TERMINAL AND COMMUNICATION METHOD

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a terminal and a communication method in a wireless communication system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In 3GPP (registered trademark) (3rd Generation Partnership Project), in order to realize further larger system capacity, further faster data transmission speed, further lower latency in a wireless communication section, etc., a wireless communication method called “5G” or “NR (New Radio)” has been discussed (hereinafter, the wireless communication method is referred to as “NR”). In 5G, various wireless technologies and network architectures are being discussed to satisfy the requirement of a radio link delay of 1 ms or less while achieving throughput of 10 Gbps or more (e.g., non-patent literature 1).

Furthermore, in the 3GPP standardization, PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) carrier switching is being discussed for the extension of URLLC (Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications) technology. The PUCCH carrier switching has been discussed as a method of reducing the latency of HARQ-ACK (Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest-ACKnowledgement) feedback in the TDD (Time Division Duplex) scheme (e.g., non-patent literature 2).

In addition, NR specifies a downlink SPS (Semi-Persistent Scheduling) in which PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel) resources are configured in advance for a terminal and activation/release is performed by DCI (Downlink Control Information), which enables low-latency data reception (For example, non-patent references 3 and 4).

CITATION LIST
Non-Patent Document

- Non-Patent Document 1: 3GPP TS 38.300 V16.6.0 (2021-06)
- Non-Patent Document 2: 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #88e, RP-201310, Electronic meeting, Jun. 29-Jul. 3, 2020
- Non-Patent Document 3: 3GPP TS 38.213 V16.6.0 (2021-06)
- Non-Patent Document 4: 3GPP TS 38.331 V16.5.0 (2021-06)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Technical Problem

When PDSCH is scheduled by SPS for multiple consecutive DL (Downlink) slots, PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) for transmitting HARQ-ACK (Hybrid automatic repeat request Acknowledgement) corresponding to the PDSCH reception may collide with DL symbols or flexible symbols. In this case, the transmission of the HARQ-ACK may be postponed.

Here, in a case where the transmission of HARQ-ACK is to be postponed, a maximum period of the postponement may be configured. However, it is not clear which cell is to be used as a reference to measure the maximum period.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to determine a procedure for transmitting information related to retransmission control.

Solution to Problem

According to the disclosed technique, a terminal is provided. The terminal includes a reception unit configured to receive downlink data scheduled by SPS (Semi-Persistent Scheduling); a control unit configured to perform postponement of HARQ-ACK (Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest-ACKnowledgement) corresponding to the downlink data, a maximum postponement period being configured to the postponement; and a transmission unit configured to transmit an uplink control channel that carries uplink control information including the HARQ-ACK via a resource determined based on the postponement of the HARQ-ACK, wherein the control unit performs carrier switching of the uplink control channel as necessary, and determines whether the postponement of the HARQ-ACK exceeds the maximum postponement period, based on a subcarrier spacing of: a cell before performing the carrier switching; a cell after performing the carrier switching; or a cell indicated by a semi-static cell pattern.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the disclosed technique, it is possible to determine a procedure of transmitting information related to retransmission control in a wireless communication system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrating an example (1) of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a drawing illustrating an example (1) of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating an example (1) of PUCCH carrier switching.

FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating an example (2) of PUCCH carrier switching.

FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating an example (1) of HARQ-ACK postponement in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a drawing illustrating an example (2) of HARQ-ACK postponement in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a drawing illustrating an example (3) of HARQ-ACK postponement in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a drawing illustrating an example of a functional structure of a base station 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a drawing illustrating an example of a functional structure of a terminal 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a drawing illustrating an example of a hardware structure of a base station 10 or a terminal 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a drawing illustrating an example of a structure of a vehicle 2001 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following, referring to the drawings, one or more embodiments of the present invention will be described. It should be noted that the embodiments described below are examples. Embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the following embodiments.

In operations of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention, conventional techniques will be used accordingly. The conventional techniques include, but not limited to, conventional NR or LTE, for example.

FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrating an example (1) of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a base station 10 and a terminal 20. In FIG. 1, a single base station 10 and a single terminal 20 are illustrated as an example. There may be a plurality of base stations 10 and a plurality of terminals 20.

The base station 10 is a communication apparatus that provides one or more cells and performs wireless communications with the terminal 20. Physical resources of the radio signal may be defined in the time domain and the frequency domain, the time domain may be defined by the number of OFDM symbols, and the frequency domain may be defined by the number of sub-carriers or resource blocks. Further, a TTI (Transmission Time Interval) in the time domain may be a slot, or the TTI may be a subframe.

The base station 10 can perform carrier aggregation to communicate with the terminal 20 by bundling a plurality of cells (multiple CCs (component carriers)). One PCell (primary cell) and one or more SCells (secondary cells) are used in the carrier aggregation.

The base station 10 transmits a synchronization signal, system information, and the like, to the terminal 20. The synchronization signal is, for example, an NR-PSS and an NR-SSS. The system information may be transmitted via a NR-PBCH or a PDSCH, for example, and may be referred to as broadcast information. As shown in FIG. 1, the base station 10 transmits a control signal or data in DL (Downlink) to the terminal 20 and receives a control signal or data in UL (Uplink) from the terminal 20.

Note that, here, what is transmitted via a control channel such as PUCCH and PDCCH is called a control signal, and what is transmitted via a shared channel such as PUSCH and PDSCH is called data. These names are mere examples.

The terminal 20 may be a communication apparatus that includes a wireless communication function such as a smart-phone, a mobile phone, a tablet, a wearable terminal, a communication module for M2M (Machine-to-Machine), or the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal 20 uses various communication services provided by the wireless communication system by receiving control signals or data in DL from the base station 10 and transmitting control signals or data in UL to the base station 10. Note that the terminal 20 may be referred to as a UE, and the base station 10 may be referred to as a gNB.

FIG. 2 is a drawing illustrating an example (2) of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a configuration of a wireless communication system in a case where dual connectivity (DC) is performed. As shown in FIG. 2, a base station 10A serving as a Master Node (MN) and a base station 10B serving as a Secondary Node (SN) are provided. The base station 10A and the base station 10B are each connected to a core network 30. The terminal 20 is enabled to communicate with both the base station 10A and the base station 10B.

A cell group provided by the base station 10A serving as an MN is called a Master Cell Group (MCG), and a cell group provided by the base station 10B serving as an SN is called a Secondary Cell Group (SCG). In addition, in the dual connectivity, the MCG is composed of one PCell and zero or more SCells, and the SCG is composed of one PSCell (Primary SCG Cell) and zero or more SCells.

The dual connectivity may be a communication method using two communication standards, and any communication standards may be combined. For example, the combination may be NR and 6G standards, or may be LTE and 6G standards. In addition, the dual connectivity may be a communication method using three or more communication standards and may be referred to as another name different from the dual connectivity.

