WO2025194376A1

WO2025194376A1 - User equipment (ue) initiated beam management

Info

Publication number: WO2025194376A1
Application number: PCT/CN2024/082659
Authority: WO
Inventors: Fang Yuan; Yan Zhou; Wooseok Nam; Changhwan Park
Original assignee: Qualcomm Inc
Current assignee: Qualcomm Inc
Priority date: 2024-03-20
Filing date: 2024-03-20
Publication date: 2025-09-25
Anticipated expiration: 2026-09-20

Abstract

Aspects of the disclosure are directed to techniques and method for relaxing certain user equipment (UE) -initiated beam management processes and/or functions, such those associated with radio link monitoring (RLM) and beam failure detection (BFD). In some examples, a UE may measure reference signals received from a serving cell and/or candidate cell. Based on the measurements, the UE may determine whether an event has started. For example, the event may indicate that the UE is in a low mobility and or good cell quality state in relation to the serving cell and/or candidate cell. During such an event, the UE may relax the UE-initiated beam management processes and/or functions to reduce power consumption at the UE and to improve spectral efficiency.

Description

USER EQUIPMENT (UE) INITIATED BEAM MANAGEMENT

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure generally relates to communication systems, and more particularly, to user equipment (UE) initiated beam management.

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.

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, and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nor delineate 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.

Aspects of the disclosure are directed to a method for wireless communication at a wireless node. In some examples, the method includes obtaining a first reference signal from a serving cell or a candidate cell. In some examples, the method includes outputting, for transmission to the serving cell, an indication of a wireless node-initiated beam management event, wherein the indication is outputted after a first quality value associated with the first reference signal satisfies a threshold condition.

Aspects of the disclosure are directed to a method for wireless communication at a network entity. In some examples, the method includes outputting, for transmission to a wireless node, a first reference signal via a first beam. In some examples, the method includes obtaining, from the wireless node, an indication of a beam management event initiated by the wireless node, wherein the beam management event is indicative of the first reference signal satisfying a threshold condition.

Aspects of the disclosure are directed to an apparatus for wireless communication. In some examples, the apparatus includes means for obtaining a first reference signal from a serving cell or a candidate cell. In some examples, the apparatus includes means for outputting, for transmission to the serving cell, an indication of an apparatus-initiated beam management event, wherein the indication is outputted after a first quality value associated with the first reference signal satisfies a threshold condition.

Aspects of the disclosure are directed to an apparatus for wireless communication. In some examples, the apparatus includes means for outputting, for transmission to a wireless node, a first reference signal via a first beam. In some examples, the apparatus includes means for obtaining, from the wireless node, an indication of a beam management event initiated by the wireless node, wherein the beam management event is indicative of the first reference signal satisfying a threshold condition.

Aspects of the disclosure are directed to a wireless node, comprising one or more memories, individually or in combination, having instructions and one or more processors, individually or in combination, configured to execute the instructions. In some examples, the one or more processors are configured to obtain a first reference signal from a serving cell or a candidate cell. In some examples, the one or more processors are configured to output, for transmission to the serving cell, an indication of a wireless node-initiated beam management event, wherein the indication is outputted after a first quality value associated with the first reference signal satisfies a threshold condition.

Aspects of the disclosure are directed to a wireless node, comprising one or more memories, individually or in combination, having instructions and one or more processors, individually or in combination, configured to execute the instructions. In some examples, the one or more processors are configured to output, for transmission to a wireless node, a first reference signal via a first beam. In some examples, the one or more processors are configured to obtain, from the wireless node, an indication of a beam management event initiated by the wireless node, wherein the beam management event is indicative of the first reference signal satisfying a threshold condition.

Aspects of the disclosure are directed to a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a wireless node, cause the wireless node to perform a method. In some examples, the method includes obtaining a first reference signal from a serving cell or a candidate cell. In some examples, the method includes outputting, for transmission to the serving cell, an indication of a wireless node-initiated beam management event, wherein the indication is outputted after a first quality value associated with the first reference signal satisfies a threshold condition.

Aspects of the disclosure are directed to a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a network entity, cause the network entity to perform a method. In some examples, the method includes outputting, for transmission to a wireless node, a first reference signal via a first beam. In some examples, the method includes obtaining, from the wireless node, an indication of a beam management event initiated by the wireless node, wherein the beam management event is indicative of the first reference signal satisfying a threshold condition.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or more aspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed 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, and this description is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communications 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 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 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 block diagram illustrating an example disaggregated base station architecture.

FIG. 5 is a call-flow diagram illustrating example communications between the base station and UE for channel state reporting.

FIG. 6 is a chart illustrating an example of relaxed beam measurement behavior at the UE.

FIG. 7 is a call-flow diagram illustrating communications between a UE and a serving cell in connection with the example of relaxed beam measurement behavior illustrated in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a chart illustrating another example of relaxed beam measurement behavior at the UE.

FIG. 9 is a call-flow diagram illustrating communications between a UE and a serving cell in connection with the example of relaxed beam measurement behavior illustrated in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a chart illustrating another example of relaxed beam measurement behavior at the UE.

FIG. 11 is a call-flow diagram illustrating communications between a UE and a serving cell in connection with the example of relaxed beam measurement behavior illustrated in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of wireless communication. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an example apparatus.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating another example method of wireless communication.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating another example of a hardware implementation for another example apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to 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, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that 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.

In certain aspects, a user equipment (UE) may be configured to support UE-initiated beam management. For example, the UE may be configured to initiate a start and/or stop of a beam management procedure based on channel condition measurements made by the UE or other UE-side events.

Conventionally, a base station may configure a UE to measure certain signals and report those measurements back to the base station. For example, the UE may perform periodic measurements on channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) , synchronization signal block (SSB) reference signals, etc. Based on the report, the base station may then notify the UE to change beams, schedule a beam management procedure with the UE, notify the UE to change to another serving cell, etc. Thus, in a conventional network, the base station may control how the UE responds to beam and other signal events. This results in latency because the UE has beam event information before the base station (e.g., prior to providing the base station with a report) . Thus, UE-initiated beam management may reduce latency with early event detection and action.

However, UE-initiated beam management may require the UE to spend additional time measuring signals. This may result in significant power consumption at the UE. Thus, aspects of the disclosure are directed to techniques for a UE to notify a base station of UE-detected beam events, and techniques for a UE to reduce power consumption associated with measuring signals.

In certain aspects, “UE-initiated beam management” or “event-driven beam management” relates to a process in which the UE actively participates in managing radio beams that are used to communicate data between the UE and a wireless node. In traditional wireless networks, a base station typically handles beam management. For example, the base station controls the direction and focus of the radio beams to ensure a stable and efficient connection with each device in its coverage area. However, some networks, particularly those using higher frequencies (millimeter waves) , the radio waves may not travel as far and may be more susceptible to interference. To overcome these challenges, beamforming may be used to focus a high-power signal towards a specific device instead of transmitting the signal in a wider direction.

In certain aspects, UE-initiated or event-driven beam management is an extension of this concept. In this approach, the UE may monitor the quality of the radio link and report back to the base station, and/or makes its own adjustments to the beam direction or selection based on specific events or triggers. For instance, if the UE detects that a signal quality is deteriorating, it can send a report to the base station, prompting the base station to adjust the beam. Alternatively, the UE may switch to a better beam (if one is available) without waiting for instructions from the base station.

Aspects described herein, the UE may relax radio link management (RLM) and/or beam failure detection (BFD) processes used in connection to UE-initiated or event-driven beam management if the UE determines that signaling received via a beam is indicative of low mobility (e.g., the UE is not moving) and/or good beam condition. Thus, whether the UE may relax RLM and/or BFD requirements may depend on one or more of the serving cell quality and the UE mobility state. This proactive approach can lead to a more efficient use of the radio spectrum and reduced processing associated with UE-initiated or event-driven beam management due to the relaxed beam management processing at the UE.

Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methods will be 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. 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 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, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

Accordingly, in one or more example embodiments, 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, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise 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 aforementioned 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.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communications system and an access network 100. The wireless communications system (also referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN) ) includes base stations 102, user equipment (s) (UE) 104, an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) 160, and another core network 190 (e.g., a 5G Core (5GC) ) . The base stations 102 may include macrocells (high power cellular base station) and/or small cells (low power cellular base station) . The macrocells include base stations. The small cells include femtocells, picocells, and microcells.

The base stations 102 configured for 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) (collectively referred to as Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) ) may interface with the EPC 160 through first backhaul links 132 (e.g., S1 interface) . The base stations 102 configured for 5G New Radio (NR) (collectively referred to as Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) ) may interface with core network 190 through second backhaul links 184. In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 may perform one or more of the following functions: transfer of user data, radio channel ciphering and deciphering, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity) , inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, distribution for non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, radio access network (RAN) sharing, Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) , subscriber and equipment trace, RAN information management (RIM) , paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC 160 or core network 190) with each other over third backhaul links 134 (e.g., X2 interface) . The first backhaul links 132, the second backhaul links 184, and the third backhaul links 134 may be wired or wireless.

The base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. Each of the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110. There may be overlapping geographic coverage areas 110. For example, the small cell 102' may have a coverage area 110' that overlaps the coverage area 110 of one or more macro base stations 102. 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 120 between the base stations 102 and the UEs 104 may include uplink (UL) (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions from a UE 104 to a base station 102 and/or downlink (DL) (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from a base station 102 to a UE 104. The communication links 120 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 stations 102 /UEs 104 may use spectrum up to Y megahertz (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 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, WiMedia, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi 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 access point (AP) 150 in communication with Wi-Fi stations (STAs) 152 via communication links 154, e.g., in a 5 gigahertz (GHz) unlicensed frequency spectrum or the like. When communicating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the STAs 152 /AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) prior to communicating in order to determine whether the channel is available.

The small cell 102' may operate in a licensed and/or an unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell 102' may employ NR and use the same unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz, or the like) as used by the Wi-Fi AP 150. The small cell 102', employing NR in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, may boost coverage to and/or increase capacity of the access network.

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) . The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies. 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.

With the above aspects in mind, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that 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, it should be understood that the term “millimeter wave” or the like if used herein may broadly represent frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, or may be within the EHF band.

