Patent Application
20240224243
This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) to Chinese Patent Application No. 202211714570.8, which was filed in the China National Intellectual Property Administration on Dec. 29, 2022, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The disclosure relates generally to wireless communication, and more specifically, to a method and device for receiving and transmitting information in a wireless communication system.
Fifth generation (5G) mobile communication technologies define broad frequency bands such that high transmission rates and new services are possible and can be implemented not only in sub 6 gigahertz (GHz) bands such as 3.5 GHz, but also in above 6 GHz bands referred to as millimeter wave (mmWave) including 28 GHz and 39 GHz. In addition, it has been considered to implement sixth generation (6G) mobile communication technologies (referred to as beyond 5G systems) in terahertz bands (e.g., 95 GHz to 3 terahertz (THz) bands) to accomplish transmission rates fifty times faster than 5G mobile communication technologies and ultra-low latencies one-tenth of 5G mobile communication technologies.
Since the development of 5G mobile communication technologies began, to support services and to satisfy performance requirements in connection with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra reliable low latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine-type communications (mMTC), there has been ongoing standardization regarding beamforming and massive multi input multi output (MIMO) for mitigating radio-wave path loss and increasing radio-wave transmission distances in the mmWave, supporting numerologies (for example, operating multiple subcarrier spacings) for efficiently utilizing mmWave resources and dynamic operation of slot formats, initial access technologies for supporting multi-beam transmission and broadbands, definition and operation of bandwidth part (BWP), new channel coding methods such as a low density parity check (LDPC) code for large amount of data transmission and a polar code for highly reliable transmission of control information, level 2 (L2) pre-processing, and network slicing for providing a dedicated network specialized to a specific service.
Discussions are ongoing regarding improvement and performance enhancement of initial 5G mobile communication technologies in view of services to be supported by 5G mobile communication technologies. There has been physical layer standardization regarding technologies such as vehicle-to-everything (V2X) for aiding driving determination by autonomous vehicles based on information regarding positions and states of vehicles transmitted by the vehicles and for enhancing user convenience, new radio unlicensed (NR-U) aimed at system operations conforming to various regulation-related requirements in unlicensed bands, NR user equipment (UE) power saving, non-terrestrial network (NTN) which is UE-satellite direct communication for providing coverage in an area in which communication with terrestrial networks is unavailable, and positioning.
Moreover, there is ongoing standardization in air interface architecture/protocol regarding technologies such as industrial Internet of things (IIoT) for supporting new services through interworking and convergence with other industries, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) for providing a node for network service area expansion by supporting a wireless backhaul link and an access link in an integrated manner, mobility enhancement including conditional handover and dual active protocol stack (DAPS) handover, and two-step random access for simplifying random access procedures for new radio (2-step RACH for NR). There also has been ongoing standardization in system architecture/service regarding a 5G service based architecture or service based interface for combining network functions virtualization (NFV) and software-defined networking (SDN) technologies, and mobile edge computing (MEC) for receiving services based on UE positions.
As 5G mobile communication systems are commercialized, it is expected that the number of devices that will be connected to communication networks will exponentially increase. Thus, it is expected that enhanced functions and performances of 5G mobile communication systems and integrated operations of connected devices will be necessary. To this end, new research is scheduled in connection with extended reality (XR) for efficiently supporting augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR) and the like, 5G performance improvement and complexity reduction by utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), AI service support, metaverse service support, and drone communication.
Such development of 5G mobile communication systems will serve as a basis for developing not only new waveforms for providing coverage in THz bands of sixth generation (6G) mobile communication technologies, multi-antenna transmission technologies such as full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas and large-scale antennas, metamaterial-based lenses and antennas for improving coverage of terahertz band signals, high-dimensional space multiplexing technology using orbital angular momentum (OAM), and reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), but also full-duplex technology for increasing frequency efficiency of 6G mobile communication technologies and improving system networks, AI-based communication technology for implementing system optimization by utilizing satellites and AI from the design stage and internalizing end-to-end AI support functions, and next-generation distributed computing technology for implementing services at levels of complexity exceeding the limit of UE operation capability by utilizing ultra-high-performance communication and computing resources.
The transmission from a base station to a UE is known as the downlink (DL), and the transmission from a UE to a base station is known as the uplink (UL).
Conventionally, the existing repeater cannot be controlled by a base station. That is, the switch of the repeater, the time and the direction of UL and DL forwarding are all completed by the technology implemented by the repeater itself in a manual setting adjustment, which is an impediment to network distribution flexibility and the coverage of the repeater.
As such, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus to integrate a terminal device for the repeater (i.e., a network-controlled repeater (NCR)), which can communicate with network devices such as the base station or other network nodes, to more flexibly and efficiently control the repeater as compared to the conventional art.
This disclosure has been made to address at least the above-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below.
Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure is to provide a method and device for receiving and transmitting information/signals, which can improve the performance of the NCR.
An aspect of the disclosure is to provide a method and apparatus by which the NCR can obtain NCR configuration information for the NCR, and monitor and/or detect new DL control information format according to the NCR configuration information to obtain a beam indication of an access link for the NCR, thus improving the reliability of the NCR and further improving the performance of the communication system.
In accordance with an aspect, a method performed by an NCR in a wireless communication system includes obtaining NCR configuration information from a network node, and monitoring or detecting a first downlink control information format according to the NCR configuration information, wherein the first downlink control information format is used to inform a beam indication of an access link for the NCR.
In accordance with an aspect, a method performed by an NCR includes receiving a media access control-control element (MAC-CE) from a network node, and starting or stopping application of beam information indicated by the MAC-CE on a time resource indicated by the MAC-CE, wherein the beam information is used for at least one of downlink forwarding or uplink reception of the NCR, and wherein the MAC-CE is used to notify a beam indication of an access link for the NCR.
In accordance with an aspect, a method performed by an NCR in a wireless communication system includes receiving a media access control-control element (MAC-CE) from a network node, and applying a transmission control indication (TCI) state or a sounding reference signal resource indication (SRI) indicated by the MAC-CE for downlink reception or uplink transmission, wherein the MAC-CE is used to notify a beam indication of a backhaul link for the NCR.
In accordance with an aspect, a method performed by a network node in a wireless communication system includes transmitting a media access control-control element (MAC-CE) to an NCR, and transmitting or receiving a signal, wherein a transmission control indication (TCI) state or a sounding reference signal resource indication (SRI) indicated by the MAC-CE for downlink reception or uplink transmission is applied to the signal, and wherein the MAC-CE is used to notify a beam indication of an access link or a backhaul link for the NCR.
In accordance with an aspect, a method performed by a network node in a wireless communication system includes transmitting NCR configuration information to an NCR, and transmitting a first downlink control information format to the NCR, wherein the NCR configuration information is used for the NCR to monitor or detect the first downlink control information format, and wherein the first downlink control information format is used to notify a beam indication of an access link for the NCR.
The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certain embodiments of the disclosure will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that in the drawings, the same or similar elements are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals as far as possible. In addition, detailed descriptions of known functions or configurations that may make the subject matter of the present disclosure unclear will be omitted.
For the same reason, some elements may be exaggerated, omitted or schematically shown in the drawings. In addition, the size of each element does not fully reflect the actual size. In the drawings, the same or corresponding elements have the same reference numerals.
The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments set forth below, but can be implemented in various forms. The following examples are provided only to fully disclose the present disclosure and to inform those skilled in the art of its scope. Throughout this specification, the same or similar reference numerals indicate the same or similar elements.
In addition, “at least one item/at least one” described in the disclosure includes any and/or all possible combinations of listed items, and various embodiments and examples in embodiments described herein can be changed and combined in any suitable form. In addition, “/” described herein represents “and/or”.
Although this specification includes implementation details, these should not be interpreted as limitations on any invention or the scope of the claimed protection, but as descriptions of specific features of specific embodiments of the disclosure. Some features described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be combined in a single embodiment. On the contrary, various features described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented separately in multiple embodiments or in any suitable sub-combination. Although features may be described above as functioning in certain combinations, one or more features from the claimed combination may be deleted from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or a variation of a subcombination.
The wireless network 100 includes a gNodeB (gNB) 101, a gNB 102, and a gNB 103. gNB 101 communicates with gNB 102 and gNB 103. gNB 101 also communicates with at least one Internet protocol (IP) network 130, such as the Internet, a private IP network, or other data networks.
