., the base station is transmitting broadcast messages to one or more UEs), the base station may not know the location of the receiving UE(s). Thus, by sending a transmission with repetitions and from different base stations and/or beams, the receiving UE(s) is more likely to receive the transmission successfully.

To enable slot aggregation while the base station is transmitting under the SFN mode, a combined SFN TCI state and non-SFN TCI state (e.g., regular TCI state) may be configured in one slot aggregation, where one or more aggregated (e.g., repeated) slots may be configured with the SFN transmission and one or more aggregated slots may be configured with the non-SFN transmission. In one aspect of the present disclosure, if a transmission is associated with the non-transparent SFN where the UE may be aware of the beams used by one or more base stations for communicating with the UE, such as described in connection with <FIG>, the UE may determine its beam(s) in advance to optimize the reception of the transmission. In another aspect of the present disclosure, one or more SFN transmissions/repetitions may be configured or arranged to locate after the non-SFN transmissions/repetitions to provide a UE with more time to adjust the FFT window and/or frequency error correction, and/or to adjust its beam(s) to receive one or more transmissions/repetitions from other directions. For example, during a single (e.g., non-SFN) transmission, a UE may refine its receiving (e.g., Rx) beam(s) based on DM-RS, and then the UE may determine one or more best receiving beam(s) and/or channel equalizers for the SFN (e.g., a combined channel from previous non-SFN beams).

In one example, a base station may enable slot aggregation with SFN mode by configuring the slot aggregation at the base station and sending an indication to a receiving UE regarding beam(s) used for each slot aggregation (e.g., repetition), where some slots/repetitions may be transmitted using one or more beams associated with the SFN mode and some slots/repetitions may be transmitted using one or more beams associated with the non-SFN mode.

<FIG> is a communication flow <NUM> illustrating an example of a communication between a UE <NUM> and a base station <NUM> based on slot aggregation and SFN/non-SFN modes according to various aspects of the present disclosure. At <NUM>, the base station <NUM> may configure and apply slot aggregation to a transmission, such as by configuring and assigning an aggregation factor K for the transmission. The base station <NUM> may also configure one or more beam(s) used for transmitting each slot (or repetition) of the slot aggregation at <NUM>, where one or more beams may be configured for transmitting SFN slots (e.g., slots transmitted under the SFN mode) and one or more beams may be configured for transmitting non-SFN slots (e.g., slots transmitted under the non-SFN mode).

At <NUM>, the base station <NUM> may transmit an indication or a configuration to the UE <NUM> indicating that the transmission from the base station <NUM> is configured with slot aggregation and the aggregation level (e.g., number of repetitions). The indication or the configuration may also configure the UE <NUM> to receive multiple repetitions of a transmission based on the slot aggregation.

At <NUM>, the base station <NUM> may transmit an indication to the UE <NUM> indicating one or more beam(s) used for each slot within the slot aggregation (e.g., used for each repetition of the transmission). The indication may include one or more TCI states, and the transmission may be transmitted in a DCI. For example, the base station <NUM> may indicate that a first slot in the transmission (e.g., slot aggregation) is transmitted based on a first TCI state (e.g., TCI state#<NUM>), a second slot is transmitted based on a second TCI state (e.g., TCI state#<NUM>), and a third slot is transmitted based on a third TCI state (e.g., TCI state#<NUM>), where beams associated with the third TCI state may include beams used for the first TCI state and/or the second TCI state, etc. The indication for slot aggregation at <NUM> and the indication for transmitting beam(s) at <NUM> may be transmitted within one indication (e.g., message), such as via a DCI, or they may be transmitted as two separate indications through different messages.

At <NUM>, the base station <NUM> may transmit multiple repetitions of the transmission based on the beam(s) indicated to the UE <NUM> (e.g., at least one repetition may be transmitted based on SFN operation using more than one beams). In other words, the base station <NUM> may transmit the transmission with slot aggregation that includes SFN slots and non-SFN slots.

