WO2024235513A1

WO2024235513A1 - Apparatuses, methods and computer programs for pucch transmissions

Info

Publication number: WO2024235513A1
Application number: PCT/EP2024/058279
Authority: WO
Inventors: Samantha Caporal Del Barrio; Morten Toft; Paolo Baracca; Sami-Jukka Hakola; Knud Knudsen
Original assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2023-05-15
Filing date: 2024-03-27
Publication date: 2024-11-21
Anticipated expiration: 2025-11-15
Also published as: CN121128094A

Abstract

Certain examples of the present disclosure relate to PUCCH transmissions. Certain examples provide User Equipment, UE 110, comprising: means for determining at least one preferred Transmit Receive Point, TRP 402, from one or moreTRPs 120₁, 120₂, for a Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, transmission; and means for transmitting, to a TRP of the one or more TRPs, information 404 indicative of the at least one preferred TRP.

Description

APPARATUSES, METHODS AND COMPUTER PROGRAMS FOR PUCCH TRANSMISSIONS

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

Examples of the present disclosure relate to Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, transmissions. Various examples provide apparatuses, methods and computer programs for use in transmitting and receiving a PUCCH transmissions. Some examples, though without prejudice to the foregoing, relate to indicating a preferred Transmit Receive Point, TRP, for a PUCCH transmission.

BACKGROUND

Conventional TCI frameworks for PUCCH transmissions are not always optimal. In some circumstances it can be desirable to provide an improved framework for PUCCH transmissions, in particular there are multiple TRPs a PUCCH transmission could be transmitted to.

The listing or discussion of any prior-published document or any background in this specification should not necessarily be taken as an acknowledgement that the document or background is part of the state of the art or is common general knowledge. One or more aspects/examples of the present disclosure may or may not address one or more of the background issues.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The scope of protection sought for various embodiments of the invention is set out by the claims.

According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the disclosure there are provided examples as claimed in the appended claims. Any examples and features described in this specification that do not fall underthe scope of the independent claims are to be interpreted as examples useful for understanding various embodiments of the invention.

According to at least some examples of the disclosure there is provided a User Equipment, UE, comprising: means for determining at least one preferred Transmit Receive Point, TRP, from one or more TRPs, for a Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, transmission; and means for transmitting, to a TRP of the one or more TRPs, information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP.

According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the disclosure there is provided a method comprising: determining at least one preferred Transmit Receive Point, TRP, from one or more TRPs, for a Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, transmission; and transmitting, to a TRP of the one or more TRPs, information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP.

According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the disclosure there is provided a chipset comprising processing circuitry configured to perform the above-mentioned method.

According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the disclosure there is provided a module, circuitry, device and/or system comprising means for performing the above- mentioned method.

According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the disclosure there is provided a computer program comprising instructions, which when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform: determining at least one preferred Transmit Receive Point, TRP, from one or more TRPs, for a Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, transmission; and transmitting, to a TRP of the one or more TRPs, information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP.

According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the disclosure there is provided an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: determine at least one preferred Transmit Receive Point, TRP, from one or more TRPs, for a Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, transmission; and transmit, to a TRP of the one or more TRPs, information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP.

According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the disclosure there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, causes at least the following to be performed: determine at least one preferred Transmit Receive Point, TRP, from one or more TRPs, for a Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, transmission; and transmit, to a TRP of the one or more TRPs, information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP.

The following portion of this 'Brief Summary’ section describes various features that can be features of any of the examples described in the foregoing portion of the 'Brief Summary’ section mutatis mutandis. The description of a function should additionally be considered to also disclose any means suitable for performing that function, or any instructions stored in at least one memory that, when executed by at least one processor, cause an apparatus to perform that function.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the UE further comprises: means for receiving, from at least one of the one or more TRPs and based at least in part on the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP, scheduling information for the UE to transmit the PUCCH transmission to at least one TRP; means for transmitting the PUCCH transmission to the at least one TRP in accordance with the scheduling information; and optionally, wherein the at least one TRP corresponds to the at least one preferred TRP.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP comprises at least one Control resource set, coreset, pool index associated with the at least one preferred TRP.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP is transmitted: via one or more Hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, feedback transmissions; via one or more reference signal measurement reports; or within a Physical Uplink Shared Channel, PUSCH.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP comprises information indicative of at least one set of PUCCH resources for at least one scheduling request, wherein the at least one set of PUCCH resources is associated with the at least one preferred TRP.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the UE further comprises means for receiving, from at least one of the one or more TRPs, a configuration of multiple sets of PUCCH resources for at least one scheduling request, wherein each of the multiple sets of PUCCH resources is associated with a TRP of the one or more TRPs.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP comprises information indicative of a preferred TRP hopping pattern for indicating a preferred sequence of TRPs for PUCCH transmissions to be transmitted to.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the UE further comprises means for receiving, from at least one of the one or more TRPs, a configuration of multiple TRP hopping patterns.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the UE further comprises means for transmitting a preferred relationship between the at least one preferred TRP for the PUCCH transmission and a TRP from which a Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH, transmission is received. In some but not necessarily all examples, the UE is configured with a single PDCCH and a single PUCCH.

According to at least some examples of the disclosure there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for receiving, from a User Equipment, UE, information indicative of at least one preferred Transmit Receive Point, TRP, of one or more TRPs, for a Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, transmission; means for determining at least one TRP, of the one or more TRPs, for the PUCCH transmission based at least in part on the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP; and means for transmitting, to the UE, scheduling information for the UE to transmit the PUCCH transmission to the at least one TRP.

According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the disclosure there is provided a method comprising: receiving, from a User Equipment, UE, information indicative of at least one preferred Transmit Receive Point, TRP, of one or more TRPs, for a Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, transmission; determining at least one TRP, of the one or more TRPs, for the PUCCH transmission based at least in part on the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP; and transmitting, to the UE, scheduling information for the UE to transmit the PUCCH transmission to the at least one TRP.

According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the disclosure there is provided a computer program comprising instructions, which when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform: receiving, from a User Equipment, UE, information indicative of at least one preferred Transmit Receive Point, TRP, of one or more TRPs, for a Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, transmission; determining at least one TRP, of the one or more TRPs, for the PUCCH transmission based at least in part on the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP; and transmitting, to the UE, scheduling information for the UE to transmit the PUCCH transmission to the at least one TRP. According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the disclosure there is provided an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a User Equipment, UE, information indicative of at least one preferred Transmit Receive Point, TRP, of one or more TRPs, for a Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, transmission; determine at least one TRP, of the one or more TRPs, for the PUCCH transmission based at least in part on the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP; and transmit, to the UE, scheduling information for the UE to transmit the PUCCH transmission to the at least one TRP.

According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the disclosure there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, causes at least the following to be performed: receive, from a User Equipment, UE, information indicative of at least one preferred Transmit Receive Point, TRP, of one or more TRPs, for a Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, transmission; determine at least one TRP, of the one or more TRPs, for the PUCCH transmission based at least in part on the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP; and transmit, to the UE, scheduling information for the UE to transmit the PUCCH transmission to the at least one TRP.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the at least one TRP corresponds to the at least one preferred TRP.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP is received: via one or more Hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, feedback transmissions; via one or more reference signal measurement reports; or within a Physical Uplink Shared Channel, PUSCH.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the apparatus further comprised means for transmitting to the UE configuration information indicative of multiple sets of PUCCH resources for at least one scheduling request, wherein each of the multiple sets of PUCCH resources is associated with a TRP of the one or more TRPs.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the apparatus further comprises means for transmitting, to the UE, configuration information indicative of multiple TRP hopping patterns.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving a preferred relationship between the at least one preferred TRP for the PUCCH transmission and a TRP for a Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH, transmission.

In some but not necessarily all examples, the apparatus is configured with a single PDCCH and a single PUCCH for the UE.