A base station 102, whether a small cell 102' or a large cell (e.g., macro base station) , may include and/or be referred to as an eNB, gNodeB (gNB) , or another type of base station. Some base stations, such as gNB 180 may operate in a traditional sub 6 GHz spectrum, in millimeter wave frequencies, and/or near millimeter wave frequencies in communication with the UE 104. When the gNB 180 operates in millimeter wave or near millimeter wave frequencies, the gNB 180 may be referred to as a millimeter wave base station. The millimeter wave base station 180 may utilize beamforming 182 with the UE 104 to compensate for the path loss and short range. The base station 180 and the UE 104 may each include a plurality of antennas, such as antenna elements, antenna panels, and/or antenna arrays to facilitate the beamforming.

The base station 180 may transmit a beamformed signal to the UE 104 in one or more transmit directions 182'. The UE 104 may receive the beamformed signal from the base station 180 in one or more receive directions 182”. The UE 104 may also transmit a beamformed signal to the base station 180 in one or more transmit directions. The base station 180 may receive the beamformed signal from the UE 104 in one or more receive directions. The base station 180 /UE 104 may perform beam training to determine the best receive and transmit directions for each of the base station 180 /UE 104. The transmit and receive directions for the base station 180 may or may not be the same. The transmit and receive directions for the UE 104 may or may not be the same.

The EPC 160 may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 162, other MMEs 164, a Serving Gateway 166, an MBMS Gateway 168, a Broadcast Multicast Service Center (BM-SC) 170, and a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway 172. The MME 162 may be in communication with a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 174. The MME 162 is the control node that processes the signaling between the UEs 104 and the EPC 160. Generally, the MME 162 provides bearer and connection management. All user Internet protocol (IP) packets are transferred through the Serving Gateway 166, which itself is connected to the PDN Gateway 172. The PDN Gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation as well as other functions. The PDN Gateway 172 and the BM-SC 170 are connected to the IP Services 176. The IP Services 176 may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) , a PS Streaming Service, and/or other IP services. The BM-SC 170 may provide functions for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. The BM-SC 170 may serve as an entry point for content provider MBMS transmission, may be used to authorize and initiate MBMS Bearer Services within a public land mobile network (PLMN) , and may be used to schedule MBMS transmissions. The MBMS Gateway 168 may be used to distribute MBMS traffic to the base stations 102 belonging to a Multicast Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) area broadcasting a particular service, and may be responsible for session management (start/stop) and for collecting eMBMS related charging information.

The core network 190 may include a Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 192, other AMFs 193, a Session Management Function (SMF) 194, and a User Plane Function (UPF) 195. The AMF 192 may be in communication with a Unified Data Management (UDM) 196. The AMF 192 is the control node that processes the signaling between the UEs 104 and the core network 190. Generally, the AMF 192 provides Quality of Service (QoS) flow and session management. All user IP packets are transferred through the UPF 195. The UPF 195 provides UE IP address allocation as well as other functions. The UPF 195 is connected to the IP Services 197. The IP Services 197 may include the Internet, an intranet, an IMS, a Packet Switch (PS) Streaming Service, and/or other IP services.

The base station 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 transmit reception point (TRP) , or some other suitable terminology. The base station 102 provides an access point to the EPC 160 or core network 190 for a UE 104. 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. A wireless node may comprise a UE, a base station, or a network entity.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the UE 104 may include a beam event component 198. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the beam event component 198 may be configured to obtain a first reference signal from a serving cell or a candidate cell; and output, for transmission to the serving cell, an indication of a UE-initiated beam management event, wherein the indication is outputted after a first quality value associated with the first reference signal satisfies a threshold condition. Additionally, or alternatively, the beam event component 198 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

The base station 102/180 may include a beam event component 199. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the beam event component 199 may be configured to output, for transmission to a wireless node, a first reference signal via a first beam; and obtain, from the wireless node, an indication of a beam management event initiated by the wireless node, wherein the beam management event is indicative of the first reference signal satisfying a threshold condition. Additionally, or alternatively, the beam event component 199 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

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 34 (with mostly UL) . While subframes 3, 4 are shown with slot formats 34, 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.

Other wireless communication technologies may have a different frame structure and/or different channels. A frame, e.g., of 10 milliseconds (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 7 or 14 symbols, depending on the slot configuration. For slot configuration 0, each slot may include 14 symbols, and for slot configuration 1, each slot may include 7 symbols. The symbols on DL may be cyclic prefix (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 (also referred to as single carrier frequency-division multiple access (SC-FDMA) symbols) (for power limited scenarios; limited to a single stream transmission) . The number of slots within a subframe is based on the slot configuration and the numerology. For slot configuration 0, different numerologies μ 0 to 4 allow for 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 slots, respectively, per subframe. For slot configuration 1, different numerologies 0 to 2 allow for 2, 4, and 8 slots, respectively, per subframe. Accordingly, for slot configuration 0 and numerology μ, there are 14 symbols/slot and 2^μ slots/subframe. The subcarrier spacing and symbol length/duration are a function of the numerology. The subcarrier spacing may be equal to 2^μ*15 kilohertz (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 slot configuration 0 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.

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_x for one particular configuration, where 100x is the port number, 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) , each CCE including nine RE groups (REGs) , each REG including four consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol. A PDCCH within one BWP may be referred to as a control resource set (CORESET) . 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 aforementioned 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) acknowledgement (ACK) /non-acknowledgement (NACK) feedback. 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 102/180 in communication with a UE 104 in an access network. In the DL, IP packets from the EPC 160 may be provided to one or more controller/processors 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 104. Each spatial stream may then be provided to a different antenna 320 via a separate transmitter 318TX. Each transmitter 318TX may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

At the UE 104, 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 104. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 104, 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 comprises 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 102/180. 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 102/180 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 a memory 360 that stores program codes and data. The memory 360 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium and may be any of the types of computer-readable mediums discussed herein (e.g., RAM, ROM, EEPROM, optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, combinations of the aforementioned 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) . 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 from the EPC 160. 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 102/180, 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 102/180 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 102/180 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver function at the UE 104. 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 a memory 376 that stores program codes and data. The memory 376 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium and may be any of the types of computer-readable mediums discussed herein (e.g., RAM, ROM, EEPROM, optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, combinations of the aforementioned 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) . 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 from the UE 104. IP packets from the controller/processor 375 may be provided to the EPC 160. 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 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 199 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example disaggregated base station 400 architecture. The disaggregated base station 400 architecture may include one or more CUs 410 that can communicate directly with a core network 420 via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 420 through one or more disaggregated base station units (such as a near real-time (RT) RIC 425 via an E2 link, or a non-RT RIC 415 associated with a service management and orchestration (SMO) Framework 405, or both) . A CU 410 may communicate with one or more DUs 430 via respective midhaul links, such as an F1 interface. The DUs 430 may communicate with one or more RUs 440 via respective fronthaul links. The RUs 440 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 440. As used herein, a network entity may correspond to a base station or to a disaggregated aspect (e.g., CU/DU/RU, etc. ) of the base station.

Each of the units, i.e., the CUs 410, the DUs 430, the RUs 440, as well as the near-RT RICs 425, the non-RT RICs 415 and the SMO framework 405, may include one or more interfaces or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or 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 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 transceiver (such as a radio frequency (RF) transceiver) , configured to receive or transmit signals, or both, over a wireless transmission medium to one or more of the other units.

In some aspects, the CU 410 may host 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 410. The CU 410 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 410 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 the E1 interface when implemented in an O-RAN configuration. The CU 410 can be implemented to communicate with the DU 430, as necessary, for network control and signaling.

The DU 430 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions to control the operation of one or more RUs 440. In some aspects, the DU 430 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 and demodulation, or the like) depending, at least in part, on a functional split, such as those defined by the 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) . In some aspects, the DU 430 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 430, or with the control functions hosted by the CU 410.

Lower-layer functionality can be implemented by one or more RUs 440. In some deployments, an RU 440, controlled by a DU 430, 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) 440 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) 440 can be controlled by the corresponding DU 430. In some scenarios, this configuration can enable the DU (s) 430 and the CU 410 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture, such as a virtual RAN (vRAN) architecture.

The SMO Framework 405 may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 405 may be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which may be managed via an operations and maintenance interface (such as an O1 interface) . For virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 405 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-cloud) 490) 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 410, DUs 430, RUs 440 and near-RT RICs 425. In some implementations, the SMO framework 405 can communicate with a hardware aspect of a 4G RAN, such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 411, via an O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, the SMO Framework 405 can communicate directly with one or more RUs 440 via an O1 interface. The SMO framework 405 also may include the non-RT RIC 415 configured to support functionality of the SMO Framework 405.

The non-RT RIC 415 may be configured to include a logical function that enables non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) workflows including model training and updates, or policy-based guidance of applications/features in the near-RT RIC 425. The non-RT RIC 415 may be coupled to or communicate with (such as via an A1 interface) the near-RT RIC 425. The near-RT RIC 425 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 410, one or more DUs 430, or both, as well as an O-eNB, with the near-RT RIC 425.

In some implementations, to generate AI/ML models to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 425, the non-RT RIC 415 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from external servers. Such information may be utilized by the near-RT RIC 425 and may be received at the SMO Framework 405 or the non-RT RIC 415 from non-network data sources or from network functions. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 415 or the near-RT RIC 425 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 415 may monitor long-term trends and patterns for performance and employ AI/ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMO Framework 405 (such as reconfiguration via O1) or via creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 policies) .

Examples of UE-Initiated Beam Management

In conventional cellular communications, beam management functions are typically controlled by the base station. For example, FIG. 5 is a call-flow diagram illustrating example communications 500 between the base station 102 and UE 104 for channel state reporting.

Initially, at a first communication 502, the base station 102 may transmit a request for a beam or channel report to the UE 104. In some examples, the first communication 502 may be DCI signaling indicating a request for CSI reporting by the UE 104. In some examples, the base station 102 may have previously configured UE 104 with a CSI-RS configuration for periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic CSI-RS. That is, the base station may transmit CSI-RSs to the UE 104 according to a periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic configuration, and when requested by the base station, the UE 104 may measure the CSI-RSs and transmit a report based on the measurements.

At a second communication 504, the base station 102 may transmit one or more CSI-RS signals to the UE 104 according to the CSI-RS configuration. At a first process 506, and upon receiving the report request, the UE 104 may perform a channel or beam measurement by measuring the CSI-RS signals of the second communication 504. At a second process 508, the UE 104 may generate a report comprising an indication of the CSI-RS measurement (s) for transmission to the base station 102.