Depending on a type of the network, other well-known terms such as base station or access point can be used instead of gNodeB or gNB. For convenience, the terms gNodeB and gNB are used herein to refer to network infrastructure components that provide wireless access for remote terminals. Depending on the type of the network, other well-known terms such as mobile station, user station, remote terminal, wireless terminal or user apparatus can be used instead of user equipment or UE, which refer to remote wireless devices that wirelessly access the gNB, no matter whether the UE is a mobile device or a fixed device.
The gNB 102 provides wireless broadband access to the network 130 for a first plurality of UEs within a coverage area 120 of the gNB 102. The first plurality of UEs include a UE 111 which may be located in a small business (SB), a UE 112 which may be located in an enterprise (E), a UE 113 which may be located in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) hotspot (HS), a UE 114 which may be located in a first residence (R), a UE 115 which may be located in a second residence (R), a UE 116 which may be a mobile device (M), such as a cellular phone, a wireless laptop computer, a wireless personal data assistant (PDA), etc. The gNB 103 provides wireless broadband access to network 130 for a second plurality of UEs within its' coverage area 125 of the gNB. The second plurality of UEs include a UE 115 and a UE 116. One or more of the gNBs 101-103 can communicate with each other and with UEs 111-116 using 5G, long term evolution (LTE), LTE-A, or other advanced wireless communication technologies.
The dashed lines show approximate ranges of the coverage areas 120 and 125, and the ranges are shown as approximate circles merely for illustration and explanation purposes. It should be clearly understood that the coverage areas 120, 125 associated with the gNBs may have other shapes, including irregular shapes, depending on configurations of the gNBs and changes in the radio environment associated with natural obstacles and man-made obstacles.
One or more of the gNB 101, gNB 102, and gNB 103 include a two-dimensional (2D) antenna array as described herein and may support codebook designs and structures for systems with 2D antenna arrays.
Although
The transmission path 200 includes a channel coding and modulation block 205, a serial-to-parallel (S-to-P) block 210, a size N inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) block 215, a parallel-to-serial (P-to-S) block 220, a cyclic prefix addition block 225, and an up-converter (UC) 230. The reception path 250 includes a down-converter (DC) 255, a cyclic prefix removal block 260, a serial-to-parallel (S-to-P) block 265, a size N fast Fourier transform (FFT) block 270, a parallel-to-serial (P-to-S) block 275, and a channel decoding and demodulation block 280.
In the transmission path 200, the channel coding and modulation block 205 receives a set of information bits, applies coding such as low density parity check (LDPC) coding), and modulates the input bits such as by using quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) or quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM)) to generate a sequence of frequency-domain modulated symbols. The S-to-P block 210 converts (such as demultiplexes) serial modulated symbols into parallel data to generate N parallel symbol streams, where N is a size of the IFFT/FFT used in the gNB 102 and UE 116. The size N IFFT block 215 performs IFFT operations on the N parallel symbol streams to generate a time-domain output signal. The P-to-S block 220 converts (such as multiplexes) parallel time-domain output symbols from the Size N IFFT block 215 to generate a serial time-domain signal. The cyclic prefix addition block 225 inserts a cyclic prefix into the time-domain signal. The up-converter 230 modulates (such as up-converts) the output of the cyclic prefix addition block 225 to an RF frequency for transmission via a wireless channel. The signal can also be filtered at a baseband before switching to the RF frequency.
The RF signal transmitted from gNB 102 arrives at the UE 116 after passing through the wireless channel, and operations in reverse to those at the gNB 102 are performed at the UE 116. The down-converter 255 down-converts the received signal to a baseband frequency, and the cyclic prefix removal block 260 removes the cyclic prefix to generate a serial time-domain baseband signal. The S-to-P block 265 converts the time-domain baseband signal into a parallel time-domain signal. The Size N FFT block 270 performs an FFT algorithm to generate N parallel frequency-domain signals. The P-to-S block 275 converts the parallel frequency-domain signal into a sequence of modulated data symbols. The channel decoding and demodulation block 280 demodulates and decodes the modulated symbols to recover the original input data stream.
Each of the gNBs 101-103 may implement a transmission path 200 similar to that for transmitting to UEs 111-116 in the DL and may implement a reception path 250 similar to that for receiving from UEs 111-116 in the UL. Similarly, each of UEs 111-116 may implement a transmission path 200 for transmitting to gNBs 101-103 in the UL, and may implement a reception path 250 for receiving from gNBs 101-103 in the DL.
Each of the components in
Although described as using FFT and IFFT, this is only illustrative and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Other types of transforms can be used, such as discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT) functions. For DFT and IDFT functions, the value of variable N may be any integer (such as 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), while for FFT and IFFT functions, the value of variable N may be any integer which is a power of 2 (such as 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc.).
Although
In
The RF transceiver 310 receives an incoming RF signal transmitted by a gNB of the wireless network 100 from the antenna 305. The RF transceiver 310 down-converts the incoming RF signal to generate an intermediate frequency (IF) or baseband signal. The IF or baseband signal is transmitted to the RX processing circuit 325, where the RX processing circuit 325 generates a processed baseband signal by filtering, decoding and/or digitizing the baseband or IF signal. The RX processing circuit 325 transmits the processed baseband signal to speaker 330 (such as for voice data) or to processor/controller 340 for further processing (such as for web browsing data).
The TX processing circuit 315 receives analog or digital voice data from microphone 320 or other outgoing baseband data (such as network data, email or interactive video game data) from processor/controller 340. The TX processing circuit 315 encodes, multiplexes, and/or digitizes the outgoing baseband data to generate a processed baseband or IF signal. The RF transceiver 310 receives the outgoing processed baseband or IF signal from the TX processing circuit 315 and up-converts the baseband or IF signal into an RF signal transmitted via the antenna 305.
The processor/controller 340 can include one or more processors or other processing devices and execute an OS 361 stored in the memory 360 to control the overall operation of UE 116. For example, the processor/controller 340 can control the reception of forward channel signals and the transmission of backward channel signals through the RF transceiver 310, the RX processing circuit 325 and the TX processing circuit 315 according to well-known principles. The processor/controller 340 includes at least one microprocessor or microcontroller.
The processor/controller 340 is also capable of executing other processes and programs residing in the memory 360, such as operations for channel quality measurement and reporting for systems with 2D antenna arrays as described herein. The processor/controller 340 can move data into or out of the memory 360 as required by an execution process. The processor/controller 340 is configured to execute the application 362 based on the OS 361 or in response to signals received from the gNB or the operator. The processor/controller 340 is also coupled to an I/O interface 345, which enables the UE 116 to connect to other devices such as laptop computers and handheld computers. 11O interface 345 is a communication path between these accessories and the processor/controller 340.
The processor/controller 340 is also coupled to the input device(s) 350 and the display 355. An operator of UE 116 can input data into UE 116 using the input device(s) 350. The display 355 may be a liquid crystal display or other display capable of presenting text and/or at least limited graphics (such as from a website). The memory 360 is coupled to the processor/controller 340. A part of the memory 360 can include a random access memory (RAM), while another part of the memory 360 can include a flash memory or other read-only memory (ROM).
Although
In
RF transceivers 372a-372n receive an incoming RF signal from antennas 370a-370n, such as a signal transmitted by UEs or other gNBs. RF transceivers 372a-372n down-convert the incoming RF signal to generate an IF or baseband signal. The IF or baseband signal is transmitted to the RX processing circuit 376, where the RX processing circuit 376 generates a processed baseband signal by filtering, decoding and/or digitizing the baseband or IF signal. RX processing circuit 376 transmits the processed baseband signal to controller/processor 378 for further processing.
The TX processing circuit 374 receives analog or digital data (such as voice data, network data, email or interactive video game data) from the controller/processor 378. TX processing circuit 374 encodes, multiplexes and/or digitizes outgoing baseband data to generate a processed baseband or IF signal. RF transceivers 372a-372n receive the outgoing processed baseband or IF signal from TX processing circuit 374 and up-convert the baseband or IF signal into an RF signal transmitted via antennas 370a-370n.
