Sidelink Assisted Multilink Communication

Abstract

Various aspects described herein relate to sidelink-assisted virtual multilink. On the one hand, for example, a relay node may be used as an additional virtual antenna panel for a UE by receiving downlink data from a base station via an access link or uplink data from a UE via a side link. The relay node may forward downlink data to the UE via a side link, or forward uplink data to the base station via an access link. On the other hand, a base station may determine quasi-co-location (QCL) information and a grant of one or both of one or more access link resources or one or more side link resources for the UE. The base station may further transmit the QCL information and the grant to the UE on a downlink communication channel.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application SN 62 / 882,419, filed on August 2, 2019, entitled “SIDELINK ASSISTED MULTI-LINK COMMUNICATION,” and U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 942,342, filed on July 29, 2020, entitled “SIDELINK ASSISTED MULTI-LINK COMMUNICATION,” both of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0003] background

[0004] The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, and more particularly to sidelink assisted multi-link communications.

[0005] 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.

[0006] 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.

[0007] 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. Further improvements in multiple access and D2D technologies are expected.

[0008] Overview

[0009] 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.

[0010] According to an aspect, a method for wireless communication by a relay node is provided. The method may include receiving a grant of one or more access link resources or one or more side link resources from a base station or both. The method may further include receiving data from a base station on an access link using the one or more access link resources or receiving data from a user equipment (UE) on a side link using the one or more side link resources. The method may further include at least one of the following operations: when data is received from a base station on an access link using the one or more access link resources, forwarding the data to the UE using the one or more side link resources, or when data is received from the UE on a side link using the one or more side link resources, forwarding the data to the base station using the one or more access link resources.

[0011] In a further aspect, the present disclosure includes a device for wireless communication, including a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory. The at least one processor may be configured to receive a grant of one or both of one or more access link resources or one or more side link resources from a base station. The at least one processor may be configured to use the one or more access link resources to receive data from a base station on an access link or to use the one or more side link resources to receive data from a user equipment (UE) on a side link. The at least one processor may be configured to perform at least one of the following operations: when data is received from a base station on an access link using the one or more access link resources, the one or more side link resources are used to forward the data to the UE, or when data is received from the UE on a side link using the one or more side link resources, the one or more access link resources are used to forward the data to the base station.

[0012] In an additional aspect, the present disclosure includes a device for wireless communication, the device including a device for receiving a grant of one or more access link resources or one or more side link resources from a base station, or both. The device may further include a device for receiving data from a base station on an access link using the one or more access link resources or receiving data from a UE on a side link using the one or more side link resources. The method may further include a device for at least one of the following operations: when data is received from a base station on an access link using the one or more access link resources, forwarding the data to the UE using the one or more side link resources, or when data is received from a UE on a side link using the one or more side link resources, forwarding the data to the base station using the one or more access link resources.

[0013] On the other hand, the present disclosure includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code, which code, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to: receive a grant for one or both of one or more access link resources or one or more side link resources from a base station; receive data from the base station on an access link using the one or more access link resources or receive data from a UE on a side link using the one or more side link resources; and perform at least one of the following operations: when data is received from the base station on the access link using the one or more access link resources, forward the data to the UE using the one or more side link resources, or when data is received from the UE on the side link using the one or more side link resources, forward the data to the base station using the one or more access link resources.

[0014] According to another example, a method for wireless communication by a base station is provided. The method may include determining quasi co-location (QCL) information and a grant of one or both of one or more access link resources or one or more side link resources for a UE. The method may further include transmitting the QCL information and the grant to the UE on a downlink communication channel.

[0015] In a further aspect, the present disclosure includes an apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory. The at least one processor may be configured to determine, for a UE, QCL information and a grant of one or both of one or more access link resources or one or more side link resources. The at least one processor may be configured to transmit the QCL information and the grant to the UE on a downlink communication channel.

[0016] In an additional aspect, the present disclosure includes an apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising means for determining, for a UE, QCL information and a grant of one or both of one or more access link resources or one or more side link resources. The apparatus may further include means for transmitting the QCL information and the grant to the UE on a downlink communication channel.

[0017] In yet another aspect, the present disclosure includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to: determine QCL information and a grant of one or both of one or more access link resources or one or more side link resources for a UE; and transmit the QCL information and the grant to the UE on a downlink communication channel.

[0018] 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

[0020] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an example of a wireless communication system and an access network.

[0021] Figure 2A , 2B , 2C and 2D are used for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of an example of a first 5G / NR frame, a DL channel within a 5G / NR subframe, a second 5G / NR frame, and an UL channel within a 5G / NR subframe for communication between two communication nodes in a system.

