Patent Description:
<CIT> discloses a measurement configuration and reporting method, measurement configuration reporting device and user equipment. The method comprises the steps that network configuration information is received, the network configuration information at least comprises a measurement target and report configuration information, the measurement target can be used for L3 beam measurement reporting and can also be used for L1/L2 beam measurement reporting, and the report configuration information is used for L1/L2 beam measurement reporting; a non-serving cell is measured according to the network configuration information to obtain a measurement result; and when a preset condition is satisfied, the measurement result of the non-serving cell is reported to a network. According to the disclosure, the L1/L2 wave beam of the non-service cell can be measured and reported.

<NPL>, describes how beam management functionality standardized in Rel. <NUM> can be used to improve the handover mechanism.

<NPL>, describes how beam management functionality standardized in Rel. <NUM> can be used to improve HO robustness and to reduce interruption time during HO.

<NPL>" discusses various procedures regarding power control, PDSCH, PUSCH, UE procedures for transmitting and receiving on a carrier with intra-cell guard band and PSSCH related procedures.

Inter-cell mobility in a wireless communication system may be accomplished based on a layer <NUM> (L3) report generated by the user equipment (UE). The UE establishes a connection with a serving cell and generates the L3 report with metrics for neighboring non-serving cells. L3 measurements are useful for decisions that benefit from a long term view of channel conditions, however, the penalty of using L3 measurements for inter-cell mobility decisions is increased delay.

In an aspect of the disclosure, a method is provided. In the method, inter-cell mobility of a UE across serving and non-serving cells is based on layer <NUM> measurements to minimize delay. The UE apparatus that is served by a serving cell of a base station receives, from the serving cell, a configuration to perform layer <NUM> (L1) measurements based on one or more reference signals from a non-serving cell. The UE also receives the one or more reference signals from the non-serving cell. The UE performs the L1 measurements on the one or more reference signals received from the non-serving cell based on the configuration received from the base station. The UE may perform the L1 measurements on a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), or a positioning reference signal (PRS) from the non-serving cell. The UE may also receive a configuration to report the L1 measurements of the one or more reference signals from the non-serving cell and report to the serving cell, the L1 measurements of the one or more reference signals received from the non-serving cell.

In an aspect of the disclosure, a method is provided. In the method, inter-cell mobility of a UE across serving and non-serving cells is based on layer <NUM> measurements to minimize delay. A base station apparatus exchanges communication with the UE via a serving cell and transmits to the UE, via the serving cell, a configuration for the UE to perform layer <NUM> (L1) measurements based on one or more reference signals from a non-serving cell. The base station may also transmit to the UE, via the serving cell, a configuration to perform the L1 measurements for at least one of a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), or a positioning reference signal (PRS) from the non-serving cell. The base station may also transmit to the UE, via the serving cell, a configuration to report the L1 measurements of the one or more reference signals from the non-serving cell. The base station may also receive, from the UE via the serving cell, a report comprising the L1 measurements of the one or more reference signals from the non-serving cell. The base station may also activate a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state associated with the non-serving cell based on the report comprising the L1 measurements of the one or more reference signals from the non-serving cell.

Referring again to <FIG>, in certain aspects, the UE <NUM> may include an L1 measurement component <NUM> that is configured to receive a configuration from a serving cell and perform layer <NUM> (L1) measurements based on one or more reference signals from a non-serving cell. The L1 measurement component <NUM> may also be configured to receive the one or more reference signals from the non-serving cell and perform the L1 measurements on the one or more reference signals received from the non-serving cell based on the configuration received from the base station. For example, the L1 measurement component <NUM> may perform the L1 measurements on a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), or a positioning reference signal (PRS) from the non-serving cell. The L1 measurement component <NUM> may also be configured to report to the serving cell the L1 measurements of the one or more reference signals from the non-serving cell.