At a third communication 510, the UE 104 may transmit the report to the base station 102 in response to the report request of the first communication 502. At a third process 512, The base station 102 receives and uses the report to make decisions about how to communicate with the UE 104. For example, the base station 102 may adjust its transmission power, change a modulation scheme, use a different antenna configuration to improve the signal quality, change beams used for transmission and/or reception, etc.

Accordingly, the base station 102 may control when and how the UE 104 measures and reports channel measurements to the base station 102 and may further control how the UE 104 behaves based on the measurements. This method of CSI reporting may introduce a relatively high level of latency to communications between the UE 104 and base station 102 because if the communications are mostly downlink transmissions, then the base station 102 may not be aware of a deteriorating channel. However, UE 104 may be able to determine the deterioration much earlier than the base station 102.

Thus, aspects of the disclosure are directed to UE-initiated beam management for reducing such latencies associated with only base station 102 beam management control. UE-initiated beam management may relate to a UE 104 that actively participates in managing and maintaining channel conditions between it and the base station 102. In traditional wireless networks, the base station (or Node B in 5G terminology) typically handles beam management. For example, a UE 104 configured for UE-initiated or event-driven beam management may monitor link quality and transmit measurement reports to the base station 102 without being prompted by a request from the base station 102. In some examples, the UE 104 may make its own adjustments to a beam direction or beam selection based on specific events or triggers. For instance, if the UE 104 detects that signal quality is deteriorating, it can send a report to the base station 102 without a base station 102 request, prompting the base station 102 to adjust the beam. Alternatively, the UE 104 could switch to a better beam (if one is available) without waiting for instructions from the base station 102. This approach reflects a proactive approach by the UE 104 that can lead to a more efficient use of the spectrum and faster response times to changes in the radio environment.

However, UE-initiated beam management requires the UE 104 to perform relatively more radio link monitoring (e.g., receiving and measuring CSI-RSs) than in the conventional method of base station 102 only beam management. This increase in beam monitoring activity by the UE 104 may increase power consumption at the UE 104, which is often times battery powered. Thus, aspects of the disclosure are directed to methods and techniques for reducing power consumption at a UE 104 configured to perform UE-initiated beam management.

Radio Link Monitoring (RLM) and Beam Failure Detection (BFD) Relaxation

As discussed, a UE 104 configured for UE-initiated beam management may frequently perform channel measurements. For example, the UE 104 may perform measurements for radio link monitoring (RLM) and beam failure detection (BFD) in order to proactively take action to maintain channel quality.

In certain aspects, reduced power consumption at a UE 104 configured for UE-initiated beam management may be achieved by relaxing UE measurement requirements for RLM and/or BFD. For example, a UE 104 may be configured to relax (e.g., reduce) how frequently RLM and/or BFD measurements are performed when certain criteria are met. Such criteria may include low beam mobility and/or low cell mobility (e.g., the UE 104 remains in a geographic location with little to no movement) , and good serving cell quality and/or good beam quality. The low mobility criterion and good quality criterion evaluation may be based on one or more of a reference signal received power (RSRP) , signal-to-noise ratio (SINR) , reference signal received quality (RSRQ) , received signal strength indicator (RSSI) , etc., measurement performed by the UE 104 on layer 1 (L1) and/or layer 3 (L3) reference signals (e.g., SSB, periodic or semi-persistent CSI-RS, or any suitable reference signal) received from the serving cell and/or a candidate serving cell.

Thus, in certain aspects, while the UE 104 performs RLM and/or BFD measurements, the UE 104 may determine that it meets the criteria for one or more of low mobility or good quality. The UE 104 may then relax its RLM and/or BFD measurements in response to an event upon which the UE 104 meets the criteria and/or report the event to the base station 102, as discussed in more detail below.

Examples of UE Indicated Events

In certain aspects, a UE 104 configured for UE-initiated beam management may report to a serving cell (e.g., base station 102) , events that qualify the UE 104 for relaxed RLM and/or BFD measurements. Such reports may be transmitted to a serving cell in response to the UE determining that it meets the criteria for relaxed RLM and/or BFD measurements based on measurements of reference signals received from the serving cell or a candidate cell. Accordingly, such reports may be triggered independent of any request or other command issued by the serving cell. As discussed herein, a UE determination that it meets the criteria, or no longer meets the criteria, may be described as an “event. ”

As discussed, a UE 104 configured for UE-initiated beam management may frequently perform measurements on reference signals received from a serving cell and/or a candidate cell. In one example, the UE 104 may experience an event wherein it determines that it meets the criteria for a low beam mobility condition, and thus, may relax its RLM and/or BFD measurement requirements. Here, the low beam mobility condition is met if the UE 104 determines that a reference signal measurement value is within an offset of a reference value. For example, if the UE 104 measures an RSRP of a reference signal received from a serving cell or a candidate cell, and a difference of the measured RSRP value and the reference value is equal to or less than a threshold value, then the UE 104 may qualify to relax its RLM and/or BFD measurement requirements.

In another example, the UE 104 may experience an event wherein it determines that it meets the criteria for a low cell mobility condition, and thus, may relax its RLM and/or BFD measurement requirements. Here, the UE 104 may measure a set of multiple reference signals associated with multiple different beams of a particular cell (e.g., serving cell or candidate cell) . Similar to the low beam mobility condition above, the low cell mobility condition is met if the UE 104 determines that a reference signal measurement value is within an offset of a reference value. For example, if the UE 104 measures an RSRP of a reference signal received from a serving cell or a candidate cell, and a difference of the measured RSRP value and the reference value is equal to or less than a threshold value, then the UE 104 may qualify to relax its RLM and/or BFD measurement requirements. In some examples, the measured RSRP value may be one of: the lowest RSRP value measured of the set of multiple reference signals, the highest RSRP value measured of the set of multiple reference signals, or an average of RSRP measurements of each reference signal in the set of multiple reference signals.

In another example, the UE 104 may experience an event wherein it determines that it meets the criteria for a good beam condition, and thus, may relax its RLM and/or BFD measurement requirements. Here, the UE 104 may measure a reference signal received from a serving or candidate cell. If the UE 104 determines that the reference signal measurement value is greater than or equal to a threshold value, then the UE 104 may qualify to relax its RLM and/or BFD measurement requirements.

In another example, the UE 104 may experience an event wherein it determines that it meets the criteria for a good cell condition, and thus, may relax its RLM and/or BFD measurement requirements. Here, the UE 104 may measure a set of multiple reference signals associated with multiple different beams of a particular cell. If the UE determines that a reference signal measurement value is greater than or equal to a threshold value, then the UE 104 may qualify to relax its RLM and/or BFD measurement requirements. In some examples, the reference signal measurement value may be one of: the lowest RSRP value measured of the set of multiple reference signals, the highest RSRP value measured of the set of multiple reference signals, or an average of RSRP measurements of each reference signal in the set of multiple reference signals.

It should be noted that satisfying the threshold condition for any of a low beam mobility condition, a low cell mobility condition, a good beam condition, or a good cell condition is an event that the UE 104 may report to the serving cell as part of a UE-initiated beam management process, and thus, independent of any command or request from the serving cell.

As discussed, the UE 104 may transmit a report to the serving cell indicating an event associated with a low cell/beam mobility condition and/or a good cell/beam condition that meets the criteria for relaxing its RLM and/or BFD measurement requirements. In some examples, the UE 104 may report the event if the event continues for a (pre) configured duration of time. Here, an event may occur when the UE 104 measures received reference signals, and a first measured value meets a criterion for low cell/beam mobility condition and/or a good cell/beam condition. The duration of time may begin when the first measured value is determined to meet the criterion. The UE 104 may continue to measure reference signals, and if subsequent measured values meet the criterion within the duration of time, the UE 104 may transmit a report to the serving cell indicating that the UE 104 meets the criteria for relaxing its RLM and/or BFD measurement requirements.

Alternatively, the UE 104 may be configured such that the UE may transmit the report to the serving cell if a (pre-) configured number of consecutive measurements result in measured values that meet the criterion. For example, if five consecutive measurements result in measured values that meet the criterion. In some examples, instead of a number of consecutive measurements, the UE may transmit the report to the serving cell if a (pre-) configured ratio of measurements result in measured values that meet the criterion. For example, the UE 104 may transmit the report to the serving cell if four out of five measurements meet the criterion.

FIG. 6 is a chart illustrating an example of relaxed beam measurement behavior 600 at the UE 104. Here, the relaxed beam measurement behavior may begin in response to an event where the UE 104 is in a low beam/cell mobility and/or a good beam/cell condition. The UE 104 may end the relaxed beam measurement behavior in response to an end of the event. Here, a vertical axis of the chart corresponds to a frequency domain, while a horizontal axis corresponds to a time domain. It should be noted that although FIG. 6 relates to beam management behavior of the UE 104 in terms of semi-persistent (SP) CSI reporting or persistent CSI reporting, any suitable beam management behavior of a UE 104 configured for UE-initiated beam management may be used. For example, any RLM, radio resource management (RRM) , and/or BFD measurements and/or processes at the UE 104.

In some examples, the UE 104 may be configured by a serving cell to measure and report on reference signals (e.g., CSI-RSs and/or SSBs) transmitted by the serving cell and/or a candidate cell. For instance, the serving cell may configure CSI reporting at the UE 104 via an RRC message. The RRC message may indicate a periodicity of CSI reports (e.g., how often the UE 104 is expected to transmit a report to the serving cell) , the format of the CSI reports, the resources to use for CSI-RS measurements, etc. Accordingly, the UE 104 may continually measure channel conditions between the UE 104 and one or more of the serving cell and candidate cell (s) based on the configuration. The measurements could include metrics such as RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, and/or any other suitable metric.

Based on these measurements, the UE 104 may periodically generate and transmit a CSI report to the serving cell. As illustrated, a serving cell has configured the UE 104 to measure semi-persistent CSI-RSs and periodically transmit a report indicating the measurement results to the serving cell. Here, the UE 104 may transmit a first report 602 and an nth report 604 (e.g., CSI report) to the serving cell, with each report indicating the results of measurements performed by the UE 104 on CSI-RSs.

At the nth report 604, the UE 104 may determine that it is in an event corresponding to one or more of a low cell/beam mobility condition and/or a good cell/beam condition. For example, the UE 104 may determine, based on channel conditions, that it qualifies for relaxed beam measurement behavior because the L1 and L3 measurements (in connection with the serving cell or a candidate cell) discussed above satisfy a corresponding threshold condition. In response to this determination, the UE 104 may transmit a first indication 612 notifying the serving cell that it has an event has started. The first indication 612 may be part of the nth report 604, or it may be a separate transmission (e.g., a UCI) .

