This disclosure generally relates to wireless communication networks, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for uplink determination in a wireless communication system.
With the rapid rise in demand for communication of large amounts of data to and from mobile communication devices, traditional mobile voice communication networks are evolving into networks that communicate with Internet Protocol (IP) data packets. Such IP data packet communication can provide users of mobile communication devices with voice over IP, multimedia, multicast and on-demand communication services.
An exemplary network structure is an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN). The E-UTRAN system can provide high data throughput in order to realize the above-noted voice over IP and multimedia services. A new radio technology for the next generation (e.g., 5G) is currently being discussed by the 3GPP standards organization. Accordingly, changes to the current body of 3GPP standard are currently being submitted and considered to evolve and finalize the 3GPP standard.
A method and apparatus are disclosed from the perspective of a User Equipment (UE). In one embodiment, the UE performs an Uplink (UL) transmission of an UL signal to a base station in an UL subframe wherein the UL subframe begins at a timing derived based on an absolute time.
The exemplary wireless communication systems and devices described below employ a wireless communication system, supporting a broadcast service. Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication such as voice, data, and so on. These systems may be based on code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution) wireless access, 3GPP LTE-A or LTE-Advanced (Long Term Evolution Advanced), 3GPP2 UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), WiMax, 3GPP NR (New Radio), or some other modulation techniques.
In particular, the exemplary wireless communication systems devices described below may be designed to support one or more standards such as the standard offered by a consortium named “3rd Generation Partnership Project” referred to herein as 3GPP, including: TS 38.211 V15.7.0 (2019-09), “NR; Physical channels and modulation (Release 15)”; TS 38.214 V15.7.0 (2019-09), “NR; Physical layer procedures for data (Release 15)”; TS 38.321 V15.7.0 (2019-09), “NR; Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol specification (Release 15)”; TS 38.213 V15.7.0 (2019-09), “NR; Physical layer procedures for control (Release 15)”; TS 38.821 V0.7.0 (2019-05), “Solutions for NR to support non-terrestrial networks (NTN) (Release 16)”; R1-1911249, “Final Report of 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #98 V2.0.0 (Prague, Czech Rep, 26th-30th August 2019)”; and R1-1913275, “Final Report of 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #98bis V2.0.0 (Chongqing, China, 14th-20 Oct. 2019)”. The standards and documents listed above are hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Each group of antennas and/or the area in which they are designed to communicate is often referred to as a sector of the access network. In the embodiment, antenna groups each are designed to communicate to access terminals in a sector of the areas covered by access network 100.
In communication over forward links 120 and 126, the transmitting antennas of access network 100 may utilize beamforming in order to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of forward links for the different access terminals 116 and 122. Also, an access network using beamforming to transmit to access terminals scattered randomly through its coverage causes less interference to access terminals in neighboring cells than an access network transmitting through a single antenna to all its access terminals.
An access network (AN) may be a fixed station or base station used for communicating with the terminals and may also be referred to as an access point, a Node B, a base station, an enhanced base station, an evolved Node B (eNB), or some other terminology. An access terminal (AT) may also be called user equipment (UE), a wireless communication device, terminal, access terminal or some other terminology.
In one embodiment, each data stream is transmitted over a respective transmit antenna. TX data processor 214 formats, codes, and interleaves the traffic data for each data stream based on a particular coding scheme selected for that data stream to provide coded data.
The coded data for each data stream may be multiplexed with pilot data using OFDM techniques. The pilot data is typically a known data pattern that is processed in a known manner and may be used at the receiver system to estimate the channel response. The multiplexed pilot and coded data for each data stream is then modulated (i.e., symbol mapped) based on a particular modulation scheme (e.g., BPSK, QPSK, M-PSK, or M-QAM) selected for that data stream to provide modulation symbols. The data rate, coding, and modulation for each data stream may be determined by instructions performed by processor 230.
The modulation symbols for all data streams are then provided to a TX MIMO processor 220, which may further process the modulation symbols (e.g., for OFDM). TX MIMO processor 220 then provides NT modulation symbol streams to NT transmitters (TMTR) 222a through 222t. In certain embodiments, TX MIMO processor 220 applies beamforming weights to the symbols of the data streams and to the antenna from which the symbol is being transmitted.
Each transmitter 222 receives and processes a respective symbol stream to provide one or more analog signals, and further conditions (e.g., amplifies, filters, and upconverts) the analog signals to provide a modulated signal suitable for transmission over the MIMO channel. NT modulated signals from transmitters 222a through 222t are then transmitted from NT antennas 224a through 224t, respectively.
At receiver system 250, the transmitted modulated signals are received by NR antennas 252a through 252r and the received signal from each antenna 252 is provided to a respective receiver (RCVR) 254a through 254r. Each receiver 254 conditions (e.g., filters, amplifies, and downconverts) a respective received signal, digitizes the conditioned signal to provide samples, and further processes the samples to provide a corresponding “received” symbol stream.
An RX data processor 260 then receives and processes the NR received symbol streams from NR receivers 254 based on a particular receiver processing technique to provide NT “detected” symbol streams. The RX data processor 260 then demodulates, deinterleaves, and decodes each detected symbol stream to recover the traffic data for the data stream. The processing by RX data processor 260 is complementary to that performed by TX MIMO processor 220 and TX data processor 214 at transmitter system 210.
A processor 270 periodically determines which pre-coding matrix to use (discussed below). Processor 270 formulates a reverse link message comprising a matrix index portion and a rank value portion.
The reverse link message may comprise various types of information regarding the communication link and/or the received data stream. The reverse link message is then processed by a TX data processor 238, which also receives traffic data for a number of data streams from a data source 236, modulated by a modulator 280, conditioned by transmitters 254a through 254r, and transmitted back to transmitter system 210.
At transmitter system 210, the modulated signals from receiver system 250 are received by antennas 224, conditioned by receivers 222, demodulated by a demodulator 240, and processed by a RX data processor 242 to extract the reserve link message transmitted by the receiver system 250. Processor 230 then determines which pre-coding matrix to use for determining the beamforming weights then processes the extracted message.
Turning to
Frame structure used in New RAT (NR) for 5G, to accommodate various type of requirement [1] (as discussed in 3GPP TS 38.211) for time and frequency resource, e.g. from ultra-low latency (˜0.5 ms) to delay-tolerant traffic for MTC, from high peak rate for eMBB to very low data rate for MTC. An important focus of this study is low latency aspect, e.g. short TTI, while other aspect of mixing or adapting different TTIs can also be considered in the study. In addition to diverse services and requirements, forward compatibility is an important consideration in initial NR frame structure design as not all features of NR would be included in the beginning phase or release.
Reducing latency of protocol is an important improvement between different generations or releases, which can improve efficiency as well as meeting new application requirements, e.g. real-time service. An effective method frequently adopted to reduce latency is to reduce the length of TTIs, from 10 ms in 3G to 1 ms in LTE.
When it comes to NR, the story becomes somehow different, as backward compatibility is not a must. Numerology can be adjusted so that reducing symbol number of a TTI would not be the only tool to change TTI length. Using LTE numerology as an example, it comprises 14 OFDM symbol in 1 ms and a subcarrier spacing of 15 KHz. When the subcarrier spacing goes to 30 KHz, under the assumption of same FFT size and same CP structure, there would be 28 OFDM symbols in 1 ms, equivalently the TTI become 0.5 ms if the number of OFDM symbol in a TTI is kept the same. This implies the design between different TTI lengths can be kept common, with good scalability performed on the subcarrier spacing. Of course there would always be trade-off for the subcarrier spacing selection, e.g. FFT size, definition or number of PRB, the design of CP, supportable system bandwidth, etc. . . . While as NR considers larger system bandwidth, and larger coherence bandwidth, inclusion of a larger sub carrier spacing is a nature choice.
As discussed above, it is very difficult to fulfill all diverse requirements with a single numerology. Therefore, it is agreed in the very first meeting that more than one numerologies would be adopted. And considering the standardization effort, implementation efforts, as well as multiplexing capability among different numerologies, it would be beneficial to have some relationship between different numerologies, such as integral multiple relationship. Several numerology families, were raised, one of them is based on LTE 15 KHz, and some other numerologies (Alt2˜4 below) which allows power N of 2 symbols in 1 ms:
For NR, it is necessary to support more than one values of subcarrier-spacing
Usually, RAN1 works as band agnostic manner, i.e. a scheme or feature would be assumed to be applicable for all frequency bands and in the following RAN4 would derive relevant test case considering if some combination is unrealistic or deployment can be done reasonably. This rule would still be assumed in NR, while some companies do see there would be restriction for sure as the frequency range of NR is quite high:
3GPP TS 38.211 provides the following additional details of NR frame structure, channel and numerology design:
Throughout this specification, unless otherwise noted, the size of various fields in the time domain is expressed in time units Tc=1/(Δfmax·Nf) where Δfmax=480·103 Hz and Nf=4096. The constant κ==Ts/Tc=64 where Ts=1/(Δfref·Nf,ref), Δfref=15·103 Hz and Nf,ref=2048.