While the above examples of the disclosure and optional features are described separately, it is to be understood that their provision in all possible combinations and permutations is contained within the disclosure. It is to be understood that various examples of the disclosure can comprise any or all of the features described in respect of other examples of the disclosure, and vice versa. Also, it is to be appreciated that any one or more or all of the features, in any combination, may be implemented by/comprised in/performable by an apparatus, a method, and/or computer program instructions as desired, and as appropriate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some examples will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 schematically illustrates an example of a radio telecommunications network suitable for use with examples of the present disclosure;

Figs. 2A and 2B show examples of the subject matter described herein;

Fig. 3 shows another example of the subject matter described herein; Fig. 4 schematically illustrates an example of a method in accordance with the subject matter described herein;

Figs. 5A and 5B show other examples of the subject matter described herein;

Fig. 6 shows another example of the subject matter described herein;

Fig. 7 schematically illustrates an example of an apparatus in accordance with the subject matter described herein; and

Fig. 8 schematically illustrates an example of a computer program in accordance with the subject matter described herein.

The figures are not necessarily to scale. Certain features and views of the figures can be shown schematically or exaggerated in scale in the interest of clarity and conciseness. For example, the dimensions of some elements in the figures can be exaggerated relative to other elements to aid explication. Similar reference numerals are used in the figures to designate similar features. For clarity, all reference numerals are not necessarily displayed in all figures.

In the drawings (and description) a similar feature may be referenced by the same three- digit number

ABREVIATIONS/DEFINITIONS

3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project 5G 5th Generation ACK Acknowledgement CORESET Control Resource Set CSI-RS Channel State Information Reference Signal DCI Downlink Control Information DL Downlink gNB 5G / NR base station HARQ-ACK Hybrid Automatic Repeat request (HARQ) Acknowledgment MAC CE Medium Access Control Control Element MAC IE Medium Access Control Information Element MIMO Multiple Input Multiple Output M-TRP Multi Transmit Receive Point NR New Radio NACK Negative Acknowledgement PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel PHR Power Headroom Report PRB Physical Resource Block PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel QCL Quasi Co-Location RS Reference Signal

RSRP Reference Signal Received Power

S-DCI Single Downlink Control Information

SIMR Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio

TCI Transmission Configuration Indicator

TDM Time Division Multiplex

TRP Transmit Receive Point/Transmission Reception Point

UE User Equipment

UL Uplink

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an example of a network 100 suitable for use with examples of the present disclosure. The network comprises a plurality of network nodes including: terminal nodes 110 (also referred to as User Equipment, UE), access nodes 120 (also referred to as Radio Access Network, RAN, nodes, or base stations), and one or more core network nodes 130. The terminal nodes 110 and access nodes 120 communicate with each other. The one or more core network nodes 130 may, in some but not necessarily all examples, communicate with each other. The one or more access nodes 120 may, in some but not necessarily all examples, communicate with each other.

The network 100 is in this example a radio telecommunications network, i.e. a RAN, in which at least some of the terminal nodes 110 and access nodes 120 communicate with each other using transmission/reception of radio waves.

The RAN 100 may be a cellular network comprising a plurality of cells 122 each served by an access node 120. The access nodes 120 comprise cellular radio transceivers. The terminal nodes 110 comprise cellular radio transceivers.

The interfaces between the terminal nodes 110 and the access nodes 120 are radio interfaces 124 (e.g., Uu interfaces). The interfaces between the access nodes 120 and one or more core nodes 130 are backhaul interfaces 128 (e.g., S1 and/or Next Generation, NG, interfaces).

Depending on the exact deployment scenario, the access nodes 120 may be RAN nodes such as NG-RAN nodes. NG-RAN nodes may be gNodeBs, gNBs, that provide NG user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE. The gNBs connected by means of NG interfaces to a 5G Core (5GC), more specifically to an Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF, by means of an NG Control Plane, NG-C, interface and to a User Plane Function, UPF, by means of an NG User Plane, NG-U, interface. The access nodes 120 may be interconnected with each other by means of Xn interfaces 126. The cellular network 100 could be configured to operate in licensed frequency bands, or unlicensed frequency bands (not least such as: unlicensed bands that rely upon a transmitting device to sense the radio resources/medium before commencing transmission, such as via a Listen Before Talk, LBT, procedure; and a 60GHz unlicensed band where beamforming may be required in order to achieve required coverage).

The access nodes 120 may be deployed in an NG standalone operation/scenario. The access nodes 120 may be deployed in a NG non-standalone operation/scenario. The access nodes may be deployed in a Carrier Aggregation operation/scenario. The access nodes 120 may be deployed in a dual connectivity operation/scenario, i.e., Multi Radio Access Technology - Dual Connection, MR-DC.

In such non-standalone/dual connectivity deployments, the access nodes 120 may be interconnected to each other by means of X2 or Xn interfaces, and connected to an Evolved Packet Core, EPC, by means of an S1 interface or to the 5GC by means of a NG interface.

The terminal nodes 110 are network elements in the network that terminate the user side of the radio link. They are devices allowing access to network services. The terminal nodes 110 may be referred to as User Equipment, UE, mobile terminals or mobile stations. The term 'User Equipment’ may be used to designate mobile equipment comprising means, such as a smart card, for authentication/encryption etc such as a Subscriber Identity Module, SIM. In other examples, the term 'User Equipment’ is used to designate a location/position tag, a hyper/smart tag or a mobile equipment comprising circuitry embedded as part of the user equipment for authentication/encryption such as a software SIM.

The access nodes 120 are network elements in the network responsible for radio transmission and reception in one or more cells 122 to or from the terminal nodes 110. The access nodes 120 are the network termination of a radio link. An access node 120 may be implemented as a single network equipment, or have a split architecture that is disaggregated/distributed over two or more RAN nodes, such as a Central Unit, CU, a Distributed Unit, DU, a Remote Radio Head-end, RRH, using different functional-split architectures and different interfaces.

Where the access node 120 has a disaggregated (split) architecture, the access node 120 may comprise one or more distributed units, gNB-DU, and a centralized unit, gNB-CU (not shown in FIG. 1 ). The gNB-CU is a logical node configured to host a Radio Resource Connection, RRC, layer and other layers of the access node 120. The gNB-CU controls the operation of one or more gNB-DUs. The gNB-DU is a logical node configured to host Radio Link Control, RLC, protocol layer, Medium Access Control, MAC, layer and Physical, PHY, layer of the access node 120. The gNB-DU may communicate via a dedicated interface (e.g. an F1 interface) to a RRC layer hosted by the gNB-CU. One gNB-DU may support one or multiple cells 122. The gNB, or a gNB-DU, may host one or more Transmission Reception Points, TRPs.

In the particular example illustrated, the network 100 may be a New Radio, NR, network of the Third Generation Partnership Project, 3GPP, and its fifth generation, 5G, technology. In other examples, the network 100 may be a network beyond 5G, for example a Next Generation, NG, i.e. sixth generation, 6G, Radio Network that is currently under development (i.e. an evolution of the NR network and its 5G technology).

In the following description, a terminal node 110 will be referred to simply as UE; an access node/RAN node 120 will be referred to simply as gNB, and Transmission Reception Points of a gNB will be referred to simple as TRPx (e.g. TRP1 and TRP2 for a gNB with two TRPs).

Release 17 of 3GPP specifications for NR a defined unified Transmission Configuration Indicator, TCI, framework, i.e. using TCI states for different channels and defining Uplink, UL, TCI states which enhanced NR operation. This improvement in Rel-17 (over Rel-16) targeted single TRP operation, and UL using multi-TRP was only supported with Time Division Multiplexing, TDM, patterns. As such, Rel-17 only supports 1 indicated TCI state at a time with either joint or separate TCI configuration/operation.