Processing operations in this embodiment may be performed in a system configuration shown in FIG. 1, in a system configuration shown in FIG. 2, or in other system configurations.

In the 3GPP (Registered Trademark) standardization, supporting the enhanced IoT (Internet of Things) and URLLC (Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communication) in NR has been discussed. In addition, enhancement of HARQ-ACK (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgement) is being discussed to address URLLC requirements.

FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating an example (1) of PUCCH carrier switching. The PUCCH carrier switching has been discussed for HARQ feedback. As illustrated in FIG. 3, in the cell 1 in which the PUCCH is transmitted, when HARQ-ACK corresponding to PDSCH at the timing T1 is to be transmitted on the PUCCH at the timing T2 that is less than K1 value, the HARQ-ACK cannot be transmitted because the timing T2 in the cell 1 is for DL, and the timing T3 for UL in the cell 1 exceeds the K1 value. Therefore, the PUCCH is transmitted in the cell 2 whose timing T2 is for UL. Note that the K1 value may be a parameter indicating the timing from the PDSCH to the HARQ feedback.

Intra-UE multiplexing of UCI (Uplink Control Information) including HARQ-ACK is performed before cancellation of a UL channel due to collision with a semi-static DL symbol, an SSB (SS/PBCH block) symbol, and an SFI (Slot Format Indication).

Here, when the PUCCH carrier switching is supported based on the semi-static configuration and the terminal 20 determines the PUCCH carrier based on the predetermined rule with a condition of colliding with an invalid symbol, the execution order of the PUCCH carrier switching and the intra-UE multiplexing affects the UL transmission result.

FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating an example (2) of PUCCH carrier switching. In a case where the intra-UE multiplexing is performed prior to the PUCCH carrier switching, in the example of FIG. 4, HARQ-ACK is transmitted in DG (Dynamic grant)-PUSCH in the PUSCH cell. On the other hand, in a case where the PUCCH carrier switching is performed prior to the intra-UE multiplexing, in the example of FIG. 4, the HARQ-ACK is determined to be transmitted in the PUCCH of the PUCCH candidate cell, and further, according to the intra-UE multiplexing, the HARQ-ACK is transmitted in a CG (Configured grant)-PUSCH in the PUSCH cell.

With respect to the PUCCH carrier switching, the following methods 1) to 3) may be applied.

- Method 1) PUCCH carrier switching is performed based on dynamic indication by DCI. Hereinafter, this PUCCH carrier switching is also referred to as dynamic PUCCH carrier switching.
- Method 2) PUCCH carrier switching is performed based on a predetermined semi-static rule. Hereinafter, this PUCCH carrier switching is also referred to as semi-static PUCCH carrier switching.
- Method 3) PUCCH carrier switching is performed based on a PUCCH cell timing pattern configured by RRC in an applicable PUCCH cell.

Note that the method 1 and the method 2 may be performed, or the method 1 and the method 3 may be performed.

Here, in each step of increasing the K1 value to postpone HARQ-ACK transmission, it is necessary to check whether the K1 value has exceeded the maximum postponement period. However, it is not clear which cell is to be used as a reference to check the maximum postponement period. Regarding the above, options A)-C) shown below may be applied. Note that the postponement of SPS-HARQ-ACK may mean postponing/deferring transmission of SPS-HARQ-ACK.

Option A)

In a case where the PUCCH carrier switching and the postponement of SPS-HARQ-ACK are to be performed, the configured maximum postponement period of the K1 value may be checked only in PCell, PSCell or PUCCH-SCell. For example, the configured maximum postponement period of the K1 value may be interpreted or measured based on the configuration of the subcarrier spacing, slot/subslot in PCell, PSCell or PUCCH-SCell. The above-described PCell, PSCell or PUCCH-SCell may be a cell before applying the PUCCH carrier switching.

In a case where the actual K1 value, which is interpreted based on PCell, PSCell or PUCCH-SCell, does not exceed the maximum postponement period, the terminal 20 may further postpone/defer SPS-HARQ-ACK. The actual K1 value may be interpreted based on: a slot in PCell, PSCell or PUCCH-SCell; or a slot in PCell, PSCell or PUCCH-SCell that is mapped to a slot of PUCCH-SCell. The actual K1 value may be a K1 value in which a value after the postponement is added.

In a case where the actual K1 value, which is interpreted based on PCell, PSCell or PUCCH-SCell, exceeds the maximum postponement period, the terminal 20 may stop further postponement of SPS-HARQ-ACK.

Option B)

In a case where the PUCCH carrier switching and the postponement of SPS-HARQ-ACK are to be performed, the configured maximum postponement period of the K1 value may be checked in: PCell, PSCell or PUCCH-SCell; and another PUCCH-SCell. For example, the configured maximum postponement period of the K1 value may be interpreted or measured based on the configuration of the subcarrier spacing, slot/subslot in: PCell, PSCell or PUCCH-SCell; and another PUCCH-SCell. The above-described PCell, PSCell or PUCCH-SCell may be a cell before applying the PUCCH carrier switching, and the above-described another PUCCH-SCell may be a cell after applying the PUCCH carrier switching.

In a case where both the actual K1 value interpreted based on PCell, PSCell or PUCCH-SCell and the actual K1 value interpreted based on another PUCCH-SCell do not exceed the maximum postponement period, the terminal 20 may further postpone SPS-HARQ-ACK. The actual K1 value may be interpreted based on: a slot in PCell, PSCell or PUCCH-SCell; or a slot in PCell, PSCell or PUCCH-SCell that is mapped to a slot of PUCCH-SCell. The actual K1 value may be interpreted based on: a slot in another PUCCH-SCell; or a slot in another PUCCH-SCell that is mapped to a slot in PCell, PSCell or PUCCH-SCell.

In a case where one of the actual K1 value interpreted based on PCell, PSCell or PUCCH-SCell or the actual K1 value interpreted based on another

PUCCH-SCell exceeds the maximum postponement period, the terminal 20 may stop further postponement of SPS-HARQ-ACK.

Option C)

In addition, in a case where the PUCCH carrier switching and the postponement of SPS-HARQ-ACK are to be performed, the configured maximum postponement period of the K1 value may be checked in a cell indicated by a semi-static PUCCH cell pattern. For example, the configured maximum postponement period of the K1 value may be interpreted or measured based on the configuration of the subcarrier spacing, slot/subslot: in PCell, PSCell or PUCCH-SCell that is a cell indicated by the PUCCH cell pattern in the current postponement timing; or in another PUCCH-SCell.