Multiple OFDM numerologies are supported as given by Table 4.2-1 where μ and the cyclic prefix for a bandwidth part are obtained from the higher-layer parameter subcarrierSpacing and cyclicPrefix, respectively.
Downlink and uplink transmissions are organized into frames with Tf=(ΔfmaxNf/100)·Tc=10 MS duration, each consisting of ten subframes of Tsf=(ΔfmaxNf/1000)·Tc=1 ms duration. The number of consecutive OFDM symbols per subframe is Nsymbsubframe,μ=NsymbslotNslotsubframe,μ. Each frame is divided into two equally-sized half-frames of five subframes each with half-frame 0 consisting of subframes 0-4 and half-frame 1 consisting of subframes 5-9.
There is one set of frames in the uplink and one set of frames in the downlink on a carrier. Uplink frame number i for transmission from the UE shall start TTA=(NTA+NTA,offset)Tc before the start of the corresponding downlink frame at the UE where NTA,offset is given by [5, TS 38.213].
For subcarrier spacing configuration μ, slots are numbered nsμ∈{0, . . . , Nslotsubframe,μ−1} in increasing order within a subframe and ns,fμ∈{0, . . . , Nslotframe,μ−1} in increasing order within a frame. There are Nsymbslot consecutive OFDM symbols in a slot where Nsymbslot depends on the cyclic prefix as given by Tables 4.3.2-1 and 4.3.2-2. The start of slot nsμ in a subframe is aligned in time with the start of OFDM symbol nsμNsymbslot in the same subframe.
OFDM symbols in a slot can be classified as ‘downlink’, ‘flexible’, or ‘uplink’. Signaling of slot formats is described in subclause 11.1 of [5, TS 38.213].
In a slot in a downlink frame, the UE shall assume that downlink transmissions only occur in ‘downlink’ or ‘flexible’ symbols.
In a slot in an uplink frame, the UE shall only transmit in ‘uplink’ or ‘flexible’ symbols.
A UE not capable of full-duplex communication and not supporting simultaneous transmission and reception as defined by parameter simultaneousRxTxInterBandENDC, simultaneousRxTxInterBandCA or simultaneousRxTxSUL [10, TS 38.306] among all cells within a group of cells is not expected to transmit in the uplink in one cell within the group of cells earlier than NRx-TxTc after the end of the last received downlink symbol in the same or different cell within the group of cells where NRx-Tx is given by Table 4.3.2-3.
A UE not capable of full-duplex communication and not supporting simultaneous transmission and reception as defined by parameter simultaneousRxTxInterBandENDC, simultaneousRxTxInterBandCA or simultaneousRxTxSUL [10, TS 38.306] among all cells within a group of cells is not expected to receive in the downlink in one cell within the group of cells earlier than NTx-RxTc after the end of the last transmitted uplink symbol in the same or different cell within the group of cells where NTx-Rx is given by Table 4.3.2-3.
A UE not capable of full-duplex communication is not expected to transmit in the uplink earlier than after the end of the last received downlink symbol in the same cell where NTx-Rx is given by Table 4.3.2-3.
A UE not capable of full-duplex communication is not expected to receive in the downlink earlier than NTx-RxTc after the end of the last transmitted uplink symbol in the same cell where NTx-Rx is given by Table 4.3.2-3.
An antenna port is defined such that the channel over which a symbol on the antenna port is conveyed can be inferred from the channel over which another symbol on the same antenna port is conveyed.
For DM-RS associated with a PDSCH, the channel over which a PDSCH symbol on one antenna port is conveyed can be inferred from the channel over which a DM-RS symbol on the same antenna port is conveyed only if the two symbols are within the same resource as the scheduled PDSCH, in the same slot, and in the same PRG as described in clause 5.1.2.3 of [6, TS 38.214].
For DM-RS associated with a PDCCH, the channel over which a PDCCH symbol on one antenna port is conveyed can be inferred from the channel over which a DM-RS symbol on the same antenna port is conveyed only if the two symbols are within resources for which the UE may assume the same precoding being used as described in clause 7.3.2.2.
For DM-RS associated with a PBCH, the channel over which a PBCH symbol on one antenna port is conveyed can be inferred from the channel over which a DM-RS symbol on the same antenna port is conveyed only if the two symbols are within a SS/PBCH block transmitted within the same slot, and with the same block index according to clause 7.4.3.1.
Two antenna ports are said to be quasi co-located if the large-scale properties of the channel over which a symbol on one antenna port is conveyed can be inferred from the channel over which a symbol on the other antenna port is conveyed. The large-scale properties include one or more of delay spread, Doppler spread, Doppler shift, average gain, average delay, and spatial Rx parameters.
For each numerology and carrier, a resource grid of Ngrid,xsize,μNscRB subcarriers and Nsymbsubframe,μ OFDM symbols is defined, starting at common resource block Ngridstart,μ indicated by higher-layer signalling. There is one set of resource grids per transmission direction (uplink or downlink) with the subscript set to DL and UL for downlink and uplink, respectively. When there is no risk for confusion, the subscript may be dropped. There is one resource grid for a given antenna port p, subcarrier spacing configuration μ, and transmission direction (downlink or uplink).
The carrier bandwidth Ngridsize,μ for subcarrier spacing configuration μ is given by the higher-layer parameter carrierBandwidth in the SCS-SpecificCarrier IE. The starting position Ngridstart,μ for subcarrier spacing configuration μ is given by the higher-layer parameter offsetToCarrier in the SCS-SpecificCarrier IE.
The frequency location of a subcarrier refers to the center frequency of that subcarrier.
For the downlink, the higher-layer parameter txDirectCurrentLocation in the SCS-SpecificCarrier IE indicates the location of the transmitter DC subcarrier in the downlink for each of the numerologies configured in the downlink. Values in the range 0-3299 represent the number of the DC subcarrier and the value 3300 indicates that the DC subcarrier is located outside the resource grid.
For the uplink, the higher-layer parameter txDirectCurrentLocation in the UplinkTxDirectCurrentBWP IE indicates the location of the transmitter DC subcarrier in the uplink for each of the configured bandwidth parts, including whether the DC subcarrier location is offset by 7.5 kHz relative to the center of the indicated subcarrier or not. Values in the range 0-3299 represent the number of the DC subcarrier, the value 3300 indicates that the DC subcarrier is located outside the resource grid, and the value 3301 indicates that the position of the DC subcarrier in the uplink is undetermined.
4.4.3 Resource Elements
Each element in the resource grid for antenna port p and subcarrier spacing configuration μ is called a resource element and is uniquely identified by (k,l)p,μ where k is the index in the frequency domain and l refers to the symbol position in the time domain relative to some reference point. Resource element (k,l)p,μ corresponds to a physical resource and the complex value αk,l(p,μ). When there is no risk for confusion, or no particular antenna port or subcarrier spacing is specified, the indices p and μ may be dropped, resulting in αk,l(p) or αk,l.
4.4.4 Resource blocks
A resource block is defined as NscRE=12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain.
Point A serves as a common reference point for resource block grids and is obtained from:
Common resource blocks are numbered from 0 and upwards in the frequency domain for subcarrier spacing configuration p. The center of subcarrier 0 of common resource block 0 for subcarrier spacing configuration p coincides with ‘point A’.
The relation between the common resource block number nCRBμ in the frequency domain and resource elements (k, l) for subcarrier spacing configuration μ is given by
where k is defined relative to point A such that k=0 corresponds to the subcarrier centered around point A.
Physical resource blocks for subcarrier configuration g are defined within a bandwidth part and numbered from 0 to NBWF,isize,μ−1 where i is the number of the bandwidth part. The relation between the physical resource block nPRBμ in bandwidth part if and the common resource block nCRBμ is given by
n
CRB
μ
=n
PRB
μ
+N
BWP,i
start,μ
where NBWP,istart,μ is the common resource block where bandwidth part starts relative to common resource block 0. When there is no risk for confusion the index μ may be dropped.
Virtual resource blocks are defined within a bandwidth part and numbered from 0 to NBWP,isize−1 where i is the number of the bandwidth part.
A bandwidth part is a subset of contiguous common resource blocks defined in subclause 4.4.4.3 for a given numerology μi in bandwidth part i on a given carrier. The starting position NBWP,istart,μ and the number of resource blocks NBWP,isize,μ in a bandwidth part shall fulfil Ngrid,xstart,μ≤NBWP,lstart,μ<Ngrid,xstart,μ+Ngrid,xsize,μ and Ngrid,xstart,μ<NBWP,lsize,μ≤Ngrid,xstart,μNgrid,xsize,μ, respectively.
