WO2025050342A1

WO2025050342A1 - Qcl bundling for pdsch

Info

Publication number: WO2025050342A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/117408
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mostafa KHOSHNEVISAN; Shaozhen GUO; Xiaoxia Zhang; Peter Gaal
Original assignee: Qualcomm Inc
Current assignee: Qualcomm Inc
Priority date: 2023-09-07
Filing date: 2023-09-07
Publication date: 2025-03-13
Anticipated expiration: 2026-03-07

Abstract

A method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) and related apparatus are provided. In the method, the UE receives, via radio resource control (RRC), downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) -control element (MAC-CE), a quasi co-location (QCL) configuration or indication for multiple physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) from a network entity. The UE then groups the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups based on the QCL configuration, and obtains, for all or a subset of QCL type A properties, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs based on the one or more QCL groups. The UE further communicates with the network entity based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs.

Description

QCL BUNDLING FOR PDSCH

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, and more particularly, to wireless communication including a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) .

INTRODUCTION

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple-access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate on a municipal, national, regional, and even global level. An example telecommunication standard is 5G New Radio (NR) . 5G NR is part of a continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to meet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security, scalability (e.g., with Internet of Things (IoT) ) , and other requirements. 5G NR includes services associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) , massive machine type communications (mMTC) , and ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) . Some aspects of 5G NR may be based on the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. There exists a need for further improvements in 5G NR technology. These improvements may also be applicable to other multi-access technologies and the telecommunication standards that employ these technologies.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects. This summary neither identifies key or critical elements of all aspects nor delineates the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

In an aspect of the disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium, and an apparatus are provided for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) . The apparatus may include at least one memory and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory. Based at least in part on information stored in the at least one memory, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, may be configured to receive, from a network entity, via radio resource control (RRC) , downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) -control element (MAC-CE) , a quasi co-location (QCL) configuration or indication for multiple physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) ; group, based on the QCL configuration or indication, the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups; obtain, based on the one or more QCL groups, a QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, where the QCL association includes all or a subset of QCL type A properties; and communicate with the network entity based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs.

In an aspect of the disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium, and an apparatus are provided for wireless communication at a network entity. The apparatus may include at least one memory and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory. Based at least in part on information stored in the at least one memory, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, may be configured to provide, to a UE, via RRC, DCI or a MAC-CE, a QCL configuration or indication for multiple PDSCHs to indicate the UE to group the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups based on the QCL configuration or indication and obtain a QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs for all or a subset of QCL type A properties; and communicate with the UE based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or more aspects may include the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspects may be employed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and an access network.

FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an example of a first frame, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating an example of downlink (DL) channels within a subframe, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2C is a diagram illustrating an example of a second frame, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2D is a diagram illustrating an example of uplink (UL) channels within a subframe, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a base station and user equipment (UE) in an access network.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states activation/deactivation for UE-specific physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) medium access control (MAC) -control element (MAC-CE) .

FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating an example of TCI state activation.

FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating an example of TCI state activation based on the unified TCI framework.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a reset operation on a quasi co-location (QCL) group in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example reset process in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating an example of the signaling mechanism based on the unified TCI framework in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating an example of the signaling mechanism based on the unified TCI framework in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the signaling mechanism based on the time domain window in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of QCL profile update in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a call flow diagram illustrating a method of wireless communication in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating methods of wireless communication at a UE in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating methods of wireless communication at a UE in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating methods of wireless communication at a network entity in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating methods of wireless communication at a network entity in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an example apparatus and/or network entity.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an example network entity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In wireless communication, a quasi co-location (QCL) defines a relationship between different reference signals (RSs) . For example, QCL may indicate that two sets of reference signals share similar radio channel properties. The QCL relationship may facilitate the beamforming and massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) processes in wireless communication. The QCL for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) may rely on a tracking reference signal (TRS) . However, when managing and signaling the transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states associated with the PDSCHs, particularly in the scenarios that involve multiple transmission reception points (TRPs) , supporting a large number of active TCI states associated with the TRSs may lead to increased complexity for user equipment (UE) due to the overhead and latency introduced when changing these states.

Various aspects relate generally to wireless communication. Some aspects more specifically related to methods to configure QCL for PDSCH without a TRS. In some examples, a UE may receive, from a network entity, via radio resource control (RRC) , downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) -control element (MAC-CE) , a QCL configuration or indication for multiple PDSCHs. Based on the QCL configuration or indication, the UE may group the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups and obtain a QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs for all or a subset of QCL type A properties based on the one or more QCL groups. Then, the UE may communicate with the network entity based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs. In some examples, the UE may obtain one or more QCL profiles respectively corresponding the one or more QCL group, and the one or more QCL profiles may store the QCL association for the PDSCHs in the one or more QCL groups. In some examples, the UE may perform the reset operation for the one or more QCL groups based on the reset indicator the UE receives from, for example, the DCI or the MAC-CE. In some examples, the UE may further indicate to the network whether it has the capability to group the multiple PDSCHs into the one or more QCL group.

Particular aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, by allowing some PDSCHs to be QCLed with one another without relying on TRS, the described techniques can be used to simplify signaling mechanisms, reduce communication overhead and complexity, and reduce power consumption in wireless communication. In some examples, by allowing a UE to categorize the PDSCHs into various types based on their QCL associations, the described techniques improve the adaptability of wireless communication to different communication scenarios. In some examples, by incorporating a reset mechanism for the UE’s QCL profiles, particularly when all PDSCHs that are not QCLed with a TRS are categorized into one or multiple groups, the described techniques ensure efficient PDSCH management without unnecessary disruptions.

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the drawings describes various configurations and does not represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of various concepts. However, these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

Several aspects of telecommunication systems are presented with reference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methods are described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as “elements” ) . These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

By way of example, an element, or any portion of an element, or any combination of elements may be implemented as a “processing system” that includes one or more processors. When multiple processors are implemented, the multiple processors may perform the functions individually or in combination. Examples of processors include microprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs) , central processing units (CPUs) , application processors, digital signal processors (DSPs) , reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, systems on a chip (SoC) , baseband processors, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) , programmable logic devices (PLDs) , state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functionality described throughout this disclosure. One or more processors in the processing system may execute software. Software, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise, shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software components, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, or any combination thereof.

Accordingly, in one or more example aspects, implementations, and/or use cases, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or encoded as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes computer storage media. Storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, such computer-readable media can include a random-access memory (RAM) , a read-only memory (ROM) , an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM) , optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, combinations of the types of computer-readable media, or any other medium that can be used to store computer executable code in the form of instructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer.

While aspects, implementations, and/or use cases are described in this application by illustration to some examples, additional or different aspects, implementations and/or use cases may come about in many different arrangements and scenarios. Aspects, implementations, and/or use cases described herein may be implemented across many differing platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, and packaging arrangements. For example, aspects, implementations, and/or use cases may come about via integrated chip implementations and other non-module-component based devices (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment, retail/purchasing devices, medical devices, artificial intelligence (AI) -enabled devices, etc. ) . While some examples may or may not be specifically directed to use cases or applications, a wide assortment of applicability of described examples may occur. Aspects, implementations, and/or use cases may range a spectrum from chip-level or modular components to non-modular, non-chip-level implementations and further to aggregate, distributed, or original equipment manufacturer (OEM) devices or systems incorporating one or more techniques herein. In some practical settings, devices incorporating described aspects and features may also include additional components and features for implementation and practice of claimed and described aspect. For example, transmission and reception of wireless signals necessarily includes a number of components for analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware components including antenna, RF-chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffer, processor (s) , interleaver, adders/summers, etc. ) . Techniques described herein may be practiced in a wide variety of devices, chip-level components, systems, distributed arrangements, aggregated or disaggregated components, end-user devices, etc. of varying sizes, shapes, and constitution.

Deployment of communication systems, such as 5G NR systems, may be arranged in multiple manners with various components or constituent parts. In a 5G NR system, or network, a network node, a network entity, a mobility element of a network, a radio access network (RAN) node, a core network node, a network element, or a network equipment, such as a base station (BS) , or one or more units (or one or more components) performing base station functionality, may be implemented in an aggregated or disaggregated architecture. For example, a BS (such as a Node B (NB) , evolved NB (eNB) , NR BS, 5G NB, access point (AP) , a transmission reception point (TRP) , or a cell, etc. ) may be implemented as an aggregated base station (also known as a standalone BS or a monolithic BS) or a disaggregated base station.

An aggregated base station may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. A disaggregated base station may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among two or more units (such as one or more central or centralized units (CUs) , one or more distributed units (DUs) , or one or more radio units (RUs) ) . In some aspects, a CU may be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed throughout one or multiple other RAN nodes. The DUs may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU and RU can be implemented as virtual units, i.e., a virtual central unit (VCU) , a virtual distributed unit (VDU) , or a virtual radio unit (VRU) .

Base station operation or network design may consider aggregation characteristics of base station functionality. For example, disaggregated base stations may be utilized in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN (such as the network configuration sponsored by the O-RAN Alliance) ) , or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN) ) . Disaggregation may include distributing functionality across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as distributing functionality for at least one unit virtually, which can enable flexibility in network design. The various units of the disaggregated base station, or disaggregated RAN architecture, can be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit.

FIG. 1 is a diagram 100 illustrating an example of a wireless communications system and an access network. The illustrated wireless communications system includes a disaggregated base station architecture. The disaggregated base station architecture may include one or more CUs 110 that can communicate directly with a core network 120 via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 120 through one or more disaggregated base station units (such as a Near-Real Time (Near-RT) RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) 125 via an E2 link, or a Non-Real Time (Non-RT) RIC 115 associated with a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) Framework 105, or both) . A CU 110 may communicate with one or more DUs 130 via respective midhaul links, such as an F1 interface. The DUs 130 may communicate with one or more RUs 140 via respective fronthaul links. The RUs 140 may communicate with respective UEs 104 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, the UE 104 may be simultaneously served by multiple RUs 140.

Each of the units, i.e., the CUs 110, the DUs 130, the RUs 140, as well as the Near-RT RICs 125, the Non-RT RICs 115, and the SMO Framework 105, may include one or more interfaces or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or to transmit signals, data, or information (collectively, signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the units, or an associated processor or controller providing instructions to the communication interfaces of the units, can be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via the transmission medium. For example, the units can include a wired interface configured to receive or to transmit signals over a wired transmission medium to one or more of the other units. Additionally, the units can include a wireless interface, which may include a receiver, a transmitter, or a transceiver (such as an RF transceiver) , configured to receive or to transmit signals, or both, over a wireless transmission medium to one or more of the other units.

In some aspects, the CU 110 may host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions can include radio resource control (RRC) , packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) , service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) , or the like. Each control function can be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by the CU 110. The CU 110 may be configured to handle user plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit –User Plane (CU-UP) ) , control plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit –Control Plane (CU-CP) ) , or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the CU 110 can be logically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. The CU-UP unit can communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP unit via an interface, such as an E1 interface when implemented in an O-RAN configuration. The CU 110 can be implemented to communicate with the DU 130, as necessary, for network control and signaling.

The DU 130 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions to control the operation of one or more RUs 140. In some aspects, the DU 130 may host one or more of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and one or more high physical (PHY) layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation, demodulation, or the like) depending, at least in part, on a functional split, such as those defined by 3GPP. In some aspects, the DU 130 may further host one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (or module) can be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 130, or with the control functions hosted by the CU 110.

Lower-layer functionality can be implemented by one or more RUs 140. In some deployments, an RU 140, controlled by a DU 130, may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions, or low-PHY layer functions (such as performing fast Fourier transform (FFT) , inverse FFT (iFFT) , digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, or the like) , or both, based at least in part on the functional split, such as a lower layer functional split. In such an architecture, the RU (s) 140 can be implemented to handle over the air (OTA) communication with one or more UEs 104. In some implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control and user plane communication with the RU (s) 140 can be controlled by the corresponding DU 130. In some scenarios, this configuration can enable the DU (s) 130 and the CU 110 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture, such as a vRAN architecture.

The SMO Framework 105 may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO Framework 105 may be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements that may be managed via an operations and maintenance interface (such as an O1 interface) . For virtualized network elements, the SMO Framework 105 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) 190) to perform network element life cycle management (such as to instantiate virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as an O2 interface) . Such virtualized network elements can include, but are not limited to, CUs 110, DUs 130, RUs 140 and Near-RT RICs 125. In some implementations, the SMO Framework 105 can communicate with a hardware aspect of a 4G RAN, such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 111, via an O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, the SMO Framework 105 can communicate directly with one or more RUs 140 via an O1 interface. The SMO Framework 105 also may include a Non-RT RIC 115 configured to support functionality of the SMO Framework 105.

The Non-RT RIC 115 may be configured to include a logical function that enables non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence (AI) /machine learning (ML) (AI/ML) workflows including model training and updates, or policy-based guidance of applications/features in the Near-RT RIC 125. The Non-RT RIC 115 may be coupled to or communicate with (such as via an A1 interface) the Near-RT RIC 125. The Near-RT RIC 125 may be configured to include a logical function that enables near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions over an interface (such as via an E2 interface) connecting one or more CUs 110, one or more DUs 130, or both, as well as an O-eNB, with the Near-RT RIC 125.

In some implementations, to generate AI/ML models to be deployed in the Near-RT RIC 125, the Non-RT RIC 115 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from external servers. Such information may be utilized by the Near-RT RIC 125 and may be received at the SMO Framework 105 or the Non-RT RIC 115 from non-network data sources or from network functions. In some examples, the Non-RT RIC 115 or the Near-RT RIC 125 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the Non-RT RIC 115 may monitor long-term trends and patterns for performance and employ AI/ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMO Framework 105 (such as reconfiguration via O1) or via creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 policies) .

At least one of the CU 110, the DU 130, and the RU 140 may be referred to as a base station 102. Accordingly, a base station 102 may include one or more of the CU 110, the DU 130, and the RU 140 (each component indicated with dotted lines to signify that each component may or may not be included in the base station 102) . The base station 102 provides an access point to the core network 120 for a UE 104. The base station 102 may include macrocells (high power cellular base station) and/or small cells (low power cellular base station) . The small cells include femtocells, picocells, and microcells. A network that includes both small cell and macrocells may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include Home Evolved Node Bs (eNBs) (HeNBs) , which may provide service to a restricted group known as a closed subscriber group (CSG) . The communication links between the RUs 140 and the UEs 104 may include uplink (UL) (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions from a UE 104 to an RU 140 and/or downlink (DL) (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from an RU 140 to a UE 104. The communication links may use multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and/or transmit diversity. The communication links may be through one or more carriers. The base station 102 /UEs 104 may use spectrum up to Y MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400, etc. MHz) bandwidth per carrier allocated in a carrier aggregation of up to a total of Yx MHz (x component carriers) used for transmission in each direction. The carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. Allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for DL than for UL) . The component carriers may include a primary component carrier and one or more secondary component carriers. A primary component carrier may be referred to as a primary cell (PCell) and a secondary component carrier may be referred to as a secondary cell (SCell) .

Certain UEs 104 may communicate with each other using device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158. The D2D communication link 158 may use the DL/UL wireless wide area network (WWAN) spectrum. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH) , a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH) , a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) , and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) . D2D communication may be through a variety of wireless D2D communications systems, such as for example, Bluetooth^TM (Bluetooth is a trademark of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) ) , Wi-Fi^TM (Wi-Fi is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance) based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR.

