PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-12063172-B2
Application Number: US-202017593427-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Designs for multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation

Abstract:
Various user equipment (UE) operations performed when the UE is in multiple Downlink Control Information (multi-DCI) based multiple transmission and reception point (multi-TRP) configuration. The operations receiving, from one of the first or second gNBs, one or more cell reference signal (CRS) rate matching patterns, wherein the one or more CRS rate matching patterns comprise an indication of a control resource set (CORESET) pool for each of the one or more CRS rate matching patterns and applying the one or more CRS rate matching patterns to a CORESET for a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) based on the indication of the CORESET pool.

Claims:
The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method, comprising:
 at a user equipment (UE) in multiple Downlink Control Information (multi-DCI) based multiple transmission and reception point (multi-TRP) configuration having simultaneous connections with a first next generation node B (gNB) and a second gNB over a same carrier: 
 receiving, from one of the first or second gNBs, one or more cell reference signal (CRS) rate matching patterns, wherein the one or more CRS rate matching patterns comprise an indication of a control resource set (CORESET) pool for each of the one or more CRS rate matching patterns; 
 applying the one or more CRS rate matching patterns to a CORESET for a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) based on the indication of the CORESET pool; 
 determining whether a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) is scheduled by a DCI; 
 when the PUCCH is scheduled by the DCI, determining whether a CORESET from which the DCI is decoded has a configured CORESET pool; 
 when the CORESET from which the DCI is decoded has a configured CORESET pool, setting the default TCI state and pathloss reference signal to a CORESET having a lowest CORESET identification among CORESETs having the same CORESET pool indication as the DCI that triggers the PUCCH transmission in a latest PDCCH monitoring slot; and 
 
       when the CORESET from which the DCI is decoded does not have a configured CORESET pool, setting the default TCI state and pathloss reference signal to a CORESET in a predefined CORESET pool having a lowest CORSET identification. 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more CRS rate matching patterns are grouped based on the CORESET pool to which each of the one or more CRS rate matching patterns belongs, wherein the indication is based on at least a group to which each of the one or more CRS rate matching patterns belongs. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more CRS rate matching patterns are grouped corresponding to the first gNB or the second gNB. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the indication is one of an explicit indication or an implicit indication. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 4 , wherein, when the indication is the implicit indication, the method further comprises:
 when a first predefined pool has less than a maximum number of CRS rate matching patterns, determining the CORESET pool to be the first predefined pool; and 
 when the first predefined pool has the maximum number of CRS rate matching patterns, determining the CORESET pool to be a second predefined pool. 
 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the UE is configured to perform a first number of blind decoding operations or a second number of channel estimation operations over non-overlapping Control Channel Elements (CCEs) for a DCI in a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) based on a parameter, wherein a value of the parameter is one of (i) reported to one of the first or second gNBs by the UE, or (ii) a predefined value. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining whether the UE supports a separate Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback mode, wherein each of the first and second gNBs provides a separate HARQ-ACK feedback to the UE; 
 when the UE supports the separate HARQ-ACK feedback mode, setting a default HARQ-ACK feedback mode to the separate HARQ-ACK feedback mode; and 
 when the UE does not support the separate HARQ-ACK feedback mode, setting the default HARQ-ACK feedback mode to a joint HARQ-ACK feedback mode, wherein the first and second gNBs jointly provide HARQ-ACK feedback to the UE. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining whether a CORESET in a latest monitored PDCCH slot has a configured CORESET pool; 
 when the CORESET in the latest monitored PDCCH slot has the configured CORESET pool, setting a default Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state for Aperiodic Channel State Indication-Reference Signals (AP-CSI-RS) to a CORESET having a lowest CORSET identification among CORESETs having the same CORESET pool indication as a DCI that triggers the corresponding AP-CSI-RS; and 
 when the CORESET in the latest monitored PDCCH slot does not have the configured CORESET pool, setting the default TCI state for AP-CSI-RS to a CORESET in a predefined CORESET pool having a lowest CORSET identification. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 when the PUCCH is not scheduled by the DCI, setting a default Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state and pathloss reference signal based on a CORESET having a lowest CORESET identification in an active bandwidth part of one of the first and second gNBs that is designated as a primary cell. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining whether the UE is simultaneously in the multi-DCI based multi-TRP configuration and a single-DCI based multi-TRP) configuration; and 
 one of (i) placing the UE in an error condition, (ii) omitting monitoring a DCI corresponding to a predefined CORESET pool, (iii) ignoring the single-DCI configuration and operating in the multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation or (iv) ignoring the multi-DCI configuration and operating in single-DCI based multi-TRP operation. 
 