Referring again to <FIG>, in certain aspects, a base station <NUM> or <NUM> may be include an L1 measurement configuration component <NUM> that is configured to exchange communication with a UE <NUM> via a serving cell and transmit to the UE <NUM>, via the serving cell, a configuration for the UE <NUM> to perform L1 measurements based on one or more reference signals from a non-serving cell. The L1 measurement configuration component <NUM> may also be configured to transmit to the UE <NUM>, via the serving cell, a configuration to perform the L1 measurements for at least one of a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), or a positioning reference signal (PRS) from the non-serving cell. The L1 measurement configuration component <NUM> may also be configured to transmit to the UE <NUM>, via the serving cell, a report configuration to report the L1 measurements of the one or more reference signals from the non-serving cell. The base station <NUM> or <NUM> may also receive, from the UE <NUM> via the serving cell, a report comprising the L1 measurements of the one or more reference signals from the non-serving cell, e.g., based on the configuration transmitted by the L1 measurement configuration component <NUM>. The base station <NUM> or <NUM> may then activate a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state for the UE <NUM> that is associated with the non-serving cell based on the report comprising the L1 measurements of the one or more reference signals from the non-serving cell.

For slot configuration <NUM>, different numerologies µ <NUM> to <NUM> allow for <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> slots, respectively, per 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.

The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries DCI within one or more control channel elements (CCEs) (e.g., <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> CCEs), each CCE including six RE groups (REGs), each REG including <NUM> consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol of an RB. A PDCCH within one BWP may be referred to as a control resource set (CORESET). A UE is configured to monitor PDCCH candidates in a PDCCH search space (e.g., common search space, UE-specific search space) during PDCCH monitoring occasions on the CORESET, where the PDCCH candidates have different DCI formats and different aggregation levels. Additional BWPs may be located at greater and/or lower frequencies across the channel bandwidth. 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)).

Each spatial stream may then be provided to a different antenna <NUM> via a separate transmitter <NUM> TX. Each transmitter <NUM> TX may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

At the UE <NUM>, each receiver <NUM> RX receives a signal through its respective antenna <NUM>. Each receiver <NUM> RX recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the receive (RX) processor <NUM>.

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 L1 measurement 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 L1 measurement configuration component <NUM> of <FIG>.

<FIG> is a diagram <NUM> illustrating an example of a beam switching process. The diagram <NUM> includes a UE <NUM> and a plurality of base stations <NUM>. The UE is being served by PCI0 that is associated with a base station <NUM>, while PCI <NUM> and PCI4 are neighbor cells. In the diagram <NUM> of <FIG>, L1/L2 inter-cell mobility may occur via beam switching across serving and non-serving cells. In some instances, each serving cell may have a single or multiple TRPs (e.g., base station) sharing the same PCI. In the example of <FIG> includes a configuration with a single TRP per serving cell. A TCI state or spatial relation for the downlink/uplink beam of the serving cell may be quasi co-located (QCL) with SSB from the PCI of the same serving cell or a neighbor non-serving cell. For example, as shown in <FIG>, the TCI state may be QCL with the SSB from PCI0. In some instances, the neighbor non-serving cell may be utilized to provide a beam indication.

<FIG> is a diagram <NUM> illustrating an example of the beam switching process. The diagram <NUM> includes a UE <NUM> and a plurality of base station <NUM> and is configured similarly as the UE and the plurality of base stations of <FIG>. For example, the UE <NUM> may enter a connected mode state after initial access (IA) on a serving cell with PCI0 <NUM>. The UE <NUM> may measure and report Layer3 (L3) metrics for the detected neighbor PCIs (e.g., PCI1-PCI6). The PCIs that may be included in the L3 measurement <NUM> may comprise PCI1-PCI6, as shown in <FIG>. Based on the L3 measurements <NUM>, the network may configure TCI states associated with a subset of the measured neighbor PCIs. For example, the network may configure TCI states associated with PCI0, PCI3, and PCI4, where PCI0, PCI3, and PCI4 are from neighbor non-serving cells. The UE may be further configured with L1 measurements for the configured TCI states. In some aspects, the PCIs (e.g., PCI0, PCI3, PCI4) may be defined as a set of PCIs for L1 measurement <NUM>. For example, the UE may perform L1 measurements of PCI0, PCI3, and PCI4. Based on the L1 measurement, the network may activate a TCI state associated with a neighbor PCI to serve the UE <NUM>. For example, based on the L1 measurements of PCI0, PCI3, and PCI4, the network may activate a TCI state associated with PCI4 to serve the UE <NUM>. The UE may perform an updated L3 report. For example, the updated L3 report may include a different set of PCIs, e.g., PCI0, PCI3-PCI5, and PCI7-PCI9. Based on the updated L3 report, the network may handover the serving cell from PCI0 to PCI4. The network may also configure new TCI states associated with the updated L1 measurement PCI set, e.g., PCI4, PCI7, and PCI8.

