WO2024178705A1

WO2024178705A1 - Beam application time for unified transmission configuration indicator states

Info

Publication number: WO2024178705A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/079228
Authority: WO
Inventors: Fang Yuan; Yan Zhou
Original assignee: Qualcomm Inc
Current assignee: Qualcomm Inc
Priority date: 2023-03-02
Filing date: 2023-03-02
Publication date: 2024-09-06
Anticipated expiration: 2025-09-02

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. Techniques described herein may support use of a default beam application time for a configured unified transmission configuration indicator state in the absence of a configured beam application time. For example, the default beam application time may be based on one or more reported user equipment capabilities (e.g., specific beam application times reported for separate and joint transmission configuration indicator states, the same as a quasi colocation beam application time, etc. ). The default application may be defined to be zero symbols, or a threshold configurable quantity of symbols (e.g., 1 symbol, or 336 symbols, among other examples).

Description

BEAM APPLICATION TIME FOR UNIFIED TRANSMISSION CONFIGURATION INDICATOR STATES

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

The following relates to wireless communications, including beam application time for unified transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power) . Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ technologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA) , time division multiple access (TDMA) , frequency division multiple access (FDMA) , orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) , or discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM) . A wireless multiple-access communications system may include one or more base stations, each supporting wireless communication for communication devices, which may be known as user equipment (UE) .

SUMMARY

The described techniques relate to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses that support beam application times for unified transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states. For example, techniques described herein may support determination of and use of a default beam application time in the absence of a configured beam application time. For example, the default beam application time may be based on one or more reported user equipment (UE) capabilities (e.g., specific beam application times reported for separate and joint TCI states, the same as a quasi colocation (QCL) beam application time, etc. ) . The default application may be defined to be zero symbols, or a threshold configurable quantity of symbols (e.g., 1 symbol, or 336 symbols, among other examples) .

A method for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE) is described. The method may include receiving a downlink control information message including an indication of a unified TCI state corresponding to a first beam, transmitting a feedback message including an indication that the UE has received the downlink control information message, and communicating with a network entity via one or more wireless channels using the first beam according to the unified TCI state during a first slot that occurs a default beam application time after transmitting the feedback message.

An apparatus for wireless communications at a UE is described. The apparatus may include a processor, memory coupled with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions may be executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to receive a downlink control information message including an indication of a unified TCI state corresponding to a first beam, transmit a feedback message including an indication that the UE has received the downlink control information message, and communicate with a network entity via one or more wireless channels using the first beam according to the unified TCI state during a first slot that occurs a default beam application time after transmitting the feedback message.

Another apparatus for wireless communications at a UE is described. The apparatus may include means for receiving a downlink control information message including an indication of a unified TCI state corresponding to a first beam, means for transmitting a feedback message including an indication that the UE has received the downlink control information message, and means for communicating with a network entity via one or more wireless channels using the first beam according to the unified TCI state during a first slot that occurs a default beam application time after transmitting the feedback message.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications at a UE is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to receive a downlink control information message including an indication of a unified TCI state corresponding to a first beam, transmit a feedback message including an indication that the UE has received the downlink control information message, and communicate with a network entity via one or more wireless channels using the first beam according to the unified TCI state during a first slot that occurs a default beam application time after transmitting the feedback message.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for determining an absence of control signaling indicating a second beam application time that may be different from the default beam application time and identifying the default beam application time based on determining the absence of the control signaling.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for monitoring for the control signaling that includes a radio resource control message, where the determining may be based on the monitoring.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting a first capability message indicating that the UE supports a joint TCI state, the first capability message including a first threshold beam application time and transmitting a second capability message indicating that the UE supports a separate TCI state, the second capability message including a second threshold beam application time, where the default beam application time includes one of the first threshold beam application time or the second threshold beam application time.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for selecting the first threshold beam application time based on the indication of the unified TCI state including an indication of the joint TCI state, where communicating according to the default beam application time may be based on the selecting.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for selecting the second threshold beam application time based on the indication of the unified TCI state including an indication of the separate TCI state, where communicating according to the default beam application time may be based on the selecting.

Some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting a capability information message including a candidate beam application time, where the default beam application time includes the candidate beam application time.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the candidate beam application time corresponds to a quasi colocation configuration.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the default beam application time may be equal to zero symbols.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the default beam application time may be equal to a quantity of symbols.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the quantity of symbols includes one symbol.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the quantity of symbols includes a maximum quantity of symbols.

In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the default beam application time includes a quantity of symbol periods between transmission of the feedback message and the first slot.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system that supports beam application time for unified transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system that supports beam application time for unified TCI states in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a process flow that supports beam application time for unified TCI states in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGs. 4 and 5 illustrate block diagrams of devices that support beam application time for unified TCI states in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of a communications manager that supports beam application time for unified TCI states in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a diagram of a system including a device that supports beam application time for unified TCI states in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGs. 8 through 10 illustrate flowcharts showing methods that support beam application time for unified TCI states in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some wireless communications systems may support unified transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states. In such wireless communications systems, a user equipment (UE) may be configured with a TCI state (e.g., a beam) to use for communications via one or more channels (e.g., multiple uplink channels, multiple downlink channels, an uplink channel and a downlink channel, or a single uplink or downlink channel) . For example, the network may configure a UE (via a downlink control information (DCI) message) to apply a unified TCI state (e.g., one beam for multiple channels) . The UE may implement the TCI state (e.g., use the beam) after a time period has elapsed (e.g., after a beam application time) . However, configuration of the beam application time may be optional (e.g., in some cases, the network may configure the UE with the unified TCI state, but may not have configured the UE with a beam application time) . In such examples, a timing for implementing the indicated TCI state may be ambiguous (e.g., anywhere from 0 to 336 symbols after transmission of a feedback message (e.g., an acknowledgement (ACK) message) corresponding to the DCI message) . Such lack of clarity regarding when to implement the TCI state may result in inefficient communications, failed transmissions (e.g., due to use of a wrong beam) , decreased reliability of wireless communications, increased inefficiency due to lack of implementing the TCI state, and decreased user experience.

Techniques described herein may support determination of and use of a default beam application time in the absence of a configured beam application time. For example, the default beam application time may be based on one or more reported UE capabilities (e.g., specific beam application times reported for separate and joint TCI states, the same as a quasi colocation (QCL) beam application time, etc. ) . The default application may be defined to be zero symbols, or a threshold configurable quantity of symbols (e.g., 1 symbol, or 336 symbols, among other examples) .

Aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the context of wireless communications systems. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to wireless communications systems and process flows. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flowcharts that relate to beam application time for unified TCI states.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 100 that supports beam application time for unified TCI states in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 100 may include one or more network entities 105, one or more UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, a New Radio (NR) network, or a network operating in accordance with other systems and radio technologies, including future systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.

The network entities 105 may be dispersed throughout a geographic area to form the wireless communications system 100 and may include devices in different forms or having different capabilities. In various examples, a network entity 105 may be referred to as a network element, a mobility element, a radio access network (RAN) node, or network equipment, among other nomenclature. In some examples, network entities 105 and UEs 115 may wirelessly communicate via one or more communication links 125 (e.g., a radio frequency (RF) access link) . For example, a network entity 105 may support a coverage area 110 (e.g., a geographic coverage area) over which the UEs 115 and the network entity 105 may establish one or more communication links 125. The coverage area 110 may be an example of a geographic area over which a network entity 105 and a UE 115 may support the communication of signals according to one or more radio access technologies (RATs) .

The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout a coverage area 110 of the wireless communications system 100, and each UE 115 may be stationary, or mobile, or both at different times. The UEs 115 may be devices in different forms or having different capabilities. Some example UEs 115 are illustrated in FIG. 1. The UEs 115 described herein may be capable of supporting communications with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115 or network entities 105, as shown in FIG. 1.

As described herein, a node of the wireless communications system 100, which may be referred to as a network node, or a wireless node, may be a network entity 105 (e.g., any network entity described herein) , a UE 115 (e.g., any UE described herein) , a network controller, an apparatus, a device, a computing system, one or more components, or another suitable processing entity configured to perform any of the techniques described herein. For example, a node may be a UE 115. As another example, a node may be a network entity 105. As another example, a first node may be configured to communicate with a second node or a third node. In one aspect of this example, the first node may be a UE 115, the second node may be a network entity 105, and the third node may be a UE 115. In another aspect of this example, the first node may be a UE 115, the second node may be a network entity 105, and the third node may be a network entity 105. In yet other aspects of this example, the first, second, and third nodes may be different relative to these examples. Similarly, reference to a UE 115, network entity 105, apparatus, device, computing system, or the like may include disclosure of the UE 115, network entity 105, apparatus, device, computing system, or the like being a node. For example, disclosure that a UE 115 is configured to receive information from a network entity 105 also discloses that a first node is configured to receive information from a second node.

