Joint sounding and measurement for access links and side links

Abstract

In one aspect, the present disclosure includes a method, an apparatus, and a computer-readable medium for wireless communication, for configuring a reference signal (RS) resource set corresponding to a combination of multiple access link (AL) RSs and multiple side link (SL) RSs; jointly transmitting the RS resource set by a relay node and a network entity to trigger the network to configure one or more quasi-co-location (QCL) parameters for AL and relay SL; and using the configured one or more QCL parameters for AL and relay SL by the relay node and the network entity to communicate on the downlink channel or the uplink channel.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 882,428, entitled “Joint Sounding and Measurement for Access Link and Sidelink,” filed on August 2, 2019, and U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 943,417, entitled “Joint Sounding and Measurement for Access Link and Sidelink,” the entire contents of which are assigned to the assignee of this application and are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. background Technical Field

[0004] The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems and, more particularly, to joint configuration of channel sounding and measurement.

[0005] introduction

[0006] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcast. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

[0007] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide common protocols that enable different wireless devices to communicate at city, country, region, and even global levels. An example telecommunication standard is 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is a part of the continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to meet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security, scalability (e.g., with the Internet of Things (IoT)) and other requirements. 5GNR includes services associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC). Some aspects of 5G NR can be based on 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) standards. There is a need for further improvements to 5G NR technology. These improvements may also be applicable to other multiple access technologies and telecommunication standards that employ these technologies.

[0008] Some wireless communication networks include device-to-device (D2D) communications, such as, but not limited to, vehicle-based communication devices, which may communicate from vehicle to vehicle (V2V), vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) (e.g., from a vehicle-based communication device to a road infrastructure node), vehicle to network (V2N) (e.g., from a vehicle-based communication device to one or more network nodes, such as a base station), combinations thereof, and / or with other devices, which may be collectively referred to as vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications. In such systems, synchronization mechanisms (e.g., timing and / or frequency synchronization) for user equipment (UE) may be based on a connection to a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) or a cellular base station. Alternatively, in the absence of a connection to a GNSS or base station, synchronization for the UE may require sidelink synchronization with another UE that is already synchronized with the GNSS or base station.

[0009] Overview

[0010] A brief summary of one or more aspects is given below to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of all conceived aspects, and is neither intended to identify the key or critical elements of all aspects nor to define the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description that will be presented later.

[0011] According to an example, a wireless communication method is provided. The method includes configuring a reference signal (RS) resource set corresponding to a combination of multiple access link (AL) RSs and multiple side link (SL) RSs; jointly transmitting the RS resource set by a relay node and a network entity to trigger the network to configure one or more quasi co-location (QCL) parameters for the AL and the relay SL; and using the configured one or more QCL parameters for the AL and the relay SL by the relay node and the network entity to communicate the downlink channel or the uplink channel.

[0012] In a further example, a device for wireless communication is provided, the device including a transceiver, a memory configured to store instructions, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory. This aspect may include one or more processors configured to execute instructions to configure an RS resource set corresponding to a combination of multiple AL RSs and multiple side link SL RSs; jointly transmitting the RS resource set through a relay node and a network entity to trigger the network to configure one or more quasi co-location (QCL) parameters for AL and relay SL; and using the configured one or more QCL parameters for the AL and the relay SL to communicate the downlink channel or the uplink channel through the relay node and the network entity.

[0013] On the other hand, a device for wireless communication is provided, comprising a device for configuring an RS resource set corresponding to a combination of multiple AL RSs and multiple SL RSs; a device for jointly transmitting the RS resource set through a relay node and a network entity to trigger the network to configure one or more quasi-co-location (QCL) parameters for the AL and the relay SL; and a device for communicating a downlink channel or an uplink channel with the network entity through the relay node using the configured one or more QCL parameters for the AL and the relay SL.

[0014] On the other hand, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, comprising one or more processors executing code for configuring an RS resource set corresponding to a combination of multiple AL RSs and multiple SL RSs; code for jointly transmitting the RS resource set through a relay node and a network entity to trigger the network to configure one or more QCL parameters for the AL and the relay SL; and code for communicating a downlink channel or an uplink channel through the relay node and the network entity using the configured one or more QCL parameters for the AL and the relay SL.

[0015] In another example, a method for wireless communication includes: configuring, by a relay node, an RS resource set corresponding to a combination of multiple AL RSs and multiple SL RSs; transmitting, by the relay node, the RS resource set to trigger a network to configure one or more QCL parameters for the AL and the relay SL; and communicating, by the relay node, a downlink channel or an uplink channel with a network entity using the configured one or more QCL parameters for the AL and the relay SL.

[0016] In a further example, a device for wireless communication is provided, the device including a transceiver, a memory configured to store instructions, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory. This aspect may include one or more processors configured to execute instructions to configure an RS resource set corresponding to a combination of multiple AL RSs and multiple SLRSs through a relay node; transmit the RS resource set through the relay node to trigger the network to configure one or more quasi co-location (QCL) parameters for AL and relay SL; and communicate a downlink channel or an uplink channel with the network entity through the relay node using the configured one or more QCL parameters for the AL and the relay SL.

[0017] On the other hand, a device for wireless communication is provided, comprising a device for configuring an RS resource set corresponding to a combination of multiple ALRS and multiple SL RSs through a relay node; a device for transmitting the RS resource set through the relay node to trigger the network to configure one or more QCL parameters for AL and relay SL; and a device for communicating with a network entity on a downlink channel or an uplink channel through the relay node using the configured one or more QCL parameters for the AL and the relay SL.

[0018] On the other hand, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, comprising one or more processors executing code for configuring, through a relay node, a reference signal (RS) resource set corresponding to a combination of multiple AL RSs and multiple SL RSs; code for transmitting, through the relay node, the RS resource set to trigger the network to configure one or more QCL parameters for the AL and the relay SL; and code for communicating, through the relay node, with a network entity on the downlink channel or the uplink channel using the configured one or more QCL parameters for the AL and the relay SL.

[0019] In another example, a wireless communication method is provided, including configuring, by a network entity, an RS resource set corresponding to a combination of multiple AL RSs and multiple SL RSs; transmitting, by the network entity, the RS resource set to trigger the network to configure one or more QCL parameters for the AL and the relay SL; and communicating, by the network entity, with a relay node on a downlink channel or an uplink channel using the configured one or more QCL parameters for the AL and the relay SL.