The controller/processor 378 can include one or more processors or other processing devices that control the overall operation of the gNB 102. For example, the controller/processor 378 can control the reception of forward channel signals and the transmission of backward channel signals through the RF transceivers 372a-372n, the RX processing circuit 376 and the TX processing circuit 374 according to well-known principles. The controller/processor 378 can also support additional functions, such as higher-level wireless communication functions. For example, the controller/processor 378 can perform a blind interference sensing (BIS) process such as that performed through a BIS algorithm, and decode a received signal from which an interference signal is subtracted. A controller/processor 378 may support any of a variety of other functions in the gNB 102. The controller/processor 378 includes at least one microprocessor or microcontroller.
The controller/processor 378 is also capable of executing programs and other processes residing in the memory 380, such as a basic OS. The controller/processor 378 can also support channel quality measurement and reporting for systems with 2D antenna arrays as described herein. The controller/processor 378 supports communication between entities such as web RTCs. The controller/processor 378 can move data into or out of the memory 380 as required by an execution process.
The controller/processor 378 is also coupled to the backhaul or network interface 382 which enables the gNB 102 to communicate with other devices or systems through a backhaul connection or through a network. The backhaul or network interface 382 can support communication over any suitable wired or wireless connection(s). For example, when the gNB 102 is implemented as a part of a cellular communication system, such as a cellular communication system supporting 5G or new radio access technology or NR, LTE or LTE-A, the backhaul or network interface 382 can allow the gNB 102 to communicate with other gNBs through wired or wireless backhaul connections. When the gNB 102 is implemented as an access point, the backhaul or network interface 382 can allow the gNB 102 to communicate with a larger network, such as the Internet, through a wired or wireless local area network or through a wired or wireless connection. The backhaul or network interface 382 includes any suitable structure that supports communication through a wired or wireless connection, such as an Ethernet or an RF transceiver.
The memory 380 is coupled to the controller/processor 378. A part of the memory 380 can include a RAM while another part of the memory 380 can include a flash memory or other ROMs. In certain embodiments, a plurality of instructions, such as the BIS algorithm, are stored in the memory. The plurality of instructions is configured to cause the controller/processor 378 to execute the BIS process and decode the received signal after subtracting at least one interference signal determined by the BIS algorithm.
The transmission and reception paths of the gNB 102 (implemented using RF transceivers 372a-372n, TX processing circuit 374 and/or RX processing circuit 376) support aggregated communication with frequency division duplex (FDD) cells and time division duplex (TDD) cells.
Although
To enhance the coverage of the 5G wireless communication system, one implementation is to set up a repeater at an edge of a cell or in an area with poor cell signal coverage. Generally, the repeater is usually divided into two sides, a base station side and a terminal side.
In
Generally, the existing repeater cannot be controlled by a base station. That is, the switch of the repeater, the time and direction of UL and DL forwarding are all achieved by virtue of the technology implemented by the repeater itself/manual setting adjustment, which is an impediment to the flexibility of network distribution and the coverage of the repeater. To overcome these shortcomings, a solution is to integrate a terminal device for the repeater, which can communicate with network devices (for example, a base station) to flexibly control the repeater, which in this configuration is an NCR.
In
The NCR-Fwd 415 is defined as a functional entity for amplifying-and-forwarding radio frequency signals (e.g., uplink/DL RF signals) between a base station 420 and a UE 430. The link between the NCR-Fwd 415 and the base station 420 is referred to as a backhaul link 435 and the link between the NCR-Fwd 415 and the UE 430 is referred to as an access link 440.
The NCR 405 may refer to the NCR-MT 410 or NCR-Fwd 415, or a combination of both. The NCR-MT 410 may also be understood as a UE or a terminal device.
To avoid ambiguity, The corresponding names are defined for the transmitting and/or receiving behaviors of the repeater. In
For the NCR, it is necessary to obtain the above side control information through corresponding configuration information (e.g., through radio resource control (RRC) signaling) and/or indication information (e.g., through media access control control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling and downlink control information (DCI) signaling). Therefore, it is necessary to enhance the configuration method and indication method related to the side control information.
Disclosed is a series of methods for indicating the NCR, such that the NCR can obtain the side control information accurately, thus improving the reliability of the NCR and further improving the performance of the communication system.
The NCR obtains (for example, receives) the configuration information from the network device. The NCR is, for example, an NCR-MT, and the NCR-MT is used as an example in the following description. The NCR-MT monitors and/or detects the first DCI format (DCI format) according to the configuration information. The configuration information may be carried by RRC signaling.
The first DCI format may be used to notify a beam indication of an access link for the NCR.
The first DCI format may refer to at least one of a DCI format dedicated for the NCR/NCR-Fwd, a DCI format for notifying a beam indication (or access link beam indication) for the NCR/NCR-Fwd, a DCI format carrying the side control information, DCI format 2_x (for example, DCI format 2_8), DCI format 5_x (for example, DCI format 5_0).
In Embodiment 1, a new DCI format (i.e. the first DCI format) is defined for indicating the NCR or the NCR-Fwd. The introduction of the DCI format will not affect configuration and monitoring related to the existing DCI format, thereby improving the compatibility of communication.
After the NCR-MT detects the first DCI format, the NCR/NCR-Fwd forwards on time resources indicated by the first DCI format, or forwards on the time resources indicated by the first DCI format using beam(s)/spatial filter(s) indicated by the first DCI format, or uses beam information (for example, beam index(es)) indicated by the first DCI format on the time resources indicated by the first DCI format.
Herein, monitoring the DCI format (e.g., the first DCI format) may be understood as monitoring physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates of the DCI format (e.g., the first DCI format).
In Example 1, an NCR-MT receives configuration information from a network device; the configuration information includes RNTI information. For example, the RNTI information is a beam indication RNTI (BI-RNTI).
The NCR-MT uses the RNTI information for monitoring and/or detecting of the first DCI format. For example, the NCR-MT determines that a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of the first DCI format is scrambled by an RNTI indicated by the RNTI information. The description of the first DCI format is provided above and thus will not be repeated here. The first DCI format is monitored in a UE-specific search space (USS) set.
The configuration information may be in a configuration parameter for configuring UE-specific physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) parameters applicable across all bandwidth parts (BWPs) of a serving cell. For example, the configuration parameter is PDCCH-ServingCellConfig. This method places the RNTI configuration information of the first DCI format (for example, a first DCI format monitored in a common search space set) in a UE-specific control information parameter, which maintains the consistency of configuration and avoids the ambiguity of NCR's understanding of the configuration parameter.
The configuration information may be in a configuration parameter for configuring cell-group specific L1 parameters. For example, the configuration parameter is PhysicalCellGroupConfig.
The configuration information may be in a configuration parameter for configuring UE-specific PDCCH parameters or multicast and broadcast service (MBS) multicast PDCCH parameters such as control resource sets (CORESET), search spaces and additional parameters for obtaining the PDCCH. For example, the configuration parameter is PDCCH-Config. This method places the RNTI configuration information of the first DCI format (for example, the first DCI format monitored in the common search space set) in the UE-specific control information parameter, which maintains the consistency of configuration and avoids the ambiguity of NCR's understanding of the configuration parameter.
The configuration information may be in a configuration parameter for configuring a master cell group or secondary cell group. For example, the configuration parameter is CellGroupConfig.
In Example 2, an NCR-MT receives configuration information from a network device. The configuration information includes payload size information. For example, the payload size information is a payload size of a first DCI format.
The NCR-MT uses the payload size information for monitoring and/or detecting of the first DCI format. For example, the NCR-MT monitors and/or detects the first DCI format according to the indicated payload size of the first DCI format. The first DCI format may be monitored in a UE-specific search space set.
The configuration information may be in a configuration parameter for configuring UE-specific PDCCH parameters applicable across all BWPs of a serving cell. For example, the configuration parameter is PDCCH-ServingCellConfig. This method places the payload size information of the first DCI format (for example, a first DCI format monitored in a UE-specific search space set) in a UE-specific control information parameter, which maintains the consistency of configuration and avoids the ambiguity of NCR's understanding of the configuration parameter.
The configuration information may be in a configuration parameter for configuring cell-group specific L1 parameters. For example, the configuration parameter is PhysicalCellGroupConfig.
The configuration information may be in a configuration parameter for configuring UE-specific PDCCH parameters or MBS multicast PDCCH parameters. For example, the configuration parameter is PDCCH-Config. This method places the payload size information of the first DCI format (for example, the first DCI format monitored in the USS set) in the UE-specific control information parameter, which maintains the consistency of configuration and avoids the ambiguity of NCR's understanding of the configuration parameter.