In some examples, network entities 105 may communicate with the core network 130, or with one another, or both. For example, network entities 105 may communicate with the core network 130 via one or more backhaul communication links 120 (e.g., in accordance with an S1, N2, N3, or other interface protocol) . In some examples, network entities 105 may communicate with one another via a backhaul communication link 120 (e.g., in accordance with an X2, Xn, or other interface protocol) either directly (e.g., directly between network entities 105) or indirectly (e.g., via a core network 130) . In some examples, network entities 105 may communicate with one another via a midhaul communication link 162 (e.g., in accordance with a midhaul interface protocol) or a fronthaul communication link 168 (e.g., in accordance with a fronthaul interface protocol) , or any combination thereof. The backhaul communication links 120, midhaul communication links 162, or fronthaul communication links 168 may be or include one or more wired links (e.g., an electrical link, an optical fiber link) , one or more wireless links (e.g., a radio link, a wireless optical link) , among other examples or various combinations thereof. A UE 115 may communicate with the core network 130 via a communication link 155.

One or more of the network entities 105 described herein may include or may be referred to as a base station 140 (e.g., a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an NR base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB) , a next-generation NodeB or a giga-NodeB (either of which may be referred to as a gNB) , a 5G NB, a next-generation eNB (ng-eNB) , a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or other suitable terminology) . In some examples, a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140) may be implemented in an aggregated (e.g., monolithic, standalone) base station architecture, which may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single network entity 105 (e.g., a single RAN node, such as a base station 140) .

In some examples, a network entity 105 may be implemented in a disaggregated architecture (e.g., a disaggregated base station architecture, a disaggregated RAN architecture) , which may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among two or more network entities 105, such as an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open RAN (O-RAN) (e.g., a network configuration sponsored by the O-RAN Alliance) , or a virtualized RAN (vRAN) (e.g., a cloud RAN (C-RAN) ) . For example, a network entity 105 may include one or more of a central unit (CU) 160, a distributed unit (DU) 165, a radio unit (RU) 170, a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) 175 (e.g., a Near-Real Time RIC (Near-RT RIC) , a Non-Real Time RIC (Non-RT RIC) ) , a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) 180 system, or any combination thereof. An RU 170 may also be referred to as a radio head, a smart radio head, a remote radio head (RRH) , a remote radio unit (RRU) , or a transmission reception point (TRP) . One or more components of the network entities 105 in a disaggregated RAN architecture may be co-located, or one or more components of the network entities 105 may be located in distributed locations (e.g., separate physical locations) . In some examples, one or more network entities 105 of a disaggregated RAN architecture may be implemented as virtual units (e.g., a virtual CU (VCU) , a virtual DU (VDU) , a virtual RU (VRU) ) .

The split of functionality between a CU 160, a DU 165, and an RU 170 is flexible and may support different functionalities depending on which functions (e.g., network layer functions, protocol layer functions, baseband functions, RF functions, and any combinations thereof) are performed at a CU 160, a DU 165, or an RU 170. For example, a functional split of a protocol stack may be employed between a CU 160 and a DU 165 such that the CU 160 may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the DU 165 may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. In some examples, the CU 160 may host upper protocol layer (e.g., layer 3 (L3) , layer 2 (L2) ) functionality and signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) , service data adaption protocol (SDAP) , Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) ) . The CU 160 may be connected to one or more DUs 165 or RUs 170, and the one or more DUs 165 or RUs 170 may host lower protocol layers, such as layer 1 (L1) (e.g., physical (PHY) layer) or L2 (e.g., radio link control (RLC) layer, medium access control (MAC) layer) functionality and signaling, and may each be at least partially controlled by the CU 160. Additionally, or alternatively, a functional split of the protocol stack may be employed between a DU 165 and an RU 170 such that the DU 165 may support one or more layers of the protocol stack and the RU 170 may support one or more different layers of the protocol stack. The DU 165 may support one or multiple different cells (e.g., via one or more RUs 170) . In some cases, a functional split between a CU 160 and a DU 165, or between a DU 165 and an RU 170 may be within a protocol layer (e.g., some functions for a protocol layer may be performed by one of a CU 160, a DU 165, or an RU 170, while other functions of the protocol layer are performed by a different one of the CU 160, the DU 165, or the RU 170) . A CU 160 may be functionally split further into CU control plane (CU-CP) and CU user plane (CU-UP) functions. A CU 160 may be connected to one or more DUs 165 via a midhaul communication link 162 (e.g., F1, F1-c, F1-u) , and a DU 165 may be connected to one or more RUs 170 via a fronthaul communication link 168 (e.g., open fronthaul (FH) interface) . In some examples, a midhaul communication link 162 or a fronthaul communication link 168 may be implemented in accordance with an interface (e.g., a channel) between layers of a protocol stack supported by respective network entities 105 that are in communication via such communication links.

In wireless communications systems (e.g., wireless communications system 100) , infrastructure and spectral resources for radio access may support wireless backhaul link capabilities to supplement wired backhaul connections, providing an IAB network architecture (e.g., to a core network 130) . In some cases, in an IAB network, one or more network entities 105 (e.g., IAB nodes 104) may be partially controlled by each other. One or more IAB nodes 104 may be referred to as a donor entity or an IAB donor. One or more DUs 165 or one or more RUs 170 may be partially controlled by one or more CUs 160 associated with a donor network entity 105 (e.g., a donor base station 140) . The one or more donor network entities 105 (e.g., IAB donors) may be in communication with one or more additional network entities 105 (e.g., IAB nodes 104) via supported access and backhaul links (e.g., backhaul communication links 120) . IAB nodes 104 may include an IAB mobile termination (IAB-MT) controlled (e.g., scheduled) by DUs 165 of a coupled IAB donor. An IAB-MT may include an independent set of antennas for relay of communications with UEs 115, or may share the same antennas (e.g., of an RU 170) of an IAB node 104 used for access via the DU 165 of the IAB node 104 (e.g., referred to as virtual IAB-MT (vIAB-MT) ) . In some examples, the IAB nodes 104 may include DUs 165 that support communication links with additional entities (e.g., IAB nodes 104, UEs 115) within the relay chain or configuration of the access network (e.g., downstream) . In such cases, one or more components of the disaggregated RAN architecture (e.g., one or more IAB nodes 104 or components of IAB nodes 104) may be configured to operate according to the techniques described herein.

For instance, an access network (AN) or RAN may include communications between access nodes (e.g., an IAB donor) , IAB nodes 104, and one or more UEs 115. The IAB donor may facilitate connection between the core network 130 and the AN (e.g., via a wired or wireless connection to the core network 130) . That is, an IAB donor may refer to a RAN node with a wired or wireless connection to core network 130. The IAB donor may include a CU 160 and at least one DU 165 (e.g., and RU 170) , in which case the CU 160 may communicate with the core network 130 via an interface (e.g., a backhaul link) . IAB donor and IAB nodes 104 may communicate via an F1 interface according to a protocol that defines signaling messages (e.g., an F1 AP protocol) . Additionally, or alternatively, the CU 160 may communicate with the core network via an interface, which may be an example of a portion of backhaul link, and may communicate with other CUs 160 (e.g., a CU 160 associated with an alternative IAB donor) via an Xn-C interface, which may be an example of a portion of a backhaul link.

An IAB node 104 may refer to a RAN node that provides IAB functionality (e.g., access for UEs 115, wireless self-backhauling capabilities) . A DU 165 may act as a distributed scheduling node towards child nodes associated with the IAB node 104, and the IAB-MT may act as a scheduled node towards parent nodes associated with the IAB node 104. That is, an IAB donor may be referred to as a parent node in communication with one or more child nodes (e.g., an IAB donor may relay transmissions for UEs through one or more other IAB nodes 104) . Additionally, or alternatively, an IAB node 104 may also be referred to as a parent node or a child node to other IAB nodes 104, depending on the relay chain or configuration of the AN. Therefore, the IAB-MT entity of IAB nodes 104 may provide a Uu interface for a child IAB node 104 to receive signaling from a parent IAB node 104, and the DU interface (e.g., DUs 165) may provide a Uu interface for a parent IAB node 104 to signal to a child IAB node 104 or UE 115.

For example, IAB node 104 may be referred to as a parent node that supports communications for a child IAB node, or referred to as a child IAB node associated with an IAB donor, or both. The IAB donor may include a CU 160 with a wired or wireless connection (e.g., a backhaul communication link 120) to the core network 130 and may act as parent node to IAB nodes 104. For example, the DU 165 of IAB donor may relay transmissions to UEs 115 through IAB nodes 104, or may directly signal transmissions to a UE 115, or both. The CU 160 of IAB donor may signal communication link establishment via an F1 interface to IAB nodes 104, and the IAB nodes 104 may schedule transmissions (e.g., transmissions to the UEs 115 relayed from the IAB donor) through the DUs 165. That is, data may be relayed to and from IAB nodes 104 via signaling via an NR Uu interface to MT of the IAB node 104. Communications with IAB node 104 may be scheduled by a DU 165 of IAB donor and communications with IAB node 104 may be scheduled by DU 165 of IAB node 104.

In the case of the techniques described herein applied in the context of a disaggregated RAN architecture, one or more components of the disaggregated RAN architecture may be configured to support beam application time for unified TCI states as described herein. For example, some operations described as being performed by a UE 115 or a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140) may additionally, or alternatively, be performed by one or more components of the disaggregated RAN architecture (e.g., IAB nodes 104, DUs 165, CUs 160, RUs 170, RIC 175, SMO 180) .

