Patent Application
20240107521
The present disclosure generally relates to communication networks, and more specifically, to method and apparatus for physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetition.
This section introduces aspects that may facilitate a better understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is in the prior art or what is not in the prior art.
Communication service providers and network operators have been continually facing challenges to deliver value and convenience to consumers by, for example, providing compelling network services and performance. With the rapid development of networking and communication technologies, wireless communication networks such as long-term evolution (LTE) and new radio (NR) networks are expected to achieve larger coverage. For example, in order to achieve larger PUSCH coverage, PUSCH repetition may be performed.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure mainly aim at providing methods, apparatus and computer programs for PUSCH repetition. Other features and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will also be understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of embodiments of the present disclosure.
According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a terminal device is provided. The method includes: determining whether a slot is an available slot for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetition based at least in part on an amount X of symbols available for PUSCH transmission among L scheduled symbols for the PUSCH transmission in the slot; and performing PUSCH repetitions through K available slots, wherein K is an amount of repetitions.
In an embodiment, a slot may be determined as an available slot in response to X being equal to L.
In an embodiment, redundancy version (RV) cycling may be counted based on the determined available slots for the PUSCH transmission.
In an embodiment, the method may further include: transmitting to a network node a report on whether the terminal device is capable of supporting an extended number of PUSCH repetitions. The extended number of PUSCH repetitions is greater than a number of PUSCH repetitions supported by a terminal device that is not capable of supporting the extended number of PUSCH repetitions.
In an embodiment, a value of K may depend on a first type of the PUSCH repetition.
In an embodiment, the method may further include: receiving configuration information about one or more PUSCH repetition types from a network node. The one or more PUSCH repetition types include the first type of the PUSCH repetition, and each of the one or more PUSCH repetition types supports at least one candidate value of K.
In an embodiment, the method may further include: determining K and which of the one or more PUSCH repetition types is to be used by the terminal device, based at least in part on RRC signaling, DCI signaling and/or a time domain resource assignment (TDRA) table. The TDRA table is a default table or signaled from a network node.
In an embodiment, the first type of the PUSCH repetition and a different type of the one or more PUSCH repetition types which is determined based at least in part on the TDRA tables may correspond to separate TDRA tables.
In an embodiment, the first type of the PUSCH repetition and a different type of the one or more PUSCH repetition types which is determined based at least in part on the TDRA tables may correspond to a same TDRA table.
In an embodiment, the first type of the PUSCH repetition may support an extended number of PUSCH repetitions.
In an embodiment, the one or more PUSCH repetition types may further include one or more of: a PUSCH repetition type A which supports up to 16 repetitions, a PUSCH repetition type A which supports an extended number of PUSCH repetitions, and a PUSCH repetition type B. The one or more PUSCH repetition types are configured by an RRC message.
In an embodiment, the one or more PUSCH repetition types may include: the first type of the PUSCH repetition, and a PUSCH repetition type A which supports an extended number of PUSCH repetitions, and wherein which of the configured types is to be used by the terminal device is indicated by RRC signaling, DCI signaling and/or a TDRA table.
In an embodiment, the report may include a report on one or more PUSCH repetition types supported by the terminal device.
In an embodiment, the one or more PUSCH repetition types may include one or more of: a PUSCH repetition type A which supports up to 16 repetitions, a first type of the PUSCH repetition, a PUSCH repetition type A which supports an extended number of PUSCH repetitions, and a PUSCH repetition type B. According to the first type, only the PUSCH transmission in an available slot is counted for PUSCH repetition.
In an embodiment, the terminal device may be configured with one of the one or more PUSCH repetition types.
In an embodiment, the terminal device may be configured, by an RRC message, with at least two of: the first type of the PUSCH repetition, the PUSCH repetition type A which supports an extended number of PUSCH repetitions, and the PUSCH repetition type B.
In an embodiment, the first type of the PUSCH repetition and the PUSCH repetition type A which supports an extended number of PUSCH repetitions may correspond to a same TDRA table.
In an embodiment, the extended number may be up to 32.
According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a network node is provided. The method includes: determining whether a slot is an available slot for a physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH, repetition based at least in part on an amount X of symbols available for PUSCH transmission among L scheduled symbols for the PUSCH transmission in the slot; and receiving PUSCH repetitions through equal to or less than K available slots, wherein K is a number of repetitions.
In an embodiment, a slot may be determined as an available slot in response to X being equal to L.
In an embodiment, RV cycling may be counted based on the determined available slots for the PUSCH transmission.
In an embodiment, the method may further include: receiving a report on whether the terminal device is capable of supporting extended number of PUSCH repetitions. The extended number of PUSCH repetitions is greater than a number of PUSCH repetitions supported by a terminal device that is not capable of supporting the extended number of PUSCH repetitions.
In an embodiment, a value of K may depend on a first type of the PUSCH repetition.
In an embodiment, the method may further include: sending to the terminal device configuration information about one or more PUSCH repetition types. The one or more PUSCH repetition types include the first type of the PUSCH repetition, and each of the one or more PUSCH repetition types supports at least one candidate value of K.
In an embodiment, the method may further include: informing the terminal device of K and which of the one or more PUSCH repetition type is to be used by the terminal device based at least in part by RRC signaling, DCI signaling and/or a TDRA table. The TDRA table is a default table or signaled from a network node.
In an embodiment, the first type of the PUSCH repetition and a different type of the one or more PUSCH repetition type which is determined based at least in part on the TDRA tables may correspond to separate TDRA tables.
In an embodiment, the first type of the PUSCH repetition and a different type of the one or more PUSCH repetition type which is determined based at least in part on the TDRA tables may correspond to a same TDRA table.
In an embodiment, the first type of the PUSCH repetition may support an extended number of PUSCH repetitions.
In an embodiment, the one or more PUSCH repetition types may further include one or more of: a PUSCH repetition type A which supports up to 16 repetitions, a PUSCH repetition type A which supports an extended number of PUSCH repetitions, and a PUSCH repetition type B. The one or more PUSCH repetition types are configured by an RRC message.
In an embodiment, the one or more PUSCH repetition types may include: the first type of the PUSCH repetition, and the PUSCH repetition type A which supports an extended number of PUSCH repetitions. The method may further include: indicating which of the configured types is to be used by the terminal device by RRC signaling, DCI signaling and/or a TDRA table.
