WO2024221369A1

WO2024221369A1 - Data processing of coherent joint transmission

Info

Publication number: WO2024221369A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/091380
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tao Yang; Hao Liu; Nuan SONG; Yan Zhao
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd
Priority date: 2023-04-27
Filing date: 2023-04-27
Publication date: 2024-10-31
Anticipated expiration: 2025-10-27
Also published as: CN121040124A

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to data processing of coherent joint transmission (CJT). In an aspect, a terminal device receives, from a network node, an indication. The terminal device further receives the data transmission from the plurality of network nodes, wherein the data transmission is over-the-air combined from a plurality of data channel transmissions transmitted by the plurality of network nodes. The terminal device further derives the scrambling sequence based on the received indication. The terminal device further descrambles the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence. In this way, the same signal content can be sent over the air from all involved active serving cells to satisfy the CJT transmission requirements, and it can guarantee that a UE side correct L1 processing to resume the source medium access control (MAC) protocol data units (PDU).

Description

DATA PROCESSING OF COHERENT JOINT TRANSMISSION

FIELD

Various example embodiments generally relate to the field of communication, and in particular, to terminal devices, network nodes, methods, apparatuses and a computer readable storage medium for data processing of coherent joint transmission (CJT) .

BACKGROUND

In Release-17, non-coherent joint transmission (NCJT) was specified in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) multiple-transmit/receive points (m-TRP) agenda item, where two TRPs might be involved coming from different cells. For NCJT transmission strategy, two medium access control (MAC) protocol data units (PDUs) are generated per slot, which are further forwarded to the corresponding cell’s layer 1 (L1) process chain for L1 processing. After the L1 processing, they will be sent to a user equipment (UE) . At the UE side, the UE is able to differentiate these two radio links between the two TRPs and send to corresponding cell’s L1 processing entities for L1 processing to recover the two MAC PDUs. Then these two MAC PDUs are forwarded to related cell’s layer 2 (L2) entities to recover the internet protocol (IP) packets.

Cohere joint transmission (CJT) is a transmission strategy for distributed multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) scenario. In R18 m-TRP agenda item, CJT and related channel state information (CSI) enhancement are being studied with up to four TRPs or cells involved to improve the receiver (Rx) side signal to interference noise ratio (SINR) for a higher system performance. These four TRPs might come from the same or different cells, which refers to intra-cell or inter-cell CJT transmission.

SUMMARY

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide terminal devices, network nodes, methods, apparatuses and a computer readable storage medium for CJT data processing. For example, the solution provided by the example embodiments of the present disclosure can ensure that the same signal content can be sent over the air from all involved active serving cells to satisfy the CJT transmission requirements, and further it can guarantee that a UE side correct L1 processing to resume the source MAC PDU.

In a first aspect, there is provided a terminal device. The terminal device may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device at least to: receive, from a network node, an indication of at least one of (i) a user equipment (UE) identity (ID) of the terminal device and a cell ID, (ii) a scrambling sequence, (iii) an ID of the scrambling sequence, (iv) at least one configuration for the scrambling sequence, or (v) at least one parameter for the scrambling sequence for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; receive the data transmission from the plurality of network nodes, wherein the data transmission is over-the-air combined from a plurality of data channel transmissions transmitted by the plurality of network nodes; derive the scrambling sequence based on the received indication; and descramble the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence.

In a second aspect, there is provided a terminal device. The terminal device may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device at least to: receive, from a network node, an indication of a cell ID for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; receive the data transmission from the plurality of network nodes, wherein the data transmission is over-the-air combined from a plurality of data channel transmissions transmitted by the plurality of network nodes; derive the scrambling sequence based on the received indication; and descramble the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence.

In a third aspect, there is provided a network node. The network node may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network node at least to: transmit, to a terminal device, an indication of at least one of (i) a UE ID of the terminal device and a cell ID, (ii) a scrambling sequence, (iii) an ID of the scrambling sequence, (iv) at least one configuration for the scrambling sequence, or (v) at least one parameter for the scrambling sequence for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; derive a scrambling sequence based on the indication; scramble a data channel transmission using the scrambling sequence, wherein the scrambling sequence is used by the plurality of network nodes; and transmit, to the terminal device, the data channel transmission.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a network node. The network node may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network node at least to: transmit, to a terminal device, an indication of a cell ID for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; derive a scrambling sequence based at least on the cell ID; scramble a data channel transmission using the scrambling sequence, wherein the scrambling sequence is used by the plurality of network nodes, and a first set of operations for the data channel transmission are performed by one of the plurality of network nodes, and a second set of operations for the data channel transmission are performed by the plurality of network nodes; and transmit, to the terminal device, the data channel transmission.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a method. The method may comprise: receiving, at a terminal device from a network node, an indication of at least one of (i) a UE identity ID of the terminal device and a cell ID, (ii) a scrambling sequence, (iii) an ID of the scrambling sequence, (iv) at least one configuration for the scrambling sequence, or (v) at least one parameter for the scrambling sequence for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; receiving, at the terminal device, the data transmission from the plurality of network nodes, wherein the data transmission is over-the-air combined from a plurality of data channel transmissions transmitted by the plurality of network nodes; deriving, at the terminal device, the scrambling sequence based on the received indication; and descrambling, at the terminal device, the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided a method. The method may comprise: receiving, at a terminal device from a network node, an indication of a cell ID for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; receiving, at the terminal device, the data transmission from the plurality of network nodes, wherein the data transmission is over-the-air combined from a plurality of data channel transmissions transmitted by the plurality of network nodes; deriving, at the terminal device, the scrambling sequence based on the cell ID; and descrambling, at the terminal device, the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided a method. The method may comprise: transmitting, a network node to a terminal device, an indication of at least one of (i) a UE ID of the terminal device and a cell ID, (ii) a scrambling sequence, (iii) an ID of the scrambling sequence, (iv) at least one configuration for the scrambling sequence, or (v) at least one parameter for the scrambling sequence for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; deriving, at the network node, a scrambling sequence based on the indication; scrambling, at the network node, a data channel transmission using the scrambling sequence, wherein the scrambling sequence is used by the plurality of network nodes; and transmitting, at the network node to the terminal device, the data channel transmission.

In an eighth aspect, there is provided a method. The method may comprise: transmitting, at a network node to a terminal device, an indication of a cell ID for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; deriving, at the network node, a scrambling sequence based at least on the cell ID; scrambling, at the network node, a data channel transmission using the scrambling sequence, wherein the scrambling sequence is used by the plurality of network nodes, and a first set of operations for the data channel transmission are performed by one of the plurality of network nodes, and a second set of operations for the data channel transmission are performed by the plurality of network nodes; and transmitting, at the network node to the terminal device, the data channel transmission.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus may comprise: means for receiving, at a terminal device from a network node, an indication of at least one of (i) a UE ID of the terminal device and a cell ID, (ii) a scrambling sequence, (iii) an ID of the scrambling sequence, (iv) at least one configuration for the scrambling sequence, or (v) at least one parameter for the scrambling sequence for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; means for receiving, at the terminal device, the data transmission from the plurality of network nodes, wherein the data transmission is over-the-air combined from a plurality of data channel transmissions transmitted by the plurality of network nodes; means for deriving, at the terminal device, the scrambling sequence based on the received indication; and means for descrambling, at the terminal device, the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus may comprise: means for receiving, at a terminal device from a network node, an indication of a cell ID for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; means for receiving, at the terminal device, the data transmission from the plurality of network nodes, wherein the data transmission is over-the-air combined from a plurality of data channel transmissions transmitted by the plurality of network nodes; means for deriving, at the terminal device, the scrambling sequence based on the cell ID; and means for descrambling, at the terminal device, the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus may comprise: means for transmitting, a network node to a terminal device, an indication of at least one of (i) a UE identity ID of the terminal device and a cell ID, (ii) a scrambling sequence, (iii) an ID of the scrambling sequence, (iv) at least one configuration for the scrambling sequence, or (v) at least one parameter for the scrambling sequence for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; means for deriving, at the network node, a scrambling sequence based on the indication; means for scrambling, at the network node, a data channel transmission using the scrambling sequence, wherein the scrambling sequence is used by the plurality of network nodes; and means for transmitting, at the network node to the terminal device, the data channel transmission.