A UE 115 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where the “device” may also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. A UE 115 may also include or may be referred to as a personal electronic device such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, a UE 115 may include or be referred to as a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or a machine type communications (MTC) device, among other examples, which may be implemented in various objects such as appliances, or vehicles, meters, among other examples.

The UEs 115 described herein may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115 that may sometimes act as relays as well as the network entities 105 and the network equipment including macro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or gNBs, or relay base stations, among other examples, as shown in FIG. 1.

The UEs 115 and the network entities 105 may wirelessly communicate with one another via one or more communication links 125 (e.g., an access link) using resources associated with one or more carriers. The term “carrier” may refer to a set of RF spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting the communication links 125. For example, a carrier used for a communication link 125 may include a portion of a RF spectrum band (e.g., a bandwidth part (BWP) ) that is operated according to one or more physical layer channels for a given radio access technology (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR) . Each physical layer channel may carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information) , control signaling that coordinates operation for the carrier, user data, or other signaling. The wireless communications system 100 may support communication with a UE 115 using carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. A UE 115 may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both frequency division duplexing (FDD) and time division duplexing (TDD) component carriers. Communication between a network entity 105 and other devices may refer to communication between the devices and any portion (e.g., entity, sub-entity) of a network entity 105. For example, the terms “transmitting, ” “receiving, ” or “communicating, ” when referring to a network entity 105, may refer to any portion of a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, a CU 160, a DU 165, a RU 170) of a RAN communicating with another device (e.g., directly or via one or more other network entities 105) .

In some examples, such as in a carrier aggregation configuration, a carrier may also have acquisition signaling or control signaling that coordinates operations for other carriers. A carrier may be associated with a frequency channel (e.g., an evolved universal mobile telecommunication system terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) absolute RF channel number (EARFCN) ) and may be identified according to a channel raster for discovery by the UEs 115. A carrier may be operated in a standalone mode, in which case initial acquisition and connection may be conducted by the UEs 115 via the carrier, or the carrier may be operated in a non-standalone mode, in which case a connection is anchored using a different carrier (e.g., of the same or a different radio access technology) .

The communication links 125 shown in the wireless communications system 100 may include downlink transmissions (e.g., forward link transmissions) from a network entity 105 to a UE 115, uplink transmissions (e.g., return link transmissions) from a UE 115 to a network entity 105, or both, among other configurations of transmissions. Carriers may carry downlink or uplink communications (e.g., in an FDD mode) or may be configured to carry downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in a TDD mode) .

A carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of the RF spectrum and, in some examples, the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as a “system bandwidth” of the carrier or the wireless communications system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of a set of bandwidths for carriers of a particular radio access technology (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80 megahertz (MHz) ) . Devices of the wireless communications system 100 (e.g., the network entities 105, the UEs 115, or both) may have hardware configurations that support communications using a particular carrier bandwidth or may be configurable to support communications using one of a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 may include network entities 105 or UEs 115 that support concurrent communications using carriers associated with multiple carrier bandwidths. In some examples, each served UE 115 may be configured for operating using portions (e.g., a sub-band, a BWP) or all of a carrier bandwidth.

Signal waveforms transmitted via a carrier may be made up of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) ) . In a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may refer to resources of one symbol period (e.g., a duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, in which case the symbol period and subcarrier spacing may be inversely related. The quantity of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the coding rate of the modulation scheme, or both) , such that a relatively higher quantity of resource elements (e.g., in a transmission duration) and a relatively higher order of a modulation scheme may correspond to a relatively higher rate of communication. A wireless communications resource may refer to a combination of an RF spectrum resource, a time resource, and a spatial resource (e.g., a spatial layer, a beam) , and the use of multiple spatial resources may increase the data rate or data integrity for communications with a UE 115.

One or more numerologies for a carrier may be supported, and a numerology may include a subcarrier spacing (Δf) and a cyclic prefix. A carrier may be divided into one or more BWPs having the same or different numerologies. In some examples, a UE 115 may be configured with multiple BWPs. In some examples, a single BWP for a carrier may be active at a given time and communications for the UE 115 may be restricted to one or more active BWPs.

The time intervals for the network entities 105 or the UEs 115 may be expressed in multiples of a basic time unit which may, for example, refer to a sampling period of T_s=1/ (Δf_max·N_f) seconds, for which Δf_max may represent a supported subcarrier spacing, and N_f may represent a supported discrete Fourier transform (DFT) size. Time intervals of a communications resource may be organized according to radio frames each having a specified duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms) ) . Each radio frame may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023) .

Each frame may include multiple consecutively-numbered subframes or slots, and each subframe or slot may have the same duration. In some examples, a frame may be divided (e.g., in the time domain) into subframes, and each subframe may be further divided into a quantity of slots. Alternatively, each frame may include a variable quantity of slots, and the quantity of slots may depend on subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a quantity of symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix prepended to each symbol period) . In some wireless communications systems 100, a slot may further be divided into multiple mini-slots associated with one or more symbols. Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may be associated with one or more (e.g., N_f) sampling periods. The duration of a symbol period may depend on the subcarrier spacing or frequency band of operation.

A subframe, a slot, a mini-slot, or a symbol may be the smallest scheduling unit (e.g., in the time domain) of the wireless communications system 100 and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI) . In some examples, the TTI duration (e.g., a quantity of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable. Additionally, or alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system 100 may be dynamically selected (e.g., in bursts of shortened TTIs (sTTIs) ) .

Physical channels may be multiplexed for communication using a carrier according to various techniques. A physical control channel and a physical data channel may be multiplexed for signaling via a downlink carrier, for example, using one or more of time division multiplexing (TDM) techniques, frequency division multiplexing (FDM) techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. A control region (e.g., a control resource set (CORESET) ) for a physical control channel may be defined by a set of symbol periods and may extend across the system bandwidth or a subset of the system bandwidth of the carrier. One or more control regions (e.g., CORESETs) may be configured for a set of the UEs 115. For example, one or more of the UEs 115 may monitor or search control regions for control information according to one or more search space sets, and each search space set may include one or multiple control channel candidates in one or more aggregation levels arranged in a cascaded manner. An aggregation level for a control channel candidate may refer to an amount of control channel resources (e.g., control channel elements (CCEs) ) associated with encoded information for a control information format having a given payload size. Search space sets may include common search space sets configured for sending control information to multiple UEs 115 and UE-specific search space sets for sending control information to a specific UE 115.

A network entity 105 may provide communication coverage via one or more cells, for example a macro cell, a small cell, a hot spot, or other types of cells, or any combination thereof. The term “cell” may refer to a logical communication entity used for communication with a network entity 105 (e.g., using a carrier) and may be associated with an identifier for distinguishing neighboring cells (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID) , a virtual cell identifier (VCID) , or others) . In some examples, a cell also may refer to a coverage area 110 or a portion of a coverage area 110 (e.g., a sector) over which the logical communication entity operates. Such cells may range from smaller areas (e.g., a structure, a subset of structure) to larger areas depending on various factors such as the capabilities of the network entity 105. For example, a cell may be or include a building, a subset of a building, or exterior spaces between or overlapping with coverage areas 110, among other examples.

A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by the UEs 115 with service subscriptions with the network provider supporting the macro cell. A small cell may be associated with a lower-powered network entity 105 (e.g., a lower-powered base station 140) , as compared with a macro cell, and a small cell may operate using the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed) frequency bands as macro cells. Small cells may provide unrestricted access to the UEs 115 with service subscriptions with the network provider or may provide restricted access to the UEs 115 having an association with the small cell (e.g., the UEs 115 in a closed subscriber group (CSG) , the UEs 115 associated with users in a home or office) . A network entity 105 may support one or multiple cells and may also support communications via the one or more cells using one or multiple component carriers.

In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., MTC, narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) , enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) ) that may provide access for different types of devices.

In some examples, a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) may be movable and therefore provide communication coverage for a moving coverage area 110. In some examples, different coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, but the different coverage areas 110 may be supported by the same network entity 105. In some other examples, the overlapping coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may be supported by different network entities 105. The wireless communications system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous network in which different types of the network entities 105 provide coverage for various coverage areas 110 using the same or different radio access technologies.

The wireless communications system 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, network entities 105 (e.g., base stations 140) may have similar frame timings, and transmissions from different network entities 105 may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, network entities 105 may have different frame timings, and transmissions from different network entities 105 may, in some examples, not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for either synchronous or asynchronous operations.

Some UEs 115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low cost or low complexity devices and may provide for automated communication between machines (e.g., via Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication) . M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication technologies that allow devices to communicate with one another or a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140) without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTC may include communications from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay such information to a central server or application program that uses the information or presents the information to humans interacting with the application program. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collect information or enable automated behavior of machines or other devices. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based business charging.

Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ operating modes that reduce power consumption, such as half-duplex communications (e.g., a mode that supports one-way communication via transmission or reception, but not transmission and reception concurrently) . In some examples, half-duplex communications may be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power conservation techniques for the UEs 115 include entering a power saving deep sleep mode when not engaging in active communications, operating using a limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communications) , or a combination of these techniques. For example, some UEs 115 may be configured for operation using a narrowband protocol type that is associated with a defined portion or range (e.g., set of subcarriers or resource blocks (RBs) ) within a carrier, within a guard-band of a carrier, or outside of a carrier.