In an embodiment, the report may include a report on one or more PUSCH repetition types supported by the terminal device.
In an embodiment, the one or more PUSCH repetition types may include one or more of: a PUSCH repetition type A which supports up to 16 repetitions, a first type of the PUSCH repetition, a PUSCH repetition type A which supports an extended number of PUSCH repetitions, and a PUSCH repetition type B. According to the first type, only the PUSCH transmission in an available slot is counted for PUSCH repetition.
In an embodiment, the method may further include: configuring the terminal device with one of the one or more PUSCH repetition types.
In an embodiment, the method may further include: configuring the terminal device, by an RRC message, with at least two of: the first type of the PUSCH repetition, the PUSCH repetition type A which supports an extended number of PUSCH repetitions, and the PUSCH repetition type B.
In an embodiment, the first type of the PUSCH repetition and the PUSCH repetition type A which supports an extended number of PUSCH repetitions may correspond to a same TDRA table.
In an embodiment, the extended number may be up to 32.
According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method in a terminal device is provided. The method includes: receiving, from a network node, at least one of cell specific Time Division Duplex (TDD) uplink-downlink configuration information and User Equipment (UE) specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information; and determining whether a slot is available for PUSCH repetition based on the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information.
In an embodiment, the operation of determining may include: determining the slot to be unavailable for PUSCH repetition when the slot is configured as downlink by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information.
In an embodiment, the operation of determining may include: determining the slot to be available for PUSCH repetition when the slot includes no symbol that is configured as downlink by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and overlaps any symbol in a set of symbols indicated by PUSCH Time Domain Resource Allocation (TDRA).
In an embodiment, the operation of determining may include: determining the slot to be available for PUSCH repetition when the slot is configured as uplink by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information, or includes a set of symbols, indicated by PUSCH TDRA, each configured as uplink or flexible by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information.
In an embodiment, the method may further include: receiving, from the network node, control information indicating the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information to be used for determining whether the slot is available for PUSCH repetition.
In an embodiment, the operation of determining may be based on the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information when only the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information is received, or the operation of determining may be based on both the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information when both the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information are received.
In an embodiment, the method may further include: transmitting the PUSCH repetition in the slot when each symbol in the set of symbols that is configured as flexible by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information is indicated as uplink in a dynamic SFI for the slot as received from the network node.
In an embodiment, the PUSCH repetition may include a Dynamic Grant (DG)-PUSCH, a Type-1 Configured Grant (CG)-PUSCH, or a Type-2 CG-PUSCH.
According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a method in a terminal device is provided. The method includes: determining a slot to be available for PUSCH repetition in absence of cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information from a network node for the slot.
In an embodiment, the method may further include: transmitting the PUSCH repetition in the slot when each symbol in a set of symbols indicated by PUSCH TDRA is indicated as uplink in a dynamic SFI for the slot as received from the network node.
In an embodiment, the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information may be tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information may be tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationDedicated.
In an embodiment, the PUSCH repetition may include a DG-PUSCH, a Type-1 CG-PUSCH, or a Type-2 CG-PUSCH.
According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a method in a network node is provided. The method includes: transmitting, to a terminal device, at least one of cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information; and determining whether a slot is available for PUSCH repetition based on the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information.
In an embodiment, the operation of determining may include: determining the slot to be unavailable for PUSCH repetition when the slot is configured as downlink by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information.
In an embodiment, the operation of determining may include: determining the slot to be available for PUSCH repetition when the slot includes no symbol that is configured as downlink by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and overlaps any symbol in a set of symbols indicated by PUSCH TDRA.
In an embodiment, the operation of determining may include: determining the slot to be available for PUSCH repetition when the slot is configured as uplink by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information, or includes a set of symbols, indicated by PUSCH TDRA, each configured as uplink or flexible by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information.
In an embodiment, the method may further include: transmitting, to the terminal device, control information indicating the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information to be used for determining whether the slot is available for PUSCH repetition.
In an embodiment, the method may further include: transmitting, to the terminal device, a dynamic SFI for the slot, the dynamic SFI indicating each symbol in the set of symbols that is configured as flexible by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information as uplink; and receiving the PUSCH repetition in the slot.
In an embodiment, the PUSCH repetition may include a DG-PUSCH, a Type-1 CG-PUSCH, or a Type-2 CG-PUSCH.
According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a method in a network node is provided. The method includes: determining a slot to be available for PUSCH repetition by a terminal device when cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information are not provided for the slot from the network node to the terminal device.
In an embodiment, the method may further include: transmitting, to the terminal device, a dynamic SFI for the slot, the dynamic SFI indicating each symbol in a set of symbols indicated by PUSCH TDRA is indicated as uplink; and receiving the PUSCH repetition in the slot.
In an embodiment, the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information may be tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information may be tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationDedicated.
In an embodiment, the PUSCH repetition may include a DG-PUSCH, a Type-1 CG-PUSCH, or a Type-2 CG-PUSCH.
According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes a processor and a memory. The memory contains instructions executable by the processor whereby the terminal device is operative to perform the method according to the above first, third, or fourth aspect.
According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readable storage medium has computer-readable instructions stored thereon. The computer-readable instructions, when executed by a processor of a terminal device, configure the terminal device to perform the method according to the above first, third, or fourth aspect.
According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a network node is provided. The network node includes a processor and a memory. The memory contains instructions executable by the processor whereby the network node is operative to perform the method according to the above second, fifth, or sixth aspect.
According to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readable storage medium has computer-readable instructions stored thereon. The computer-readable instructions, when executed by a processor of a network node, configure the network node to perform the method according to the above second, fifth, or sixth aspect.
With some embodiments of the present disclosure, a slot available for PUSCH repetition can be determined, such that the PUSCH repetition can be performed properly.
The disclosure itself, the preferable mode of use and further objectives are best understood by reference to the following detailed description of the embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that these embodiments are discussed only for the purpose of enabling those skilled persons in the art to better understand and thus implement the present disclosure, rather than suggesting any limitations on the scope of the present disclosure. Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present disclosure should be or are in any single embodiment of the disclosure. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the disclosure may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the disclosure may be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the disclosure.
As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as new radio (NR), long term evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), high-speed packet access (HSPA), and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network node in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G), 4G, 4.5G, 5G communication protocols, and/or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future.