Configuration of a bandwidth part is described in clause 12 of [5, TS 38.213].
A UE can be configured with up to four bandwidth parts in the downlink with a single downlink bandwidth part being active at a given time. The UE is not expected to receive PDSCH, PDCCH, or CSI-RS (except for RRM) outside an active bandwidth part.
A UE can be configured with up to four bandwidth parts in the uplink with a single uplink bandwidth part being active at a given time. If a UE is configured with a supplementary uplink, the UE can in addition be configured with up to four bandwidth parts in the supplementary uplink with a single supplementary uplink bandwidth part being active at a given time. The UE shall not transmit PUSCH or PUCCH outside an active bandwidth part. For an active cell, the UE shall not transmit SRS outside an active bandwidth part.
Unless otherwise noted, the description in this specification applies to each of the bandwidth parts. When there is no risk of confusion, the index μ may be dropped from NBWP,istart,μ, NBWP,isize,μ, Ngrid,xstart,μ and Ngrid,xsize,μ.
Transmissions in multiple cells can be aggregated. Unless otherwise noted, the description in this specification applies to each of the serving cells.
In conventional cellular system, UL timing advance (TA) needs to be obtained to ensure a UE transmit UL signal(s) at proper timing. TA is a timing difference between UL transmission timing and DL reception timing at UE side. For example, TA is a time duration UL timing ahead of DL timing. TA could accommodate a round trip time (RTT) between a bases station and a UE. Since UEs served by a bases station would have different RTTs, if all UE transmit it UL as the same timing as receiving its DL, the UL signals from different UEs would cause interference to each other, as they would not arrive at the same time (or around the same time). To mitigate or eliminate such interference, TA is introduced to allow UL signals (e.g. in a same UL slot or in a same UL symbol) from different UEs arriving the base station (e.g. roughly) at the same time. For a UE closer to a base station, it would be likely to have a shorter TA. For a UE farther from a base station, it would be likely to have a longer TA.
An initial value of TA is obtained before UE perform regular UL transmission. The initial TA value is estimated by a random access procedure. A UE would firstly synchronize its DL timing to a DL signal, e.g. SSB from a base station. After obtaining DL timing, a UE transmits a preamble to a base station. The preamble is transmitted with TA value equal to 0 or a small offset value relative to the DL timing. Design of the preamble sequence allows a base station to estimate TA value of a UE (e.g. amount of time UE needs to advance its transmission timing comparing with transmitting a preamble) when receiving preamble from the UE. The base station would then transmit a response, random access response, comprising a TA value (for that preamble and/or that PRACH resource). The UE could use the TA value to adjust its following UL transmission timing (e.g. a Msg3 transmission). Whether the TA could be continuously used in the following UL transmission may subject to other condition(s), e.g. whether the random access procedure is successfully complete or not. This TA value would be maintained or updated from time to time, e.g. when UL transmission is to be performed.
UE may change its location due to mobility, or the path between a base station and the UE changes, resulting in desired TA value change. The base station could send a TA adjustment value to update UE's TA value. The base station could send an order to request UE to perform a random access procedure. The UE could acquire new TA during the random access procedure. A TA validity timer is maintained by a UE (as well as by a base station) to judge whether a UE has a valid TA or not. If UE does not have valid TA, it is not allowed to transmit most of the UL signal. For example, if UE does not have valid TA, it is not allowed to transmit PUCCH and/or PUSCH and/or SRS. If UE does not have valid TA, it is allowed to transmit PRACH. More details of procedures related to timing advance are provided below from 3GPP TS 38.213, TS 38.211, and TS 38.321.
3GPP TS 38.213 states:
Cell search is the procedure for a UE to acquire time and frequency synchronization with a cell and to detect the physical layer Cell ID of the cell.
A UE receives the following synchronization signals (SS) in order to perform cell search: the primary synchronization signal (PSS) and secondary synchronization signal (SSS) as defined in [4, TS 38.211].
A UE assumes that reception occasions of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), PSS, and SSS are in consecutive symbols, as defined in [4, TS 38.211], and form a SS/PBCH block. The UE assumes that SSS, PBCH DM-RS, and PBCH data have same EPRE. The UE may assume that the ratio of PSS EPRE to SSS EPRE in a SS/PBCH block is either 0 dB or 3 dB. If the UE has not been provided dedicated higher layer parameters, the UE may assume that the ratio of PDCCH DMRS EPRE to SSS EPRE is within −8 dB and 8 dB when the UE monitors PDCCHs for a DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by SI-RNTI, P-RNTI, or RA-RNTI.
For a half frame with SS/PBCH blocks, the first symbol indexes for candidate SS/PBCH blocks are determined according to the SCS of SS/PBCH blocks as follows, where index 0 corresponds to the first symbol of the first slot in a half-frame.
From the above cases, if the SCS of SS/PBCH blocks is not provided by ssbSubcarrierSpacing, the applicable cases for a cell depend on a respective frequency band, as provided in [8-1, TS 38.101-1] and [8-2, TS 38.101-2]. A same case applies for all SS/PBCH blocks on the cell. If a 30 kHz SS/PBCH block SCS is indicated by ssbSubcarrierSpacing, Case B applies for frequency bands with only 15 kHz SS/PBCH block SCS as specified in [8-1, TS 38.101-1], and the case specified for 30 kHz SS/PBCH block SCS in [8-1, TS 38.101-1] applies for frequency bands with 30 kHz SS/PBCH block SCS or both 15 kHz and 30 kHz SS/PBCH block SCS as specified in [8-1, TS 38.101-1]. For a UE configured to operate with carrier aggregation over a set of cells in a frequency band of FR2 or with frequency-contiguous carrier aggregation over a set of cells in a frequency band of FR1, if the UE is provided SCS values by ssbSubcarrierSpacing for receptions of SS/PBCH blocks on any cells from the set of cells, the UE expects the SCS values to be same.
The candidate SS/PBCH blocks in a half frame are indexed in an ascending order in time from 0 to Lmax−1. A UE determines the 2 LSB bits, for Lmax=4, or the 3 LSB bits, for Lmax>4, of a SS/PBCH block index per half frame from a one-to-one mapping with an index of the DM-RS sequence transmitted in the PBCH. For Lmax=64, the UE determines the 3 MSB bits of the SS/PBCH block index per half frame from PBCH payload bits āĀ+5,āĀ+6, āĀ+7as described in [5, TS 38.212].
A UE can be provided per serving cell by ssb-periodicityServingCell a periodicity of the half frames for reception of the SS/PBCH blocks for the serving cell. If the UE is not configured a periodicity of the half frames for receptions of the SS/PBCH blocks, the UE assumes a periodicity of a half frame. A UE assumes that the periodicity is same for all SS/PBCH blocks in the serving cell.
For initial cell selection, a UE may assume that half frames with SS/PBCH blocks occur with a periodicity of 2 frames.
Upon detection of a SS/PBCH block, the UE determines from MIB that a CORESET for Type0-PDCCH CSS set, as described in Subclause 13, is present if kSSB≤23 [4, TS 38.211] for FR1 or if kSSB≤11 for FR2. The UE determines from MIB that a CORESET for Type0-PDCCH CSS set is not present if kSSB>23 for FR1 or if kSSB>11 for FR2; the CORESET for Type0-PDCCH CSS set may be provided by PDCCH-ConfigCommon.
For a serving cell without transmission of SS/PBCH blocks, a UE acquires time and frequency synchronization with the serving cell based on receptions of SS/PBCH blocks on the PCell, or on the PSCell, of the cell group for the serving cell.
A UE can be provided a value NTA,offset of a timing advance offset for a serving cell by n-TimingAdvanceOffset for the serving cell. If the UE is not provided n-TimingAdvanceOffset for a serving cell, the UE determines a default value NTA,offset of the timing advance offset for the serving cell as described in [10, TS 38.133].
If a UE is configured with two UL carriers for a serving cell, a same timing advance offset value NTA,offset applies to both carriers.
Upon reception of a timing advance command for a TAG, the UE adjusts uplink timing for PUSCH/SRS/PUCCH transmission on all the serving cells in the TAG based on a value NTA,offset that the UE expects to be same for all the serving cells in the TAG and based on the received timing advance command where the uplink timing for PUSCH/SRS/PUCCH transmissions is the same for all the serving cells in the TAG.