In a twelfth aspect, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus may comprise: means for transmitting, at a network node to a terminal device, an indication of a cell ID for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; means for deriving, at the network node, a scrambling sequence based at least on the cell ID; means for scrambling, at the network node, a data channel transmission using the scrambling sequence, wherein the scrambling sequence is used by the plurality of network nodes, and a first set of operations for the data channel transmission are performed by one of the plurality of network nodes, and a second set of operations for the data channel transmission are performed by the plurality of network nodes; and means for transmitting, at the network node to the terminal device, the data channel transmission.

In a thirteenth aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to any of the fifth to the eighth aspect.

In a fourteenth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions, which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a network node, an indication of at least one of (i) a UE identity ID of the terminal device and a cell ID, (ii) a scrambling sequence, (iii) an ID of the scrambling sequence, (iv) at least one configuration for the scrambling sequence, or (v) at least one parameter for the scrambling sequence for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; receive the data transmission from the plurality of network nodes, wherein the data transmission is over-the-air combined from a plurality of data channel transmissions transmitted by the plurality of network nodes; derive the scrambling sequence based on the received indication; and descramble the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence.

In a fifteenth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions, which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a network node, an indication of a ID for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; receive the data transmission from the plurality of network nodes, wherein the data transmission is over-the-air combined from a plurality of data channel transmissions transmitted by the plurality of network nodes; derive the scrambling sequence based on the cell ID; and descramble the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence.

In a sixteenth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions, which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus at least to: transmit, to a terminal device, an indication of at least one of (i) a UE identity ID of the terminal device and a cell ID, (ii) a scrambling sequence, (iii) an ID of the scrambling sequence, (iv) at least one configuration for the scrambling sequence, or (v) at least one parameter for the scrambling sequence for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; derive a scrambling sequence based on the indication; scramble a data channel transmission using the scrambling sequence, wherein the scrambling sequence is used by the plurality of network nodes; and transmit, to the terminal device, the data channel transmission.

In a seventeenth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions, which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus at least to: transmit, to a terminal device, an indication of a ID for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; derive a scrambling sequence based at least on the cell ID; scramble a data channel transmission using the scrambling sequence, wherein the scrambling sequence is used by the plurality of network nodes, and a first set of operations for the data channel transmission are performed by one of the plurality of network nodes, and a second set of operations for the data channel transmission are performed by the plurality of network nodes; and transmit, to the terminal device, the data channel transmission.

In an eighteenth aspect, there is provided a terminal device. The terminal device may comprise a first receiving circuitry configured to receive, from a network node, an indication of at least one of (i) a UE ID of the terminal device and a cell ID, (ii) a scrambling sequence, (iii) an ID of the scrambling sequence, (iv) at least one configuration for the scrambling sequence, or (v) at least one parameter for the scrambling sequence for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; a second receiving circuitry configured to receive the data transmission from the plurality of network nodes, wherein the data transmission is over-the-air combined from a plurality of data channel transmissions transmitted by the plurality of network nodes; a deriving receiving circuitry configured to derive the scrambling sequence based on the received indication; and a descrambling receiving circuitry configured to descramble the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence.

In a nineteenth aspect, there is provided a terminal device. The terminal device may comprise a first receiving circuitry configured to receive, from a network node, an indication of a cell ID for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; a second receiving circuitry configured to receive the data transmission from the plurality of network nodes, wherein the data transmission is over-the-air combined from a plurality of data channel transmissions transmitted by the plurality of network nodes; a deriving receiving circuitry configured to derive the scrambling sequence based on the received indication; and a descrambling receiving circuitry configured to descramble the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence.

In a twentieth aspect, there is provided a network node. The network node may comprise a first transmitting circuitry configured to transmit, to a terminal device, an indication of at least one of (i) a UE ID of the terminal device and a cell ID, (ii) a scrambling sequence, (iii) an ID of the scrambling sequence, (iv) at least one configuration for the scrambling sequence, or (v) at least one parameter for the scrambling sequence for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; a deriving receiving circuitry configured to derive a scrambling sequence based on the indication; a scrambling receiving circuitry configured to scramble a data channel transmission using the scrambling sequence, wherein the scrambling sequence is used by the plurality of network nodes; and a second transmitting circuitry configured to transmit, to the terminal device, the data channel transmission.

In a twenty-first aspect, there is provided a network node. The network node may comprise a first transmitting circuitry configured to transmit, to a terminal device, an indication of a cell ID for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; a deriving receiving circuitry configured to derive a scrambling sequence based at least on the cell ID; a scrambling receiving circuitry configured to scramble a data channel transmission using the scrambling sequence, wherein the scrambling sequence is used by the plurality of network nodes, and a first set of operations for the data channel transmission are performed by one of the plurality of network nodes, and a second set of operations for the data channel transmission are performed by the plurality of network nodes; and a second transmitting circuitry configured to transmit, to the terminal device, the data channel transmission.

It is to be understood that the summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A illustrates an example network environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

FIG. 1B illustrates an example signaling process for m-TRP setup procedures related to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1C illustrates an example block diagram for a NCJT data processing chain related to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1D illustrates an example flowchart of a L1 processing chain related to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1E illustrates an example application of a NCJT processing chain for a CJT data processing related to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example signaling process for a CJT data processing in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates another example signaling process for a CJT data processing in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example block diagram of a distributed CJT data L1 processing in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example block diagram of a hybrid centralized and distributed CJT data L1 processing in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example flowchart of a CJT data processing at a terminal device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates another example flowchart of a CJT data processing at a terminal device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example flowchart of a CJT data processing at a network node in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates another example flowchart of a CJT data processing at a network node in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates an example simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 11 illustrates an example block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein may be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which the present disclosure belongs.

References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment, ” “an embodiment, ” “an example embodiment, ” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

It may be understood that although the terms “first” and “second” etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a” , “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” , “comprising” , “has” , “having” , “includes” and/or “including” , when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/or combinations thereof. As used herein, “at least one of the following: <a list of two or more elements>” and “at least one of <a list of two or more elements>” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or” , mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:

(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry) and

(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable) :

(i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit (s) with software/firmware and

(ii) any portions of hardware processor (s) with software (including digital signal processor (s) ) , software, and memory (ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and

(c) hardware circuit (s) and or processor (s) , such as a microprocessor (s) or a portion of a microprocessor (s) that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network node, or other computing or network node.

As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as long term evolution (LTE) , LTE-advanced (LTE-A) , wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) , high-speed packet access (HSPA) , narrow band Internet of things (NB-IoT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network node in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, and/or beyond. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

As used herein, the term “network node” refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network node may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP) , for example, a node B (NodeB or NB) , an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , a NR NB (also referred to as a gNB) , a remote radio unit (RRU) , a radio header (RH) , a remote radio head (RRH) , a relay, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology.