<FIG> is a flowchart <NUM> of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a UE (e.g., the UE <NUM>; the apparatus <NUM>) that is served by a serving cell of a base station (e.g., the serving cell <NUM> of the base station <NUM>; apparatus <NUM>), to report L1 measurements of a non-serving cell, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Optional aspects are illustrated with a dashed line. The method may provide for improved mobility and coverage of a UE.

At <NUM>, the UE receives, from the serving cell, a configuration to perform L1 measurements based on one or more reference signals from one or more non-serving cells. For example, the reference signals may include at least one of a SSB, a CSI-RS, or a PRS. The reception of the configuration may be performed, e.g., by the reception component <NUM> and/or the configuration component <NUM> of the apparatus <NUM> in <FIG>. <FIG> illustrates an example communication flow <NUM> in which a UE <NUM> receives a configuration <NUM> for L1 measurements of one or more reference signals from a non-serving cell <NUM>.

In an aspect, the UE receives a channel state information (CSI) resource configuration to configure the UE to perform the L1 measurements. The CSI resource configuration may include, for each reference signal to be measured by the UE, a non-serving cell identifier. For example, the non-serving cell identifier can be a physical cell identity (PCI) or a transmission reception point (TRP) identifier.

Additionally, the CSI resource configuration may identify the reference signals to be measured from the one or more non-serving cells. In an aspect where the UE receives the CSI resource configuration to perform the L1 measurements on the SSB reference signals of the one or more non-serving cells, the CSI resource configuration may further identify certain characteristics to measure. These characteristics may include at least one of: a carrier frequency for the SSB from the non-serving cell, a half-frame index for the SSB from the non-serving cell, a subcarrier spacing (SCS) for the SSB from the non-serving cell, a period for the SSB from the non-serving cell, a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel block measurement time configuration (SMTC) window configuration for the SSB from the non-serving cell, a time offset for the SSB from the non-serving cell, or a transmission power for the SSB from the non-serving cell.

In an aspect, the CSI resource configuration may indicate an SSB resource set that indicates a cell identifier for each SSB. For example, the SSB resource set may include an SSB resource list indicating a sequence of SSB indexes and a cell identifier list that indicates a sequence of cell identifiers associated with the sequence of SSB indexes. The cell identifier in the cell identifier list may be one to one mapped with the SS index in the SSB resource list. An example of such SSB resource set configuration is as below
<IMG>
<IMG>
where the parameter csi-SSB-ResourceSetId-r17 configures the SSB resource set identifier, the list csi-SSB-ResourceList-r17 configures a sequence of SSB indexes, and the list csi-SSB-PcIList-r17 configures a sequence of physical cell identifiers for the sequence of SSB indexes.

According to the invention, the UE determines to measure a serving cell SSB without measuring a non-serving cell SSB when the UE receives a CSI resource configuration without an associated cell identifier. An example of such SSB resource set configuration is as below
<IMG>
where the configuration nzp-CSI-RS-SSB provides the reference signals for measurement, which choose between a SSB resource list without associated PCI which contains SSBs from the serving cell associated with the configuration, and a SSB resource list with associated PCI which contains SSBs from non-serving cell.

In an aspect where the CSI resource configuration identifies the CSI-RS for the L1 measurements of the one or more non-serving cells, the CSI resource configuration may include at least one of: a resource identifier (ID) for the CSI-RS of the non-serving cell, or a resource set ID for the CSI-RS of the non-serving cell.

In an aspect where the CSI resource configuration identifies the PRS for the L1 measurements of the one or more non-serving cells, the CSI resource configuration may include at least one of: a resource identifier (ID) for the PRS from the non-serving cell, or a resource set ID for the PRS from the non-serving cell.

In another aspect, the CSI resource configuration to perform the L1 measurements may include an indication for the UE to perform the L1 measurements without reporting the L1 measurements for the one or more non-serving cells.