As illustrated previously, an SFN may be operated under the transparent mode or the non-transparent mode. When the SFN is operating under the transparent mode, the UE <NUM> may not be aware that the transmission is coming from more than one base stations (e.g., TRPs). In some examples, if the base station <NUM> is transmitting the SFN slots under the transparent SFN mode, at <NUM>, the UE <NUM> may be configured to receive the transmission (e.g., both SFN and non-SFN slots) assuming that the transmission is not transmitted with the SFN mode. In other words, the UE <NUM> may receive the transmission based on a non-SFN setting as if there is no SFN. For example, the UE <NUM> may determine the beam(s) for receiving the transmission under the assumption that the transmission comes from the base station <NUM> and not from other base station(s)/TRP(s).

On the other hand, if the base station <NUM> is transmitting the SFN slots under the non-transparent SFN mode, at <NUM>, based at least in part on the indication(s) transmitted at <NUM> and/or <NUM>, the UE <NUM> may additionally determine which slots within the transmission are transmitted based on the SFN mode and which slots are transmitted base on the non-SFN mode. In some examples, by determining which slots are SFN slots (e.g., slots transmitted under the SFN mode) and which slots are non-SFN slots (e.g., slots transmitted under the non-SFN mode), the UE <NUM> may further determine one or more configurations for receiving the SFN slots and the non-SFN slots, such as determining its receiving beam(s) and/or to optimize the reception of the transmission at <NUM>. In other examples, power delay profile (PDP) of the channel for transmitting the SFN slots may be different from PDP of the channel for transmitting the non-SFN slots. As such, by determining which slots are SFN slots and which slots are non-SFN slots, as shown at <NUM>, the UE <NUM> may determine a first configuration for receiving the SFN slots and a second configuration (e.g., a configuration that is different from the first configuration) for receiving the non-SFN slots. For example, the UE <NUM> may use a same beam and/or receiver spatial filter for receiving the SFN-slots and the non-SFN slots, but the UE <NUM> may use different tracking reference signals (TRSs) for SFN slots and non-SFN slots to derive different power delay profiles for the SFN and non-SFN channel. The UE <NUM> may also use different PDP assumption to perform channel estimation and decoding.

For example, the UE <NUM> may know that a first slot (e.g., slot#<NUM>) is transmitted under the non-SFN mode by the base station <NUM>, and a second slot (e.g., slot#<NUM>) and a third slot (e.g., slot#<NUM>) are transmitted under the SFN mode by the base station <NUM> and a second base station from two different directions. Thus, in some examples, the UE <NUM> may determine to use a first receiving beam that is pointing toward the base station <NUM> for receiving the first slot, and the UE <NUM> may determine to use a second receiving beam that is pointing toward the base station <NUM> or the second base station for receiving the second slot and the third slot. In other examples, the UE <NUM> may determine to use a first receiving configuration (e.g., a first PDP) for receiving the first slot, and the UE <NUM> may determine to use a second receiving configuration (e.g., a second PDP) for receiving the second slot and the third slot, etc..

In some examples, the UE <NUM> may determine which receiving beam(s)/configuration(s) to use based on the channel condition between the UE <NUM> and the base stations/TRPs (e.g., the base station <NUM> and the second base station), where the UE <NUM> may choose a receiving beam that is pointing toward a base station or a receiving configuration that has a better channel condition. Alternatively, or additionally, the UE <NUM> may use a receiving beam (but with same or different receiving configurations) to receive from both base stations, such as by using a wider beam what is capable of receiving beams from both base stations. In another example, the UE <NUM> may also use one receiving beam for each base station, such that there is a first beam for receiving the SFN slots from the base station <NUM> and a second beam for receiving the SFN slots from the second base station, etc. Note while the example uses two base stations for the illustration, more than two base stations (e.g., four, six, etc.) may be deployed to transmit the SFN slots and from more than two directions.