The configuration information may be in a configuration parameter for configuring a master cell group or secondary cell group. For example, the configuration parameter is CellGroupConfig.
In Example 3, an NCR-MT receives configuration information from a network device. The configuration information is used to indicate whether the NCR-MT monitors a first DCI format. The configuration information may be in configuration information of a UE-specific search space set. For example, the UE-specific search space set is configured as a UE-specific type by a search space parameter (for example, SearchSpace in PDCCH-Config with searchSpaceType=ue-Specific).
The NCR-MT monitors the first DCI format according to the configuration information. For example, the NCR-MT monitors the first DCI format in the USS set. Optionally, an RNTI for a CRC of the first DCI format may be obtained according to the method of Example 1. A payload size of the first DCI format may be obtained according to the method of Example 2.
This method reuses the existing UE-specific search space set to monitor the first DCI format without configuring additional search space resources for the first DCI set, thereby reducing the overhead.
In Example 4, an NCR-MT receives configuration information from a network device. The configuration information is used to indicate the NCR-MT to monitor a first DCI format. The configuration information may be in configuration information of a common search space (CSS) set (for example, a Type3-PDCCH CSS set). For example, the common search space set is configured as a common type by a search space parameter (for example, SearchSpace in PDCCH-Config with searchSpaceType=common).
The NCR-MT monitors the first DCI format according to the configuration information. For example, the NCR-MT monitors the first DCI format in the common search space set (for example, the Type3-PDCCH CSS set). Optionally, an RNTI for a CRC of the first DCI format may be obtained according to the method of Example 1. A payload size of the first DCI format may be obtained according to the method of Example 2.
This method reuses the existing common search space set to monitor the first DCI format without configuring additional search space resources for the first DCI set, thereby reducing the signaling overhead. In addition, this method enables the base station to control a plurality of different NCRs using a first DCI format, thereby reducing the transmission overhead at the base station side.
In Example 5, an NCR-MT receives beam configuration information from a network device. For example, the beam configuration information includes a number of beams (or a number of NCR-Fwd access link beams; or a number of NCR-Fwd access link beam candidates; or a number of beams that can be used by an NCR-Fwd access link). In this example, the number of beams is denoted as Nbeam. The beam configuration information also includes (maximum) beam indices (or (maximum) beam indices of the NCR-Fwd access link beams). In this example, the maximum beam index is denoted as Nmax_index. The number of beams may be obtained by an NCR through configuration information (for example, by operation administration and maintenance) or predefined (for example, in a case of frequency range 1 (FR1) or in a case that a Quasi Co-Location (QCL) typeD parameter is not provided (to the NCR-MT), Nbeam=1).
The NCR-MT may receive first time resource configuration information from the network device. The first time resource configuration information is a set of time resource (for example, a list of time resource). The list of time resources is used as an example, which includes M entries. Each entry in the list of time resources includes one or more second time resource configuration information indicated by the list of time resources. A number of the second time resource configuration information of each entry is denoted as Tm (m=0, 1, 2, . . . , M−1). For example, To represents a number of second time resource configuration information in the first entry; T1 represents a number of second time resource configuration information in the second entry, and so on. A maximum value of M may be, for example, one of 8, 16, 32, 64 and 128, and a maximum value of Tm may be, for example, one of 4, 8 and 16.
The second time resource configuration information includes/is associated with at least one of the following parameters:
The starting slot of the time resource may be determined according to the above slot offset.
The NCR-MT determines information/fields in the first DCI format according to the above beam configuration information and/or first time resource configuration information. The information/fields in the first DCI format may be determined according to the above beam configuration information and/or first time resource configuration information. The information/fields in the first DCI format (hereinafter, field) include at least one of:
The above fields (or each of the above fields) may be mapped in the described order. These fields may include the zero-padding fields/padding bits. The first field may be mapped to a lowest order information bit and each field after it is mapped to a higher order information bit.
The most significant bit of each field may be mapped to a lowest order information bit of the field.
The description order of the above beam field (beam field #1, beam field #2, . . . , beam field #L) and time resource field may be exchanged. That is, in the first DCI format, the time resource field is followed by the beam field.
In Example 6, an NCR-MT receives beam configuration information from a network device. The detailed description may refer to Example 5, which will not be repeated here.
The NCR-MT may further receive third time resource configuration information from the network device. The time resource configuration information is a set of time resources (for example, a list of time resources). The list of time resources is used as an example, which includes K entries. A maximum value of K is, for example, one of 4, 8 and 16. Each entry includes a fourth time resource configuration information. A fourth time resource configuration information includes/is associated with at least one of the following parameters:
The NCR-MT may further receive fifth time resource configuration information from the network device. The time resource configuration information is a set of time resources (for example, a list of time resources). The list of time resources is used as an example, which includes M entries. Each entry in the list of time resources includes one or more time resource indices (for example, the indices are used to refer to the fourth time resource configuration information in the third time resource configuration information). The one or more time resource indices may be indicated by a time resource index list. A number of time resource indices of each entry is denoted as Tm (m=0, 1, 2, . . . , M−1). For example, To represents a number of time resource indices of the first entry; T1 represents a number of time resource indices of the second entry, and so on. Optionally, a maximum value of M is, for example, one of 8, 16, 32, 64 and 128. Optionally, a maximum value of Tm is, for example, one of 4, 8 and 16.
The NCR-MT determines information/fields in a first DCI format according to the above beam configuration information and/or fifth time resource configuration information. The information/fields in the first DCI format may be determined according to the above beam configuration information and/or fifth time resource configuration information. The description of the first DCI format is provided above, which will not be repeated here. The information/fields in the first DCI format (hereinafter, “field” is used as an example) include at least one of
The above fields (or each of the above fields) may be mapped in the described order. These fields may include the zero-padding fields/padding bits. The first field may be mapped to a lowest order information bit and each field after it is mapped to a higher order information bit.
The most significant bit of each field may be mapped to a lowest order information bit of the field.
The description order of the above beam field (beam field #1, beam field #2, . . . , beam field #L) and time resource field may be exchanged. That is, in the first DCI format, the time resource field is followed by the beam field.
In Example 7, an NCR-MT receives beam configuration information from a network device.
The NCR-MT may further receive sixth time resource configuration information from the network device. The time resource configuration information is a set of time resource (for example, a list of time resource). The list of time resources is used as an example, which includes K entries. Each entry includes a seventh time resource configuration information. That is, the time list includes K time resource configuration information. A seventh time resource configuration information includes/is associated with at least one of the following parameters:
The starting slot of the time resource may be determined according to the above slot offset.
The NCR-MT determines information/fields in the first DCI format according to the above beam configuration information and/or sixth time resource configuration information. The information/fields in the first DCI format may be determined according to the above beam configuration information and/or the sixth time resource configuration information. The description of the first DCI format is provided above, which will not be repeated here. The information/fields in the first DCI format (hereinafter, “field” is used as an example) include at least one of:
If a resource (e.g., a symbol/slot/subframe) is included in time resources indicated by more than one/a plurality of time resource fields (or if the time resources indicated by more than one/a plurality of time resource fields are not time-division multiplexed), values of the corresponding beam fields (or corresponding to these time resource fields) may be the same.
If values indicated by more than one/a plurality of time resource fields are the same, the values of the corresponding beam fields (or corresponding to these time resource fields) may be the same.
If two time resources indicated by two time resource fields are not time-division multiplexed (TDMed), values of beam fields corresponding to the two time resource fields may be the same.
If values indicated by two beam fields are different, time resources corresponding to the two beam fields (indicated by time resource fields) may not be time-division multiplexed (TDMed).
If values indicated by more than one/a plurality of beam fields are the same, values of time resource fields corresponding to these beam fields may be also the same.
If the NCR (for example, the NCR-MT) receives/detects one or more first DCI formats indicating multiple time resources and these time resources include the same slots or symbols (or these time resources are not time-division multiplexed), beam indices (or values of beam fields) corresponding to these time resources are the same (or the NCR determines that values of beam indications corresponding to these time resources are the same).
Herein, not time-division multiplexed may be understood as overlapping in time, the beam field is equivalent to a beam indication field, and also equivalent to a beam index field, the time resource field is equivalent to a time resource indication field, and also equivalent to a time resource index field, and the time resource may also be understood as a time-domain resource.
The above fields (or each of the above fields) may be mapped in the described order. These fields may include the zero-padding fields/padding bits. The first field may be mapped to a lowest order information bit and each field after it may be mapped to a higher order information bit.