The wireless communications system 100 may be configured to support ultra-reliable communications or low-latency communications, or various combinations thereof. For example, the wireless communications system 100 may be configured to support ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) . The UEs 115 may be designed to support ultra-reliable, low-latency, or critical functions. Ultra-reliable communications may include private communication or group communication and may be supported by one or more services such as push-to-talk, video, or data. Support for ultra-reliable, low-latency functions may include prioritization of services, and such services may be used for public safety or general commercial applications. The terms ultra-reliable, low-latency, and ultra-reliable low-latency may be used interchangeably herein.

In some examples, a UE 115 may be configured to support communicating directly with other UEs 115 via a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 135 (e.g., in accordance with a peer-to-peer (P2P) , D2D, or sidelink protocol) . In some examples, one or more UEs 115 of a group that are performing D2D communications may be within the coverage area 110 of a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) , which may support aspects of such D2D communications being configured by (e.g., scheduled by) the network entity 105. In some examples, one or more UEs 115 of such a group may be outside the coverage area 110 of a network entity 105 or may be otherwise unable to or not configured to receive transmissions from a network entity 105. In some examples, groups of the UEs 115 communicating via D2D communications may support a one-to-many (1: M) system in which each UE 115 transmits to each of the other UEs 115 in the group. In some examples, a network entity 105 may facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In some other examples, D2D communications may be carried out between the UEs 115 without an involvement of a network entity 105.

In some systems, a D2D communication link 135 may be an example of a communication channel, such as a sidelink communication channel, between vehicles (e.g., UEs 115) . In some examples, vehicles may communicate using vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, or some combination of these. A vehicle may signal information related to traffic conditions, signal scheduling, weather, safety, emergencies, or any other information relevant to a V2X system. In some examples, vehicles in a V2X system may communicate with roadside infrastructure, such as roadside units, or with the network via one or more network nodes (e.g., network entities 105, base stations 140, RUs 170) using vehicle-to-network (V2N) communications, or with both.

The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC) , which may include at least one control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME) , an access and mobility management function (AMF) ) and at least one user plane entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW) , a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW) , or a user plane function (UPF) ) . The control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for the UEs 115 served by the network entities 105 (e.g., base stations 140) associated with the core network 130. User IP packets may be transferred through the user plane entity, which may provide IP address allocation as well as other functions. The user plane entity may be connected to IP services 150 for one or more network operators. The IP services 150 may include access to the Internet, Intranet (s) , an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) , or a Packet-Switched Streaming Service.

The wireless communications system 100 may operate using one or more frequency bands, which may be in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz) . Generally, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is known as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelengths range from approximately one decimeter to one meter in length. UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features, which may be referred to as clusters, but the waves may penetrate structures sufficiently for a macro cell to provide service to the UEs 115 located indoors. Communications using UHF waves may be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100 kilometers) compared to communications using the smaller frequencies and longer waves of the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portion of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

The wireless communications system 100 may also operate using a super high frequency (SHF) region, which may be in the range of 3 GHz to 30 GHz, also known as the centimeter band, or using an extremely high frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30 GHz to 300 GHz) , also known as the millimeter band. In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 may support millimeter wave (mmW) communications between the UEs 115 and the network entities 105 (e.g., base stations 140, RUs 170) , and EHF antennas of the respective devices may be smaller and more closely spaced than UHF antennas. In some examples, such techniques may facilitate using antenna arrays within a device. The propagation of EHF transmissions, however, may be subject to even greater attenuation and shorter range than SHF or UHF transmissions. The techniques disclosed herein may be employed across transmissions that use one or more different frequency regions, and designated use of bands across these frequency regions may differ by country or regulating body.

The wireless communications system 100 may utilize both licensed and unlicensed RF spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communications system 100 may employ License Assisted Access (LAA) , LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology using an unlicensed band such as the 5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. While operating using unlicensed RF spectrum bands, devices such as the network entities 105 and the UEs 115 may employ carrier sensing for collision detection and avoidance. In some examples, operations using unlicensed bands may be based on a carrier aggregation configuration in conjunction with component carriers operating using a licensed band (e.g., LAA) . Operations using unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P transmissions, or D2D transmissions, among other examples.

A network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) or a UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, or beamforming. The antennas of a network entity 105 or a UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels, which may support MIMO operations or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some examples, antennas or antenna arrays associated with a network entity 105 may be located at diverse geographic locations. A network entity 105 may include an antenna array with a set of rows and columns of antenna ports that the network entity 105 may use to support beamforming of communications with a UE 115. Likewise, a UE 115 may include one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally, or alternatively, an antenna panel may support RF beamforming for a signal transmitted via an antenna port.

The network entities 105 or the UEs 115 may use MIMO communications to exploit multipath signal propagation and increase spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers. Such techniques may be referred to as spatial multiplexing. The multiple signals may, for example, be transmitted by the transmitting device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Likewise, the multiple signals may be received by the receiving device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Each of the multiple signals may be referred to as a separate spatial stream and may carry information associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams (e.g., different codewords) . Different spatial layers may be associated with different antenna ports used for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO techniques include single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) , for which multiple spatial layers are transmitted to the same receiving device, and multiple-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) , for which multiple spatial layers are transmitted to multiple devices.

Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a network entity 105, a UE 115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam, a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming may be achieved by combining the signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array such that some signals propagating along particular orientations with respect to an antenna array experience constructive interference while others experience destructive interference. The adjustment of signals communicated via the antenna elements may include a transmitting device or a receiving device applying amplitude offsets, phase offsets, or both to signals carried via the antenna elements associated with the device. The adjustments associated with each of the antenna elements may be defined by a beamforming weight set associated with a particular orientation (e.g., with respect to the antenna array of the transmitting device or receiving device, or with respect to some other orientation) .

A network entity 105 or a UE 115 may use beam sweeping techniques as part of beamforming operations. For example, a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays (e.g., antenna panels) to conduct beamforming operations for directional communications with a UE 115. Some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted by a network entity 105 multiple times along different directions. For example, the network entity 105 may transmit a signal according to different beamforming weight sets associated with different directions of transmission. Transmissions along different beam directions may be used to identify (e.g., by a transmitting device, such as a network entity 105, or by a receiving device, such as a UE 115) a beam direction for later transmission or reception by the network entity 105.

Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particular receiving device, may be transmitted by transmitting device (e.g., a transmitting network entity 105, a transmitting UE 115) along a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with the receiving device, such as a receiving network entity 105 or a receiving UE 115) . In some examples, the beam direction associated with transmissions along a single beam direction may be determined based on a signal that was transmitted along one or more beam directions. For example, a UE 115 may receive one or more of the signals transmitted by the network entity 105 along different directions and may report to the network entity 105 an indication of the signal that the UE 115 received with a highest signal quality or an otherwise acceptable signal quality.

In some examples, transmissions by a device (e.g., by a network entity 105 or a UE 115) may be performed using multiple beam directions, and the device may use a combination of digital precoding or beamforming to generate a combined beam for transmission (e.g., from a network entity 105 to a UE 115) . The UE 115 may report feedback that indicates precoding weights for one or more beam directions, and the feedback may correspond to a configured set of beams across a system bandwidth or one or more sub-bands. The network entity 105 may transmit a reference signal (e.g., a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) , a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) ) , which may be precoded or unprecoded. The UE 115 may provide feedback for beam selection, which may be a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) or codebook-based feedback (e.g., a multi-panel type codebook, a linear combination type codebook, a port selection type codebook) . Although these techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted along one or more directions by a network entity 105 (e.g., a base station 140, an RU 170) , a UE 115 may employ similar techniques for transmitting signals multiple times along different directions (e.g., for identifying a beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by the UE 115) or for transmitting a signal along a single direction (e.g., for transmitting data to a receiving device) .

A receiving device (e.g., a UE 115) may perform reception operations in accordance with multiple receive configurations (e.g., directional listening) when receiving various signals from a receiving device (e.g., a network entity 105) , such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals. For example, a receiving device may perform reception in accordance with multiple receive directions by receiving via different antenna subarrays, by processing received signals according to different antenna subarrays, by receiving according to different receive beamforming weight sets (e.g., different directional listening weight sets) applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, or by processing received signals according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, any of which may be referred to as “listening” according to different receive configurations or receive directions. In some examples, a receiving device may use a single receive configuration to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving a data signal) . The single receive configuration may be aligned along a beam direction determined based on listening according to different receive configuration directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have a highest signal strength, highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) , or otherwise acceptable signal quality based on listening according to multiple beam directions) .

The wireless communications system 100 may be a packet-based network that operates according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communications at the bearer or PDCP layer may be IP-based. An RLC layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate via logical channels. A MAC layer may perform priority handling and multiplexing of logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer also may implement error detection techniques, error correction techniques, or both to support retransmissions to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, an RRC layer may provide establishment, configuration, and maintenance of an RRC connection between a UE 115 and a network entity 105 or a core network 130 supporting radio bearers for user plane data. A PHY layer may map transport channels to physical channels.