In response to the first indication 612, the serving cell may transmit a message (e.g., DCI) to the UE 104 indicating that the UE 104 may end one or more beam measurement behaviors. In the example illustrated, the serving cell indicated that the UE 104 stop transmitting CSI reports. Accordingly, the UE 104 may continue to measure CSI-RS and/or other reference signals but refrain from generating and transmitting CSI reports to the serving cell for a time duration 606 starting upon receipt of the serving cell message.

At a last CSI-RS measurement 616 made within the time duration 606, the UE 104 may determine that the event has ended. For example, the UE 104 may determine, based on channel conditions (e.g., one or more CSI-RS measurements including the last CSI-RS measurement 616) , that it no longer qualifies for relaxed beam measurement behavior (e.g., the CSI-RS measurements no longer satisfy the corresponding threshold condition) . Here, the UE 104 may transmit, to the serving station, a second indication 614 that the event has ended. In response the serving cell may transmit a message to the UE 104 for the UE 104 to resume transmission of CSI reports. Upon receipt of the message, the UE 104 may resume generating and transmitting reports to the serving cell, such as a second SP CSI report 608.

As such, for durations of time where channel conditions between the UE 104 and one or more of the serving cell or a candidate cell have a low cell/beam mobility condition and/or a good cell/beam condition, the UE 104 may save power by refraining from generating and transmitting measurement reports during that duration of time.

FIG. 7 is a call-flow diagram illustrating communications 700 between a UE 104 and a serving cell 102 in connection with the example of relaxed beam measurement behavior of FIG. 6. The UE 104 may be configured for UE-initiated beam management.

At a first communication 702, the serving cell 102 may transmit a configuration message configuring the UE 104 to measure L1 and/or L3 signaling and periodically transmit a report back to the serving cell based on the measurements. The L1 and/or L3 signaling may be signaling transmitted by the serving cell and/or by a candidate cell.

At a second communication 704, the serving cell may transmit the L1 and/or L3 signaling that the UE has been configured to measure and report. The UE 104 may be configured to receive L1 and/or L3 signaling via one or multiple beams (e.g., a set of beams) , and measure signaling from each of the beams. In some examples, the signaling includes CSI-RS and/or SSB. It should be noted that in some examples the candidate cell may transmit the CSI-RS and/or SSB that the UE 104 receives and measures.

At a first process 706, the UE 104 may measure the signaling received at the second communication 704 and generate a report based on the measurements for transmission to the serving cell 102. Based on the measuring, the UE 104 may determine that the signaling received from the serving cell or candidate cell has a quality value that satisfies a threshold condition. For example, the UE 104 may measure an RSRP of the received signaling and determine that the RSRP value satisfies one or more threshold conditions for a low cell/beam mobility condition or a good cell/beam condition.

At a second process 708, the UE 104 may determine the start of an event based on the determination that the measured value (e.g., a channel quality value) of the received signaling satisfies one or more threshold conditions. In one example, the event is indicative of a low beam-mobility state and/or a low cell-mobility state, wherein the threshold condition is satisfied by the measured value of the received signaling being within a range of quality values. In some examples, the UE 104 may determine a difference between the measured value and a reference value, then determine if the difference between the two values is less than or equal to a threshold value. If the difference between the two values is within a range of values that are equal to or less than the threshold value, then the UE 104 is in a low beam-mobility state and/or a low cell-mobility state associated with the particular beam by which the measured signaling was received by the UE 104. The UE 104 may use the following equation to determine whether it has entered an event associated with a low beam-mobility state. It should be noted that although Equation 1 is provided in terms of RSRP values, any suitable metric may be used as an alternative:
RSRP_REF –RSRP_MV ≤ RSRP_THRES Equation 1

where:

RSRP_REF is a reference RSRP value that may be configured by the serving cell 102 at the first communication 702;

RSRP_MV is a UE-measured value of an RSRP of a signal received by the UE via a first beam; and

RSRP_THRES is a threshold RSRP value that may be configured by the serving cell 102 at the first communication 702.

The UE 104 may use the following equation to determine whether it has entered an event associated with a low cell-mobility state.
RSRP_REF –RSRP_SET ≤ RSRP_SET-THRES Equation 2

where:

RSRP_REF is the reference RSRP value that may be configured by the serving cell 102 at the first communication 702;

RSRP_SET is an RSRP value corresponding to a minimum RSRP value, a maximum RSRP value, or an average RSRP value of RSRPs measured from a set of reference signals received via multiple different beams from the serving cell or candidate cell; and

RSRP_SET-THRES is a threshold RSRP value associated with the set of reference signals that may be configured by the serving cell 102 at the first communication 702.

In another example, the event is indicative of a good beam condition and/or a good cell condition, wherein the threshold condition is satisfied by the measured value being greater than or equal to a reference quality value. The UE 104 may use the following equation to determine whether it has entered an event associated with a good beam condition. It should be noted that although Equation 1 is provided in terms of RSRP values, any suitable metric may be used as an alternative:
RSRP_MV ≥ RSRP_THRES Equation 3

where:

The UE 104 may use the following equation to determine whether it has entered an event associated with a good cell condition.

RSRP_SET ≥ RSRP_SET-THRES Equation 4

where:

At a third communication 710, the UE 104 may transmit the beam report to the serving cell. The beam report may include an indication of the measurement (s) of the signaling received at the second communication 704. At a fourth communication 712, the UE 104 may transmit an indication of one or more events that the UE 104 has entered based on one or more of a low cell/beam mobility condition and/or a good cell/beam condition.

At a fifth communication 714, the serving cell 102 may transmit signaling to the UE 104 instructing the UE 104 to refrain from generating and transmitting channel measurement reports for the duration of the event. Thus, the UE 104 may continue to measure (e.g., at a third process 718) signaling received (e.g., at a sixth communication 716) from the serving cell 102 to determine whether it still satisfies the criteria associated with a particular event, but it may refrain from generating and transmitting reports of the measurements.

At a seventh communication 720, the UE 104 may transmit signaling to the serving cell 102 indicating that the event has ended if subsequent measurements of signals received from the serving cell fail to satisfy the criteria associated with the event (e.g., the equations above) . In response, at an eighth communication 722, the serving cell 102 may transmit signaling to the UE 104 and the UE 104 may resume the beam measurement behavior. In this example, the UE 104 may resume generating and transmitting beam measurement reports.

FIG. 8 is a chart illustrating an example of relaxed beam measurement behavior 800 at the UE 104. Here, the relaxed beam measurement behavior may begin in response to an event where the UE 104 is in a low beam/cell mobility and/or a good beam/cell condition. The UE 104 may end the relaxed beam measurement behavior in response to an end of the event. Here, a vertical axis of the chart corresponds to a frequency domain, while a horizontal axis corresponds to a time domain. It should be noted that although FIG. 8 relates to beam management behavior of the UE 104 in terms of semi-persistent (SP) CSI reporting or persistent CSI reporting, any suitable beam management behavior of a UE 104 configured for UE-initiated beam management may be used. For example, any RLM, radio resource management (RRM) , and/or BFD measurements and/or processes at the UE 104.

Based on these measurements, the UE 104 may periodically generate and transmit a CSI report to the serving cell. As illustrated, a serving cell has configured the UE 104 to measure semi-persistent CSI-RSs and periodically transmit a report indicating the measurement results to the serving cell. Here, the UE 104 may transmit a first report 802 and an nth report 804 to the serving cell, with each report indicating the results of measurements performed by the UE 104 on CSI-RSs.

At the nth report 804, the UE 104 may determine the start of an event corresponding to one or more of a low cell/beam mobility condition and/or a good cell/beam condition. For example, the UE 104 may determine, based on channel conditions, that it qualifies for relaxed beam measurement behavior because the L1 and L3 measurements (in connection with the serving cell or a candidate cell) satisfy a corresponding threshold condition (e.g., one or more of the equations discussed above) . In response to this determination, the UE 104 may transmit a first indication 812 notifying the serving cell that an event has started. The first indication 812 may be part of the nth CSI report 804, or it may be a separate transmission (e.g., a UCI) .

In response to determining the start of an event, the UE 104 may also suspend one or more UE-initiated beam management behaviors and start a timer. The duration of the timer 806 may be configured by the serving cell. The UE 104 may suspend beam management behavior (s) on its own, independent of signaling from the serving cell. In the illustrated example, the UE 104 may continue to refrain from generating and transmitting a CSI report to the serving cell for the duration of the timer 806. Thus, the UE 104 may refrain from transmitting an uplink communication during uplink opportunities that fall within the timer duration. Upon expiration of the timer 814, the UE 104 may resume generating and transmitting CSI reports to the serving cell.

FIG. 9 is a call-flow diagram illustrating communications 900 between a UE 104 and a serving cell 102 in connection with the example of relaxed beam measurement behavior of FIG. 8. The UE 104 may be configured for UE-initiated beam management.

At a first communication 902, the serving cell 102 may transmit a configuration message configuring the UE 104 to measure L1 and/or L3 signaling and periodically transmit a report back to the serving cell based on the measurements. The L1 and/or L3 signaling may be signaling transmitted by the serving cell and/or by a candidate cell.

At a second communication 904, the serving cell may transmit the L1 and/or L3 signaling that the UE has been configured to measure and report. The UE 104 may be configured to receive L1 and/or L3 signaling via one or multiple beams (e.g., a set of beams) , and measure signaling from each of the beams. In some examples, the signaling includes CSI-RS and/or SSB. It should be noted that in some examples the candidate cell may transmit the CSI-RS and/or SSB that the UE 104 receives and measures.

At a first process 906, the UE 104 may measure the signaling received at the second communication 904 and generate a report based on the measurements for transmission to the serving cell 102. Based on the measuring, the UE 104 may determine that the signaling received from the serving cell or candidate cell has a quality value that satisfies a threshold condition. For example, the UE 104 may measure an RSRP of the received signaling and determine that the RSRP value satisfies one or more threshold conditions for a low cell/beam mobility condition or a good cell/beam condition.

At a second process 908, the UE 104 may determine the start of an event based on the determination that the measured value (e.g., a channel quality value) of the received signaling satisfies one or more threshold conditions, as discussed above in connection with FIG. 7. At a third communication 910 and a fourth communication 912, the UE 104 may transmit a CSI report and an indication of the start of the event to the serving cell 102. Upon notifying the serving cell 102 of the event, the UE 104 may initiate a timer and suspend generation and transmission of CSI reports for the timer duration 914. Upon expiration of the timer, at a fifth communication 916, the serving cell 102 may transmit signaling to the UE 104 and the UE 104 may resume the beam measurement behavior. In this example, the UE 104 may resume generating and transmitting beam measurement reports which, in this example, relates to resuming generation and transmission of CSI beam reports to the serving cell 102.