In a case where the actual K1 value, which is interpreted based on the PUCCH cell indicated by the PUCCH cell pattern, does not exceed the maximum postponement period, the terminal 20 may further postpone/defer SPS-HARQ-ACK. The actual K1 value may be interpreted based on: a slot in the PUCCH cell indicated by the PUCCH cell pattern; or a slot in another PUCCH-SCell that is mapped to a slot in the PUCCH cell indicated by the PUCCH cell pattern. The actual K1 value may be a K1 value in which a value after the postponement is added.

In a case where the actual K1 value, which is interpreted based on a slot in the PUCCH cell indicated by the PUCCH cell pattern, exceeds the maximum postponement period, the terminal 20 may stop further postponement of SPS-HARQ-ACK.

FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating an example (1) of HARQ-ACK postponement in an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, the maximum postponement period is 4. In the slot shown by the dashed line in FIG. 5, the actual K1 value is 3 when interpreted based on the subcarrier spacing of PCell, and the actual K1 value is 6 when interpreted based on the subcarrier spacing of Scell #1.

Therefore, in option A) above, because the actual K1 value does not exceed the maximum postponement period, the slot indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 5 is determined to be the slot where the SPS-HARQ-ACK is postponed to be transmitted. On the other hand, in option B) above and option C) above, because the actual K1 value exceeds the maximum postponement period, the slot indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 5 is not determined to be the slot where the SPS-HARQ-ACK is postponed to be transmitted.

In addition, when multiplexing of UCI in PCell and UCI in another cell is not supported, it is not clear how to perform processing in a case where PUCCHs overlap with each other between cells due to postponement of SPS-HARQ-ACK.

Thus, when postponing SPS-HARQ-ACK, i.e., when determining whether the PUCCH resource is valid after increasing the K1 value, option D)-option G) shown below may be applied.

Option D)

After the target slot is determined by increasing the K1 value, control for a case, in which PUCCHs overlap with each other between CCs, may be performed. When the PUCCH resource determined in the target slot overlaps with the PUCCH of another cell, the terminal 20 may perform control for a case in which PUCCHs overlap with each other between CCs. For example, the case may be treated as an error case, or PUCCH of a cell need not be transmitted. Note that the control for a case in which PUCCHs overlap with each other between CCs does not affect the operation of SPS-HARQ-ACK postponement. That is, the target slot is not changed by the control for a case in which PUCCHs overlap with each other between CCs.

Option E)

The control for a case in which PUCCHs overlap with each other between CCs may affect the operation of determining the target slot. For example, in a case where the PUCCH resource in the slot, to which SPS-HARQ-ACK is postponed, overlaps with PUCCH of another cell, the terminal 20 may further postpone the SPS-HARQ-ACK even if the PUCCH resource in the slot, to which SPS-HARQ-ACK is postponed, does not overlap with the DL symbol. That is, the slot, to which SPS-HARQ-ACK is postponed, need not be determined as the target slot. Note that the control for a case in which PUCCHs overlap with each other between CCs affects the operation of SPS-HARQ-ACK postponement as shown above. That is, the target slot is changed by the control for a case in which PUCCHs overlap with each other between CCs.

Option F)

The control for a case in which PUCCHs overlap with each other between CCs may be applied at each step of increasing the K1 value due to delay. For example, in a stage before determining the target slot, in a case where a PUCCH resource in a slot, to which SPS-HARQ-ACK is postponed, overlaps with PUCCH in another cell, the terminal 20 may determine that the case is an error case.

Option G)

Note that in each of option D)-option G), the PUCCH of another cell may be or need not be limited to the PUCCH for HARQ-ACK according to a dynamic PUCCH cell indication.

Note that in each of option D)-option G), the overlap may be defined by the definition shown in 1)-4) below. Note that the slot/subslot may mean a slot and/or a subslot.

- 1) A PUCCH resource in one cell overlaps with a PUCCH resource in another cell.
- 2) A slot/subslot of PUCCH in one cell overlaps with a slot/subslot of PUCCH in another cell.
- 3) A PUCCH slot/subslot in one cell overlaps with a PUCCH resource in another cell.
- 4) Slots/subslots of PUCCH in two or more different cells overlap with the same slot/subslot in a certain cell.

Note that the control for a case in which PUCCHs overlap with each other between CCs may be the control that does not allow overlap or the control that does not transmit PUCCH of a certain cell.

FIG. 6 is a drawing illustrating an example (2) of HARQ-ACK postponement in an embodiment of the present invention. In the S-slot, shown by the dashed line in FIG. 6, an overlap of PUCCH resources occurs when the SPS-HARQ-ACK is postponed.

In a case where option D) above and option E) above are applied in FIG. 6, the above-described S-slot is not determined as the target slot, and thus, the overlap does not affect the operation of SPS-HARQ-ACK postponement.

In a case where option F) above is applied in FIG. 6, the case may be determined as an error case.

In a case where option G) above is applied in FIG. 6, the SPS-HARQ-ACK postponement may be stopped.

FIG. 7 is a drawing illustrating an example (3) of HARQ-ACK postponement in an embodiment of the present invention. In the U-slot, shown by the dashed line in FIG. 7, an overlap of PUCCH resources occurs when the SPS-HARQ-ACK is postponed.

In a case where option D) above is applied in FIG. 6, the U-slot above is determined as the target slot to which SPS-HARQ-ACK is postponed. For example, the control for a case in which PUCCHs overlap with each other between CCs, such as a control of determining as an error case and a control of not transmitting the SPS-HARQ-ACK, may be performed with respect to the PUCCH of the SPS-HARQ-ACK and the PUCCH of the HARQ-ACK according to the dynamic PUCCH cell indication.

In a case where option E) above is applied in FIG. 6, the U-slot above will not be the target slot and the SPS-HARQ-ACK may be further delayed.

Which of the above-described options is to be performed may be configured by an upper layer parameter. In addition, which of the above-described options is to be performed may be reported as a UE capability. Further, which of the above-described options is to be performed may be specified by technical specifications. Further, which of the above-described options is to be performed may be determined based on the configuration according to an upper layer parameter and on the UE capability report. Also, in the embodiments described above, a slot may be replaced with a sub-slot.

Note that the UE capabilities of 1)-6) shown below may be defined.

- 1) Whether PUCCH carrier switching is supported or not
- 2) Whether semi-static PUCCH carrier switching is supported or not
- 3) Whether SPS HARQ-ACK deferring is supported or not
- 4) Whether PUCCH carrier switching and SPS HARQ-ACK postponement/deferring are both supported or not
- 5) Whether PUCCH carrier switching and SPS HARQ-ACK postponement, to which the maximum postponement period is configured, are both supported or not
- 6) Whether SPS HARQ-ACK postponement, to which control for a case in which PUCCHs overlap with each other between CCs is applied, is supported or not

According to the above embodiment, the terminal 20 can perform SPS-HARQ-ACK postponement, to which the maximum postponement period is configured, and can determine the resource for transmitting the SPS-HARQ-ACK. Also, the terminal 20 can determine the resource for transmitting the SPS-HARQ-ACK by taking into account the control for a case in which PUCCHs overlap with each other between CCs.