The UEs 115 and the network entities 105 may support retransmissions of data to increase the likelihood that data is received successfully. Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback is one technique for increasing the likelihood that data is received correctly via a communication link (e.g., a communication link 125, a D2D communication link 135) . HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) ) , forward error correction (FEC) , and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ) ) . HARQ may improve throughput at the MAC layer in poor radio conditions (e.g., low signal-to-noise conditions) . In some examples, a device may support same-slot HARQ feedback, in which case the device may provide HARQ feedback in a specific slot for data received via a previous symbol in the slot. In some other examples, the device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent slot, or according to some other time interval.

In some examples, a UE 115 may determine and use a default beam application time for a configured unified TCI state (e.g., in the absence of a configured beam application time) . For example, the default beam application time may be based on one or more reported UE capabilities (e.g., specific beam application times reported for separate and joint TCI states, the same as a quasi colocation (QCL) beam application time, etc. ) . The default application may be defined to be zero symbols, or a threshold configurable quantity of symbols (e.g., 1 symbol, or 336 symbols, among other examples.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 200 that supports beam application time for unified TCI states in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communications system 200 may include a network entity 105-a and a UE 115-a, which may be examples of corresponding devices described with reference to FIG. 1.

In some examples, the wireless communications system 200 may support unified TCI states of various types. In cases of unified TCI states, the network entity 105-a may configure the UE 115-a with a unified TCI state (e.g., a single beam) to use for multiple channels. The network entity 105-a may configure the UE 115-a with one or more types of unified TCI state. For example, a first type of unified TCI state (e.g., type 1) , may be an example of a joint downlink and uplink common TCI state to indicate a common beam for at least one downlink channel or reference signal and at least one uplink channel or reference signal. A second type of unified TCI state (e.g., type 1) may be an example of a separate downlink common TCI state to indicate a common beam for more than one downlink channels or reference signals. A third type of unified TCI state (e.g., type 3) may be an example of a separate uplink common TCI state to indicate a common beam for more than one uplink channels or reference signals. A fourth type of unified TCI state (e.g., type 4) may be an example of a separate downlink single channel or reference signal TCI state that indicates a beam for a single downlink channel or reference signal. A fifth type of unified TCI state (e.g., type 5) may be an example of a separate uplink single channel or reference signal TCI state to indicate a beam for a signal uplink channel or reference signal.

The network entity 105-a may transmit a control message (e.g., a DCI 205) indicating a unified TCI state (e.g., of a particular type) . In some cases, the control message may be an example of a or MAC control element (MAC-CE) . The UE 115-a may transmit a feedback message 210 (e.g., an ACK message) corresponding to the control message (e.g., DCI 205) . The UE 115-a may implement the indicated unified TCI state (e.g., use the beam) for communications 215 (e.g., via an uplink channel, a downlink channel, or both) .

In some examples, the UE 115-a may implement the unified TCI state (e.g., use the beam) during a first slot after a time duration (e.g., a beam application time 220) after the feedback message 210. The beam application time 220 may be defined as an action delay for the DCI based unified TCI indication, which is configured by a parameter (e.g., beamAppTime) . For example, when the UE 115-a would transmit an uplink feedback message 210 (e.g., a PUCCH with HARQ-ACK information or a PUSCH with HARQ_ACK information) corresponding to the DCI 205 carrying the TCI state indication and without downlink assignment, or corresponding to the PDSCH scheduled by the DCI carrying the TCI state indication, and if the indicated TCI state is different from the previously indicated one, the indicated TCI state (e.g., a downlink or joint TCI state, or an uplink TCI state) may be applied starting from the first slot that is at least a quantity of symbols (e.g., the beam application time 220 which may be referred to as beamAppTime) after the last symbol of the PUCCH or the PUSCH (e.g., a last symbol of the feedback message 210) . The first slot and the beam application time symbols may be determined on an active bandwidth part (BWP) with a smallest subcarrier spacing (SCS) among the active BWPs of the carrier or carriers applying the beam indication (e.g., applying the unified TCI state) .

In some examples, the network entity 105-a may configure the UE 115-a with a beam application time 220 (e.g., may indicate a time duration or a quantity of symbols for the beam application time 220 via an RRC message) . The network entity 105-a may transmit, to the UE 115-a, an RRC message (e.g., such as a PDSCH configuration message) indicating a beam application time (e.g., beamAppTime) . The beam application time 220 may be configured such that the beamAppTime indicates the first slot to apply a unified TCI state indicated by the DCI 205, and the value of the beamAppTime may be enumerated (e.g., n1, n2, n4, n7, n14, n28, n42, n56, n70, n84, n94, n112, n224, n336, spare2, spare 1, etc. ) , where a value of n1 indicates 1 symbol, a value of n2 indicates 2 symbols, a value of n336 indicates 336 symbols, and so on. The first slot may be at least a quantity (e.g., Y) of symbols indicated by the beamAppTime parameter in the RRC message after a last symbol of the feedback message 210 of the joint or separate downlink or uplink beam indication. The same value maybe configured for all serving cells in a set or list (e.g., in any one of a list such as simultaneousU-TCI-update listN, which may be configured in an information element such as CellGroupConfig based on a smallest SCS of the active BWP) .

Configuration of the beam application time 220 may be optional. In some examples, the network entity 105-a may not configure the UE 115-a with a beam application time 220, in which case the action time for the DCI based beam indication could be unclear. In such examples, upon receiving a beam indicator (e.g., a configuration of the unified TCI state) in the DCI 205, the UE 115-a may not have a mechanism by which to determine when to implement the configured unified TCI state. Such ambiguity regarding when to implement the TCI state may result in inefficient communications, failed transmissions (e.g., due to use of a wrong beam for the communications 215) , decreased reliability of wireless communications, increased inefficiency due to lack of implementing the TCI state at the correct time, and decreased user experience.

As described herein, the UE 115-a may identify a default beam application time 220 after which the UE 115-a may implement the indicated unified TCI state. The beam application time 220 may be defined as the first slot in which to apply the unified TCI state indicated by the DCI 205 (e.g., or another control message, such as a MAC-CE) when another beam application time 220 is not configured at the UE 115-a (e.g., the RRC parameter of beamAppTime is not configured) .

In some examples, the default beam application time 220 may be defined as zero (e.g., a time duration of zero, or a quantity of zero symbols) . The default beam application time 220 may be defined in one or more standards documents, or may be indicated by the network entity 105-a. In such examples, as described herein, if an RRC message indicating a beamAppTime is absent or of the beamAppTime is not configured, the UE 115-a may determine the beamAppTime as zero symbols.

In some examples, the default beam application time 220 may be defined as a threshold (e.g., a smallest or minimum) value. For example, in absence of the RRC message, the UE 115-a may adopt a default beam application time 220 of the smallest configurable value (e.g., n1, or 1 symbol) from the various configurable values that the network entity 105-a could indicate in an RRC message (e.g., n1, n2, n4, etc. ) . Such a rule may be defined in one or more standards documents, or may be configured by the network entity 105-a. In such examples, as described herein, if an RRC message indicating a beamAppTime is absent or of the beamAppTime is not configured, the UE 115-a may determine the beamAppTime as the threshold (e.g., smallest) configurable value (e.g., one symbol) .

In some examples, the default beam application time 220 may be defined as a threshold (e.g., a highest or maximum) value. For example, in absence of the RRC message, the UE 115-a may adopt a default beam application time 220 of the highest configurable value (e.g., n336, or 336 symbols) from the various configurable values that the network entity 105-a could indicate in an RRC message (e.g., n1, n2, n4, n336 etc. ) . Such a rule may be defined in one or more standards documents, or may be configured by the network entity 105-a. In such examples, as described herein, if an RRC message indicating a beamAppTime is absent or of the beamAppTime is not configured, the UE 115-a may determine the beamAppTime as the threshold (e.g., highest) configurable value (e.g., 336 symbols) .

In some examples, the default beam application time 220 may be defined as any threshold value between the smallest threshold value and the highest threshold value defined by the enumerated beamAppTimes (e.g., n1, n2, n4, n7, n14, n28, n42, n56, n70, n84, n94, n112, n224, n336, spare2, spare 1, etc. ) . For example, in absence of the RRC message the UE 115-a may adopt a default beam application time 220 of any of the middle values of the configurable value (e.g., n336, or 336 symbols) from the various configurable values that the network entity 105-a could indicate in an RRC message (e.g., n2, n4, n112, n224, etc. ) . Such a rule may be defined in one or more standards documents, or may be configured by the network entity 105-a. In such examples, as described herein, if an RRC message indicating a beamAppTime is absent or of the beamAppTime is not configured, the UE 115-a may determine the beamAppTime as the threshold configurable value (e.g., n94 symbols) .

In some examples, the default beam application time 220 may be defined as a value reported in UE capability information. In some examples, the UE 115-a may transmit UE capability information including a threshold beam application time 220 specific to a separate unified TCI state and a joint unified TCI state, and the UE 115-a may adopt one of the reported threshold beam application times 220 for joint unified TCI states, and the other of the reported threshold beam application times 220 for separate unified TCI states. The UE 115-a may determine the value of the default beam application time 220 by the reported UE capability of a minimum beam application time (e.g., minBeamApplicationTime) for a given SCS and frequency band of an applied BWP of a component carrier.