[0020] In a further example, an apparatus for wireless communication is provided, the apparatus comprising a transceiver, a memory configured to store instructions, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory. This aspect may include the one or more processors being configured to execute instructions to configure an RS resource set corresponding to a combination of a plurality of AL RSs and a plurality of SLRSs through a network entity; transmitting the RS resource set through the network entity to trigger the network to configure one or more QCL parameters for AL and relay SL; and communicating a downlink channel or an uplink channel with a relay node through the network entity using the configured one or more QCL parameters for the AL and the relay SL.

[0021] On the other hand, a device for wireless communication is provided, comprising a device for configuring, through a network entity, an RS resource set corresponding to a combination of multiple AL RSs and multiple SL RSs; a device for transmitting, through the network entity, the RS resource set to trigger the network to configure one or more QCL parameters for AL and relay SL; and a device for communicating with a relay node on a downlink channel or an uplink channel using the configured one or more QCL parameters for the AL and the relay SL through the network entity.

[0022] On the other hand, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, comprising one or more processors executing code for configuring, through a network entity, an RS resource set corresponding to a combination of multiple AL RSs and multiple SL RSs; code for transmitting, through the network entity, the RS resource set to trigger the network to configure one or more QCL parameters for the AL and the relay SL; and code for communicating, through the network entity, with a relay node on the downlink channel or the uplink channel using the configured one or more QCL parameters for the AL and the relay SL.

[0023] In a further example, an apparatus for wireless communication is provided, the apparatus comprising a transceiver, a memory configured to store instructions, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory. The one or more processors are configured to execute instructions to perform the operations of the methods described herein. On the other hand, a device for wireless communication is provided, the device comprising a device for performing the operations of the methods described herein. On the other hand, a computer-readable medium is provided, the computer-readable medium comprising code that can be executed by one or more processors to perform the operations of the methods described herein.

[0024] To achieve the foregoing and related ends, the one or more aspects include the features fully described below and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of the one or more aspects. However, these features are merely indicative of several of the various ways in which the principles of the various aspects may be employed, and this description is intended to cover all such aspects and their equivalents. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and an access network.

[0027] Figure 2A , 2B , 2C, and 2D are diagrams illustrating examples of a first 5G / NR frame, a DL channel within a 5G / NR subframe, a second 5G / NR frame, and a UL channel within a 5G / NR subframe, respectively.

[0028] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating a frame structure and resources used for sidelink communication.

[0029] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a base station and a user equipment (UE) in an access network.

[0030] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of communicating sidelink capability information between a UE and one or more network entities.

[0031] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of communication between at least two UEs via a side link.

[0032] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of aperiodic downlink sounding between at least two UEs communicating via a sidelink.

[0033] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of downlink sounding with synchronized RS transmission between at least two UEs communicating via a side link.

[0034] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example aperiodic uplink sounding between at least two UEs communicating via a sidelink.

[0035] Fig.10 The present invention is a flow chart of a wireless communication method in which a UE communicates sidelink capability information.

[0036] Fig.11 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a UE in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0037] Fig.12 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a base station in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0038] Detailed Description

[0039] The detailed description set forth below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. This detailed description includes specific details to provide a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid diluting such concepts.

[0040] Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methods will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0041] As an example, an element, or any part of an element, or any combination of elements may be implemented as a "processing system" including one or more processors. Examples of processors include: microprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs), application processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, systems on chip (SoCs), baseband processors, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gating logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform various functionalities described throughout this disclosure. One or more processors in a processing system may execute software. Software may be broadly interpreted as meaning instructions, instruction sets, codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subroutines, software components, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether it is described in software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or other terms.

[0042] Accordingly, in one or more example embodiments, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, these functions may be stored or encoded on a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Computer-readable media include computer storage media. Storage media may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. As an example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, a combination of computer-readable media of the above types, or any other medium that may be used to store computer-executable code in the form of instructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer.

[0043] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and access network 100. The wireless communication system (also referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) includes a base station 102, a UE 104, an evolved packet core (EPC) 160, and another core network 190 (e.g., a 5G core (5GC)).

[0044] In certain aspects, the UE 104 may be configured to operate a configuration component 198 to transmit a reference signal (RS) resource set to the network entity 102. Accordingly, in certain aspects, the network entity 102 (e.g., a base station) may be configured to operate a configuration component 199 to receive the RS resource set from the UE 104. As mentioned, the second UE 104a (e.g., a relay node) may configure an RS resource set corresponding to a combination of multiple access link (AL) RSs and multiple side link (SL) RSs. The UE 104 and the network entity 102 may jointly transmit the RS resource set to trigger the network to configure one or more quasi co-location (QCL) parameters for the AL and the relay SL; and use the configured one or more QCL parameters for the AL and the relay SL to communicate a downlink channel or an uplink channel.

[0045] Base stations 102 may include macro cells (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cells (low-power cellular base stations). Macro cells include base stations. Small cells include femto cells, pico cells, and micro cells.

[0046] Base stations 102 configured for 4G LTE (collectively referred to as Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)) may interface with EPC 160 via a backhaul link 132 (e.g., an S1 interface). Base stations 102 configured for 5G NR (collectively referred to as Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN)) may interface with core network 190 via a backhaul link 184. Base stations 102 may perform one or more of the following functions, among other functions: delivery of user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, radio access network (RAN) sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of alert messages. Base stations 102 may communicate with each other over a backhaul link 134 (eg, an X2 interface) directly or indirectly (eg, through EPC 160 or core network 190). Backhaul link 134 may be wired or wireless.

[0047] Base stations 102 may communicate wirelessly with UE 104. Each base station 102 may provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. There may be overlapping geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell 102' may have a coverage area 110' that overlaps with the coverage area 110 of one or more macro base stations 102. A network including both small cells and macro cells may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home evolved B node (eNB) (HeNB), which may provide services to a restricted group referred to as a closed subscriber group (CSG). A communication link 120 between a base station 102 and a UE 104 may include an uplink (UL) (also referred to as a reverse link) transmission from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or a downlink (DL) (also referred to as a forward link) transmission from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming and / or transmit diversity. These communication links may be through one or more carriers. The base station 102 / UE 104 may use spectrum of up to Y MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400 MHz, etc.) bandwidth for each carrier allocated in the carrier aggregation for a total of up to Yx MHz (x component carriers) for transmission in each direction. The carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to DL compared to UL). The component carriers may include a primary component carrier and one or more secondary component carriers. The primary component carrier may be referred to as a primary cell (PCell) and the secondary component carrier may be referred to as a secondary cell (SCell).