That is, it is possible to determine a procedure of transmitting information related to retransmission control in a wireless communication system.

Apparatus Configuration

Next, a functional configuration example of the base station 10 and the terminal 20 for performing the processes and operations described above will be described. The base station 10 and terminal 20 include functions for implementing the embodiments described above. It should be noted, however, that each of the base stations 10 and the terminal 20 may include only proposed functions in one of the embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the base station 10. As shown in FIG. 8, the base station 10 includes a transmission unit 110, a reception unit 120, a configuration unit 130, and a control unit 140. The functional structure illustrated in FIG. 8 is merely an example. Functional divisions and names of functional units may be anything as long as operations according to an embodiment of the present invention can be performed. The transmission unit 110 and the reception unit 120 may be referred to as a communication unit.

The transmission unit 110 includes a function for generating a signal to be transmitted to the terminal 20 side and transmitting the signal wirelessly. The reception unit 120 includes a function for receiving various signals transmitted from the terminal 20 and acquiring, for example, information of a higher layer from the received signals. Further, the transmission unit 110 has a function of transmitting NR-PSS, NR-SSS, NR-PBCH, DL/UL control signals, the DL data, and the like, to the terminal 20. In addition, the transmission unit 110 transmits configuration information, or the like, described in the embodiment.

The configuration unit 130 stores preset configuration information and various configuration information items to be transmitted to the terminal 20 in a storage apparatus and reads the preset configuration information from the storage apparatus if necessary. The control unit 140 controls the entire base station 10 including, for example, control of signal transmission and reception. Note the functional unit related to signal transmission in the control unit 140 may be included in the transmission unit 110, and the functional unit related to signal reception in the control unit 140 may be included in the reception unit 120. Further, the transmission unit 110 and the reception unit 120 may be referred to as a transmitter and a receiver, respectively.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the terminal 20. As shown in FIG. 9, the terminal 20 includes a transmission unit 210, a reception unit 220, a configuration unit 230, and a control unit 240. The functional structure illustrated in FIG. 9 is merely an example. Functional divisions and names of functional units may be anything as long as operations according to an embodiment of the present invention can be performed. The transmission unit 210 and the reception unit 220 may be referred to as a communication unit.

The transmission unit 210 generates a transmission signal from transmission data and transmits the transmission signal wirelessly. The reception unit 220 receives various signals wirelessly and obtains upper layer signals from the received physical layer signals. In addition, the transmission unit 210 transmits a HARQ-ACK, and the reception unit 220 receives configuration information described in the embodiment.

The configuration unit 230 stores, in a storage device, various configuration information items received from the base station 10 via the reception unit 220, and reads them from the storage device if necessary. In addition, the configuration unit 230 stores pre-configured configuration information. The control unit 240 controls the entire terminal 20 including control related to signal transmission and reception. Note the functional unit related to signal transmission in the control unit 240 may be included in the transmission unit 210, and the functional unit related to signal reception in the control unit 240 may be included in the reception unit 220. Further, the transmission unit 210 and the reception unit 220 may be referred to as a transmitter and a receiver, respectively.

Hardware Structure

In the above functional structure diagrams used for describing an embodiment of the present invention (FIG. 8 and FIG. 9), functional unit blocks are shown. The functional blocks (function units) are realized by a freely-selected combination of hardware and/or software. Further, realizing means of each functional block is not limited in particular. In other words, each functional block may be realized by a single apparatus in which multiple elements are coupled physically and/or logically, or may be realized by two or more apparatuses that are physically and/or logically separated and are physically and/or logically connected (e. g., wired and/or wireless). The functional blocks may be realized by combining the above-described one or more apparatuses with software.

Functions include, but are not limited to, judging, determining, calculating, processing, deriving, investigating, searching, checking, receiving, transmitting, outputting, accessing, resolving, selecting, establishing, comparing, assuming, expecting, and deeming; broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, and assigning, etc. For example, a functional block (component) that functions to transmit is called a transmitting unit or a transmitter. In either case, as described above, the implementation method is not particularly limited.

For example, the base station 10, terminal 20, etc., according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer for processing the radio communication method of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is a drawing illustrating an example of hardware structures of the base station 10 and terminal 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Each of the above-described base station 10 and the terminal 20 may be physically a computer device including a processor 1001, a storage device 1002, an auxiliary storage device 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, etc.

It should be noted that, in the descriptions below, the term “apparatus” can be read as a circuit, a device, a unit, etc. The hardware structures of the base station 10 and terminal 20 may include one or more of each of the devices illustrated in the figure, or may not include some devices.

Each function in the base station 10 and terminal 20 is realized by having the processor 1001 perform an operation by reading predetermined software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 1001 and the storage device 1002, and by controlling communication by the communication device 1004 and controlling at least one of reading and writing of data in the storage device 1002 and the auxiliary storage device 1003.

The processor 1001 controls the entire computer by, for example, controlling the operating system. The processor 1001 may include a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with a peripheral apparatus, a control apparatus, a calculation apparatus, a register, etc. For example, the above-described control unit 140, control unit 240, and the like, may be implemented by the processor 1001.

Further, the processor 1001 reads out onto the storage device 1002 a program (program code), a software module, or data from the auxiliary storage device 1003 and/or the communication device 1004, and performs various processes according to the program, the software module, or the data. As the program, a program is used that causes the computer to perform at least a part of operations according to an embodiment of the present invention described above. For example, the control unit 140 of the base station 10 illustrated in FIG. 8 may be realized by control programs that are stored in the storage device 1002 and are executed by the processor 1001. Further, for example, the control unit 240 of the terminal 20 illustrated in FIG. 9 may be realized by control programs that are stored in the storage device 1002 and are executed by the processor 1001. The various processes have been described to be performed by a single processor 1001. However, the processes may be performed by two or more processors 1001 simultaneously or sequentially. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. It should be noted that the program may be transmitted from a network via a telecommunication line.

The storage device 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may include at least one of a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The storage device 1002 may be referred to as a register, a cache, a main memory, etc. The storage device 1002 is capable of storing programs (program codes), software modules, or the like, that are executable for performing communication processes according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The auxiliary storage device 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may include at least one of, for example, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto optical disk (e.g., compact disk, digital versatile disk, Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., card, stick, key drive), a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magnetic strip, etc. The above recording medium may be a database including the storage device 1002 and/or the auxiliary storage device 1003, a server, or any other appropriate medium.