The configuration of a pool of TCI states is done in Radio Resource Control, RRC, and it can be done either for joint or for separate TCI configuration. In joint configuration the pool is up to 128 TCI states which are used for joint UL and DL. In separate configuration, there are two pools, one for DL and one for UL. They each contain up to 64 (for Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH) or 128 (for Physical Downlink Shared Channel, PDSCH) for DL and 32 or 64 TCI states for UL.

Then, a pool of up to 8 TCI codepoints can be activated via Medium Access Control, MAC. Where joint TCI is configured, each codepoint points to a joint TCI state used for DL and UL. Where separate TCI is configured, each codepoint points to either a DL TCI state, UL TCI state or a pair of a DL and a UL TCI state (2 entries per codepoint).

Finally, the indication is done via Downlink Control Information, DCI, whenever the pool of activated TCI states contains more than 1 codepoint. In Rel-17, there is only one indicated codepoint which can be associated to one TCI state for joint configuration (i.e. one entry per codepoint) or up to 2 TCI states for separate configuration (i.e. 2 entries per codepoint).

Various examples of the present disclosure seek to provide an extension of Rel-17’s unified TCI framework for multi-TRP, and assist Single-DCI Multi-TRP operation (S-DCI M-TRP operation), wherein one codepoint can indicate TCI states for multiple TRPs (i.e. 2 DL/UL TCI states in joint TCI configuration, or 2 DL + 2 UL TCI states in separate TCI configuration) in the same DCI. In various examples of S-DCI M-TRP operation, for the multi-TRPs, only one PDCCH is configured in DL and only one PUCCH is configured in UL. S-DCI may have important applications in practical deployments. S-DCI uses a single codeword and therefore a single Modulation and Coding Scheme, MCS, is to be used for PDSCH/PUSCH in both TCI states. Therefore, S-DCI may be more prone for application when there is similar Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio, SINR, achieved from both TRPs.

FIGs. 2A and 2B show use cases for M-TRP S-DCI Spatial Division Multiplexing, SDM, scenarios. S-DCI may be defined for the same active TCI state (i.e. same gNB beam Tx spatial filter) or for two different active TCI states (i.e. two gNB beams with different Tx spatial filters), across TRPs for both joint and separate UL/DL TCI configurations.

In each of these figures, a gNB 120 comprises two TRPs, TRP1 and TRP2 (e.g. first and second antenna arrays/panels). A UE 1 10 comprises two antennas, A1 and A2 (which, in this particular example shown, are located at differing positions on a robotic arm).

FIG. 2A shows joint UL/DL TCI configuration, whereas in FIG. 2B, separate UL and DL TCI states are configured.

In FIG. 2A, two TCI states (from a list of 8 active TCI states) are indicated: TCI#1 (which is associated with TRP1 and is used for joint UL and DL), and TCI#2 (which is associated with TRP2 and is used for joint UL and DL). PDSCH and PUSCH are configured for both of TCI #1 and TCI#2 (i.e. PDSCH and PUSCH are configured for each of TRP1 and TRP2). However, PDCCH and PUCCH are only configured for TCI#1 (i.e. PDCCH and PUCCH are configured just for TRP1 ).

In FIG. 2B, four TCI states (from a list of 8 active TCI states) are indicated: TCI#1 (which is associated with TRP1 and is used for DL), TCI#2 (which is associated with TRP1 and is used for UL), TCI#3 (which is associated with TRP2 and is used for DL), and TCI#4 (which is associated with TRP2 and is used for UL). PDSCH is configured for each of the DL TCI states (TCI#1 and TCI#3). PUSCH is configured for each of the UL TCI states (TCI#2 and TCI#4). However, PDCCH is only configured for one of the TCI states, TCI#1 (associated with TRP1 ), and PUCCH is only configured for one of the TCI states, TCI#2 (associated with TRP1 ). Hence, PDCCH and PUCCH are configured just for one TRP, namely TRP1 in this example.

For S-DCI operations, it is noted that:

• only one of the TRPs schedules the data for both TRPs (this requires tight coordination between the TRPs);

• PDCCH/PUCCH are only sent by/to one of the TRPs (i.e. amongst the TRPs, there is only one PDCCH in DL and only one PUCCH in UL); • M-TRP with S-DCI may require an extension of the number of TCI states indicated by one codepoint, i.e. enabling 2 indicated TCI states from the same list of active TCI states;

• M-TRP with S-DCI for 4 layers may require an extension of 1 codeword to support 4 layers.

It is noted that when PUSCH is scheduled, PUCCH may be carried by PUSCH (i.e., via Uplink Control Information UCI carrying Hybrid Automatic Repeat request Acknowledgment, HARQ-ACK, feedback with 1 or 2 bits may be multiplexed by puncturing the PUSCH).

FIG. 3 illustrates one possible use case for examples of the present disclosure. In this example, only PDCCH, PDSCH and PUCCH are transmitted, but no PUSCH is scheduled. (It is to be appreciated that, as will be explained further below not least with regards to "option 2”, some examples of the disclosure can be applicable in other possible use cases when PUSCH is scheduled).

In S-DCI based M-TRP operation, where only one PUCCH is sent, the gNB can indicate to the UE whether to send PUCCH for HARQ-ACK on TRP1 or on TRP2 in a dynamic manner by using a scheduled PDSCH.

The gNB 120 can schedule a PUCCH transmission, from the UE, to be received by either TRP1 or by TRP2 independently of PDCCH scheduling on TRP1 or TRP2. The gNB thus needs to make a decision as to which TRP to schedule the PUCCH transmission to, i.e. should the PUCCH be scheduled to be received by: TRP1 , TRP2 or both? This is figuratively illustrated by the potential "PUCCH?” transmissions from the UE to either TRP1 or TRP2 of the gNB.

However, the gNB needs to make the decision somewhat "blindly”. Indeed, the main indications the gNB can use to decide whether to schedule PUCCH on TRP1 or on TRP2 are for example: DL Layer 1 Reference Signal Received Power, L1-RSRP/SINR reporting of the joint/UL TCI state; Power Headroom Reports, PHR; and UL RSRP/SINR estimations based on previous UL transmissions.

However, it may be that there are some UL impairments (e.g. local to the UE) that the gNB is not aware of which may impact the decision on which TRP (or both) should be selected for PUCCH transmission.

Such impairments may be related to:

• UE implementation and procedures, e.g.: o Maximum Power Reduction, MPR, o Power Management Maximum Power Reduction, P-MPR, o Additional Maximum Power Reduction, A-MPR, o Maximum Permitted Exposure, MPE; • UE orientation, UE panel size, UE power consumption, UE panel management (control by UE only), UE beam refinement availability or not;

• Channel variability, e.g.: o Severe fast fading on one of the links thus making it less reliable and more prone to packet loss/failure while the other link may have a lower link budget but higher robustness (the UE knows better due to measurement filtering window, i.e. multiple samples averaging; but the gNB may not be aware). For example, a highest link budget channel, e.g. to TRP1 , may be the one with less reliability (high chance of packet loss), while the lowest link budget channel, e.g. to TRP2, may be more reliable/static. o Delay spread, mean delay, etc. from DL measurements on wide-band DL reference signals measured by UE may be more accurate than UL estimations by gNB due to narrower bandwidth in UL transmissions when compared to DL reference signals.

Examples of the present disclosure seek to assist a gNB in making its decision as to which TRP(s) (e.g. TRP1, TRP2 or both) it should schedule a PUCCH transmission to from a UE.

Examples of the disclosure are particularly applicable to S-DCI in M-TRP (i.e. wherein, in a multi-TRP operation, there is only one PDCCH in DL and one PUCCH in UL).

Examples of the present disclosure seek to enable a UE to inform the gNB of the UE’s preferred TRP(s). The gNB still has the final decision on the scheduling of the PUCCH and which resources (e.g. which individual TRP, or both TRPs) to use to schedule PUCCH transmission, and the gNB is not forced to use the UE’s preferred TRP(s). Nevertheless, having been informed of the UE’s preferred TRP, the gNB may take the same into consideration when deciding which TRP(s) to use for PUCCH when configuring/scheduling PUCCH. In this regard, examples of the present disclosure seek to enable a UE to influence a gNB’s decision as to which TRP the gNB should schedule a PUCCH transmission to, for example such that the gNB might schedule the PUCCH transmission to a TRP that is preferred by the UE.