     
     
       11. A user equipment (UE), comprising:
 a transceiver configured to connect to a first next generation node B (gNB) and a second gNB over a same carrier in a multiple Downlink Control Information (multi-DCI) based multiple transmission and reception point (multi-TRP) configuration; and 
 a processor configured to:
 receive, from one of the first or second gNBs, one or more cell reference signal (CRS) rate matching patterns, wherein the one or more CRS rate matching patterns comprise an indication of a control resource set (CORESET) pool for each of the one or more CRS rate matching patterns, 
 apply the one or more CRS rate matching patterns to a CORESET for a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) based on the indication of the CORESET pool, 
 determine whether a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) is scheduled by a DCI, 
 when the PUCCH is scheduled by the DCI, determine whether a CORESET from which the DCI is decoded has a configured CORESET pool, 
 when the CORESET from which the DCI is decoded has a configured CORESET pool, set the default TCI state and pathloss reference signal to a CORESET having a lowest CORESET identification among CORESETs having the same CORESET pool indication as the DCI that triggers the PUCCH transmission in a latest PDCCH monitoring slot, and 
 when the CORESET from which the DCI is decoded does not have a configured CORESET pool, set the default TCI state and pathloss reference signal to a CORESET in a predefined CORESET pool having a lowest CORSET identification. 
 
 
     
     
       12. The UE of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more CRS rate matching patterns are one of (i) grouped based on the CORESET pool to which each of the one or more CRS rate matching patterns belongs, wherein the indication is based on at least a group to which each of the one or more CRS rate matching patterns belongs, or (ii) grouped corresponding to the first gNB or the second gNB. 
     
     
       13. The UE of  claim 11 , wherein the indication is one of an explicit indication or an implicit indication, and wherein when the indication is the implicit indication, the UE is further configured to:
 determine the CORESET pool to be a first predefined pool when the first predefined pool has less than a maximum number of CRS rate matching patterns, and 
 determine the CORESET pool to be a second predefined pool when the first predefined pool has the maximum number of CRS rate matching patterns. 
 
     
     
       14. The UE of  claim 11 , wherein the UE is configured to perform a number of blind decoding operations for a DCI in a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) based on a parameter, wherein a value of the parameter is one of (i) reported to one of the first or second gNBs by the UE, or (ii) a predefined value. 
     
     
       15. The UE of  claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 determine whether the UE supports a separate Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback mode, wherein each of the first and second gNBs provides a separate HARQ-ACK feedback to the UE, 
 when the UE supports the separate HARQ-ACK feedback mode, set a default HARQ-ACK feedback mode to the separate HARQ-ACK feedback mode; and 
 when the UE does not support the separate HARQ-ACK feedback mode, set the default HARQ-ACK feedback mode to a joint HARQ-ACK feedback mode, wherein the first and second gNBs jointly provide HARQ-ACK feedback to the UE. 
 
     
     
       16. The UE of  claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 determine whether a CORESET in a latest monitored PDCCH slot has a configured CORESET pool; 
 when the CORESET in the latest monitored PDCCH slot has the configured CORESET pool, set a default Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state for Aperiodic Channel State Indication-Reference Signals (AP-CSI-RS) to a CORESET having a lowest CORSET identification among CORESETs having the same CORESET pool indication as a DCI that triggers the corresponding AP-CSI-RS; and 
 when the CORESET in the latest monitored PDCCH slot does not have the configured CORESET pool, set the default TCI state for AP-CSI-RS to a CORESET in a predefined CORESET pool having a lowest CORSET identification. 
 
     
     
       17. The UE of  claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 determine whether the UE is simultaneously in the multi-DCI based multi-TRP configuration and a single-DCI based multi-TRP) configuration; and 
 one of (i) place the UE in an error condition, (ii) omit monitoring a DCI corresponding to a predefined CORESET pool, (iii) ignore the single-DCI configuration and operating in the multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation or (iv) ignore the multi-DCI configuration and operating in single-DCI based multi-TRP operation. 
 