The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmission and reception device) for communicating with computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and may be referred to as a network device, a network controller, a network card, a communication module, etc. The communication device 1004 may comprise a high frequency switch, duplexer, filter, frequency synthesizer, or the like, for example, to implement at least one of a frequency division duplex (FDD) and a time division duplex (TDD). For example, the transmitting/receiving antenna, the amplifier unit, the transmitting/receiving unit, the transmission line interface, and the like, may be implemented by the communication device 1004. The transmitting/receiving unit may be physically or logically divided into a transmitting unit and a receiving unit.

The input device 1005 is an input device that receives an external input (e.g., keyboard, mouse, microphone, switch, button, sensor). The output device 1006 is an output device that outputs something to the outside (e.g., display, speaker, LED lamp). It should be noted that the input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into a single device (e.g., touch panel).

Further, the apparatuses including the processor 1001, the storage device 1002, etc., are connected to each other via the bus 1007 used for communicating information. The bus 1007 may include a single bus, or may include different buses between the apparatuses.

Further, each of the base station 10 and terminal 20 may include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), etc., and a part or all of each functional block may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented by at least one of the above hardware elements.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a configuration of a vehicle 2001. As shown in FIG. 11, the vehicle 2001 includes a drive unit 2002, a steering unit 2003, an accelerator pedal 2004, a brake pedal 2005, a shift lever 2006, a front wheel 2007, a rear wheel 2008, an axle 2009, an electronic control unit 2010, various sensors 2021-2029, an information service unit 2012, and a communication module 2013. The aspects/embodiments described in the present disclosure may be applied to a communication device mounted in the vehicle 2001, and may be applied to, for example, the communication module 2013.

The drive unit 2002 may include, for example, an engine, a motor, and a hybrid of an engine and a motor. The steering unit 2003 includes at least a steering wheel (also called a handle) and is configured to steer at least one of the front wheel and the rear wheel, based on the operation of the steering wheel operated by the user.

The electronic control unit 2010 includes a microprocessor 2031, a memory (ROM, RAM) 2032, and a communication port (IO port) 2033. The electronic control unit 2010 receives signals from the various sensors 2021-2029 provided in the vehicle 2001. The electronic control unit 2010 may be referred to as an ECU (Electronic control unit).

The signals from the various sensors 2021 to 2029 include a current signal from a current sensor 2021 which senses the current of the motor, a front or rear wheel rotation signal acquired by a revolution sensor 2022, a front or rear wheel pneumatic signal acquired by a pneumatic sensor 2023, a vehicle speed signal acquired by a vehicle speed sensor 2024, an acceleration signal acquired by an acceleration sensor 2025, an accelerator pedal stepped-in signal acquired by an accelerator pedal sensor 2029, a brake pedal stepped-in signal acquired by a brake pedal sensor 2026, an operation signal of a shift lever acquired by a shift lever sensor 2027, and a detection signal, acquired by the object detection sensor 2028, for detecting an obstacle, a vehicle, a pedestrian, and the like.

The information service unit 2012 includes various devices for providing various kinds of information such as driving information, traffic information, and entertainment information, including a car navigation system, an audio system, a speaker, a television, and a radio, and one or more ECUs controlling these devices. The information service unit 2012 provides various types of multimedia information and multimedia services to the occupants of the vehicle 2001 by using information obtained from the external device through the communication module 2013 or the like.

A driving support system unit 2030 includes: various devices for providing functions of preventing accidents and reducing driver' s operating loads such as a millimeter wave radar, a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), a camera, a positioning locator (e.g., GNSS, etc.), map information (e.g., high definition (HD) map, autonomous vehicle (AV) map, etc.), a gyro system (e.g., IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), INS (Inertial Navigation System), etc.), an AI (Artificial Intelligence) chip, an AI processor; and one or more ECUs controlling these devices. In addition, the driving support system unit 2030 transmits and receives various types of information via the communication module 2013 to realize a driving support function or an autonomous driving function.

The communication module 2013 may communicate with the microprocessor 2031 and components of the vehicle 2001 via a communication port. For example, the communication module 2013 transmits and receives data via a communication port 2033, to and from the drive unit 2002, the steering unit 2003, the accelerator pedal 2004, the brake pedal 2005, the shift lever 2006, the front wheel 2007, the rear wheel 2008, the axle 2009, the microprocessor 2031 and the memory (ROM, RAM) 2032 in the electronic control unit 2010, and sensors 2021-29 provided in the vehicle 2001.

The communication module 2013 is a communication device that can be controlled by the microprocessor 2031 of the electronic control unit 2010 and that is capable of communicating with external devices. For example, various kinds of information are transmitted to and received from external devices through radio communication. The communication module 2013 may be internal to or external to the electronic control unit 2010. The external devices may include, for example, a base station, a mobile station, or the like.

The communication module 2013 transmits a current signal, which is input to the electronic control unit 2010 from the current sensor, to the external devices through radio communication. In addition, the communication module 2013 also transmits, to the external devices through radio communication, the front or rear wheel rotation signal acquired by the revolution sensor 2022, the front or rear wheel pneumatic signal acquired by the pneumatic sensor 2023, the vehicle speed signal acquired by the vehicle speed sensor 2024, the acceleration signal acquired by the acceleration sensor 2025, the accelerator pedal stepped-in signal acquired by the accelerator pedal sensor 2029, the brake pedal stepped-in signal acquired by the brake pedal sensor 2026, the operation signal of the shift lever acquired by the shift lever sensor 2027, and the detection signal, acquired by the object detection sensor 2028, for detecting an obstacle, a vehicle, a pedestrian, and the like, that are input to the electronic control unit 2010.

The communication module 2013 receives various types of information (traffic information, signal information, inter-vehicle information, etc.) transmitted from the external devices and displays the received information on the information service unit 2012 provided in the vehicle 2001. In addition, the communication module 2013 stores the various types of information received from the external devices in the memory 2032 available to the microprocessor 2031. Based on the information stored in the memory 2032, the microprocessor 2031 may control the drive unit 2002, the steering unit 2003, the accelerator pedal 2004, the brake pedal 2005, the shift lever 2006, the front wheel 2007, the rear wheel 2008, the axle 2009, the sensors 2021-2029, etc., mounted in vehicle 2001.