For example, the UE 115-a may report (e.g., via a unified joint TCI capability information, such as a unifiedJointTCI-muliMAC-CE message) UE capability information for unified joint TCI states, which may include a first threshold beam application time (e.g., minBeamApplicationTime) indicating a minimum beam application time in terms of Y symbols per SCS indicated (e.g., in a frequency range, such as for FR2) . The UE 115-a may also report (e.g., via a unified separate TCI capability information, such as a unifiedSeparateTCI-multiMAC-CE message) UE capability information for unified separate TCI state, which may include a second threshold beam application time (e.g., minBeamApplicationTime) indicating a minimum beam application time in Y symbols per SCS. If the DCI 205 configures a unified joint TCI state, the UE 115-a may use the first threshold beam application time (e.g., minBeamApplicationTime) reported under the reported unified joint TCI capability information as the default beam application time 220. If the DCI 205 configures a unified separate TCI state, the UE 115-a may use the second threshold beam application time (e.g., minBeamApplicationTime) value indicated under the unified separate TCI capability information as the default beam application time 220. In such examples, as described herein, if an RRC message indicating a beamAppTime is absent or of the beamAppTime is not configured, the UE 115-a may determine the beamAppTime as the reported UE capability of minBeamApplicationTime for the configured TCI type, the SCS and the frequency band of the applied BWP of the component carrier, or a combination thereof.

In some examples, the default beam application time 220 may be defined to be the same as another reported UE capability. For example, the UE 115-a may report various time threshold values (e.g., quantities of symbols) for various purposes (e.g., may report one or more beam application times for various operations) and may adopt one of the reported time threshold values as the beam application time 220. For instance, the UE 115-a may report a time duration for implement a QCL relationship (e.g., a timeDurationForQCL value) . In absence of an RRC message configuring the bema application time 220, the UE may use the time duration for the QCL relationship as a default beam application time 220. In such examples, as described herein, if an RRC message indicating a beamAppTime is absent or of the beamAppTime is not configured, the UE 115-a may determine the beamAppTime as the candidate threshold time (e.g., the QCL beam application time) .

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a process flow 300 that supports beam application time for unified TCI states in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The process flow 300 may include a UE 115-b and a network entity 105-b, which may be examples of corresponding devices described with reference to FIGs. 1-2.

As described herein, the UE 115-b may determine a default beam application time (e.g., the beam application time 220) in the absence of a configured beam application time. For example, at 325, the UE 115-b may receive (e.g., from the network entity 105-b) a DCI message including an indication of a unified TCI state corresponding to a first beam. At 330, the UE 115-b may transmit, to the network entity 105-b, a feedback message (e.g., an ACK) including an indication that the UE 115-b has received the DCI message. At 340, the UE 115-b may perform wireless communications with the network entity 105-b (e.g., uplink signaling via a PUCCH or PUSCH, downlink signaling via a PDCCH or PDSCH, or both) using the first beam according to the unified TCI state during a first slot that occurs after a quantity of symbols indicated by a default beam application time 335 that occur after transmitting the feedback message at 330.

In some examples, at 310, the UE 115-b may monitor for control signaling (e.g., an RRC message) indicating a second beam application time (e.g., a configured beam application time) . The UE 115-b may determine (e.g., at 315) an absence of the second beam application time that is different from the default beam application time (e.g., a configured beam application time) in the control signaling (e.g., the RRC message) , and may identify (e.g., at 320) the default beam application time 335 based at least in part on determining the absence of the control signaling. In some examples, the RRC message may into include an information element indicating the beamAppTime, the UE 115-b may not successfully receive the RRC message, or the network entity 105-b may not transmit the RRC message (e.g., may not configure the UE 115-b with a beam application time) . In some examples, the UE 115-b may determine the absence of the configured beam application time and identify the default beam application time 335 after monitoring for the RRC message at 310 and prior to receiving the DCI message 325 (e.g., the UE 115-b may have the default beam application time 335 determined and prepared prior to configuration of the unified TCI state at 325) . In some examples, upon receive the DCI at 325 indicating the unified TCI state, the UE 115-b may determine the absence of the RRC message and identify the default beam application time 335 (e.g., may not identify the default beam application time until configuration of the unified TCI state, at which time the UE 115-b may determine whether another beam application time has been configured, or whether the UE 115-b is to identify the default beam application time 335.

In some examples, the UE 115-b may identify the default beam application time 335 based on capability information reported by the UE 115-b at 305. the UE 115-b may transmit a first capability message indicating that the UE 115-b supports a unified joint TCI state, the first capability message comprising a first threshold beam application time, and may transmit a second capability message indicating that the UE 115-b supports a unified separate TCI state, the second capability message including a second threshold beam application time, where the default beam application time comprises one of the first threshold beam application time or the second threshold beam application time. If the unified TCI state indicates a joint TCI state, the UE 115-b may select the first threshold beam application time (e.g., indicated in the first capability information message) as the default beam application time 335. If the unified TCI state indicates a separate TCI state, the UE 115-b may select the second threshold beam application time (e.g., indicated in the second capability information message) as the default beam application time 335. In some examples, the UE 115-b may select a candidate beam application time (e.g., reported at 305) as the default beam application time. For example, the UE 115-b may report, at 305, a candidate beam application time corresponding to a QCL configuration, and may select the default beam application time 335 by selecting the candidate beam application time.

In some examples, the default beam application time 335 may be defined as zero symbols, or a threshold configurable beam application time (e.g., a smallest or largest configurable beam application time, such as 1 symbol or 336 symbols, or some other configurable threshold of symbols) .

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram 400 of a device 405 that supports beam application time for unified TCI states in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 405 may be an example of aspects of a UE 115 as described herein. The device 405 may include a receiver 410, a transmitter 415, and a communications manager 420. The device 405 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .

The receiver 410 may provide a means for receiving information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to beam application time for unified TCI states) . Information may be passed on to other components of the device 405. The receiver 410 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.

The transmitter 415 may provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 405. For example, the transmitter 415 may transmit information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to beam application time for unified TCI states) . In some examples, the transmitter 415 may be co-located with a receiver 410 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 415 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.

The communications manager 420, the receiver 410, the transmitter 415, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of beam application time for unified TCI states as described herein. For example, the communications manager 420, the receiver 410, the transmitter 415, or various combinations or components thereof may support a method for performing one or more of the functions described herein.

In some examples, the communications manager 420, the receiver 410, the transmitter 415, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communications management circuitry) . The hardware may include a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP) , a central processing unit (CPU) , an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a microcontroller, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some examples, a processor and memory coupled with the processor may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., by executing, by the processor, instructions stored in the memory) .

Additionally, or alternatively, in some examples, the communications manager 420, the receiver 410, the transmitter 415, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in code (e.g., as communications management software or firmware) executed by a processor. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communications manager 420, the receiver 410, the transmitter 415, or various combinations or components thereof may be performed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA, a microcontroller, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure) .

In some examples, the communications manager 420 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, monitoring, outputting, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 410, the transmitter 415, or both. For example, the communications manager 420 may receive information from the receiver 410, send information to the transmitter 415, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 410, the transmitter 415, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

The communications manager 420 may support wireless communications at a UE in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communications manager 420 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving a downlink control information message including an indication of a unified TCI state corresponding to a first beam. The communications manager 420 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for transmitting a feedback message including an indication that the UE has received the downlink control information message. The communications manager 420 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for communicating with a network entity via one or more wireless channels using the first beam according to the unified TCI state during a first slot that occurs a default beam application time after transmitting the feedback message.

By including or configuring the communications manager 420 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 405 (e.g., a processor controlling or otherwise coupled with the receiver 410, the transmitter 415, the communications manager 420, or a combination thereof) may support techniques for determining a default beam application time in the absence of a configured beam application time, resulting in more reliable wireless communications, more efficient use of available system resources, increased throughput, and improved user experience.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram 500 of a device 505 that supports beam application time for unified TCI states in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 505 may be an example of aspects of a device 405 or a UE 115 as described herein. The device 505 may include a receiver 510, a transmitter 515, and a communications manager 520. The device 505 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .

The receiver 510 may provide a means for receiving information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to beam application time for unified TCI states) . Information may be passed on to other components of the device 505. The receiver 510 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.

The transmitter 515 may provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 505. For example, the transmitter 515 may transmit information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to beam application time for unified TCI states) . In some examples, the transmitter 515 may be co-located with a receiver 510 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 515 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.

The device 505, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various aspects of beam application time for unified TCI states as described herein. For example, the communications manager 520 may include a unified TCI state manager 525, a feedback manager 530, a default beam application time manager 535, or any combination thereof. The communications manager 520 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 420 as described herein. In some examples, the communications manager 520, or various components thereof, may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, monitoring, outputting, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 510, the transmitter 515, or both. For example, the communications manager 520 may receive information from the receiver 510, send information to the transmitter 515, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 510, the transmitter 515, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

The communications manager 520 may support wireless communications at a UE in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The unified TCI state manager 525 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving a downlink control information message including an indication of a unified TCI state corresponding to a first beam. The feedback manager 530 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for transmitting a feedback message including an indication that the UE has received the downlink control information message. The default beam application time manager 535 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for communicating with a network entity via one or more wireless channels using the first beam according to the unified TCI state during a first slot that occurs a default beam application time after transmitting the feedback message.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram 600 of a communications manager 620 that supports beam application time for unified TCI states in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The communications manager 620 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 420, a communications manager 520, or both, as described herein. The communications manager 620, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various aspects of beam application time for unified TCI states as described herein. For example, the communications manager 620 may include a unified TCI state manager 625, a feedback manager 630, a default beam application time manager 635, a capability information manager 640, a QCL beam application time manager 645, a threshold beam application time manager 650, or any combination thereof. Each of these components may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses) .