The wireless communications system may further include a Wi-Fi AP 150 in communication with UEs 104 (also referred to as Wi-Fi stations (STAs) ) via communication link 154, e.g., in a 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum or the like. When communicating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the UEs 104 /AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) prior to communicating in order to determine whether the channel is available.

The electromagnetic spectrum is often subdivided, based on frequency/wavelength, into various classes, bands, channels, etc. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz –7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz –52.6 GHz) . Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “sub-6 GHz” band in various documents and articles. A similar nomenclature issue sometimes occurs with regard to FR2, which is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, despite being different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz –300 GHz) which is identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a “millimeter wave” band.

The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR studies have identified an operating band for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz –24.25 GHz) . Frequency bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1 characteristics and/or FR2 characteristics, and thus may effectively extend features of FR1 and/or FR2 into mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR2-2 (52.6 GHz –71 GHz) , FR4 (71 GHz –114.25 GHz) , and FR5 (114.25 GHz –300 GHz) . Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

With the above aspects in mind, unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “sub-6 GHz” or the like if used herein may broadly represent frequencies that may be less than 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. Further, unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “millimeter wave” or the like if used herein may broadly represent frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, FR4, FR2-2, and/or FR5, or may be within the EHF band.

The base station 102 and the UE 104 may each include a plurality of antennas, such as antenna elements, antenna panels, and/or antenna arrays to facilitate beamforming. The base station 102 may transmit a beamformed signal 182 to the UE 104 in one or more transmit directions. The UE 104 may receive the beamformed signal from the base station 102 in one or more receive directions. The UE 104 may also transmit a beamformed signal 184 to the base station 102 in one or more transmit directions. The base station 102 may receive the beamformed signal from the UE 104 in one or more receive directions. The base station 102 /UE 104 may perform beam training to determine the best receive and transmit directions for each of the base station 102 /UE 104. The transmit and receive directions for the base station 102 may or may not be the same. The transmit and receive directions for the UE 104 may or may not be the same.

The base station 102 may include and/or be referred to as a gNB, Node B, eNB, an access point, a base transceiver station, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS) , an extended service set (ESS) , a TRP, network node, network entity, network equipment, or some other suitable terminology. The base station 102 can be implemented as an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, a sidelink node, an aggregated (monolithic) base station with a baseband unit (BBU) (including a CU and a DU) and an RU, or as a disaggregated base station including one or more of a CU, a DU, and/or an RU. The set of base stations, which may include disaggregated base stations and/or aggregated base stations, may be referred to as next generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN) .

The core network 120 may include an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 161, a Session Management Function (SMF) 162, a User Plane Function (UPF) 163, a Unified Data Management (UDM) 164, one or more location servers 168, and other functional entities. The AMF 161 is the control node that processes the signaling between the UEs 104 and the core network 120. The AMF 161 supports registration management, connection management, mobility management, and other functions. The SMF 162 supports session management and other functions. The UPF 163 supports packet routing, packet forwarding, and other functions. The UDM 164 supports the generation of authentication and key agreement (AKA) credentials, user identification handling, access authorization, and subscription management. The one or more location servers 168 are illustrated as including a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 165 and a Location Management Function (LMF) 166. However, generally, the one or more location servers 168 may include one or more location/positioning servers, which may include one or more of the GMLC 165, the LMF 166, a position determination entity (PDE) , a serving mobile location center (SMLC) , a mobile positioning center (MPC) , or the like. The GMLC 165 and the LMF 166 support UE location services. The GMLC 165 provides an interface for clients/applications (e.g., emergency services) for accessing UE positioning information. The LMF 166 receives measurements and assistance information from the NG-RAN and the UE 104 via the AMF 161 to compute the position of the UE 104. The NG-RAN may utilize one or more positioning methods in order to determine the position of the UE 104. Positioning the UE 104 may involve signal measurements, a position estimate, and an optional velocity computation based on the measurements. The signal measurements may be made by the UE 104 and/or the base station 102 serving the UE 104. The signals measured may be based on one or more of a satellite positioning system (SPS) 170 (e.g., one or more of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) , global position system (GPS) , non-terrestrial network (NTN) , or other satellite position/location system) , LTE signals, wireless local area network (WLAN) signals, Bluetooth signals, a terrestrial beacon system (TBS) , sensor-based information (e.g., barometric pressure sensor, motion sensor) , NR enhanced cell ID (NR E-CID) methods, NR signals (e.g., multi-round trip time (Multi-RTT) , DL angle-of-departure (DL-AoD) , DL time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) , UL time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) , and UL angle-of-arrival (UL-AoA) positioning) , and/or other systems/signals/sensors.

Examples of UEs 104 include a cellular phone, a smart phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., MP3 player) , a camera, a game console, a tablet, a smart device, a wearable device, a vehicle, an electric meter, a gas pump, a large or small kitchen appliance, a healthcare device, an implant, a sensor/actuator, a display, or any other similar functioning device. Some of the UEs 104 may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., parking meter, gas pump, toaster, vehicles, heart monitor, etc. ) . The UE 104 may also be referred to as a station, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology. In some scenarios, the term UE may also apply to one or more companion devices such as in a device constellation arrangement. One or more of these devices may collectively access the network and/or individually access the network.

Referring again to FIG. 1, in certain aspects, the UE 104 may include a QCL bundling component 198. The QCL bundling component 198 may be configured to receive, via radio resource control (RRC) , downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) -control element (MAC-CE) , a QCL configuration or indication from a network entity for multiple PDSCHs. The QCL bundling component 198 may be further configured to group the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups based on the QCL configuration or indication and obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs for all or a subset of QCL type A properties based on the one or more QCL groups. The QCL bundling component 198 may be further configured to communicate with the network entity based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs. In certain aspects, the base station 102 may include a QCL bundling component 199. The QCL bundling component 199 may be configured to provide, via RRC, DCI or a MAC-CE, a QCL configuration or indication for multiple PDSCHs to a UE to indicate the UE to group the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups based on the QCL configuration or indication and obtain a QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs for all or a subset of QCL type A properties based on the one or more QCL groups. The QCL bundling component 199 may be further configured to communicate with the UE based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs. Although the following description may be focused on 5G NR, the concepts described herein may be applicable to other similar areas, such as LTE, LTE-A, CDMA, GSM, and other wireless technologies.

FIG. 2A is a diagram 200 illustrating an example of a first subframe within a 5G NR frame structure. FIG. 2B is a diagram 230 illustrating an example of DL channels within a 5G NR subframe. FIG. 2C is a diagram 250 illustrating an example of a second subframe within a 5G NR frame structure. FIG. 2D is a diagram 280 illustrating an example of UL channels within a 5G NR subframe. The 5G NR frame structure may be frequency division duplexed (FDD) in which for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth) , subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated for either DL or UL, or may be time division duplexed (TDD) in which for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth) , subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated for both DL and UL. In the examples provided by FIGs. 2A, 2C, the 5G NR frame structure is assumed to be TDD, with subframe 4 being configured with slot format 28 (with mostly DL) , where D is DL, U is UL, and F is flexible for use between DL/UL, and subframe 3 being configured with slot format 1 (with all UL) . While subframes 3, 4 are shown with slot formats 1, 28, respectively, any particular subframe may be configured with any of the various available slot formats 0-61. Slot formats 0, 1 are all DL, UL, respectively. Other slot formats 2-61 include a mix of DL, UL, and flexible symbols. UEs are configured with the slot format (dynamically through DL control information (DCI) , or semi-statically/statically through radio resource control (RRC) signaling) through a received slot format indicator (SFI) . Note that the description infra applies also to a 5G NR frame structure that is TDD.

FIGs. 2A-2D illustrate a frame structure, and the aspects of the present disclosure may be applicable to other wireless communication technologies, which may have a different frame structure and/or different channels. A frame (10 ms) may be divided into 10 equally sized subframes (1 ms) . Each subframe may include one or more time slots. Subframes may also include mini-slots, which may include 7, 4, or 2 symbols. Each slot may include 14 or 12 symbols, depending on whether the cyclic prefix (CP) is normal or extended. For normal CP, each slot may include 14 symbols, and for extended CP, each slot may include 12 symbols. The symbols on DL may be CP orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) (CP-OFDM) symbols. The symbols on UL may be CP-OFDM symbols (for high throughput scenarios) or discrete Fourier transform (DFT) spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols (for power limited scenarios; limited to a single stream transmission) . The number of slots within a subframe is based on the CP and the numerology. The numerology defines the subcarrier spacing (SCS) (see Table 1) . The symbol length/duration may scale with 1/SCS.

Table 1: Numerology, SCS, and CP

For normal CP (14 symbols/slot) , different numerologies μ 0 to 4 allow for 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 slots, respectively, per subframe. For extended CP, the numerology 2 allows for 4 slots per subframe. Accordingly, for normal CP and numerology μ, there are 14 symbols/slot and 2^μ slots/subframe. The subcarrier spacing may be equal to 2μ*15 kHz, where μ is the numerology 0 to 4. As such, the numerology μ=0 has a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz and the numerology μ=4 has a subcarrier spacing of 240 kHz. The symbol length/duration is inversely related to the subcarrier spacing. FIGs. 2A-2D provide an example of normal CP with 14 symbols per slot and numerology μ=2 with 4 slots per subframe. The slot duration is 0.25 ms, the subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz, and the symbol duration is approximately 16.67 μs. Within a set of frames, there may be one or more different bandwidth parts (BWPs) (see FIG. 2B) that are frequency division multiplexed. Each BWP may have a particular numerology and CP (normal or extended) .

A resource grid may be used to represent the frame structure. Each time slot includes a resource block (RB) (also referred to as physical RBs (PRBs) ) that extends 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid is divided into multiple resource elements (REs) . The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

As illustrated in FIG. 2A, some of the REs carry reference (pilot) signals (RS) for the UE.The RS may include demodulation RS (DM-RS) (indicated as R for one particular configuration, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) and channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) for channel estimation at the UE. The RS may also include beam measurement RS (BRS) , beam refinement RS (BRRS) , and phase tracking RS (PT-RS) .

FIG. 2B illustrates an example of various DL channels within a subframe of a frame. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries DCI within one or more control channel elements (CCEs) (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 CCEs) , each CCE including six RE groups (REGs) , each REG including 12 consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol of an RB. A PDCCH within one BWP may be referred to as a control resource set (CORESET) . A UE is configured to monitor PDCCH candidates in a PDCCH search space (e.g., common search space, UE-specific search space) during PDCCH monitoring occasions on the CORESET, where the PDCCH candidates have different DCI formats and different aggregation levels. Additional BWPs may be located at greater and/or lower frequencies across the channel bandwidth. A primary synchronization signal (PSS) may be within symbol 2 of particular subframes of a frame. The PSS is used by a UE 104 to determine subframe/symbol timing and a physical layer identity. A secondary synchronization signal (SSS) may be within symbol 4 of particular subframes of a frame. The SSS is used by a UE to determine a physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine a physical cell identifier (PCI) . Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the locations of the DM-RS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH) , which carries a master information block (MIB) , may be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form a synchronization signal (SS) /PBCH block (also referred to as SS block (SSB) ) . The MIB provides a number of RBs in the system bandwidth and a system frame number (SFN) . The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted through the PBCH such as system information blocks (SIBs) , and paging messages.

As illustrated in FIG. 2C, some of the REs carry DM-RS (indicated as R for one particular configuration, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) for channel estimation at the base station. The UE may transmit DM-RS for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and DM-RS for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) . The PUSCH DM-RS may be transmitted in the first one or two symbols of the PUSCH. The PUCCH DM-RS may be transmitted in different configurations depending on whether short or long PUCCHs are transmitted and depending on the particular PUCCH format used. The UE may transmit sounding reference signals (SRS) . The SRS may be transmitted in the last symbol of a subframe. The SRS may have a comb structure, and a UE may transmit SRS on one of the combs. The SRS may be used by a base station for channel quality estimation to enable frequency-dependent scheduling on the UL.

FIG. 2D illustrates an example of various UL channels within a subframe of a frame. The PUCCH may be located as indicated in one configuration. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI) , such as scheduling requests, a channel quality indicator (CQI) , a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) , a rank indicator (RI) , and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment (ACK) (HARQ-ACK) feedback (i.e., one or more HARQ ACK bits indicating one or more ACK and/or negative ACK (NACK) ) . The PUSCH carries data, and may additionally be used to carry a buffer status report (BSR) , a power headroom report (PHR) , and/or UCI.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a base station 310 in communication with a UE 350 in an access network. In the DL, Internet protocol (IP) packets may be provided to a controller/processor 375. The controller/processor 375 implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality. Layer 3 includes a radio resource control (RRC) layer, and layer 2 includes a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium access control (MAC) layer. The controller/processor 375 provides RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., MIB, SIBs) , RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release) , inter radio access technology (RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression /decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification) , and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer packet data units (PDUs) , error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs) , re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs) , demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

The transmit (TX) processor 316 and the receive (RX) processor 370 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, which includes a physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding/decoding of the transport channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, modulation/demodulation of physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. The TX processor 316 handles mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) , quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) , M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK) , M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM) ) . The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an OFDM subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and/or frequency domain, and then combined together using an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator 374 may be used to determine the coding and modulation scheme, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimate may be derived from a reference signal and/or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 350. Each spatial stream may then be provided to a different antenna 320 via a separate transmitter 318Tx. Each transmitter 318Tx may modulate a radio frequency (RF) carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

At the UE 350, each receiver 354Rx receives a signal through its respective antenna 352. Each receiver 354Rx recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the receive (RX) processor 356. The TX processor 368 and the RX processor 356 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The RX processor 356 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 350. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 350, they may be combined by the RX processor 356 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The RX processor 356 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time-domain to the frequency domain using a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) . The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, and the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by the base station 310. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates computed by the channel estimator 358. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals that were originally transmitted by the base station 310 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to the controller/processor 359, which implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality.

The controller/processor 359 can be associated with at least one memory 360 that stores program codes and data. The at least one memory 360 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller/processor 359 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets. The controller/processor 359 is also responsible for error detection using an ACK and/or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations.

Similar to the functionality described in connection with the DL transmission by the base station 310, the controller/processor 359 provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIBs) acquisition, RRC connections, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression /decompression, and security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification) ; RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto TBs, demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator 358 from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 310 may be used by the TX processor 368 to select the appropriate coding and modulation schemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the TX processor 368 may be provided to different antenna 352 via separate transmitters 354Tx. Each transmitter 354Tx may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

The UL transmission is processed at the base station 310 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver function at the UE 350. Each receiver 318Rx receives a signal through its respective antenna 320. Each receiver 318Rx recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to a RX processor 370.

The controller/processor 375 can be associated with at least one memory 376 that stores program codes and data. The at least one memory 376 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller/processor 375 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets. The controller/processor 375 is also responsible for error detection using an ACK and/or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations.

At least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller/processor 359 may be configured to perform aspects in connection with the QCL bundling component 198 of FIG. 1.

At least one of the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller/processor 375 may be configured to perform aspects in connection with the QCL bundling component 199 of FIG. 1.

Example aspects presented herein provide methods and apparatus for configuring or indicating QCL for PDSCH without relying on a tracking reference signal (TRS) . In some examples, multiple PDSCHs may be categorized to a group and share the same QCL while not linked to a TRS.