The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE) , a subscriber station (SS) , a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS) , or an access terminal (AT) . The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE) , laptop-mounted equipment (LME) , USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE) , an Internet of things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD) , a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery) , an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chain contexts) , a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial, a relay node, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. In the following description, the terms “terminal device” , “communication device” , “terminal” , “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

As used herein, the term “resource” , “transmission resource” , “resource block” , “physical resource block” (PRB) , “uplink (UL) resource” or “downlink (DL) resource” may refer to any resource for performing a communication, for example, a communication between a terminal device and a network node, such as a resource in time domain, a resource in frequency domain, a resource in space domain, a resource in code domain, a resource in a combination of more than one domain or any other resource enabling a communication, and the like. In the following, a resource in time domain (such as, a subframe) will be used as an example of a transmission resource for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It is noted that example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

As discussed above, for m-TRP topic with more than one cells or TRPs involved situation, NCJT and CJT are two transmission strategies for different application scenarios. From Rx side point of view, NCJT and CJT have different principles. For NCJT, the radio links from each involved cells are differentiated at UE side, for example, by corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS) . And then the UE can process each radio link independently. That is, the radio link from each TRP should be processed by the corresponding cell’s L1 entity at UE side. However, for CJT, from base station point of view, there are multiple transmission “links” over the air, but the UE can only see one “combined radio link” . This situation has mandatory requirements that for CJT, the over the air data content from all involved cells must be the same. Otherwise, it is impossible for a UE to automatically combine these “different radio links” together for later processing.

Considering the difference between NCJT and CJT, how to implement CJT L1 processing is still open at current stage. Therefore, there is a need to address this issue with options proposed to satisfy CJT transmission requirement.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a CJT data processing. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a terminal device receives, from a network node, an indication. The indication comprises at least one of (i) a UE identity ID of the terminal device and a cell ID, (ii) a scrambling sequence, (iii) an ID of the scrambling sequence, (iv) at least one configuration for the scrambling sequence, or (v) at least one parameter for the scrambling sequence. The terminal device further receives the data transmission from the plurality of network nodes, wherein the data transmission is over-the-air combined from a plurality of data channel transmissions transmitted by the plurality of network nodes. The terminal device further derives the scrambling sequence based on the received indication. The terminal device further descrambles the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence. The example embodiments for a CJT data processing as provided in the present disclosure can ensure that the same signal content will be sent over the air from all involved active serving cells to satisfy the CJT transmission requirements, and can guarantee that a UE side correct L1 processing to resume the source medium access control MAC PDU.

For illustrative purposes, principles and example embodiments of the present disclosure for a CJT data processing will be described below with reference to FIG. 1A-FIG. 11. However, it is to be noted that these embodiments are given to enable the skilled in the art to understand inventive concepts of the present disclosure and implement the solution as proposed herein, and not intended to limit scope of the present application in any way.

Reference is made to FIG. 1A, which illustrates an example network environment 100A in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The network environment 100A, which may be a part of a communication network, includes a terminal device 102, a network node 104 and a network node 106.

As illustrated in FIG. 1A, the network environment 100A includes a terminal device 102 (which may also be referred to as user equipment or UE) and two network nodes 104 and 106. Either of the network nodes 104 or 106 may also be referred to as a TRP, a BS, a gNB or a network device. Although the terminal device 102 and two network nodes 104 and 106 are shown in FIG. 1A, the numbers of the network nodes and the terminal devices are not limited. In other words, there may be one or more network nodes and one or more terminal devices in the network environment 100A.

The network nodes 104 and 106 can provide services to the terminal device 102, and the network nodes 104 and 106 and the terminal device 102 may communicate data and control information with each other. In some example embodiments, the network nodes 104 and 106 and the terminal device 102 may communicate with direct links/channels.

In the network environment 100A, a link from either of the network nodes 104 and 106 to the terminal device 102 is referred to as a downlink (DL) , while a link from the terminal device 102 to either of the network nodes 104 and 106 is referred to as an uplink (UL) . In downlink, the network nodes 104 and 106 are transmitting (TX) devices (or transmitters) and the terminal device 102 is a receiving (RX) device (or a receiver) . In uplink, the terminal device 102 is a transmitting (TX) device (or a transmitter) and the network nodes 104 and 106 are RX device (or receiver) . It is to be understood that the network nodes 104 and 106 may provide one or more serving cells. As illustrated in FIG. 1A, the network nodes 104 and 106 together provide a serving cell, and the terminal device 102 camps on the serving cell. In some embodiments, the network nodes 104 and 106 can provide multiple serving cells and the terminal device 102 may switch from a source cell to a target cell between the serving cells during its mobility.

Communications in the network environment 100A may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol (s) , comprising, but not limited to, cellular communication protocols of the fourth generation (4G) and the fifth generation (5G) and on the like, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and/or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) , Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) , Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) , Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) , Time Division Duplex (TDD) , Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) , Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM) , Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and/or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

In some embodiments, the serving cell may comprise a primary cell, a primary secondary cell, or a secondary cell with multiple network nodes 104 and 106, such as TRPs. In some embodiments, the network nodes 104 may transmit two different PDSCH and each network node 104 or 106 transmits its own corresponding PDCCH/DCI. In some embodiments, the network nodes may jointly transmit DL signals and receive UL signals.

Reference is made to FIG. 1B, which illustrates an example signaling process 100B for m-TRP setup procedures related to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1B, user data 114 is transmitted (113A and 113B) between a UE 110 and a source node 111 (which may also be referred as a source cell) . The UE 110 transmits (115A) a measurement report 116 to the source node 111. The source node 111 receives (115B) the measurement report 116. The source node 111 transmits (117A) a TRP addition request 118 to an assisting node 112 (which may also be referred as an assisting cell) . The assisting node 112 receives (117B) the TRP addition request 118.

The assisting node 112 transmits (119B) a TRP addition request acknowledgement (ACK) 120 to the source node 111. The source node 111 receives (119A) the TRP addition request ACK 120. The source node 111 transmits (122) a RRC reconfiguration 122 to the UE 110. The RRC reconfiguration 122 may comprise related configuration of the assisting cell 112 to the UE 110. The related configuration of the assisting cell 112 may include the security key, UE ID, and other cell specific information. The motivation of this signaling (121A, 121B and 122) is to make the assisting cell 112 be ready to serve UE 110’s UL/DL transmission after it is activated by MAC CE.

The UE 110 transmits (123A) a RRC reconfiguration completion 124 to the source node 111. The source node receives (123B) the RRC reconfiguration completion 124. The source node 111 transmits (124A) a TRP reconfiguration completion 125 to the assisting node 112. The assisting node 112 receives (124B) the TRP reconfiguration completion 125.

The source node 111 may decide (126) to activate mTRP. The source node 111 may transmit (127B) an mTRP activation 128 to the UE 110. The UE 110 may receive (127A) the mTRP activation 128. A PRACH transmission 130 may be transmitted (129A and 129B) between the UE 110 and the assisting node 112. Data 132 on TRP 1 may be transmitted (131A and 131B) between the UE 110 and the source node 111. Data 134 on TRP 2 may be transmitted (133A and 133B) between the UE 110 and the assisting node 112.