The most significant bit of each field may be mapped to a lowest order information bit of the field.
The description order of the above beam field (beam field #1, beam field #2, . . . , beam field #L) and time resource field (time resource field #1, time resource field #2, . . . , time resource field #T) may be exchanged. That is, in the first DCI format, the time resource field is followed by the beam field.
The above method is further described by a specific example. The NCR-MT receives beam configuration information from the network device. A number of configured beams is denoted as 8. The NCR-MT further receives time resource configuration information from the network device. A number/number of entries of time resource configurations is 16. The NCR-MT further receives configuration information of a number of dynamic beam indications (the number is 5, that is, L=4) from the network device.
The NCR-MT monitors a first DCI format according to any combination of the above three configuration information. A lowest code point of a beam field is a first code point, that is, it is used to represent that no beam is indicated. Thus, a size of the beam field (which may also be called a bit width of the field) is log2(8+1) rounded up to 4 bits. In addition, according to the number of entries in the time resource configuration information, it can be known that a size of the time resource field is also 4 bits. Thus, the first DCI format includes the following fields:
When the NCR-MT detects the first DCI format, it includes the contents shown below in Table 3.
According to Table 3, in the first DCI format:
For Examples 5-7,
Optionally, an interval between (the last symbol of) a PDCCH corresponding to the one or more first DCI formats and the time resource (for example, at least one symbol) may be greater than or equal to a beam application time. The beam application time refers to a time from receiving the first DCI format to applying a beam indication carried by the first DCI format (for example, a shortest time from receiving the first DCI format to applying the beam indication carried by the first DCI format).
Methods 1-3 in the above Examples 5-7 provide a method for handling dynamic beam indication conflicts, which avoids ambiguity when the NCR interprets one or more DCI formats, thereby improving the reliability of the system.
Example 8 is a variation/supplement of Example 5. An NCR-MT receives first time resource configuration information from a network device. The first time resource configuration information is a set of time resources (for example, a list of time resources). The list of time resources is used as an example, which includes M entries. Each entry in the list of time resources includes one or more second time resource configuration information, and each entry in the list of time resources further includes SCS configuration information. The one or more second time resource configuration information and the SCS configuration information satisfy at least one of the following conditions:
One of the above second time resource configuration information includes/is associated with at least one of the following parameters:
This example provides a method for configuring the subcarrier spacing of time resources for NCR forwarding, which is helpful for the time resources indicated by the first DCI format to use the specifically configured carrier spacing, so as to adapt to the subcarrier requirements of system scheduling, thereby improving the flexibility of communication system scheduling.
Example 9 is a variation/supplement of Example 6. An NCR-MT receives fifth time resource configuration information from a network device. The time resource configuration information is a set of time resources (for example, a list of time resources). The list of time resources is used as an example, which includes M entries. Each entry in the list of time resources includes one or more time resource indices. (For example, the index is used to refer to fourth time resource configuration information in third time resource configuration information). The one or more time resource indices may be indicated by a time resource index list. Moreover, each entry in the list of time resources further includes SCS configuration information. The relationship between the one or more time resource configuration information and the SCS configuration information is at least one of
One of the above time resource configuration information includes/is associated with at least one of the following parameters:
This example provides a method for configuring the subcarrier spacing of time resources for NCR forwarding, which is helpful for the time resources indicated by the first DCI format each time to correspond to different subcarrier spacings, thereby improving the flexibility of communication system scheduling.
Example 10 is a variation/supplement of Example 7. An NCR-MT receives sixth time resource configuration information from a network device. The time resource configuration information is a set of time resources (for example, a list of time resources). The list of time resources is used as an example, which includes M entries. Each entry in the list of time resources includes one or more seventh time resource configuration information. The sixth time resource configuration information may further include SCS configuration information. One or more time resource configuration information of each entry in the sixth time resource configuration parameter is applicable to the SCS configuration information. That is, all time resource configuration information in the sixth time resource configuration parameter is determined according to the SCS configuration.
For example, if the SCS configuration information is configured (or explicitly configured), SCS of the time resource configuration information are determined according to the configured SCS.
For example, if the SCS configuration information is not configured (or is not explicitly configured, or is implicitly configured), the SCSs of the time resource configuration information are determined according to an SCS of the NCR-MT/NCR-Fwd. The SCS of the NCR-MT may refer to an SCS of an active BWP of a cell in which the first DCI format is received. The SCS of the NCR-Fwd may refer to a reference SCS. The reference SCS may be configured according to RRC signaling.
One of the seventh time resource configuration information includes/is associated with at least one of the following parameters:
This example provides a method for configuring the subcarrier spacing of time resources for NCR forwarding, which is helpful for the time resources indicated by the first DCI format to use the specifically configured carrier spacing, so as to adapt to the subcarrier requirements of system scheduling, thereby improving the flexibility of communication system scheduling.
In Examples 5 to 10, the beam configuration information is carried by RRC signaling. The configuration information may be in one of the following parameters:
In Examples 5 to 10, the time resource configuration information (the first time resource configuration information, For example, the fifth time resource configuration information, and For example, the sixth time resource configuration information) is carried by RRC signaling. The configuration information may be in one of the following parameters:
In Example 11, an NCR obtains configuration information from a network device. The configuration information includes at least one of the configuration information described in Examples 1-10.
The NCR monitors a first DCI format according to the configuration information. The information/fields in the first DCI format (hereinafter, “field” is used as an example) include at least one of:
When the NCR-MT is configured with the HARQ enabling parameter, the NCR-MT may perform the behaviors described below (for example, a method for determining PUCCH resources, a method for determining HARQ-ACK feedback timings, and a method for processing HARQ-ACK feedback multiplexing described below). Otherwise, when the NCR-MT is configured with HARQ disabling, when the NCR-MT detects/receives the first DCI format, the NCR-MT does not generate HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the first DCI format.
When the NCR-MT detects/receives the first DCI format, it may determine physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resources according to the PUCCH resource indicator. The physical uplink control channel resources are used to carry HARQ-ACK information (or, for the HARQ-ACK information of the first DCI format). For a mapping relationship between values of the PUCCH resource indicator and PUCCH resource indices, the description of the case that the PUCCH resource indicator is 3 bits in the existing standard may be referred to.
When the NCR-MT detects/receives the first DCI format, it determines PUCCH resources according to PUCCH resource configuration information. The PUCCH resources are PUCCH resources for configuring HARQ information carrying the first DCI format. The PUCCH resource configuration information may include only one PUCCH resource. The PUCCH resource format may be PUCCH format 0 or PUCCH format 1.
When the NCR-MT detects/receives the first DCI format (for example, the first DCI format generates HARQ-ACK information bits but does not schedule the PDSCH) and the first DCI format ends in downlink slot n_D, the NCR-MT provides corresponding HARQ-ACK information in a PUCCH transmission in uplink slot n+k. k is a number of slots, and if the HARQ feedback timing indicator exists, the number of slots is indicated by the HARQ feedback timing indicator; optionally, if the HARQ feedback timing indicator does not exist, the number of slots is provided by the first HARQ configuration parameter or the second HARQ configuration parameter. The slot n refers to the last uplink slot that overlaps with downlink slot n_D. The UL slot may be used for the PUCCH transmission.
The NCR-MT does not expect to detect/receive at least two first DCI formats, where the at least two first DCI formats feed back corresponding HARQ-ACK information in the same slot (for example, uplink slot).
The NCR-MT (expects to) detects/receives two first DCI formats, where the two first DCI formats feed back corresponding HARQ-ACK information in different slots (for example, uplink slots).
If the NCR-MT detects two first DCI formats, the HARQ-ACK feedback information corresponding to the two first DCI formats is in different slots (for example, uplink slots) respectively. The NCR-MT may feed back the HARQ-ACK feedback information corresponding to the two first DCI formats in different slots.
When the NCR-MT detects/receives at least two first DCI formats, and the HARQ-ACK feedback information corresponding to the at least two first DCI formats is in the same slot (for example, uplink slot), the NCR-MT generates (or transmits; or only generates) HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the last one (for example, the last one in time-domain) of the at least two first DCI formats. The NCR-MT does not generate (or discards; or does not transmit) HARQ-ACK information corresponding to other DCI formats (DCI formats other than the last first DCI format among the at least two first DCI formats).