Examples of the present disclosure seek to provide, in effect, UE Assistance Information in the form of an indication as to the UE’s preferred TRP for PUCCH transmissions in order to assist/support a gNB in making an optimal decision as to which TRP(s) it should schedule a PUCCH transmission to from the UE.

FIG. 4, schematically illustrates an example of a method 400 in accordance with the present disclosure. The method illustrated in this figure and discussed below can be considered to illustrate a plurality of methods, in the sense that they can be considered to illustrate actions performed by a UE 110 and actions performed by the gNB 120 (which itself comprises plural TRPs, e.g. TRP1 120q and TRP2 120₂). These Figures can therefore be considered to illustrate a plurality of individual methods performed by each of the UE and gNB. In block 401 , the UE determines at least one preferred Transmit Receive Point, TRP, 402 from one or more TRPs of the gNB, for a Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, transmission.

By way of example, such a determination of a preferred at least one TRP 402 for PUCCH (e.g. TRP1 , TRP2, or both TRP1 and TRP2) may be based, at least in part on, a determination of one or more of the UL impairments mentioned above.

The UE then sends a transmission 403 to the gNB, via one of the gNB’s TRPs, wherein the transmission comprises information 404 indicative of the at least one preferred TRP 402. In other words, the UE signals, to the gNB, an indication of the UE’s at least one preferred TRP, such that the gNB is able to determine the UE’s at least one preferred TRP.

The gNB has the final decision on the scheduling of the PUCCH and which resources (e.g. which individual TRP, or both TRPs) to use to schedule PUCCH transmission, and the gNB is not forced to use the UE’s preferred TRP(s). In the following example, the gNB decides to select a TRP for PUCCH that corresponds to the UE’s preferred TRP for PUCCH. However, it is possible that the gNB overrides/overrules the UE’s preferred TRP for PUCCH and schedules a TRP for PUCCH that does not correspond to the UE’s preferred TRP for PUCCH.

In block 405, the gNB determines at least one TRP for the PUCCH transmission based at least in part on the received indication 404. In this example, the determined at least one TRP for the PUCCH transmission is the at least one preferred TRP. The gNB then determines scheduling information 407 for the UE to transmit the PUCCH transmission to the at least one TRP, i.e. the at least one preferred TRP.

The gNB may then transmit, to the UE via one of the gNB’s TRPs, a transmission 406 comprising the scheduling information 407.

The UE can then transmit a transmission 408, based at least in part on the scheduling information. In this regard, the UE transmits the PUCCH transmission in accordance with the scheduling information such that the PUCCH transmission is transmitted to the at least one preferred TRP.

The transmission/signalling of the indication 404 of the UE’s at least one preferred TRP for PUCCH can be effected via any suitable means. The indication may be an explicit indication (e.g. via new signalling or an extension/new Information Elements, IE, added to existing signalling), or an implicit indication, such as discussed in various of the below mentioned options for indicating the UE’s preferred TRP for PUCCH.

In some examples, the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP comprises at least one Control resource set, coreset, pool index associated with the at least one preferred TRP. The coreset may define time and frequency resources on which PDCCH candidates may be transmitted to the UE. In an RRC configuration, two TRPs may be implicitly represented with two different coreset groups, each of which is identified by a value of RRC parameter CORESETPoollndex.

In some examples , the UE transmits to the gNB, via one of its TRPs, a preferred relationship between the preferred TRP for PUCCH and a TRP from which a Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH, transmission is received. This relationship may thereby enable the preferred TRP for PUCCH to be indicated with reference to the TRP sending PDCCH (e.g. indicating the same TRP used for PDCCH corresponds to the preferred TRP for PUCCH; or that the inverse/opposite relation is to apply - namely that the preferred TRP for PUCCH corresponds to the other/a different TRP to that used for PDCCH). Also, by indicating to the gNB the preferred relationship between the preferred TRP for PUCCH and a TRP for PDCCH, the gNB is able to infer, from the indicated preferred TRP for PUCCH, a preferred TRP for PDCCH (e.g. that the preferred TRP for PUCCH is also preferred to be used for PDCCH; or that the inverse/opposite relation is to apply - namely that the other/a different TRP to that preferred to be used for PUCCH is preferred to be used for PDCCH).

In some examples, the UE is configured with a single PDCCH and a single PUCCH for the multiple TRPS.

In some examples, the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP is transmitted via one or more Hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, feedback transmissions (for example, such as is discussed further below with regards to "Option 1 ”).

In some examples, the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP is transmitted within a Physical Uplink Shared Channel, PUSCH (for example, such as is discussed further below with regards to "Option 2”).

In some examples, the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP comprises information indicative of at least one set of PUCCH resources for at least one scheduling request, wherein the at least one set of PUCCH resources is associated with the at least one preferred TRP (for example, such as is discussed further below with regards to "Option 3").

In some examples, the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP comprises information indicative of a preferred TRP hopping pattern, wherein the TRP hopping pattern is indicative of a preferred sequence of TRPs for PUCCH transmissions to be transmitted to (for example, such as is discussed further below with regards to "Option 4”).

In some examples, the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP is transmitted via one or more reference signal measurement reports (for example, such as is discussed further below with regards to "Option 5”). Option 1

This option for indicating the UE’s preferred TRP(s) for PUCCH provides, in effect, a kind of "implicit” signaling wherein the UE indicates, to the gNB, preferred TRP(s) by embedding such information in Hybrid Automatic Repeat request, HARQ, Acknowledgment, ACK, feedback (i.e. HARQ-ACK feedback).

In this regard, the UE can use a HARQ procedure itself to indicate both: i) that PDSCH was received, and ii) that the corresponding PUCCH with HARQ feedback was not (or was) transmitted to the UE’s preferred TRP for PUCCH (i.e. for subsequent PUCCH transmissions). For example, PUCCH(n) to TRP1 can also include information that PUCCH(n+1 ) would be preferred to be transmitted to TRP2 (or would be preferred to be continued to be transmitted to TRP1 ).

In a first variant of the first option, the UE is scheduled for PUCCH transmission on both TRP1 and TRP2, and the UE combines its Acknowledgement-Negative Acknowledgement, ACK-NACK, responses in a manner so as to indicate both the successful reception of PDSCH and the preferred TRP for further PUCCH transmissions.

If the UE is configured by the network (i.e. gNB) to send PUCCH on both TRP1 and TRP2, and if the UE sends NACK on TRP1 and ACK on TRP2, then this UE behaviour is interpreted by the network to means that:

1 ) ACK on TRP2: UE has received the PDSCH

2) NACK on TRP1 : UE is indicating to network that being scheduled for sending PUCCH on TRP1 is not the UE’s preferred option

With this information, the network can then decide whether or not the scheduled UE shall only transmit PUCCH on TRP2 for future transmissions.

The advantage is that the network can release PUCCH resources on one of the TRPs, i.e. TRP1. This may improve multi-user connections in loaded cells by avoiding delaying PUCCH transmissions of other UEs (in sequential analog Frequency Range 2, FR2, gNB beam settings). This may, in turn, speed up subsequent PDSCH transmissions and improve throughput.