Reference is made to FIG. 1C, which illustrates an example block diagram 100C for a NCJT data processing chain related to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 1C explanatorily shows the downlink data processing chain for a NCJT transmission. As shown in FIG. 1C, for NCJT transmission strategy, an IP packet 135 scheduled for NCJT transmission is processed by block 138 and block 139. The L2 processing comprise using security key 136. The two MAC PDUs are generated per slot, which are further forwarded to the corresponding cell’s L1 process chain for L1 processing (block 142 and 143) , for example, MAC PDU 1 and MAC PDU 2 are processed by block 142 and block 143. The L1 processing comprise using block 137, for example a UE ID, a scrambling sequence, and a modulation coding scheme (MCS) . Then they are sent to UE after that.

At UE side, a UE is able to differentiate these two radio links and send to corresponding cell’s L1 processing entity (blocks 144 and 145) for L1 processing to recover two MAC PDUs. Then these two MAC PDUs are forwarded to related cell’s L2 entity (blocks 140 and 141) to recover the IP packets.

Reference is made to FIG. 1D, which illustrates an example flowchart 100D of a L1 processing chain related to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1D, the conventional L1 processing chain includes four types of processing blocks. Type 1 and type 3 comprise steps for adding cyclic redundancy check (CRC) to the transport block or code block level, which are related to source data input to these blocks. Type 2 comprises block 156. At block 156, it is needed cell specific scrambling sequence information as the input. The current system is to use UE ID and cell ID as the input parameters to generate the scrambling sequence. Type 3 comprises blocks 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 157, etc. They are related to the selected MCS information. Type 4 comprises other steps that are related to beamforming and PRB configuration, such as blocks 158, 159, 160 and 161.

It can be seen that based on the MAC PDU input to L1 entity, the types 1-3 of processing blocks may determine the L1 processing chain final output signal content. Although type 4 operations are related to each cell’s precoding scheme and PRB configuration, but such processing will not impact the L1 output signal content. Thus, in summary, for different cells, even they have same MAC PDU input to their L1 processing chain, the final signal content sent over the air might be different.

As discussed above, the data processing chain for CJT should be discussed and specified to guarantee the same content is transmitted from all involved serving cells so that these over the air radio links can be “automatically combined together” for UE side processing. For this target, it has been proposed that only one CJT MAC PDU should be generated for L1 process, which is the first step to satisfy CJT requirement. This is will be discussed in FIG. 1E.

Reference is made to FIG. 1E, which illustrates an example application 100E of a NCJT processing chain for a CJT data processing related to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1E, for CJT transmission strategy, an IP packet 170 scheduled for CJT transmission is sent (171) to block 172. The block 172 comprises L2 processing chain, such as PDCP, RLC and MCS. The MAC PDU 173 is generated by block 172 and sent to cells 1-4. The L1 processing chains of cells 1-4 process the MAC PDU 173, and transmit the MAC PDU 173 over the air (178) via different radio links separately.

The UE automatically combines these different radio links. However, how to do L1 processing with this single MAC PDU 173 as input, and how to guarantee multiple cells (such as cells 1-4) will send same content to UE over the air are still problems, as represented by a question mark 186. Furthermore, At UE side, after receiving this “combined single radio link” , what the UE should do so that the original single MAC PDU 183 can be recovered for further L2 processing (184) is also a problem, as represented by a question mark 187.

As discussed above, the mandatory requirement for CJT strategy is to guarantee that same contents should be sent over the air from all involved cells, with the target to improve the receiving SINR at UE side. For this target, the scheduler should select the same IP packets for CJT transmission on multiple cells. After that, the selected IP packets will be processed by L2 processing chain and output only one MAC PDU for L1 processing, and then send to UE finally. That is, the CJT data L2 processing chain will output only one MAC PDU, which is able to satisfy this “same contents over the air” from L2 processing point of view. While in the next step, how to conduct L1 processing based on this single MAC PDU to satisfy this “same content over the air” needs to be discussed.

Referring back to FIG. 1D, in principle, for inter-cell m-TRP scenario, each cell within its serving cell pool has its own L1 processing chain, which consists of 12-step processing activities. Among these 12-step processing chain, at least one of them needs the cell specific information as the input, such as block 156. Block 150 is related to the inputted source data. And the last four blocks (158-161) are related to each cell’s beamforming and PRB configuration. Other blocks are related to MCS configuration. Thus, blocks 150-157 will determine the final L1 output signal content, and blocks 158-161 will mainly impact the over the air beam direction but not change the L1 output signal content. To satisfy CJT strategy of same contents transmitted over the air from involved cells, it must guarantee the following: (1) the same IP packets selected for CJT transmission for all involved serving cells; (2) the same L2 output content after the selected IP packets processed by L2 entity of all involved cells; (3) the same L1 output signal content after the corresponding MAC PDU are processed by all involved serving cells’ L1 processing chain.

The requirement (1) can be realized by scheduling function. The requirement (2) is also feasible based on the proposed CJT data L2 processing options, which generate only one MAC PDU for all serving cell’s L1 processing. While the requirement (3) is related to L1 activities, and two options are proposed in some embodiments of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, option (1) distributed L1 processing options as well as option (2) hybrid centralized and distributed L1 processing options are proposed to enable inter-cell CJT transmission. These two options will be discussed with reference with shown in FIGS. 2-5. Option (1) is based on the common UE ID and scrambling sequence across all involved serving cells, which are aligned between base station and UE so that the CJT data can be correctly decoded at UE side. For option (2) , parts of the L1 processing chains are centrally executed by only one active serving cell within its serving cell pool, while remaining beamforming related L1 processing are conducted distributed among all involved serving cells. At UE side, the received “combined CJT radio link” will be processed by only one cell’s L1 processing chain to recover the single MAC PDU for next step.

Reference is made to FIG. 2, which illustrates an example signaling process 200 for a CJT data processing in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG. 1A.

As shown in FIG. 2, the network node 102 transmits (204) an indication 206 to the terminal device 102. The terminal device 102 receives (202) the indication 206 from the network node 104. The indication 206 is for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes (such as the network nodes 104 and 106) . The plurality of network nodes may comprise the network node 104.

In some embodiments, the indication 206 may indicate (i) a UE ID of the terminal device 102 and a cell ID. Alternatively or additionally, the indication 206 may indicate (ii) a scrambling sequence. Alternatively or additionally, the indication 206 may indicate (iii) an ID of the scrambling sequence. Alternatively or additionally, the indication 206 may indicate (iv) at least one configuration for the scrambling sequence. Alternatively or additionally, the indication 206 may indicate (v) at least one parameter for the scrambling sequence. Alternatively or additionally, the indication 206 may indicate at least one of the above items (i) to (v) .

The network node 104 derives (208) a scrambling sequence based on the indication 206. The network node 104 scrambles (210) a data channel transmission 214 using the scrambling sequence. The network node 104 transmits (212) the data channel transmission 214 to the terminal device 102. The network node 106 transmits (216) the data channel transmission 218 to the terminal device 102.

The terminal device 102 receives (220) the data channel transmissions 214 and 218 from the network nodes 104 and 106. The terminal device 102 may combine the data channel transmissions 214 and 218 transmitted by the network nodes 104 and 106 over-the-air, and thus form the data transmissions.

The terminal device 102 derives (222) the scrambling sequence based on the received indication 206. The terminal device 102 descrambles (224) the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence.

Reference is made to FIG. 3, which illustrates another example signaling process 300 for a CJT data processing in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 3, the network node 102 transmits (304) an indication 306 to the terminal device 102. The terminal device 102 receives (302) the indication 306 from the network node 104. The indication 306 is for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes (such as the network nodes 104 and 106) . The plurality of network nodes may comprise the network node 104. The indication 306 is indicative of a cell ID. With the cell ID, it may enable the terminal device 102 to identify the corresponding serving cell's scrambling sequence for its descrambling operation.