For a band with synchronous contiguous intra-band EN-DC in a band combination with non-applicable maximum transmit timing difference requirements as described in Note 1 of Table 7.5.3-1 of [10, TS 38.133], if the UE indicates ul-TimingAlignmentEUTRA-NR as ‘required’ and uplink transmission timing based on timing adjustment indication for a TAG from MCG and a TAG from SCG are determined to be different by the UE, the UE adjusts the transmission timing for PUSCH/SRS/PUCCH transmission on all serving cells part of the band with the synchronous contiguous intra-band EN-DC based on timing adjustment indication for a TAG from a serving cell in MCG in the band. The UE is not expected to transmit a PUSCH/SRS/PUCCH in one CG when the PUSCH/SRS/PUCCH is overlapping in time, even partially, with random access preamble transmitted in another CG.
For a SCS of 2μ·15 kHz, the timing advance command for a TAG indicates the change of the uplink timing relative to the current uplink timing for the TAG in multiples of 16·64·Tc/2μ. The start timing of the random access preamble is described in [4, TS 38.211].
In case of random access response, a timing advance command [11, TS 38.321], TA, for a TAG indicates NTA values by index values of TA=0, 1, 2, . . . , 3846, where an amount of the time alignment for the TAG with SCS of 2μ·15 kHz is NTA=TA·16·64/2μ. NTA is defined in [4, TS 38.211] and is relative to the SCS of the first uplink transmission from the UE after the reception of the random access response.
In other cases, a timing advance command [11, TS 38.321], TA, for a TAG indicates adjustment of a current NTA value, NTA_old, to the new NTA value, NTA_new, by index values of TA=0, 1, 2, . . . , 63, where for a SCS of 2μ·15 kHz, NTA_new NTA_old±(TA−31)·16·64/2μ.
If a UE has multiple active UL BWPs, as described in Subclause 12, in a same TAG, including UL BWPs in two UL carriers of a serving cell, the timing advance command value is relative to the largest SCS of the multiple active UL BWPs. The applicable NTA_new value for an UL BWP with lower SCS may be rounded to align with the timing advance granularity for the UL BWP with the lower SCS while satisfying the timing advance accuracy requirements in [10, TS38.133].
Adjustment of an NTA value by a positive or a negative amount indicates advancing or delaying the uplink transmission timing for the TAG by a corresponding amount, respectively.
For a timing advance command received on uplink slot n and for a transmission other than a PUSCH scheduled by a RAR UL grant as described in Subclause 8.3, the corresponding adjustment of the uplink transmission timing applies from the beginning of uplink slot n+k+1 where k=┌Nslotsubframeμ·(NT,1+NT,2+NTA,max+0.5)/Tsf┐, NT,1 is a time duration in msec of N1 symbols corresponding to a PDSCH processing time for UE processing capability 1 when additional PDSCH DM-RS is configured, NT,2 is a time duration in msec of N2 symbols corresponding to a PUSCH preparation time for UE processing capability 1 [6, TS 38.214], NTA,max is the maximum timing advance value in msec that can be provided by a TA command field of 12 bits, Nslotsubframe,μ is the number of slots per subframe, and Tsf is the subframe duration of 1 msec. N1 and N2 are determined with respect to the minimum SCS among the SCSs of all configured UL BWPs for all uplink carriers in the TAG and of all configured DL BWPs for the corresponding downlink carriers. For μ=0, the UE assumes N1,0=14 [6, TS 38.214]. Slot n and Nslotsubframe,μ are determined with respect to the minimum SCS among the SCSs of all configured UL BWPs for all uplink carriers in the TAG. NTA,max is determined with respect to the minimum SCS among the SCSs of all configured UL BWPs for all uplink carriers in the TAG and for all configured initial UL BWPs provided by initialUplinkBWP. The uplink slot n is the last slot among uplink slot(s) overlapping with the slot(s) of PDSCH reception assuming TTA=0, where the PDSCH provides the timing advance command and TTA is defined in [4, TS 38.211].
If a UE changes an active UL BWP between a time of a timing advance command reception and a time of applying a corresponding adjustment for the uplink transmission timing, the UE determines the timing advance command value based on the SCS of the new active UL BWP. If the UE changes an active UL BWP after applying an adjustment for the uplink transmission timing, the UE assumes a same absolute timing advance command value before and after the active UL BWP change.
If the received downlink timing changes and is not compensated or is only partly compensated by the uplink timing adjustment without timing advance command as described in [10, TS 38.133], the UE changes NTA accordingly.
If two adjacent slots overlap due to a TA command, the latter slot is reduced in duration relative to the former slot.
[ . . . ]
Prior to initiation of the physical random access procedure, Layer 1 receives from higher layers a set of SS/PBCH block indexes and provides to higher layers a corresponding set of RSRP measurements.
Prior to initiation of the physical random access procedure, Layer 1 receives the following information from the higher layers:
From the physical layer perspective, the L1 random access procedure includes the transmission of random access preamble (Msg1) in a PRACH, random access response (RAR) message with a PDCCH/PDSCH (Msg2), and when applicable, the transmission of a PUSCH scheduled by a RAR UL grant, and PDSCH for contention resolution.
If a random access procedure is initiated by a PDCCH order to the UE, a PRACH transmission is with a same SCS as a PRACH transmission initiated by higher layers.
If a UE is configured with two UL carriers for a serving cell and the UE detects a PDCCH order, the UE uses the UL/SUL indicator field value from the detected PDCCH order to determine the UL carrier for the corresponding PRACH transmission.
Physical random access procedure is triggered upon request of a PRACH transmission by higher layers or by a PDCCH order. A configuration by higher layers for a PRACH transmission includes the following:
A PRACH is transmitted using the selected PRACH format with transmission power PPRACH,b,f,c (i), as described in Subclause 7.4, on the indicated PRACH resource.
A UE is provided a number N of SS/PBCH blocks associated with one PRACH occasion and a number R of contention based preambles per SS/PBCH block per valid PRACH occasion by ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB. If N<1, one SS/PBCH block is mapped to 1/N consecutive valid PRACH occasions and R contention based preambles with consecutive indexes associated with the SS/PBCH block per valid PRACH occasion start from preamble index 0. If N≥1, R contention based preambles with consecutive indexes associated with SS/PBCH block n, 0≤n≤N−1, per valid PRACH occasion start from preamble index n·Npreambletotal/N where Npreambletotal is provided by totalNumberofRA-Preambles and is an integer multiple of N.
For link recovery, a UE is provided N SS/PBCH blocks associated with one PRACH occasion by ssb-perRACH-Occasion in BeamFailureRecoveryConfig. For a dedicated RACH configuration provided by RACH-ConfigDedicated, if cfra is provided, a UE is provided N SS/PBCH blocks associated with one PRACH occasion by ssb-perRACH-Occasion in occasions. If N<1, one SS/PBCH block is mapped to 1/N consecutive valid PRACH occasions. If N≥1, all consecutive N SS/PBCH blocks are associated with one PRACH occasion.
SS/PBCH block indexes provided by ssb-PositionsInBurst in SIB1 or in ServingCellConfigCommon are mapped to valid PRACH occasions in the following order where the parameters are described in [4, TS 38.211].
An association period, starting from frame 0, for mapping SS/PBCH blocks to PRACH occasions is the smallest value in the set determined by the PRACH configuration period according Table 8.1-1 such that NTxSSB SS/PBCH blocks are mapped at least once to the PRACH occasions within the association period, where a UE obtains NTxSSB from the value of ssb-PositionsInBurst in SIB1 or in ServingCellConfigCommon. If after an integer number of SS/PBCH blocks to PRACH occasions mapping cycles within the association period there is a set of PRACH occasions that are not mapped to nTxSSB SS/PBCH blocks, no SS/PBCH blocks are mapped to the set of PRACH occasions. An association pattern period includes one or more association periods and is determined so that a pattern between PRACH occasions and SS/PBCH blocks repeats at most every 160 msec. PRACH occasions not associated with SS/PBCH blocks after an integer number of association periods, if any, are not used for PRACH transmissions.
For a PRACH transmission triggered by a PDCCH order, the PRACH mask index field [5, TS 38.212], if the value of the random access preamble index field is not zero, indicates the PRACH occasion for the PRACH transmission where the PRACH occasions are associated with the SS/PBCH block index indicated by the SS/PBCH block index field of the PDCCH order.
For a PRACH transmission triggered by higher layers, if ssb-ResourceList is provided, the PRACH mask index is indicated by ra-ssb-OccasionMaskIndex which indicates the PRACH occasions for the PRACH transmission where the PRACH occasions are associated with the selected SS/PBCH block index.
The PRACH occasions are mapped consecutively per corresponding SS/PBCH block index. The indexing of the PRACH occasion indicated by the mask index value is reset per mapping cycle of consecutive PRACH occasions per SS/PBCH block index. The UE selects for a PRACH transmission the PRACH occasion indicated by PRACH mask index value for the indicated SS/PBCH block index in the first available mapping cycle.