In one aspect, as shown at <NUM>, the UE may receive a report configuration to report the L1 measurements of the one or more reference signals from the one or more non-serving cells. The reception of the report configuration may be performed, e.g., by the configuration component <NUM> of the apparatus <NUM> in <FIG>. <FIG> illustrates an example of the UE <NUM> receiving a configuration <NUM> for the L1 report including measurements based on at least one reference signal of the non-serving cell <NUM>. Although the configuration <NUM> of the L1 measurements and the configuration <NUM> of the L1 report are shown with two lines, in some examples, the configuration of the L1 measurement and the L1 report may be transmitted in the same message to the UE <NUM>. For example, both the CSI resource configuration and the CSI report configuration can be configured under a CSI measurement configuration. That is, one CSI measurement configuration includes both the CSI resource configuration and the CSI report configuration. In some aspects, the UE may not be configured with a report configuration for the L1 measurements of the one or more reference signals from the one or more non-serving cells. For example, when a CSI-RS resource set from non-serving cell with parameter "repetition" as ON, the UE may only measure the reference signals for reception beam refinement.

In an aspect, the report configuration <NUM> may configure the UE to report an L1 metric comprising at least one of: a layer <NUM> reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) for the one or more reference signals of the non-serving cell, a layer <NUM> reference signal received quality (L1-RSRQ) for the one or more reference signals of the non-serving cell, or a layer <NUM> signal to interference and noise ratio (L1-SINR) for the one or more reference signals of the non-serving cell. Additionally, the UE may report a reference signal identifier associated with each reported L1 metric. In some aspects, the reference signal identifier may comprise a resource identifier in a resource set associated with a cell identity. For example, the reference signal identifier is an absolute resource identifier, e.g. a resource identifier in a resource set identifier associated with a PCI or cell identifier. In some aspects, the reference signal identifier may comprise a relative identifier based on a configured order for the UE to measure a plurality of reference signals. For example, the reference signal identifier can be based on the order of measured reference signal in the CSI resource configuration.

At <NUM>, the UE receives the one or more reference signals from the one or more non-serving cells. <FIG> illustrates the UE <NUM> receiving an SSB, a CSI-RS, and/or a PRS from the non-serving cell <NUM>. The UE <NUM> may also receive reference signals <NUM> from the serving cell. The reception of the one or more reference signals from the non-serving cell may be performed by the reception component <NUM> and/or the reference signal component <NUM> of the apparatus <NUM> in <FIG>, for example.

At <NUM>, the UE performs the L1 measurements on the one or more reference signals received from the one or more non-serving cells based on the configuration received from the base station via the serving cell. For example, in <FIG>, the UE <NUM> performs the L1 measurements, at <NUM>, of the SSB, CSI-RS and/or PRS of the non-serving cell <NUM>. The UE may similarly perform L1 measurements of the reference signals <NUM> from the serving cell <NUM>.

At <NUM>, the UE may report, by transmitting to the serving cell, the L1 measurements of the one or more reference signals received from the one or more non-serving cells. The transmission of the report may be performed, e.g., by the report component <NUM> and/or the transmission component <NUM> of the apparatus <NUM> in <FIG>. For example, <FIG> illustrates an example of the UE <NUM> transmitting a report <NUM> to the serving cell <NUM> including the configured L1 measurements based on the SSB, CSI-RS, or PRS <NUM> from the non-serving cell. In some examples, the UE may report, either together in report <NUM> or in a separate report, L1 measurements for the reference signals <NUM> from the serving cell.

In an aspect, the UE may report, in the report <NUM>, a subset of measured reference signals having a highest L1 metric or a lowest L1 metric across multiple cells associated with different physical cell identities (PCIs). For example, the UE may report a measured L1 metric for each of the subset of measured reference signals, in the report <NUM>. Also, the UE may report the measured L1 metric for a first reference signal and a relative L1 metric value for each of the remaining reference signals of the subset of measured reference signals, in the report <NUM>. In one aspect, the relative L1 metric value may be relative or differential to the measured L1 metric for the first reference signal.