In some wireless communication, including NR, the demodulation reference signal (DMRS) of the PDSCH may have a QCL association with a TRS with respect to the QCL type A properties, such as the Doppler shift, the Doppler spread, the average delay, and the delay spread. When a QCL association exists between two signals, such as the DMRS of the PDSCH and the TRS, the two signals may be described as being “QCLed. ” For example, the DMRS of the PDSCH may be referred to as being “QCLed” with the TRS with respect to QCL type A properties. The QCL association between the DMRS of the PDSCH and the TRS may be either direct or indirect.

The transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state of the PDSCH may be associated with a reference signal of either a TRS or a CSI-RS resource. In situations where the reference signal has a CSI-RS resource, the TCI state of the CSI-RS may have a reference signal of the TRS.

A TCI state may include quasi co-location (QCL) information that the UE can use to derive timing/frequency error and/or transmission/reception spatial filtering for transmitting/receiving a signal. Two antenna ports are said to be quasi co-located if properties of the channel over which a symbol on one antenna port is conveyed can be inferred from the channel over which a symbol on the other antenna port is conveyed. The base station may indicate a TCI state to the UE as a transmission configuration that indicates QCL relationships between one signal (e.g., a reference signal) and the signal to be transmitted/received. For example, a TCI state may indicate a QCL relationship between DL RSs in one RS set and PDSCH/PDCCH DM-RS ports. TCI states can provide information about different beam selections for the UE to use for transmitting/receiving various signals.

Before receiving a TCI state, a UE may assume that the antenna ports of one DM-RS port group of a PDSCH are spatially quasi-co-located (QCLed) with an SSB determined in the initial access procedure with respect to one or more of: a Doppler shift, a Doppler spread, an average delay, a delay spread, a set of spatial Rx parameters, or the like. After receiving the new TCI state, the UE may assume that the antenna ports of one DM-RS port group of a PDSCH of a serving cell are QCLed with the RS (s) in the RS set with respect to the QCL type parameter (s) given by the indicated TCI state. Regarding the QCL types, QCL type A may include the Doppler shift, the Doppler spread, the average delay, and the delay spread; QCL type B may include the Doppler shift and the Doppler spread; QCL type C may include the Doppler shift and the average delay; and QCL type D may include the spatial Rx parameters (e.g., associated with beam information such as beamforming properties for finding a beam) .

In some examples, the TCI state may be defined for DL signals or channels. In some examples, a maximum of 128 TCI states may be configured through the RRC. In some examples, up to eight TCI states (e.g., up to eight of the previously RRC configured TCI states) may be activated by a medium access control –control element (MAC-CE) , and the eight TCI states may be mapped to eight TCI codepoints in the DCI (e.g., in the DCI formats 1_1/1_2) . Then, the base station may send a DCI to a UE to indicate one of the activated TCI states for the UE to use for communication with the base station. When a single TCI state is activated, the UE may use the TCI state for communication without a further indication via the DCI. In this scenario, the single TCI state may be applicable to all PDSCHs. The DCI may indicate one of the activated TCI states through a TCI field. In some examples, the indication by DCI may be applicable for the scheduled PDSCH (e.g., the PDSCH that is scheduled by the DCI carrying the TCI state indication) and may not apply to other PDSCHs.

FIG. 4 is a diagram 400 illustrating an example of TCI states activation/deactivation for UE-specific PDSCH MAC-CE. In FIG. 4, the TCI state activation/deactivation may be indicated by the fields T₀ 402, T₁ 404, T₂ 406, etc.

In some examples, a unified TCI framework may be defined. In the unified TCI framework, the TCI state indication by the DCI may be “sticky, ” meaning that it is not related to the scheduled PDSCH and is not a one-time instruction. When the TCI state indication is applied, it may remain the same for the applicable channels or signals until a different TCI state is indicated by another DCI format 1_1/1_2. The application time for this indication may be the first slot that is at least Y symbols (the value of Y may be RRC-configured based on UE capability) after the last symbol of the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) that carries the hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) in response to the DCI. This TCI state indication, even if presented in the DL DCI formats 1_1/1_2, may be applicable for the uplink or both uplink and downlink, based on whether a separate or joint DL/UL TCI state is configured. Additionally, this indication may be applied for multiple DL channels or signals, such as the PDSCH, PDCCH, and CSI-RS, and multiple UL channels or signals, such as the PUSCH, PUCCH, and SRS.

FIG. 5A is a diagram 500 illustrating an example of TCI state activation. In the example of FIG. 5A, assuming a MAC-CE has activated two or more TCI states, these two or more TCI states may be respectively mapped to two or more TCI codepoints (e.g., TCI field codepoint 502) in the DCI 504. The DCI 504 may have a format of DCI format 1_1/1_2 and may schedule a PDSCH 506. The indicated TCI states may be applied to the PDSCH 506.

FIG. 5B is a diagram 550 illustrating an example of TCI state activation based on the unified TCI framework. In the example of FIG. 5B, assuming a MAC-CE has activated two or more TCI states, these two or more TCI states may be respectively mapped to two or more TCI codepoints (e.g., TCI field codepoint 552) in the DCI 554. The DCI 554 may have a format of DCI format 1_1/1_2, and the DCI 554 may or may not schedule a PDSCH. The application time for the one or more TCI states may be the first slot that is at least Y symbols after the last symbol of the PUCCH 556 that carries the HARQ-ACK in response to the DCI 554. The one or more TCI states may be applied to DL channels or signals, UL channels or signals, or to both, depending on the type of TCI field codepoint.

In some examples, TCI frameworks may be based on the DMRS of PDSCH to be QCLed with a TRS with respect to the QCL type A properties. This arrangement, however, may present challenges in terms of scalability and multi-TRP operations. For example, in dynamic point selection (DPS) , different PDSCHs may be transmitted from different TRPs (e.g., for load balancing purposes) . Hence, N candidate TRPs may be based on N TRS’s or TCI states.

In some examples, in a single-frequency network (SFN) or coherent joint transmission (CJT) , different PDSCHs may be transmitted from different subsets of TRPs. For a PDSCH from a specific subset of M TRPs, each DMRS port may be associated with all M TRS’s or TCI states. If there are N candidate TRPs and the maximum number of TRPs for a single PDSCH transmission is M, the system would either involve N TRS’s or TCI states together with a signaling mechanism to indicate M out of N TCI states, or a total ofTRS’s or TCI states, where each TRS is associated with a subset of TRPs.

Hence, on one hand, the UE might support a large number of active TCI states (e.g., the TCI states activated by MAC-CE) to ensure that the DCI may indicate the desired TCI state (s) depending on the TRP or the subset of TRPs that are transmitting to the UE.This approach would increase the UE’s complexity and may lead to complicated signaling, especially when M is larger than 2 for SFN or CJT. On the other hand, an alternative approach would be for the MAC-CE to change the active TCI state (s) . However, this would introduce additional latency and overhead.

In some scenarios (e.g., in cases of large RB allocation or high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regimes) and especially in the FR1 frequency range, the impact on DMRS channel estimation performance due to not having the QCL properties from a TRS may not be significant. Under these conditions, a UE may obtain delay and Doppler properties from the PDSCH DMRS directly, and use it for future PDSCHs. This approach may enable the operations in which at least some of the PDSCHs are not QCLed with a TRS. Instead, these PDSCHs may be QCLed with each other. As a result, the UE may establish a QCL profile for these PDSCHs and refine the QCL profile progressively as the UE receives more of these PDSCHs over time, eliminating the need for a TRS. As more of these PDSCHs are received by the UE, the initial performance degradation of DMRS channel estimation (due to not being QCLed with a TRS) may be alleviated.

Meanwhile, other PDSCHs, such as broadcast PDSCHs or PDSCHs from the anchor or serving TRP, may still be QCLed with a TRS. Hence, this differentiation may cause the UE to distinguish different types of PDSCH (e.g., whether a PDSCH is QCLed with a TRS) .

In addition to signaling simplification and the reduction in overhead and complexity, allowing some of the PDSCHs to be QCLed with each other may lead to energy conservation within the network. For example, an idle TRP (e.g., TRP B) might not need to transmit TRS, yet it is still able to send PDSCH to a UE with anchor TRP (e.g., TRP A) for load balancing purposes, for example.

Based on the challenges and insights described above, example aspects presented herein propose methods and apparatus for configuring QCL for PDSCH without relying on a TRS.

In some aspects, the network may indicate for a UE to assume the same QCL assumption across multiple PDSCHs, even when these PDSCHs are not QCLed with a TRS. Being not QCLed with a TRS means that these PDSCHs are not associated with a TCI state where the TRS serves as the reference signal. For these PDSCHs, indicating a reference signal via indicating a corresponding TCI state becomes unnecessary.

In some aspects, the same QCL assumption across multiple PDSCHs, without being QCLed with a TRS, can be applicable in various scenarios.

In a first example scenario, the same QCL assumption may be applicable to the QCL type A properties. These properties may include Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread.

Alternatively, in a second example scenario, the same QCL assumption may be applicable to a subset of the QCL type A properties. In one example, the subset of QCL type A properties may include Doppler shift and Doppler spread. In another example, the subset of QCL type A properties may include average delay and delay spread. For any QCL properties that are not in the subset, the QCL relationship (or the QCL association) with the TRS or based on a TCI state might be assumed. The subset of the QCL type A properties may be configured by the network. For example, the network may provide a subset configuration to the UE, and the subset configuration may indicate the subset of QCL type A properties.

The following examples elaborate the use of a subset of QCL type A properties when configuring QCL for the PDSCHs.

In one example, the subset of QCL type A properties may include delay properties, such as average delay and delay spread. The UE may assume that the PDSCHs are QCLed with each other (i.e., have QCL associations with each other) with respect to the delay properties (e.g., average delay and delay spread) . In this example, a TRS is not used for delay properties (e.g., average delay and delay spread) . However, the TRS may be used with respect to Doppler properties (e.g., Doppler shift and Doppler spread) . This approach may be used in scenarios of Doppler pre-compensation. For example, when the TRS is from a first TRP (e.g., TRP1) and multiple PDSCHs are from a second TRP (e.g., TRP2) , TRP2 may pre-compensate the Doppler. As a result, while the TRS is used for these PDSCHs for Doppler properties, it is not used for delay properties.

In another example, the subset of QCL type A properties may include the Doppler properties, such as Doppler shift and Doppler spread, and the UE may assume that these PDSCHs are QCLed with each other (have QCL associations with each other) with respect to the Doppler properties (e.g., Doppler shift and Doppler spread) . In this example, a TRS may not be used for Doppler properties (e.g., Doppler shift and Doppler spread) but may be used for delay properties (e.g., average delay and delay spread) . Such a setup can be advantageous for delay pre-compensation. For example, if the TRS is from the first TRP (e.g., TRP1) and multiple PDSCHs are from the second TRP (e.g., TRP2) , the second TRP (e.g., TRP2) may pre-compensate the delay. Hence, the TRS may be used for these PDSCHs for delay properties (e.g., average delay and delay spread) and may not be used for Doppler properties (e.g., Doppler shift and Doppler spread) .

In some aspects, the PDSCHs that are not QCLed with a TRS (e.g., not having a QCL association with a TRS) within the same component carrier (CC) may be categorized into one or more groups. These groups may be referred to as “QCL groups” in this application for description purposes.

In one grouping configuration, all PDSCHs that are not QCLed with a TRS may be QCLed with each other (e.g., have QCL associations with each other) , forming a single QCL group. In this grouping configuration, the UE may maintain a single QCL profile at any given time corresponding to the single QCL group, and the UE may still have other QCL profiles associated with one or more TRSs, which may be separate from this QCL profile. In some examples, the single QCL profile might be reset (e.g., undergo a reset operation, details of which will be described later) and, at any given time, the UE may maintain one QCL profile corresponding to the single QCL group.

In another grouping configuration, the PDSCHs that are not QCLed with a TRS may be categorized into multiple QCL groups. In this grouping configuration, PDSCHs may be QCLed with each other if they belong to the same QCL group. In this grouping configuration, there may be no QCL connection (or QCL association) between PDSCHs in differing groups. This segregation may be useful when multiple TRPs (without any associated TRS being configured for the UE) transmit to the UE while the UE may maintain the QCL properties based on PDSCHs from the same TRP. As a result, the UE may not need to reset the QCL properties every time the TRP changes. In this grouping configuration, the UE may maintain multiple (e.g., N) different QCL profiles corresponding to the multiple (e.g., N) QCL groups, and the UE may still have other QCL profiles associated with one or more TRSs, which may be separate from these multiple (e.g., N) QCL profiles.

In another grouping configuration, there may be a dedicated group designated for PDSCHs that are not QCLed with any other PDSCH or any TRS (e.g., no QCL association with any other PDSCH or any TRS) . These PDSCHs may be referred to as “orphan PDSCHs” in this application. This dedicated group may correspond to self-contained or one-shot QCL PDSCHs. The QCL properties for DMRS channel estimation may be obtained from the DMRS itself without relying on a TRS or any DMRS of previously scheduled PDSCHs. In this grouping configuration, the UE may not need to maintain any QCL profile for this dedicated group since it operates on a one-shot basis.

In some examples, the dedicated group may be implemented independently, not in combination with any other grouping configurations described above. In such cases, a PDSCH is either QCLed with a TRS or not QCLed with any TRS or any other PDSCH. In some other examples, the dedicated group may be implemented in combination with one or more other grouping configurations described above. In this combined setup, the PDSCHs that are QCLed with each other (in one or multiple QCL groups) may be differentiated from the orphan PDSCHs within the dedicated group, and also from PDSCHs that are QCLed with a TRS.

Example aspects presented herein further provide signaling details and resetting mechanisms (e.g., to determine which PDSCHs are QCLed) for configuring QCL for PDSCHs without relying on a TRS.

In one signaling configuration, the signaling mechanism may be based on indications in the scheduling DCI for dynamic scheduling PDSCH or activating DCI for semi-persistent scheduling PDSCH. For example, in the scenario where the PDSCHs that are not QCLed with a TRS are categorized into a single group, the DCI may indicate whether the scheduled PDSCH is associated with a TCI state (i.e., whether it is QCLed with a TRS) or not. A new field in the DCI (which may be 1 bit) or an existing TCI field in the DCI may be used for this indication. If an existing TCI field is used, the reserved codepoint of this TCI field may indicate “no TCI state. ” As used herein, the codepoint of the TCI field may be the information bits in DCI (or MAC-CE) to indicate the TCI states, such as the TCI field codepoints 502 and 552.

In the scenarios where the PDSCHs that are not QCLed with a TRS are categorized into multiple groups, the DCI, in addition to indicating whether a schedule PDSCH is associated with a TCI state, may further specify a group index. A new field in the DCI or an existing TCI field in the DCI may be used for this indication. If a new field is used, the new field may indicate the group index. For example, if there are N groups, bits may be needed to indicate the group index. Alternatively, N codepoints of the existing TCI field may be used to indicate the absence of a TCI state ( “no TCI state” ) and the group index.

In the scenarios where there is a dedicated group for PDSCHs that are not QCLed with any other PDSCH or any TRS (i.e., orphan PDSCHs) , such dedicated group may be indicated, and there may be no QCL assumption between PDSCHs in this group. Hence, when the dedicated group is implemented independently and not in combination with any other grouping configurations, the DCI may indicate one of two possibility for a PDSCH (i.e., whether the PDSCH belongs to the dedicated group or not) . When the dedicated group is implemented with the grouping configuration where all PDSCHs that are not QCLed with a TRS are categorized into one single group, the DCI may indicate one of three possibility for a PDSCH (i.e., whether the PDSCH belongs to the dedicated group, the single group that includes all the remaining PDSCHs that are not QCLed with a TRS, or the group associated with a TRS) . When the dedicated group is implemented with the grouping configuration where all PDSCHs that are not QCLed with a TRS are categorized into multiple (e.g., N) groups, the DCI may indicate one of N+2 possibility for a PDSCH (i.e., whether the PDSCH belongs to the dedicated group, one of the N groups that includes all the remaining PDSCHs that are not QCLed with a TRS, or the group associated with a TRS) . The DCI’s indication may be achieved either through a new field, which might be 1 bit, 2 bits, orits, or by some codepoints (e.g., 1 codepoint, 2 codepoints, or N+1 codepoints) within an existing TCI field.