If the NCR-MT detects/receives a first DCI format and a second DCI format (for example, a DCI format other than the first DCI format), HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the first DCI format and the second DCI format is in different slots respectively.
When the NCR-MT detects/receives a first DCI format and a second DCI format (for example, a DCI format other than the first DCI format) and the HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the first DCI format and the second DCI format is in the same UL slot, the NCR-MT does not multiplex the HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the first DCI format and the HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the second DCI format.
When the NCR-MT detects/receives a first DCI format and a second DCI format (for example, a DCI format other than the first DCI format) and the HARQ-ACK feedback information corresponding to the first DCI format and the second DCI format is in the same UL slot, the NCR-MT does not generate (or discards, or does not transmit) the HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the first DCI format, or the NCR-MT does not generate (or discards, or does not transmit) the HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the second DCI format.
When the NCR-MT detects/receives a first DCI format and a second DCI format (for example, a DCI format other than the first DCI format) and the HARQ-ACK feedback information corresponding to the first DCI format and the second DCI format is in the same slot (for example, uplink slot), the NCR-MT generates (or transmits, or only generates) the HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the first DCI format, or the NCR-MT generates (or transmits, or only generates) the HARQ-ACK information corresponding to the second DCI format.
The above example provides a method for the NCR to process the HARQ-ACK feedback in the first DCI format. This method can handle the conflicts between HARQ-ACK feedbacks, thereby avoiding the unclear NCR behaviors and further improving the reliability of the communication system.
Embodiment 1 provides a method for dynamic beam indicating using the DCI format, which is helpful for the NCR to forward dynamic signals from a base station in a specific direction, thereby improving the indicating efficiency and improving the performance of the communication system.
In 522, after the NCR receives the MAC-CE, the NCR starts or stops using corresponding beam information on time resources indicated by the MAC-CE according to the MAC-CE. The beam information may be used for NCR-Fwd forwarding (for example, downlink forwarding and/or uplink reception). The beam information may be used for an NCR-Fwd access link.
In Example 1, a MAC-CE activates or deactivates time resources for NCR-Fwd forwarding (for example, downlink transmission or uplink reception). When the MAC-CE activates the time resources, the MAC-CE also indicates beam information (for example, beam indices) used by an NCR-Fwd on the time resources.
In an implementation, an NCR-MT receives thirteenth time resource configuration information from a network device. The time resource configuration information is a set of time resources (for example, a list of time resources). The list of time resources is used as an example, which includes K entries. Each entry includes a fourteenth time resource configuration information. That is, the time list includes K fourteenth time resource configuration information.
The thirteenth time resource configuration information may further include SCS configuration information (for example, a reference SCS), and an SCS of the fourteenth time resource configuration information associated with/included in the thirteenth time resource configuration information is determined by the SCS configuration. The thirteenth time resource configuration information may further include periodicity information. A periodicity of (all) the fourteenth time resource configuration information associated with/included in the thirteenth time resource configuration information is determined by the periodicity information.
The fourteenth time resource configuration information includes/is associated with at least one of the following parameters:
The NCR-MT further receives MAC-CE signaling from the network device. Information/fields of the MAC-CE signaling (determined by the NCR, or determined by the NCR according to an LCID of the MAC-CE) (hereinafter, “field” is used as an example) include at least one of
When the NCR (e.g., NCR-MT) receives indication information (for example, a MAC-CE for activation) (optionally, and when the NCR transmits a PUCCH with HARQ-ACK information in slot n corresponding to a PDSCH carrying an activation command, from the first slot after slot n+3Nslotsubframe,μ (an SCS of the first slot is determined according to the SCS of time resources indicated by the MAC-CE)), the NCR (e.g., NCR-Fwd) applies/uses (NCR assumption of) beam information on time resources (for example, time resources indicated by time resource field #i). The beam information may be indicated by beam field #i. μ is an SCS configuration of the PUCCH.
When the NCR (e.g., NCR-MT) receives indication information (for example, a MAC-CE for deactivation) (optionally, and when the NCR transmits a PUCCH with HARQ-ACK information in slot n corresponding to a PDSCH carrying an activation command, from the first slot after slot n+3Nslotsubframe,μ (μ is an SCS configuration of the PUCCH) (optionally, an SCS of the first slot is determined according to the SCS of time resources indicated by the MAC-CE)), the NCR (e.g., NCR-Fwd) performs at least one of
The advantage of the MAC-CE design of this example is that the base station can indicate the beam information applicable to time resources in time through the MAC-CE, thereby improving the flexibility of the system.
In Example 2, a MAC-CE activates or deactivates time resources for NCR-Fwd forwarding (for example, downlink transmission or uplink reception). When the MAC-CE activates the time resources, the MAC-CE also indicates beam information (for example, beam indices) used by an NCR-Fwd on the time resources.
An implementation is as follows:
An NCR-MT receives fifth configuration information from a network device. The fifth configuration information includes one or more thirteenth time resource configuration information (for example, one or more thirteenth time resource configuration information is indicated by a list). The thirteenth time resource configuration information is a set of time resources (for example, a list of time resources). The list of time resources is used as an example, which includes one or more fourteenth time resource configuration information.
The thirteenth time resource configuration information may further include SCS configuration information (for example, a reference SCS), and an SCS of the fourteenth time resource configuration information associated with/included in the thirteenth time resource configuration information is determined by the SCS configuration. The thirteenth time resource configuration information may further include periodicity information, and a periodicity of (all) the fourteenth time resource configuration information associated with/included in the thirteenth time resource configuration information is determined by the periodicity information.
The fifth configuration information may further include SCS configuration information (for example, a reference SCS), and the SCS of the fourteenth time resource configuration information associated with/included in the fifth configuration information is determined by the SCS configuration. The fifth configuration information may further include periodicity information, and the periodicity of (all) the fourteenth time resource configuration information associated with/included in the fifth configuration information is determined by the periodicity information.
Parameters included in/associated with the fourteenth time resource configuration information may refer to Example 1.
The NCR-MT further receives MAC-CE signaling from the network device. The description of the MAC-CE field and the description of the NCR behaviors after receiving the MAC-CE may refer to Example 1, which will not be repeated here.
The advantage of the MAC-CE design of this example is that the base station can indicate the beam information applicable to time resources in time through the MAC-CE, thereby improving the flexibility of the system.
In Example 3, a MAC-CE activates or deactivates time resources for NCR-Fwd forwarding (for example, downlink transmission or uplink reception). When the MAC-CE activates the time resources, the MAC-CE also indicates beam information (for example, beam indices) used by an NCR-Fwd on the time resources.
An implementation is as follows:
An NCR-MT receives fifteenth time resource configuration information from a network device. The time resource configuration information is a set of time resources (for example, a list of time resources). The list of time resources is used as an example, which includes M entries. Each entry in the list of time resources includes one or more sixteenth time resource configuration information. The one or more sixteenth time resource configuration information may be indicated by the list of time resources.
An entry (for example, each entry) in the fifteenth time resource configuration information may further include SCS configuration information (for example, a reference SCS), and an SCS of the sixteenth time resource configuration information associated with/included in an entry in the fifteenth time resource configuration information is determined by the SCS configuration. Optionally, an entry (for example, each entry) in the fifteenth time resource configuration information, and a periodicity of (all) the sixteenth time resource configuration information associated with/included in an entry in the fifteenth time resource configuration information are determined by the periodicity information.
The fifteenth time resource configuration information may further include SCS configuration information (for example, a reference SCS), and the SCS of the sixteenth time resource configuration information associated/included by the fifteenth time resource configuration information is determined by the SCS configuration. The fifteenth time resource configuration information and the periodicity of (all) the sixteenth time resource configuration information associated/included with the fifteenth time resource configuration information may be determined by the periodicity information.
The sixteenth time resource configuration information includes/is associated with at least one of the following parameters:
The NCR-MT further receives MAC-CE signaling from the network device. Information/fields of the MAC-CE signaling (determined by the NCR, or determined by the NCR according to an LCID of the MAC-CE) (hereinafter, “field” is used as an example) include at least one of:
When the NCR (e.g., NCR-MT) receives indication information (for example, a MAC-CE for activation) (and when the NCR transmits a PUCCH with HARQ-ACK information in slot n corresponding to a PDSCH carrying an activation command, from the first slot after slot n+3Nslotsubframe,μ (an SCS of the first slot is determined according to the SCS of time resources indicated by the MAC-CE)), the NCR (e.g., NCR-Fwd) may apply/use (NCR assumption of) beam information on time resources (for example, the (i+1)-th time resource indicated by the time resource indication field). The beam information may be indicated by beam field #i. μ is an SCS configuration of the PUCCH.