[0048] Some UEs 104 may communicate with each other using a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158. The D2D communication link 158 may use DL / UL WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). The D2D communication may be through a variety of wireless D2D communication systems, such as, for example, FlashLinQ, WiMedia, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR.

[0049] The wireless communication system may further include a Wi-Fi access point (AP) 150 communicating with a Wi-Fi station (STA) 152 in the 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum via a communication link 154. When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the STA 152 / AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) prior to communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0050] The small cell 102' may operate in a licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed spectrum, the small cell 102' may employ NR and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum as used by the Wi-Fi AP 150. The small cell 102' employing NR in the unlicensed spectrum may boost the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network.

[0051] Whether it is a small cell 105' or a large cell (e.g., a macro base station), the base station 105 may include an eNB, a gB node (gNB), or other types of base stations. Some base stations (such as gNB 180) can operate one or more frequency bands within the electromagnetic spectrum. The electromagnetic spectrum is usually subdivided into various classes, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency ranges designated FR1 (410MHz–7.125GHz) and FR2 (24.25GHz–52.6GHz). The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6GHz, FR1 is generally referred to (interchangeably) as a "sub-6GHz" band in various documents and articles. Similar naming issues sometimes arise with respect to FR2, although unlike the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30GHz–300GHz) identified as a "millimeter wave" band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), FR2 is generally (interchangeably) referred to as a millimeter wave band in various documents and articles.

[0052] In view of the above aspects, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if used herein, the term "sub-6 GHz" and the like may broadly refer to frequencies that may be less than 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if used herein, the term "millimeter wave" and the like may broadly refer to frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, or may be within the EHF band. However, communications using mmW radio frequency bands have extremely high path loss and short range. The mmW base station 180 can utilize beamforming 182 with the UE 110 to compensate for the high path loss and short range.

[0053] Base station 180 may transmit beamformed signals to UE 104 in one or more transmit directions 182'. UE 104 may receive beamformed signals from base station 180 in one or more receive directions 182". UE 104 may also transmit beamformed signals to base station 180 in one or more transmit directions. Base station 180 may receive beamformed signals from UE 104 in one or more receive directions. Base station 180 / UE 104 may perform beam training to determine the best receive direction and transmit direction for each of base station 180 / UE 104. The transmit direction and receive direction of base station 180 may be the same or may be different. The transmit direction and receive direction of UE 104 may be the same or may be different.

[0054] The EPC 160 may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, other MMEs 164, a serving gateway 166, a multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) gateway 168, a broadcast multicast service center (BM-SC) 170, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway 172. The MME 162 may be in communication with a home subscriber server (HSS) 174. The MME 162 is a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the EPC 160. In general, the MME 162 provides bearer and connection management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are delivered through the serving gateway 166, which itself is connected to the PDN gateway 172. The PDN gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. The PDN gateway 172 and the BM-SC 170 are connected to IP services 176. The IP services 176 may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), a PS streaming service, and / or other IP services. The BM-SC 170 may provide functionality for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. The BM-SC 170 may serve as an entry point for content provider MBMS transmissions, may be used to authorize and initiate MBMS bearer services within a public land mobile network (PLMN), and may be used to schedule MBMS transmissions. The MBMS gateway 168 may be used to distribute MBMS traffic to base stations 102 belonging to a multicast broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) area that broadcasts a specific service, and may be responsible for session management (start / stop) and for collecting eMBMS-related charging information.

[0055] The core network 190 may include an access and mobility management function (AMF) 192, other AMFs 193, a session management function (SMF) 194, and a user plane function (UPF) 195. AMF 192 may be in communication with a unified data management (UDM) 196. AMF 192 is a control node that handles signaling between UE 104 and the core network 190. In general, AMF 192 provides QoS flow and session management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are delivered through UPF 195. UPF 195 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. UPF 195 is connected to IP services 197. IP services 197 may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), a PS streaming service, and / or other IP services.

[0056] A base station may also be referred to as a gNB, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), an access point, a base transceiver station, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), a transmission reception point (TRP), or some other suitable term. The base station 102 provides an access point to the EPC 160 or the core network 190 for the UE 104. Examples of UE 104 include a cellular phone, a smart phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., an MP3 player), a camera, a game console, a tablet device, a smart device, a wearable device, a vehicle, an electric meter, a gas pump, a large or small kitchen appliance, a health care device, an implant, a sensor / actuator, a display, or any other similar functional device. Some UEs 104 may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., parking meters, gas pumps, ovens, vehicles, heart monitors, etc.). UE 104 may also be referred to as a station, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless 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 suitable terminology.

[0057] Figures 2A-2D Included are diagrams of example frame structures and resources that may be utilized in communications between a base station 102 and a UE 104a / b as described in the present disclosure. Figure 2A 200 is a diagram illustrating an example of a first subframe within a 5G / NR frame structure. Figure 2B FIG230 is a diagram illustrating an example of DL channels within a 5G / NR subframe. Figure 2C 250 is a diagram illustrating an example of a second subframe within a 5G / NR frame structure. Figure 2D280 is a diagram illustrating an example of an UL channel within a 5G / NR subframe. The 5G / NR frame structure may be FDD, where for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within that subcarrier set are dedicated to either DL or UL, or TDD, where for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within that subcarrier set are dedicated to both DL and UL. Figure 2A , 2C In the example provided, the 5G / NR frame structure is assumed to be TDD, where subframe 4 is configured with slot format 28 (mostly DL) and subframe 3 is configured with slot format 34 (mostly UL), where D is DL, U is UL, and X is for flexible use between DL / UL. Although subframes 3 and 4 are shown as having slot formats 34 and 28, respectively, any particular subframe may be configured with any of the various available slot formats 0-61. Slot formats 0 and 1 are full DL and full UL, respectively. Other slot formats 2-61 include a mixture of DL, UL, and flexible symbols. The UE is configured with a slot format (dynamically configured by DL control information (DCI) or semi-statically / statically configured by radio resource control (RRC) signaling) through the received slot format indicator (SFI). Note that the following description also applies to the 5G / NR frame structure for TDD.