The network node 104 derives (308) a scrambling sequence based on the indication 306. The network node 104 scrambles (310) a data channel transmission (314) using the scrambling sequence. The network node 104 transmits (312) the data channel transmission (314) to the terminal device 102. The network node 106 transmits (316) the data channel transmission (318) to the terminal device 102.

The terminal device 102 receives (320) the data channel transmissions 214 and 218 from the network nodes 104 and 106. The data channel transmission 214 and 218 transmitted by the network nodes 104 and 106 are combined over-the-air to determine the data transmission.

The terminal device 102 derives (322) the scrambling sequence based on the received indication 306. The terminal device 102 descrambles (324) the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence.

By implementing the example embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the same signal content can be sent over the air from all involved active serving cells to satisfy the CJT transmission requirements, and it can guarantee that a UE side correct L1 processing to resume the source MAC PDU.

Reference is made to FIG. 4, which illustrates an example block diagram 400 of a distributed CJT data L1 processing in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 4, an IP packet 402 scheduled for CJT transmission may be sent (404) to block 406. The block 406 may comprise L2 processing chain, such as PDCP, RLC and MCS. The MAC PDU 408 may be generated through block 406 and sent to blocks 412, 414, 416 and 418. The blocks 412, 414, 416 and 418 may comprise L1 processing chains of cells 1-4, respectively. The L1 processing chains of cells 1-4 process the MAC PDU 408, and transmit the MAC PDU 408 over the air (424) via different radio links separately.

At UE side, one of the cells 1-4 may be selected, for example, cell 4 is selected in FIG. 4 as an example. It is understood that other cell can be selected. The common UE ID and/or scrambling sequence 420 may be aligned (422) to the UE side. For example, using the proposed any of schemes 1-4 (which will be discussed thereafter) . Accordingly, the same UE ID and/or scrambling sequence 434 at UE side will be used for descrambling. The L1 processing chain of cell 4 will be selected to descramble the received data transmission based on the same UE ID and/or scrambling sequence 434. Then, the resumed MAC PDU 436 may be sent to block 438 for L2 processing chain and IP 440 may be resumed.

It can be seen that option (1) may be similar as the principle of NCJT, where the L2 outputted MAC PDU are processed on all involved serving cells’ L1 entity independently, but a difference may be that all involved serving cells’ L1 processing chain should be based on the same scrambling sequence, and also same MCS information. In option (1) , at UE side, it may send this “single radio link” to only one cell’s L1 processing chain for Rx side L1 processing. The UE side L1 processing activities may be based on same configuration as that used by base station, including same scrambling sequence and same MCS. That is, UE and base station may be aligned on these three types of information. MCS alignment may be easy which can be done by CJT scheduling DCI. While for other two information alignment, schemes 1-4 are proposed.

In some example embodiments, scheme 1 may comprise UE specific UE ID and cell ID and/or scrambling sequence configured for CJT data’s L1 processing dedicatedly. In some example embodiments, scheme 2 may comprise semi-static configuration by RRC message or MAC CE to indicate one active serving cell’s UE ID and cell ID, and/or scrambling sequence for CJT data processing. In some example embodiments, scheme 3 may comprise dynamically indicate which active serving cell’s UE ID and cell ID, and/or scrambling sequence should be used for the coming CJT data processing. In some example embodiments, scheme 4 may comprise implicit indication where the UE ID and cell ID, and/or scrambling sequence of active serving cell for CJT scheduling DCI transmission should be used at UE side for CJT data processing.

For scheme 1, when the UE may be configured as multi-TRP transmission, dedicated UE ID and cell ID, and/or scrambling sequence are configured to UE, such as by RRC message during the assisting cell setup procedure or by DL MAC CE signaling any time before the CJT data transmission will occur. These two configurations may be used for CJT data L1 processing.

It is noted that the dedicated UE ID and cell ID may be used to generate the scrambling sequence as current specification defined. Further, the scrambling sequence may be used directly to scramble its data without any new input to generate the scramble sequence at both of network side and UE side.

The background of schemes 2, 3 and 4 are based on the fact of more than one active serving cells configured for CJT or NCJT transmission. For this situation, a UE may be configured with multiple sets of UE ID and scrambling sequence with one set per serving cell. Among them, one serving cell’s configuration may be used for CJT data processing. So a challenge is that how to align base station and UE on which serving cell’s UE ID and scrambling sequence should be used for CJT data processing. Scheme 2, 3, 4 are proposed from different angles to solve this challenge. Scheme 2 may be a semi-static solution where the RRC message or MAC CE message are used to indicate UE on which serving cell’s configuration for its following CJT data processing. For scheme 3, one indication may be inserted into the CJT scheduling DCI to dynamically inform UE to use which serving cell’s configuration for its receive CJT data processing. For scheme 4, no extra DL signaling is needed, but instead, a UE may use the configuration of serving cell with CJT scheduling DCI received to process its following received CJT data.

Reference is made to FIG. 5, which illustrates an example block diagram 500 of a hybrid centralized and distributed CJT data L1 processing in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 5, the whole L1 processing chain is separated into two stages. Stage 1 may comprise centralized processing on one serving cell to implement the functions of the blocks 150-157 in FIG. 1D of L1 processing chain. Stage 2 may comprise distributed process on all involved serving cells to conduct the remaining processing activities (blocks 158～161 in FIG. 1D) , based on the input from stage 1.

As above discussed, within the 12-step L1 processing chain, the final L1 processing output signal content is determined by blocks 150-157 in FIG. 1D. Blocks 158～161 in FIG. 1D mainly impact each cells transmission direction over the air. The proposed stage 1 process targets to finish the processing of blocks 150-157 on one active serving cell. This means that only one set of UE ID and scrambling sequence, as well as the MCS are used to process the L2 MAC PDU. It is desired to guarantee the same signal content will be input to each involved serving cells for following beamforming related processing.

As shown in FIG. 5, an IP packet 502 scheduled for CJT transmission may be sent (504) to block 506. The block 506 may comprise L2 processing chain, such as PDCP, RLC and MCS. The MAC PDU 508 may be generated through block 506 and sent to blocks 518. The block 518 may comprise L1 processing chain stage 1 of cell 4. It is understood that other cell can be selected, such as blocks 512, 514 and 514.

The blocks 512, 514 and 514 may comprise L1 processing chains stage 1 of cells 1-3, respectively. The L1 processing chain stage 1 of cell 4 may process the MAC PDU 508, and transmits the processed data of MAC PDU 408 to blocks 520, 522, 524 and 526. The blocks 520, 522, 524 and 526 may comprise the L1 processing chain stage 2 of cells 1-4, respectively. After processing of L1 processing chains stage 2, the MAC PDU 508 may be transmitted the MAC PDU 508 over the air (528) via different radio links separately.

At UE side, the cell 4 may be selected because the cell 4 is used for scrambling the data channel transmission in the example shown in FIG. 5. It is understood that other cell can be selected, and the indication for scrambling the data channel transmission may be transmitted this selected cell for descrambling. For example, using the proposed any of schemes 5-7 may be used (which will be discussed thereafter) . Accordingly, the L1 processing chain 538 of cell 4 will be used to descramble the received data transmission. Then, the resumed MAC PDU 540 may be sent to block 542 for L2 processing chain and IP 544 may be resumed. It is understood that other L1 processing chains (such as blocks 532, 534 and 536) .