The term “network node” refers to a network device in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses to the network and receives services therefrom. The network node may refer to a base station (BS), an access point (AP), a multi-cell/multicast coordination entity (MCE), a controller or any other suitable device in a wireless communication network. The BS may be, for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNodeB or gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, and so forth.
Yet further examples of the network node comprise multi-standard radio (MSR) radio equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, positioning nodes and/or the like. More generally, however, the network node may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to enable and/or provide a terminal device access to a wireless communication network or to provide some service to a terminal device that has accessed to the wireless communication network.
The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that can access a communication network and receive services therefrom. By way of example and not limitation, the terminal device may refer to a mobile terminal, a user equipment (UE), or other suitable devices. The UE may be, for example, a subscriber station, a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS) or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but not limited to, portable computers, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a tablet, a wearable device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a vehicle, and the like.
As yet another specific example, in an Internet of things (IoT) scenario, a terminal device may also be called an IoT device and represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring, sensing and/or measurements etc., and transmits the results of such monitoring, sensing and/or measurements etc. to another terminal device and/or a network equipment. The terminal device may in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may in a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) context be referred to as a machine-type communication (MTC) device.
As one particular example, the terminal device may be a UE implementing the 3GPP narrow band Internet of things (NB-IoT) standard. Particular examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances, e.g. refrigerators, televisions, personal wearables such as watches etc. In other scenarios, a terminal device may represent a vehicle or other equipment, for example, a medical instrument that is capable of monitoring, sensing and/or reporting etc. on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.
As used herein, the terms “first”, “second” and so forth refer to different elements. The singular forms “a” and “an” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “has”, “having”, “includes” and/or “including” as used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components and the like, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/or combinations thereof. The term “based on” is to be read as “based at least in part on”. The term “one embodiment” and “an embodiment” are to be read as “at least one embodiment”. The term “another embodiment” is to be read as “at least one other embodiment”. Other definitions, explicit and implicit, may be included below.
Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as voice, video, data, messaging and broadcasts. As described previously, in order to enlarge PUSCH coverage, a terminal device such as a UE may need to perform slot aggregation.
Slot aggregation for PUSCH is supported in Rel-15 and renamed to PUSCH Repetition Type A in Rel-16. The name “PUSCH repetition Type A” is used even if there is only a single repetition, i.e., no slot aggregation. In Rel. 15, a PUSCH transmission that overlaps with downlink (DL) symbols is not transmitted.
For downlink control information (DCI) granted multi-slot transmission (PDSCH/PUSCH) vs semi-static DL/UL assignment:
In Rel. 15, the number of repetitions is semi-statically configured by RRC parameter pusch-AggregationFactor. At most 8 repetitions are supported.
pusch-AggregationFactor ENULMERATED {n2, n4, n8}
Early termination of PUSCH repetitions was discussed in R14 NR SI in RAN1#88 with below agreement, but not standardized finally.
R1-1703868 WF on grant-free repetitions Huawei, HiSilicon, Nokia, ABS, ZTE, ZTE Microelectronics, CATT, Convida Wireless, CATR, OPPO, Inter Digital, Fujitsu
Agreements:
For UE configured with K repetitions for a transport block (TB) transmission with/without grant, the UE can continue repetitions (FFS can be different RV versions, FFS different Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS)) for the TB until one of the following conditions is met:
A new repetition format PUSCH repetition Type B is supported in Rel-16, which PUSCH repetition allows back-to-back repetition of PUSCH transmissions. The biggest difference between the two types is that repetition Type A only allows a single repetition in each slot, with each repetition occupying the same symbols. Using this format with a PUSCH length shorter than 14 introduces gaps between repetitions, increasing the overall latency. The other change compared to Rel. 15 is how the number of repetitions is signaled. In Rel. 15, the number of repetitions is semi-statically configured, while in Rel. 16 the number of repetitions can be indicated dynamically in DCI. This applies both to dynamic grants and configured grants type 2.
In NR R16, invalid symbols for PUSCH repetition Type B include reserved UL resources. The invalid symbol pattern indicator field is configured in the scheduling DCI. Segmentation occurs around symbols that are indicated as DL by the semi-static TDD pattern and invalid symbols.
Below shows the signaling of number of repetitions.
From 38.214 V16.2.0:
When the UE is scheduled to transmit a transport block and no CSI report, or the UE is scheduled to transmit a transport block and a CSI report(s) on PUSCH by a DCI, the Time domain resource assignment field value m of the DCI provides a row index m+1 to an allocated table. The determination of the used resource allocation table is defined in Clause 6.1.2.1.1. The indexed row defines the slot offset K2, the start and length indicator SLIV, or directly the start symbol S and the allocation length L, the PUSCH mapping type, and the number of repetitions (if numberOfRepetitions-r16 is present in the resource allocation table) to be applied in the PUSCH transmission.
For PUSCH repetition Type A, when transmitting PUSCH scheduled by DCI format 0_1 or 0_2 in PDCCH with CRC scrambled with Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI), MCS-C-RNTI, or Configured Scheduling RNTI (CS-RNTI) with Network Device Interface (NDI)=1, the number of repetitions K is determined as:
For the PUSCH repetition for type A, intra-slot and inter-slot frequency hopping are supported. UE is configured for frequency hopping by the higher layer parameter frequencyHopping-ForDCIFormat0_2 in pusch-Config for PUSCH transmission scheduled by DCI format 0_2, and by frequencyHopping provided in pusch-Config for PUSCH transmission scheduled by a DCI format other than 0_2, and by frequencyHopping provided in configuredGrantConfig for configured PUSCH transmission. One of two frequency hopping modes can be configured:
In case of resource allocation type 2, the UE transmits PUSCH without frequency hopping.
In case of resource allocation type 1, whether or not transform precoding is enabled for PUSCH transmission, the UE may perform PUSCH frequency hopping, if the frequency hopping field in a corresponding detected DCI format or in a random access response UL grant is set to 1, or if for a Type 1 PUSCH transmission with a configured grant the higher layer parameter frequencyHoppingOffset is provided, otherwise no PUSCH frequency hopping is performed.