For the indicated preamble index, the ordering of the PRACH occasions is
For a PRACH transmission triggered upon request by higher layers, a value of ra-OccasionList [12, TS 38.331], if csirs-ResourceList is provided, indicates a list of PRACH occasions for the PRACH transmission where the PRACH occasions are associated with the selected CSI-RS index indicated by csi-RS. The indexing of the PRACH occasions indicated by ra-OccasionList is reset per association pattern period.
For paired spectrum all PRACH occasions are valid. For unpaired spectrum, if a UE is not provided tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon, a PRACH occasion in a PRACH slot is valid if it does not precede a SS/PBCH block in the PRACH slot and starts at least Ngap symbols after a last SS/PBCH block reception symbol, where Ngap is provided in Table 8.1-2.
If a UE is provided tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon, a PRACH occasion in a PRACH slot is valid if
For preamble format B4 [4, TS 38.211], Ngap=0.
If a random access procedure is initiated by a PDCCH order, the UE, if requested by higher layers, transmits a PRACH in the selected PRACH occasion, as described in [11, TS 38.321], for which a time between the last symbol of the PDCCH order reception and the first symbol of the PRACH transmission is larger than or equal to NT,2+ΔBWPSwitching+ΔDelay msec, where NT,2 is a time duration of N2 symbols corresponding to a PUSCH preparation time for UE processing capability 1 [6, TS 38.214], ΔBWPSwitching=0 if the active UL BWP does not change and ΔBWPSwitching is defined in [10, TS 38.133] otherwise, and ΔDelay=0.5 msec for FR1 and ΔDelay=0.25 msec for FR2. For a PRACH transmission using 1.25 kHz or 5 kHz SCS, the UE determines N2 assuming SCS configuration μ=0.
For single cell operation or for operation with carrier aggregation in a same frequency band, a UE does not transmit PRACH and PUSCH/PUCCH/SRS in a same slot or when a gap between the first or last symbol of a PRACH transmission in a first slot is separated by less than N symbols from the last or first symbol, respectively, of a PUSCH/PUCCH/SRS transmission in a second slot where N=2 for μ=0 or μ=1, N=4 for μ=2 or μ=3, and is the SCS configuration for the active UL BWP.
8.2 Random Access Response
In response to a PRACH transmission, a UE attempts to detect a DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by a corresponding RA-RNTI during a window controlled by higher layers [11, TS 38.321]. The window starts at the first symbol of the earliest CORESET the UE is configured to receive PDCCH for Type1-PDCCH CSS set, as defined in Subclause 10.1, that is at least one symbol, after the last symbol of the PRACH occasion corresponding to the PRACH transmission, where the symbol duration corresponds to the SCS for Type1-PDCCH CSS set as defined in Subclause 10.1. The length of the window in number of slots, based on the SCS for Type1-PDCCH CSS set, is provided by ra-ResponseWindow.
If the UE detects the DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by the corresponding RA-RNTI and a transport block in a corresponding PDSCH within the window, the UE passes the transport block to higher layers. The higher layers parse the transport block for a random access preamble identity (RAPID) associated with the PRACH transmission. If the higher layers identify the RAPID in RAR message(s) of the transport block, the higher layers indicate an uplink grant to the physical layer. This is referred to as random access response (RAR) UL grant in the physical layer.
If the UE does not detect the DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by the corresponding RA-RNTI within the window, or if the UE does not correctly receive the transport block in the corresponding PDSCH within the window, or if the higher layers do not identify the RAPID associated with the PRACH transmission from the UE, the higher layers can indicate to the physical layer to transmit a PRACH. If requested by higher layers, the UE is expected to transmit a PRACH no later than NT,1+0.75 msec after the last symbol of the window, or the last symbol of the PDSCH reception, where NT,1 is a time duration of N1 symbols corresponding to a PDSCH processing time for UE processing capability 1 when additional PDSCH DM-RS is configured. For μ=0, the UE assumes N1,0=14 [6, TS 38.214].
If the UE detects a DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by the corresponding RA-RNTI and receives a transport block in a corresponding PDSCH, the UE may assume same DM-RS antenna port quasi co-location properties, as described in [6, TS 38.214], as for a SS/PBCH block or a CSI-RS resource the UE used for PRACH association, as described in Subclause 8.1, regardless of whether or not the UE is provided TCI-State for the CORESET where the UE receives the PDCCH with the DCI format 1_0. If the UE attempts to detect the DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by the corresponding RA-RNTI in response to a PRACH transmission initiated by a PDCCH order that triggers a contention-free random access procedure for the SpCell [11, TS 38.321], the UE may assume that the PDCCH that includes the DCI format 1_0 and the PDCCH order have same DM-RS antenna port quasi co-location properties. If the UE attempts to detect the DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by the corresponding RA-RNTI in response to a PRACH transmission initiated by a PDCCH order that triggers a contention-free random access procedure for a secondary cell, the UE may assume the DM-RS antenna port quasi co-location properties of the CORESET associated with the Type1-PDCCH CSS set for receiving the PDCCH that includes the DCI format 1_0.
A RAR UL grant schedules a PUSCH transmission from the UE. The contents of the RAR UL grant, starting with the MSB and ending with the LSB, are given in Table 8.2-1.
If the value of the frequency hopping flag is 0, the UE transmits the PUSCH without frequency hopping; otherwise, the UE transmits the PUSCH with frequency hopping.
The UE determines the MCS of the PUSCH transmission from the first sixteen indexes of the applicable MCS index table for PUSCH as described in [6, TS 38.214].
The TPC command value δmsg2,b,f,c is used for setting the power of the PUSCH transmission, as described in Subclause 7.1.1, and is interpreted according to Table 8.2-2.
The CSI request field is reserved.
Unless the UE is configured a SCS, the UE receives subsequent PDSCH using same SCS as for the PDSCH reception providing the RAR message.
If the UE does not detect the DCI format with CRC scrambled by the corresponding RA-RNTI or the UE does not correctly receive a corresponding transport block within the window, the UE procedure is as described in [11, TS 38.321].
An active UL BWP, as described in Subclause 12 and in [4, TS 38.211], for a PUSCH transmission scheduled by a RAR UL grant is indicated by higher layers. For determining the frequency domain resource allocation for the PUSCH transmission within the active UL BWP
The frequency domain resource allocation is by uplink resource allocation type 1 [6, TS 38.214]. For an initial UL BWP size of NBWPsize RBs, a UE processes the frequency domain resource assignment field as follows
A UE determines whether or not to apply transform precoding as described in [6, TS 38.214]. For a PUSCH transmission with frequency hopping scheduled by RAR UL grant or for a Msg3 PUSCH retransmission, the frequency offset for the second hop [6, TS 38.214] is given in Table 8.3-1.
A SCS for the PUSCH transmission is provided by subcarrierSpacing in BWP-UplinkCommon. A UE transmits PRACH and the PUSCH on a same uplink carrier of a same serving cell.
A UE transmits a transport block in a PUSCH scheduled by a RAR UL grant in a corresponding RAR message using redundancy version number 0. If a TC-RNTI is provided by higher layers, the scrambling initialization of the PUSCH corresponding to the RAR UL grant in clause 8.2 is by TC-RNTI. Otherwise, the scrambling initialization of the PUSCH corresponding to the RAR UL grant in clause 8.2 is by C-RNTI. Msg3 PUSCH retransmissions, if any, of the transport block, are scheduled by a DCI format 0_0 with CRC scrambled by a TC-RNTI provided in the corresponding RAR message [11, TS 38.321]. The UE always transmits the PUSCH scheduled by a RAR UL grant without repetitions.
With reference to slots for a PUSCH transmission scheduled by a RAR UL grant, if a UE receives a PDSCH with a RAR message ending in slot n for a corresponding PRACH transmission from the UE, the UE transmits the PUSCH in slot n+k2+Δ, where k2 and A are provided in [6, TS 38.214].
The UE may assume a minimum time between the last symbol of a PDSCH reception conveying a RAR message with a RAR UL grant and the first symbol of a corresponding PUSCH transmission scheduled by the RAR UL grant is equal to NT,1+NT,2+0.5 msec, where NT,1 is a time duration of N1 symbols corresponding to a PDSCH processing time for UE processing capability 1 when additional PDSCH DM-RS is configured, NT,2 is a time duration of N2 symbols corresponding to a PUSCH preparation time for UE processing capability 1 [6, TS 38.214] and, for determining the minimum time, the UE considers that N1 and N2 correspond to the smaller of the SCS configurations for the PDSCH and the PUSCH. For μ=0, the UE assumes N1,0=14 [6, TS 38.214].