It can be seen that after stage 1 processing, a single set of signal is distributed to all involved serving cells for stage 2 processing. Thus, based on this two-stage processing scheme, the same signal content will be sent over the air from all involved serving cells. Then the CJT transmission requirement is satisfied from L1 processing point of view.

At the UE side, similar as option (1) , a UE may send the “combined CJT radio link” to one cell for its Rx side L1 processing. The requirement is that the UE should use the same parameters as base station to decode the CJT data correctly, such as same UE ID, scrambling sequence, MCS and so on. A MCS synchronization between the base station and the UE is realized by CJT scheduling DCI. While for UE ID and scrambling sequence, these are cell specific configuration in current specifications or standards. Therefore, if a UE knows that a base station uses which cell for its stage-1 processing, the UE will use the same cell to process it received “combined CJT radio link” . Hence the same UE ID and scrambling sequence are used by both of base station and UE for CJT data L1 processing. That is, the base station may take actions to let UE know which serving cell should be used for its CJT radio link L1 processing. To that accord, the following three schemes are proposed to enable option (2) implementation.

In some example embodiments, scheme 5 may comprise semi-static notification to configure one active serving cell for CJT data stage-1 processing, such as by a RRC or MAC message during m-TRP setup procedure. A UE may use the corresponding cell’s configuration to get the scrambling sequence for L1 data processing. In some example embodiments, scheme 6 may comprise dynamic indication to use DL CJT scheduling DCI to let UE knows which cell should be used for its CJT radio link processing. In some example embodiments, scheme 7 may comprise implicit indication where the cell for CJT scheduling DCI reception will be used for its CJT radio link processing.

Option (1) and option (2) may have some differences. For example, scheme 1 proposes to configure the cell information of CJT processing during the assisting cell setup procedure. This configuration can be sent to UE by RRC message or by MAC CE. The schemes 2-4 may inform UE the UE ID and cell ID, and/or scrambling sequence information. The schemes 5-7 may inform UE which cell should be used for its CJT data processing. And UE will use the corresponding cell’s UE ID and cell ID, and/or scrambling sequence to process its received CJT data.

It is to be understood that a difference of option 1 and option 2, especially at UE side, may comprise the following: for option (1) , a UE can freely select any one of its active serving cells for the “CJT radio link” L1 processing, with the requirement of using the same UE and scrambling sequence as that used at base station. For option (2) , a UE should only use the same cell as that of base station used cell for its stage-1 processing.

By implementing the example embodiments of FIGS. 4 and/or 5, the same signal content can be sent over the air form all involved active serving cells to satisfy CJT transmission requirements, and further it can guarantee that UE side correct L1 processing to resume the source MAC PDU.

Reference is made to FIG. 6, which illustrates an example flowchart 600 of a CJT data processing at a terminal device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 will be described with reference to FIG. 1A.

At 602, the terminal device 102 receives an indication from the network node 104. The indication may indicate (i) a UE ID of the terminal device 102 and a cell ID. The indication may indicate (ii) a scrambling sequence. The indication may indicate (iii) an ID of the scrambling sequence. The indication may indicate (iv) at least one configuration for the scrambling sequence. The indication may indicate (v) at least one parameter for the scrambling sequence. The indication may indicate at least one of the above items (i) - (v) .

At 604, the terminal device 102 receives the data transmission from the plurality of network nodes (such as the network nodes 104 and 106) . The data transmission is over-the-air combined from a plurality of data channel transmissions transmitted by the plurality of network nodes.

At 606, the terminal device 102 derives the scrambling sequence based on the received indication. At 608, the terminal device 102 descrambles the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence.

In some example embodiments, the at least one of items (i) to (v) may be specific to the terminal device 102. In some example embodiments, the at least one of (i) to (v) may be associated with a serving cell provided by one of the plurality of network nodes. In some example embodiments, the indication of the at least one of (i) to (v) may comprise indicating the serving cell.

In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 may determine that the at least one of (i) to (v) is associated with the serving cell based on receiving a DCI signaling for the CJT in the serving cell. In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 may receive the indication via a RRC message or a MAC CE. In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 may receive the indication via a DCI signaling for the CJT. In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 may use a L1 processing chain for a serving cell provided by one of the plurality of network nodes.

Reference is made to FIG. 7, which illustrates another example flowchart 700 of a CJT data processing at a terminal device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 will be described with reference to FIG. 1A.

At 702, the terminal device 102 receives, from a network node 104, an indication of a cell ID for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node. For example, the plurality of network nodes may comprise the network nodes 104 and 106.

At 704, the terminal device 102 receives the data transmission from the plurality of network nodes. The data transmission is over-the-air combined from a plurality of data channel transmissions transmitted by the plurality of network nodes.

At 706, the terminal device 102 derives the scrambling sequence based on the received indication. At 708, the terminal device 102 descrambles the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence.

In some example embodiments, the cell ID may be associated with a serving cell provided by one of the plurality of network nodes. In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 may determine that the cell ID is associated with the serving cell based on receiving a DCI signaling for the CJT in the serving cell. In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 may receive the indication via a RRC message or a MAC CE. In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 may receive the indication via a DCI signaling for the CJT. In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 may use a first L1 processing chain for the serving cell of the cell ID. In some example embodiments, the terminal device 102 may use a second L1 processing chain for another serving cell other than the serving cell.

Reference is made to FIG. 8, which illustrates an example flowchart 800 of a CJT data processing at a terminal device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 will be described with reference to FIG. 1A.

At 802, the network node 104 transmits an indication to the terminal device 102. The indication may indicate (i) a UE ID of the terminal device 102 and a cell ID. The indication may indicate (ii) a scrambling sequence. The indication may indicate (iii) an ID of the scrambling sequence. The indication may indicate (iv) at least one configuration for the scrambling sequence. The indication may indicate (v) at least one parameter for the scrambling sequence. The indication may indicate at least one of the above items (i) - (v) .

At 804, the network node 104 derives the scrambling sequence based on the received indication. At 806, the network node 104 scrambles the data channel transmission using the scrambling sequence. The scrambling sequence is used by the plurality of network nodes (such as the network nodes 104 and 106) . At 808, the network node 104 transmits the data channel transmission to the terminal device 102.

In some example embodiments, the at least one of items (i) to (v) may be specific to the terminal device 102. In some example embodiments, the at least one of (i) to (v) may be associated with a serving cell provided by one of the plurality of network nodes.

In some example embodiments, the network node 104 may transmit a DCI signaling for the CJT in the serving cell based on determining that the at least one of (i) to (v) is associated with the serving cell. In some example embodiments, the indication of the at least one of (i) to (v) may comprise indicating the serving cell.

In some example embodiments, the network node 104 may transmit the indication via a RRC message or a MAC CE. In some example embodiments, the network node 104 may transmit the indication via a DCI signaling for the CJT.

Reference is made to FIG. 9, which illustrates another example flowchart 900 of a CJT data processing at a terminal device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 will be described with reference to FIG. 1A.

At 902, the network node 104 transmits, to the terminal device 102, an indication of a cell ID for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node. For example, the plurality of network nodes may comprise the network nodes 104 and 106.

At 904, the network node 104 derives the scrambling sequence based on the received indication. At 906, the network node 104 scrambles a data channel transmission using the scrambling sequence. The scrambling sequence is used by the plurality of network nodes. A first set of operations for the data channel transmission are performed by one of the plurality of network nodes, and a second set of operations for the data channel transmission are performed by the plurality of network nodes. At 908, the network node 104 transmits the data channel transmission to the terminal device 102.