In an aspect, the UE may report a subset of measured reference signals having a highest L1 metric or a lowest L1 metric per cell or per PCI for at least a subset of multiple cells associated with different physical cell identities (PCIs), in the report <NUM>. For example, the UE may report a measured L1 metric for each of the subset of measured reference signals, in the report <NUM>. Also, the UE may report the measured L1 metric for a first reference signal and a relative L1 metric value for each of the remaining reference signals of the subset of measured reference signals, in the report <NUM>. In one aspect, the relative L1 metric value may be relative or differential to the measured L1 metric for the first reference signal.

In another aspect, the UE may receive the configuration to the perform the L1 measurements for a physical cell identity (PCI) set including the serving cell and one or more non-serving cells.

In some examples, the L1 report <NUM> may enable a base station to determine a beam for communication with the UE <NUM>. For example, if L1 measurements for the non-serving cell <NUM> are better than the L1 measurements for the serving cell <NUM>, the UE may further receive a TCI state activation <NUM> that activates a TCI state that is based on a reference signal from the non-serving cell <NUM>. Prior to receiving the TCI state activation <NUM>, the UE may receive a configuration of TCI states <NUM> that includes at least one TCI state based on a reference signal from the non-serving cell. As an example, the UE <NUM> may receive the configuration of the TCI states <NUM> in RRC signaling from the serving cell <NUM>. Then, the serving cell may activate one of the configured TCI states for the UE <NUM>. The UE <NUM> may use the activated TCI state to receive downlink communication. For example, the UE may determine, at <NUM>, a downlink beam for receiving downlink communication based on a QCL relationship to the reference indicated in the TCI state activation <NUM>. If the UE <NUM> receives a TCI state activation <NUM> based on a reference signal of the non-serving cells, the UE may perform a beam switch and may receive downlink communication, such as PDCCH or PDSCH, from the non-serving cell. If the serving cell <NUM> activates a TCI state based on a reference signal of the serving cell, the UE may use the indicated beam to receive downlink communication, such as PDCCH or PDSCH, from the serving cell <NUM>.

<FIG> is a flowchart <NUM> of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a base station (e.g., the base station <NUM>/<NUM>; the apparatus <NUM>) to configure a UE (e.g., the UE <NUM>; the apparatus <NUM>) to report L1 measurements of a non-serving cell, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Optional aspects are illustrated with a dashed line. The method may enable the base station to support improved mobility for a UE.

At <NUM>, the base station communicates with the UE via a serving cell. For example, the exchange of communication may be performed by the reception component <NUM> and/or the transmission component <NUM> of the apparatus <NUM>. For example, <FIG> illustrates a serving cell <NUM> exchanging communication <NUM> with a UE <NUM>. The communication may include PDCCH, PDSCH, PUCCH, and/or PUSCH.

At <NUM>, the base station transmits to the UE via the serving cell a configuration for the UE to perform L1 measurements based on one or more reference signals from one or more non-serving cells. The transmission may be performed, e.g., by the configuration component <NUM> of the apparatus <NUM> in <FIG>, for example. <FIG> illustrates an example of a base station transmitting a configuration <NUM> for L1 measurements to the UE <NUM> via the serving cell <NUM>.

In an aspect, the base station transmits a channel state information (CSI) resource configuration to configure the UE to perform the L1 measurements for at least one of a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), or a positioning reference signal (PRS) from the one or more non-serving cells. The configuration to perform the L1 measurements may also include a non-serving cell identifier for each reference signal to be measured by the UE. For example, the non-serving cell identifier may include a physical cell identity (PCI) for the non-serving cell or a transmission reception point (TRP) identifier for the non-serving cell.

In an aspect, the base station configures the UE to perform the L1 measurements for a synchronization signal block (SSB) transmitted by the one or more non-serving cells and the configuration indicates at least one of: a carrier frequency for the SSB from the non-serving cell, a half-frame index for the SSB from the non-serving cell, a subcarrier spacing (SCS) for the SSB from the non-serving cell, a period for the SSB from the non-serving cell, a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel block measurement time configuration (SMTC) window configuration for the SSB from the non-serving cell, a time offset for the SSB from the non-serving cell, or a transmission power for the SSB from the one or more non-serving cells. For example, the configuration may indicate a synchronization signal block (SSB) resource set that indicates a cell identifier for each SSB and the SSB resource set may include an SSB resource list indicating a sequence of SSB indexes and a cell identifier list that indicates a sequence of cell identifiers associated with the sequence of SSB indexes.