8.4 PDSCH with UE Contention Resolution Identity
In response to a PUSCH transmission scheduled by a RAR UL grant when a UE has not been provided a C-RNTI, the UE attempts to detect a DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by a corresponding TC-RNTI scheduling a PDSCH that includes a UE contention resolution identity [11, TS 38.321]. In response to the PDSCH reception with the UE contention resolution identity, the UE transmits HARQ-ACK information in a PUCCH. The PUCCH transmission is within a same active UL BWP as the PUSCH transmission. A minimum time between the last symbol of the PDSCH reception and the first symbol of the corresponding PUCCH transmission with the HARQ-ACK information is equal to NT,1+0.5 msec. NT,1 is a time duration of N1 symbols corresponding to a PDSCH processing time for UE processing capability 1 when additional PDSCH DM-RS is configured. For μ=0, the UE assumes N1,0=14 [6, TS 38.214].
When detecting a DCI format in response to a PUSCH transmission scheduled by a RAR UL grant, as described in [11, TS 38.321], or corresponding PUSCH retransmission scheduled by a DCI format 0_0 with CRC scrambled by a TC-RNTI provided in the corresponding RAR message [11, TS 38.321], the UE may assume the PDCCH carrying the DCI format has the same DM-RS antenna port quasi co-location properties, as described in [6, TS 38.214], as for a SS/PBCH block the UE used for PRACH association, as described in Subclause 8.1, regardless of whether or not the UE is provided TCI-State for the CORESET where the UE receives the PDCCH with the DCI format.
3GPP TS 38.211 states:
Downlink and uplink transmissions are organized into frames with Tf=(ΔfmaxNf/100)·Tc=10 MS duration, each consisting of ten subframes of Tsf=(ΔfmNf/1000) Tc=1 ms duration. The number of consecutive OFDM symbols per subframe is Nsymbsubframe,μ=NsymbslotNslotsubframe,μ. Each frame is divided into two equally-sized half-frames of five subframes each with half-frame 0 consisting of subframes 0-4 and half-frame 1 consisting of subframes 5-9.
There is one set of frames in the uplink and one set of frames in the downlink on a carrier. Uplink frame number for transmission from the UE shall start TTA=(NTA+NTA,offset)Tc before the start of the corresponding downlink frame at the UE where NTA,offset is given by [5, TS 38.213].
[ . . . ]
The time-continuous signal sl(p,μ)(t) on antenna port p for PRACH is defined by
where to tstartRA≤t<tstartRA+(Nu+NCP,lRA)Tc and
Otherwise, Δf is the subcarrier spacing of the active uplink bandwidth part;
The starting position tstartRA of the PRACH preamble in a subframe (for ΔfRA∈{1.25,5,15,30} kHz) or in a 60 kHz slot (for ΔfRA∈{60,120} kHz) is given by
where
l=l
0
+n
t
RA
N
dur
RA+14nslotRA
where
If the preamble format given by Tables 6.3.3.2-2 to 6.3.3.2-4 is A1/B1, A2/B2 or A3/B3, then
3GPP TS 38.321 states:
The Random Access procedure described in this clause is initiated by a PDCCH order, by the MAC entity itself, or by RRC for the events in accordance with TS 38.300 [2]. There is only one Random Access procedure ongoing at any point in time in a MAC entity. The Random Access procedure on an SCell shall only be initiated by a PDCCH order with ra-PreambleIndex different from 0b000000.
RRC configures the following parameters for the Random Access procedure:
In addition, the following information for related Serving Cell is assumed to be available for UEs:
The following UE variables are used for the Random Access procedure:
When the Random Access procedure is initiated on a Serving Cell, the MAC entity shall:
The MAC entity shall:
The MAC entity shall, for each Random Access Preamble:
The RA-RNTI associated with the PRACH occasion in which the Random Access Preamble is transmitted, is computed as:
RA-RNTI=1+s_id+14×t_id+14×80×f_id+14×80×8×ul_carrier_id
where s_id is the index of the first OFDM symbol of the PRACH occasion (0≤s_id<14), t_id is the index of the first slot of the PRACH occasion in a system frame (0≤t_id<80), where the subcarrier spacing to determine t_id is based on the value of μ specified in clause 5.3.2 in TS 38.211 [8], f_id is the index of the PRACH occasion in the frequency domain (0≤f_id<8), and ul_carrier_id is the UL carrier used for Random Access Preamble transmission (0 for NUL carrier, and 1 for SUL carrier).
Once the Random Access Preamble is transmitted and regardless of the possible occurrence of a measurement gap, the MAC entity shall:
The MAC entity may stop ra-Response Window (and hence monitoring for Random Access Response(s)) after successful reception of a Random Access Response containing Random Access Preamble identifiers that matches the transmitted PREAMBLE_INDEX.
HARQ operation is not applicable to the Random Access Response reception.
Once Msg3 is transmitted, the MAC entity shall:
Upon completion of the Random Access procedure, the MAC entity shall:
RRC configures the following parameters for the maintenance of UL time alignment:
The MAC entity shall:
When the MAC entity stops uplink transmissions for an SCell due to the fact that the maximum uplink transmission timing difference between TAGs of the MAC entity or the maximum uplink transmission timing difference between TAGs of any MAC entity of the UE is exceeded, the MAC entity considers the timeAlignmentTimer associated with the SCell as expired.
The MAC entity shall not perform any uplink transmission on a Serving Cell except the Random Access Preamble transmission when the timeAlignmentTimer associated with the TAG to which this Serving Cell belongs is not running. Furthermore, when the timeAlignmentTimer associated with the PTAG is not running, the MAC entity shall not perform any uplink transmission on any Serving Cell except the Random Access Preamble transmission on the SpCell.
[ . . . ]
A MAC PDU consists of one or more MAC subPDUs and optionally padding. Each MAC subPDU consists one of the following:
A MAC subheader with Backoff Indicator consists of five header fields E/T/R/R/BI as described in
A MAC subheader with RAPID consists of three header fields E/T/RAPID as described in
Padding is placed at the end of the MAC PDU if present. Presence and length of padding is implicit based on TB size, size of MAC subPDU(s).
Satellite communication, also known as non-terrestrial network (NTN), has drawn attention as a candidate for providing mobile services. At least for area where convention base station is not deployed, e.g. polar area, desert region, high mountain or on airplane, NTN could be utilized to provide mobile services. Even in area with convention base station coverage, NTN could potentially be used as complementary service provider, e.g. for some type of services. High altitude platform station (HAPS), such as drone, unmanned aircraft, or balloon, could be considered as a category or type of NTN, e.g. with a smaller distance from earth. There are several type of NTN platform under consideration, as shown in Table 4.1-1 of 3GPP TS 38.821 V0.7.0.
In Table 4.1-1 of 3GPP TS 38.821 V0.7.0, UAS stands for “unmanned aircraft system”.
Different types of platforms may have different characteristics or different applicability. For example, the altitude, shape of orbit, mobility with respect to an earth point could be different. For GEO, the altitude is quite high which would result in higher pathloss as well as higher propagation delay or round trip delay. GEO could enjoy the benefit of stationary with respect to an earth point, and could provide coverage for most places around the earth. For LEO, the altitude is relative short and thus the loss and delay are less comparing with GEO. LEO would move around the earth, with respect to an earth point, so that it could cover some area which would be difficult to cover by GEO, such as polar area. However, the speed of movement is very high so that such mobility creates another issue, e.g. satellites covering a certain area would change from time to time with high speed. It is different from convention base station with fixed or almost fixed location. High roundtrip delay and higher base station mobility are major different factors comparing with convention mobile network. The issues induced by the factor need to be solved to make mobile service support via NTN possible.
In the RAN #98 meeting and the RAN #98bis meeting, there were some discussions regarding how to acquire TA under NTN scenario. Some relevant discussions are captured in 3GPP R1-191149 and R1-193275 as follows:
Following options can be considered to support TA adjustment for UL transmission:
Agreement:
W.r.t the Option 1 of a previous agreement on TA adjustment for UL transmission, the following alternatives can be considered:
Agreement:
W.r.t the Option 2 of TA adjustment from a previous agreement for UL transmission in NTN,
In conventional system, Uplink (UL) transmission timing is acquired based on relative timing. In other words, UL transmission timing is derived based on (or relative to) a Downlink (DL) reception timing. For NTN, one-way propagation delay or the RTT could be quite large, e.g. up to hundreds of ms, since a distance between base station (e.g. satellite) could be quite large (e.g. 300˜36,000 km). Therefore, the latency of obtaining Timing Advance (TA) could be larger than conventional system. As discussed above, one or two round trip(s) is required to obtain an initial TA value or to update TA value, e.g. via random access procedure or a TA command Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE). Another factor to introduce delay is DL synchronization procedure. As discussed above, Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) periodicity is selected by a base station. The value could be up to 160 ms. A 160 ms SSB periodicity corresponds to an average of ˜80 ms DL synchronization acquisition delay (e.g. for the case UE has not obtained DL synchronization). In summary, a relative timing based UL timing determination would induce delay comprising UL TA obtaining delay and/or DL sync delay.