In certain aspects, the UE 104 may suspend beam management processes and/or requirements immediately after transmitting the notification of the event to the serving cell 102 at the fourth communication 912. That is, the UE 104 may start the timer and refrain from generating and transmitting a report immediately after transmitting the notification. However, in some examples, the UE 104 may offset the start of the timer and suspension of beam management processes by an amount of time, so that the timer and suspension does not immediately start after transmission of the notification.

It should be noted that, as described throughout the disclosure, a UE 104 may suspend UE-initiated beam management processes and/or requirements in connection to a specific beam or set of beams for which an event corresponds. Thus, if the UE 104 determines that an event has begun based on measurements of transmissions received via a particular beam or set of beams from the serving cell or candidate cell, then the UE 104 may relax beam management processes and/or requirements for that particular beam or set of beams.

FIG. 10 is a chart illustrating an example of relaxed beam measurement behavior 1000 at the UE 104. Here, the relaxed beam measurement behavior may begin in response to an event where the UE 104 is in a low beam/cell mobility and/or a good beam/cell condition. The UE 104 may end the relaxed beam measurement behavior in response to an end of the event. Here, a vertical axis of the chart corresponds to a frequency domain, while a horizontal axis corresponds to a time domain.

In some examples, the UE 104 may be configured by a serving cell to measure and report on reference signals (e.g., CSI-RSs and/or SSBs) transmitted by the serving cell and/or a candidate cell. Accordingly, the UE 104 may continually measure channel conditions between the UE 104 and one or more of the serving cell and candidate cell (s) based on the configuration.

As illustrated, the UE 104 may be configured to receive and measure CSI-RS and/or SSB signals from one or more of a serving cell and/or a candidate cell. At an nth instance of receiving the signaling, the UE 104 may determine the start of an event corresponding to one or more of a low cell/beam mobility condition and/or a good cell/beam condition associated with the signaling. For example, the UE 104 may determine, based on measured channel conditions, that a beam or set of beams used to receive the CSI-RS and/or SSB signals qualifies for relaxed beam measurement behavior because the measurements satisfy a corresponding threshold condition (e.g., one or more of the equations discussed above) . In response to this determination, the UE 104 may transmit a first indication 1012 notifying the serving cell that an event has started.

In response to determining the start of an event, the UE 104 may also suspend one or more UE-initiated beam management behaviors and start a timer. The duration of the timer 1006 may be configured by the serving cell. The UE 104 may suspend beam management behavior (s) on its own, independent of signaling from the serving cell. In the illustrated example, the UE 104 may refrain from measuring the CSI-RS and/or SSB signals transmitted from a serving cell or candidate cell for the duration of the timer 1006 (e.g., first CSI-RS /SSB measurement 1002 and nth CSI-RS /SSB measurement 1004) . Upon expiration of the timer 1014, the UE 104 may resume measuring the CSI-RS and/or SSB signals (e.g., second CSI-RS /SSB measurement 1008) .

FIG. 11 is a call-flow diagram illustrating communications 1100 between a UE 104 and a serving cell 102 in connection with the example of relaxed beam measurement behavior of FIG. 10. The UE 104 may be configured for UE-initiated beam management.

At a first communication 1102, the serving cell 102 may transmit a configuration message configuring the UE 104 to measure CSI-RS (s) transmitted by the serving cell or a candidate cell. The UE 104 may also measure SSB signals received from one or more of the serving cell 102 and/or candidate cell. For example, the UE 104 may monitor and measure the RSRP of an SSB for cell selection, cell reselection, and handover decisions.

At a second communication 1104, the serving cell may transmit the CSI-RS and/or SSB signaling that the UE 104 has been configured to measure. The UE 104 may be configured to receive the CSI-RS and/or SSB via one or multiple beams (e.g., a set of beams) . At a first process 1106, the UE 104 may measure the signaling received at the second communication 1104. Based on the measuring, the UE 104 may determine that the signaling received from the serving cell or candidate cell has a quality value that satisfies a threshold condition. For example, the UE 104 may measure an RSRP of the received signaling and determine that the RSRP value satisfies one or more threshold conditions for a low cell/beam mobility condition or a good cell/beam condition.

At a second process 1108, the UE 104 may determine the start of an event based on the determination that the measured value (e.g., a channel quality value) of the received signaling satisfies one or more threshold conditions, as discussed above in connection with FIG. 7. At a third communication 1110, the UE 104 may transmit an indication of the start of the event to the serving cell 102. Upon notifying the serving cell 102 of the event, the UE 104 may initiate a timer and suspend measuring CSI-RS and/or SSB for the timer duration 1112. Upon expiration of the timer, the UE 104 may resume UE-initiated beam management behavior which, in this example, relates to resuming measuring of CSI-RS and/or SSB signals. For example, at a fourth communication 1114, the UE 104 may receive and measure CSI-RS and/or SSB transmitted by the serving cell 102 and/or a candidate cell.

In certain aspects, the UE 104 may suspend CSI-RS and/or SSB measurements immediately after transmitting the notification of the event to the serving cell 102 at the third communication 1110. That is, the UE 104 may start the timer and refrain from measuring CSI-RS and/or SSB signals immediately after transmitting the notification. However, in some examples, the UE 104 may offset the start of the timer and suspension of beam management processes by an amount of time, so that the timer and suspension does not immediately start after transmission of the notification.

Moreover, as described throughout the disclosure, the UE 104 may transmit an indication of a beginning of an event and, in some examples, an indication of an end of an event to a serving cell. These indications may be configured to identify one or more of: a beam or set of beams associated with the event and/or a type of event (e.g., low cell mobility, low beam mobility, good cell condition, good beam condition) .

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a method 1200 of wireless communication. The method 1200 may be performed by a UE (e.g., the UE 104; the apparatus 1302) . Specifically, the method 1200 may be performed by one or more processors and memories (e.g., controller/processor 359 and memory 360 of FIG. 3) .

At 1202, the UE may obtain a first reference signal from a serving cell or a candidate cell. For example, 1202 may be performed by an obtaining component 1340. Here, the UE may receive a reference signal, such as a CSI-RS or an SSB.

At 1204, the UE may optionally refrain, for a time duration after the first reference signal satisfies the threshold condition, from outputting a beam measurement report associated with the first beam for transmission to the serving cell. For example, 1204 may be performed by a refraining component 1342. Here, the UE may implicitly relax beam measurement behavior after determining that an event exists or after indicating the event to the serving cell.

At 1206, the UE may optionally refrain, for the time duration after the first reference signal satisfies the threshold condition, from measuring reference signals to be obtained via the first beam after the first reference signal. For example, 1206 may be performed by the refraining component 1342. Here, the UE may refrain for the duration of a timer, from transmitting an uplink communication to the serving cell.

At 1208, the UE may output, for transmission to the serving cell, an indication of an apparatus-initiated beam management event, wherein the indication is outputted after a first quality value associated with the first reference signal satisfies a threshold condition. For example, 1208 may be performed by an outputting component 1344. Here, the UE may transmit an uplink communication to the serving cell notifying it that the UE has detected an event associated with downlink signaling received from the serving cell or a candidate cell.

At 1210, the UE may optionally obtain a second reference signal from the serving cell or the candidate cell from which the first reference signal was obtained, wherein at least one of: a second quality value associated with the second reference signal satisfies the threshold condition; or each of the first reference signal and the second reference signal comprises at least one of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a synchronization signal block (SSB) . For example, 1210 may be performed by the obtaining component 1340. Here, the UE may receive additional downlink signals and, based on measuring the signals, determine that the signals satisfy the threshold condition and thus indicate an event. Accordingly, the event is detected twice over a period of time: once based on the first reference signal and once based on the second reference signal.

At 1212, the UE may optionally obtain a second reference signal from the serving cell or the candidate cell from which the first reference signal was obtained. For example, 1212 may be performed by the obtaining component 1340. Here, the UE may continue to receive downlink signaling and from the serving cell and candidate cell, and may continue to measure the signaling.

At 1214, the UE may optionally output, for transmission to the serving cell, another indication that the apparatus is no longer operating in the at least one of the low beam mobility state, the low cell mobility state, the beam quality state, or the cell quality state, wherein the other indication is outputted after the second reference signal does not satisfy the threshold condition. For example, 1214 may be performed by the outputting component 1344. Here, the UE may determine, based on measuring downlink signals from the serving cell and/or candidate cell, that a previously detected event has ended. The UE may then transmit an indication to the serving cell that the event has ended.

At 1216, the UE may optionally resume outputting the beam measurement report for transmission to the serving cell after refraining from outputting the beam report. For example, 1216 may be performed by a resuming component 1346. For example, the UE may refrain from performing measurements and/or generating and transmitting beam reports for a duration of time. When the duration of time is over (e.g., a timer expires or an event ends) , the UE may resume uplink transmissions and/or measurements.

At 1218, the UE may optionally resume measuring the reference signals to be obtained via the first beam after refraining from measuring the reference signals. For example, 1218 may be performed by the resuming component 1346. Here, as with 1216 above, the UE may resume performing UE-initiated beam management functions in response to an end of a relaxation timer, an end of an event, etc.

At 1220, the UE may optionally obtain, from the serving cell and after outputting the indication of the apparatus-initiated beam management event, signaling configured to cause the apparatus to at least one of: refrain, for a time duration, from outputting a beam measurement report associated with the first beam for transmission to the serving cell; or refrain, for the time duration, from measuring a second reference signal to be obtained via the first beam after the first reference signal is obtained. For example, 1220 may be performed by the obtaining component 1340. Here, the UE may transmit a beam report or request to the serving cell, notifying the cell of an event detected by the UE. In response, the serving cell may transmit signaling to the UE requesting that the UE refrain from performing a particular one or more aspects of UE-initiated beam forming.

In certain aspects, at least one of: the event is indicative of a low beam-mobility state, or the threshold condition is satisfied by the first quality value being within a range of quality values.

In certain aspects, the event is indicative of a beam-quality state, and the threshold condition is satisfied by the first quality value being greater than or equal to a reference quality value.