Embodiment Summary

As described above, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a terminal is provided. The terminal includes a reception unit configured to receive downlink data scheduled by SPS (Semi-Persistent Scheduling); a control unit configured to perform postponement of HARQ-ACK (Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest-ACKnowledgement) corresponding to the downlink data, a maximum postponement period being configured to the postponement; and a transmission unit configured to transmit an uplink control channel that carries uplink control information including the HARQ-ACK via a resource determined based on the postponement of the HARQ-ACK, wherein the control unit performs carrier switching of the uplink control channel as necessary, and determines whether the postponement of the HARQ-ACK exceeds the maximum postponement period, based on a subcarrier spacing of: a cell before performing the carrier switching; a cell after performing the carrier switching; or a cell indicated by a semi-static cell pattern.

With the above configuration, the terminal 20 can perform SPS-HARQ-ACK postponement, to which the maximum postponement period is configured, and can determine the resource for transmitting the SPS-HARQ-ACK. Also, the terminal 20 can determine the resource for transmitting the SPS-HARQ-ACK by taking into account the control for a case in which PUCCHs overlap with each other between CCs. That is, it is possible to determine a procedure of transmitting information related to retransmission control in a wireless communication system.

The control unit may further postpone the HARQ-ACK in a case where the postponement of the HARQ-ACK does not exceed the maximum postponement period. With the above configuration, the terminal 20 can perform SPS-HARQ-ACK postponement, to which the maximum postponement period is configured, and can determine the resource for transmitting the SPS-HARQ-ACK.

The control unit may stop the postponement of the HARQ-ACK in a case where the postponement of the HARQ-ACK exceeds the maximum postponement period. With the above configuration, the terminal 20 can perform SPS-HARQ-ACK postponement, to which the maximum postponement period is configured, and can determine the resource for transmitting the SPS-HARQ-ACK.

After determining the postponement of the HARQ-ACK, the control unit may perform control for a case in which the uplink control channel overlaps with an uplink control channel in another cell. With the above configuration, the terminal 20 can perform SPS-HARQ-ACK postponement, to which the maximum postponement period is configured, and can determine the resource for transmitting the SPS-HARQ-ACK. Also, the terminal 20 can determine the resource for transmitting the SPS-HARQ-ACK by taking into account the control for a case in which PUCCHs overlap with each other between CCs.

The control unit may determine the postponement of the HARQ-ACK by applying control for a case in which the uplink control channel overlaps with an uplink control channel in another cell. With the above configuration, the terminal 20 can perform SPS-HARQ-ACK postponement, to which the maximum postponement period is configured, and can determine the resource for transmitting the SPS-HARQ-ACK. Also, the terminal 20 can determine the resource for transmitting the SPS-HARQ-ACK by taking into account the control for a case in which PUCCHs overlap with each other between CCs.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a communication method performed by a terminal is provided. The communication method includes: receiving downlink data scheduled by SPS (Semi-Persistent Scheduling); performing postponement of HARQ-ACK (Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest-ACKnowledgement) corresponding to the downlink data, a maximum postponement period being configured to the postponement; transmitting an uplink control channel that carries uplink control information including the HARQ-ACK via a resource determined based on the postponement of the HARQ-ACK; performing carrier switching of the uplink control channel as necessary; and determining whether the postponement of the HARQ-ACK exceeds the maximum postponement period, based on a subcarrier spacing of: a cell before performing the carrier switching; a cell after performing the carrier switching; or a cell indicated by a semi-static cell pattern.

Supplement of Embodiment

As described above, one or more embodiments have been described. The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. A person skilled in the art should understand that there are various modifications, variations, alternatives, replacements, etc., of the embodiments. In order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, specific values have been used in the description. However, unless otherwise specified, those values are merely examples and other appropriate values may be used. The division of the described items may not be essential to the present invention. The things that have been described in two or more items may be used in a combination if necessary, and the thing that has been described in one item may be appropriately applied to another item (as long as there is no contradiction). Boundaries of functional units or processing units in the functional block diagrams do not necessarily correspond to the boundaries of physical parts. Operations of multiple functional units may be physically performed by a single part, or an operation of a single functional unit may be physically performed by multiple parts. The order of sequences and flowcharts described in an embodiment of the present invention may be changed as long as there is no contradiction. For the sake of description convenience, the base station 10 and the terminal 20 have been described by using functional block diagrams. However, the apparatuses may be realized by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. The software executed by a processor included in the base station 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention and the software executed by a processor included in the terminal 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be stored in a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a read only memory (ROM), an EPROM, an EEPROM, a register, a hard disk (HDD), a removable disk, a CD-ROM, a database, a server, or any other appropriate recording medium.

Further, information indication may be performed not only by methods described in an aspect/embodiment of the present specification but also a method other than those described in an aspect/embodiment of the present specification. For example, the information indication may be performed by physical layer signaling (e.g., DCI (Downlink Control Information), UCI (Uplink Control Information)), upper layer signaling (e.g., RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling, MAC (Medium Access Control) signaling, broadcast information (MIB (Master Information Block), SIB (System Information Block))), other signals, or combinations thereof. Further, RRC signaling may be referred to as an RRC message. The RRC signaling may be, for example, an RRC connection setup message, an RRC connection reconfiguration message, or the like.

Each aspect/embodiment described in the present disclosure may be applied to at least one of a system using LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G (4th generation mobile communication system), 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), xth generation mobile communication system (xG) (xG (x is, for example, an integer, decimal)), FRA (Future Radio Access), NR (new Radio), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, UWB (Ultra-WideBand), Bluetooth (registered trademark), and other appropriate systems, and a next generation system enhanced, modified, developed, or defined therefrom. Further, multiple systems may also be applied in combination (e.g., at least one of LTE and LTE-A combined with 5G, etc.).

The order of processing steps, sequences, flowcharts or the like of an aspect/embodiment described in the present specification may be changed as long as there is no contradiction. For example, in a method described in the present specification, elements of various steps are presented in an exemplary order. The order is not limited to the presented specific order.

The particular operations, that are supposed to be performed by the base station 10 in the present specification, may be performed by an upper node in some cases. In a network including one or more network nodes including the base station 10, it is apparent that various operations performed for communicating with the terminal 20 may be performed by the base station 10 and/or another network node other than the base station 10 (for example, but not limited to, MME or S-GW). According to the above, a case is described in which there is a single network node other than the base station 10. However, a combination of multiple other network nodes may be considered (e.g., MME and S-GW).

The information or signals described in this disclosure may be output from a higher layer (or lower layer) to a lower layer (or higher layer). The information or signals may be input or output through multiple network nodes.

The input or output information may be stored in a specific location (e.g., memory) or managed using management tables. The input or output information may be overwritten, updated, or added. The information that has been output may be deleted. The information that has been input may be transmitted to another apparatus.

A decision or a determination in an embodiment of the present invention may be realized by a value (0 or 1) represented by one bit, by a boolean value (true or false), or by comparison of numerical values (e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

Software should be broadly interpreted to mean, whether referred to as software, firmware, middle-ware, microcode, hardware description language, or any other name, instructions, instruction sets, codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, executable threads, procedures, functions, and the like.