A first general concept of this invention is that a UE determines UL transmission timing of an UL signal based on absolute time. The absolute time is based on a clock of the UE. The absolute time may not be derived from a DL reception timing. The absolute time may comprise hour, minute, second, millisecond, microsecond, and/or nanosecond. The UE could determine a timing UL transmission begins or starts based on absolute time. The UE could also determine an UL subframe begins or starts based on absolute time. Furthermore, the UE could determine an UL slot begins or starts based on absolute time. An UL transmission could begin or start at the absolute time. An UL slot could begin or start at the absolute time. An UL subframe could begin or start at the absolute time. The UE could determine a timing advance based on absolute time.
In one embodiment, the absolute time could be an UL reception time of the signal at the base station. The absolute time could be derived based on an UL reception time of the signal at the base station, or based on an UL reception time at the base station a propagation delay between the UE and a base station. Alternatively, the absolute timing could be a beginning or start of UL subframe at the base station. The absolute time could be derived based on a beginning or start of UL subframe at the base station, or based on a beginning or start of UL subframe at the base station and a propagation delay between the UE and a base station. Alternatively, the absolute time could be a beginning or start of UL slot at the base station. The absolute time could be derived based on a beginning or start of UL slot at the base station, based on a beginning or start of UL slot at the base station and a propagation delay between the UE and a base station, or based on a propagation delay between the UE and a base station.
Assuming a beginning of UL subframe or UL slot at base station is X (absolute time, e.g. 14:53:21.235000) and a propagation delay between the UE and a base station is Y (e.g. 2.67 ms), the absolute time could be X-Y (e.g. 14:53:18.565000). A beginning of UL subframe or UL slot at the UE side could be set to X-Y. A UE could determine a beginning of UL subframe or UL slot based on an absolute time and a propagation delay between the UE and a base station.
Assuming a beginning of UL reception time of a UL signal at base station is X (absolute time, e.g. 14:53:21.235000) and a propagation delay between the UE and a base station is Y (e.g. 2.67 ms), the absolute time could be X-Y (e.g. 14:53:18.565000). A beginning of UL transmission time of the UL signal at the UE side could be set to X-Y. A UE could determine UL transmission timing of an UL signal based on an absolute time and a propagation delay between the UE and a base station.
The absolute timing could be fixed in the standard. The absolute time could be derived based on indication from a base station (or from another base station). Alternatively, the absolute time could be beginning or start of a DL subframe or a DL slot at the base station. The absolute time could be derived based on beginning or start of a DL subframe or a DL slot at the base station. The absolute time could be derived based on a timing difference between UL timing and DL timing at the base station. The absolute time could be derived based on a timing difference between (a boundary of) UL subframe and (a boundary of) DL subframe at the base station. The absolute timing could be stored by the UE. The absolute time could be derived from a procedure(s), e.g. a DL synchronization procedure and/or a random access procedure, during a previous attempt to access a cell.
For example, the absolute time is 14:53:21.235000, where 14 corresponds to hour. 53 corresponds to minute, and 21.235000 corresponds to second. An UL transmission or an UL subframe or an UL slot starts or begins at 14:53:21.235000.
As another example, the absolute time is 0.235000 sec. An UL transmission or an UL subframe or an UL slot starts or begins at 14:53:21.235000, 14:53:22.235000 and so on.
As another example, the absolute time is 0.235000 sec. An UL transmission or an UL subframe or an UL slot starts or begins at 14:53:21.235000, 14:53:22.235000, . . . .
As another example, the absolute time is X.XXX000 sec., where each X represents a decimal digit corresponding to an integer between 0 and 9. An UL transmission or an UL subframe or an UL slot starts or begins at 14:53:21.235000, 14:53:22.236000, 14:53:22.237000, . . . .
As another example, the absolute time is 000 nanosecond. An UL transmission or an UL subframe or an UL slot starts or begins at 14:53:21.235000, 14:53:22.236000, 14:53:22.237000, . . . .
Throughout the application, the method could be used under some cases (e.g. (up-to-date) GPS information (such as location and/or satellite ephemeris) is available and/or UE's clock is precise and/or the absolute time could be derived and/or the UE is in connected mode and/or the UE has performed random access procedure (in the cell)). Conventional method to obtain UL transmission timing (e.g. based on TA or relative timing) could be used for other cases, (e.g. (up-to-date) GPS information (such as location and/or satellite ephemeris) is not available and/or UE's clock is not precise and/or the absolute time could not be derived and/or the UE is in idle mode and/or the UE has not performed random access procedure (in the cell)).
A second general concept is part of a procedure for timing synchronization is performed based on absolute time. Another part of the procedure for timing synchronization is performed based on relative time. For example, DL synchronization could be performed based on absolute time. The random access procedure could be performed based on relative time. A UE could determine DL reception timing based on absolute time, based on its clock, based a DL transmission time at a base station, based on a propagation delay between a base station and the UE, or based a DL transmission time at a base station and a propagation delay between a base station and the UE. The DL transmission timing at the base station is in absolute time.
The DL transmission timing at the base station could be indicated by the base station (or another base station). The DL transmission timing at the base station could be stored by the UE. The DL transmission timing at the base station could be derived from a procedure(s), e.g. a DL synchronization procedure and/or a random access procedure, during a previous attempt to access a cell.
A UE could determine (boundary of) DL subframe or DL slot based on absolute timing, based on its clock, based a (boundary of) DL subframe or DL slot at a base station, based on a propagation delay between a base station and the UE, based a (boundary of) DL subframe or DL slot at a base station and a propagation delay between a base station and the UE. The (boundary of) DL subframe or DL slot at the base station could be in absolute time. The (boundary of) DL subframe or DL slot at the base station could be indicated by the base station (or another base station). A (boundary of) DL subframe or DL slot at the base station could be stored by the UE. A (boundary of) DL subframe or DL slot at the base station could be derived from a procedure(s), e.g. a DL synchronization procedure and/or a random access procedure, during a previous attempt to access a cell.
The UE could directly derive (boundary) DL subframe or DL slot based on the determined DL reception timing before acquiring SSB or without acquiring SSB or when the UE does not synchronized with the cell. The UE could directly send a preamble to the base station based on the determined DL reception timing before acquiring SSB or without acquiring SSB or when the UE does not synchronized with the cell. The UE could directly send PRACH without waiting for SSB.
A UE could determine which cell to access (e.g. to transmit preamble) base on its GPS information (e.g. location and/or satellite ephemeris). A UE could determine which beam to access (e.g. to select PRACH resource) base on its GPS information (e.g. location and/or satellite ephemeris). A UE could determine a propagation delay between a base station and the UE based on its GPS information (e.g. location and/or satellite ephemeris).
A UE could adjust its clock based on its GPS information (e.g. location and/or satellite ephemeris and/or GPS time). For example, the UE could acquire GPS time from 4 satellites. The UE could derive a timing error of its clock based on the 4 satellites. Three (3) satellites could be used to obtain UE's location on earth assuming UE's clock is very precise. The 4th satellite could be used to derive the timing error. After compensate the timing error, UE's clock is precise.
If the UE's location is (x, y, z) and its clock has a timing error Δ, the following propagation delays could be derived as follows:
The UE could derive 4 equations as follows:
1. (x−x1)2+(y−y1)2+(z−z1)2=(3*108*(t1′+Δ−t1))2
2. (x−x2)2+(y−y2)2+(z−z2)2=(3*108*(t2′+Δ−t2))2
3. (x−x3)2+(y−y3)2+(z−z3)2=(3*108*(t3′+Δ−t3))2
4. (x−x4)2+(y−y4)2+(z−z4)2=(3*108*(t1′+Δ−t4))2
x, y, z, Δ could be derived based on the 4 equations, since others are known values. The UE could derive propagation delay based on a time stamp and a timing the UE receives the time stamp.
In one embodiment, a UE could perform UL transmission of an UL signal in an UL subframe wherein the UL subframe begin at a timing derived based on an absolute time. The absolute time could be based on a clock of the UE. The absolute time may comprise one or more of time units. A time unit could be hour, minute, second, millisecond, microsecond or nanosecond. The absolute time could be derived based on an absolute time when a UL subframe begins at a base station. The absolute time could be an absolute time when a UL subframe begins at a base station.