     
     
       18. An integrated circuit configured for use in a user equipment (UE) in multiple Downlink Control Information (multi-DCI) based multiple transmission and reception point (multi-TRP) configuration having simultaneous connections with a first next generation node B (gNB) and a second gNB over a same carrier, comprising:
 circuitry configured to receive, from one of the first or second gNBs, one or more cell reference signal (CRS) rate matching patterns, wherein the one or more CRS rate matching patterns comprise an indication of a control resource set (CORESET) pool for each of the one or more CRS rate matching patterns; 
 circuitry configured to apply the one or more CRS rate matching patterns to a CORESET for a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) based on the indication of the CORESET pool; 
 circuitry configured to determine whether a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) is scheduled by a DCI; 
 circuitry configured to determine whether a CORESET from which the DCI is decoded has a configured CORESET pool when the PUCCH is scheduled by the DCI; 
 circuitry configured to set the default TCI state and pathloss reference signal to a CORESET having a lowest CORESET identification among CORESETs having the same CORESET pool indication as the DCI that triggers the PUCCH transmission in a latest PDCCH monitoring slot when the CORESET from which the DCI is decoded has a configured CORESET pool; and 
 circuitry configured to set the default TCI state and pathloss reference signal to a CORESET in a predefined CORESET pool having a lowest CORSET identification when the CORESET from which the DCI is decoded does not have a configured CORESET pool.