Aspects presented herein may enable the UE <NUM> to determine whether a slot within the transmission is transmitted by the base station <NUM> under the SFN mode or the non-SFN mode. In one aspect, the base station <NUM> may transmit an explicit indication to the UE <NUM> indicating which slots are transmitted under the SFN mode and which base stations/TRPs are transmitting these SFN slots, such as at steps <NUM> and/or <NUM> or at an additional step. For example, the base station <NUM> may signal to the UE that the third slot (e.g., slot#<NUM>) is to be transmitted from the base station <NUM> using a first beam (e.g., beams#<NUM>) and a second beam (e.g., beam#<NUM>) under the SFN mode, etc..

In another aspect, the UE <NUM> may identify the SFN slots and non-SFN slots based at least in part on the beam configuration used for each slot aggregation. For example, the base station may configure one beam (e.g., one TCI state) for non-SFN slots and multiple beams (e.g., multiple TCI states) for SFN slots. Thus, when the UE <NUM> receives the beam configuration (e.g., at <NUM>) from the base station <NUM>, the UE <NUM> may identify the slot type for each slot (e.g., SFN or non-SFN) based on the number of beams (e.g., number of TCI states) configured for each slot. In another example, the base station <NUM> may associate/map a tracking reference signal (TRS), such as CRI-RS, to a TCI state, where the UE <NUM> may use the TRS to derive refined time and/or frequency tracking of PDSCH/PDCCH channel(s). The UE <NUM> may also derive one or more channel statistics of the corresponding TCI state associated with TRS, where the one or more channel statistics may include power delay profile of the beamformed channel of the TCI state, and/or the doppler profile, etc. As such, the base station may configure/associate one TRS for non-SFN slots and multiple TRSs for SFN slots. Thus, when the UE <NUM> receives the beam configuration (e.g., at <NUM>) from the base station <NUM>, the UE <NUM> may identify the slot type for each slot (e.g., SFN or non-SFN) based on the number of TRSs configured for or associated with each slot.

In another aspect, the UE <NUM> may identify the SFN and non-SFN slots based on a predefined rule or configuration. For example, the base station <NUM> may configure an aggregation factor K to the slot aggregation and indicate (K-<NUM>) beams to the UE <NUM>, where each of the (K-<NUM>) beams may come from (K-<NUM>) TRPs. Then the first (K-<NUM>) slots may be transmitted using (K-<NUM>) single beams, and the last (k-th) slot may be transmitted using an SFN beam (e.g., a combination of the (K-<NUM>) beams). For example, if the base station <NUM> configures an aggregation factor five (e.g., K=<NUM>) for the slot aggregation, then the first four slots (e.g., (K-<NUM>) slots) may be transmitted using four single beams (e.g., (K-<NUM>) beams) from four TRPs (e.g., (K-<NUM>) TRPs), and the fifth slot (e.g., K-th slot) may be transmitted using the SFN beam that may be the combination of the four beams (e.g., (K-<NUM>) beams). In another example, a more complicated combination of SFN and non-SFN slots may also be configured by the base station, where some slots may use a single beam for the non-SFN and some slots may use a subset of beams (not all beams) for the SFN. For instance, SFN slot#<NUM> may use beams#<NUM> and #<NUM>, SFN slot#<NUM> may use beams#<NUM> and #<NUM>, SFN slot#<NUM> may use beams#<NUM> and #<NUM>, etc. The determination of which beam(s) to use for each slot may be based on a preconfigured table or a predefined rule, such that the base station <NUM> may assign the beam(s) used for each slot based on the preconfigured table or the predefined rule. In response, the UE <NUM> may adjust its beams based on the preconfigured table or the predefined rule as well.