The advantage of the MAC-CE design of this example is that the base station can indicate the beam information applicable to time resources in time through the MAC-CE, thereby improving the flexibility of the system.
In Example 4, a MAC-CE activates or deactivates forwarding resources for NCR-Fwd forwarding (for example, downlink transmission or uplink reception). When the MAC-CE activates the forwarding resources, the MAC-CE can also indicates/updates beam information (for example, beam indices) corresponding to time resources in the forwarding resources.
An implementation is as follows:
An NCR-MT receives sixth configuration information (for example, a semi-persistent access link beam configuration information list) from a network device. The sixth configuration information includes one or more seventh configuration information (for example, one or more seventh configuration information is indicated by a list). The seventh configuration information is, for example, a semi-persistent access link beam configuration. Optionally, a maximum value of the seventh configuration information included in the sixth configuration information is one of 4, 8, 16 and 32.
The seventh configuration information may include one or more forwarding resource configuration information (for example, one or more forwarding resource configuration information is indicated by a list). A forwarding resource configuration information includes beam information (for example, beam index) and seventeenth time resource configuration information.
The seventh configuration information may further include SCS configuration information (for example, a reference SCS), where an SCS of (all) the seventeenth time resource configuration information included in the seventh configuration information is determined by the SCS configuration. The seventh configuration information may further include periodicity information, and a periodicity of (all) the seventeenth time resource configuration information included in the seventh configuration information is determined by the periodicity information.
The sixth configuration information may further include SCS configuration information (for example, a reference SCS), and the SCS of (all) seventeenth time resource configuration information included in/associated with the sixth configuration information is determined by the SCS configuration. The sixth configuration information may further include periodicity information, and the periodicity of (all) the seventeenth time resource configuration information included in/associated with the seventh configuration information is determined by the periodicity information.
The seventeenth time resource configuration information includes/is associated with at least one of the following parameters:
In an implementation, the NCR-MT further receives MAC-CE signaling from the network device. Information/fields of the MAC-CE signaling (determined by the NCR, or determined by the NCR according to an LCID of the MAC-CE) (hereinafter, field) include at least one of.
In another implementation, the NCR-MT further receives MAC-CE signaling from the network device. Information/fields of the MAC-CE signaling (determined by the NCR, or determined by the NCR according to an LCID of the MAC-CE) (hereinafter, “field” is used as an example) include at least one of
The advantage of this MAC-CE field design is that the base station can indicate/update the beam information applicable to the forwarding resources in time through the MAC-CE, thereby improving the flexibility of the system.
When the NCR (e.g., NCR-MT) receives indication information (for example, a MAC-CE for activation) (optionally, and when the NCR-MT transmits a PUCCH with HARQ-ACK information in slot n associated with a PDSCH carrying an activation command, from the first slot after slot n+3Nslotsubframe,μ (optionally, an SCS of the first slot is determined according to the SCS of time resources indicated by the MAC-CE)), the NCR (e.g., NCR-Fwd) applies/uses (NCR assumption of) beam information on time resources (for example, time resources corresponding to/associated with the indicated forwarding resources). The beam information corresponds to/is associated with the indicated forwarding resource configuration information. The beam information is indicated by the MAC-CE. μ is an SCS configuration of the PUCCH.
When the NCR (e.g., NCR-MT) receives indication information (for example, a MAC-CE for deactivation) (optionally, and when the NCR-MT transmits a PUCCH with HARQ-ACK information in slot n associated with a PDSCH carrying an deactivation command, from the first slot after slot n+3Nslotsubframe,μ (μ is an SCS configuration of the PUCCH) (optionally, an SCS of the first slot is determined slot according to the SCS of time resources indicated by the MAC-CE)), the NCR (e.g., NCR-Fwd) performs at least one of:
The advantage of the MAC-CE design of this example is that the base station can indicate/update the beam information applicable to the forwarding resources in time through the MAC-CE, thereby improving the flexibility of the system.
Embodiment 2 provides a method for beam indicating using the MAC-CE signaling, which is helpful for the NCR to forward semi-persistent signals from the base station in a specific direction, thereby improving the indicating efficiency and improving the performance of the communication system. Moreover, the MAC-CE can also be used to indicate the turning on and off of the NCR, so as to avoid turning on the NCR at unnecessary time resources and save energy.
In Example 1, an NCR-MT receives first configuration information (for example, a periodic access link beam configuration information list) from a network device. The first configuration information includes one or more second configuration information (for example, one or more second configuration information is indicated by a list). The second configuration information is, for example, a periodic access link beam configuration. Optionally, a maximum value of the second configuration information included in the first configuration information is one of 4, 8, 16 and 32.
The second configuration information may include one or more forwarding resource configuration information (for example, one or more forwarding resource configuration information is indicated by a list). A forwarding resource configuration information includes beam information (for example, beam indices) and tenth time resource configuration information. The second configuration information may further include SCS configuration information (for example, a reference SCS), and an SCS of (all) the tenth time resource configuration information included in the second configuration information is determined by the SCS configuration. The second configuration information may further include periodicity information, and a periodicity of (all) the tenth time resource configuration information included in the second configuration information is determined by the periodicity information.
The tenth time resource configuration information includes/is associated with at least one of the following parameters:
The NCR applies beams (or beam indices) indicated by the first configuration information to/for downlink transmission and/or uplink reception (or access link forwarding) in time resources indicated by the first configuration information. For example, an NCR-Fwd performs forwarding according to the forwarding resource configuration information indicated by the second configuration information in the first configuration information. The NCR-Fwd uses beam indices (related spatial filter) of configuration forwarding information to forward on time resources corresponding to/indicated by the tenth time resource configuration information in the forwarding configuration information. The NCR may apply all the forwarding configuration information in the first configuration information (or all the forwarding configuration information in all the second configuration information in the first configuration information).
In Example 2, an NCR-MT receives eleventh time resource configuration information from a network device. The time resource configuration information is a set of time resources (for example, a list of time resources). The list of time resources is used as an example, which includes K entries. Each entry includes a twelfth time resource configuration information. That is, the time list includes K twelfth time resource configuration information. A twelfth time resource configuration information includes/is associated with at least one of the following parameters:
The NCR-MT further receives third configuration information (for example, a periodic access link beam configuration information list) from the network device. The third configuration information includes one or more fourth configuration information (for example, one or more fourth configuration information is indicated by a list). The fourth configuration information is, for example, a periodic access link beam configuration. A maximum value of the fourth configuration information included in the third configuration information may be one of 4, 8, 16 and 32.
The fourth configuration information may include one or more forwarding resource configuration information (for example, one or more forwarding resource configuration information is indicated by a list). A forwarding resource configuration information includes beam information (for example, beam indices) and one or more time resource indices (for example, the indices are used to refer to the twelfth time resource configuration information in the eleventh time resource configuration information). The fourth configuration information may further include SCS configuration information (for example, a reference SCS), and an SCS of (all) the associated twelfth time resource configuration information in the fourth configuration information is determined by the SCS configuration. The second configuration information may further include periodicity information, and a periodicity of (all) the associated twelfth time resource configuration information in the second configuration information is determined by the periodicity information.
The NCR uses beams (or beam indices) indicated by the third configuration information for downlink transmission and/or uplink reception (or access link forwarding) in time resources indicated by the third configuration information. For example, an NCR-Fwd performs forwarding according to the forwarding resource configuration information indicated by the fourth configuration information in the third configuration information. The NCR-Fwd uses beam indices (related spatial filter) of configuration forwarding information to forward on time resources corresponding to/indicated by the twelfth time resource configuration information in the forwarding configuration information. The NCR may apply all the forwarding configuration information in the third configuration information (or all the forwarding configuration information in all the fourth configuration information in the third configuration information).
The third embodiment provides a method for periodic beam indicating, which is helpful for the NCR to forward periodic signals from the base station in a specific direction, thereby improving the indicating efficiency and improving the performance of the communication system.
In step 542, the NCR applies/uses a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state and/or a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource indication (SRI) indicated by the MAC-CE signaling for DL reception and/or UL transmission. The NCR may apply/use a spatial filter associated with the TCI state and/or SRI indicated by the MAC-CE signaling for downlink reception and/or uplink transmission.