Description:
BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
     Multiple transmission and reception point (multi-TRP) functionality in 5G New Radio (NR) involves a UE maintaining multiple links with multiple TRPs (e.g. multiple gNBs) simultaneously on the same carrier. Multi-TRP operations may be single Downlink Control Information (DCI) based or a multi-DCI based. In single-DCI based multi-TRP operation, a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) on multiple carriers may be scheduled using a single DCI on a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). In multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation, the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) on multiple carriers may be scheduled using a multiple DCIs on PDCCHs on multiple carriers. 
     SUMMARY 
     Some exemplary embodiments are related to a method performed by a user equipment (UE) in multiple Downlink Control Information (multi-DCI) based multiple transmission and reception point (multi-TRP) configuration having simultaneous connections with a first next generation node B (gNB) and a second gNB over a same carrier. The method includes receiving, from one of the first or second gNBs, one or more cell reference signal (CRS) rate matching patterns, wherein the one or more CRS rate matching patterns comprise an indication of a control resource set (CORESET) pool for each of the one or more CRS rate matching patterns and applying the one or more CRS rate matching patterns to a CORESET for a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) based on the indication of the CORESET pool. 
     Other exemplary embodiments are related to a user equipment (UE) having a transceiver and a processor. The transceiver is configured to connect to a first next generation node B (gNB) and a second gNB over a same carrier in a multiple Downlink Control Information (multi-DCI) based multiple transmission and reception point (multi-TRP) configuration. The processor is configured to receive, from one of the first or second gNBs, one or more cell reference signal (CRS) rate matching patterns, wherein the one or more CRS rate matching patterns comprise an indication of a control resource set (CORESET) pool for each of the one or more CRS rate matching patterns, and apply the one or more CRS rate matching patterns to a CORESET for a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) based on the indication of the CORESET pool. 
     Still further exemplary embodiments are related to n integrated circuit configured for use in a user equipment (UE) in multiple Downlink Control Information (multi-DCI) based multiple transmission and reception point (multi-TRP) configuration having simultaneous connections with a first next generation node B (gNB) and a second gNB over a same carrier. The integrated circuit includes circuitry configured to receive, from one of the first or second gNBs, one or more cell reference signal (CRS) rate matching patterns, wherein the one or more CRS rate matching patterns comprise an indication of a control resource set (CORESET) pool for each of the one or more CRS rate matching patterns and circuitry configured to apply the one or more CRS rate matching patterns to a CORESET for a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) based on the indication of the CORESET pool. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    shows a network arrangement according to various exemplary embodiments. 
         FIG.  2    shows an exemplary UE according to various exemplary embodiments. 
         FIGS.  3 A- 3 C  show three examples of cell reference signal (CRS) rate matching patterns according to various exemplary embodiments. 
         FIG.  4    shows an exemplary method of selecting a default Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback mode when the UE is in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation according to various exemplary embodiments. 
         FIG.  5    shows an exemplary method of selecting a default Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state for Aperiodic Channel State Indication-Reference Signals (AP-CSI-RS) when the UE is in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation according to various exemplary embodiments. 
         FIG.  6    shows an exemplary method of selecting a default Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) beam and pathloss reference signal (RS) according to various exemplary embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and the related appended drawings, wherein like elements are provided with the same reference numerals. The exemplary embodiments describe various solutions for a UE in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation. 
     The exemplary embodiments are described with regard to a UE. However, reference to a UE is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The exemplary embodiments may be utilized with any electronic component that may establish a connection to a network and is configured with the hardware, software, and/or firmware to exchange information and data with the network. Therefore, the UE as described herein is used to represent any electronic component. 
     In addition, the exemplary embodiments are described with regard to a 5G New Radio (NR) cellular network. However, reference to a 5G NR network is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The exemplary embodiments may be utilized with any network that implements the functionalities described herein for UE capability reporting. Therefore, the 5G NR network as described herein may represent any network that includes the functionalities described herein for the 5G NR network. 
     Multiple transmission and reception point (multi-TRP) functionality involves a UE maintaining multiple links with multiple TRPs (e.g. multiple gNBs) concurrently on the same carrier. As described above, when operating in multi-TRP, the UE may be in single-DCI or multi-DCI mode. The exemplary embodiments are related to a UE in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation. 