It is noted that the same procedure is also applicable to the case where the UE (which is configured to send PUCCH on both TRP1 and TRP2) transmits NACK on TRP2 and ACK on TRP1 , with a mirrored interpretation. In other words, if the UE sends NACK on TRP2 and ACK on TRP1 , then this UE behaviour is interpreted by the network to means that:

1 ) ACK on TRP1 : UE has received the PDSCH

2) ACK on TRP2: UE is indicating to network that being scheduled for sending PUCCH on TRP1 is not the UE’s preferred option If the UE sends ACK on both TRP1 and TRP2, this behaviour is indicates that:

1 ) ACK on TRP1 and on TRP2: UE has received the PDSCH

2) ACK on TRP1 and on TRP2: the UE is ok with sending PUCCH on both TRPs, i.e. the UE confirms that, with its estimation of the channel towards each of the TRPs, it is best for the reliability of the PUCCH to send it on both TRPs.

If UE sends NACK on both TRP1 and TRP2, this behaviour indicates that:

1 ) NACK on TRP1 and on TRP2: UE has not successfully decoded PDSCH

2) NACK on TRP1 and on TRP2: gNB should keep resources open on both TRPs

If one of the TRPs (i.e. TRPx) receives nothing, then the network can interpret this, e.g. in a conventional manner, as a non-receipt of ACK or NACK at TRPx is not an indication to release the PUCCH resources on TRPx, so the network should keep the resources open as the signal may have been lost through the channel.

In a second variant of the first option, a two-bit HARQ ACK-NACK is sent by the UE to the gNB for a single codeword PDSCH transmission, wherein the second bit is used to indicate the preferred TRP for the uplink by the UE. For example, in an M-TRP scenario with two TRPs, bit-0 could indicate a first group of PUCCH resources (e.g. for TRP1 , thereby indicating TRP1 ) and bit-1 could indicate a second group of PUCCH resources (e.g. for TRP2, thereby indicating TRP1 ).

Option 1 may provide a highly dynamic indication of the UE’s preferred TRP choice with frequent signaling - although there is a cost of signaling this indication every time.

Option 2

This option for indicating the UE’s preferred TRP(s) for PUCCH involves extending a PUSCH(n) transmission to add an indication that PUCCH(n+1 ) would be preferred to be transmitted on: TRP1 , or TRP2, or both. For instance, the PUSCH(n) transmission may be modified so as to include an additional Medium Access Control, MAC, Information Element, IE.

When PUSCH is scheduled, the PUCCH transmission may be multiplexed with a PUSCH transmission.

Where the UE is scheduled with PUSCH transmissions on each link (i.e. PUSCH transmissions are scheduled to each of TRP1 and TRP2), the UE may multiplex its PUCCH transmission with only one of the two PUSCHs - as shown in FIG. 5A. The UE’s transmission of a PUCCH via just one of the two PUSCHs may, of itself, also be indicative of and interpreted by the gNB as being an indication that the TRP associated with the PUSCH used to transmit the PUCCH is a preferred TRP for subsequent PUCCH transmissions. FIG. 5B shows a scenario where the UE is scheduled with PUSCH on one of the links (i.e. to TRP 2) though the UE would prefers to send PUCCH on the other link (i.e. to TRP1 ). In this case, the UE indicates its preference for TRP1 for subsequent PUCCH transmission, PUCCH(n+1 ), via sending an extended PUCCH(n) with an additional MAC IE for indicating TRP1 as its preferred TRP for subsequent PUCCH transmission. The MAC IE may be indicative of an index of the preferred TRP or other identifier of the preferred TRP such as a coreset associated with the TRP.

Option 3

This option for indicating the UE’s preferred TRP(s) for PUCCH provides, in effect, dedicated signaling for the UE to indicate its preferred TRP to the gNB.

The UE is informed of/configured with multiple sets of PUCCH resources for at least one scheduling request (referred to as Scheduling Request, SR, resources, which are PUCCH resources on which the UE can send scheduling requests), wherein each of the multiple sets of PUCCH resources is associated with a TRP of the one or more TRPs.

For instance, in a two TRP example, the UE can be configured with two sets of SR resources, SR1 and SR2 (i.e. two sets of PUCCH resources on which the UE can send scheduling requests), wherein SR1 is associated with TRP1 and SR2 is associated with TRP2. The use of one or the other of these SR sets can thereby indicate, to the gNB, the UE’s preferred TRP - namely the TRP associated with the SR set used. The UE is thereby able to dynamically indicate the UE’s preferred TRP for PUCCH and hence update dynamically the gNB about the UE’s preferred UL transmission beam pair link.

One of the SR resource sets is associated to a first group of PUCCH resources (i.e. the first set is associated to a first TRP), and the other SR resource set is associated to a second group of PUCCH resources (i.e. the second set is associated to a second TRP).

The UE indicates, via the selection and use of the first or second SR resource set that, from a UL transmission point of view, the TRP associated to the selected/used SR set would be preferable. In other words, the UE appropriately selects and uses the SR resource set that is associated with its preferred TRP in order to indicate to the gNB the UE’s preferred TRP for PUCCH.

There may be a restriction in time as to how fast the UE can indicate another TRP after transmitting an earlier indication.

In some examples, a rule for the UE to apply to determine which TRP is a preferred TRP for PUCCH may be determining the TRP which the UE’s higher capable transmission panel is directed towards. The UE’s determination of which TRP is preferred for PUCCH may take into account at least one of the following: the number of antenna ports of the panel (higher preferred),

L1 -RSRP measurement from each TRP, and power headroom condition per each TRP.

RSRP measurement and PHR calculation can be based on DL RS of an indicated TCI state (in unified TCI framework in multi-TRP scenario there is one indicated TCI state per TRP).

One implementation of option 3 is as follows:

1. UE provides capability information to the network to inform the network that it supports UL beam preference indication

2. UE is configured with a unified TCI framework, including activation and indication of the indicated joint/DL/UL TCI states as the reference for the different TRPs (i.e. the one or more TRPs from which the UE can determine/select a preferred TRP)

3. UE is configured with UL PUCCH path indication reporting including configuration of two SR resources sets. A first set is associated to a first PUCCH resource set and the first indicated joint/UL TCI state (associated with a first TRP).. A second set is associated to a second PUCCH resource set and second indicated joint/UL TCI state (associated with a second TRP). The configuration may include a timer value to indicate what the maximum interval can be for consecutive indications by the UE

4. UE evaluates UL transmission capability from DL RS(s) of the indicated joint/UL TCI states to determine which one could be preferable. The metric for the determination could be power headroom estimation, on which beam pair linkthe UE could use less transmission power

5. UE transmits the SR resource set corresponding to the preferred joint/UL TCI state determined in the previous step

6. UE receives PUCCH resource triggering from the gNB and transmits PUCCH

Option 4

In this option, the indication of a preferred TRP for PUCCH comprises an indication of a preferred TRP hopping pattern for PUCCH. The TRP transmission pattern can be used to switch the preferred TRP between TRP1 and TRP2 at a certain rate. The TRP transmission pattern may represent a sequence of TRPs for PUCCH transmissions to be transmitted to.

By way of an example, a first TRP hopping pattern, TRPHP1 could be:

PUCCH(n) transmitted to TRP1

PUCCH(n+1) transmitted to TRP1

PUCCH(n+2) transmitted to TRP2

PUCCH(n+3) transmitted to TRP1 PUCCH(n+4) transmitted to TRP1

PUCCH(n+5) transmitted to TRP2 ...

A second TRP hopping pattern, TRPHP2 could be:

PUCCH(n) transmitted to TRP1

PUCCH(n+1) transmitted to TRP2

PUCCH(n+2) transmitted to TRP1

PUCCH(n+3) transmitted to TRP2

PUCCH(n+4) transmitted to TRP1

PUCCH(n+5) transmitted to TRP2 ...

A third TRP hopping pattern, TRPHP3 could be:

PUCCH(n) transmitted to TRP2

PUCCH(n+1) transmitted to TRP2

PUCCH(n+2) transmitted to TRP1

PUCCH(n+3) transmitted to TRP2

PUCCH(n+4) transmitted to TRP2

PUCCH(n+5) transmitted to TRP1 ...