[0058] Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels. A frame (10ms) may be divided into 10 equally sized subframes (1ms). Each subframe may include one or more time slots. A subframe may also include mini-slots, which may include 7, 4, or 2 symbols. Each time slot may include 7 or 14 symbols, depending on the time slot configuration. For time slot configuration 0, each time slot may include 14 symbols, and for time slot configuration 1, each time slot may include 7 symbols. The symbols on the DL may be cyclic prefix (CP) OFDM (CP-OFDM) symbols. The symbols on the UL may be CP-OFDM symbols (for high throughput scenarios) or discrete Fourier transform (DFT) spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols (also known as single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) symbols) (for power-limited scenarios; limited to single stream transmission). The number of time slots within a subframe is based on the time slot configuration and parameter design. For slot configuration 0, different parameter designs μ0 to 5 allow 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 slots per subframe, respectively. For slot configuration 1, different parameter designs 0 to 2 allow 2, 4, and 8 slots per subframe, respectively. Accordingly, for slot configuration 0 and parameter design μ, there are 14 symbols per slot and 2 per subframe. μ time slots. The subcarrier spacing and symbol length / duration vary depending on parameter design. The subcarrier spacing can be equal to 2 μ*15kHz, where μ is parameter design 0 to 5. Thus, parameter design μ=0 has a subcarrier spacing of 15kHz, while parameter design μ=5 has a subcarrier spacing of 480kHz. The symbol length / duration is inversely related to the subcarrier spacing. Figure 2A-2D An example of slot configuration 0 with 14 symbols per slot and parameter design μ=0 is provided, with 1 slot per subframe. The subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz and the symbol duration is about 66.7 μs.

[0059] A resource grid may be used to represent the frame structure. Each slot includes a resource block (RB) (also called a physical RB (PRB)) extending over 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid is divided into a number of resource elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0060] like Figure 2A As explained in the illustration, some REs carry reference (pilot) signals (RS) for UEs. RSs may include demodulation RSs (DM-RSs) for channel estimation at the UE (indicated as R for a particular configuration). x , where 100x is the port number, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) and a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). RS may also include a beam measurement RS (BRS), a beam refinement RS (BRRS), and a phase tracking RS (PT-RS).

[0061] Figure 2B An example of various DL channels within a subframe of an explanation frame. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries DCI within one or more control channel elements (CCEs), each CCE includes 9 RE groups (REGs), and each REG includes 4 consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol. The primary synchronization signal (PSS) may be within symbol 2 of a particular subframe of a frame. The PSS is used by the UE 104 to determine the subframe / symbol timing and the physical layer identity. The secondary synchronization signal (SSS) may be within symbol 4 of a particular subframe of a frame. The SSS is used by the UE to determine the physical layer cell identity group number and the radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE may determine the physical cell identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE may determine the location of the aforementioned DM-RS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying the master information block (MIB) may be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form a synchronization signal (SS) / PBCH block. The MIB provides the number of RBs in the system bandwidth, as well as the system frame number (SFN). The Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted through the PBCH (such as System Information Blocks (SIBs)), and paging messages.

[0062] As in Figure 2CAs illustrated in FIG, some REs carry DM-RSs for channel estimation at the base station (indicated as R for one particular configuration, but other DM-RS configurations are possible). The UE may transmit DM-RSs for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and DM-RSs for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The PUSCH DM-RS may be transmitted in the first or first two symbols of the PUSCH. The PUCCH DM-RS may be transmitted in different configurations depending on whether a short PUCCH or a long PUCCH is transmitted and on the specific PUCCH format used. Although not shown, the UE may transmit a sounding reference signal (SRS). The SRS may be used by the base station for channel quality estimation to enable frequency-dependent scheduling on the UL.

[0063] Figure 2D An example of various UL channels within a subframe of an illustration frame. The PUCCH may be located at a position as indicated in one configuration. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, channel quality indicator (CQI), precoding matrix indicator (PMI), rank indicator (RI), and HARQ ACK / NACK feedback. The PUSCH carries data and may additionally be used to carry a buffer status report (BSR), a power headroom report (PHR), and / or UCI.

[0064] Figure 3 290 is a diagram illustrating an example of a time slot structure that can be used within a 5G / NR frame structure (e.g., for sidelink communications). This is just one example, and other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels. A frame (10ms) may be divided into 10 equally sized subframes (1ms). Each subframe may include one or more time slots. A subframe may also include a mini-slot, which may include 7, 4, or 2 symbols. Each time slot may include 7 or 14 symbols, depending on the time slot configuration. For time slot configuration 0, each time slot may include 14 symbols, and for time slot configuration 1, each time slot may include 7 symbols.

[0065] A resource grid may be used to represent a frame structure. Each time slot may include a resource block (RB) (also referred to as a physical RB (PRB)) extending over 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid is divided into a plurality of resource elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme. Some REs may include control information, for example, together with a demodulation RS (DM-RS). The control information may include sidelink control information (SCI). In some implementations, at least one symbol at the beginning of a time slot may be used by a transmitting device to perform a listen-before-talk (LBT) operation before transmitting. In some implementations, at least one symbol may be used for feedback, as described herein. In some implementations, another symbol (e.g., at the end of a time slot) may be used as a gap. The gap enables the device to switch from operating as a transmitting device to preparing to operate as a receiving device (e.g., in a subsequent time slot). As illustrated, data may be transmitted in the remaining REs. The data may include the data messages described herein. The position of any of the SCI, feedback, and LBT symbols may be related to Figure 3 In some implementations, multiple time slots may be grouped together, and Figure 3 The example aggregation of two time slots in should not be considered limiting, as the number of aggregated time slots may also be greater than two. When time slots are aggregated, the codewords and / or gap codewords used for feedback may be different from the codewords and / or gap codewords used for feedback for a single time slot.