Further, software, instructions, information, and the like may be transmitted and received via a transmission medium. For example, in the case where software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using at least one of wired line technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL) and wireless technologies (infrared, microwave, etc.), at least one of these wired line technologies and wireless technologies is included within the definition of the transmission medium.

Information, a signal, or the like, described in the present specification may be represented by using any one of various different technologies. For example, data, an instruction, a command, information, a signal, a bit, a symbol, a chip, or the like, described throughout the present application, may be represented by a voltage, an electric current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields, a magnetic particle, optical fields, a photon, or a combination thereof.

It should be noted that a term used in the present specification and/or a term required for understanding of the present specification may be replaced by a term having the same or similar meaning. For example, a channel and/or a symbol may be a signal (signaling). Further, a signal may be a message. Further, the component carrier (CC) may be referred to as a carrier frequency, cell, frequency carrier, or the like.

As used in the present disclosure, the terms “system” and “network” are used interchangeably.

Further, the information, parameters, and the like, described in the present disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, relative values from predetermined values, or they may be expressed using corresponding different information. For example, a radio resource may be what is indicated by an index.

The names used for the parameters described above are not used as limitations. Further, the mathematical equations using these parameters may differ from those explicitly disclosed in the present disclosure. Because the various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH) and information elements may be identified by any suitable names, the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not used as limitations.

In the present disclosure, the terms “BS: Base Station”, “Radio Base Station”, “Base Station”, “Fixed Station”, “NodeB”, “eNodeB (eNB) ”, “gNodeB (gNB) ”, “Access Point”, “Transmission Point”, “Reception Point”, “Transmission/Reception Point”, “Cell”, “Sector”, “Cell Group”, “Carrier”, “Component Carrier”, and the like, may be used interchangeably. The base station may be referred to as a macro-cell, a small cell, a femtocell, a picocell and the like.

The base station may accommodate (provide) one or more (e.g., three) cells. In the case where the base station accommodates a plurality of cells, the entire coverage area of the base station may be divided into a plurality of smaller areas, each smaller area may provide communication services by means of a base station subsystem (e.g., an indoor small base station or a remote Radio Head (RRH)).

The term “cell” or “sector” refers to a part or all of the coverage area of at least one of the base station and base station subsystem that provides communication services at the coverage.

In the present disclosure, terms such as “mobile station (MS) ”, “user terminal”, “user equipment (UE) ”, “terminal”, and the like, may be used interchangeably.

There is a case in which the mobile station may be referred to, by a person skilled in the art, as a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communication device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other appropriate terms.

At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be referred to as a transmission apparatus, reception apparatus, communication apparatus, or the like. The at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be a device mounted on the mobile station, the mobile station itself, or the like. The mobile station may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned mobile body (e.g., a drone, an automated vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned). At least one of the base station and the mobile station may include an apparatus that does not necessarily move during communication operations. For example, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be an IoT (Internet of Things) device such as a sensor.

Further, the base station in the present disclosure may be read as the user terminal. For example, each aspect/embodiment of the present disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communications between the base station and the user terminal are replaced by communications between multiple terminals 20 (e.g., may be referred to as D2D (Device-to-Device), V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything), etc.). In this case, the function of the base station 10 described above may be provided by the terminal 20. Further, the phrases “up” and “down” may also be replaced by the phrases corresponding to terminal-to-terminal communication (e.g., “side”). For example, an uplink channel, a downlink channel, or the like, may be read as a sidelink channel.

Further, the user terminal in the present disclosure may be read as the base station. In this case, the function of the user terminal described above may be provided by the base station.

The term “determining” used in the present specification may include various actions or operations. The “determining” may include, for example, a case in which “judging”, “calculating”, “computing”, “processing”, “deriving”, “investigating”, “looking up, search, inquiry” (e.g., looking up a table, database, or other data structures), or “ascertaining” is deemed as “determining”. Further, the “determining” may include a case in which “receiving” (e.g., receiving information), “transmitting” (e.g., transmitting information), “inputting”, “outputting”, or “accessing” (e.g., accessing data in a memory) is deemed as “determining”. Further, the “determining” may include a case in which “resolving”, “selecting”, “choosing”, “establishing”, “comparing”, or the like is deemed as “determining”. In other words, the “determining” may include a case in which a certain action or operation is deemed as “determining”. Further, “decision” may be read as “assuming,” “expecting,” or “considering,” etc.

The term “connected” or “coupled” or any variation thereof means any direct or indirect connection or connection between two or more elements and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between the two elements “connected” or “coupled” with each other. The coupling or connection between the elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, “connection” may be read as “access”. As used in the present disclosure, the two elements may be thought of as being “connected” or “coupled” to each other using at least one of the one or more wires, cables, and printed electrical connections and, as a number of non-limiting and non-inclusive examples, electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency region, the microwave region, and the light (both visible and invisible) region.

The reference signal may be abbreviated as RS or may be referred to as a pilot, depending on the applied standards.

The description “based on” used in the present specification does not mean “based on only” unless otherwise specifically noted. In other words, the phrase “base on” means both “based on only” and “based on at least”.

Any reference to an element using terms such as “first” or “second” as used in the present disclosure does not generally limit the amount or the order of those elements. These terms may be used in the present disclosure as a convenient way to distinguish between two or more elements. Therefore, references to the first and second elements do not imply that only two elements may be employed or that the first element must in some way precede the second element.

“Means” included in the configuration of each of the above apparatuses may be replaced by “parts,” “circuits,” “devices,” etc.

In the case where the terms “include”, “including” and variations thereof are used in the present disclosure, these terms are intended to be comprehensive in the same way as the term “comprising”. Further, the term “or” used in the present specification is not intended to be an “exclusive or”.

A radio frame may include one or more frames in the time domain. Each of the one or more frames in the time domain may be referred to as a subframe. The subframe may further include one or more slots in the time domain. The subframe may be a fixed length of time (e.g., 1 ms) independent from the numerology.

The numerology may be a communication parameter that is applied to at least one of the transmission and reception of a signal or channel. The numerology may indicate at least one of, for example, SubCarrier Spacing (SCS), bandwidth, symbol length, cyclic prefix length, transmission time interval (TTI), number of symbols per TTI, radio frame configuration, specific filtering processing performed by the transceiver in the frequency domain, and specific windowing processing performed by the transceiver in the time domain.

The slot may include one or more symbols in the time domain, such as OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) symbols, SC-FDMA (Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access) symbols, and the like. The slot may be a time unit based on the numerology.