     The multi-DCI mode may have various characteristics. For example, each TRP may be scheduled by a control resource set (CORESET) that has a corresponding CORESETPoolIndex from {0, 1}, e.g., there are two pools of CORESETS. When the CORESETPoolIndex is not configured, it may be assumed to be 0. A maximum of 3 CORESETs per bandwidth part (BWP) may be configured for each CORESETPoolIndex and a maximum of total 5 CORESETs per BWP may be configured. Two (2) Physical Downlink Shared Channels (PDSCH) may be fully/partial/non-overlapping. In addition, the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-Acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback supports both a separate and a joint feedback mode with a maximum of two (2) codeword (CW) and 16 HARQ processes. 
     Based on these characteristics of the multi-DCI operation, there are several issues that need to be addressed for effective multi-DCI operation. These include cell reference signal (CRS) rate matching patterns design, a default R for pdcch-BlindDetectionCA capability reporting (which will be described in greater detail below), a default HARQ-ACK feedback mode, a default Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state for Aperiodic Channel State Indication-Reference Signals (AP-CSI-RS), a default Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) default beam and pathloss RS and a conflict of multi-DCI and single-DCI configurations. The exemplary embodiments address each of these issues. 
       FIG.  1    shows an exemplary network arrangement  100  according to various exemplary embodiments. The exemplary network arrangement  100  includes a user equipment (UE)  110 . Those skilled in the art will understand that the UE may be any type of electronic component that is configured to communicate via a network, e.g., mobile phones, tablet computers, smartphones, phablets, embedded devices, wearable devices, Cat-M devices, Cat-M1 devices, MTC devices, eMTC devices, other types of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, etc. It should also be understood that an actual network arrangement may include any number of UEs being used by any number of users. Thus, the example of a single UE  110  is merely provided for illustrative purposes. 
     The UE  110  may communicate directly with one or more networks. In the example of the network configuration  100 , the networks with which the UE  110  may wirelessly communicate are a 5G NR radio access network (5G NR-RAN)  120 , an LTE radio access network (LTE-RAN)  122  and a wireless local access network (WLAN)  124 . Therefore, the UE  110  may include a 5G NR chipset to communicate with the 5G NR-RAN  120 , an LTE chipset to communicate with the LTE-RAN  122  and an ISM chipset to communicate with the WLAN  124 . However, the UE  110  may also communicate with other types of networks (e.g. legacy cellular networks) and the UE  110  may also communicate with networks over a wired connection. With regard to the exemplary embodiments, the UE  110  may establish a connection with the 5G NR-RAN  122 . 
     The 5G NR-RAN  120  and the LTE-RAN  122  may be portions of cellular networks that may be deployed by cellular providers (e.g., Verizon, AT&amp;T, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc.). These networks  120 ,  122  may include, for example, cells or base stations (Node Bs, eNodeBs, HeNBs, eNBS, gNBs, gNodeBs, macrocells, microcells, small cells, femtocells, etc.) that are configured to send and receive traffic from UEs that are equipped with the appropriate cellular chip set. The WLAN  124  may include any type of wireless local area network (WiFi, Hot Spot, IEEE 802.11x networks, etc.). 
     The UE  110  may connect to the 5G NR-RAN via at least one of the next generation nodeB (gNB)  120 A and/or the gNB  120 B. The gNBs  120 A,  120 B may be configured with the necessary hardware (e.g., antenna array), software and/or firmware to perform massive multiple in multiple out (MIMO) functionality. Massive MIMO may refer to a base station that is configured to generate a plurality of beams for a plurality of UEs. Reference to two gNB  120 A,  120 B is merely for illustrative purposes. The exemplary embodiments may apply to any appropriate number of gNBs. Specifically, the UE  110  may simultaneously connect to and exchange data with a plurality of gNBs  120 A,  120 B in a multi-cell CA configuration or a multi-TRP configuration. The UE  110  may also connect to the LTE-RAN  122  via either or both of the eNBs  122 A,  122 B, or to any other type of RAN, as mentioned above. In the network arrangement  100 , the UE  110  is shown as having a simultaneous connection to the gNBs  120 A and  120 B. The connections to the gNBs  120 A,  120 B may be, for example, multi-TRP connections where both of the gNBs  120 A,  120 B provide services for the UE  110  on a same channel. 
     In addition to the networks  120 ,  122  and  124  the network arrangement  100  also includes a cellular core network  130 , the Internet  140 , an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)  150 , and a network services backbone  160 . The cellular core network  130  may be considered to be the interconnected set of components that manages the operation and traffic of the cellular network. The cellular core network  130  also manages the traffic that flows between the cellular network and the Internet  140 . The IMS  150  may be generally described as an architecture for delivering multimedia services to the UE  110  using the IP protocol. The IMS  150  may communicate with the cellular core network  130  and the Internet  140  to provide the multimedia services to the UE  110 . The network services backbone  160  is in communication either directly or indirectly with the Internet  140  and the cellular core network  130 . The network services backbone  160  may be generally described as a set of components (e.g., servers, network storage arrangements, etc.) that implement a suite of services that may be used to extend the functionalities of the UE  110  in communication with the various networks. 
       FIG.  2    shows an exemplary UE  110  according to various exemplary embodiments. The UE  110  will be described with regard to the network arrangement  100  of  FIG.  1   . The UE  110  may represent any electronic device and may include a processor  205 , a memory arrangement  210 , a display device  215 , an input/output (I/O) device  220 , a transceiver  225 , and other components  230 . The other components  230  may include, for example, an audio input device, an audio output device, a battery that provides a limited power supply, a data acquisition device, ports to electrically connect the UE  110  to other electronic devices, sensors to detect conditions of the UE  110 , etc. 