[0066] Figure 44 is a block diagram of a base station 410 in communication with a UE 450 in an access network, where the base station 410 may be an example implementation of the base station 102, and where the UE 450 may be an example implementation of the UE 104. In the DL, IP packets from the EPC 160 may be provided to a controller / processor 475. The controller / processor 475 implements layer 4 and layer 2 functionality. Layer 4 includes a radio resource control (RRC) layer, and layer 2 includes a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a media access control (MAC) layer. The controller / processor 475 provides RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., MIB, SIB), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-radio access technology (RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration of UE measurement reports; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (ciphering, cipher decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0067] The transmit (TX) processor 416 and the receive (RX) processor 470 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The TX processor 416 handles the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an OFDM subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator 474 may be used to determine the coding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived from a reference signal and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 450. Each spatial stream may then be provided to a different antenna 420 via a separate transmitter 418TX. Each transmitter 418TX may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0068] At the UE 450, each receiver 454RX receives a signal through its corresponding antenna 452. Each receiver 454RX recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to a receive (RX) processor 456. The TX processor 468 and the RX processor 456 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The RX processor 456 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial stream destined for the UE 450. If there are multiple spatial streams destined for the UE 450, they can be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by the RX processor 456. The RX processor 456 then transforms the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier and the reference signal are recovered and demodulated by determining the signal constellation point most likely transmitted by the base station 410. These soft decisions can be based on the channel estimates calculated by the channel estimator 458. These soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted on the physical channel by the base station 410. These data and control signals are then provided to the controller / processor 459 which implements layer 4 and layer 2 functionality.

[0069] The controller / processor 459 may be associated with a memory 460 that stores program codes and data. The memory 460 may be referred to as a computer readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 459 provides demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, cipher interpretation, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the EPC 160. The controller / processor 459 is also responsible for error detection using ACK and / or NACK protocols to support HARQ operations.

[0070] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with DL transmissions performed by the base station 410, the controller / processor 459 provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto TBs, demultiplexing MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0071] Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator 458 from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 410 may be used by a TX processor 468 to select the appropriate coding and modulation schemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the TX processor 468 may be provided to different antennas 452 via separate transmitters 454TX. Each transmitter 454TX may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0072] UL transmissions are processed at the base station 410 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver functionality at the UE 450. Each receiver 418RX receives a signal through its respective antenna 420. Each receiver 418RX recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to a RX processor 470.

[0073] The controller / processor 475 may be associated with a memory 476 that stores program codes and data. The memory 476 may be referred to as a computer readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 475 provides demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, cipher decoding, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 450. The IP packets from the controller / processor 475 may be provided to the EPC 160. The controller / processor 475 is also responsible for error detection using ACK and / or NACK protocols to support HARQ operations.

[0074] At least one of the TX processor 468, the RX processor 456, and the controller / processor 459 may be configured to perform operations related to Figure 1 198 combined aspects.

[0075] At least one of the TX processor 416, the RX processor 470, and the controller / processor 475 may be configured to perform operations related to Figure 1 199 combined aspects.

[0076] Reference Figure 5 and Figure 6 , aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to sidelink relay communication scenarios 500, 602, and / or 604 that include communication via a sidelink relay. As mentioned above, the sidelink communication generally includes any type of device-to-device (D2D) communication. D2D communication can be used in applications such as, but not limited to, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) or vehicle-to-any other device type communication, sensor networks, public safety-related communication services with limited infrastructure availability, or any other such type of application.

[0077] In the sidelink relay communication scenarios 500, 602 and / or 604, the sidelink assisted multi-link UE 104a can establish multi-link communications with one or more base stations 102a and / or 102b through two or more communication links, the two or more communication links including at least one direct link and at least one indirect link via a side link with the relay UE 104b. In the first case, such as in the sidelink relay communication scenarios 500 and 602, the sidelink assisted multi-link UE 104a directly communicates with the base station 102a via a first access link (AL) 120a, and indirectly communicates with the base station 102a via a side link 158a with the relay UE 104b, which has a second access link 120b with the base station 102a. Typically, an access link (such as access link 120a or 120b) is a communication link between a corresponding UE and a corresponding base station (or gNB), which may also be referred to as a Uu interface in 4G LTE and / or 5G NR technology. Typically, the side link 158a is a communication link between UEs, which may be referred to as a PC5 interface in 4G LTE and / or 5GNR technologies. In any case, the side link relay communication scenarios 500, 602, and / or 604 may be used for improved diversity (e.g., sending the same data through two links (access link and side link)), and / or improved throughput (e.g., sending different independent data through each link). In one implementation, in an mmW system, this type of multi-link communication may be achieved using multiple transmit / receive beams and multiple antenna panels (subarrays) between UEs and / or between a respective UE and a respective base station / gNB.

[0078] In addition, in a second scenario, such as in a sidelink relay communication scenario 604, a sidelink-assisted multi-link UE 104a can establish multiple links with multiple base stations 102a and 102b, which can be referred to as a multi-transmit receive point (multi-TRP) architecture. In this scenario, the sidelink-assisted multi-link UE 104a communicates directly with the base station 102a via a first access link (AL) 120a, and communicates indirectly with the base station 102b via a side link 158a with the relay UE 104b, which has a second access link 120b with the base station 102b. In addition, in this scenario, the base stations 102a and 102b can exchange communications via a backhaul link 134a.

[0079] In addition, in the sidelink relay communication scenarios 500, 602 and / or 604, the communications exchanged between the base station 102a / 102b, the relay UE 104b and the sidelink assisted multilink UE 104a may be uplink (UL) communications 502 and / or downlink (DL) communications 504 (see Figure 5 ).

[0080] Reference Figure 7 , Figure 8 and Fig. 9 , aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to sidelink relay communication scenarios 700, 800, and 900 including communication via a sidelink relay. As mentioned above, the sidelink communication generally includes any type of device-to-device (D2D) communication. D2D communication can be used in applications such as, but not limited to, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) or vehicle-to-any other device type communication, sensor networks, public safety-related communication services with limited infrastructure availability, or any other such type of application.

[0081] In the sidelink relay communication scenario 700, the base station may transmit an indication to trigger aperiodic DL RS transmission to UE1 and UE2. In one aspect, after the transmission of the indication, a trigger offset may occur where a period of time has passed between the AL RS resources (e.g., CSI-RS) being transmitted to UE1.

[0082] In some aspects, a processing offset occurs between the transmission of the AL RS resources and the SL RS resources. The SL RS resources may be transmitted from UE2 to UE1. As a result of receiving the SL RS resources, UE1 may transmit a CSI report to the base station.

[0083] In the sidelink relay communication scenario 800, the base station may transmit AL RS resources (e.g., CSI-RS), while UE2 simultaneously transmits SL RS resources to UE1. As a result of receiving these transmissions, UE1 may transmit a CSI report to the base station. Thus, the sidelink relay communication scenario 800 illustrates downlink sounding with simultaneous RS transmissions.