In some aspects, when the signaling mechanism is based on indications in the DCI, a reset mechanism may be provided for grouping configurations where all the PDSCHs that are not QCLed with a TRS are categorized into one or multiple groups. In some examples, a bit in the DCI may be termed the “reset indicator. ” This bit may indicate to reset based on its toggling behavior compared to its previous state. For example, if this bit undergoes toggling, transitioning either from 0 to 1 or vice versa, the bit may initiate a reset. On the other hand, if the bit remains consistent with its previous state, no reset occurs. FIG. 6 is a diagram 600 illustrating an example of a reset operation on a QCL group in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In FIG. 6, multiple PDSCHs may be categorized into two groups (group 0 and group 1) based on the TRPs associated with the PDSCHs. For example, group 0 may be associated with TRP A 602, and group 1 may be associated with TRP B 604. If there is a change of TRP from TRP B 604 to TRP C 606 for group 1, then a reset operation may be needed on group 1 due to the change of TRP.

For the grouping configuration where all the PDSCHs that are not QCLed with a TRS are categorized into multiple groups, the reset indicator may be associated with individual groups. Therefore, resetting one group doesn’ t inadvertently impact other groups. Additionally, the reset may not applicable to PDSCHs in the dedicated group (i.e., the group for orphan PDSCHs) as these PDSCHs operate in a standalone manner, or the PDSCHs QCLed with a TRS. As a result, the reset indicator may be ignored if the reset indicator indicates the dedicated group for reset or if a TCI state with a reference signal as TRS is indicated for the PDSCH.

When performing the reset operation, any scheduled PDSCH may not be QCLed with any previously scheduled PDSCH. That is, the reset operation may include disassociating the QCL association of the PDSCH in the QCL group with any PDSCH preceding the PDSCH. Hence, the corresponding QCL profile may undergo a reset and may be refined based on this PDSCH and subsequent PDSCH until the next reset is executed within the same group. The motivations behind the reset mechanism may differ for different grouping configurations. For the grouping configuration where all PDSCHs that are not QCLed with a TRS are categorized into a single QCL group, the reset might be used when there is a change in the serving TRP. On the other hand, for the grouping configuration where the PDSCHs that are not QCLed with a TRS may be categorized into multiple QCL groups, the reset may be used when a serving TRP is not going to be used for a long time or if the number of groups is smaller than the number of TRPs.

FIG. 7 is a diagram 700 illustrating an example reset process in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 7, the PDSCHs that are not QCLed with a TRS are categorized into two QCL groups (e.g., group 0 and group 1) , and there is no dedicated group for orphan PDSCHs. In FIG. 7, the PDSCH associated with group 0, such as PDSCHs 702, 704, and 706, may be QCLed with each other (at 730) . The group 0 may perform a reset operation at 720. The reset operation at 720 may disassociate the QCL association of the PDSCH (e.g., PDSCH 708) in the group 0 with any PDSCH preceding the PDSCH. As a result, PDSCH 708 will not be QCLed with preceding PDSCH, such as PDSCHs 702, 704, or 706. Instead, PDSCH 708 may be QCLed with a PDSCH after the reset operation, such as PDSCH 710 (e.g., at 740) .

In another signaling configuration, the signaling mechanism may be based on the unified TCI framework. In some aspects, a TCI state without any associated downlink reference signal (DL-RS) , which may be referred to as a “floating TCI state, ” may be configured to the UE. In some examples, multiple such floating TCI states may be configured, and each of these states may include additional information, either indicating a group index (e.g., for the grouping configuration where the PDSCHs that are not QCLed with a TRS are categorized into multiple QCL groups) or specifying its affiliation to the dedicated group for orphan PDSCHs. In some examples, either a MAC-CE or DCI (not necessarily the scheduling DCI) may indicate a TCI state to be applied. The application time for the TCI state may be defined as a certain number (e.g., Y) of symbols or slots after the HARQ-ACK associated with the PDSCH carrying the MAC-CE or associated with the DCI.

In some examples, if the indicated TCI state is a regular TCI state (e.g., the one with associated DL-RS) , regular QCL operations (e.g., TRS-based QCL) may be assumed after the application time. On the other hand, if the indicated TCI state is a floating TCI state without any associated DL-RS, the PDSCHs after the application time may not be QCLed with a TRS. Furthermore, if the TCI state is not associated with the dedicated group for orphan PDSCHs, all PDSCHs after the application time may be QCLed with each other, at least until a different TCI state without any associated DL-RS is indicated. On the other hand, if the TCI state is associated with the dedicated group for orphan PDSCHs, the PDSCHs after the application time may not be QCLed with each other and may not be QCLed with a TRS, at least until a different TCI state without associated with any DL-RS is indicated.

FIG. 8A is a diagram 800 illustrating an example of the signaling mechanism based on the unified TCI framework in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In FIG. 8A, a floating TCI state 802 may be indicated, via MAC-CE or DCI, to the UE. The float TCI state 802 may indicate a group index identifying one QCL group from multiple QCL groups (to which the PDSCHs that are not QCLed with a TRS are categorized into) the floating TCI state 802 may be applicable. After the application time 806, which may be Y symbols or slots after the HARQ-ACK 804 associated with the PDSCH carrying the MAC-CE or associated with the DCI, the PDSCHs may not be QCLed with a TRS. Instead, these PDSCH may be QCLed with each other. In some examples, the UE may receive another TCI state 808 (e.g., via MAC-CE or DCI) , which may be a regular TCI state. After the application time 812 associated with the TCI state 808, which may be Y symbols or slots after the HARQ-ACK 810, the PDSCHs may be QCLed with a TRS.

FIG. 8B is a diagram 850 illustrating an example of the signaling mechanism based on the unified TCI framework in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In FIG. 8B, a floating TCI state 852 may be indicated, via MAC-CE or DCI, to the UE. The float TCI state 852 may be associated with the dedicated group for orphan PDSCHs. After the application time 856, which may be Y symbols or slots after the HARQ-ACK 854 associated with the PDSCH carrying the MAC-CE or associated with the DCI, the PDSCHs may not be QCLed with a TRS and may not be QCLed with any other PDSCH. In some examples, the UE may receive another TCI state 858 (e.g., via MAC-CE or DCI) , which may be a regular TCI state. After the application time 862 associated with the TCI state 858, which may be Y symbols or slots after the HARQ-ACK 860, the PDSCHs may be QCLed with a TRS.

In some aspects, when the signaling mechanism is based on the unified TCI framework, a reset mechanism may be provided.

In some aspects, when a current TCI state different from the previous TCI state is indicated and the current TCI state is a floating TCI one, the UE may reset the QCL profile. As a result, the PDSCHs after the application time may not be QCLed with any prior PDSCH. In some examples, a group index may not be indicated in this scenario. In some aspects, the decision on whether to initiate a reset operation may be indicated by the same MAC-CE or DCI that indicates this floating TCI state. Such a reset operation may be applied as per the group index. For example, if the MAC-CE or DCI indicates not to reset, it implies that the PDSCHs after the application time may be QCLed with each other, but also be QCLed with prior PDSCHs associated with the same floating TCI state (for the same group index) . On the other hand, if the MAC-CE or DCI indicates to reset, the UE may reset the QCL profile. As a result, the PDSCHs after the application time may not be QCLed with any prior PDSCH. In some aspects, there may not any reset mechanism provided. In this case, the means to switch the TRP is to allow multiple groups, based on the grouping configuration where all the PDSCHs that are not QCLed with a TRS are categorized into multiple groups.

In one signaling configuration, the signaling mechanism may be based on time domain windows. The signaling mechanism based on unified TCI framework may be considered as a specific example of the signaling mechanism based on time domain windows. However, the signaling mechanism based on time domain windows may have a more expansive scope and may not be limited to the unified TCI framework. In this approach, the start and end points (or the duration) of a time domain window may be signaled through various means, such as RRC, MAC-CE, or DCI. The time domain window may be defined in term of a certain number of consecutive slots.

In some examples, the time domain window (or the time window) may be associated with a group index (for the grouping configuration where the PDSCHs that are not QCLed with a TRS are categorized into multiple groups) or with a dedicated group for orphan PDSCHs (for the grouping configuration where there is a dedicated group for orphan PDSCHs) . The QCL assumption for PDSCHs within the time domain window may be made according to various schemes.

In one scheme, the QCL assumption for PDSCHs in the time domain window may be related to whether the PDSCHs are QCLed with a TRS. In some examples, the PDSCHs in the time window may not be QCLed with a TRS. In some examples, the UE may be further indicated on whether a PDSCH within the time window is QCLed with TRS or not. This indication may be separate from the time window indication, and the scheduling DCI may be used for such an indication. In some examples, the UE may be indicated, as part of the time domain window indication, on whether a PDSCH within the time window is QCLed with TRS or not. Here, the QCL status regarding a TRS for PDSCHs (i.e., whether a PDSCH is QCLed with a TRS) is a property of the time domain window. As a result, either all PDSCHs in the time domain window are QCLed with TRS or none of the PDSCHs in the time domain windows is QCLed with TRS.

In some aspects, if the time domain window is not associated with the dedicated group for orphan PDSCHs, the PDSCHs that are not QCLed with TRS may be QCLed with each other. This QCL relationship can either be reset or maintained based on various parameters. When the QCL profile is reset, the PDSCHs may not be QCLed with PDSCHs in the previous time domain windows. However, if the QCL profile is not reset, the PDSCHs may be QCLed with PDSCHs in the previous time domain window that has the same group index. The decision to reset or not may be signaled per time domain window, may be a common configuration for all windows, or may be based on a preset rule applicable across all windows.

In some examples, when the time domain window is associated with the dedicated group for orphan PDSCHs, any PDSCH in that time window that is not QCLed with TRS may not be QCLed with other PDSCHs.

FIG. 9 is a diagram 900 illustrating an example of the signaling mechanism based on the time domain window in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 9, it may be assumed that there are two QCL groups for the PDSCHs that are not QCLed with the TRS and there is a dedicated group for orphan PDSCHs. In FIG. 9, various time domain windows may be defined, such as time domain windows 912, 914, 916, 918, and 920. The slots may be categorized into different slot types according to these time domain windows. These slot types may include, for example, slot type 1 902 for the first QCL group, slot type 2 904 for the second QCL group, slot type 3 906 for the dedicated group for orphan PDSCHs, and slot type 4 908 that is not associated with a time domain window. The PDSCHs in different slot types may have different QCL association or relationship with the TRS or other PDSCHs. For example, the PDSCHs in slot type 1 902 may not be QCLed with a TRS, but may be QCLed with other PDSCHs in slot type 1 902 (assuming there is not reset operation performed) , the PDSCHs in slot type 2 904 may not be QCLed with a TRS, but may be QCLed with other PDSCHs in slot type 2 904 (assuming there is not reset operation performed) , the PDSCHs in slot type 3 906 may not be QCLed with either the TRS or any other PDSCH, and the PDSCHs in slot type 4 908 may be QCL with the TRS.

In some aspects, for the grouping configurations where the PDSCHs that are not QCLed with a TRS are categorized into one or multiple QCL groups, in addition to the reset mechanisms, the UE may further receive instructions on whether it is to refine or update the QCL profile for future PDSCHs. In some examples, even though the UE may maintain its current QCL profile for DMRS channel estimation of the current PDSCH, the UE may not use the QCL properties of the current PDSCHs for the future PDSCHs in the same group. This strategy may be beneficial for the scenarios where, due to a small number of resource blocks (RBs) allocated for the PDSCH, updating the QCL profile based on this PDSCH might inadvertently reduce the accuracy. In this case, the particular PDSCH may be QCLed with previous PDSCHs in the same group. However, it may not be QCLed with subsequent PDSCHs within that same group.

FIG. 10 is a diagram 1000 illustrating an example of QCL profile update in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In FIG. 10, PDSCH 3 1006 may be QCLed with PDSCH 1 1002 and PDSCH 2 1004. However, the UE may be indicated not to use PDSCH 3 1006 for future PDSCH. That is PDSCH 3 1006 may not be QCLed with a future PDSCH, such as PDSCH 4 1008. Meanwhile, PDSCH 4 1008 may be QCLed with PDSCH 1 1002 and PDSCH 2 1004 and the subsequent PDSCHs (assuming there is no reset operation performed) .

In some aspects, the QCL relationship described above (e.g., the same QCL assumption across multiple PDSCHs, without being QCLed with a TRS) may be assumed when certain conditions are satisfied.

These conditions may include one or more of: the PDSCHs are in the same CC or, if they are in different CCs, they are at least in the same frequency band, the PDSCHs are unicast or multicast (not broadcast, such as via system information blocks (SIB) or random access response (RAR) PDSCH) , the number of RBs associated with any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs is larger than a first threshold, the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) of any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs is larger than a second threshold, the number of DMRS symbols of any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs is larger than a third threshold, or the number of layers of any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs is less than a fourth threshold. The thresholds (e.g., the first threshold, the second threshold, the third threshold, and the fourth threshold) may be fixed in wireless communication standards or may be configured based on the network’s configuration. In some examples, such configurations may also be based on the by recommendations from the UE.

In some aspects, the UE may indicate its capability to support of the QCL bundling features (e.g., the capability to group multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups) . Furthermore, the UE may indicate the number of groups of PDSCHs that may not be QCLed with TRS. This number may correspond to the number of QCL profiles to be maintained. The larger this number, the larger the memory and computational demand on the system.

In some aspects, the UE may indicate whether it supports the reset operation of a QCL profile or a specific group. Resetting a QCL profile may imply starting the construction of the QCL profile from the beginning, which may lead to added complexity. In some aspects, the UE may indicate its capability to support the dedicated group for orphan PDSCHs (i.e., the PDSCHs that are not QCLed with TRS and not QCLed with any other PDSCH) . The channel estimation accuracy may be based on the DMRS of a singular PDSCH, which might vary depending on the UE’s implementation.

In some aspects, the UE may suggest, through UE assistance information, the conditions under which the QCL bundling feature can be utilized, configured, or signaled. Some of these conditions may include the minimum number of RBs, as the PDSCHs not associated with TRS may have performance degradation for small RB allocation and may be UE-implementation specific. Other conditions may include the minimum MCS, SINR, or RSRP since the PDSCHs not associated with TRS may have performance degradation for low SINR regime, which may depend on the UE’s implementation.

In some examples, the conditions may include the maximum number of layers, as accurate channel properties may be needed (based on TRS) for DMRS channel estimation when the number of layers is large, and the minimum and maximum number of PDSCHs that can be QCLed with each other before initiating a reset. The minimum number of PDSCHs may be specified because if the reset is frequent (due to a small number of PDSCHs that are allowed to be QCLed before a reset) , the UE may need to start building a QCL profile from the beginning frequently, resulting in reduced efficiency. The performance loss due frequent reset may depend on the UE’s implementation.