The UE could determine a preferred TRP hopping pattern (e.g. to seek to optimise diversity/reliability of PUCCH transmission) and indicate its preferred TRP hopping pattern to the gNB.

Although this option offers less flexibility (as it is less dynamic) that option 2, it has the advantage of costing less in terms of signaling/signaling overhead.

The TRP hopping patterns may be pre-defined (e.g. by the network or by specification) and each pattern may be associated with an index. The UE would then only need to indicate the index corresponding to the preferred hopping pattern (instead of indicating explicitly the pattern itself).

In some examples, the UE may signal its capability of supporting TRP hopping patterns, and the UE may then signal a dynamic indication of the index of a current preferred pattern. The gNB may also use an index to indicate a pattern to follow for PUCCH transmission across TRPs.

In some examples, UE Assistance Information could be used to send an indication to the gNB of the preferred TRP for PUCCH scheduling. UE Assistance Information is a special RRC message (mechanism) by which UE can send information to the network, e.g. related to internal status, for further network optimization.

Option 5 In this option, the indication of a preferred TRP for PUCCH is effected via the UE’s latest reported DL RSRP/SINR values per link. Depending on the relative DL RSRP/SINR reports for DL RSs from TRP1 and TRP2, the UE sends PUCCH on: TRP1 only, TRP2 only, or both.

In option 5, a fixed rule is applied for determining the preferred TRP for PUCCH based on the latest reported DL RSRP/SINR values per link.

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates an example of a rule for determining which TRP is to be selected as a preferred TRP. Such a determination of a preferred TRP is based on a difference in the values of L1 -RSRP for DL RS transmitted from TRP1 and L1 -RSRP for DL RS transmitted from TRP2.

In this regard, if:

L1 -RSRP for DL RS of joint/UL TCI state of TRP 1 is » L1 -RSRP for DL RS of joint/UL TCI state of TRP 2 (where » may mean the difference in values is greater than a threshold amount, e.g. at least 6 dB difference) then the UE transmits PUCCH on TRP1 only.

In another example, if:

L1 -RSRP for DL RS of joint/UL TCI state of TRP 1 « L1 -RSRP for DL RS of joint/UL TCI state of TRP 2 (where ~ may mean the difference in values is within a threshold amount e.g. less or equal to 3 dB) then the UE transmits PUCCH on both TRP1 and TRP2.

In another example, if:

L1 -RSRP for DL RS of joint/UL TCI state of TRP 2 is » L1 -RSRP for DL RS of joint/UL TCI state of TRP 1 (where » may mean the difference in values is greater than a threshold amount, e.g. at least 6 dB difference) then the UE transmits PUCCH on TRP2 only.

It is to be appreciated that the above mentioned thresholds are given merely as an example. The thresholds may be: agreed upon (e.g. between the network and the UE), specified in the specification, or dynamically signaled by the network to UE.

It is to be noted that, in each of the above options 1 to 5, the gNB still has the final decision on which resources (i.e. which TRP, or both TRPs) to use to schedule PUCCH transmission.

Moreover, it is noted that options 1 and 5 represent a sort of "implicit” signaling, as the UE indicates to the gNB a preferred TRP by embedding such information in HARQ feedback or in DL RSRP/SINR reporting. Whereas, options 2, 3 and 4 represent a sort of "explicit” signaling, as the UE directly indicates to the gNB the preferred TRP via different methods/formats as set out above. An addition to each of the above options is that, in joint TCI state configuration, the UE may also indicate to the gNB a preferred relation between TRP(s) for PUCCH and PDCCH. For example, the UE may indicate a preferred positive correlation/relationship, namely wherein PDCCH and PUCCH are preferred to be always scheduled on the same TRP or TCI state such that they follow each other. In this case, when UE indicates a preferred TRP or TCI state for PUCCH, this also implicitly means that PDCCH is preferred on that same TRP/TCI state.

The blocks illustrated in FIG. 4 can represent actions in a method, functionality performed by an apparatus, and/or sections of instructions/code in the computer program.

It will be understood that each block and combinations of blocks illustrated in FIG. 4, as well as the options 1 -5 and functions discussed above, can be implemented by various means, such as hardware, firmware, and/or software including one or more computer program instructions. For example, one or more of the functions described above can be performed by a duly configured apparatus (e.g. as an apparatus, such as a UE or a gNB, comprising means for performing the above described functions). One or more of the functions described above can be embodied by a duly configured computer program (such as a computer program comprising computer program instructions which embody the functions described above and which can be stored by a memory storage device and performed by a processor).

As will be appreciated, any such computer program instructions can be loaded onto a computer or other programmable apparatus (i.e. hardware) to produce a machine, such that the instructions when performed on the programmable apparatus create means for implementing the functions specified in the blocks and discussed above in options 1 to 5. These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable medium that can direct a programmable apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the blocks. The computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a programmable apparatus to cause a series of operational actions to be performed on the programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions which are performed on the programmable apparatus provide actions for implementing the functions specified in the blocks.

Various, but not necessarily all, examples of the present disclosure can take the form of a method, an apparatus or a computer program. Accordingly, various, but not necessarily all, examples can be implemented in hardware, software or a combination of hardware and software.

Fig. 7 schematically illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus 10 for performing the methods, processes, procedures and signalling described in the present disclosure and illustrated in Fig 4 and discussed with respect to options 1 to 5. In this regard the apparatus can perform the roles of the UE 110 or a RAN node 120 in the illustrated and described methods.

The apparatus comprises a controller 11 , which could be provided within a device such as a UE 110 or a RAN node 120.

The controller 11 can be embodied by a computing device, not least such as those mentioned above. In some, but not necessarily all examples, the apparatus can be embodied as a chip, chip set, circuitry or module, i.e. for use in any of the foregoing. As used here 'module’ refers to a unit or apparatus that excludes certain parts/components that would be added by an end manufacturer or a user.

Implementation of the controller 11 can be as controller circuitry. The controller 11 can be implemented in hardware alone, have certain aspects in software including firmware alone or can be a combination of hardware and software (including firmware).

The controller 11 can be implemented using instructions that enable hardware functionality, for example, by using executable instructions of a computer program 14 in a general- purpose or special-purpose processor 12 that can be stored on a computer readable storage medium 13, for example memory, or disk etc, to be executed by such a processor 12.

The processor 12 is configured to read from and write to the memory 13. The processor 12 can also comprise an output interface via which data and/or commands are output by the processor 12 and an input interface via which data and/or commands are input to the processor 12. The apparatus can be coupled to or comprise one or more other components 15 (not least for example: a radio transceiver, sensors, input/output user interface elements and/or other modules/devices/components for inputting and outputting data/commands).

The memory 13 stores a computer program 14 comprising instructions (computer program instructions/code) that controls the operation of the apparatus 10 when loaded into the processor 12. The instructions of the computer program 14, provide the logic and routines that enables the apparatus to perform the methods, processes and procedures described in the present disclosure and illustrated in Fig. 4 and discussed with respect to options 1 to 5. The processor 12 by reading the memory 13 is able to load and execute the computer program 14.

The computer program instructions may be comprised in a computer program, a non- transitory computer readable medium, a computer program product, a machine-readable medium. 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). In some but not necessarily all examples, the computer program instructions may be distributed over more than one computer program.

Although the memory 13 is illustrated as a single component/circuitry it can be implemented as one or more separate components/circuitry some or all of which can be integrated/removable and/or can provide permanent/semi-permanent/ dynamic/cached storage.

Although the processor 12 is illustrated as a single component/circuitry it can be implemented as one or more separate components/circuitry some or all of which can be integrated/removable. The processor 12 can be a single core or multi-core processor.

The apparatus can include one or more components for effecting the methods, processes and procedures described in the present disclosure and illustrated in Fig. 4 and discussed with respect to options 1 to 5. It is contemplated that the functions of these components can be combined in one or more components or performed by other components of equivalent functionality. The description of a function should additionally be considered to also disclose any means suitable for performing that function.