For a PUSCH scheduled by RAR UL grant, fallbackRAR UL grant, or by DCI format 0_0 with CRC scrambled by TC-RNTI, frequency offsets are obtained as described in clause 8.3 of [6, TS 38.213]. For a PUSCH scheduled by DCI format 0_0/0_1 or a PUSCH based on a Type2 configured UL grant activated by DCI format 0_0/0_1 and for resource allocation type 1, frequency offsets are configured by higher layer parameter frequencyHoppingOffsetLists in pusch-Config. For a PUSCH scheduled by DCI format 0_2 or a PUSCH based on a Type2 configured UL grant activated by DCI format 0_2 and for resource allocation type 1, frequency offsets are configured by higher layer parameter frequencyHoppingOffsetLists-ForDCIFormat0_2 in pusch-Config.
For PUSCH based on a Type1 configured UL grant, the frequency offset is provided by the higher layer parameter frequencyHoppingOffset in rrc-Configu redUplinkGrant.
For a MsgA PUSCH the frequency offset is provided by the higher layer parameter as described in [6, TS 38.213].
In case of intra-slot frequency hopping, the starting resource block (RB) in each hop is given by:
where nsμ is the current slot number within a radio frame, where a multi-slot PUSCH transmission can take place, RBstart is the starting RB within the UL BWP, as calculated from the resource block assignment information of resource allocation type 1 and RBoffset is the frequency offset in RBs between the two frequency hops.
Format DCI0_1 in 38.212 V16.1.0:
Time Domain Resource Assignment—0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 Bits
PUSCH has been identified as coverage bottleneck in scenarios of FR1 and FR2. PUSCH repetition is the method to improve PUSCH coverage. For PUSCH repetition type A, the number of repetitions is configured by RRC in Rel-15, and dynamic indication of number of repetitions is introduced in Rel-16. However, the number of repetitions is counted on the basis of contiguous slots. In case of collision with DL slots for TDD, the PUSCH transmission is cancelled, but still counted. Then, the actual number of PUSCH repetitions is less than the configured number of repetitions and the coverage performance of PUSCH is degraded significantly. An exemplary procedure of PUSCH repetition is illustrated in
In the example of
To improve the coverage of PUSCH, extending the number of repetitions and counting repetitions based on available UL resources are both agreed to be supported in NR R17. However, the detail design on how to count available UL resources is not clear and requires careful study considering time domain resource allocation, frequency hopping.
Furthermore, with additional enhanced repetition types, more types of repetitions are now available, how to report the UE capability on the repetitions and how to determine one or more of the repetitions types require further study considering the relationship of different types of repetitions, signaling overhead and flexibility of the utilization of different repetition types.
In Rel-15 slot aggregation, also known as PUSCH repetition Type A has been supported, where number of slot-based PUSCH repetitions is semi-statically configured. In Rel-16, the number of PUSCH repetitions can be dynamically configured with DCI.
In Rel-15/16, PUSCH repetition Type A allows a single repetition in each slot, with each repetition occupying the same symbols. In some TDD UL/DL configurations, there are a small number of contiguous UL slots in a radio frame. Multiple PUSCH repetitions don't have to be in contiguous slot, but the DL slots are counted as slots for PUSCH repetitions.
Two enhancements of PUSCH repetition Type A were agreed for Rel-17 NR coverage enhancement WI.
PUSCH Repetition Type A
This disclosure provides methods to support PUSCH repetition enhancement which counts available slots and introduces extended number of repetitions, mainly on the detailed design of the repetition on available slots and how to determine the repetition types.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a first sub-type of PUSCH repetition Type A is proposed, which supports an extended number of repetitions. The extended number of PUSCH repetitions is greater than a number of PUSCH repetitions supported by a terminal device that is not capable of supporting the extended number of PUSCH repetitions. For example, the extended number may be up to 32. The first sub-type of PUSCH repetition Type A may be referred to as Type A1 in the context. In the example of
In NR TDD and FDD network, there are UL slots with 14 UL symbols and DL slots with no UL symbols. In TDD a third type of slot is special slot, with less than 14 UL symbols, some DL symbols and symbols for DL/UL switch. Below are some examples of unavailable symbols in a slot for PUSCH transmission:
In Rel-16 InvalidSymbolPattern is only configured for PUSCH repetition Type B. But in general, it can also be configured for a second sub-type of the PUSCH repetition Type A as discussed below with reference to
As described above, if one of L scheduled PUSCH symbols in a slot is unavailable, the slot is not counted for the repetition. The following is about how different types of slots are used and counted for multiple PUSCH repetitions and how unavailable symbols are used.
In the embodiment of
In the example of
As shown in
Specifically, UE can be RRC/DCI configured or predefined with a second threshold X1. X1 is the required minimum number of contiguous UL symbols among the L1 scheduled symbols in a slot which can be used for PUSCH repetition. A slot with less than X1 UL symbols is not used. If X1=1, all UL symbols in the slot can be used. If X1=L1, the slots with less than L1 symbols are not used. If X1 is not configured, a default value can be predetermined, for example X1=L1.
If UE is configured to use the less than L1 UL symbols in a slot, one or more of below solutions can be adopted.
In a particular slot being unavailable slot and having X larger than or equal to X1, the X symbols available for the PUSCH transmission may be repeated as the corresponding X symbols among the L scheduled symbols in a designated available slot. In this way, the PUSCH transmission is composed of at least L*K UL symbols.
In an example, the designated available slot is one of: a previous available slot, a subsequent available slot, and an available slot at a predetermined position. Specifically, the UL symbols in the particular slot are symbol-wise repetition of the same symbols from a previous or a subsequent or a particular L1-symbol repetition, e.g., the first PUSCH repetition. A redundancy version (RV) of the particular slot is the same as the designated available slot. In the example of
In another example, the PUSCH transmission in the particular slot is counted for RV cycling, and the designated available slot is an available slot having a same RV number as the particular slot. Specifically, the UL symbols in the slot are segmentation of the same symbols from a L1-symbol repetition in a slot. The transmission in the slot can be counted for RV cycling. In the example of
In the embodiment of
As mentioned above, the value of X1 can be configured by RRC or DCI field. For example, if the PUSCH transmission is scheduled by dynamic grant and UE uses default PUSCH TDRA table A, X1 can be configured by new DCI field, e.g.: Minimum Available symbols in one slot. If the PUSCH transmission is scheduled by dynamic grant, X1 can be configured by RRC or DCI field. Below shows the X1 configured by RRC.
This method guarantees the number of PUSCH repetition is K.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, UE can be RRC/DCI configured or pre-determined whether the semi-static flexible symbols are available for PUSCH transmission with one or more of below methods, regarding dynamic SFI and invalid symbol pattern:
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, RV cycling is done in one or more of below methods:
In NR Rel-15/16, frequency hopping has been supported for PUSCH repetition Type A, including one or more of below options.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, if frequency hopping applies for PUSCH transmission in the unavailable slot can be configured or predefined.