     The processor  205  may be configured to execute a plurality of engines for the UE  110 . For example, the engines may include a multi-DCI, multi-TRP engine  235 . The multi-DCI, multi-TRP engine  235  may perform operations to address the issues identified above with a UE in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation. The specific operations will be described in further detail below. 
     The above referenced engine being an application (e.g., a program) executed by the processor  205  is only exemplary. The functionality associated with the engines may also be represented as a separate incorporated component of the UE  110  or may be a modular component coupled to the UE  110 , e.g., an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuit may include input circuitry to receive signals and processing circuitry to process the signals and other information. The engines may also be embodied as one application or separate applications. In addition, in some UEs, the functionality described for the processor  205  is split among two or more processors such as a baseband processor and an applications processor. The exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of a UE. 
     The memory  210  may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the UE  110 . The display device  215  may be a hardware component configured to show data to a user while the I/O device  220  may be a hardware component that enables the user to enter inputs. The display device  215  and the I/O device  220  may be separate components or integrated together such as a touchscreen. The transceiver  225  may be a hardware component configured to establish a connection with the 5G-NR RAN  120 , the LTE RAN  122  etc. Accordingly, the transceiver  225  may operate on a variety of different frequencies or channels (e.g., set of consecutive frequencies). 
     As described above, a first issue to be resolved for a UE in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation includes CRS rate matching pattern design. CRS rate matching is for the NR Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) to rate match the LTE CRS at a resource element (RE) level to allow for LTE and NR coexistence in the same channel. In the exemplary embodiments, up to (6) CRS patterns may be supported per cell. This may include up to (3) CRS patterns in the frequency domain in the same cell if it is considered that LTE supports up to a 20 MHz carrier while NR supports up to a 100 MHz carrier. This may also include up to two (2) CRS patterns per frequency range if it is considered that NR supports multi-TRP operation. 
       FIGS.  3 A- 3 C  show three examples of CRS rate matching patterns according to various exemplary embodiments. A design consideration for the CRS rate matching patterns, for an individual serving cell, may be that the cell indicates to which (CORESETPoolIndex) the TRP belongs. 
       FIG.  3 A  shows a first exemplary CRS rate matching pattern  300  according to various exemplary embodiments. In this example, each CRS pattern  301 - 306  may be configured. This may include the information for each pattern such as, including v-Shift of the LTE CRS, the number of the LTE CRS port, the LTE downlink carrier frequency, the LTE downlink carrier bandwidth, the LTE Multimedia Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) subframe configuration and a CORSETPoolIndex. 
       FIG.  3 B  shows a second exemplary CRS rate matching pattern  320  according to various exemplary embodiments. In this example, two (2) sets  325 ,  330  of CRS patterns may be configured. Each CRS pattern set may include a CORSETPoolIndex, e.g., CRS pattern set  325  may have the CORSETPoolIndex{0} and CRS pattern set  330  may have the CORSETPoolIndex{1}. Each CRS pattern set  325 ,  330  may also include a list of CRS patterns, e.g., CRS patterns  326 - 329  for CRS pattern set  325  and CRS patterns  331 - 333  for CRS pattern set  330 . Each CRS pattern may include the information as was described above with respect to  FIG.  3 A . However, in this example, the CORSETPoolIndex may not be included because this information is known based on the CRS pattern set  325 ,  330  to which the CRS pattern belongs. 
       FIG.  3 C  shows a third exemplary CRS rate matching pattern  340  according to various exemplary embodiments. In this example, a new CRS pattern list is configured which corresponds to the secondary TRP. As was described above, each cell may support (3) CRS patterns in the frequency domain. Thus, the primary cell (e.g. gNB  120 A) may support the CRS pattern list  365  that includes the CRS patterns  366 - 368 . The new CRS pattern list  370  including CRS patterns  371 - 373  may be configured to correspond to the secondary TRP (e.g., gNB  120 B). 
     There may be situations where multiple CRS rate matching patterns are configured per TRP. The CORESETPoolIndex may only take on the values of 0, 1 or not configured. Moreover, as described above, each CORESETPoolIndex may have a maximum of three (3) CRS rate matching patterns configured. The CORESETPoolIndex can be either explicitly or implicitly configured. In the explicit situation, the explicit configuration will be used. In the implicit situation, e.g., the CORESETPoolIndex is not configured, the CORESETPoolIndex may be assumed to be 0. There is an exception to this assumption. When there are already three (3) CRS rate matching patterns explicitly configured with CORESETPoolIndex=0 (e.g., the maximum number of CRS rate matching patterns per CORESETPoolIndex, the CORESETPoolIndex may be assumed to be 1. 
     As described above, a second issue to be resolved for a UE in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation is a default R for pdcch-BlindDetectionCA capability reporting. This refers to a UE capability with respect to blind detection and non-overlapping Control Channel Elements (CCE) in carrier aggregation (CA) operation. A DCI that is to be transmitted on the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) to the UE  110  may be mapped to particular control channel elements (CCEs). However, a subframe may include DCI that is not relevant to the UE  110  and the UE  110  may not be aware of where the DCI intended for the UE  110  is located within the subframe. Thus, the UE  110  may be configured to the find the DCI relevant to the UE  110  within the subframe by monitoring and blindly decoding a particular set of PDCCH candidates (e.g., a set of one or more consecutive CCEs on which PDDCH for the UE  110  may be mapped). 