In some examples, the conditions may further include which QCL properties, such as Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread, may be utilized without TRS. In some examples, the UE may indicate that all the properties (e.g., Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread) for DMRS channel estimation may be utilized without TRS. In some examples, the UE may indicate that the Doppler properties (e.g., Doppler shift and Doppler spread) for DMRS channel estimation may be utilized without TRS, and the delay properties (e.g., average delay and delay spread) for DMRS channel estimation would still rely on TRS.

FIG. 11 is a call flow diagram 1100 illustrating a method of wireless communication in accordance with various aspects of this present disclosure. Various aspects are described in connection with a UE 1102 and a base station 1104. The aspects may be performed by the UE 1102 or the base station 1104 in aggregation and/or by one or more components of a base station 1104 (e.g., such as a CU 110, a DU 130, and/or an RU 140) .

As shown in FIG. 11, at 1106, a UE 1102 may transmit, to the base station 1104, a UE capability indicator. The UE capability indicator may indicate the capability of the UE for grouping the multiple PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups.

At 1108, the UE 1102 may transmit, to the base station 1104, UE assistance information. The UE assistance information may be related to the grouping of the multiple PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups. For example, the UE assistance information may include one or more conditions under which the PDSCHs grouping may be performed. These conditions may include one or more of: the number of the one or more QCL groups, the reset capability of the UE, the support for the orphan PDSCH group, the minimum number of RBs for any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCH, the minimum number of MCS, SINR, or RSRP for any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, the maximum number of layers, the minimum number of PDSCHs having the second QCL association (the QCL association with other PDSCH) , the maximum number of PDSCHs having the second QCL association (the QCL association with other PDSCH) , or the subset of QCL type A properties.

At 1110, the UE 1102 may receive, from the base station 1104, a QCL configuration (or a QCL indication) for multiple PDSCHs. For example, the UE 1102 may receive the QCL configuration or indication via RRC, DCI or a MAC-CE.

At 1112, the UE 1102 may receive, from the base station 1104, a subset configuration. The subset configuration may indicate a first subset of the QCL type A properties. In one example, the subset configuration may indicate that the first subset of the QCL type A properties include the Doppler properties, such as Doppler shift and Doppler spread. In another example, the subset configuration may indicate that the first subset of the QCL type A properties include the delay properties, such as average delay and delay spread.

At 1114, the UE 1102 may receive a first association indicator indicating an association of the schedule PDSCH with the TRS. For example, the first association indicator may indicate that the scheduled PDSCH is associated with the TRS. As a result, the scheduled PDSCH may be QCLed with the TRS.

At 1116, the UE 1102 may group, based on the QCL configuration or indication (received at 1110) , the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups. In some examples, the multiple PDSCHs may include a first subset of PDSCHs and a second subset of PDSCHs. In some examples, to group the multiple PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups, the UE may group the second subset of the PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups. In some examples, the second subset of the PDSCHs may be grouped into one QCL group, and the PDSCHs in the one QCL group may have the second QCL association independent from the TRS (e.g., the PDSCHs in the one QCL group may be QCLed with each other and not be QCLed with the TRS) . In some examples, the second subset of the PDSCHs may be grouped into multiple QCL groups, the PDSCHs in each QCL group of the multiple QCL groups may have the second QCL association with respect to one or more other PDSCHs in the QCL group (e.g., the PDSCHs in the same group may be QCLed with each other) and may have no QCL association with the PDSCHs in other QCL groups of the multiple QCL groups (e.g., the PDSCHs in one QCL group may not be QCLed with the PDSCHs in other QCL groups) .

At 1118, the UE 1102 may obtain, for all or a subset of QCL type A properties, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs based on the one or more QCL groups. For example, the QCL association for each PDSCH may include a first QCL association with respect to a TRS, or a second QCL association independent from TRS. The PDSCH with the first QCL association may be QCLed with the TRS, and the PDSCHs with the second QCL association may be QCLed with one or more other PDSCHs or the multiple PDSCHs.

At 1120, the UE 1102 may obtain one or more first QCL profiles corresponding to the first subset of the PDSCHs, and obtain one or more second QCL profiles respectively corresponding to the one or more QCL groups. The one or more second QCL profiles may respectively correspond to the one or more QCL groups and may store the QCL association for the second subset of PDSCHs in the one or more QCL groups. For example, the one or more first QCL profiles may correspond to the PDSCHs that are QCLed with the one or more TRS, and the one or more second QCL profiles may corresponding to the PDSCHs that are QCLed with each other.

At 1122, the UE 1102 may perform a reset operation on at least one QCL group. In some examples, the reset operation may be performed in response to the UE receiving a reset indicator for the at least one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups or receiving a second TCI state not associated with any DL-RS different from a previous TCI state not associated with any DL-RS. The reset operation may be performed in the at least one QCL group associated with the reset indicator and may not impact other QCL groups. In some example, the reset indication may be included in the scheduling or activation DCI. In some examples, the reset indicator may be included in the DCI or the MAC-CE indicating the second TCI state. In some examples, the reset operation may include disassociating the QCL association of the PDSCH in the at least one QCL group with any PDSCH preceding the PDSCH, and updating the QCL profile corresponding to the at least one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups.

At 1124, the base station 1104 may communicate with the base station 1104 based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs (at 1118) .

FIG. 12 is a flowchart 1200 illustrating methods of wireless communication at a UE in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The method may be performed by a UE. The UE may be the UE 104, 350, 1102, or the apparatus 1604 in the hardware implementation of FIG. 16. The methods enable a UE to configure the QCL association for multiple PDSCHs without a TRS. By allowing the PDSCHs to be QCLed with each other, instead of with the TRS, the methods reduce signaling overhead and complexity and improve the adaptability and efficiency in wireless communication, ensuring that devices can better manage a diverse range of transmission scenarios with minimal dependency on TRS.

As shown in FIG. 12, at 1202, the UE may receive, from a network entity, via RRC, DCI or a MAC-CE, a QCL configuration or indication for multiple PDSCHs. The network entity may be a base station, or a component of a base station, in the access network of FIG. 1 or a core network component (e.g., base station 102, 310, 1104; or the network entity 1602 in the hardware implementation of FIG. 16) . FIGs. 5A, 5B, 6, 7, 8A, 8B, 9, 10, and 11 illustrate various aspects in connection with flowchart 1200. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the UE 1102 may receive, at 1110, from a network entity (base station 1104) , via RRC, DCI or a MAC-CE, a QCL configuration or a QCL indication for multiple PDSCHs. In some aspects, 1202 may be performed by the QCL bundling component 198.

At 1204, the UE may group the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups based on the QCL configuration or indication. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the UE 1102 may, at 1116, group the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups based on the QCL configuration or indication. In some aspects, 1204 may be performed by the QCL bundling component 198.

At 1206, the UE may obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs based on the one or more QCL groups. The QCL association may include all or a subset of QCL type A properties. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the UE 1102 may obtain, at 1118, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs based on the one or more QCL groups. The QCL association may include all or a subset of QCL type A properties. In some aspects, 1206 may be performed by the QCL bundling component 198.

At 1208, the UE may communicate with the network entity based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the UE 1102 may, at 1124, communicate with the network entity (base station 1104) based on the QCL association (at 1118) for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs. In some aspects, 1208 may be performed by the QCL bundling component 198.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart 1300 illustrating methods of wireless communication at a UE in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The method may be performed by a UE. The UE may be the UE 104, 350, 1102, or the apparatus 1604 in the hardware implementation of FIG. 16. The methods enable a UE to configure the QCL association for multiple PDSCHs without a TRS. By allowing the PDSCHs to be QCLed with each other, instead of with the TRS, the methods reduce signaling overhead and complexity and improve the adaptability and efficiency in wireless communication, ensuring that devices can better manage a diverse range of transmission scenarios with minimal dependency on TRS.

As shown in FIG. 13, at 1306, the UE may receive, from a network entity, via RRC, DCI or a MAC-CE, a QCL configuration or indication for multiple PDSCHs. The network entity may be a base station, or a component of a base station, in the access network of FIG. 1 or a core network component (e.g., base station 102, 310, 1104; or the network entity 1602 in the hardware implementation of FIG. 16) . FIGs. 5A, 5B, 6, 7, 8A, 8B, 9, 10, and 11 illustrate various aspects in connection with flowchart 1300. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the UE 1102 may receive, at 1110, from a network entity (base station 1104) , via RRC, DCI or a MAC-CE, a QCL configuration or a QCL indication for multiple PDSCHs. In some aspects, 1306 may be performed by the QCL bundling component 198.

At 1312, the UE may group the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups based on the QCL configuration or indication. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the UE 1102 may, at 1116, group the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups based on the QCL configuration or indication. In some aspects, 1312 may be performed by the QCL bundling component 198.

At 1314, the UE may obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs based on the one or more QCL groups. The QCL association may include all or a subset of QCL type A properties. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the UE 1102 may, at 1118, obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs based on the one or more QCL groups. The QCL association may include all or a subset of QCL type A properties. In some aspects, 1314 may be performed by the QCL bundling component 198.

At 1320, the UE may communicate with the network entity based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the UE 1102 may, at 1124, communicate with the network entity (base station 1104) based on the QCL association (at 1118) for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs. In some aspects, 1320 may be performed by the QCL bundling component 198.

In some aspects, the QCL type A properties may include the Doppler shift, the Doppler spread, the average delay, and the delay spread. The QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs may include one or more of: a first QCL association with respect to a TRS, or a second QCL association independent from TRS. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the QCL type A properties (at 1118) may include the Doppler shift, the Doppler spread, the average delay, and the delay spread. The QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs may include one or more of: a first QCL association with respect to a TRS, or a second QCL association independent from TRS. For example, the PDSCHs having the first QCL association may be QCLed with the TRS, and the PDSCHs having the second QCL association may be QCLed with one or more other PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs.

In some aspects, at 1308, the UE may receive, from the network entity, a subset configuration. The subset configuration may indicate a first subset of the QCL type A properties, and to obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs (at 1314) , the UE may obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs for the first subset of the QCL type A properties. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the UE 1102 may receive, at 1112, from the network entity (base station 1104) , a subset configuration. The subset configuration may indicate a first subset of the QCL type A properties, and to obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs (at 1118) , the UE 1102 may obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs for the first subset of the QCL type A properties. In one example, the subset configuration may indicate that the first subset of the QCL type A properties include the Doppler properties, such as the Doppler shift and the Doppler spread. In another example, the subset configuration may indicate that the first subset of the QCL type A properties include the delay properties, such as the average delay and the delay spread. In some aspects, 1308 may be performed by the QCL bundling component 198.

In some aspects, each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs may have the first QCL association with respect to the TRS for a second subset of QCL type A properties, and the second subset of QCL type A properties may include the QCL type A properties not in the first subset of QCL type A properties. For example, the first subset of the QCL type A properties may include the Doppler properties, such as the Doppler shift and the Doppler spread, and the second subset of the QCL type A properties may include the delay properties, such as the average delay and the delay spread. Each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs may have the first QCL association with respect to the TRS for the second subset of QCL type A properties (e.g., the delay properties) .

In some aspects, the multiple PDSCHs may include a first subset of PDSCHs and a second subset of PDSCHs. Each PDSCH of the first subset of the PDSCHs may have the first QCL association with respect to the TRS. To group the multiple PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups (at 1312) , the UE may group the second subset of the PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the multiple PDSCHs (at 1116) may include a first subset of PDSCHs and a second subset of PDSCHs. Each PDSCH of the first subset of the PDSCHs may have the first QCL association with respect to the TRS. To group the multiple PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups (at 1116) , the UE 1102 may group the second subset of the PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups.

In some aspects, at 1316, the UE may obtain one or more first QCL profiles corresponding to the first subset of the PDSCHs; and obtain one or more second QCL profiles respectively corresponding to the one or more QCL groups. The one or more second QCL profiles may store the QCL association for the second subset of PDSCHs in the one or more QCL groups. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the UE 1102 may, at 1120, obtain one or more first QCL profiles corresponding to the first subset of the PDSCHs, and obtain one or more second QCL profiles respectively corresponding to the one or more QCL groups. The one or more second QCL profiles may store the QCL association for the second subset of the PDSCHs in the one or more QCL groups. For example, the one or more first QCL profiles may correspond to the PDSCHs that are QCLed with the one or more TRSs, and the one or more second QCL profiles may corresponding to the PDSCHs that are QCLed with each other. In some aspects, 1316 may be performed by the QCL bundling component 198.

In some aspects, to group the second subset of the PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups, the UE may group the second subset of the PDSCHs into one QCL group. The PDSCHs in the one QCL group may have the second QCL association with respect to the one or more other PDSCHs in the QCL group. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the UE 1102 may, at 1116, group the second subset of the PDSCHs into one QCL group, and the PDSCHs in the one QCL group may have the second QCL association with respect to one or more other PDSCHs in the one QCL group.

In some aspects, to group the second subset of the PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups, the UE may group the second subset of the PDSCHs into multiple QCL groups. The PDSCHs in each QCL group of the multiple QCL groups may have the second QCL association with respect to the one or more other PDSCHs in the QCL group and have no QCL association with the PDSCHs in other QCL groups of the multiple QCL groups. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the UE 1102 may, at 1116, group the second subset of the PDSCHs into multiple QCL groups. The PDSCHs in each QCL group of the multiple QCL groups may have the second QCL association with respect to the one or more other PDSCHs in the QCL group (e.g., the PDSCHs in each QCL group may be QCLed with one or more other PDSCHs in the same QCL group) and have no QCL association with the PDSCHs in other QCL groups of the multiple QCL groups (e.g., the PDSCH in each QCL group may not be QCLed with the PDSCHs in other QCL groups) .

In some aspects, the multiple QCL groups may correspond to multiple transmission reception points (TRPs) , and each QCL group of the multiple QCL groups may correspond to one TRP of the multiple TRPs. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the multiple QCL groups (at 1116) may correspond to multiple TRPs, and each QCL group of the multiple QCL groups may correspond to one TRP of the multiple TRPs. Referring to FIG. 6, one QCL group may correspond to the first TRP (TRP A 602) , and the other QCL group may correspond to the second TRP (TRP B 604) .

In some aspects, the multiple QCL groups may include an orphan QCL group. The orphan QCL group may include one or more PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs that have no QCL association with respect to the TRS or other PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the multiple QCL groups (at 1116) may include an orphan QCL group. The orphan QCL group may include one or more PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs that have no QCL association with respect to the TRS or other PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs (e.g., the PDSCHs that are not QCLed with the TRS or any other PDSCHs) .

In some aspects, to receive the QCL configuration or indication (at 1306) , the UE may receive the QCL configuration or indication via the DCI, and the DCI may be a scheduling DCI for dynamic scheduling or an activating DCI for a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) PDSCH. For example, referring to FIG. 11, to receive the QCL configuration or indication (at 1110) , the UE 1102 may receive the QCL indication via the DCI, and the DCI may be a scheduling DCI for dynamic scheduling or an activating DCI for an SPS PDSCH.

In some aspects, the QCL indication for the multiple PDSCHs may include multiple DCIs, where each DCI of the multiple DCIs may schedule one PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs and may indicate whether the scheduled PDSCH has the first QCL association with respect to the TRS. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the QCL indication (at 1110) for the multiple PDSCHs may include multiple DCIs, and each DCI of the multiple DCIs may indicate one PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, and may indicate whether the scheduled PDSCH has the first QCL association with respect to the TRS (e.g., whether the scheduled PDSCH is QCLed with the TRS) .