For example, PUSCH transmission in a slot with at least a minimum number of OFDM symbols is allowed for frequency hopping. It is to avoid a hop with too short length. In an example, the UE may receive a third threshold X2 from a network node. In a slot having X larger than or equal to X2, frequency hopping in the slot is allowed.
According to the exemplary method 210 illustrated in
If the slot is an available slot (“Y” at block 212), the terminal device may perform PUSCH repetition in that slot at block 214. If the slot is not an available slot (“N” at block 212), the process goes back to block 212.
If the amount of available slots reaches K (“N” at block 216), wherein K is a number of repetitions, the process ends at block 218. If the amount of available slots is less than K (“Y” at block 216), the process goes back to block 212.
In this way, the terminal device may perform PUSCH repetitions through K available slots.
In the example of
Specifically, the terminal device may receive configuration information about one or more PUSCH repetition types from a network node, wherein the one or more PUSCH repetition types include the first type of the PUSCH repetition, and each of the one or more PUSCH repetition types supports at least one candidate value of K.
The terminal device may determine K and which of the one or more PUSCH repetition type is to be used by the terminal device, based at least in part on RRC signaling, DCI signaling and/or a time domain resource assignment (TDRA) table, wherein the TDRA table is a default table or signaled from a network node.
In an embodiment, the first type of the PUSCH repetition and a different type of the one or more PUSCH repetition type which is determined based at least in part on the TDRA tables correspond to separate TDRA tables.
In an embodiment, the first type of the PUSCH repetition and a different type of the one or more PUSCH repetition type which is determined based at least in part on the TDRA tables correspond to a same TDRA table.
In an embodiment, the first type of the PUSCH repetition may support extended number of PUSCH repetitions.
In an embodiment, the terminal device may transmit to a network node a report on whether the terminal device is capable of supporting extended number of PUSCH repetitions.
In an embodiment, the one or more PUSCH repetition types includes one or more of: the first type of the PUSCH repetition, a PUSCH repetition type A which supports up to 16 repetitions, a PUSCH repetition type A which supports an extended number of PUSCH repetitions, and a PUSCH repetition type B, wherein the one or more PUSCH repetition types are configured by an RRC message.
In an embodiment, the one or more PUSCH repetition types includes: the first type of the PUSCH repetition, and the PUSCH repetition type A which supports an extended number of PUSCH repetitions, and wherein which of the configured types is to be used by the terminal device is indicated by RRC signaling, DCI signaling and/or a TDRA table.
At block 222, the terminal device may receive a second threshold X1 from a network node. And then, in block 224, in a particular slot being not available slot and having X larger than or equal to X1, the terminal device may repeat the X symbols available for the PUSCH transmission as the corresponding X symbols among the L scheduled symbols in a designated available slot. For example, in the example of
According to the exemplary method 310 illustrated in
If the slot is an available slot (“Y” at block 312), the network node may receive PUSCH repetition in that slot at block 314. If the slot is not an available slot (“N” at block 212), the process goes back to block 312.
If the network node obtains enough information from the received PUSCH repetition, or the amount of available slots reaches K (“Y” at block 316), wherein K is a number of repetitions, the process ends at block 318. Otherwise (“N” at block 316), the process goes back to block 312.
In this way, the network node may receive PUSCH repetitions through equal to or less than K available slots.
At block 322, the network node may inform the terminal device of a second threshold X1. And then, in block 324, the network node may instruct the terminal device to repeat, in a particular slot being not available slot and having X larger than or equal to X1, the X symbols available for the PUSCH transmission as the corresponding X symbols among the L scheduled symbols in a designated available slot.
The following is about how different types of repetitions for PUSCH are determined.
In NR R15 and R16, PUSCH repetition Type A supports at most 16 repetitions. Rel-16 additionally supports PUSCH repetition Type B. One of the two types is configured by RRC pusch-RepTypelndicatorForDCI-Format0-1-r16 or pusch-RepTypeIndicatorForDCI-Format0-2-r16.
Both increasing maximum number of repetitions (a first sub-type of Type A, referred to as type A1 below) or repetition based on available slots are possible enhancements (a second sub-type of Type A, referred to as type A2 below) for NR release 17. Therefore, there will be following specific types of repetitions for PUSCH.
For the different types of PUSCH repetitions, in order to let the network to know which repetition types to schedule for one UE, UE repetition type capability reporting is needed for some or all the repetition types depending on the relationship between these repetition types.
According to the exemplary method 410 illustrated in
The one or more PUSCH repetition types includes one or more of: a PUSCH repetition type A, a PUSCH repetition type A which supports up to 16 repetitions, a PUSCH repetition type A which supports extended number of PUSCH repetitions, and a PUSCH repetition type B. The extended number of PUSCH repetitions is greater than a number of PUSCH repetitions supported by a terminal device that is not capable of supporting the extended number of PUSCH repetitions, e.g., the extended number may be up to 32, which may be the example of
In an embodiment of
Rel-16 has supported dynamic configuration of PUSCH repetition number for PUSCH repetition Type A by TDRA table. The method can be reused for Type A1 and A2. Configuration of Type A1 is the same as Type A0, except that the number of repetitions in one entry of TDRA table can be larger than 16. Thus, Type A0 is regarded as a special case of Type A1 and not especially mentioned below.
If gNB has fewer flexible slots/symbols, Type A1 is more straightforward. Type A2 is more suitable for dynamic frame structure. The determination between Type A1 and A2 can be semi-static or dynamic, depending on if gNB tends to have a dynamic frame structure and it is dynamic grant or configured grant.
According to the exemplary method 510 illustrated in
The network node may configure which PUSCH repetition type is to be used with one or more of below methods.
In an example (alternative 1), gNB configures one of Type A1, A2 and Type B by RRC signaling. In this case, only one type of repetition is used.
In another example (alternative 2), gNB configures one or more of Type A1, A2 and Type B by RRC signaling. If both Type A1 and A2 are configured, Type A1 or A2 can be determined by signaling indicated in DCI and/or the indications in the RRC TDRA table.
In still another example (alternative 3), gNB configures one of Type A and Type B by RRC signaling. If Type A is configured, Type A1 or A2 can be determined by DCI and/or by the indication in TDRA table or pre-determined.