The absolute time could be derived based on an absolute time when a DL subframe begins at a base station. The absolute time could be an absolute time when a DL subframe begins at a base station. The absolute time could be derived based on a timing difference between DL subframe and UL subframe at the base station. The absolute time could be derived from a propagation delay between a base station and the UE. The absolute time could be derived so that an UL signal begins at the beginning of an UL subframe arrives at a base station at the beginning of UL subframe of the base station. The absolute time could be derived from an absolute time when a UL subframe begins at a base station subtracting a propagation delay between a base station and the UE. The UL subframe may begin at a timing derived from an absolute time and a propagation delay between a base station and the UE. The UL subframe may also begin at a timing derived from an absolute time subtracting a propagation delay between a base station and the UE.
The timing could be the absolute time. The timing could be based on a clock of the UE. The timing time comprises one or more of time units. A time unit could be hour, minute, second, millisecond, microsecond or nanosecond. The timing could be derived based on an absolute time when a UL subframe begins at a base station. The timing could be an absolute time when a UL subframe begins at a base station. The timing could be derived based on an absolute time when a DL subframe begins at a base station.
The timing could be an absolute time when a DL subframe begins at a base station. The timing could be derived from a timing difference between DL subframe and UL subframe at the base station. The timing could be derived from a propagation delay between a base station and the UE. The timing could be derived so that an UL signal begins at the beginning of an UL subframe arrives at a base station at the beginning of UL subframe of the base station. The timing could be derived by an absolute time when a UL subframe begins at a base station subtracting a propagation delay between a base station and the UE.
The timing may not be derived based on a beginning of a DL subframe at the UE. The timing may not be derived relative to a beginning of a DL subframe at the UE. The UE may not perform DL synchronization procedure. The timing may not be derived based on a timing advance value. The timing may not be derived based on a synchronization procedure. The timing may not be derived based on a random access procedure.
The UE may receive an indication from a base station indicating the absolute time. The UE may receive an indication from a base station indicating an absolute time when a UL subframe begins at a base station, or when a DL subframe begins at a base station. The UE may receive an indication from a base station indicating a timing difference between DL subframe and UL subframe at the base station.
The UE could derive the absolute timing based on a fixed value (e.g. in a standard), on a predefined value (e.g. in a standard), on a stored value, or on a procedure during a previous attempt to access a cell. The procedure may comprise a DL synchronization procedure and/or a random access procedure.
The UE may not have a valid timing advance value. Time alignment timer of the UE may have expired, or may have been set to infinity. The UE could perform UL transmission without a valid Timing advance value. The UL signal could be a preamble. The UL signal could be PUSCH or PUCCH. The UE may not expect to receive a MAC CE comprising TA command, or a PDCCH order.
The UE may not start or restart a time alignment timer. The UL signal could be a PUCCH for SR, a Msg A of a two-step random access procedure, or a SRS.
In another embodiment, a base station could provide a timing information to a UE. The timing information could comprise an absolute time. The timing information could be used to assist the UE to derive UL transmission timing. The timing information may correspond to when a UL subframe begins at a base station, or when a DL subframe begins at a base station. The timing information could also correspond to a timing difference between DL subframe and UL subframe at the base station.
The timing information may comprise an absolute time when a UL subframe begins at a base station, or when a DL subframe begins at a base station. The timing information may also comprise an absolute time a timing difference between DL subframe and UL subframe at the base station. The base station may not configure a time alignment timer to the UE. The base station may not send a timing advance command to the UE. The base station could receive UL signal from the UE. The UL signal could be a preamble, a PUSCH, a PUCCH, or a SRS.
In still another embodiment, a base station could receive its UL subframe beginning at a fixed or predefined timing. The base station could transmit its UL subframe beginning at a fixed or predefined timing.
In the above embodiments, the UE could skip DL synchronization and/or random access procedure before UL transmission. Any behavior described above for a UE could be symmetrically applied to a base station. For example, “a UE receives . . . ” may mean “a base station transmits”. Any behavior described above for a UE could be correspondingly applied to a base station. Any behavior described above described for a base station could be correspondingly applied to a UE. For example, a base station would derive a timing in a same or similar way as a UE according to above descriptions, or vice versa.
Throughout the invention, the invention describes behavior or operation of a single serving cell unless otherwise noted. Throughout the invention, the invention describes behavior or operation of multiple serving cells unless otherwise noted. Throughout the invention, the invention describes behavior or operation of a single bandwidth part unless otherwise noted. Throughout the invention, a base station configures multiple bandwidth parts to the UE unless otherwise noted. Throughout the invention, a base station configures a single bandwidth part to the UE unless otherwise noted.
In one embodiment, the UE could receive an indication from the base station indicating the absolute time. The absolute time could be an absolute time when a DL subframe begins at a base station, or when the UL subframe begins at a base station.
In one embodiment, the UE could derive the timing based on a second absolute time which is based on a clock of the UE. The UE could derive a propagation delay based on the absolute time, or on a reception time.
In one embodiment, the reception time could be based on a clock of the UE or a Global Position System (GPS) time. The UE could derive the timing based on a propagation delay. The UE could derive the timing based on a difference between when the UL subframe begins at the base station and the propagation delay, or on a difference between UL timing and Downlink (DL) timing at the base station. The UE could derive the timing without a timing advance command from the base station.
In one embodiment, the UE could derive the timing based on the absolute time if the UE's clock is precise. However, the UE may not derive the timing based on the absolute time if the UE's clock is not precise.
In one embodiment, the absolute time could be based on a clock of the UE. The UL subframe could be an UL subframe at the UE. The absolute time may comprise one or more of time units. A time unit could be one of hour, minute, second, millisecond, microsecond or nanosecond.
In one embodiment, the absolute time could be derived based on a timing difference between DL subframe and UL subframe at the base station. The absolute time could also be derived from a propagation delay between the base station and the UE. Furthermore, the absolute time could be derived by an absolute time when a UL subframe begins at a base station subtracting a propagation delay between a base station and the UE.
In one embodiment, the timing may not be derived based on a beginning of a DL subframe at the UE. Furthermore, the timing may not be derived relative to a beginning of a DL subframe at the UE. In addition, the timing may not be derived based on a synchronization procedure, or based on a random access procedure.
Referring back to
In one embodiment, the absolute time may be an absolute time when a DL subframe begins at a base station, or when the UL subframe begins at a base station. The absolute time could be used for deriving a propagation delay between the base station and the UE.
In one embodiment, the base station could indicate a difference between UL timing and Downlink (DL) timing at the base station to the UE. However, the base station may not send a timing advance command to the UE for determining the UE's UL transmission timing.
Referring back to
Various aspects of the disclosure have been described above. It should be apparent that the teachings herein may be embodied in a wide variety of forms and that any specific structure, function, or both being disclosed herein is merely representative. Based on the teachings herein one skilled in the art should appreciate that an aspect disclosed herein may be implemented independently of any other aspects and that two or more of these aspects may be combined in various ways. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, such an apparatus may be implemented or such a method may be practiced using other structure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to or other than one or more of the aspects set forth herein. As an example of some of the above concepts, in some aspects concurrent channels may be established based on pulse repetition frequencies. In some aspects concurrent channels may be established based on pulse position or offsets. In some aspects concurrent channels may be established based on time hopping sequences. In some aspects concurrent channels may be established based on pulse repetition frequencies, pulse positions or offsets, and time hopping sequences.
Those of skill in the art would understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.
Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, processors, means, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware (e.g., a digital implementation, an analog implementation, or a combination of the two, which may be designed using source coding or some other technique), various forms of program or design code incorporating instructions (which may be referred to herein, for convenience, as “software” or a “software module”), or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.
In addition, the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented within or performed by an integrated circuit (“IC”), an access terminal, or an access point. The IC may comprise a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, electrical components, optical components, mechanical components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein, and may execute codes or instructions that reside within the IC, outside of the IC, or both. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.
It is understood that any specific order or hierarchy of steps in any disclosed process is an example of a sample approach. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the processes may be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.
The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module (e.g., including executable instructions and related data) and other data may reside in a data memory such as RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of computer-readable storage medium known in the art. A sample storage medium may be coupled to a machine such as, for example, a computer/processor (which may be referred to herein, for convenience, as a “processor”) such the processor can read information (e.g., code) from and write information to the storage medium. A sample storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in user equipment. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in user equipment. Moreover, in some aspects any suitable computer-program product may comprise a computer-readable medium comprising codes relating to one or more of the aspects of the disclosure. In some aspects a computer program product may comprise packaging materials.
While the invention has been described in connection with various aspects, it will be understood that the invention is capable of further modifications. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses or adaptation of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention, and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within the known and customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains.
The present Application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/935,209 filed on Nov. 14, 2019, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62935209 | Nov 2019 | US |