When a transmission may be transmitted from multiple TRPs (e.g., TRP#<NUM><NUM> and TRP#<NUM><NUM>), a TCI code point consisting of at least two TCI states (e.g., a pair of beams - TCI state#<NUM> and TCI state#<NUM>) may be used by the base station for configuring beam(s) for the transmission. For example, a first slot may use TCI state#<NUM> in the TCI code point, the second slot may use TCI state#<NUM> in the TCI code point, and the third slot may use both TCI state#<NUM> and TCI state#<NUM> in the TCI code point, etc. Note that the use of "first" and "second" does not specify a particular temporal order and merely indicates different slots or repetitions. Thus, in the slot aggregation, as a PDSCH transmission may be repeated over multiple slots, a TCI code point may be used for the PDSCH transmission such that multiple slots within the transmission may be transmitted using one or more of the two TCI states defined by the TCI code point (e.g., by alternating between or using both the two TCI states, etc.). In one aspect, in addition to the alternation of the TCI states, the SFN transmission may further be configured for the slot aggregation, such as described in connection with <FIG>, and <FIG>.

<FIG> are diagrams 700A, 700B and 700C illustrating examples of applying slot aggregation to a non-transparent SFN. In one example, under the non-transparent SFN mode, if a slot aggregation with an aggregation factor of <NUM> (e.g., K=<NUM>) is configured by a base station that is associated with a first TRP <NUM> (e.g., TRP#<NUM>) and a second TRP <NUM> (e.g., TRP#<NUM>), a TCI code point containing TCI state#<NUM> and TCI state#<NUM> may further be configured for the slot aggregation, such that slot#<NUM> may use TCI state#<NUM>, slot#<NUM> may use TCI state#<NUM>, slot#<NUM> may use one or more SFN beams that include both TCI state#<NUM> and TCI state#<NUM>, etc. As shown by <FIG>, the UE <NUM> may configure a beam <NUM> for receiving slot#<NUM> from the second TRP <NUM> that is transmitted from a beam <NUM> indicated by the TCI state#<NUM>. As shown by <FIG>, the UE <NUM> may configure a beam <NUM> for receiving slot#<NUM> from the first TRP <NUM> that is transmitted in a beam <NUM> indicated by the TCI state#<NUM>. As shown by <FIG>, the UE <NUM> may configure a beam <NUM> for receiving slot#<NUM> (e.g., SFN slot) that is transmitted from both the first TRP <NUM> and the second TRP <NUM> using beams <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, as indicated by both TCI state#<NUM> and TCI state#<NUM>. Note that the use of "first" "second" and "third" (e.g., #<NUM>, #<NUM> and #<NUM>) does not specify a particular temporal order and merely indicates different repetitions. For example, the second and the third repetition may be received prior to receiving the first slot (e.g., repetition), etc..

<FIG> is a flowchart <NUM> of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a base station or a component of a base station (e.g., base station <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>; TRP <NUM>, <NUM>; the apparatus <NUM>; which may include the memory <NUM> and which may be the entire base station <NUM> or a component of the base station <NUM>, such as the TX processor <NUM>, the RX processor <NUM>, and/or the controller/processor <NUM>). The method may enable the base station to configure slot aggregation to a transmission and transmit some of the slots within the slot aggregation under the SFN mode and some of the slots under the non-SFN mode.

At <NUM>, the base station may configure a UE to receive multiple repetitions of a transmission using a slot aggregation, such as described in connection with <FIG>, <FIG>. For example, at <NUM> and <NUM>, the base station <NUM> may configure slot aggregation and beam(s) for one or more repetitions of a transmission, and the base station <NUM> may transmit the indication/configuration for the slot aggregation to the UE <NUM>. The configuration of the slot aggregation may be performed by, e.g., the slot aggregation configuration component <NUM> and/or the transmission component <NUM> of the apparatus <NUM> in <FIG>.

At <NUM>, the base station may indicate to the UE one or more beams used for each repetition of the transmission, such as described in connection with <FIG>, <FIG>. For example, at <NUM>, the base station <NUM> may indicate to the UE <NUM> one or more beams used for slot aggregation (e.g., for each repetition of the transmission). The indication of the one or more beams may be performed by, e.g., the beam indication component <NUM> and/or the transmission component <NUM> of the apparatus <NUM> in <FIG>.