The NCR-MT can be configured with a list of configurations including at most M TCI states (e.g., tci-StatesToAddModList and/or tci-StatesToReleaseList) in a UE-specific PDSCH higher layer parameter (for example, PDSCH-config). The PDSCH higher layer parameter is used to decode a PDSCH according to the detected (for (corresponding serving cells of) the NCR-MT) PDCCH. M is based on a UE/NCR capability parameter (for example, a maximum number of configured TCI states per CC (maxNumberConfiguredTCIstatesPerCC)). Each TCI state configuration parameter (for example, TCI-State) includes a parameter configuring a quasi co-location relationship between one or two downlink reference signals and at least one of the following ports:
The NCR-MT can be configured with a configuration of at most 128 TCI states in a DL or joint TCI state list parameter (for example, dl-OrJoint-TC/StateList) in a UE-specific PDSCH parameter (for example, PDSCH-config). The TCI state (configuration) or each TCI state (configuration) may provide a demodulation reference signal of the PDCCH, a demodulation reference signal of the PDSCH and a quasi co-location reference signal of the CSI-RS of the NCR-MT, and/or (if applicable) provides a reference for determining a UL transmission spatial filter of dynamic grant and configuration grant-based PUSCH, PUCCH resources and SRS of the NCR-MT.
The NCR-MT can be configured with a configuration of at most 64 uplink TCI states in a dedicated UE-specific uplink BWP parameter (for example, BWP-UplinkDedicated). The UL TCI state (configuration) or each uplink TCI state (configuration) includes a parameter for configuring a reference signal (if applicable) for determining the UL transmission spatial filter of the dynamic grant and configuration grant-based PUSCH, PUCCH resources and SRS of the NCR-MT.
In this example, an NCR-MT receives TCI state configuration information from a network device. The TCI state configuration information may refer to a first TCI state parameter (for example, tci-StatesToAddModList and/or tci-StatesToReleaseList) that configures a TCI list. Alternatively, the TCI state configuration information may refer to a second TCI state parameter (for example, dl-OrJoint-TCIStateList or dl-OrJoint-TCI-State-ToAddModList) that configures a TCI state (for example, unified TCI state; for another example, downlink or joint TCI state) list.
The tci-StatesToAddModList and/or tci-StatesToReleaseList is in PDSCH-Config. The PDSCH-Config is in a BWP of a cell/serving cell. The cell/serving cell is a PCell of the NCR-MT. The cell is indicated by the MAC-CE signaling, or an ID of the cell is indicated by the MAC-CE signaling. The cell receives the MAC-CE signaling. The BWP is, for example, an active BWP. The BWP is indicated by the MAC-CE signaling, or an ID of the BWP is indicated by the MAC-CE signaling; the cell receives the MAC-CE signaling.
The dl-OrJoint-TCI-State-ToAddModList or dl-OrJoint-TCIStateList is in PDSCH-Config. The PDSCH-Config is in a BWP of a cell/serving cell. The cell/serving cell is a PCell of the NCR-MT. The cell is indicated by the MAC-CE signaling, or an ID of the cell is indicated by the MAC-CE signaling. The cell receives the MAC-CE signaling. The BWP is an active BWP. The BWP is indicated by the MAC-CE signaling, or an ID of the BWP is indicated by the MAC-CE signaling. The cell receives the MAC-CE signaling.
The NCR-MT receives SRS configuration information (or SRS resource configuration information) from the network device.
The NCR-MT further receives MAC-CE signaling from the network device. Information/fields of the MAC-CE signaling (determined by the NCR, or determined by the NCR according to an LCID of the MAC-CE) (hereinafter, field) include at least one of
When the NCR (e.g., NCR-MT) receives the MAC-CE (for example, a MAC-CE activation command for activation) (optionally, and when the NCR transmits a PUCCH with HARQ-ACK information in slot n corresponding to a PDSCH carrying the MAC-CE, from the first slot after slot n+3Nslotsubframe,μ (optionally, an SCS of the first slot is determined according to a reference SCS)), the NCR (e.g., NCR-Fwd) applies/uses the TCI state and/or SRI indicated by the MAC-CE. μ is an SCS configuration of the PUCCH.
The MAC-CE described in this method can indicate the UL beam (SRI) and downlink beam (TCI) of the backhaul link at the same time, thereby improving the indicating efficiency and increasing the flexibility of the communication system.
In this example, an NCR-MT receives TCI state configuration information from a network device. The TCI state configuration information may refer to a first TCI state parameter (for example, tci-StatesToAddModList and/or tci-StatesToReleaseList) that configures a TCI list. Alternatively, the TCI state configuration information may refer to a second TCI state parameter (for example, dl-OrJoint-TCIStateList or dl-OrJoint-TCI-State-ToAddModList) that configures a TCI state (for example, unified TCI state; for another example, downlink or joint TCI state) list.
The tci-StatesToAddModList and/or tci-StatesToReleaseList is in PDSCH-Config. The PDSCH-Config is in a BWP of a cell/serving cell. The cell/serving cell is, for example, a PCell of the NCR-MT. The cell is indicated by the MAC-CE signaling, or an ID of the cell is indicated by the MAC-CE signaling; the cell is, For example, a cell that receives the MAC-CE signaling. The BWP is an active BWP indicated by the MAC-CE signaling, or an ID of the BWP is indicated by the MAC-CE signaling. The cell receives the MAC-CE signaling.
The dl-OrJoint-TCI-State-ToAddModList or dl-OrJoint-TCIStateList is in PDSCH-Config. The PDSCH-Config is in a BWP of a cell/serving cell. The cell/serving cell is a PCell of the NCR-MT. The cell is indicated by the MAC-CE signaling, or an ID of the cell is indicated by the MAC-CE signaling. The cell receives the MAC-CE signaling. The BWP is an active BWP indicated by the MAC-CE signaling, or an ID of the BWP is indicated by the MAC-CE signaling. The cell receives the MAC-CE signaling.
The NCR-MT may receive SRS configuration information (or SRS resource configuration information) from the network device.
The NCR-MT further receives MAC-CE signaling from the network device. Information/fields of the MAC-CE signaling (determined by the NCR, or determined by the NCR according to an LCID of the MAC-CE) include at least one of:
When the NCR (e.g., NCR-MT) receives the MAC-CE (for example, a MAC-CE activation command for activation) (optionally, and when the NCR transmits a PUCCH with HARQ-ACK information in slot n corresponding to a PDSCH carrying the MAC-CE, from the first slot after slot n+3Nslotsubframe,μ (an SCS of the first slot is determined according to a reference SCS)), the NCR (e.g., NCR-Fwd) may apply/use the TCI state and/or SRI indicated by the MAC-CE. μ is an SCS configuration of the PUCCH.
The MAC-CE described in this method can use the same format to indicate the UL beam (SRI) and DL beam (TCI) of the backhaul link respectively, thereby reducing the overhead and improving the efficiency of the communication system.
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The illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in the disclosure may be implemented in a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit, ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. 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, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors cooperating with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.
The steps of a method or algorithm described in this disclosure may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. Software modules may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM) memory, electronically erasable PROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disks, removable disks, or any other form of storage media known in the art. A storage medium is coupled to a processor to enable the processor to read and write information from/to the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integrated into the processor. The processor and storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in the user terminal. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as separate components in the user terminal.
The described functions herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, each function can be stored on or transmitted by a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, and the latter includes any media that facilitates the transfer of computer programs from one place to another. The storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.
The description set forth herein, taken in conjunction with the drawings, describes example configurations, methods and devices, and does not represent all examples that can be realized or are within the scope of the claims. As used herein, the term example indicates serving as an example, instance or illustration rather than preferred or superior to other examples. The detailed description includes specific details to provide an understanding of the described technology. However, these techniques may be practiced without these specific details. In some cases, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.
The specific order or hierarchy of steps in the method of the present disclosure is illustrative of an exemplary process. Based on the design preference, it can be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the method can be rearranged to realize the functions and effects disclosed in the disclosure. Although elements may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is also contemplated unless the limitation on the singular is explicitly stated. Therefore, the disclosure is not limited to the illustrated examples, and any means for performing the functions described herein are included in various aspects of the disclosure.
While the disclosure has been illustrated and described with reference to various embodiments of the present disclosure, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes can be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202211714570.8 | Dec 2022 | CN | national |