An example of pre-determined rule can be if number of repetitions is less than 16, Type A2 is used. Otherwise Type A1 is used.
All can be used for dynamic grant and configured grant Type 2. Alternative 1 and Alternative 3 with predetermined rule can be used for configured grant Type 1.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, if both Type A1 and A2 are configured by RRC, they can use the same or separate TDRA tables.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, if one among type A1 and A2 is to be determined by DCI, it can be determined by signaling indicated in DCI and/or the indications in the RRC TDRA table.
Below shows the RRC configuration of TDRA table. A separate IE repetitionTypeAx indicating A1 or A2 is added for each entry. DCI field Time domain resource assignment determines one entry of TDRA table.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, type A1 repetition and type A2 repetition cannot be supported at the same for the same transmissions. In this embodiment, the maximum number of repetitions for type A2 repetition is the same as NR R15 and NR R16, i.e., the number of repetitions will not be extended for type A2 repetition.
In an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, the type A1 repetition and type A2 repetition can be supported at the same time on the same transmissions. As an example, the repetitions are only counted on the available slots and the number of repetitions is also extended, to be e.g., 32 repetitions, which is larger than 16.
This disclosure provides solutions to support PUSCH repetition enhancement which counts available slots and introduces extended number of repetitions.
In RAN1 #104-e meeting, regarding enhanced PUSCH repetition on the basis of available UL slots, there are agreements on the definition of available slots and if dynamic signaling is considered for determination of available slots.
Agreements:
For defining available slots: a slot is determined as unavailable if at least one of the symbols indicated by TDRA for a PUSCH in the slot overlaps with the symbol not intended for UL transmissions. FFS details.
Agreements:
Select one of the following alternatives, considering the aspect whether or not the determination of all the available slots should be done prior to the first actual transmission of the repetitions (other alternatives are not precluded):
At block 612, at least one of cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and (dedicated) UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information is received from a network node.
Here, the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information may be tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information may be tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationDedicated.
At block 614, it is determined whether a slot is available for PUSCH repetition based on the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information.
Here, the PUSCH repetition may include a DG-PUSCH, a Type-1 CG-PUSCH, or a Type-2 CG-PUSCH.
In an example, in the block 614, the slot can be determined to be unavailable for PUSCH repetition when the slot is configured as downlink by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information. On the other hand, the slot may be determined to be available for PUSCH repetition when the slot is not configured as downlink by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information. This means, as long as the slot is a flexible or uplink slot determined by the cell-specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration and/or the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration, it may be determined as an available slot which will be counted as one of candidate repetition transmission occasions among a number of repetitions indicated by a repetition factor from the network node.
As an example, for configured grant based PUSCH transmissions with repetition Type A, a slot is determined as an available slot as long as it is not configured as downlink by tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon and/or tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationDedicated, and whether there will be actual transmission in the available slot may depend on other rules. In an example, only when symbols allocated (e.g., indicated by PUSCH TDRA) in the available slot are uplink symbols, the actual transmission may be allowed in that slot, otherwise the transmission on that slot will be discarded though the slot is counted as one available slot.
In another example, in the block 614, the slot can be determined to be available for PUSCH repetition when the slot includes no symbol that is configured as downlink by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and overlaps any symbol in a set of symbols indicated by PUSCH TDRA.
In another example, in the block 614, the slot can be determined to be available for PUSCH repetition when the slot is configured as uplink by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information, or includes a set of symbols, indicated by PUSCH TDRA, each configured as uplink or flexible by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information. For example, a slot with each symbol in the set of symbols (allocated by PUSCH TDRA for PUSCH repetition) configured as flexible, or a slot with a part of the set of symbols (allocated by PUSCH TDRA for PUSCH repetition) configured as flexible and the remaining part of the set of symbols configured as uplink, can be determined to be available for PUSCH repetition.
In an example, the terminal device may receive, from the network node, control information (e.g., DCI) indicating the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information to be used for determining whether the slot is available for PUSCH repetition. For example, a configuration in DCI scheduling PUSCH repetition may indicate which one or both of the common (cell-specific) TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the dedicated (UE-specific) TDD uplink-downlink configuration information are to be used for determining an available slot for PUSCH repetition. Alternatively, e.g., when no such configuration in DCI is available, the determining operation in the block 614 may be based on the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information when only the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information is received, or based on both the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information when both the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information are received.
Then, the terminal device may determine whether an actual transmission of the PUSCH repetition (e.g., an enhanced Type A PUSCH repetition) is allowed on the slot determined as available.
In an example, when at least one symbol in the set of symbols indicated by the PUSCH TDRA is configured as flexible by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and no dynamic SFI for the slot is received from the network node, the terminal device can determine whether to transmit the PUSCH repetition in the slot in accordance with RRC signaling or DCI from the network node, or with a predetermined rule. For example, the terminal device may determine to transmit the PUSCH repetition (e.g., Type-1 CG-PUSCH) in the slot regardless of whether the terminal device is configured with enableConfiguredUL.
Here, a collision may happen between a determined available slot for PUSCH repetition and a dynamic SFI. For example, for Type-1 CG-PUSCH repetition, a dynamic SFI may indicate a flexible symbol as downlink or flexible.
In an example, the terminal device may identify an error case when at least one symbol in the set of symbols is configured as flexible by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and indicated as downlink or flexible in a dynamic SFI for the slot as received from the network node (i.e., the terminal device does not expect this case). That is, the dynamic SFI may only indicate the flexible symbol(s) as uplink.
In another example, the terminal device may identify an error case when at least one symbol in the set of symbols is configured as flexible by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and indicated as downlink in a dynamic SFI for the slot as received from the network node (i.e., the terminal device does not expect this case). That is, the dynamic SFI may indicate the flexible symbol(s) as flexible or uplink.
In an example, when each symbol in the set of symbols that is configured as flexible by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information is indicated as uplink in a dynamic SFI for the slot as received from the network node, the terminal device can transmit the PUSCH repetition in the slot.
In another example, when a subset of the set of symbols is indicated as downlink or flexible in a dynamic SFI for the slot as received from the network node, the terminal device can transmit the PUSCH repetition in symbols in the subset that are earlier than a timer (e.g., PUSCH preparation timer) after a last symbol of a PDCCH in which the dynamic SFI is received, and cancel the PUSCH repetition in remaining symbols in the subset.