In some aspects, the DCI may further include, for the scheduled PDSCH, a group index indicating one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the DCI (QCL indication) (at 1110) may further include, for the scheduled PDSCH, a group index indicating one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups. For example, referring to FIG. 7, the QCL configuration or indication may further include group index (e.g., group index 0 or 1) , which indicates one QCL group (group 0 or group 1) of the one or more QCL groups for the scheduled PDSCH (e.g., PDSCHs 702, 704, 706, 708, and 710 are in group 0, and PDSCHs 712, 714, and 716 are in group 1) .

In some aspects, the DCI may further include an orphan group indicator indicating the scheduled PDSCH is associated with an orphan QCL group. The orphan QCL group may include the one or more PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs that have no QCL association with the TRS or other PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the DCI (which indicates the QCL indication at 1110) may further include an orphan group indicator indicating the scheduled PDSCH is associated with an orphan QCL group. The orphan QCL group may include the one or more PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs that have no QCL association with the TRS or other PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs.

In some aspects, the UE may, at 1318, perform, in response to a reset indicator for at least one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups, a reset operation on the at least one QCL group. The reset indicator may be included in the scheduling DCI or activation DCI, and the reset operation may include: disassociating the QCL association of the PDSCH in the at least one QCL group with any PDSCH preceding the PDSCH, and updating a QCL profile corresponding to the at least one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the UE 1102 may, at 1122, perform, in response to a reset indicator for at least one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups, a reset operation on the at least one QCL group. The reset indicator may be included in the scheduling DCI or activation DCI. Referring to FIG. 7, the reset operation may include disassociating the QCL association of the PDSCH in the at least one QCL group with any PDSCH preceding the PDSCH (e.g., after the reset for group 0 at 720, PDSCH 708 will not be QCLed with any PDSCH preceding the PDSCH 708 at group 0, such as PDSCHs 702, 704, or 706) .

In some aspects, to receive the QCL configuration or indication (at 1306) , the UE may receive, via the DCI or the MAC-CE, a TCI indicator indicating one TCI state of one or more TCI states. Each TCI state of the one or more TCI states may include one or more of: a group index corresponding to one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups, or an indicator indicating whether the TCI state is associated with an orphan QCL group. The orphan QCL group may include one or more PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs that have no QCL association with the TRS or other PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs. To obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs (at 1314) , the UE may obtain, based on the one TCI state, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs after an application time. For example, referring to FIG. 11, to receive the QCL configuration or indication (at 1110) , the UE 1102 may receive, via the DCI or the MAC-CE, a TCI indicator indicating one TCI state of one or more TCI states. To obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs (at 1118) , the UE 1102 may obtain, based on the one TCI state, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs after an application time. Referring to FIG. 8A, the UE may receive, via the DCI or the MAC-CE, a TCI indicator indicating one TCI state 802, and the UE may obtain, based on the TCI state 802, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs after an application time 806. Referring to FIG. 8B, the UE may receive, via the DCI or the MAC-CE, a TCI indicator indicating one TCI state 852. The TCI state 852 may be associated with the dedicated group for orphan PDSCHs. The UE may obtain, based on the TCI state 852, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs after an application time 856.

In some aspects, the application time may be a first number of symbols after the HARQ-ACK associated with the DCI or the MAC-CE. For example, referring to FIG. 8A, the application time 806 may be a first number (e.g., Y) of symbols after the HARQ-ACK 804 associated with the DCI or the MAC-CE (at 802) .

In some aspects, to obtain, based on the one TCI state, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, the UE may obtain, in response to the one TCI state being associated with a downlink reference signal (DL-RS) , the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs after the application time based on the first QCL association, or obtain, in response to the one TCI state being not associated with any DL-RS, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs after the application time based on the second QCL association with respect to the one or more other PDSCHs after the application time. For example, referring to FIG. 8A, the UE may obtain, in response to the one TCI state 802 being not associated with any DL-RS (e.g., a floating TCI state) , the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs after the application time 806 based on the second QCL association with respect to the one or more other PDSCHs (e.g., the PDSCHs may be QCLed with other PDSCHs) .

In some aspects, at 1318, the UE may perform, in response to a reset indicator for at least one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups or receiving a second TCI state not associated with any DL-RS different from a previous TCI state not associated with any DL-RS, a reset operation on the at least one QCL group. The reset indicator may be included in the DCI or the MAC-CE indicating the second TCI state, and the reset operation may include: disassociating the QCL association of the PDSCH in the at least one QCL group with any PDSCH preceding the PDSCH, and updating a QCL profile corresponding to the at least one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the UE 1102 may, at 1122, perform, in response to a reset indicator for at least one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups or receiving a second TCI state not associated with any DL-RS different from a previous TCI state not associated with any DL-RS, a reset operation on the at least one QCL group. Referring to FIG. 7, the reset operation may include: disassociating the QCL association of the PDSCH in the at least one QCL group with any PDSCH preceding the PDSCH (e.g., PDSCH 708 after the reset 720 for group 0 is not QCLed with any PDSCH in group 0 before the reset 720, such as PDSCHs 702, 704, and 706) . In some aspects, 1318 may be performed by the QCL bundling component 198.

In some aspects, the QCL configuration or indication (at 1306) may include a time indicator indicating a time window. To obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs (at 1314) , the UE may obtain, based on the time window, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs. For example, referring to FIG. 9, the UE may obtain, based on the time windows 912, 914, 916, 918, and 920, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs.

In some aspects, to obtain, based on the time window, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, the UE may obtain the PDSCHs located in the time window as having no QCL association with the TRS. For example, referring to FIG. 9, the UE may obtain the PDSCHs located in the time windows 912, 914, 916, and 918 as having no QCL association with the TRS.

In some aspects, at 1310, the UE may receive, via a scheduling DCI, a first association indicator indicating an association of the scheduled PDSCH with the TRS. To obtain, based on the time window, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, the UE may obtain the QCL association for the scheduled PDSCH based on the first association indication. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the UE 1102 may, at 1114, receive, via a scheduling DCI, a first association indicator indicating an association of the scheduled PDSCH with the TRS. Referring to FIG. 9, the UE may receive, via a scheduling DCI, a first association indicator indicating an association of the scheduled PDSCH with the TRS (e.g., the first association indicator may indicate that PDSCHs associated with slot type 1 902 has no QCL association with the TRS, while PDSCHs associated with slot type 4 908 has the QCL association with the TRS) . To obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, the UE may obtain the QCL association for the scheduled PDSCH based on the first association indication. In some aspects, 1310 may be performed by the QCL bundling component 198.

In some aspects, the time indicator may further include a second association indicator indicating an association of the multiple PDSCHs with the TRS. To obtain, based on the time window, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, the UE may obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs based on the second association indicator. For example, referring to FIG. 9, the time indicator may further include a second association indicator indicating an association of the multiple PDSCHs (e.g., the PDSCHs associated with slot type 4 908) with the TRS.

In some aspects, the QCL configuration (at 1306) may further include an update pause indicator for refraining from updating a QCL profile. To obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs (at 1314) , the UE may refrain, in response to the update pause indicator, from using a current PDSCH for the QCL association for a future PDSCH. For example, referring to FIG. 10, the UE may refrain, in response to the update pause indicator, from using a current PDSCH (PDSCH 3 1006) for the QCL association for a future PDSCH (PDSCH 4 1008) .

In some aspects, to obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs (at 1314) , the UE may obtain, in response to an association condition being met, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs. The association condition may include one or more of: the PDSCHs are in a same component carrier (CC) or in different CCs in a same frequency band, the PDSCHs are unicast or multicast, a first number of RBs associated with any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs is larger than a first threshold, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) of any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs is larger than a second threshold, a second number of DMRS symbols of any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs is larger than a third threshold, or a third number of layers of any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs is less than a fourth threshold. For example, referring to FIG. 11, to obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs (at 1118) , the UE 1102 may obtain, at 1118, in response to an association condition being met, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs. The association condition may include one or more of: the PDSCHs are in the same CC or in different CCs in a same frequency band, the PDSCHs are unicast or multicast, a first number of RBs associated with any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs is larger than a first threshold, the MCS of any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs is larger than a second threshold, a second number of DMRS symbols of any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs is larger than a third threshold, or a third number of layers of any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs is less than a fourth threshold.

In some aspects, at 1302, the UE may transmit, to the network entity, a UE capability indicator indicating the capability of the UE for grouping the multiple PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups. To receive the QCL configuration or indication (at 1306) , the UE may receive the QCL configuration or indication in response to the UE capability indicator. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the UE 1102 may, at 1106, transmit, to the network entity (base station 1104) , a UE capability indicator indicating the capability of the UE for grouping the multiple PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups (at 1116) . In some aspects, 1302 may be performed by the QCL bundling component 198.

In some aspects, at 1304, the UE may transmit, to the network entity, UE assistance information. To receive the QCL configuration or indication (at 1306) , the UE may receive the QCL configuration or indication based on the UE assistance information. The UE assistance information may include one or more of: the number of the one or more QCL groups, the reset capability of the UE, the support for orphan PDSCH group, the minimum number of resource blocks (RBs) for any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCH, the minimum number of modulation and coding scheme (MCS) , signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) , or reference signal received power (RSRP) for any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, the maximum number of layers, the minimum number of PDSCHs having the second QCL association, the maximum number of PDSCHs having the second QCL association, or the subset of QCL type A properties. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the UE 1102 may, at 1108, transmit, to the network entity (base station 1104) , UE assistance information. The UE 1102 may receive, at 1110, the QCL configuration or indication based on the UE assistance information (at 1108) . The UE assistance information may include one or more of: the number of the one or more QCL groups, the reset capability of the UE, the support for orphan PDSCH group, the minimum number of RBs for any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCH, the minimum number of MCS, SINR, or RSRP for any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, the maximum number of layers, the minimum number of PDSCHs having the second QCL association, the maximum number of PDSCHs having the second QCL association, or the subset of QCL type A properties. In some aspects, 1304 may be performed by the QCL bundling component 198.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart 1400 illustrating methods of wireless communication at a network entity in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The method may be performed by a network entity. The network entity may be a base station, or a component of a base station, in the access network of FIG. 1 or a core network component (e.g., base station 102, 310, 1104; or the network entity 1602 in the hardware implementation of FIG. 16) . The methods enable a UE to obtain the QCL association for multiple PDSCHs without a TRS. By allowing the PDSCHs to be QCLed with each other, instead of with the TRS, the methods reduce signaling overhead and complexity and improve the adaptability and efficiency in wireless communication, ensuring that devices can better manage a diverse range of transmission scenarios with minimal dependency on TRS.

As shown in FIG. 14, at 1402, the network entity may provide, to a UE, via RRC, DCI or a MAC-CE, a QCL configuration or indication for multiple PDSCHs to indicate the UE to group the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups based on the QCL configuration or indication and obtain a QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs for all or a subset of QCL type A properties based on the one or more QCL groups. The UE may be the UE 104, 350, 1102, or the apparatus 1604 in the hardware implementation of FIG. 16. FIGs. 5A, 5B, 6, 7, 8A, 8B, 9, 10, and 11 illustrate various aspects in connection with flowchart 1400. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the network entity (base station 1104) may provide, at 1110, to a UE 1102, via RRC, DCI or a MAC-CE, a QCL configuration or indication for multiple PDSCHs to indicate the UE 1102 to group, at 1116, the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups based on the QCL configuration or indication and obtain, at 1118, a QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs for all or a subset of QCL type A properties based on the one or more QCL groups. In some aspects, 1402 may be performed by the QCL bundling component 199.

At 1404, the network entity may communicate with the UE based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the network entity (base station 1104) may communicate, at 1124, with the UE 1102, based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs (at 1118) . In some aspects, 1404 may be performed by the QCL bundling component 199.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart 1500 illustrating methods of wireless communication at a network entity in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The method may be performed by a network entity. The network entity may be a base station, or a component of a base station, in the access network of FIG. 1 or a core network component (e.g., base station 102, 310, 1104; or the network entity 1602 in the hardware implementation of FIG. 16) . The methods enable a UE to obtain the QCL association for multiple PDSCHs without a TRS. By allowing the PDSCHs to be QCLed with each other, instead of with the TRS, the methods reduce signaling overhead and complexity and improve the adaptability and efficiency in wireless communication, ensuring that devices can better manage a diverse range of transmission scenarios with minimal dependency on TRS.

As shown in FIG. 15, at 1502, the network entity may provide, to a UE, via RRC, DCI or a MAC-CE, a QCL configuration or indication for multiple PDSCHs to indicate the UE to group the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups based on the QCL configuration or indication and obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs for all or a subset of QCL type A properties based on the one or more QCL groups. The UE may be the UE 104, 350, 1102, or the apparatus 1604 in the hardware implementation of FIG. 16. FIGs. 5A, 5B, 6, 7, 8A, 8B, 9, 10, and 11 illustrate various aspects in connection with flowchart 1500. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the network entity (base station 1104) may provide, at 1110, to a UE 1102, via RRC, DCI or a MAC-CE, a QCL configuration or indication for multiple PDSCHs to indicate the UE 1102 to group, at 1116, the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups based on the QCL configuration or indication and obtain, at 1118, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs for all or a subset of QCL type A properties based on the one or more QCL groups. In some aspects, 1502 may be performed by the QCL bundling component 199.

At 1506, the network entity may communicate with the UE based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the network entity (base station 1104) may communicate, at 1124, with the UE 1102, based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs (at 1118) . In some aspects, 1506 may be performed by the QCL bundling component 199.

In some aspects, the QCL type A properties may include the Doppler shift, the Doppler spread, the average delay, and the delay spread.

In some aspects, at 1508, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs may include one or more of: a first QCL association with respect to a TRS, or a second QCL association independent from the TRS. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the QCL association (at 1118) for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs may include one or more of: a first QCL association with respect to a TRS, or a second QCL association independent from the TRS.

In some aspects, at 1504, the network entity may provide a subset configuration. The subset configuration may indicate a first subset of the QCL type A properties for the UE to group the multiple PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the network entity (base station 1104) may provide, at 1112, a subset configuration. The subset configuration may indicate a first subset of the QCL type A properties for the UE to group (at 1116) the multiple PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups. In one example, the subset configuration may indicate that the first subset of the QCL type A properties include the Doppler properties, such as the Doppler shift and the Doppler spread. In another example, the subset configuration may indicate that the first subset of the QCL type A properties include the delay properties, such as the average delay and the delay spread. In some aspects, 1504 may be performed by the QCL bundling component 199.