The communications manager 620 may support wireless communications at a UE in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The unified TCI state manager 625 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving a downlink control information message including an indication of a unified TCI state corresponding to a first beam. The feedback manager 630 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for transmitting a feedback message including an indication that the UE has received the downlink control information message. The default beam application time manager 635 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for communicating with a network entity via one or more wireless channels using the first beam according to the unified TCI state during a first slot that occurs a default beam application time after transmitting the feedback message.

In some examples, the default beam application time manager 635 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining an absence of control signaling indicating a second beam application time that is different from the default beam application time. In some examples, the default beam application time manager 635 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for identifying the default beam application time based on determining the absence of the control signaling.

In some examples, the default beam application time manager 635 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for monitoring for the control signaling that includes a radio resource control message, where the determining is based on the monitoring.

In some examples, the capability information manager 640 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for transmitting a first capability message indicating that the UE supports a joint TCI state, the first capability message including a first threshold beam application time. In some examples, the capability information manager 640 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for transmitting a second capability message indicating that the UE supports a separate TCI state, the second capability message including a second threshold beam application time, where the default beam application time includes one of the first threshold beam application time or the second threshold beam application time.

In some examples, the threshold beam application time manager 650 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for selecting the first threshold beam application time based on the indication of the unified TCI state including an indication of the joint TCI state, where communicating according to the default beam application time is based on the selecting.

In some examples, the threshold beam application time manager 650 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for selecting the second threshold beam application time based on the indication of the unified TCI state including an indication of the separate TCI state, where communicating according to the default beam application time is based on the selecting.

In some examples, the QCL beam application time manager 645 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for transmitting a capability information message including a candidate beam application time, where the default beam application time includes the candidate beam application time.

In some examples, the candidate beam application time corresponds to a quasi colocation configuration. In some examples, the default beam application time is equal to zero symbols. In some examples, the default beam application time is equal to a quantity of symbols. In some examples, the quantity of symbols includes one symbol. In some examples, the quantity of symbols includes a maximum quantity of symbols. In some examples, the default beam application time includes a quantity of symbol periods between transmission of the feedback message and the first slot.

FIG. 7 illustrates a diagram of a system 700 including a device 705 that supports beam application time for unified TCI states in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The device 705 may be an example of or include the components of a device 405, a device 505, or a UE 115 as described herein. The device 705 may communicate (e.g., wirelessly) with one or more network entities 105, one or more UEs 115, or any combination thereof. The device 705 may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, such as a communications manager 720, an input/output (I/O) controller 710, a transceiver 715, an antenna 725, a memory 730, code 735, and a processor 740. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more buses (e.g., a bus 745) .

The I/O controller 710 may manage input and output signals for the device 705. The I/O controller 710 may also manage peripherals not integrated into the device 705. In some cases, the I/O controller 710 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral. In some cases, the I/O controller 710 may utilize an operating system such as or another known operating system. Additionally or alternatively, the I/O controller 710 may represent or interact with a modem, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, or a similar device. In some cases, the I/O controller 710 may be implemented as part of a processor, such as the processor 740. In some cases, a user may interact with the device 705 via the I/O controller 710 or via hardware components controlled by the I/O controller 710.

In some cases, the device 705 may include a single antenna 725. However, in some other cases, the device 705 may have more than one antenna 725, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver 715 may communicate bi-directionally, via the one or more antennas 725, wired, or wireless links as described herein. For example, the transceiver 715 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 715 may also include a modem to modulate the packets, to provide the modulated packets to one or more antennas 725 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the one or more antennas 725. The transceiver 715, or the transceiver 715 and one or more antennas 725, may be an example of a transmitter 415, a transmitter 515, a receiver 410, a receiver 510, or any combination thereof or component thereof, as described herein.

The memory 730 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM) . The memory 730 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 735 including instructions that, when executed by the processor 740, cause the device 705 to perform various functions described herein. The code 735 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. In some cases, the code 735 may not be directly executable by the processor 740 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. In some cases, the memory 730 may contain, among other things, a basic I/O system (BIOS) which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.

The processor 740 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof) . In some cases, the processor 740 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into the processor 740. The processor 740 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 730) to cause the device 705 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting beam application time for unified TCI states) . For example, the device 705 or a component of the device 705 may include a processor 740 and memory 730 coupled with or to the processor 740, the processor 740 and memory 730 configured to perform various functions described herein.

The communications manager 720 may support wireless communications at a UE in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communications manager 720 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving a downlink control information message including an indication of a unified TCI state corresponding to a first beam. The communications manager 720 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for transmitting a feedback message including an indication that the UE has received the downlink control information message. The communications manager 720 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for communicating with a network entity via one or more wireless channels using the first beam according to the unified TCI state during a first slot that occurs a default beam application time after transmitting the feedback message.

By including or configuring the communications manager 720 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 705 may support techniques for determining a default beam application time in the absence of a configured beam application time, resulting in more reliable wireless communications, more efficient use of available system resources, increased throughput, and improved user experience.

In some examples, the communications manager 720 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the transceiver 715, the one or more antennas 725, or any combination thereof. Although the communications manager 720 is illustrated as a separate component, in some examples, one or more functions described with reference to the communications manager 720 may be supported by or performed by the processor 740, the memory 730, the code 735, or any combination thereof. For example, the code 735 may include instructions executable by the processor 740 to cause the device 705 to perform various aspects of beam application time for unified TCI states as described herein, or the processor 740 and the memory 730 may be otherwise configured to perform or support such operations.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart showing a method 800 that supports beam application time for unified TCI states in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 800 may be implemented by a UE or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 800 may be performed by a UE 115 as described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 7. In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.

At 805, the method may include receiving a downlink control information message including an indication of a unified TCI state corresponding to a first beam. The operations of 805 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 805 may be performed by a unified TCI state manager 625 as described with reference to FIG. 6.

At 810, the method may include transmitting a feedback message including an indication that the UE has received the downlink control information message. The operations of 810 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 810 may be performed by a feedback manager 630 as described with reference to FIG. 6.

At 815, the method may include communicating with a network entity via one or more wireless channels using the first beam according to the unified TCI state during a first slot that occurs a default beam application time after transmitting the feedback message. The operations of 815 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 815 may be performed by a default beam application time manager 635 as described with reference to FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart showing a method 900 that supports beam application time for unified TCI states in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 900 may be implemented by a UE or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 900 may be performed by a UE 115 as described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 7. In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.

At 905, the method may include receiving a downlink control information message including an indication of a unified TCI state corresponding to a first beam. The operations of 905 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 905 may be performed by a unified TCI state manager 625 as described with reference to FIG. 6.

At 910, the method may include determining an absence of control signaling indicating a second beam application time that is different from a default beam application time. The operations of 910 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 910 may be performed by a default beam application time manager 635 as described with reference to FIG. 6.

At 915, the method may include identifying the default beam application time based on determining the absence of the control signaling. The operations of 915 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 915 may be performed by a default beam application time manager 635 as described with reference to FIG. 6.

At 920, the method may include transmitting a feedback message including an indication that the UE has received the downlink control information message. The operations of 920 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 920 may be performed by a feedback manager 630 as described with reference to FIG. 6.

At 925, the method may include communicating with a network entity via one or more wireless channels using the first beam according to the unified TCI state during a first slot that occurs the default beam application time after transmitting the feedback message. The operations of 925 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 925 may be performed by a default beam application time manager 635 as described with reference to FIG. 6.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart showing a method 1000 that supports beam application time for unified TCI states in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1000 may be implemented by a UE or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1000 may be performed by a UE 115 as described with reference to FIGs. 1 through 7. In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.

At 1005, the method may include transmitting a first capability message indicating that the UE supports a joint TCI state, the first capability message including a first threshold beam application time. The operations of 1005 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1005 may be performed by a capability information manager 640 as described with reference to FIG. 6.

At 1010, the method may include transmitting a second capability message indicating that the UE supports a separate TCI state, the second capability message including a second threshold beam application time, where a default beam application time includes one of the first threshold beam application time or the second threshold beam application time. The operations of 1010 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1010 may be performed by a capability information manager 640 as described with reference to FIG. 6.

At 1015, the method may include receiving a downlink control information message including an indication of a unified TCI state corresponding to a first beam. The operations of 1015 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1015 may be performed by a unified TCI state manager 625 as described with reference to FIG. 6.

At 1020, the method may include transmitting a feedback message including an indication that the UE has received the downlink control information message. The operations of 1020 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1020 may be performed by a feedback manager 630 as described with reference to FIG. 6.

At 1025, the method may include communicating with a network entity via one or more wireless channels using the first beam according to the unified TCI state during a first slot that occurs the default beam application time after transmitting the feedback message. The operations of 1025 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1025 may be performed by a default beam application time manager 635 as described with reference to FIG. 6.