The slot may include a plurality of mini slots. Each mini slot may include one or more symbols in the time domain. Further, the mini slot may be referred to as a sub-slot. The mini slot may include fewer symbols than the slot. PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted in time units greater than a mini slot may be referred to as PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type A. PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted using a mini slot may be referred to as PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type B.

A radio frame, a subframe, a slot, a mini slot and a symbol all represent time units for transmitting signals. Different terms may be used for referring to a radio frame, a subframe, a slot, a mini slot and a symbol, respectively.

For example, one subframe may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI), multiple consecutive subframes may be referred to as a TTI, and one slot or one mini slot may be referred to as a TTI. In other words, at least one of the subframe and the TTI may be a subframe (1 ms) in an existing LTE, a period shorter than 1 ms (e.g., 1-13 symbols), or a period longer than 1 ms. It should be noted that the unit representing the TTI may be referred to as a slot, a mini slot, or the like, rather than a subframe.

The TTI refers to, for example, the minimum time unit for scheduling in wireless communications. For example, in an LTE system, a base station schedules each terminal 20 to allocate radio resources (such as frequency bandwidth, transmission power, etc. that can be used in each terminal 20) in TTI units. The definition of TTI is not limited to the above.

The TTI may be a transmission time unit, such as a channel-encoded data packet (transport block), code block, codeword, or the like, or may be a processing unit, such as scheduling or link adaptation. It should be noted that, when a TTI is provided, the time interval (e.g., the number of symbols) during which the transport block, code block, codeword, or the like, is actually mapped may be shorter than the TTI.

It should be noted that, when one slot or one mini slot is referred to as a TTI, one or more TTIs (i.e., one or more slots or one or more mini slots) may be the minimum time unit for scheduling. Further, the number of slots (the number of mini slots) constituting the minimum time unit of the scheduling may be controlled.

A TTI having a time length of 1 ms may be referred to as a normal TTI (a TTI in LTE Rel. 8-12), a long TTI, a normal subframe, a long subframe, a slot, and the like. A TTI that is shorter than the normal TTI may be referred to as a shortened TTI, a short TTI, a partial TTI (or fractional TTI), a shortened subframe, a short subframe, a mini slot, a subslot, a slot, or the like.

It should be noted that the long TTI (e.g., normal TTI, subframe, etc.,) may be replaced with a TTI having a time length exceeding 1 ms, and the short TTI (e.g., shortened TTI, etc.,) may be replaced with a TTI having a TTI length less than the TTI length of the long TTI and a TTI length greater than 1 ms.

A resource block (RB) is a time domain and frequency domain resource allocation unit and may include one or more consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be the same, regardless of the numerology, and may be 12, for example. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be determined on the basis of numerology.

Further, the time domain of an RB may include one or more symbols, which may be 1 slot, 1 mini slot, 1 subframe, or 1 TTI in length. One TTI, one subframe, etc., may each include one or more resource blocks.

It should be noted that one or more RBs may be referred to as physical resource blocks (PRBs, Physical RBs), sub-carrier groups (SCGs), resource element groups (REGs), PRB pairs, RB pairs, and the like.

Further, a resource block may include one or more resource elements (RE). For example, 1 RE may be a radio resource area of one sub-carrier and one symbol.

The bandwidth part (BWP) (which may also be referred to as a partial bandwidth, etc.) may represent a subset of consecutive common RBs (common resource blocks) for a given numerology in a carrier. Here, a common RB may be identified by an index of RB relative to the common reference point of the carrier. A PRB may be defined in a BWP and may be numbered within the BWP.

BWP may include BWP for UL (UL BWP) and BWP for DL (DL BWP). For a terminal 20, one or more BWPs may be configured in one carrier.

At least one of the configured BWPs may be activated, and the terminal 20 may assume that the terminal 20 will not transmit and receive signals/channels outside the activated BWP. It should be noted that the terms “cell” and “carrier” in this disclosure may be replaced by “BWP.”

Structures of a radio frame, a subframe, a slot, a mini slot, and a symbol described above are exemplary only. For example, the number of subframes included in a radio frame, the number of slots per subframe or radio frame, the number of mini slots included in a slot, the number of symbols and RBs included in a slot or mini slot, the number of subcarriers included in an RB, the number of symbols in a TTI, the symbol length, the cyclic prefix (CP) length, and the like, may be changed in various ways.

In the present disclosure, where an article is added by translation, for example “a”, “an”, and “the”, the disclosure may include that the noun following these articles is plural.

In this disclosure, the term “A and B are different” may mean “A and B are different from each other.” It should be noted that the term “A and B are different” may mean “A and B are different from C.” Terms such as “separated” or “combined” may be interpreted in the same way as the above-described “different”.

Each aspect/embodiment described in the present specification may be used independently, may be used in combination, or may be used by switching according to operations. Further, notification (transmission/reporting) of predetermined information (e.g., notification (transmission/reporting) of “X”) is not limited to an explicit notification (transmission/reporting), and may be performed by an implicit notification (transmission/reporting) (e.g., by not performing notification (transmission/reporting) of the predetermined information).

As described above, the present invention has been described in detail. It is apparent to a person skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to one or more embodiments of the present invention described in the present specification. Modifications, alternatives, replacements, etc., of the present invention may be possible without departing from the subject matter and the scope of the present invention defined by the descriptions of claims. Therefore, the descriptions of the present specification are for illustrative purposes only, and are not intended to be limitations to the present invention.

The present application is based on and claims priority to Japanese patent application No. 2021-185299 filed on Nov. 12, 2021, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS

- 10 Base station
- 110 Transmission unit
- 120 Reception unit
- 130 Configuration unit
- 140 Control unit
- 20 Terminal
- 210 Transmission unit
- 220 Reception unit
- 230 Configuration unit
- 240 Control unit
- 30 Core network
- 1001 Processor
- 1002 Storage device
- 1003 Auxiliary storage device
- 1004 Communication device
- 1005 Input device
- 1006 Output device
- 2001 Vehicle
- 2002 Drive unit
- 2003 Steering unit
- 2004 Accelerator pedal
- 2005 Brake pedal
- 2006 Shift lever
- 2007 Front wheel
- 2008 Rear wheel
- 2009 Axle
- 2010 Electronic control unit
- 2012 Information service unit
- 2013 Communication module
- 2021 Current sensor
- 2022 Revolution sensor
- 2023 Pneumatic sensor
- 2024 Vehicle speed sensor
- 2025 Acceleration sensor
- 2026 Brake pedal sensor
- 2027 Shift lever sensor
- 2028 Object detection sensor
- 2029 Accelerator pedal sensor
- 2030 Driving support system unit
- 2031 Microprocessor
- 2032 Memory (ROM, RAM)
- 2033 Communication port (IO port)

TERMINAL AND COMMUNICATION METHOD

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