[0084] In the side link relay communication scenario 900, the base station may transmit an indication that triggers aperiodic UL RS transmission to each of UE1 and UE2. Upon receiving the indication, UE1 may wait for a period of time corresponding to the trigger offset before transmitting AL RS resources (e.g., SRS) to the base station. UE2 may wait for a processing offset after the AL RS resources before transmitting SL RS resources to the base station. Thus, the side link relay communication scenario 900 illustrates aperiodic uplink sounding.

[0085] Reference Fig.10 , the example method 1000 of wireless communication may be performed by a relay UE 104b.

[0086] At 1002, method 1000 includes configuring a reference signal (RS) resource set corresponding to a combination of a plurality of access link (AL) RSs and a plurality of side link (SL) RSs.

[0087] At 1004, method 1000 includes jointly transmitting, by the relay node and the network entity, a set of RS resources to trigger the network to configure one or more quasi co-location (QCL) parameters for the AL and the relay SL.

[0088] At 1006, method 1000 includes communicating, by the relay node and the network entity, a downlink channel or an uplink channel using the configured one or more QCL parameters for the AL and the relay SL.

[0089] In some implementations of method 1000, RS resources in the RS resource set are associated with at least one of an AL node index or a SL node index and with at least one of an AL RS resource index or a SL RS resource index associated with the node.

[0090] In some implementations of method 1000, multiple SL RSs are combined with multiple channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resources as AL RSs for downlink sounding.

[0091] In some implementations of the method 1000, multiple SL RSs are combined with multiple sounding reference signal (SRS) resources as AL RSs for uplink sounding.

[0092] In some implementations of method 1000, communicating the downlink channel or the uplink channel using one or more QCL parameters configured for the AL and the relay SL further includes: triggering transmission of the configured RS resource set, wherein there is a processing offset between each transmission of multiple AL RSs and multiple SL RSs associated with the RS resource set.

[0093] In some implementations of method 1000, communicating the downlink channel or the uplink channel using one or more QCL parameters configured for the AL and the relay SL further includes triggering transmission of multiple AL RSs and multiple SL RSs associated with the configured RS resource set on different panels without processing offset therebetween or simultaneously.

[0094] In some implementations of the method 1000, the one or more QCL parameters correspond to at least one of a joint transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state for communication on a downlink or a joint spatial relationship for communication on an uplink.

[0095] Reference Fig.11, an example of an implementation of UE 104a may include various components, some of which have been described above and are further described herein, including components such as one or more processors 1112 and memory 1116 in communication via one or more buses 1144 and a transceiver 1102, which may operate in conjunction with a modem 1140 and / or a configuration component 198 for communicating sidelink capability information.

[0096] In one aspect, the one or more processors 1112 may include the modem 1140 and / or may be part of the modem 1140 using one or more modem processors. Thus, various functions associated with the configuration component 198 may be included in the modem 1140 and / or the processor 1112, and in one aspect, may be performed by a single processor, while in other aspects, different ones of these functions may be performed by a combination of two or more different processors. For example, in one aspect, the one or more processors 1112 may include any one or any combination of the following: a modem processor, or a baseband processor, or a digital signal processor, or a transmit processor, or a receiver processor, or a transceiver processor associated with the transceiver 1102. In other aspects, some of the features of the one or more processors 1112 and / or the modem 1140 associated with the configuration component 198 may be performed by the transceiver 1102.

[0097] In addition, the memory 1116 can be configured to store local versions of data and / or applications 1175 used herein, or the communication component 1142 and / or one or more subcomponents thereof executed by the at least one processor 1112. The memory 1116 may include any type of computer-readable medium usable by a computer or at least one processor 1112, such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), tape, magnetic disk, optical disk, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and any combination thereof. In one aspect, for example, the memory 1116 can be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores one or more computer-executable codes defining the configuration component 198 and / or one or more subcomponents thereof and / or data associated therewith when the UE 104a is operating the at least one processor 1112 to execute the configuration component 198 and / or one or more subcomponents thereof.

[0098] The transceiver 1102 may include at least one receiver 1106 and at least one transmitter 1108. The receiver 1106 may include hardware for receiving data and / or software code executable by a processor, the code including instructions and stored in a memory (e.g., a computer-readable medium). The receiver 1106 may be, for example, a radio frequency (RF) receiver. In one aspect, the receiver 1106 may receive signals transmitted by at least one base station 102. In addition, the receiver 1106 may process such received signals and may also obtain measurements of the signals, such as but not limited to Ec / Io, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), reference signal received power (RSRP), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), and the like. The transmitter 1108 may include hardware and / or software executable by a processor for transmitting data, the code including instructions and stored in a memory (e.g., a computer-readable medium). Suitable examples of the transmitter 1108 may include, but are not limited to, an RF transmitter.

[0099] Also, in an aspect, the UE 104 may include an RF front end 1188 that may operate in communication with the one or more antennas 1165 and the transceiver 1102 for receiving and transmitting radio transmissions, such as wireless communications transmitted by at least one base station 102 or wireless transmissions transmitted by the UE 104. The RF front end 1188 may be connected to the one or more antennas 1165 and may include one or more low noise amplifiers (LNAs) 1190, one or more switches 1192, one or more power amplifiers (PAs) 1198, and one or more filters 1196 for transmitting and receiving RF signals.

[0100] In one aspect, the LNA 1190 can amplify the received signal to a desired output level. In one aspect, each LNA 1190 can have a specified minimum and maximum gain value. In one aspect, the RF front end 1188 can use one or more switches 1192 to select a particular LNA 1190 and its specified gain value based on the desired gain value for a particular application.

[0101] In addition, for example, one or more PAs 1198 can be used by the RF front end 1188 to amplify the signal to obtain an RF output at a desired output power level. In one aspect, each PA 1198 can have a specified minimum and maximum gain value. In one aspect, the RF front end 1188 can use one or more switches 1192 to select a particular PA 1198 and its specified gain value based on the desired gain value for a particular application.

[0102] In addition, for example, one or more filters 1196 can be used by the RF front end 1188 to filter the received signal to obtain the input RF signal. Similarly, in one aspect, for example, a corresponding filter 1196 can be used to filter the output from the corresponding PA 1198 to produce an output signal for transmission. In one aspect, each filter 1196 can be connected to a specific LNA 1190 and / or PA 1198. In one aspect, the RF front end 1188 can use one or more switches 1192 to select a transmit or receive path using a specified filter 1196, LNA 1190, and / or PA 1198 based on a configuration as specified by the transceiver 1102 and / or the processor 1112.