FIG. 16 is a diagram 1600 illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus 1604. The apparatus 1604 may be a UE, a component of a UE, or may implement UE functionality. In some aspects, the apparatus 1604 may include at least one cellular baseband processor (or processing circuitry) 1624 (also referred to as a modem) coupled to one or more transceivers 1622 (e.g., cellular RF transceiver) . The cellular baseband processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1624 may include at least one on-chip memory (or memory circuitry) 1624'. In some aspects, the apparatus 1604 may further include one or more subscriber identity modules (SIM) cards 1620 and at least one application processor (or processing circuitry) 1606 coupled to a secure digital (SD) card 1608 and a screen 1610. The application processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1606 may include on-chip memory (or memory circuitry) 1606'. In some aspects, the apparatus 1604 may further include a Bluetooth module 1612, a WLAN module 1614, an SPS module 1616 (e.g., GNSS module) , one or more sensor modules 1618 (e.g., barometric pressure sensor /altimeter; motion sensor such as inertial measurement unit (IMU) , gyroscope, and/or accelerometer (s) ; light detection and ranging (LIDAR) , radio assisted detection and ranging (RADAR) , sound navigation and ranging (SONAR) , magnetometer, audio and/or other technologies used for positioning) , additional memory modules 1626, a power supply 1630, and/or a camera 1632. The Bluetooth module 1612, the WLAN module 1614, and the SPS module 1616 may include an on-chip transceiver (TRX) (or in some cases, just a receiver (RX) ) . The Bluetooth module 1612, the WLAN module 1614, and the SPS module 1616 may include their own dedicated antennas and/or utilize the antennas 1680 for communication. The cellular baseband processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1624 communicates through the transceiver (s) 1622 via one or more antennas 1680 with the UE 104 and/or with an RU associated with a network entity 1602. The cellular baseband processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1624 and the application processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1606 may each include a computer-readable medium /memory (or memory circuitry) 1624', 1606', respectively. The additional memory modules 1626 may also be considered a computer-readable medium /memory (or memory circuitry) . Each computer-readable medium /memory (or memory circuitry) 1624', 1606', 1626 may be non-transitory. The cellular baseband processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1624 and the application processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1606 are each responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium /memory (or memory circuitry) . The software, when executed by the cellular baseband processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1624 /application processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1606, causes the cellular baseband processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1624 /application processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1606 to perform the various functions described supra. The cellular baseband processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1624 and the application processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1606 are configured to perform the various functions described supra based at least in part of the information stored in the memory (or memory circuitry) . That is, the cellular baseband processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1624 and the application processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1606 may be configured to perform a first subset of the various functions described supra without information stored in the memory and may be configured to perform a second subset of the various functions described supra based on the information stored in the memory. The computer-readable medium /memory (or memory circuitry) may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the cellular baseband processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1624 /application processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1606 when executing software. The cellular baseband processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1624 /application processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1606 may be a component of the UE 350 and may include the at least one memory 360 and/or at least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller/processor 359. In one configuration, the apparatus 1604 may be at least one processor chip (modem and/or application) and include just the cellular baseband processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1624 and/or the application processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1606, and in another configuration, the apparatus 1604 may be the entire UE (e.g., see UE 350 of FIG. 3) and include the additional modules of the apparatus 1604.

As discussed supra, the component 198 may be configured to receive, from a network entity, via RRC, DCI or a MAC-CE, a QCL configuration or indication for multiple PDSCHs; group, based on the QCL configuration or indication, the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups; and obtain, based on the one or more QCL groups, a QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, where the QCL association includes all or a subset of QCL type A properties; and communicate with the network entity based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs. The component 198 may be further configured to perform any of the aspects described in connection with the flowcharts in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, and/or performed by the UE 1102 in FIG. 11. The component 198 may be within the cellular baseband processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1624, the application processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1606, or both the cellular baseband processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1624 and the application processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1606. The component 198 may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to carry out the stated processes/algorithm, implemented by one or more processors configured to perform the stated processes/algorithm, stored within a computer-readable medium for implementation by one or more processors, or some combination thereof. When multiple processors are implemented, the multiple processors may perform the stated processes/algorithm individually or in combination. As shown, the apparatus 1604 may include a variety of components configured for various functions. In one configuration, the apparatus 1604, and in particular the cellular baseband processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1624 and/or the application processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1606, includes means for receiving, from a network entity, via RRC, DCI or a MAC-CE, a QCL configuration or indication for multiple PDSCHs, means for grouping, based on the QCL configuration or indication, the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups, means for obtaining, based on the one or more QCL groups, a QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, where the QCL association includes all or a subset of QCL type A properties, and means for communicating with the network entity based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs. The apparatus 1604 may further include means for performing any of the aspects described in connection with the flowcharts in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, and/or aspects performed by the UE 1102 in FIG. 11. The means may be the component 198 of the apparatus 1604 configured to perform the functions recited by the means. As described supra, the apparatus 1604 may include the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller/processor 359. As such, in one configuration, the means may be the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and/or the controller/processor 359 configured to perform the functions recited by the means.

FIG. 17 is a diagram 1700 illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for a network entity 1702. The network entity 1702 may be a BS, a component of a BS, or may implement BS functionality. The network entity 1702 may include at least one of a CU 1710, a DU 1730, or an RU 1740. For example, depending on the layer functionality handled by the component 199, the network entity 1702 may include the CU 1710; both the CU 1710 and the DU 1730; each of the CU 1710, the DU 1730, and the RU 1740; the DU 1730; both the DU 1730 and the RU 1740; or the RU 1740. The CU 1710 may include at least one CU processor (or processing circuitry) 1712. The CU processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1712 may include on-chip memory (or memory circuitry) 1712'. In some aspects, the CU 1710 may further include additional memory modules 1714 and a communications interface 1718. The CU 1710 communicates with the DU 1730 through a midhaul link, such as an F1 interface. The DU 1730 may include at least one DU processor (or processing circuitry) 1732. The DU processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1732 may include on-chip memory (or memory circuitry) 1732'. In some aspects, the DU 1730 may further include additional memory modules 1734 and a communications interface 1738. The DU 1730 communicates with the RU 1740 through a fronthaul link. The RU 1740 may include at least one RU processor (or processing circuitry) 1742. The RU processor (s) (or processing circuitry) 1742 may include on-chip memory (or memory circuitry) 1742'. In some aspects, the RU 1740 may further include additional memory modules 1744, one or more transceivers 1746, antennas 1780, and a communications interface 1748. The RU 1740 communicates with the UE 104. The on-chip memory (or memory circuitry) 1712', 1732', 1742' and the additional memory modules 1714, 1734, 1744 may each be considered a computer-readable medium /memory (or memory circuitry) . Each computer-readable medium /memory (or memory circuitry) may be non-transitory. Each of the processors (or processing circuitry) 1712, 1732, 1742 is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium /memory (or memory circuitry) . The software, when executed by the corresponding processor (s) (or processing circuitry) causes the processor (s) (or processing circuitry) to perform the various functions described supra. The computer-readable medium /memory (or memory circuitry) may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the processor (s) (or processing circuitry) when executing software.

As discussed supra, the component 199 may be configured to provide, to a UE, via RRC, DCI or a MAC-CE, a QCL configuration or indication for multiple PDSCHs to indicate the UE to group the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups based on the QCL configuration or indication and obtain a QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs for all or a subset of QCL type A properties based on the one or more QCL groups; and communicate with the UE based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs. The component 199 may be further configured to perform any of the aspects described in connection with the flowcharts in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15, and/or performed by the base station 1104 in FIG. 11. The component 199 may be within one or more processors (or processing circuitry) of one or more of the CU 1710, DU 1730, and the RU 1740. The component 199 may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to carry out the stated processes/algorithm, implemented by one or more processors configured to perform the stated processes/algorithm, stored within a computer-readable medium for implementation by one or more processors, or some combination thereof. When multiple processors are implemented, the multiple processors may perform the stated processes/algorithm individually or in combination. The network entity 1702 may include a variety of components configured for various functions. In one configuration, the network entity 1702 includes means for providing, to a UE, via RRC, DCI or a MAC-CE, a QCL configuration or indication for multiple PDSCHs to indicate the UE to group the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups based on the QCL configuration or indication and obtain a QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs for all or a subset of QCL type A properties based on the one or more QCL groups, and means for communicating with the UE based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs. The network entity 1702 may further include means for performing any of the aspects described in connection with the flowcharts in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15, and/or aspects performed by the base station 1104 in FIG. 11. The means may be the component 199 of the network entity 1702 configured to perform the functions recited by the means. As described supra, the network entity 1702 may include the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller/processor 375. As such, in one configuration, the means may be the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and/or the controller/processor 375 configured to perform the functions recited by the means.

This disclosure provides a method for wireless communication at a UE. The method may include receiving, from a network entity, via RRC, DCI or a MAC-CE, a QCL configuration or indication for multiple PDSCHs; grouping, based on the QCL configuration or indication for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups; obtaining, based on the one or more QCL groups, for all or a subset of QCL type A properties, a QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs; and communicating with the network entity based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs. The methods enable a UE to obtain the QCL association for multiple PDSCHs without a TRS. By allowing the PDSCHs to be QCLed with each other, instead of with the TRS, the methods reduce signaling overhead and complexity and improve the adaptability and efficiency in wireless communication, ensuring that devices can better manage a diverse range of transmission scenarios with minimal dependency on TRS.

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes /flowcharts disclosed is an illustration of example approaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes /flowcharts may be rearranged. Further, some blocks may be combined or omitted. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various blocks in a sample order, and are not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not limited to the aspects described herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language claims. Reference to an element in the singular does not mean “one and only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more. ” Terms such as “if, ” “when, ” and “while” do not imply an immediate temporal relationship or reaction. That is, these phrases, e.g., “when, ” do not imply an immediate action in response to or during the occurrence of an action, but simply imply that if a condition is met then an action will occur, but without requiring a specific or immediate time constraint for the action to occur. The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration. ” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. Combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C, ” “one or more of A, B, or C, ” “at least one of A, B, and C, ” “one or more of A, B, and C, ” and “A, B, C, or any combination thereof” include any combination of A, B, and/or C, and may include multiples of A, multiples of B, or multiples of C. Specifically, combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C, ” “one or more of A, B, or C, ” “at least one of A, B, and C, ” “one or more of A, B, and C, ” and “A, B, C, or any combination thereof” may be A only, B only, C only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any such combinations may contain one or more member or members of A, B, or C. Sets should be interpreted as a set of elements where the elements number one or more. Accordingly, for a set of X, X would include one or more elements. When at least one processor is configured to perform a set of functions, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to perform the set of functions. Accordingly, each processor of the at least one processor may be configured to perform a particular subset of the set of functions, where the subset is the full set, a proper subset of the set, or an empty subset of the set. If a first apparatus receives data from or transmits data to a second apparatus, the data may be received/transmitted directly between the first and second apparatuses, or indirectly between the first and second apparatuses through a set of apparatuses. A device configured to “output” data, such as a transmission, signal, or message, may transmit the data, for example with a transceiver, or may send the data to a device that transmits the data. A device configured to “obtain” data, such as a transmission, signal, or message, may receive, for example with a transceiver, or may obtain the data from a device that receives the data. Information stored in a memory includes instructions and/or data. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. The words “module, ” “mechanism, ” “element, ” “device, ” and the like may not be a substitute for the word “means. ” As such, no claim element is to be construed as a means plus function unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for. ”

As used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of information, one or more conditions, one or more factors, or the like. In other words, the phrase “based on A” (where “A” may be information, a condition, a factor, or the like) shall be construed as “based at least on A” unless specifically recited differently.

The following aspects are illustrative only and may be combined with other aspects or teachings described herein, without limitation.

Aspect 1 is a method of wireless communication at a UE. The method may include receiving, from a network entity, via radio resource control (RRC) , downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) -control element (MAC-CE) , a quasi co-location (QCL) configuration or indication for multiple physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) ; grouping, based on the QCL configuration or indication, the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups; obtaining, based on the one or more QCL groups, a QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, wherein the QCL association includes all or a subset of QCL type A properties; and communicating with the network entity based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs.

Aspect 2 is the method of aspect 1, wherein the QCL type A properties may include the Doppler shift, the Doppler spread, the average delay, and the delay spread, and wherein the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs may include one or more of: a first QCL association with respect to a tracking reference signal (TRS) , or a second QCL association independent from the TRS.

Aspect 3 is the method of any of aspects 1 to 2, wherein the method may further include receiving, from the network entity, a subset configuration, wherein the subset configuration indicates a first subset of the QCL type A properties, and obtaining the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs may include: obtaining the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs for the first subset of the QCL type A properties.

Aspect 4 is the method of aspect 3, wherein each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs may have the first QCL association with respect to the TRS for a second subset of QCL type A properties, and the second subset of QCL type A properties may include the QCL type A properties not in the first subset of QCL type A properties.

Aspect 5 is the method of any of aspect 1 to 2, wherein the multiple PDSCHs may include a first subset of PDSCHs and a second subset of PDSCHs, and wherein each PDSCH of the first subset of PDSCHs may have the first QCL association with respect to the TRS. Grouping the multiple PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups may including grouping the second subset of the PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups.

Aspect 6 is the method of aspect 5, wherein the method may further include obtaining one or more first QCL profiles corresponding to the first subset of the PDSCHs; and obtaining one or more second QCL profiles respectively corresponding to the one or more QCL groups, wherein the one or more second QCL profiles may store the QCL association for the second subset of PDSCHs in the one or more QCL groups.

Aspect 7 is the method of aspect 5, wherein grouping the second subset of the PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups may include grouping the second subset of the PDSCHs into one QCL group, wherein the PDSCHs in the one QCL group have the second QCL association with respect to one or more other PDSCHs in the one QCL group.

Aspect 8 is the method of aspect 5, wherein grouping the second subset of the PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups may include grouping the second subset of the PDSCHs into multiple QCL groups, wherein the PDSCHs in each QCL group of the multiple QCL groups have the second QCL association with respect to the one or more other PDSCHs in the QCL group and have no QCL association with the PDSCHs in other QCL groups of the multiple QCL groups.

Aspect 9 is the method of aspect 8, wherein the multiple QCL groups correspond to multiple transmission reception points (TRPs) , and each QCL group of the multiple QCL groups corresponds to one TRP of the multiple TRPs

Aspect 10 is the method of aspect 5, wherein the multiple QCL groups include an orphan QCL group, wherein the orphan QCL group include one or more PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs that have no QCL association with respect to the TRS or other PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs.

Aspect 11 is the method of any of aspects 1 to 2, wherein receiving the QCL configuration or indication may include receiving the QCL configuration or indication via the DCI, wherein the DCI is a scheduling DCI for dynamic scheduling PDSCH or an activating DCI for a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) PDSCH.

Aspect 12 is the method of aspect 11, wherein the QCL indication for the multiple PDSCHs may include multiple DCIs, wherein each DCI of the multiple DCIs may schedule one PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs and indicate whether the scheduled PDSCH has the first QCL association with respect to the TRS.

Aspect 13 is the method of aspect 12, wherein the DCI may further include, for the scheduled PDSCH, a group index indicating one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups.

Aspect 14 is the method of aspect 12, wherein the DCI may further include an orphan group indicator indicating the scheduled PDSCH is associated with an orphan QCL group, wherein the orphan QCL group may include the one or more PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs that have no QCL association with the TRS or other PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs.

Aspect 15 if the method of any of aspects 11 to 14, wherein the method may further include performing, in response to a reset indicator for at least one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups, a reset operation on the at least one QCL group, wherein the reset indicator is included in the scheduling DCI or activation DCI, wherein the reset operation comprises disassociating the QCL association of the PDSCH in the at least one QCL group with any PDSCH preceding the PDSCH, and updating a QCL profile corresponding to the at least one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups.

Aspect 16 is the method of any of aspects 1 to 2, wherein receiving the QCL configuration or indication may include receiving, via the DCI or the MAC-CE, a TCI indicator indicating one TCI state of one or more TCI states, wherein each TCI state of the one or more TCI states may include one or more of: a group index corresponding to one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups, or an indicator indicating whether the TCI state is associated with an orphan QCL group, wherein the orphan QCL group may include one or more PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs that have no QCL association with the TRS or other PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs, and wherein obtaining the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs may include obtaining, based on the one TCI state, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs after an application time.

Aspect 17 is the method of aspect 16, wherein the application time may be a first number of symbols after hybrid automatic repeat request –acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) associated with the DCI or the MAC-CE.