Where a structural feature has been described, it can be replaced by means for performing one or more of the functions of the structural feature whether that function or those functions are explicitly or implicitly described.

Although examples of the apparatus have been described above in terms of comprising various components, it should be understood that the components can be embodied as or otherwise controlled by a corresponding controller or circuitry such as one or more processing elements or processors of the apparatus. In this regard, each of the components described above can be one or more of any device, means or circuitry embodied in hardware, software or a combination of hardware and software that is configured to perform the corresponding functions of the respective components as described above.

The apparatus can, for example, be a client device, a server device, a mobile cellular telephone, a base station in a mobile cellular telecommunication system, a wireless communications device, a hand-portable electronic device, a location/position tag, a hyper tag etc. The apparatus can be embodied by a computing device, not least such as those mentioned above. However, in some examples, the apparatus can be embodied as a chip, chip set, circuitry or module, i.e. for use in any of the foregoing.

In one example, the apparatus is embodied on a hand held portable electronic device, such as a mobile telephone, mobile communication device, wearable computing device or personal digital assistant, that can additionally provide one or more audio/text/video communication functions (for example tele-communication, video-communication, and/or text transmission (Short Message Service (SMS)/ Multimedia Message Service (MMS)/emailing) functions), interactive/non-interactive viewing functions (for example web-browsing, navigation, TV/program viewing functions), music recording/playing functions (for example Moving Picture Experts Group-1 Audio Layer 3 (MP3) or other format and/or (frequency modulation/amplitude modulation) radio broadcast recording/playing), downloading/sending of data functions, image capture function (for example using a (for example in-built) digital camera), and gaming functions, or any combination thereof.

In examples where the apparatus is provided within a UE 110, the apparatus comprises: at least one processor 12; and at least one memory 13 storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor 12, cause the apparatus at least to: determine at least one preferred TRP, from one or more TRPs, for a PUCCH transmission; and transmit, to a TRP of the one or more TRPs, information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP.

In examples where the apparatus is provided within a RAN node 120, the apparatus comprises: at least one processor 12; and at least one memory 13 storing instruction that, when executed by the at least one processor 12, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a UE, information indicative of at least one preferred TRP of one or more TRPs, for a PUCCH transmission; determine at least one TRP, of the one or more TRPs, for the PUCCH transmission based at least in part on the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP; and transmit, to the UE, scheduling information for the UE to transmit the PUCCH transmission to the at least one TRP.

According to some examples of the present disclosure, there is provided a system (for example at least one UE 110 and a RAN node 120).

The above described examples find application as enabling components of: tracking systems, automotive systems; telecommunication systems; electronic systems including consumer electronic products; distributed computing systems; media systems for generating or rendering media content including audio, visual and audio visual content and mixed, mediated, virtual and/or augmented reality; personal systems including personal health systems or personal fitness systems; navigation systems; user interfaces also known as human machine interfaces; networks including cellular, non-cellular, and optical networks; ad-hoc networks; the internet; the internet of things (IOT); Vehicle-to-everything (V2X), virtualized networks; and related software and services.

The apparatus can be provided in an electronic device, for example, a mobile terminal, according to an example of the present disclosure. It should be understood, however, that a mobile terminal is merely illustrative of an electronic device that would benefit from examples of implementations of the present disclosure and, therefore, should not be taken to limit the scope of the present disclosure to the same. While in certain implementation examples, the apparatus can be provided in a mobile terminal, other types of electronic devices, such as, but not limited to: mobile communication devices, hand portable electronic devices, wearable computing devices, portable digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, mobile computers, desktop computers, televisions, gaming devices, laptop computers, cameras, video recorders, GPS devices and other types of electronic systems, can readily employ examples of the present disclosure. Furthermore, devices can readily employ examples of the present disclosure regardless of their intent to provide mobility.

Fig. 8, illustrates a computer program 14 which may be conveyed via a delivery mechanism 20. The delivery mechanism 20 can be any suitable delivery mechanism, for example, a machine readable medium, a computer-readable medium, a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium, a computer program product, a memory device, a solid-state memory, a record medium such as a Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM) or a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) or an article of manufacture that comprises or tangibly embodies the computer program 14. The delivery mechanism can be a signal configured to reliably transfer the computer program. An apparatus can receive, propagate or transmit the computer program as a computer data signal.

In certain examples of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions, which when executed by an apparatus (i.e. UE 110), cause the apparatus to perform at least the following or for causing performing at least the following: determine at least one preferred TRP, from one or more TRPs, for a PUCCH transmission; and transmit, to a TRP of the one or more TRPs, information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP.

In certain examples of the present disclosure, there is provided computer program comprising instructions, which when executed by an apparatus (i.e. RAN node 120), cause the apparatus to perform at least the following or for causing performing at least the following: receive, from a UE, information indicative of at least one preferred TRP, of one or more TRPs, for a PUCCH transmission; determine at least one TRP, of the one or more TRPs, for the PUCCH transmission based at least in part on the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP; and transmit, to the UE, scheduling information for the UE to transmit the PUCCH transmission to the at least one TRP.

References to 'computer program’, 'computer-readable storage medium’, 'computer program product’, 'tangibly embodied computer program’ etc. or a 'controller’, 'computer’, 'processor’ etc. should be understood to encompass not only computers having different architectures such as single /multi- processor architectures and sequential (Von Neumann)/parallel architectures but also specialized circuits such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), application specific circuits (ASIC), signal processing devices and other devices. References to computer program, instructions, code etc. should be understood to encompass software for a programmable processor or firmware such as, for example, the programmable content of a hardware device whether instructions for a processor, or configuration settings for a fixed-function device, gate array or programmable logic device etc.

As used in this application, the term 'circuitry’ can refer to one or more or all of the following:

(a) hardware-only circuitry 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 (for example 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 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 for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Features described in the preceding description can be used in combinations other than the combinations explicitly described.

Although functions have been described with reference to certain features, those functions can be performable by other features whether described or not.

Although features have been described with reference to certain examples, those features can also be present in other examples whether described or not. Accordingly, features described in relation to one example/aspect of the disclosure can include any or all of the features described in relation to another example/aspect of the disclosure, and vice versa, to the extent that they are not mutually inconsistent. Although various examples of the present disclosure have been described in the preceding paragraphs, it should be appreciated that modifications to the examples given can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set out in the claims. For example, whilst various examples have been discussed and illustrated with respect to a multi-TRP scenario with two TRPs, it is to be appreciated that examples of the present disclosure are applicable to multi-TRP scenarios with more than two TRPs.

The term 'comprise’ is used in this document with an inclusive not an exclusive meaning. That is any reference to X comprising Y indicates that X can comprise only one Y or can comprise more than one Y. If it is intended to use 'comprise’ with an exclusive meaning then it will be made clear in the context by referring to "comprising only one ...” or by using "consisting”.

In this description, the wording 'connect’, 'couple’ and 'communication’ and their derivatives mean operationally connected/coupled/in communication. It should be appreciated that any number or combination of intervening components can exist (including no intervening components), i.e. so as to provide direct or indirect connection/coupling/communication. Any such intervening components can include hardware and/or software components.

As used herein, the term "determine/determining" (and grammatical variants thereof) can include, not least: calculating, computing, processing, deriving, measuring, investigating, identifying, looking up (for example, looking up in a table, a database or another data structure), ascertaining and the like. Also, "determining" can include receiving (for example, receiving information), retrieving/accessing (for example, retrieving/accessing data in a memory), obtaining and the like. Also, " determine/determining" can include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, and the like.

"As used herein, a description of an action should also be considered to disclose enabling, and/or causing, and/or controlling that action. For example, a description of transmitting information should also be considered to disclose enabling, and/or causing, and/or controlling transmitting information. Similarly, for example, a description of an apparatus transmitting information should also be considered to disclose at least one means or controller of the apparatus enabling, and/or causing, and/or controlling the apparatus to transmit the information.”