[0103] As such, the transceiver 1102 may be configured to transmit and receive wireless signals via the RF front end 1188 through one or more antennas 1165. In an aspect, the transceiver may be tuned to operate at a specified frequency so that the UE 104 may communicate, for example, with one or more base stations 102 or one or more cells associated with the one or more base stations 102. In an aspect, the modem 1140 may configure the transceiver 1102 to operate at a specified frequency and power level based on, for example, a UE configuration of the UE 104a and a communication protocol used by the modem 1140.

[0104] In one aspect, the modem 1140 may be a multi-band-multi-mode modem that may process digital data and communicate with the transceiver 1102 so that the digital data is sent and received using the transceiver 1102. In one aspect, the modem 1140 may be multi-band and configured to support multiple frequency bands for a specific communication protocol. In one aspect, the modem 1140 may be multi-mode and configured to support multiple operating networks and communication protocols. In one aspect, the modem 1140 may control one or more components (e.g., RF front end 1188, transceiver 1102) of the UE 104a to enable transmission and / or reception of signals from the network based on a specified modem configuration. In one aspect, the modem configuration may be based on the mode of the modem and the frequency band used. In another aspect, the modem configuration may be based on UE configuration information associated with the UE 104a, such as provided by the network during cell selection and / or cell reselection.

[0105] In an aspect, communication component 1142 can optionally include mode determining component 1152. For example, upon receiving an anchor signal in the initial bandwidth portion from network entity 102 that triggers an initial access procedure for UE 104a, mode determining component 1152 can determine to operate in wideband OFDM mode or wideband SC-FDM mode in response to receiving the anchor signal. Communication component 1142 can then transmit a capability report message to network entity 102 based on mode determining component 1152 determining whether to operate in wideband OFDM mode or wideband SC-FDM mode.

[0106] In one aspect, processor 1112 may correspond to combining Figure 4 Similarly, the memory 1116 may correspond to one or more of the processors described in conjunction with the UE. Figure 4 The memory described by the UE in.

[0107] Reference Fig.12 , an example of an implementation of a base station 122 (e.g., base station 122 as described above) may include various components, some of which have been described above, but also include components such as one or more processors 1212 and memory 1216 in communication via one or more buses 1244 and a transceiver 1202, which may operate in conjunction with a modem 1240 and a configuration component 199 for communicating sidelink capability information.

[0108] The transceiver 1202, receiver 1206, transmitter 1208, one or more processors 1212, memory 1216, application 1275, bus 1244, RF front end 1288, LNA 1290, switch 1292, filter 1296, PA 1298, and one or more antennas 1265 may be the same or similar to the corresponding components of the UE 124 as described above, but are configured or otherwise programmed for base station operation rather than UE operation.

[0109] In one aspect, processor(s) 1212 may correspond to a Figure 4 Similarly, the memory 1216 may correspond to one or more of the processors described in the base station in FIG. Figure 4 The memory described in the base station.

[0110] It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of each box in the disclosed process / flowchart is an illustration of an example approach. It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of each box in these process / flowcharts can be rearranged based on design preferences. In addition, some boxes can be combined or omitted. The attached method claims present the elements of various boxes in an exemplary order and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

[0111] The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be easily understood by those skilled in the art, and the universal principles defined in this article can be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown in this article, but should be granted the full scope consistent with the claims in language, wherein the singular reference to the elements is not intended to indicate that there is only one, but "one or more", unless otherwise stated. The term "exemplary" used herein means "used as an example, instance or explanation". Any implementation or aspect described as "exemplary" herein does not have to be interpreted as being superior to or superior to other aspects. Unless otherwise stated, the term "some / certain" refers to one or more. Combinations such as "at least one of A, B or C", "one or more of A, B or C", "at least one of A, B and C", "one or more of A, B and C", and "A, B, C or any combination thereof" include any combination of A, B and / or C, and may include multiple A, multiple B or multiple C. Specifically, combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C," "one or more of A, B, or C," "at least one of A, B, and C," "one or more of A, B, and C," and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" may be A only, B only, C only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, wherein any such combination may include one or more members of A, B, or C. All structural and functional equivalents of the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are currently or hereafter known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be covered by the claims. In addition, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public, regardless of whether such disclosure is expressly recorded in the claims. The terms "module," "mechanism," "element," "device," and the like may not be a substitute for the term "means." Thus, no claim element should be interpreted as a means-plus-function unless the element is explicitly stated using the phrase "means for..."

Claims

1. A communication method, comprising: configuring, by a relay node, a reference signal (RS) resource set associating a first resource with a second resource, wherein the first resource is scheduled for communicating at least one access link (AL) RS by or to a network entity, and wherein the second resource is scheduled for transmitting at least one side link (SL) RS by the relay node; transmitting, by the relay node, the at least one SL RS to a user equipment UE on the second resource to trigger a network to configure one or more quasi-co-located QCL parameters for use with an AL of the UE and a relay SL, wherein the one or more QCL parameters correspond to a joint spatial relationship between the network entity and the relay node; as well as At least one of a downlink channel or an uplink channel is communicated by the relay node using the one or more QCL parameters for the relay SL.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein: At least one of the first resource or the second resource in the RS resource set is associated with at least one of an AL node index or a SL node index and at least one of an AL RS resource index or a SL RS resource index associated with the relay node.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein: The at least one SL RS is associated with a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS, which is communicated by the network entity as the at least one AL RS for downlink sounding.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein: The at least one SL RS is associated with a sounding reference signal SRS, which is communicated to the network entity as the at least one AL RS for uplink sounding.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one SL RS comprises a group of multiple SL RSs, and the at least one AL RS comprises a group of multiple AL RSs, each AL RS having the first resource associated with the second resource of one of the SL RSs in the group of multiple SL RSs, and wherein transmitting the at least one SL RS associated with the at least one AL RS comprises transmitting the group of multiple SL RSs with a processing offset between the group of multiple SL RSs and the group of multiple AL RSs.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one SL RS comprises a group of multiple SL RSs, and the at least one AL RS comprises a group of multiple AL RSs, each AL RS having the first resource associated with the second resource of one of the SL RSs in the group of multiple SL RSs, and wherein transmitting the at least one SL RS associated with the at least one AL RS comprises transmitting the group of multiple SL RSs synchronously without a processing offset between the group of multiple SL RSs and the group of multiple AL RSs or on different panels.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein: The one or more QCL parameters further correspond to a joint transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state for communication on the downlink channel.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein: The joint TCI state triggers aperiodic uplink RS transmission between at least two user equipments UE.