In certain aspects, the event is indicative of a low cell-mobility state; and the threshold condition is satisfied by one of: a greater of the first quality value and a second quality value associated with the second reference signal, a lesser of the first quality value and the second quality value, and an average of the first quality value and the second quality value, being within a range of quality values.

In certain aspects, the event is indicative of a cell-quality state; and the threshold condition is satisfied by one of: a greater of the first quality value and a second quality value associated with the second reference signal, a lesser of the first quality value and the second quality value, and an average of the first quality value and the second quality value, being greater than or equal to a reference quality value.

In certain aspects, the first reference signal is obtained at a first time instance, wherein the second reference signal is obtained at a second time instance different from the first time instance, and wherein the indication of the apparatus-initiated beam management event is output for transmission based further on the first time instance and the second time instance occurring within a pre-configured time window.

In certain aspects, the indication of the apparatus-initiated beam management event is output for transmission after the quality condition is satisfied at least once.

In certain aspects, the apparatus-initiated beam management event is configured to indicate that the apparatus is operating in at least one of a low beam mobility state, a low cell mobility state, a beam quality state, or a cell quality state after the first quality value satisfies the threshold condition.

In certain aspects, the first reference signal comprises at least one of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a synchronization signal block (SSB)

In certain aspects, the indication of the apparatus-initiated beam management event is output for transmission independent of a request for the indication from the serving cell and the candidate cell.

In certain aspects, the first quality value comprises a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement value.

FIG. 13 is a diagram 1300 illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus 1302. The apparatus 1302 is a UE and includes a cellular baseband processor 1304 (also referred to as a modem) coupled to a cellular RF transceiver 1322 and one or more subscriber identity modules (SIM) cards 1320, an application processor 1306 coupled to a secure digital (SD) card 1308 and a screen 1310, a Bluetooth module 1312, a wireless local area network (WLAN) module 1314, a Global Positioning System (GPS) module 1316, and a power supply 1318. The cellular baseband processor 1304 communicates through the cellular RF transceiver 1322 with the UE 104 and/or BS 102/180. The cellular baseband processor 1304 may include a computer-readable medium /memory. The computer-readable medium /memory may be non-transitory. The cellular baseband processor 1304 is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium /memory. The software, when executed by the cellular baseband processor 1304, causes the cellular baseband processor 1304 to perform the various functions described supra. The computer-readable medium /memory may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the cellular baseband processor 1304 when executing software. The cellular baseband processor 1304 further includes a reception component 1330, a communication manager 1332, and a transmission component 1334. The communication manager 1332 includes the one or more illustrated components. The components within the communication manager 1332 may be stored in the computer-readable medium /memory and/or configured as hardware within the cellular baseband processor 1304. The cellular baseband processor 1304 may be a component of the UE 104 and may include the 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 1302 may be a modem chip and include just the baseband processor 1304, and in another configuration, the apparatus 1302 may be the entire UE (e.g., see UE 104 of FIG. 3) and include the aforediscussed additional modules of the apparatus 1302. In various examples, the apparatus 1302 can be a chip, SoC, chipset, package or device that may include: one or more modems (such as a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem such as 3GPP 4G LTE or 5G compliant modem) ; one or more processors, processing blocks or processing elements (collectively “the processor” ) ; one or more radios (collectively “the radio” ) ; and one or more memories or memory blocks (collectively “the memory” ) .

The communication manager 1332 includes an obtaining component 1340 that is configured to obtain a first reference signal from a serving cell or a candidate cell; obtain a second reference signal from the serving cell or the candidate cell from which the first reference signal was obtained, wherein at least one of: a second quality value associated with the second reference signal satisfies the threshold condition; or each of the first reference signal and the second reference signal comprises at least one of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a synchronization signal block (SSB) ; obtain a second reference signal from the serving cell or the candidate cell from which the first reference signal was obtained; obtain, from the serving cell and after outputting the indication of the apparatus-initiated beam management event, signaling configured to cause the apparatus to at least one of: refrain, for a time duration, from outputting a beam measurement report associated with the first beam for transmission to the serving cell; and/or refrain, for the time duration, from measuring a second reference signal to be obtained via the first beam after the first reference signal is obtained; e.g., as described in connection with 1202, 1210, 1212, and 1220 of FIG. 12.

The communication manager 1332 includes a refraining component 1342 configured to refrain, for a time duration after the first reference signal satisfies the threshold condition, from outputting a beam measurement report associated with the first beam for transmission to the serving cell; and refrain, for the time duration after the first reference signal satisfies the threshold condition, from measuring reference signals to be obtained via the first beam after the first reference signal; e.g., as described in connection with 1204 and 1206 of FIG. 12.

The communication manager 1332 includes an outputting component 1344 configured to output, for transmission to the serving cell, an indication of an apparatus-initiated beam management event, wherein the indication is outputted after a first quality value associated with the first reference signal satisfies a threshold condition; and output, for transmission to the serving cell, another indication that the apparatus is no longer operating in the at least one of the low beam mobility state, the low cell mobility state, the beam quality state, or the cell quality state, wherein the other indication is outputted after the second reference signal does not satisfy the threshold condition; e.g., as described in connection with 1208 and 1214 of FIG. 12.

The communication manager 1332 includes a component 1346 configured to resume outputting the beam measurement report for transmission to the serving cell after refraining from outputting the beam report; and resume measuring the reference signals to be obtained via the first beam after refraining from measuring the reference signals; e.g., as described in connection with 1216 and 1218 of FIG. 12.

The apparatus may include additional components that perform each of the blocks of the algorithm in the aforementioned flowchart of FIG. 12. As such, each block in the aforementioned flowchart may be performed by a component and the apparatus may include one or more of those components. The components may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to carry out the stated processes/algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to perform the stated processes/algorithm, stored within a computer-readable medium for implementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

In one configuration, the apparatus 1302, and in particular the cellular baseband processor 1304, includes: means for obtaining a first reference signal from a serving cell or a candidate cell; means for refraining, for a time duration after the first reference signal satisfies the threshold condition, from outputting a beam measurement report associated with the first beam for transmission to the serving cell; means for refraining, for the time duration after the first reference signal satisfies the threshold condition, from measuring reference signals to be obtained via the first beam after the first reference signal; means for outputting, for transmission to the serving cell, an indication of an apparatus-initiated beam management event, wherein the indication is outputted after a first quality value associated with the first reference signal satisfies a threshold condition; means for obtaining a second reference signal from the serving cell or the candidate cell from which the first reference signal was obtained, wherein at least one of: a second quality value associated with the second reference signal satisfies the threshold condition; or each of the first reference signal and the second reference signal comprises at least one of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a synchronization signal block (SSB) ; means for obtaining a second reference signal from the serving cell or the candidate cell from which the first reference signal was obtained; means for outputting, for transmission to the serving cell, another indication that the apparatus is no longer operating in the at least one of the low beam mobility state, the low cell mobility state, the beam quality state, or the cell quality state, wherein the other indication is outputted after the second reference signal does not satisfy the threshold condition; means for resuming outputting the beam measurement report for transmission to the serving cell after refraining from outputting the beam report; means for resuming measuring the reference signals to be obtained via the first beam after refraining from measuring the reference signals; and means for obtaining, from the serving cell and after outputting the indication of the apparatus-initiated beam management event, signaling configured to cause the apparatus to at least one of: refrain, for a time duration, from outputting a beam measurement report associated with the first beam for transmission to the serving cell; or refrain, for the time duration, from measuring a second reference signal to be obtained via the first beam after the first reference signal is obtained.

The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned components of the apparatus 1302 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. As described supra, the apparatus 1302 may include the TX Processor 368, the RX Processor 356, and the controller/processor 359. As such, in one configuration, the aforementioned means may be the TX Processor 368, the RX Processor 356, and the controller/processor 359 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.

Means for receiving or means for obtaining may include a receiver, such as the receive processor 356 and/or antenna (s) 352 of the UE 104 illustrated in FIG. 3. Means for transmitting or means for outputting may include a transmitter, such as the transmit processor 368 or antenna (s) 352 of the UE 104 illustrated in FIG. 3. Means for refraining and means for resuming may include a processing system, which may include one or more processors, such as the controller/processor 359, the memory 360, and/or any other suitable hardware components of the UE 104 illustrated in FIG. 3.

In some cases, rather than actually transmitting a frame a device may have an interface to output a frame for transmission (ameans for outputting) . For example, a processor may output a frame, via a bus interface, to a radio frequency (RF) front end for transmission. Similarly, rather than actually receiving a frame, a device may have an interface to obtain a frame received from another device (ameans for obtaining) . For example, a processor may obtain (or receive) a frame, via a bus interface, from an RF front end for reception.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart 1400 of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a network entity (e.g., RU 440 of FIG. 4) or a base station (e.g., the base station 102/180; the apparatus 1502. Specifically, the method may be performed by one or more processors and memories (e.g., the controller/processor 375 in FIG. 3, memory 376 in FIG. 3, etc. ) .

At 1402, the network entity may output, for transmission to a wireless node, a first reference signal via a first beam. For example, 1402 may be performed by an outputting component 1540. Here, the network entity may transmit one or more reference signals that a UE may receive and measure as part of a UE-initiated beam management function.

At 1404, the network entity may obtain, from the wireless node, an indication of a beam management event initiated by the wireless node, wherein the beam management event is indicative of the first reference signal satisfying a threshold condition. For example, 1404 may be performed by the obtaining component 1542. Here, the UE may measure the first reference signal and report an indication of whether an event occurred and/or an indication of whether the UE will continue to perform UE-initiated beam management behavior.

At 1406, the network entity may optionally output, for transmission to the wireless node after the indication of the beam management event is obtained, signaling configured to cause the wireless node to at least one of: refrain, for a time duration, from outputting a beam measurement report associated with the first beam for transmission to the apparatus; or refrain, for the time duration, from measuring reference signals to be obtained via the first beam. For example, 1406 may be performed by the outputting component 1540. Here, if the UE reports information indicative of a certain event, the network entity may send the UE a request to refrain from performing certain aspects of UE-initiated beam management in order to reduce power consumption at the UE. In some examples, the aspects indicated by the network entity are associated with the event reported by the UE.

At 1408, the network entity may optionally output, for transmission to the wireless node, signaling configured to indicate at least one of: a first time duration for which the wireless node refrains from outputting the beam measurement report associated with the first beam; or a second time duration for which the wireless node refrains from measuring reference signals to be obtained via the first beam. For example, 1408 may be performed by the outputting component 1540. Here, if the UE reports information indicative of a certain event, the network entity may send the UE a request to refrain from performing certain aspects of UE-initiated beam management, such as measuring reference signals and/or transmitting reports to the network entity.