At block 712, at least one of cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and (dedicated) UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information is transmitted to a terminal device.
Here, the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information may be tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information may be tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationDedicated.
At block 714, it is determined whether a slot is available for PUSCH repetition based on the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information.
Here, the PUSCH repetition may include a DG-PUSCH, a Type-1 CG-PUSCH, or a Type-2 CG-PUSCH.
In an example, in the block 714, the slot can be determined to be unavailable for PUSCH repetition when the slot is configured as downlink by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information.
In another example, in the block 714, the slot can be determined to be available for PUSCH repetition when the slot includes no symbol that is configured as downlink by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and overlaps any symbol in a set of symbols indicated by PUSCH TDRA.
In another example, in the block 714, the slot can be determined to be available for PUSCH repetition when the slot is configured as uplink by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information, or includes a set of symbols, indicated by PUSCH TDRA, each configured as uplink or flexible by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information.
In an example, the network node can transmit, to the terminal device, control information (e.g., DCI) indicating the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information to be used for determining whether the slot is available for PUSCH repetition. For example, a configuration in DCI scheduling PUSCH repetition may indicate which one or both of the common (cell-specific) TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the dedicated (UE-specific) TDD uplink-downlink configuration information are to be used for determining an available slot for PUSCH repetition.
Then, the network node may determine whether an actual transmission of the PUSCH repetition (e.g., an enhanced Type A PUSCH repetition) will occur, and accordingly whether to receive the PUSCH repetition, in the slot determined as available.
In an example, when at least one symbol in the set of symbols is configured as flexible by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and no SFI for the slot is transmitted to the terminal device, the network node can transmit, to the terminal device, RRC signaling or DCI indicating whether the terminal device is to transmit the PUSCH repetition in the slot, or determine whether to receive the PUSCH repetition in the slot in accordance with a predetermined rule. For example, the network node may determine to receive the PUSCH repetition in the slot regardless of whether the terminal device is configured with enableConfiguredUL.
In another example, the network node can transmit, to the terminal device, a dynamic SFI for the slot, the dynamic SFI indicating each symbol in the set of symbols that is configured as flexible by the at least one of the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information as uplink, and receive the PUSCH repetition in the slot.
In another example, the network node can transmitting, to the terminal device, a dynamic SFI for the slot, the dynamic SFI indicating a subset of the set of symbols as downlink or flexible, and receive the PUSCH repetition in symbols in the subset that are earlier than a timer (e.g., PUSCH preparation timer) after a last symbol of a PDCCH in which the dynamic SFI is transmitted, but not in remaining symbols in the subset.
The method 710 performed by the network node corresponds to the method 610 performed by the terminal device as described above in connection with
At block 812, a slot is determined to be available for PUSCH repetition in absence of cell specific TDD, uplink-downlink configuration information and (dedicated) UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information from a network node for the slot.
Here, the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information may be tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information may be tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationDedicated. The PUSCH repetition may include a DG-PUSCH, a Type-1 CG-PUSCH, or a Type-2 CG-PUSCH.
Then, the terminal device may determine whether an actual transmission of the PUSCH repetition (e.g., an enhanced Type A PUSCH repetition) is allowed on the slot determined as available.
In an example, when no dynamic SFI for the slot is received from the network node, the terminal device can determine whether to transmit the PUSCH repetition in the slot in accordance with RRC signaling or DCI from the network node, or with a predetermined rule. For example, the terminal device may determine to transmit the PUSCH repetition in the slot regardless of whether the terminal device is configured with enableConfiguredUL.
In an example, the terminal device may identify an error case when at least one symbol in a set of symbols indicated by PUSCH TDRA is indicated as downlink or flexible in a dynamic SFI for the slot as received from the network node (i.e., the terminal device does not expect this case). That is, the dynamic SFI may only indicate the flexible symbol(s) as uplink.
In an example, the terminal device may identify an error case when at least one symbol in a set of symbols indicated by PUSCH TDRA is indicated as downlink in a dynamic SFI for the slot as received from the network node (i.e., the terminal device does not expect this case). That is, the dynamic SFI may indicate the flexible symbol(s) as flexible or uplink.
In another example, the terminal device may transmit the PUSCH repetition in the slot when each symbol in a set of symbols indicated by PUSCH TDRA is indicated as uplink in a dynamic SFI for the slot as received from the network node.
In another example, when a subset of a set of symbols indicated by PUSCH TDRA is indicated as downlink or flexible in a dynamic SFI for the slot as received from the network node, the terminal device may transmit the PUSCH repetition in symbols in the subset that are earlier than a timer (e.g., PUSCH preparation timer) after a last symbol of a PDCCH in which the dynamic SFI is received, and cancel the PUSCH repetition in remaining symbols in the subset.
At block 912, a slot is determined to be available for PUSCH repetition by a terminal device when cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information and (dedicated) UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information are not provided for the slot from the network node to the terminal device.
Here, the cell specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information may be tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon and the UE specific TDD uplink-downlink configuration information may be tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationDedicated. The PUSCH repetition may include a DG-PUSCH, a Type-1 CG-PUSCH, or a Type-2 CG-PUSCH.
Then, the network node may determine whether an actual transmission of the PUSCH repetition (e.g., an enhanced Type A PUSCH repetition) will occur, and accordingly whether to receive the PUSCH repetition, in the slot determined as available.
In an example, when no dynamic SFI for the slot is transmitted to the terminal device, the network node may transmit, to the terminal device, RRC signaling or DCI indicating whether the terminal device is to transmit the PUSCH repetition in the slot, or determine whether to receive the PUSCH repetition in the slot in accordance with a predetermined rule. For example, the network node may determine to receive the PUSCH repetition in the slot regardless of whether the terminal device is configured with enableConfiguredUL.
In another example, the network node may transmit, to the terminal device, a dynamic SFI for the slot, the dynamic SFI indicating each symbol in a set of symbols indicated by PUSCH TDRA is indicated as uplink, and receive the PUSCH repetition in the slot.
In another example, the network node may transmit, to the terminal device, a dynamic SFI for the slot, the dynamic SFI indicating a subset of the set of symbols as downlink or flexible, and receiving the PUSCH repetition in symbols in the subset that are earlier than a timer (e.g., PUSCH preparation timer) after a last symbol of a PDCCH in which the dynamic SFI is transmitted, but not in remaining symbols in the subset.