9. A communication method, comprising: configuring, by a user equipment UE, a reference signal RS resource set associating a first resource with a second resource, wherein the first resource is scheduled for communicating at least one access link AL RS by or to a network entity, and wherein the second resource is scheduled for transmitting at least one side link SL RS by a relay node; transmitting, by the UE, channel state information (CSI) feedback based on the at least one AL RS received from the network entity on the first resource and the at least one SL RS received from the relay node on the second resource to trigger a network to configure one or more quasi-co-located QCL parameters for the AL and relay SL of the UE, wherein the one or more QCL parameters correspond to a joint spatial relationship between the network entity and the relay node; and A downlink channel or an uplink channel is communicated with at least one of the relay node or the network entity using the one or more QCL parameters for the AL and the relay SL with the UE.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein: At least one of the first resource or the second resource in the RS resource set is associated with at least one of an AL node index or a SL node index and at least one of an AL RS resource index or a SL RS resource index associated with the relay node.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein: The at least one SL RS is associated with a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS, and the CSI-RS serves as the at least one AL RS for downlink sounding.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one SL RS comprises a group of multiple SL RSs, and the at least one AL RS comprises a group of multiple AL RSs, each AL RS having the first resource associated with the second resource of one of the SL RSs in the group of multiple SL RSs, and further comprising receiving the group of multiple SL RSs with a processing offset between the group of multiple SL RSs and the group of multiple AL RSs.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one SL RS comprises a group of multiple SL RSs, and the at least one AL RS comprises a group of multiple AL RSs, each AL RS having the first resource associated with the second resource of one of the SL RSs in the group of multiple SL RSs, and further comprising synchronously receiving the group of multiple SL RSs without a processing offset between the group of multiple SL RSs and the group of multiple AL RSs or on different panels.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein: The one or more QCL parameters further correspond to a joint transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state communicated on the downlink channel.

15. A communication method, comprising: configuring, by a network entity, a reference signal (RS) resource set associating a first resource with a second resource, wherein the first resource is scheduled for communicating at least one access link (AL) RS by or to the network entity, and wherein the second resource is scheduled for transmitting at least one side link (SL) RS by a relay node; transmitting, by the network entity, the at least one AL RS to a user equipment UE and the relay node on the first resource to trigger network configuration of one or more quasi-co-located QCL parameters for use with an AL of the UE and a relay SL, wherein the one or more QCL parameters correspond to a joint spatial relationship between the network entity and the relay node; as well as At least one of a downlink channel or an uplink channel is communicated by the network entity using the one or more QCL parameters for the AL.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein: At least one of the first resource or the second resource in the RS resource set is associated with at least one of an AL node index or a SL node index and at least one of an AL RS resource index or a SL RS resource index associated with the relay node.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein: The at least one SL RS is associated with a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS, and the CSI-RS serves as the at least one AL RS for downlink sounding.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein: The at least one SL RS is associated with a sounding reference signal SRS, and the SRS serves as the at least one AL RS for uplink sounding.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the at least one SL RS comprises a group of multiple SL RSs, and the at least one AL RS comprises a group of multiple AL RSs, each AL RS having the first resource associated with the second resource of one of the SL RSs in the group of multiple SL RSs, and wherein transmitting the at least one SL RS associated with the at least one AL RS comprises transmitting the group of multiple SL RSs with a processing offset between the group of multiple SL RSs and the group of multiple AL RSs.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the at least one SL RS comprises a group of multiple SL RSs, and the at least one AL RS comprises a group of multiple AL RSs, each AL RS having the first resource associated with the second resource of one of the SL RSs in the group of multiple SL RSs, and wherein transmitting the at least one SL RS associated with the at least one AL RS comprises transmitting the group of multiple SL RSs synchronously without a processing offset between the group of multiple SL RSs and the group of multiple AL RSs or on different panels.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein: The one or more QCL parameters further correspond to a joint transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state for communication on the downlink channel.

22. An apparatus for communication, comprising: one or more memories configured to store instructions; as well as one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the instructions to: configuring a reference signal (RS) resource set associating a first resource with a second resource, wherein the first resource is scheduled for communicating at least one access link (AL) RS by or to a network entity, and wherein the second resource is scheduled for transmitting at least one side link (SL) RS by the apparatus; transmitting the at least one SL RS to a user equipment UE on the second resource to trigger a network to configure one or more quasi-co-located QCL parameters for use with an AL and a relay SL of the UE, wherein the one or more QCL parameters correspond to a joint spatial relationship between the network entity and the device; as well as At least one of a downlink channel or an uplink channel is communicated using the one or more QCL parameters for the relay SL.

23. The device of claim 22, wherein: At least one of the first resource or the second resource in the RS resource set is associated with at least one of an AL node index or a SL node index and at least one of an AL RS resource index or a SL RS resource index associated with the device.

24. The device of claim 22, wherein: The at least one SL RS is associated with a channel state information reference signal CSI-RS, and the CSI-RS serves as the at least one AL RS for downlink sounding.

25. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein: The at least one SL RS is associated with a sounding reference signal SRS, and the SRS serves as the at least one AL RS for uplink sounding.

26. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the at least one SL RS comprises a group of multiple SL RSs, and the at least one AL RS comprises a group of multiple AL RSs, each AL RS having the first resource associated with the second resource of one of the SL RSs in the group of multiple SL RSs, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to transmit the at least one SL RS associated with the AL RS with a processing offset between the group of multiple SL RSs and the group of multiple AL RSs.

27. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the at least one SL RS comprises a group of multiple SL RSs, and the at least one AL RS comprises a group of multiple AL RSs, each AL RS having the first resource associated with the second resource of one of the SL RSs in the group of multiple SL RSs, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to transmit the at least one SL RS associated with the AL RS synchronously on different panels without processing offset between the group of multiple SL RSs and the group of multiple AL RSs.

28. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein: The one or more QCL parameters further correspond to a joint transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state for communication on the downlink channel.

29. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein: The joint TCI state triggers aperiodic uplink RS transmission between at least two user equipments UE.

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