According to the invention, the base station indicates for the UE to measure a serving cell synchronization signal block (SSB) without measuring a non-serving cell SSB when the base station transmits a channel state information (CSI) resource configuration without an associated cell identifier.

In another aspect, the base station may select between a first CSI resource configuration without the associated cell identifier and a second CSI resource configuration comprising a list of one or more cell identifiers.

In an aspect, the base station may configure the UE to perform the L1 measurements for a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmitted by the one or more non-serving cells and the configuration may include at least one of: a resource identifier (ID) for the CSI-RS from the non-serving cell, or a resource set ID for the CSI-RS from the non-serving cell.

In an aspect, the base station may configure the UE to perform the L1 measurements for a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmitted by the one or more non-serving cells and the configuration includes at least one of: a resource identifier (ID) for the PRS from the non-serving cell, or a resource set ID for the PRS from the non-serving cell.

In an aspect, the base station may configure the UE to perform the L1 measurements without reporting the L1 measurements for the one or more non-serving cells.

In another aspect, as shown in <NUM>, the base station may transmit to the UE a report configuration to report the L1 measurements of the one or more reference signals from the one or more non-serving cells. The transmission of the report configuration may be performed by the configuration parameter <NUM> of the apparatus <NUM>, for example. <FIG> illustrates an example of a serving cell <NUM> transmitting a configuration <NUM> for reporting the L1 measurements to the UE <NUM>.

For example, the report configuration may configure the UE to report an L1 metric comprising at least one of: a layer <NUM> reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) for the one or more reference signals of the non-serving cell, a layer <NUM> reference signal received quality (L1-RSRQ) for the one or more reference signals of the non-serving cell, or a layer <NUM> signal to interference and noise ratio (L1-SINR) for the one or more reference signals of the non-serving cell. The report received from the UE may indicate a reference signal identifier associated with each reported L1 metric. In an aspect, the reference signal identifier may comprise a resource identifier in a resource set associated with a cell identity.

In another aspect, the reference signal identifier may comprise a relative identifier based on a configured order of measurement of a plurality of reference signals.

In an aspect, the base station may configure the UE to report a subset of measured reference signals having a highest L1 metric or a lowest L1 metric across multiple cells associated with different physical cell identities (PCIs). For example, the base station may configure the UE to report a measured L1 metric for each of the subset of measured reference signals.

In another aspect, the base station may configure the UE to report the measured L1 metric for a first reference signal and a relative L1 metric value for each of the remaining reference signals of the subset of measured reference signals. For example, the relative L1 metric value may e relative to the measured L1 metric for the first reference signal.

In an aspect, the base station may configure the UE to report a subset of measured reference signals having a highest L1 metric or a lowest L1 metric per cell for at least a subset of multiple cells associated with different physical cell identities (PCIs). For example, the base station may configure the UE to report a measured L1 metric for each of the subset of measured reference signals.

In another aspect, the base station may configure the UE to report the measured L1 metric for a first reference signal and a relative L1 metric value for each of the remaining reference signals of the subset of measured reference signals. For example, the relative L1 metric value may be relative to the measured L1 metric for the first reference signal.

At <NUM>, the base station receives from the UE via the serving cell a report comprising the L1 measurements of the one or more reference signals from the one or more non-serving cells. The reception of the report may be performed by the report component <NUM> of the apparatus <NUM> in <FIG>. <FIG> illustrates an example of a serving cell <NUM> receiving a report <NUM> from the UE <NUM> with L1 measurements based on at least one reference signal from the non-serving cell <NUM>.

In another aspect, the base station may activate a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state associated with one of the one or more non-serving cells based on the report comprising the L1 measurements of the one or more reference signals from the one or more non-serving cells. <FIG> illustrates an example of a serving cell <NUM> transmitting a TCI state activation <NUM> to a UE <NUM>.

In another aspect, the base station may configure the UE to perform the L1 measurements for a physical cell identity (PCI) set including the serving cell and one or more non-serving cells.