     For PDCCH decoding, the actual number of blind decodes and non-overlapped CCEs is controlled by the network in a parameter labeled as a BDFactorR or γ. The UE  110  may report its R factor together with another a parameter labeled pdcch-BlindDetectionCA that may be set to a value of {1,2}. When the UE  110  reports the pdcch-BlindDetectionCA, the UE  110  may be indicated the BDFactorR as either γ=1 or γ=R. 
     However, when the UE  110  does not report the pdcch-BlindDetectionCA parameter or when the UE does not report R, a default value of R is to be used. The exemplary embodiments provide various manners of determining the default value for R. In a first example, the UE  110  is required to report its R value {1,2}. Thus, there is no situation where a default value is needed because the UE  110  will always report the R value. In a second exemplary embodiment, it may be considered that the default value is {1}. In a third exemplary embodiment, it may be considered that the default value is {2}. 
     As described above, a third issue to be resolved for a UE in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation is a default HARQ-ACK feedback mode. For multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation, the UE can be configured to one of two different HARQ-ACK feedback modes. A first HARQ-ACK feedback mode may be termed, “joint feedback”, where the HARQ-ACK from two (2) PDSCHs are fed back in the same HARQ-ACK codebook. A second HARQ-ACK feedback mode may be termed, “separate feedback”, where the HARQ-ACK from two (2) PDSCHs are fed back in separate HARQ-ACK codebooks, carried by two (2) separate PUCCHs. 
       FIG.  4    shows an exemplary method  400  of selecting a default HARQ-ACK feedback mode when the UE  110  is in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation according to various exemplary embodiments. In  410 , the UE  110  determines whether the UE  110  is in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation. The multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation is characterized by at least one CORESET being configured without a CORESETPoolIndex or with one CORESETPoolIndex=0 and at least another CORESET being configured with CORESETPoolIndex=1. If the UE  110  is not in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation, the method  400  ends. 
     If the UE  110  is in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation, the method  400  proceeds to  420  where the UE  110  determines if it supports the separate feedback HARQ-ACK mode. If the UE  110  supports the separate feedback HARQ-ACK mode, the method  400  proceeds to  440  where the default HARQ feedback mode may be set to “separate feedback.” If it is determined in  420  that the UE  110  does not support the separate feedback HARQ-ACK mode but the UE supports joint HARQ-ACK mode, the method proceeds to  430  where the default HARQ-ACK feedback mode may be set to “joint feedback.” Thus, at the end of method  400 , the default HARQ-ACK feedback mode is set for the UE  110 . 
     As described above, a fourth issue to be resolved for a UE in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation is a default Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state for Aperiodic Channel State Indication-Reference Signals (AP-CSI-RS).  FIG.  5    shows an exemplary method  500  of selecting a default TCI state for AP-CSI-RS when the UE  110  is in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation according to various exemplary embodiments. In  510 , the UE  110  determines whether the UE  110  is in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation. The operation  510  is the same as the operation  410  described above. If the UE  110  is not in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation, the method  500  ends. 
     If the UE  110  is in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation, the method  500  proceeds to  520  where the UE  110  determines if the CORESET in the latest monitored PDCCH slot has a configured CORESETPoolIndex. If the CORESET in the latest monitored PDCCH slot has a configured CORESETPoolIndex, the method  500  proceeds to  540  where the default TCI state for AP-CSI-RS may be set to the CORESET that has the lowest CORESET-ID in the same CORESET pool as the CORESET in the latest monitored PDCCH slot. In this case, the CORESETPoolIndex is the same as the CORESET from which UE  110  decodes the DCI that triggers the AP-CS-RS. If it is determined in  520  that the CORESET in the latest monitored PDCCH slot does not have a configured CORESETPoolIndex, the method proceeds to  530  where the default TCI state for AP-CSI-RS may be set to the CORESET that has the lowest CORESET-ID in the CORESETPoolIndex{0}. Thus, at the end of method  500 , the default TCI state for AP-CSI-RS is set for the UE  110 . 
     As described above, a fifth issue to be resolved for a UE in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation is a default Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) beam and pathloss RS.  FIG.  6    shows an exemplary method  600  of selecting a default PUCCH beam and pathloss RS according to various exemplary embodiments. In  610 , the UE  110  determines whether the UE  110  is in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation. The operation  610  is the same as the operation  410  described above. If the UE  110  is not in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation, the method  600  ends. 
     If the UE  110  is in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation, the method  600  proceeds to  620  where the UE  110  determines if the PUCCH has been scheduled by a DCI. If the PUCCH has not been scheduled by a DCI, the method proceeds to  630  where the default TCI state and pathloss RS for the PUCCH may be set based on a latest PDCCH reception by the UE  110  in the CORESET with the lowest ID on the active downlink (DL) bandwidth part (BWP) of the primary cell (PCell), e.g., gNB  120 A. 