Aspect 18 is the method of aspect 16, wherein obtaining, based on the one TCI state, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs may include obtaining, in response to the one TCI state being associated with a downlink reference signal (DL-RS) , the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs after the application time based on the first QCL association, or obtaining, in response to the one TCI state being not associated with any DL-RS, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs after the application time based on the second QCL association with respect to the one or more other PDSCHs.

Aspect 19 is the method of any of aspects 11 to 14, wherein the method may further include performing, in response to a reset indicator for at least one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups or receiving a second TCI state not associated with any DL-RS different from a previous TCI state no associated with any DL-RS, a reset operation on the at least one QCL group, wherein the reset indicator is included in the DCI or the MAC-CE indicating the second TCI state, wherein the reset operation may include: disassociating the QCL association of the PDSCH in the at least one QCL group with any PDSCH preceding the PDSCH, and updating a QCL profile corresponding to the at least one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups.

Aspect 20 is the method of any of aspects 1 to 2, wherein the QCL configuration or indication may include a time indicator indicating a time window, and obtaining the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs may include obtaining, based on the time window, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs.

Aspect 21 is the method of aspect 20, wherein obtaining, based on the time window, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs may include obtaining the PDSCHs located in the time window as having no QCL association with the TRS.

Aspect 22 is the method of aspect 20, wherein the method may further include receiving, via a scheduling DCI, a first association indicator indicating an association of a scheduled PDSCH with the TRS, wherein obtaining, based on the time window, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs may include obtaining the QCL association for the scheduled PDSCH based on the first association indication.

Aspect 23 is the method of aspect 20, wherein the time indicator may further include a second association indicator indicating an association of the multiple PDSCHs with the TRS, and wherein obtaining, based on the time window, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs may include obtaining the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs based on the second association indicator.

Aspect 24 is the method of any of aspects 1 to 23, wherein the QCL configuration may further include an update pause indicator for refraining from updating a QCL profile, and wherein obtaining the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs may include refraining, in response to the update pause indicator, from using a current PDSCH for the QCL association for a future PDSCH.

Aspect 25 is the method of any of aspects 1 to 24, wherein obtaining the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs may include obtaining, in response to an association condition being met, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, wherein the association condition may include one or more of:the PDSCHs are in a same component carrier (CC) or in different CCs in a same frequency band, the PDSCHs are unicast or multicast, a first number of resource blocks (RBs) associated with any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs is larger than a first threshold, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) of any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs is larger than a second threshold, a second number of demodulation reference signal (DMRS) symbols of any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs is larger than a third threshold, or a third number of layers of any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs is less than a fourth threshold.

Aspect 26 is the method of any of aspects 1 to 25, wherein the method may further include transmitting, to the network entity, a UE capability indicator indicating a capability of the UE for grouping the multiple PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups, and wherein receiving the QCL configuration or indication may include receiving the QCL configuration or indication in response to the UE capability indicator.

Aspect 27 is the method of aspect 26, wherein the method may further include transmitting, to the network entity, UE assistance information, wherein receiving the QCL configuration or indication may include receiving the QCL configuration or indication based on the UE assistance information, and wherein the UE assistance information may include one or more of: the number of the one or more QCL groups, the reset capability of the UE, the support for orphan PDSCH group, the minimum number of resource blocks (RBs) for any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCH, the minimum number of modulation and coding scheme (MCS) , signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) , or reference signal received power (RSRP) for any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, the maximum number of layers, the minimum number of PDSCHs having the second QCL association, the maximum number of PDSCHs having the second QCL association, or the subset of QCL type A properties.

Aspect 28 is an apparatus for wireless communication at a UE, comprising: a processing system that includes processor circuitry and memory circuitry that stores code and is coupled with the processor circuitry, the processing system configured to cause the UE to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-27.

Aspect 29 is an apparatus for wireless communication at a UE, comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and, based at least in part on information stored in the at least one memory, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to perform the method of any of aspects 1-27.

Aspect 30 is the apparatus for wireless communication at a UE, comprising means for performing the method of any of aspects 1-27.

Aspect 31 is an apparatus of any of aspects 28-30, further comprising a transceiver configured to receive or to transmit in association with the method of any of aspects 1-27.

Aspect 32 is a computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium) storing computer executable code at a UE, the code when executed by at least one processor causes the at least one processor to, individually or in any combination, perform the method of any of aspects 1-27.

Aspect 33 is a method of wireless communication at a network entity. The method may include providing, to a user equipment (UE) , via radio resource control (RRC) , downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) -control element (MAC-CE) , a quasi co-location (QCL) configuration or indication for multiple physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) to indicate the UE to group the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups based on the QCL configuration or indication and obtain a QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs for all or a subset of QCL type A properties based on the one or more QCL groups; and communicating with the UE based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs.

Aspect 34 is the method of aspect 33, wherein the QCL type A properties may include the Doppler shift, the Doppler spread, the average delay, and the delay spread, and wherein the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs may include one or more of: a first QCL association with respect to a tracking reference signal (TRS) , or a second QCL association independent from the TRS, and wherein the method may further include providing a subset configuration, wherein the subset configuration indicates a first subset of the QCL type A properties for the UE to group the multiple PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups.

Aspect 35 is an apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising: a processing system that includes processor circuitry and memory circuitry that stores code and is coupled with the processor circuitry, the processing system configured to cause the network entity to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 33-34.

Aspect 36 is an apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and, based at least in part on information stored in the at least one memory, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to perform the method of any of aspects 33-34.

Aspect 37 is the apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising means for performing method of any of aspects 33-34.

Aspect 38 is an apparatus of any of aspects 35-37, further comprising a transceiver configured to receive or to transmit in association with the method of any of aspects 33-34.

Aspect 39 is a computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium) storing computer executable code at a network entity, the code when executed by at least one processor causes the at least one processor to, individually or in any combination, perform the method of any of aspects 33-34.

Claims

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

at least one memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and, based at least in part on information stored in the at least one memory, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to cause the UE to:

receive, from a network entity, via radio resource control (RRC) , downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) -control element (MAC-CE) , a quasi co-location (QCL) configuration or indication for multiple physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) ;

group, based on the QCL configuration or indication, the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups;

obtain, based on the one or more QCL groups, a QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, wherein the QCL association includes all or a subset of QCL type A properties; and

communicate with the network entity based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs.
The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a transceiver coupled to the at least one processor, wherein to receive the QCL configuration or indication, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to cause the UE to receive the QCL configuration or indication via the transceiver, and wherein the QCL type A properties include a Doppler shift, a Doppler spread, an average delay, and a delay spread, and wherein the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs include one or more of:

a first QCL association with respect to a tracking reference signal (TRS) , or

a second QCL association independent from the TRS.
The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is further configured to cause the UE to:

receive, from the network entity, a subset configuration, wherein the subset configuration indicates a first subset of the QCL type A properties, and wherein to obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to cause the UE to:

obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs for the first subset of the QCL type A properties.
The apparatus of claim 3, wherein each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs has the first QCL association with respect to the TRS for a second subset of QCL type A properties, and the second subset of QCL type A properties includes the QCL type A properties not in the first subset of QCL type A properties.
The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the multiple PDSCHs include a first subset of PDSCHs and a second subset of PDSCHs, and wherein each PDSCH of the first subset of PDSCHs has the first QCL association with respect to the TRS, wherein to group the multiple PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to cause the UE to:

group the second subset of the PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups.
The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is further configured to cause the UE to:

obtain one or more first QCL profiles corresponding to the first subset of the PDSCHs; and

obtain one or more second QCL profiles respectively corresponding to the one or more QCL groups, wherein the one or more second QCL profiles store the QCL association for the second subset of PDSCHs in the one or more QCL groups.
The apparatus of claim 5, wherein to group the second subset of the PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to cause the UE to:

group the second subset of the PDSCHs into one QCL group, wherein the PDSCHs in the one QCL group have the second QCL association with respect to one or more other PDSCHs in the one QCL group.
The apparatus of claim 5, wherein to group the second subset of the PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to cause the UE to:

group the second subset of the PDSCHs into multiple QCL groups, wherein the PDSCHs in each QCL group of the multiple QCL groups have the second QCL association with respect to one or more other PDSCHs in the QCL group and have no QCL association with the PDSCHs in other QCL groups of the multiple QCL groups.
The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the multiple QCL groups correspond to multiple transmission reception points (TRPs) , and each QCL group of the multiple QCL groups corresponds to one TRP of the multiple TRPs.
The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the multiple QCL groups include an orphan QCL group, wherein the orphan QCL group include one or more PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs that have no QCL association with respect to the TRS or other PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs.
The apparatus of claim 2, wherein to receive the QCL configuration or indication, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to cause the UE to:

receive the QCL indication via the DCI, wherein the DCI is a scheduling DCI for dynamic scheduling PDSCH or an activating DCI for a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) PDSCH.
The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the QCL indication for the multiple PDSCHs include multiple DCIs, wherein each DCI of the multiple DCIs schedules one PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs and indicates whether the scheduled PDSCH has the first QCL association with respect to the TRS.
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the DCI further includes, for the scheduled PDSCH, a group index indicating one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups.
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the DCI further includes an orphan group indicator indicating the scheduled PDSCH is associated with an orphan QCL group, wherein the orphan QCL group includes the one or more PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs that have no QCL association with the TRS or other PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs.
The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is further configured to:

perform, in response to a reset indicator for at least one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups, a reset operation on the at least one QCL group, wherein the reset indicator is included in the scheduling DCI or activation DCI, wherein the reset operation comprises:

disassociating the QCL association of the PDSCH in the at least one QCL group with any PDSCH preceding the PDSCH, and

updating a QCL profile corresponding to the at least one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups.
The apparatus of claim 2, wherein to receive the QCL configuration or indication, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to cause the UE to:

receive, via the DCI or the MAC-CE, a TCI indicator indicating one TCI state of one or more TCI states, wherein each TCI state of the one or more TCI states includes one or more of:

a group index corresponding to one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups, or

an indicator indicating whether the TCI state is associated with an orphan QCL group, wherein the orphan QCL group includes one or more PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs that have no QCL association with the TRS or other PDSCHs of the multiple PDSCHs, and

wherein to obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to cause the UE to:

obtain, based on the one TCI state, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs after an application time.
The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the application time is a first number of symbols after hybrid automatic repeat request –acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) associated with the DCI or the MAC-CE.
The apparatus of claim 16, wherein to obtain, based on the one TCI state, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to cause the UE to:

obtain, in response to the one TCI state being associated with a downlink reference signal (DL-RS) , the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs after the application time based on the first QCL association, or

obtain, in response to the one TCI state being not associated with any DL-RS, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs after the application time based on the second QCL association with respect to the one or more other PDSCHs.
The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is further configured to:

perform, in response to a reset indicator for at least one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups or receiving a second TCI state not associated with any DL-RS different from a previous TCI state not associated with any DL-RS, a reset operation on the at least one QCL group, wherein the reset indicator is included in the DCI or the MAC-CE indicating the second TCI state, wherein the reset operation comprises:

disassociating the QCL association of the PDSCH in the at least one QCL group with any PDSCH preceding the PDSCH, and

updating a QCL profile corresponding to the at least one QCL group of the one or more QCL groups.
The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the QCL configuration or indication comprises a time indicator indicating a time window, and wherein to obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to cause the UE to:

obtain, based on the time window, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs.
The apparatus of claim 20, wherein to obtain, based on the time window, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to cause the UE to:

obtain the PDSCHs located in the time window as having no QCL association with the TRS.
The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is further configured to cause the UE to:

receive, via a scheduling DCI, a first association indicator indicating an association of a scheduled PDSCH with the TRS, wherein to obtain, based on the time window, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to cause the UE to:

obtain the QCL association for the scheduled PDSCH based on the first association indication.
The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the time indicator further comprises a second association indicator indicating an association of the multiple PDSCHs with the TRS, and wherein to obtain, based on the time window, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to cause the UE to:

obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs based on the second association indicator.
The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the QCL configuration further comprises:

an update pause indicator for refraining from updating a QCL profile, and wherein to obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to cause the UE to:

refrain, in response to the update pause indicator, from using a current PDSCH for the QCL association for a future PDSCH.
The apparatus of claim 2, wherein to obtain the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to cause the UE to:

obtain, in response to an association condition being met, the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, wherein the association condition includes one or more of:

the PDSCHs are in a same component carrier (CC) or in different CCs in a same frequency band,

the PDSCHs are unicast or multicast,

a first number of resource blocks (RBs) associated with any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs is larger than a first threshold,

a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) of any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs is larger than a second threshold,

a second number of demodulation reference signal (DMRS) symbols of any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs is larger than a third threshold, or

a third number of layers of any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs is less than a fourth threshold.
The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is further configured to cause the UE to:

transmit, to the network entity, a UE capability indicator indicating a capability of the UE for grouping the multiple PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups, and wherein to receive the QCL configuration or indication, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to cause the UE to:

receive the QCL configuration or indication in response to the UE capability indicator.
The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is further configured to cause the UE to:

transmit, to the network entity, UE assistance information, wherein to receive the QCL configuration or indication, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to cause the UE to:

receive the QCL configuration or indication based on the UE assistance information, and wherein the UE assistance information includes one or more of:

a number of the one or more QCL groups,

a reset capability of the UE,

a support for orphan PDSCH group,

a minimum number of resource blocks (RBs) for any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCH,

a minimum number of modulation and coding scheme (MCS) , signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) , or reference signal received power (RSRP) for any PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs,

a maximum number of layers,

a minimum number of PDSCHs having the second QCL association,

a maximum number of PDSCHs having the second QCL association, or

the subset of QCL type A properties.
An apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising:

at least one memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and, based at least in part on information stored in the at least one memory, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to cause the network entity:

provide, to a user equipment (UE) , via radio resource control (RRC) , downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) -control element (MAC-CE) , a quasi co-location (QCL) configuration or indication for multiple physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) to indicate the UE to group the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups based on the QCL configuration or indication and obtain a QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs for all or a subset of QCL type A properties based on the one or more QCL groups; and

communicate with the UE based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs.
The apparatus of claim 28, further comprising a transceiver coupled to the at least one processor, wherein to provide the QCL configuration, the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is configured to cause the network entity to provide the QCL configuration via the transceiver, wherein the QCL type A properties include a Doppler shift, a Doppler spread, an average delay, and a delay spread, and wherein the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs include one or more of:

a first QCL association with respect to a tracking reference signal (TRS) , or

a second QCL association independent from the TRS, and wherein the at least one processor, individually or in any combination, is further configured to cause the network entity to:

provide a subset configuration, wherein the subset configuration indicates a first subset of the QCL type A properties for the UE to group the multiple PDSCHs into the one or more QCL groups.
A method of wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) , comprising:

receiving, from a network entity, via radio resource control (RRC) , downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) -control element (MAC-CE) , a quasi co-location (QCL) configuration or indication for multiple physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) ;

grouping, based on the QCL configuration or indication, the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups;

obtaining, based on the one or more QCL groups, a QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs, wherein the QCL association include all or a subset of QCL type A properties; and

communicating with the network entity based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs.
A method of wireless communication at a network entity, comprising:

providing, to a user equipment (UE) , via radio resource control (RRC) , downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) -control element (MAC-CE) , a quasi co-location (QCL) configuration or indication for multiple physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) to indicate the UE to group the multiple PDSCHs into one or more QCL groups the QCL configuration or indication and obtain a QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs for all or a subset of QCL type A properties; and

communicating with the UE based on the QCL association for each PDSCH of the multiple PDSCHs.