In one example, the base station may indicate a set of the one or more beams in a configuration for the slot aggregation. In another example, the one or more beams used for each repetition of the transmission may be indicated to the UE through a TCI state, where the TCI state may be transmitted in a DCI, such as described in connection with <FIG>.

At <NUM>, the base station may transmit the multiple repetitions of the transmission based on the one or more beams indicated to the UE, where at least one of the multiple repetitions of the transmission is transmitted based on SFN operation using more than one beams, such as described in connection with <FIG>, <FIG>. For example, at <NUM>, the base station <NUM> may transmit multiple repetitions of the transmission based on the one or more beams indicated to the UE <NUM>, where at least one repetition may be transmitted based on SFN operation using more than one beams. The transmission of the multiple repetitions may be performed by, e.g., the slot aggregation process component <NUM> and/or the transmission component <NUM> of the apparatus <NUM> in <FIG>.

In one example, the multiple repetitions of the transmission may include the initial transmission. In another example, at least one of the multiple repetitions of the transmission may be transmitted based on non-SFN operation using a single beam, where the base station may indicate the one or more beams for each slot of the multiple repetitions to the UE, such as described in connection with <FIG>. In another example, the base station may indicate the SFN operation based on multiple TCI states and the non-SFN operation based on a single TCI state, such as described in connection with <FIG>. For instance, at least one of the multiple repetitions may be transmitted in a beam different from another repetition in the multiple repetitions.

The apparatus <NUM> is a base station and includes a baseband unit <NUM>. The baseband unit <NUM> may communicate through a cellular RF transceiver with the UE <NUM>. The baseband unit <NUM> may include a computer-readable medium / memory. The baseband unit <NUM> is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium / memory. The software, when executed by the baseband unit <NUM>, causes the baseband unit <NUM> to perform the various functions described supra. The computer-readable medium / memory may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the baseband unit <NUM> when executing software. The baseband unit <NUM> further includes a reception component <NUM>, a communication manager <NUM>, and a transmission component <NUM>. The components within the communication manager <NUM> may be stored in the computer-readable medium / memory and/or configured as hardware within the baseband unit <NUM>. The baseband unit <NUM> may be a component of the BS <NUM> and may include the memory <NUM> and/or at least one of the TX processor <NUM>, the RX processor <NUM>, and the controller/processor <NUM>.

The communication manager <NUM> includes a slot aggregation configuration component <NUM> that is configured to configure a UE to receive multiple repetitions of a transmission using a slot aggregation, e.g., as described in connection with <NUM> of <FIG>. The communication manager <NUM> further includes a beam indication component <NUM> that is configured to indicate to the UE one or more beams used for each repetition of the transmission, e.g., as described in connection with <NUM> of <FIG>. The communication manager <NUM> further includes a slot aggregation process component <NUM> that is configured to transmit the multiple repetitions of the transmission based on the one or more beams indicated to the UE, where at least one of the multiple repetitions of the transmission is transmitted based on SFN operation using more than one beams, e.g., as described in connection with <NUM> of <FIG>.

The apparatus may include additional components that perform each of the blocks of the algorithm in the flowchart of <FIG>. As such, each block in the flowchart of <FIG> may be performed by a component and the apparatus may include one or more of those components.

In one configuration, the apparatus <NUM>, and in particular the baseband unit <NUM>, includes means for configuring a UE to receive multiple repetitions of a transmission using a slot aggregation (e.g., the slot aggregation configuration component <NUM> and/or the transmission component <NUM>). The apparatus <NUM> includes means for indicating to the UE one or more beams used for each repetition of the transmission (e.g., the beam indication component <NUM> and/or the transmission component <NUM>). The apparatus <NUM> includes means for transmitting the multiple repetitions of the transmission based on the one or more beams indicated to the UE, where at least one of the multiple repetitions of the transmission is transmitted based on SFN operation using more than one beams (e.g., the slot aggregation process component <NUM> and/or the transmission component <NUM>).