References to a parameter, a value of a parameter or information indicative of ..., should be understood to refer to "data indicative of ...”, "data defining ...” or "data representative of ...” the relevant parameter/parameter value/information if not explicitly stated (unless the context demands otherwise). The data may be in any way indicative of the relevant parameter/parameter value, and may be directly or indirectly indicative thereof. In this description, reference has been made to various examples. The description of features or functions in relation to an example indicates that those features or functions are present in that example. The use of the term ’example’ or 'for example’, 'can’ or 'may’ in the text denotes, whether explicitly stated or not, that such features or functions are present in at least the described example, whether described as an example or not, and that they can be, but are not necessarily, present in some or all other examples. Thus 'example’, 'for example’, 'can’ or 'may’ refers to a particular instance in a class of examples. A property of the instance can be a property of only that instance or a property of the class or a property of a sub-class of the class that includes some but not all of the instances in the class.

In this description, references to "a/an/the” [feature, element, component, means ...] are used with an inclusive not an exclusive meaning and are to be interpreted as "at least one” [feature, element, component, means ...] unless explicitly stated otherwise. That is any reference to X comprising a/the Y indicates that X can comprise only one Y or can comprise more than one Y unless the context clearly indicates the contrary. If it is intended to use 'a’ or 'the’ with an exclusive meaning then it will be made clear in the context. In some circumstances the use of 'at least one’ or 'one or more’ can be used to emphasise an inclusive meaning but the absence of these terms should not be taken to infer any exclusive meaning. 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.

The presence of a feature (or combination of features) in a claim is a reference to that feature (or combination of features) itself and also to features that achieve substantially the same technical effect (equivalent features). The equivalent features include, for example, features that are variants and achieve substantially the same result in substantially the same way. The equivalent features include, for example, features that perform substantially the same function, in substantially the same way to achieve substantially the same result.

In this description, reference has been made to various examples using adjectives or adjectival phrases to describe characteristics of the examples. Such a description of a characteristic in relation to an example indicates that the characteristic is present in some examples exactly as described and is present in other examples substantially as described. In the above description, the apparatus described can alternatively or in addition comprise an apparatus which in some other examples comprises a distributed system of apparatus, for example, a client/server apparatus system. In examples where an apparatus provided forms (or a method is implemented as) a distributed system, each apparatus forming a component and/or part of the system provides (or implements) one or more features which collectively implement an example of the present disclosure. In some examples, an apparatus is re-configured by an entity other than its initial manufacturer to implement an example of the present disclosure by being provided with additional software, for example by a user downloading such software, which when executed causes the apparatus to implement an example of the present disclosure (such implementation being either entirely by the apparatus or as part of a system of apparatus as mentioned hereinabove).

The above description describes some examples of the present disclosure however those of ordinary skill in the art will be aware of possible alternative structures and method features which offer equivalent functionality to the specific examples of such structures and features described herein above and which for the sake of brevity and clarity have been omitted from the above description. Nonetheless, the above description should be read as implicitly including reference to such alternative structures and method features which provide equivalent functionality unless such alternative structures or method features are explicitly excluded in the above description of the examples of the present disclosure.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of examples of the present disclosure believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

The examples of the present disclosure and the accompanying claims can be suitably combined in any manner apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. Separate references to an "example”, "in some examples” and/or the like in the description do not necessarily refer to the same example and are also not mutually exclusive unless so stated and/or except as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the description. For instance, a feature, structure, process, block, step, action, or the like described in one example may also be included in other examples, but is not necessarily included.

Each and every claim is incorporated as further disclosure into the specification and the claims are embodiment(s) of the present disclosure. Further, while the claims herein are provided as comprising specific dependencies, it is contemplated that any claims can depend from any other claims and that to the extent that any alternative embodiments can result from combining, integrating, and/or omitting features of the various claims and/or changing dependencies of claims, any such alternative embodiments and their equivalents are also within the scope of the disclosure.

Claims

CLAIMS We claim:

1. A User Equipment, UE, comprising: means for determining at least one preferred Transmit Receive Point, TRP, from one or more TRPs, for a Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, transmission; and means for transmitting, to a TRP of the one or more TRPs, information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP.

2. The UE of claim 1 , further comprising: means for receiving, from at least one of the one or more TRPs and based at least in part on the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP, scheduling information for the UE to transmit the PUCCH transmission to at least one TRP; means for transmitting the PUCCH transmission to the at least one TRP in accordance with the scheduling information; and optionally, wherein the at least one TRP corresponds to the at least one preferred TRP.

3. The UE of any previous claim, wherein the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP comprises at least one Control resource set, coreset, pool index associated with the at least one preferred TRP.

4. The UE of any previous claim, wherein the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP is transmitted: via one or more Hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, feedback transmissions; via one or more reference signal measurement reports; or within a Physical Uplink Shared Channel, PUSCH.

5. The UE of any previous claim, wherein the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP comprises information indicative of at least one set of PUCCH resources for at least one scheduling request, wherein the at least one set of PUCCH resources is associated with the at least one preferred TRP.

6. The UE of claim 5, further comprising means for receiving, from at least one of the one or more TRPs, a configuration of multiple sets of PUCCH resources for at least one scheduling request, wherein each of the multiple sets of PUCCH resources is associated with a TRP of the one or more TRPs.

7. The UE of any previous claim, wherein the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP comprises information indicative of a preferred TRP hopping pattern for indicating a preferred sequence of TRPs for PUCCH transmissions to be transmitted to.

8. The UE of claim 7, further comprising means for receiving, from at least one of the one or more TRPs, a configuration of multiple TRP hopping patterns.

9. The UE of any previous claim, further comprising means for transmitting a preferred relationship between the at least one preferred TRP for the PUCCH transmission and a TRP from which a Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH, transmission is received.

10. The UE of any previous claim, wherein the UE is configured with a single PDCCH and a single PUCCH.

11. An apparatus comprising: means for receiving, from a User Equipment, UE, information indicative of at least one preferred Transmit Receive Point, TRP, of one or more TRPs, for a Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, transmission; means for determining at least one TRP, of the one or more TRPs, for the PUCCH transmission based at least in part on the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP; and means for transmitting, to the UE, scheduling information for the UE to transmit the PUCCH transmission to the at least one TRP.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the at least one TRP corresponds to the at least one preferred TRP.

13. The apparatus of any of previous claims 11 to 12, wherein the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP comprises at least one Control resource set, coreset, pool index associated with the at least one preferred TRP.

14. The apparatus of any of previous claims 11 to 13, wherein the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP is received: via one or more Hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, feedback transmissions; via one or more reference signal measurement reports; or within a Physical Uplink Shared Channel, PUSCH.

15. The apparatus of any of previous claims 11 to 14, wherein the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP comprises information indicative of at least one set of PUCCH resources for at least one scheduling request, wherein the at least one set of PUCCH resources is associated with the at least one preferred TRP.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising means for transmitting to the UE configuration information indicative of multiple sets of PUCCH resources for at least one scheduling request, wherein each of the multiple sets of PUCCH resources is associated with a TRP of the one or more TRPs.

17. The apparatus of any of previous claims 11 to 16, wherein the information indicative of the at least one preferred TRP comprises information indicative of a preferred TRP hopping pattern for indicating a preferred sequence of TRPs for PUCCH transmissions to be transmitted to.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising means for transmitting, to the UE, configuration information indicative of multiple TRP hopping patterns.

19. The apparatus of any of previous claims 11 to 18, further comprising means for receiving a preferred relationship between the at least one preferred TRP for the PUCCH transmission and a TRP for a Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH, transmission.

20. The apparatus of any of previous claims 11 to 19, wherein the apparatus is configured with a single PDCCH and a single PUCCH for the UE.