The method 910 performed by the network node corresponds to the method 810 performed by the terminal device as described above in connection with
In some implementations, the one or more memories 1002 and the computer program codes 1003 may be configured to, with the one or more processors 1001, cause the apparatus 1000 at least to perform any operation of the method as described in connection with
Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide an apparatus for PUSCH repetition. In an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus may be implemented in a terminal device such as a UE.
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Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide an apparatus for PUSCH repetition. In an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus may be implemented in a network node such as a base station.
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With reference to
The telecommunication network 1110 is itself connected to a host computer 1130, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm. The host computer 1130 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. Connections 1121 and 1122 between the telecommunication network 1110 and the host computer 1130 may extend directly from the core network 1114 to the host computer 1130 or may go via an optional intermediate network 1120. An intermediate network 1120 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network; the intermediate network 1120, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the intermediate network 1120 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).
The communication system of
Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the UE, base station and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to
The communication system 1200 further includes a base station 1220 provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware 1225 enabling it to communicate with the host computer 1210 and with the UE 1230. The hardware 1225 may include a communication interface 1226 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 1200, as well as a radio interface 1227 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 1270 with the UE 1230 located in a coverage area (not shown in
The communication system 1200 further includes the UE 1230 already referred to. Its hardware 1235 may include a radio interface 1237 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 1270 with a base station serving a coverage area in which the UE 1230 is currently located. The hardware 1235 of the UE 1230 further includes a processing circuitry 1238, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The UE 1230 further comprises software 1231, which is stored in or accessible by the UE 1230 and executable by the processing circuitry 1238. The software 1231 includes a client application 1232. The client application 1232 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE 1230, with the support of the host computer 1210. In the host computer 1210, an executing host application 1212 may communicate with the executing client application 1232 via the OTT connection 1250 terminating at the UE 1230 and the host computer 1210. In providing the service to the user, the client application 1232 may receive request data from the host application 1212 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1250 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application 1232 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.
It is noted that the host computer 1210, the base station 1220 and the UE 1230 illustrated in
In
Wireless connection 1270 between the UE 1230 and the base station 1220 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1230 using the OTT connection 1250, in which the wireless connection 1270 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the latency, and thereby provide benefits such as lower complexity, reduced time required to access a cell, better responsiveness, etc.
A measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1250 between the host computer 1210 and the UE 1230, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1250 may be implemented in software 1211 and hardware 1215 of the host computer 1210 or in software 1231 and hardware 1235 of the UE 1230, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which the OTT connection 1250 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which the software 1211, 1231 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 1250 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect the base station 1220, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 1220. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating the host computer 1210's measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like. The measurements may be implemented in that the software 1211 and 1231 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 1250 while it monitors propagation times, errors etc.
According to some exemplary embodiments, there is provided a method implemented in a communication system which may include a host computer, a base station and a UE. The method may comprise providing user data at the host computer. Optionally, the method may comprise, at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station which may perform any step of the exemplary method 310 as describe with respect to
According to some exemplary embodiments, there is provided a communication system including a host computer. The host computer may comprise processing circuitry configured to provide user data, and a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a UE. The cellular network may comprise a base station having a radio interface and processing circuitry. The base station's processing circuitry may be configured to perform any step of the exemplary method 310 as describe with respect to
According to some exemplary embodiments, there is provided a method implemented in a communication system which may include a host computer, a base station and a UE. The method may comprise providing user data at the host computer. Optionally, the method may comprise, at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station. The UE may perform any step of the exemplary method 210 as describe with respect to
According to some exemplary embodiments, there is provided a communication system including a host computer. The host computer may comprise processing circuitry configured to provide user data, and a communication interface configured to forward user data to a cellular network for transmission to a UE. The UE may comprise a radio interface and processing circuitry. The UE's processing circuitry may be configured to perform any step of the exemplary method 210 as describe with respect to
According to some exemplary embodiments, there is provided a method implemented in a communication system which may include a host computer, a base station and a UE. The method may comprise, at the host computer, receiving user data transmitted to the base station from the UE which may perform any step of the exemplary method 210 as describe with respect to
According to some exemplary embodiments, there is provided a communication system including a host computer. The host computer may comprise a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a UE to a base station. The UE may comprise a radio interface and processing circuitry. The UE's processing circuitry may be configured to perform any step of the exemplary method 210 as describe with respect to
According to some exemplary embodiments, there is provided a method implemented in a communication system which may include a host computer, a base station and a UE. The method may comprise, at the host computer, receiving, from the base station, user data originating from a transmission which the base station has received from the UE. The base station may perform any step of the exemplary method 310 as describe with respect to
According to some exemplary embodiments, there is provided a communication system which may include a host computer. The host computer may comprise a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a UE to a base station. The base station may comprise a radio interface and processing circuitry. The base station's processing circuitry may be configured to perform any step of the exemplary method 310 as describe with respect to
In general, the various exemplary embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special purpose chips, circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. For example, some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device, although the disclosure is not limited thereto. While various aspects of the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.
As such, it should be appreciated that at least some aspects of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced in various components such as integrated circuit chips and modules. It should thus be appreciated that the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may be realized in an apparatus that is embodied as an integrated circuit, where the integrated circuit may comprise circuitry (as well as possibly firmware) for embodying at least one or more of a data processor, a digital signal processor, baseband circuitry and radio frequency circuitry that are configurable so as to operate in accordance with the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.
It should be appreciated that at least some aspects of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure may be embodied in computer-executable instructions, such as in one or more program modules, executed by one or more computers or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types when executed by a processor in a computer or other device. The computer executable instructions may be stored on a computer readable medium such as a hard disk, optical disk, removable storage media, solid state memory, random access memory (RAM), etc. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the function of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments. In addition, the function may be embodied in whole or partly in firmware or hardware equivalents such as integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), and the like.
The present disclosure includes any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein either explicitly or any generalization thereof. Various modifications and adaptations to the foregoing exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may become apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts in view of the foregoing description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, any and all modifications will still fall within the scope of the non-limiting and exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.
The present disclosure further provides the following embodiments:
The present disclosure further provides the following embodiments:
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2021/071143 | Jan 2021 | WO | international |
| PCT/CN2021/093169 | May 2021 | WO | international |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2022/050401 | 1/11/2022 | WO |