The means may be one or more of the components of the apparatus <NUM> configured to perform the functions recited by the means. As described supra, the apparatus <NUM> may include the TX Processor <NUM>, the RX Processor <NUM>, and the controller/processor <NUM>. As such, in one configuration, the means may be the TX Processor <NUM>, the RX Processor <NUM>, and the controller/processor <NUM> configured to perform the functions recited by the means.

<FIG> is a flowchart of a method <NUM> of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a UE or a component of a first UE (e.g., the UE <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>; the apparatus <NUM>; a processing system, which may include the memory <NUM> and which may be the entire UE <NUM> or a component of the UE <NUM>, such as the TX processor <NUM>, the RX processor <NUM>, and/or the controller/processor <NUM>). The method may enable the UE to receive slots under slot aggregation and under the SFN network. The method may also enable the UE to determine whether slots are transmitted by the base station under the SFN mode.

At <NUM>, the UE may receive a configuration from a base station for receiving multiple repetitions of a transmission in a slot aggregation, such as described in connection with <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>. For example, at <NUM>, the UE <NUM> may receive a configuration from the base station <NUM> for receiving multiple repetitions of a transmission based on slot aggregation. The reception of the configuration may be performed by, e.g., the slot aggregation process component <NUM> and/or the reception component <NUM> of the apparatus <NUM> in <FIG>.

In one example, the multiple repetitions of the transmission may include the initial transmission. In another example, each repetition may be a slot or a mini-slot.

At <NUM>, the UE may receive an indication indicating one or more beams used for the multiple repetitions of the transmission, such as described in connection with <FIG>, <FIG>. For example, at <NUM>, the UE <NUM> may receive an indication indicating one or more beams used for the multiple repetitions of the transmission from the base station <NUM>. The reception of the indication may be performed by, e.g., the beam indication process component <NUM> and/or the reception component <NUM> of the apparatus <NUM> in <FIG>.

In one example, the indication may indicate the one or more beams used for each repetition of the transmission. In such an example, the one or more beams used for each repetition of the transmission may be indicated based on a TCI, where the UE may receive the TCI in a DCI. In another example, the indication may include a TCI code point comprising a first TCI state and a second TCI state.

At <NUM>, the UE may determine, based on the indication, whether repetitions within the multiple repetitions of the transmission are transmitted by the base station based on the SFN operation or the non-SFN operation, such as described in connection with <FIG>, <FIG>. For example, at <NUM>, the UE <NUM> may determine which slots within the transmission are transmitted based on the SFN mode and which slots are transmitted base on the non-SFN mode. The determination of the SFN slots and/or the non-SFN slots may be performed by, e.g., the SFN and non-SFN slots determination component <NUM> of the apparatus <NUM> in <FIG>.

In one example, the UE may determine whether the repetition within the multiple repetitions is transmitted by the base station based on the SFN operation or based on the non-SFN operation is based on a number of beams used by the base station for transmitting the repetition, where the first repetition may be received using more than one beam and the second repetition comprises received using a single beam, etc. In another example, the indication may indicate a set of the one or more beams for the configuration for the slot aggregation, and the UE may determine whether the repetition within the multiple repetitions is transmitted by the base station under the SFN operation or under the non-SFN operation based on a preconfigured or a predefined rule, such as described in connection with <FIG>. In another example, the UE may receive an explicit indication from the base station indicating whether each repetition is transmitted based on the SFN operation or based on the non-SFN operation.

At <NUM>, the UE may receive a first repetition of the transmission in a first slot based on SFN operation using at least one configuration that is different from a configuration used for receiving a second repetition in a second slot based on non-SFN operation, such as described in connection with <FIG>, <FIG>. For example, at <NUM>, the UE <NUM> may receive a first repetition of the transmission in a first slot based on SFN operation using at least one configuration that is different from a configuration used for receiving a second repetition in a second slot based on non-SFN operation. The reception of the SFN slot and the non-SFN slot may be performed by, e.g., the SFN and non-SFN slots process component <NUM> and/or the reception component <NUM> of the apparatus <NUM> in <FIG>.