At 1410, the network entity may optionally obtain from the wireless node after expiration of the time duration, the beam measurement report associated with the first beam. For example, 1410 may be performed by the obtaining component 1542. Here, once the time duration has expired, the UE may begin performing UE-initiated beam management processes that the UE previously suspended.

At 1412, the network entity may optionally output, for transmission to the wireless node via the first beam, a second reference signal. For example, 1412 may be performed by the outputting component 1540. Here, the network entity may transmit additional reference signals via different beams to the UE.

At 1414, the network entity may optionally obtain, from the wireless node, another indication that the second reference signal does not satisfy the threshold condition and that the wireless node is no longer operating in the at least one of the low beam mobility state, the low cell mobility state, the beam quality state, or the cell quality state. For example, 1414 may be performed by the obtaining component 1542. Here, the UE may notify the network entity if a reference signal measurement no longer qualifies the UE to suspend UE-initiated beam management processes.

In certain aspects, the indication of the beam management event is configured to indicate that the apparatus is operating in at least one of a low beam mobility state, a low cell mobility state, a beam quality state, or a cell quality state.

FIG. 15 is a diagram 1500 illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus 1502. The apparatus 1502 is a BS and includes a baseband unit 1504. The baseband unit 1504 may communicate through a cellular RF transceiver with the UE 104. The baseband unit 1504 may include a computer-readable medium /memory. The baseband unit 1504 is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium /memory. The software, when executed by the baseband unit 1504, causes the baseband unit 1504 to perform the various functions described supra. The computer-readable medium /memory may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the baseband unit 1504 when executing software. The baseband unit 1504 further includes a reception component 1530, a communication manager 1532, and a transmission component 1534. The communication manager 1532 includes the one or more illustrated components. The components within the communication manager 1532 may be stored in the computer-readable medium /memory and/or configured as hardware within the baseband unit 1504. The baseband unit 1504 may be a component of the BS 102/180 and may include the memory 376 and/or at least one of the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller/processor 375. In various examples, the apparatus 1502 can be a chip, SoC, chipset, package or device that may include: one or more modems (such as a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) modem or a cellular modem such as 3GPP 4G LTE or 5G compliant modem) ; one or more processors, processing blocks or processing elements (collectively “the processor” ) ; one or more radios (collectively “the radio” ) ; and one or more memories or memory blocks (collectively “the memory” ) .

The communication manager 1532 includes an outputting component 1540 configured to output, for transmission to a wireless node, a first reference signal via a first beam; output, for transmission to the wireless node after the indication of the beam management event is obtained, signaling configured to cause the wireless node to at least one of: refrain, for a time duration, from outputting a beam measurement report associated with the first beam for transmission to the apparatus; or refrain, for the time duration, from measuring reference signals to be obtained via the first beam; output, for transmission to the wireless node, signaling configured to indicate at least one of: a first time duration for which the wireless node refrains from outputting the beam measurement report associated with the first beam; or a second time duration for which the wireless node refrains from measuring reference signals to be obtained via the first beam; and output, for transmission to the wireless node via the first beam, a second reference signal; e.g., as described in connection with 1402, 1406, 1408, and 1412 of FIG. 14.

The communication manager 1532 further includes a obtaining component 1542 configured to obtain, from the wireless node, an indication of a beam management event initiated by the wireless node, wherein the beam management event is indicative of the first reference signal satisfying a threshold condition; obtain, from the wireless node after expiration of the time duration, the beam measurement report associated with the first beam; and obtain, from the wireless node, another indication that the second reference signal does not satisfy the threshold condition and that the wireless node is no longer operating in the at least one of the low beam mobility state, the low cell mobility state, the beam quality state, or the cell quality state; e.g., as described in connection with 1404, 1410, and 1414 of FIG. 14.

The apparatus may include additional components that perform each of the blocks of the algorithm in the aforementioned flowchart of FIG. 14. As such, each block in the aforementioned flowchart may be performed by a component and the apparatus may include one or more of those components. The components may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to carry out the stated processes/algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to perform the stated processes/algorithm, stored within a computer-readable medium for implementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

In one configuration, the apparatus 1502, and in particular the baseband unit 1504, includes: means for outputting, for transmission to a wireless node, a first reference signal via a first beam; means for obtaining, from the wireless node, an indication of a beam management event initiated by the wireless node, wherein the beam management event is indicative of the first reference signal satisfying a threshold condition; means for outputting, for transmission to the wireless node after the indication of the beam management event is obtained, signaling configured to cause the wireless node to at least one of: refrain, for a time duration, from outputting a beam measurement report associated with the first beam for transmission to the apparatus; or refrain, for the time duration, from measuring reference signals to be obtained via the first beam; means for outputting, for transmission to the wireless node, signaling configured to indicate at least one of: a first time duration for which the wireless node refrains from outputting the beam measurement report associated with the first beam; or a second time duration for which the wireless node refrains from measuring reference signals to be obtained via the first beam; means for obtaining, from the wireless node after expiration of the time duration, the beam measurement report associated with the first beam; means for outputting, for transmission to the wireless node via the first beam, a second reference signal; and means for obtaining, from the wireless node, another indication that the second reference signal does not satisfy the threshold condition and that the wireless node is no longer operating in the at least one of the low beam mobility state, the low cell mobility state, the beam quality state, or the cell quality state.

The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned components of the apparatus 1502 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. As described supra, the apparatus 1502 may include the TX Processor 316, the RX Processor 370, and the controller/processor 375. As such, in one configuration, the aforementioned means may be the TX Processor 316, the RX Processor 370, and the controller/processor 375 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.

Additional Considerations

As used herein, a processor, at least one processor, and/or one or more processors, individually or in combination, configured to perform or operable for performing a plurality of actions is meant to include at least two different processors able to perform different, overlapping or non-overlapping subsets of the plurality actions, or a single processor able to perform all of the plurality of actions. In one non-limiting example of multiple processors being able to perform different ones of the plurality of actions in combination, a description of a processor, at least one processor, and/or one or more processors configured or operable to perform actions X, Y, and Z may include at least a first processor configured or operable to perform a first subset of X, Y, and Z (e.g., to perform X) and at least a second processor configured or operable to perform a second subset of X, Y, and Z (e.g., to perform Y and Z) . Alternatively, a first processor, a second processor, and a third processor may be respectively configured or operable to perform a respective one of actions X, Y, and Z. It should be understood that any combination of one or more processors each may be configured or operable to perform any one or any combination of a plurality of actions.

As used herein, a memory, at least one memory, and/or one or more memories, individually or in combination, configured to store or having stored thereon instructions executable by one or more processors for performing a plurality of actions is meant to include at least two different memories able to store different, overlapping or non-overlapping subsets of the instructions for performing different, overlapping or non-overlapping subsets of the plurality actions, or a single memory able to store the instructions for performing all of the plurality of actions. In one non-limiting example of one or more memories, individually or in combination, being able to store different subsets of the instructions for performing different ones of the plurality of actions, a description of a memory, at least one memory, and/or one or more memories configured or operable to store or having stored thereon instructions for performing actions X, Y, and Z may include at least a first memory configured or operable to store or having stored thereon a first subset of instructions for performing a first subset of X, Y, and Z (e.g., instructions to perform X) and at least a second memory configured or operable to store or having stored thereon a second subset of instructions for performing a second subset of X, Y, and Z (e.g., instructions to perform Y and Z) . Alternatively, a first memory, and second memory, and a third memory may be respectively configured to store or have stored thereon a respective one of a first subset of instructions for performing X, a second subset of instruction for performing Y, and a third subset of instructions for performing Z. It should be understood that any combination of one or more memories each may be configured or operable to store or have stored thereon any one or any combination of instructions executable by one or more processors to perform any one or any combination of a plurality of actions. Moreover, one or more processors may each be coupled to at least one of the one or more memories and configured or operable to execute the instructions to perform the plurality of actions. For instance, in the above non-limiting example of the different subset of instructions for performing actions X, Y, and Z, a first processor may be coupled to a first memory storing instructions for performing action X, and at least a second processor may be coupled to at least a second memory storing instructions for performing actions Y and Z, and the first processor and the second processor may, in combination, execute the respective subset of instructions to accomplish performing actions X, Y, and Z. Alternatively, three processors may access one of three different memories each storing one of instructions for performing X, Y, or Z, and the three processor may in combination execute the respective subset of instruction to accomplish performing actions X, Y, and Z. Alternatively, a single processor may execute the instructions stored on a single memory, or distributed across multiple memories, to accomplish performing actions X, Y, and Z.

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 meant to be 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 intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more. ” Terms such as “if, ” “when, ” and “while” should be interpreted to mean “under the condition that” rather than 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. 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 intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be 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. ”

Example Aspects

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

Example 1 is a method for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) , comprising: obtaining a first reference signal from a serving cell or a candidate cell; and outputting, for transmission to the serving cell, an indication of a UE-initiated beam management event, wherein the indication is outputted after a first quality value associated with the first reference signal satisfies a threshold condition.

Example 2 is the method of Example 1, wherein at least one of: the event is indicative of a low beam-mobility state, or the threshold condition is satisfied by the first quality value being within a range of quality values.

Example 3 is the method of any of Examples 1 and 2, wherein: (i) the event is indicative of a beam-quality state; and (ii) the threshold condition is satisfied by the first quality value being greater than or equal to a reference quality value.

Example 4 is the method of any of Examples 1-3, further comprising: obtaining a second reference signal from the serving cell or the candidate cell from which the first reference signal was obtained, wherein at least one of: a second quality value associated with the second reference signal satisfies the threshold condition; or each of the first reference signal and the second reference signal comprises at least one of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a synchronization signal block (SSB) .

Example 5 is the method of Example 4, wherein: the event is indicative of a low cell-mobility state; and the threshold condition is satisfied by one of: a greater of the first quality value and a second quality value associated with the second reference signal, a lesser of the first quality value and the second quality value, and an average of the first quality value and the second quality value, being within a range of quality values.

Example 6 is the method of Example 4, wherein: the event is indicative of a cell-quality state; and the threshold condition is satisfied by one of: (i) a greater of the first quality value and a second quality value associated with the second reference signal, (ii) a lesser of the first quality value and the second quality value, and (iii) an average of the first quality value and the second quality value, being greater than or equal to a reference quality value.