The following provides an overview of aspects of the present disclosure:

Aspect 1: A method for wireless communications at a UE, comprising: receiving a downlink control information message comprising an indication of a unified TCI state corresponding to a first beam; transmitting a feedback message comprising an indication that the UE has received the downlink control information message; and communicating with a network entity via one or more wireless channels using the first beam according to the unified TCI state during a first slot that occurs a default beam application time after transmitting the feedback message.

Aspect 2: The method of aspect 1, further comprising: determining an absence of control signaling indicating a second beam application time that is different from the default beam application time; and identifying the default beam application time based at least in part on determining the absence of the control signaling.

Aspect 3: The method of aspect 2, further comprising: monitoring for the control signaling that comprises a radio resource control message, wherein the determining is based at least in part on the monitoring.

Aspect 4: The method of any of aspects 1 through 3, further comprising: transmitting a first capability message indicating that the UE supports a joint TCI state, the first capability message comprising a first threshold beam application time; and transmitting a second capability message indicating that the UE supports a separate TCI state, the second capability message comprising a second threshold beam application time, wherein the default beam application time comprises one of the first threshold beam application time or the second threshold beam application time.

Aspect 5: The method of aspect 4, further comprising: selecting the first threshold beam application time based at least in part on the indication of the unified TCI state comprising an indication of the joint TCI state, wherein communicating according to the default beam application time is based at least in part on the selecting.

Aspect 6: The method of any of aspects 4 through 5, further comprising: selecting the second threshold beam application time based at least in part on the indication of the unified TCI state comprising an indication of the separate TCI state, wherein communicating according to the default beam application time is based at least in part on the selecting.

Aspect 7: The method of any of aspects 1 through 6, further comprising: transmitting a capability information message comprising a candidate beam application time, wherein the default beam application time comprises the candidate beam application time.

Aspect 8: The method of aspect 7, wherein the candidate beam application time corresponds to a quasi colocation configuration.

Aspect 9: The method of any of aspects 1 through 8, wherein the default beam application time is equal to zero symbols.

Aspect 10: The method of any of aspects 1 through 9, wherein the default beam application time is equal to a quantity of symbols.

Aspect 11: The method of aspect 10, wherein the quantity of symbols comprises one symbol.

Aspect 12: The method of any of aspects 10 through 11, wherein the quantity of symbols comprises a maximum quantity of symbols.

Aspect 13: The method of any of aspects 1 through 12, wherein the default beam application time comprises a quantity of symbol periods between transmission of the feedback message and the first slot.

Aspect 14: An apparatus for wireless communications at a UE, comprising a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform a method of any of aspects 1 through 13.

Aspect 15: An apparatus for wireless communications at a UE, comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of aspects 1 through 13.

Aspect 16: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications at a UE, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform a method of any of aspects 1 through 13.

It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined.

Although aspects of an LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR system may be described for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, the techniques described herein are applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR networks. For example, the described techniques may be applicable to various other wireless communications systems such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) , Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi) , IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX) , IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, as well as other systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.

Information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The various illustrative blocks and components described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor but, in the alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration) .

The functions described herein may be implemented using hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented using software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored as or transmitted using one or more instructions or code of a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations.

Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one location to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM) , flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that may be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL) , or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of computer-readable medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD) , floppy disk and Blu-ray disc. Disks may reproduce data magnetically, and discs may reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of” or “one or more of” ) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C) . Also, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step that is described as “based on condition A” may be based on both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in part on. ”

The term “determine” or “determining” encompasses a variety of actions and, therefore, “determining” can include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (such as via looking up in a table, a database or another data structure) , ascertaining and the like. Also, “determining” can include receiving (e.g., receiving information) , accessing (e.g., accessing data stored in memory) and the like. Also, “determining” can include resolving, obtaining, selecting, choosing, establishing, and other such similar actions.

In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label, or other subsequent reference label.

The description set forth herein, in connection with the appended drawings, describes example configurations and does not represent all the examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims. The term “example” used herein means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration, ” and not “preferred” or “advantageous over other examples. ” The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques. These techniques, however, may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

The description herein is provided to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

An apparatus for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE) , comprising:

a processor;

memory coupled with the processor; and

instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

receive a downlink control information message comprising an indication of a unified transmission configuration indicator state corresponding to a first beam;

transmit a feedback message comprising an indication that the UE has received the downlink control information message; and

communicate with a network entity via one or more wireless channels using the first beam according to the unified transmission configuration indicator state during a first slot that occurs a default beam application time after transmitting the feedback message.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

determine an absence of control signaling indicating a second beam application time that is different from the default beam application time; and

identify the default beam application time based at least in part on determining the absence of the control signaling.
The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

monitor for the control signaling that comprises a radio resource control message, wherein the determining is based at least in part on the monitoring.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

transmit a first capability message indicating that the UE supports a joint transmission configuration indicator state, the first capability message comprising a first threshold beam application time; and

transmit a second capability message indicating that the UE supports a separate transmission configuration indicator state, the second capability message comprising a second threshold beam application time, wherein the default beam application time comprises one of the first threshold beam application time or the second threshold beam application time.
The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

select the first threshold beam application time based at least in part on the indication of the unified transmission configuration indicator state comprising an indication of the joint transmission configuration indicator state, wherein communicating according to the default beam application time is based at least in part on the selecting.
The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

select the second threshold beam application time based at least in part on the indication of the unified transmission configuration indicator state comprising an indication of the separate transmission configuration indicator state, wherein communicating according to the default beam application time is based at least in part on the selecting.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

transmit a capability information message comprising a candidate beam application time, wherein the default beam application time comprises the candidate beam application time.
The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the candidate beam application time corresponds to a quasi colocation configuration.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the default beam application time is equal to zero symbols.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the default beam application time is equal to a quantity of symbols.
The apparatus of claim 10, wherein:

the quantity of symbols comprises one symbol.
The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the quantity of symbols comprises a maximum quantity of symbols.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the default beam application time comprises a quantity of symbol periods between transmission of the feedback message and the first slot.
A method for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE) , comprising:

receiving a downlink control information message comprising an indication of a unified transmission configuration indicator state corresponding to a first beam;

transmitting a feedback message comprising an indication that the UE has received the downlink control information message; and

communicating with a network entity via one or more wireless channels using the first beam according to the unified transmission configuration indicator state during a first slot that occurs a default beam application time after transmitting the feedback message.
The method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining an absence of control signaling indicating a second beam application time that is different from the default beam application time; and

identifying the default beam application time based at least in part on determining the absence of the control signaling.
The method of claim 15, further comprising:

monitoring for the control signaling that comprises a radio resource control message, wherein the determining is based at least in part on the monitoring.
The method of claim 14, further comprising:

transmitting a first capability message indicating that the UE supports a joint transmission configuration indicator state, the first capability message comprising a first threshold beam application time; and

transmitting a second capability message indicating that the UE supports a separate transmission configuration indicator state, the second capability message comprising a second threshold beam application time, wherein the default beam application time comprises one of the first threshold beam application time or the second threshold beam application time.
The method of claim 17, further comprising:

selecting the first threshold beam application time based at least in part on the indication of the unified transmission configuration indicator state comprising an indication of the joint transmission configuration indicator state, wherein communicating according to the default beam application time is based at least in part on the selecting.
The method of claim 17, further comprising:

selecting the second threshold beam application time based at least in part on the indication of the unified transmission configuration indicator state comprising an indication of the separate transmission configuration indicator state, wherein communicating according to the default beam application time is based at least in part on the selecting.
The method of claim 14, further comprising:

transmitting a capability information message comprising a candidate beam application time, wherein the default beam application time comprises the candidate beam application time.
The method of claim 20, wherein the candidate beam application time corresponds to a quasi colocation configuration.
The method of claim 14, wherein the default beam application time is equal to zero symbols.
The method of claim 14, wherein the default beam application time is equal to a quantity of symbols.
The method of claim 23, wherein the quantity of symbols comprises one symbol.
The method of claim 23, wherein the quantity of symbols comprises a maximum quantity of symbols.
The method of claim 14, wherein the default beam application time comprises a quantity of symbol periods between transmission of the feedback message and the first slot.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE) , the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to:

receive a downlink control information message comprising an indication of a unified transmission configuration indicator state corresponding to a first beam;

transmit a feedback message comprising an indication that the UE has received the downlink control information message; and

communicate with a network entity via one or more wireless channels using the first beam according to the unified transmission configuration indicator state during a first slot that occurs a default beam application time after transmitting the feedback message.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to:

determine an absence of control signaling indicating a second beam application time that is different from the default beam application time; and

identify the default beam application time based at least in part on determining the absence of the control signaling.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to:

transmit a first capability message indicating that the UE supports a joint transmission configuration indicator state, the first capability message comprising a first threshold beam application time; and

transmit a second capability message indicating that the UE supports a separate transmission configuration indicator state, the second capability message comprising a second threshold beam application time, wherein the default beam application time comprises one of the first threshold beam application time or the second threshold beam application time.
An apparatus for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE) , comprising:

means for receiving a downlink control information message comprising an indication of a unified transmission configuration indicator state corresponding to a first beam;

means for transmitting a feedback message comprising an indication that the UE has received the downlink control information message; and

means for communicating with a network entity via one or more wireless channels using the first beam according to the unified transmission configuration indicator state during a first slot that occurs a default beam application time after transmitting the feedback message.