In one example, the UE may configure the beams for receiving the repetitions based at least in part on whether a repetition (e.g., slot) is transmitted under the SFN mode or the non-SFN mode, such as described in connection with <FIG>. For example, if the UE receives the first repetition based on the SFN operation using at least one beam or configuration that is different from a beam or configuration used for receiving the second repetition based on the non-SFN operation, the UE may receive the first repetition using a first beam indicated in the first TCI state and a second beam indicated in the second TCI state, receive the second repetition using the second beam indicated in the second TCI state, and receive a third repetition using both the first beam indicated in the first TCI, etc., such as described in connection with <FIG>. Note that the use of "first" "second" and "third" does not specify a particular temporal order and merely indicates different repetitions. For example, the second and the third repetition may be received prior to receiving the first slot (e.g., repetition), etc. In another example, the UE may determine one or more beams for receiving each repetition within the multiple repetition based on a preconfigured or a predefined rule. The repetition transmitted by the base station under the SFN operation may use more than one beams and each beam may come from a different base station or a different TRP.

In one configuration, the apparatus <NUM> may be a modem chip and include just the baseband processor <NUM>, and in another configuration, the apparatus <NUM> may be the entire UE (e.g., see <NUM> of <FIG>) and include additional modules of the apparatus <NUM>.

The communication manager <NUM> includes a slot aggregation process component <NUM> that is configured to receive a configuration from a base station for receiving multiple repetitions of a transmission in a slot aggregation, e.g., as described in connection with <NUM> of <FIG>. The communication manager <NUM> further includes a beam indication process component <NUM> that is configured to receive an indication indicating one or more beams used for the multiple repetitions of the transmission, e.g., as described in connection with <NUM> of <FIG>. The communication manager <NUM> further includes an SFN and non-SFN slots determination component <NUM> that is configured to determine, based on the indication, whether repetitions within the multiple repetitions of the transmission are transmitted by the base station based on the SFN operation or the non-SFN operation, e.g., as described in connection with <NUM> of <FIG>. The communication manager <NUM> further includes an SFN and non-SFN slots process component <NUM> that is configured to receive a first repetition of the transmission in a first slot based on SFN operation using at least one configuration that is different from a configuration used for receiving a second repetition in a second slot based on non-SFN operation, e.g., as described in connection with <NUM> of <FIG>.

In one configuration, the apparatus <NUM>, and in particular the cellular baseband processor <NUM>, includes means for receiving a configuration from a UE for receiving multiple repetitions of a transmission in a slot aggregation (e.g., the slot aggregation process component <NUM> and/or the reception component <NUM>). The apparatus <NUM> includes means for means for receiving an indication indicating one or more beams used for the multiple repetitions of the transmission (e.g., the beam indication process component <NUM> and/or the reception component <NUM>). The apparatus <NUM> includes means for means for determining, based on the indication, whether repetitions within the multiple repetitions of the transmission are transmitted by the base station based on the SFN operation or the non-SFN operation (e.g., the SFN and non-SFN slots determination component <NUM>). The apparatus <NUM> includes means for means for receiving a first repetition of the transmission in a first slot based on SFN operation using at least one configuration that is different from a configuration used for receiving a second repetition in a second slot based on non-SFN operation (e.g., non-SFN slots process component <NUM> and/or the reception component <NUM>).

Claim 1:
An apparatus (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) for wireless communication at a base station, comprising:
a memory; and
at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to:
configure a user equipment, UE (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) to receive multiple repetitions of a transmission using a slot aggregation;
indicate to the UE one or more beams used for each repetition of the transmission; and
transmit the multiple repetitions of the transmission based on the one or more beams indicated to the UE;
whereby at least one of the multiple repetitions of the transmission is transmitted in a slot based on single frequency network, SFN, operation using more than one beams, characterized in that
at least one of the multiple repetitions of the transmission is transmitted in a slot based on non-SFN operation using a single beam.