In some example embodiments, the cell ID may be associated with a serving cell provided by one of the plurality of network nodes. In some example embodiments, the serving cell may be associated with the first set of operations for the data channel transmission.

In some example embodiments, the network node 104 may transmit a DCI signaling for the CJT in the serving cell based on determining that the cell ID is associated with the serving cell l. In some example embodiments, the network node 102 may transmit the indication via a RRC message or a MAC CE. In some example embodiments, the network node 102 may transmit the indication via a DCI signaling for the CJT. In some example embodiments, the first set of operations for the data channel transmission at the network node may determine a content of an output of the data channel transmission. In some example embodiments, the second set of operations for the data channel transmission at the network node may determine a beam direction for transmitting the data channel transmission.

By implementing any of the methods 600-900, the same signal content can be sent over the air form all involved active serving cells to satisfy CJT transmission requirements, and further it can guarantee that UE side correct L1 processing to resume the source MAC PDU.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing the method 600 (for example, the terminal device 102) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of the method 600. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may comprise means for receiving, at a terminal device from a network node, an indication of at least one of (i) a UE ID of the terminal device and a cell ID, (ii) a scrambling sequence, (iii) an ID of the scrambling sequence, (iv) at least one configuration for the scrambling sequence, or (v) at least one parameter for the scrambling sequence for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; means for receiving, at the terminal device, the data transmission from the plurality of network nodes, wherein the data transmission is over-the-air combined from a plurality of data channel transmissions transmitted by the plurality of network nodes; means for deriving, at the terminal device, the scrambling sequence based on the received indication; and means for descrambling, at the terminal device, the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence.

In some example embodiments, the at least one of (i) to (v) may be specific to the terminal device. In some example embodiments, the at least one of (i) to (v) may be associated with a serving cell provided by one of the plurality of network nodes. In some example embodiments, the indication of the at least one of (i) to (v) may comprise indicating the serving cell. In some example embodiments, the indication may be received via a RRC message or a MAC CE. In some example embodiments, the indication may be received via a DCI signaling for the CJT.

In some example embodiments, the means for receiving the indication may comprise means for based on receiving a DCI signaling for the CJT in the serving cell, determining that the at least one of (i) to (v) is associated with the serving cell. In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for using a L1 processing chain for a serving cell provided by one of the plurality of network nodes.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for performing other steps in some example embodiments of the method 600. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the performance of the apparatus.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing the method 700 (for example, the terminal device 102) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of the method 700. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may comprise means for means for receiving, at a terminal device from a network node, an indication of a cell ID for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; means for receiving, at the terminal device, the data transmission from the plurality of network nodes, wherein the data transmission is over-the-air combined from a plurality of data channel transmissions transmitted by the plurality of network nodes; means for deriving, at the terminal device, the scrambling sequence based on the cell ID; and means for descrambling, at the terminal device, the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence.

In some example embodiments, the cell ID may be associated with a serving cell provided by one of the plurality of network nodes. In some example embodiments, the indication may be received via a RRC message or a MAC CE. In some example embodiments, the indication may be received via a DCI signaling for the CJT.

In some example embodiments, the means for receiving the indication may comprise means for based on receiving a DCI signaling for the CJT in the serving cell, determining that the cell ID is associated with the serving cell.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may comprise means for using (i) a first layer 1 (L1) processing chain for the serving cell of the cell ID or (ii) a second L1 processing chain for another serving cell other than the serving cell.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for performing other steps in some example embodiments of the method 700. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the performance of the apparatus.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing the method 800 (for example, the network node 104) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of the method 800. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may comprise means for transmitting, a network node to a terminal device, an indication of at least one of (i) a UE identity ID of the terminal device and a cell ID, (ii) a scrambling sequence, (iii) an ID of the scrambling sequence, (iv) at least one configuration for the scrambling sequence, or (v) at least one parameter for the scrambling sequence for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; means for deriving, at the network node, a scrambling sequence based on the indication; means for scrambling, at the network node, a data channel transmission using the scrambling sequence, wherein the scrambling sequence is used by the plurality of network nodes; and means for transmitting, at the network node to the terminal device, the data channel transmission.

In some example embodiments, the at least one of (i) to (v) may be specific to the terminal device. In some example embodiments, the at least one of (i) to (v) may be associated with a serving cell provided by one of the plurality of network nodes. In some example embodiments, the indication of the at least one of (i) to (v) may comprise indicating the serving cell. In some example embodiments, the indication may be transmitted via a RRC message or a MAC CE.

In some example embodiments, the indication may be transmitted via a DCI signaling for the CJT. In some example embodiments, the means for receiving the indication may comprise means for based on determining that the at least one of (i) to (v) is associated with the serving cell, transmitting a DCI signaling for the CJT in the serving cell.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for performing other steps in some example embodiments of the method 800. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the performance of the apparatus.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing the method 900 (for example, the network node 104) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of the method 900. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may comprise means for transmitting, at a network node to a terminal device, an indication of a cell ID for a data transmission based on CJT associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node; means for deriving, at the network node, a scrambling sequence based at least on the cell ID; means for scrambling, at the network node, a data channel transmission using the scrambling sequence, wherein the scrambling sequence is used by the plurality of network nodes, and a first set of operations for the data channel transmission are performed by one of the plurality of network nodes, and a second set of operations for the data channel transmission are performed by the plurality of network nodes; and means for transmitting, at the network node to the terminal device, the data channel transmission.

In some example embodiments, the cell ID may be associated with a serving cell provided by one of the plurality of network nodes, and the serving cell may be associated with the first set of operations for the data channel transmission.

In some example embodiments, the indication may be transmitted via a RRC message or a MAC CE. In some example embodiments, the indication may be transmitted via a DCI signaling for the CJT. In some example embodiments, the means for receiving the indication may comprise means for based on determining that the cell ID is associated with the serving cell, transmitting a DCI signaling for the CJT in the serving cell.

In some example embodiments, the first set of operations for the data channel transmission at the network node may determine a content of an output of the data channel transmission. In some example embodiments, the second set of operations for the data channel transmission at the network node may determine a beam direction for transmitting the data channel transmission.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for performing other steps in some example embodiments of the method 900. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the performance of the apparatus.

Reference is made to FIG. 10, which illustrates an example simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1000 may be provided to implement the communication device, for example the terminal device 102 as shown in FIG. 1A. As shown, the device 1000 includes one or more processors 1010, one or more memories 1020 may couple to the processor 1010, and one or more communication modules 1040 may couple to the processor 1010.

The communication module 1040 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 1040 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements, for example the communication interface may be wireless or wireline to other network elements, or software based interface for communication.

The processor 1010 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 1000 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

The memory 1020 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM) 1024, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM) , a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD) , a digital video disk (DVD) , and other magnetic storage and/or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random access memory (RAM) 1022 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

A computer program 1030 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 1010. The program 1030 may be stored in the ROM 1024. The processor 1010 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 1030 into the RAM 1022.

The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program so that the device 1000 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 9. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

In some example embodiments, the program 1030 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 1000 (such as in the memory 1020) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 1000. The device 1000 may load the program 1030 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 1022 for execution. The computer readable medium may include any types of tangible non-volatile storage, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. FIG. 11 shows an example of the computer readable medium 1100 in form of CD or DVD. The computer readable medium has the program 1030 stored thereon.

Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor, to carry out any of the methods 600 to 900 as described above with reference to FIG. 6 or FIG. 9. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program codes, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions/operations specified in the flowcharts and/or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like.