     If the PUCCH has not been scheduled by a DCI, the method proceeds to  640 , where the UE  110  determines whether the CORESET in which the DCI has been decoded has a configured CORESETPoolIndex. If the CORESET in which the DCI has been decoded has a configured CORESETPoolIndex, the method  600  proceeds to  660  where the default TCI state and pathloss (PL) RS for the PUCCH may be set to the CORESET that has the lowest CORESET-ID in the same CORESET pool as the CORESET in which the DCI has been decoded. In this case, the CORESETPoolIndex is the same as the CORESET from which UE  110  decodes the DCI that triggers the PUCCH. If it is determined in  640  that the CORESET in which the DCI has been decoded does not have a configured CORESETPoolIndex, the method proceeds to  650  where the default TCI state and pathloss RS for the PUCCH may be set to the CORESET that has the lowest CORESET-ID in the CORESETPoolIndex{0}. Thus, at the end of method  600 , the default TCI state and pathloss RS for the PUCCH is set for the UE  110 . 
     As described above, a sixth issue to be resolved for a UE in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation is to resolve a conflict between multi-DCI and single-DCI configurations. The UE  110  may be simultaneously configured for both multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation and single-DCI based multi-TRP operation. As described above, the UE  110  may be configured in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation when at least one CORESET is configured without a CORESETPoolIndex or with a CORESETPoolIndex=0 and at least another CORESET is configured with CORESETPoolIndex=1. The UE  110  may be configured in single-DCI based multi-TRP operation when a Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) activates at least one TCI codepoint with 2 TCI States and/or Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling configures a RepNumR16 parameter in at least in one entry in PDSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocation. The RepNumR16 parameter indicates to the UE  110  that it may be receiving multiple TCI states corresponding to multi-TRP operation. Thus, if the UE  110  is configured with both multi-DCI and single-DCI based multi-TRP configurations, the UE  110  may need to resolve the conflict. 
     There may be several manners of resolving the conflict. In a first exemplary embodiment, the UE  110  may consider that the simultaneous multi-DCI and single-DCI based multi-TRP configuration is an error case. In this exemplary embodiment, the behavior of the UE  110  may be unspecified. In a second exemplary embodiment, when the UE  110  is configured with simultaneous multi-DCI and single-DCI based multi-TRP, the UE  110  may not monitor DCI scheduling from CORESETs in CORESETPoolIndex=1, e.g., the UE  110  will only monitor DCI scheduling for the primary cell. 
     In a third exemplary embodiment, when the UE  110  is configured with simultaneous multi-DCI and single-DCI based multi-TRP, the UE  110  may ignore the single-DCI based multi-TRP configuration and only operate in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation. In a fourth exemplary embodiment, when the UE  110  is configured with simultaneous multi-DCI and single-DCI based multi-TRP, the UE  110  may ignore the multi-DCI based multi-TRP configuration and only operate in single-DCI based multi-TRP operation. 
     Thus, the above exemplary embodiments provide various solutions to resolve issues related to a UE in multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation. 
     Those skilled in the art will understand that the above-described exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any suitable software or hardware configuration or combination thereof. An exemplary hardware platform for implementing the exemplary embodiments may include, for example, an Intel x86 based platform with compatible operating system, a Windows OS, a Mac platform and MAC OS, a mobile device having an operating system such as iOS, Android, etc. In a further example, the exemplary embodiments of the above described method may be embodied as a program containing lines of code stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium that, when compiled, may be executed on a processor or microprocessor. 
     Although this application described various embodiments each having different features in various combinations, those skilled in the art will understand that any of the features of one embodiment may be combined with the features of the other embodiments in any manner not specifically disclaimed or which is not functionally or logically inconsistent with the operation of the device or the stated functions of the disclosed embodiments. 
     It is well understood that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled so as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the present disclosure, without departing from the spirit or the scope of the disclosure. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalent.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20200515
Publication Date: 20240813
Grant Date: 20240813
Priority Date: 20200515
Inventors: SUN, HAITONG
YAO, CHUNHAI
YE, CHUNXUAN
ZHANG, DAWEI
HE, HONG
OTERI, OGHENEKOME
ZENG, WEI
YANG, WEIDONG
ZHANG, YUSHU
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04W72/23", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L1/1812", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L5/0035", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L1/1829", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L1/1896", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L5/0055", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L5/0053", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L5/0094", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L5/0035", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L5/005", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/23", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L1/1812", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L5/0035", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 78526239