The communication manager <NUM> includes a configuration component <NUM> that is configured to receive from the serving cell a configuration to perform L1 measurements on reference signals from one or more non-serving cells, e.g., as described in connection with step <NUM> of <FIG> and receive from the serving cell a report configuration to report to the serving cell the L1 measurements of the reference signals from the one or more non-serving cells, e.g., as described in connection with step <NUM> of <FIG>. The communication manager <NUM> further includes a reference signal component <NUM> that receives input in the form of a list of one or more reference signals to measure from the component <NUM> and is configured to receive one or more reference signals from one or more non-serving cells, e.g., as described in connection with step <NUM> of <FIG>. The communication manager <NUM> further includes an L1 measurement component <NUM> that receives input in the form of a list of the reference signals to measure from the component <NUM> and is configured to perform L1 measurements on the one or more reference signals received from one or more non-serving cells, e.g., as described in connection with step <NUM> of <FIG>. The communication manager <NUM> also includes a report component <NUM> that receives input in the form of a list of the reference signals to report from the component <NUM> and is configured to transmit to the serving cell a report of the L1 measurements of the reference signals from the non-serving cells, e.g., as described in connection with step <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 base stations / serving cell, means for receiving a report configuration from a base stations / serving cell, means for receiving one or more reference signals from one or more non-serving cells, and means for transmitting a report of L1 measurements to the base station / serving cell. The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned components of the apparatus <NUM> configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. As described supra, the apparatus <NUM> may include the TX Processor <NUM>, the RX Processor <NUM>, and the controller/processor <NUM>.

The apparatus <NUM> is a BS 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 configuration component <NUM> that transmits a configuration to the UE via the serving cell, the configuration operable to configure the UE to perform L1 measurements on reference signals from a non-serving cell, e.g., as described in connection with step <NUM> of <FIG>. The communication manager <NUM> further includes a report component <NUM> that transmits a report configuration to the UE via the serving cell, the report configuration operable to configure the UE to report the L1 measurements of the reference signals from a non-serving cell, e.g., as described in connection with step <NUM> of <FIG>. The communication manager <NUM> further includes an activation component <NUM> that is configured to activate a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state associated with the non-serving cell based on the report comprising the L1 measurements of the reference signals from the non-serving cell, e.g., as described in connection with step <NUM> of <FIG>.

In one configuration, the apparatus <NUM>, and in particular the baseband unit <NUM>, includes means for communicating with the UE, means for transmitting a configuration and a report configuration to the UE, means for receiving a report from the UE and means for activating a TCI state. The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned components of the apparatus <NUM> configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. As described supra, the apparatus <NUM> may include the TX Processor <NUM>, the RX Processor <NUM>, and the controller/processor <NUM>.

In summary, wireless communication is accomplished in part by a base station configuring a UE to perform L1 measurements of one or more reference signals from one or more non-serving cells and transmit a report of L1 measurements to the base station, and the base station may activate a TCI state associated with one of the non-serving cells in connection with inter-cell mobility. Some advantages realized by using L1 measurements include improving mobility of the UE via beam switching across serving and non-serving cells, which is an improvement over conventional (R16) mobility solutions. In some aspects, the base station may identify in its confiruation of the UE, a set of non-serving cells for which the UE performs L1 measurements on their respective reference signals. Additionally, the base station may also identify in its configuration of the UE the particular reference signals for which the UE performs the L1 measurements. The base station may also identify in its configuration of the UE the particular characteristics to be provided from a particular reference signal for which the UE performs the L1 measurements.

Claim 1:
A method of wireless communication at a user equipment, UE, served by a serving cell of a base station, comprising:
receiving (<NUM>), from the serving cell, a configuration to perform layer <NUM>, L1, measurements based on one or more reference signals from a non-serving cell;
receiving (<NUM>) the one or more reference signals from the non-serving cell; and
performing (<NUM>) the L1 measurements on the one or more reference signals received from the non-serving cell based on the configuration received from the base station,
wherein the UE determines to measure a serving cell synchronization signal block, SSB, without measuring a non-serving cell SSB when the UE receives a channel state information, CSI, resource configuration without an associated cell identifier.