The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM) , a read-only memory (ROM) , an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) , an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) , an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. The term “non-transitory, ” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM) .

Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

Although the present disclosure has been described in languages specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

A terminal device comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device at least to:

receive, from a network node, an indication of at least one of (i) a user equipment (UE) identity (ID) of the terminal device and a cell ID, (ii) a scrambling sequence, (iii) an ID of the scrambling sequence, (iv) at least one configuration for the scrambling sequence, or (v) at least one parameter for the scrambling sequence for a data transmission based on coherent joint transmission (CJT) associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node;

receive the data transmission from the plurality of network nodes, wherein the data transmission is over-the-air combined from a plurality of data channel transmissions transmitted by the plurality of network nodes;

derive the scrambling sequence based on the received indication; and

descramble the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence.
The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the at least one of (i) to (v) is specific to the terminal device.
The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the at least one of (i) to (v) is associated with a serving cell provided by one of the plurality of network nodes.
The terminal device of claim 3, wherein the indication of the at least one of (i) to (v) comprises indicating the serving cell.
The terminal device of claim 3, wherein the terminal device is caused to receive the indication by:

based on receiving a DCI signaling for the CJT in the serving cell, determining that the at least one of (i) to (v) is associated with the serving cell.
The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the indication is received via a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) .
The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the indication is received via a downlink control information (DCI) signaling for the CJT.
The terminal device of any of claims 1-7, wherein the terminal device is further caused to:

use a layer 1 (L1) processing chain for a serving cell provided by one of the plurality of network nodes.
A terminal device comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device at least to:

receive, from a network node, an indication of a cell identity (ID) for a data transmission based on coherent joint transmission (CJT) associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node;

receive the data transmission from the plurality of network nodes, wherein the data transmission is over-the-air combined from a plurality of data channel transmissions transmitted by the plurality of network nodes;

derive the scrambling sequence based on the cell ID; and

descramble the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence.
The terminal device of claim 9, wherein the cell ID is associated with a serving cell provided by one of the plurality of network nodes.
The terminal device of claim 10, wherein the terminal device is caused to receive the indication by:

based on receiving a DCI signaling for the CJT in the serving cell, determining that the cell ID is associated with the serving cell.
The terminal device of claim 9, wherein the indication is received via a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) .
The terminal device of claim 9, wherein the indication is received via a downlink control information (DCI) signaling for the CJT.
The terminal device of any of claims 9-13, wherein the terminal device is further caused to:

use (i) a first layer 1 (L1) processing chain for the serving cell of the cell ID or (ii) a second L1 processing chain for another serving cell other than the serving cell.
A network node comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network node at least to:

transmit, to a terminal device, an indication of at least one of (i) a user equipment (UE) identity (ID) of the terminal device and a cell ID, (ii) a scrambling sequence, (iii) an ID of the scrambling sequence, (iv) at least one configuration for the scrambling sequence, or (v) at least one parameter for the scrambling sequence for a data transmission based on coherent joint transmission (CJT) associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node;

derive a scrambling sequence based on the indication;

scramble a data channel transmission using the scrambling sequence, wherein the scrambling sequence is used by the plurality of network nodes; and

transmit, to the terminal device, the data channel transmission.
The network node of claim 15, wherein the at least one of (i) to (v) is specific to the terminal device.
The network node of claim 15, wherein the at least one of (i) to (v) is associated with a serving cell provided by one of the plurality of network nodes.
The network node of claim 17, wherein the network node is caused to transmit the indication by:

based on determining that the at least one of (i) to (v) is associated with the serving cell, transmitting a DCI signaling for the CJT in the serving cell.
The network node of claim 17, wherein the indication of the at least one of (i) to (v) comprises indicating the serving cell.
The network node of claim 15, wherein the indication is transmitted via a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) .
The network node of claim 15, wherein the indication is transmitted via a downlink control information (DCI) signaling for the CJT.
A network node comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network node at least to:

transmit, to a terminal device, an indication of a cell identity (ID) for a data transmission based on coherent joint transmission (CJT) associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node;

derive a scrambling sequence based at least on the cell ID;

scramble a data channel transmission using the scrambling sequence, wherein the scrambling sequence is used by the plurality of network nodes, and a first set of operations for the data channel transmission are performed by one of the plurality of network nodes, and a second set of operations for the data channel transmission are performed by the plurality of network nodes; and

transmit, to the terminal device, the data channel transmission.
The network node of claim 22, wherein the cell ID is associated with a serving cell provided by one of the plurality of network nodes, and the serving cell is associated with the first set of operations for the data channel transmission.
The network node of claim 23, wherein the network node is caused to transmit the indication by:

based on determining that the cell ID is associated with the serving cell, transmitting a DCI signaling for the CJT in the serving cell.
The network node of claim 22, wherein the indication is transmitted via a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) .
The network node of claim 22, wherein the indication is transmitted via a downlink control information (DCI) signaling for the CJT.
The network node of any of claims 22-26, wherein:

the first set of operations for the data channel transmission at the network node determine a content of an output of the data channel transmission; and

the second set of operations for the data channel transmission at the network node determine a beam direction for transmitting the data channel transmission.
A method comprising:

receiving, at a terminal device from a network node, an indication of at least one of (i) a user equipment (UE) identity (ID) of the terminal device and a cell ID, (ii) a scrambling sequence, (iii) an ID of the scrambling sequence, (iv) at least one configuration for the scrambling sequence, or (v) at least one parameter for the scrambling sequence for a data transmission based on coherent joint transmission (CJT) associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node;

receiving, at the terminal device, the data transmission from the plurality of network nodes, wherein the data transmission is over-the-air combined from a plurality of data channel transmissions transmitted by the plurality of network nodes;

deriving, at the terminal device, the scrambling sequence based on the received indication; and

descrambling, at the terminal device, the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence.
A method comprising:

receiving, at a terminal device from a network node, an indication of a cell identity (ID) for a data transmission based on coherent joint transmission (CJT) associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node;

receiving, at the terminal device, the data transmission from the plurality of network nodes, wherein the data transmission is over-the-air combined from a plurality of data channel transmissions transmitted by the plurality of network nodes;

deriving, at the terminal device, the scrambling sequence based on the cell ID; and

descrambling, at the terminal device, the received data transmission using the scrambling sequence.
A method comprising:

transmitting, a network node to a terminal device, an indication of at least one of (i) a user equipment (UE) identity (ID) of the terminal device and a cell ID, (ii) a scrambling sequence, (iii) an ID of the scrambling sequence, (iv) at least one configuration for the scrambling sequence, or (v) at least one parameter for the scrambling sequence for a data transmission based on coherent joint transmission (CJT) associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node;

deriving, at the network node, a scrambling sequence based on the indication;

scrambling, at the network node, a data channel transmission using the scrambling sequence, wherein the scrambling sequence is used by the plurality of network nodes; and

transmitting, at the network node to the terminal device, the data channel transmission.
A method comprising:

transmitting, at a network node to a terminal device, an indication of a cell identity (ID) for a data transmission based on coherent joint transmission (CJT) associated with a plurality of network nodes comprising the network node;

deriving, at the network node, a scrambling sequence based at least on the cell ID;

scrambling, at the network node, a data channel transmission using the scrambling sequence, wherein the scrambling sequence is used by the plurality of network nodes, and a first set of operations for the data channel transmission are performed by one of the plurality of network nodes, and a second set of operations for the data channel transmission are performed by the plurality of network nodes; and

transmitting, at the network node to the terminal device, the data channel transmission.
A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least a method of any of claims 28-31.