Example 7 is the method of Example 4, wherein the first reference signal is obtained at a first time instance, wherein the second reference signal is obtained at a second time instance different from the first time instance, and wherein the indication of the UE-initiated beam management event is output for transmission based further on the first time instance and the second time instance occurring within a pre-configured time window.

Example 8 is the method of Example 4, wherein the indication of the UE-initiated beam management event is output for transmission after the quality condition is satisfied at least once.

Example 9 is the method of any of Examples 1-8, wherein the UE-initiated beam management event is configured to indicate that the UE is operating in at least one of a low beam mobility state, a low cell mobility state, a beam quality state, or a cell quality state after the first quality value satisfies the threshold condition.

Example 10 is the method of Example 9, further comprising: obtaining a second reference signal from the serving cell or the candidate cell from which the first reference signal was obtained; and outputting, for transmission to the serving cell, another indication that the UE is no longer operating in the at least one of the low beam mobility state, the low cell mobility state, the beam quality state, or the cell quality state, wherein the other indication is outputted after the second reference signal does not satisfy the threshold condition.

Example 11 is the method of any of Examples 1-10, wherein the first reference signal is obtained via a first beam, and wherein the method further comprises: obtaining, from the serving cell and after outputting the indication of the UE-initiated beam management event, signaling configured to cause the UE to at least one of: refrain, for a time duration, from outputting a beam measurement report associated with the first beam for transmission to the serving cell; or refrain, for the time duration, from measuring a second reference signal to be obtained via the first beam after the first reference signal is obtained.

Example 12 is the method of any of Examples 1-11, wherein the first reference signal is obtained via a first beam, and wherein the method further comprises: refraining, for a time duration after the first reference signal satisfies the threshold condition, from outputting a beam measurement report associated with the first beam for transmission to the serving cell; or refraining, for the time duration after the first reference signal satisfies the threshold condition, from measuring reference signals to be obtained via the first beam after the first reference signal.

Example 13 is the method of Example 12, further comprising: resuming outputting the beam measurement report for transmission to the serving cell after refraining from outputting the beam report; or resuming measuring the reference signals to be obtained via the first beam after refraining from measuring the reference signals.

Example 14 is the method of any of Examples 1-13, wherein the first reference signal comprises at least one of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a synchronization signal block (SSB) .

Example 15 is the method of any of Examples 1-14, wherein the indication of the UE-initiated beam management event is output for transmission independent of a request for the indication from the serving cell and the candidate cell.

Example 16 is the method of any of Examples 1-15, wherein the first quality value comprises a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement value.

Example 17 is a method for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising: outputting, for transmission to a wireless node, a first reference signal via a first beam; and obtaining, from the wireless node, an indication of a beam management event initiated by the wireless node, wherein the beam management event is indicative of the first reference signal satisfying a threshold condition.

Example 18 is the method of Example 17, further comprising: outputting, for transmission to the wireless node after the indication of the beam management event is obtained, signaling configured to cause the wireless node to at least one of: refrain, for a time duration, from outputting a beam measurement report associated with the first beam for transmission to the network entity; or refrain, for the time duration, from measuring reference signals to be obtained via the first beam.

Example 19 is the method of Example 18, further comprising: outputting, for transmission to the wireless node, signaling configured to indicate at least one of: a first time duration for which the wireless node refrains from outputting the beam measurement report associated with the first beam; or a second time duration for which the wireless node refrains from measuring reference signals to be obtained via the first beam.

Example 20 is the method of claim 18, further comprising: obtaining, from the wireless node after expiration of the time duration, the beam measurement report associated with the first beam.

Example 21 is the method of any of Examples 17-20, wherein the indication of the beam management event is configured to indicate that the network entity is operating in at least one of a low beam mobility state, a low cell mobility state, a beam quality state, or a cell quality state.

Example 22 is the method of Example 21, further comprising: outputting, for transmission to the wireless node via the first beam, a second reference signal; and obtaining, from the wireless node, another indication that the second reference signal does not satisfy the threshold condition and that the wireless node is no longer operating in the at least one of the low beam mobility state, the low cell mobility state, the beam quality state, or the cell quality state.

Example 23 is an apparatus for wireless communications, comprising means for performing a method in accordance with any one of examples 1-16.

Example 24 is an apparatus for wireless communications, comprising means for performing a method in accordance with any one of examples 17-22.

Example 25 is a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a wireless node, cause the wireless node to perform a method in accordance with any one of examples 1-16.

Example 26 is a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a wireless node, cause the wireless node to perform a method in accordance with any one of examples 17-22.

Example 27 is an apparatus for wireless communications, comprising: one or more memories, individually or in combination, having instructions; and one or more processors, individually or in combination, configured to execute the instructions and cause the apparatus to perform a method in accordance with any one of examples 1-16.

Example 28 is an apparatus for wireless communications, comprising: one or more memories, individually or in combination, having instructions; and one or more processors, individually or in combination, configured to execute the instructions and cause the apparatus to perform a method in accordance with any one of examples 17-22.

Example 29 is a wireless node, comprising: a transceiver; one or more memories, individually or in combination, having instructions; and one or more processors, individually or in combination, configured to execute the instructions and cause the wireless node to perform a method in accordance with any one of examples 1-16, wherein the transceiver is configured to: receive the first reference signal; and transmit the indication of the UE-initiated beam management event.

Example 30 is a wireless node, comprising: a transceiver; one or more memories, individually or in combination, having instructions; and one or more processors, individually or in combination, configured to execute the instructions and cause the wireless node to perform a method in accordance with any one of examples 17-22, wherein the transceiver is configured to: transmit the first reference signal; and receive the indication of the beam management event.

Claims

An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

one or more memories, individually or in combination, having instructions; and

one or more processors, individually or in combination, configured to execute the instructions and cause the apparatus to:

obtain a first reference signal from a serving cell or a candidate cell; and

output, for transmission to the serving cell, an indication of an apparatus-initiated beam management event, wherein the indication is outputted after a first quality value associated with the first reference signal satisfies a threshold condition.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of:

the event is indicative of a low beam-mobility state, or

the threshold condition is satisfied by the first quality value being within a range of quality values.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

(i) the event is indicative of a beam-quality state; and

(ii) the threshold condition is satisfied by the first quality value being greater than or equal to a reference quality value.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors, individually or in combination, are further configured to cause the apparatus to:

obtain a second reference signal from the serving cell or the candidate cell from which the first reference signal was obtained, wherein at least one of:

a second quality value associated with the second reference signal satisfies the threshold condition; or

each of the first reference signal and the second reference signal comprises at least one of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a synchronization signal block (SSB) .
The apparatus of claim 4, wherein:

the event is indicative of a low cell-mobility state; and

the threshold condition is satisfied by one of:

(i) a greater of the first quality value and a second quality value associated with the second reference signal,

(ii) a lesser of the first quality value and the second quality value, and

(iii) an average of the first quality value and the second quality value, being within a range of quality values.
The apparatus of claim 4, wherein:

the event is indicative of a cell-quality state; and

the threshold condition is satisfied by one of:

(i) a greater of the first quality value and a second quality value associated with the second reference signal,

(ii) a lesser of the first quality value and the second quality value, and

(iii) an average of the first quality value and the second quality value, being greater than or equal to a reference quality value.
The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first reference signal is obtained at a first time instance, wherein the second reference signal is obtained at a second time instance different from the first time instance, and wherein the indication of the apparatus-initiated beam management event is output for transmission based further on the first time instance and the second time instance occurring within a pre-configured time window.
The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the indication of the apparatus-initiated beam management event is output for transmission after the quality condition is satisfied at least once.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus-initiated beam management event is configured to indicate that the apparatus is operating in at least one of a low beam mobility state, a low cell mobility state, a beam quality state, or a cell quality state after the first quality value satisfies the threshold condition.
The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors, individually or in combination, are further configured to cause the apparatus to:

obtain a second reference signal from the serving cell or the candidate cell from which the first reference signal was obtained; and

output, for transmission to the serving cell, another indication that the apparatus is no longer operating in the at least one of the low beam mobility state, the low cell mobility state, the beam quality state, or the cell quality state, wherein the other indication is outputted after the second reference signal does not satisfy the threshold condition.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first reference signal is obtained via a first beam, and wherein the one or more processors, individually or in combination, are further configured to cause the apparatus to:

obtain, from the serving cell and after outputting the indication of the apparatus-initiated beam management event, signaling configured to cause the apparatus to at least one of:

refrain, for a time duration, from outputting a beam measurement report associated with the first beam for transmission to the serving cell; or

refrain, for the time duration, from measuring a second reference signal to be obtained via the first beam after the first reference signal is obtained.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first reference signal is obtained via a first beam, and wherein the one or more processors, individually or in combination, are further configured to cause the apparatus to at least one of:

refrain, for a time duration after the first reference signal satisfies the threshold condition, from outputting a beam measurement report associated with the first beam for transmission to the serving cell; or

refrain, for the time duration after the first reference signal satisfies the threshold condition, from measuring reference signals to be obtained via the first beam after the first reference signal.
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors, individually or in combination, are further configured to cause the apparatus to at least one of:

resume outputting the beam measurement report for transmission to the serving cell after refraining from outputting the beam report; or

resume measuring the reference signals to be obtained via the first beam after refraining from measuring the reference signals.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first reference signal comprises at least one of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a synchronization signal block (SSB) .
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indication of the apparatus-initiated beam management event is output for transmission independent of a request for the indication from the serving cell and the candidate cell.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first quality value comprises a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement value.
The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a transceiver configured to:

receive the first reference signal; and

transmit the indication of the apparatus-initiated beam management event, wherein the apparatus is configured as a user equipment (UE) .
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

one or more memories, individually or in combination, having instructions; and

one or more processors, individually or in combination, configured to execute the instructions and cause the apparatus to:

output, for transmission to a wireless node, a first reference signal via a first beam; and

obtain, from the wireless node, an indication of a beam management event initiated by the wireless node, wherein the beam management event is indicative of the first reference signal satisfying a threshold condition.
The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising a transceiver configured to:

transmit the first reference signal; and

receive the indication of the beam management event, wherein the apparatus is configured as a network entity.
A method for wireless communications at a wireless node, comprising:

obtaining a first reference signal from a serving cell or a candidate cell; and

outputting, for transmission to the serving cell, an indication of a wireless node-initiated beam management event, wherein the indication is outputted after a first quality value associated with the first reference signal satisfies a threshold condition.