[0022] Figure 3 is used for Figure 1 A diagram of an example frame structure and resources for sidelink communication between two communication nodes in a system.

[0023] Figure 4 yes Figure 1 Schematic diagram of an example of hardware components of two communicating nodes in a system.

[0024] Figure 5 is available in Figure 1 Schematic diagrams of two different examples of side link relay communication configurations operating in a system.

[0025] Figure 6 is available in Figure 1 Schematic diagrams of two different examples of multi-link communication configurations operating in a system.

[0026] Figure 7 is available in Figure 1 Schematic diagram of an example of a side link relay communication configuration operating in a system.

[0027] Figure 8 is available in Figure 1 Schematic diagram of an example resource allocation scheme operating in a system.

[0028] Fig. 9 is available in Figure 1 A flowchart of an example method of relaying wireless communications of a UE operating in a system.

[0029] Fig.10 is available in Figure 1 Flowchart of another example method of wireless communication for a base station operating in a system.

[0030] Fig.11 is a block diagram of an example UE according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0031] Fig.12 is a block diagram illustrating an example base station in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0032] Detailed Description

[0033] 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.

[0034] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to sidelink relay communications, which include a relay user equipment (UE) relaying communications from a base station to a UE on a sidelink, or from a UE to a base station via a relay UE. Device-to-device (D2D) connectivity may be supported in some wireless communication systems (e.g., long term evolution (LTE) and / or new radio (NR)). In some aspects, applications of D2D may include vehicle-to-everything (V2X), sensor networks, and public safety-related communication services with limited infrastructure availability. In addition, in some wireless communication systems (e.g., NR), multi-link communications may be supported to improve diversity and throughput. For example, in a millimeter wave (mmW) system, multiple transmit and / or receive beams and multiple antenna panels (e.g., subarrays) may be used to change multi-link communications.

[0035] In one example, one or both of the destination UE and the relay UE may further include a direct access link to the base station. Specifically, the access link may be a communication link between the UE and the base station (e.g., gNB), also referred to as a Uu interface (DL / UL) in LTE or NR. In addition, the side link may be a communication link between the UEs, also referred to as a ProSe5 (PC5) interface in LTE or NR. In some aspects, from the perspective of the UE, the topology of multi-link communication and side link relay may be similar. However, unlike some other destination UEs that may be able to establish multi-link communication with one or more base stations on two or more communication links, the destination UE may include a single antenna panel, thereby not supporting multi-link and / or multi-transmit / receive point (TRP) communication. In such a case, a side link relay may be used to implement virtual multi-link communication. That is, a relay node may be used as an additional virtual antenna panel for the destination UE. Such multi-link communication is desirable, for example, to increase diversity and / or increase throughput.

[0036] Specifically, the present disclosure relates to an enhancement of a sidelink relay communication scenario, and more specifically, to a sidelink-assisted multilink communication. The present disclosure provides an apparatus and method in which a relay UE can receive a grant of one or more access link resources or one or more side link resources from a base station or both. The relay UE can further use the one or more access link resources to receive data from a base station on an access link or use the one or more side link resources to receive data from a sidelink-assisted multilink UE on a side link. The relay UE can further perform at least one of the following operations: when data is received from a base station on an access link using the one or more access link resources, the one or more side link resources are used to forward the data to the UE, or when data is received from a UE on a side link using the one or more side link resources, the one or more access link resources are used to forward the data to the base station.

[0037] In another implementation, the present disclosure provides an apparatus and method in which a base station determines quasi co-location (QCL) information and a grant of one or both of one or more access link resources or one or more side link resources for a UE. The base station may further transmit the QCL information and the grant to the UE on a downlink communication channel.

[0038] These and other features of the present disclosure are described below with respect to Figure 1-11 Discuss in detail.

[0039] 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.

[0040] 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.

[0041] 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.

[0042] 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)).

[0043] In certain aspects, the relay UE 104b may include a relay communication component 121 for assisting in sidelink relay communications between the base station 102a and the destination UE 104a. The destination UE 104a may have a first access link 120a directly with the base station 102a, and a second communication link with the base station 102a via a side link 158a with the relay UE 104, which has a second access link 120b to the base station 102a. The relay communication component 121 of the relay UE 104b may include a virtual multilink component 123, which can be selectively configured to serve as an additional virtual antenna panel for the destination UE 104a by: receiving downlink data from the base station 102a via the second access link 120b or receiving uplink data from the sidelink-assisted multilink UE 104a via the side link 158a; and forwarding the downlink data to the destination UE 104a via the side link 158a or forwarding the uplink data to the base station 102a via the access link 120b.

[0044] Correspondingly, the destination UE 104a may include a UE multi-link communication component 125 configured to manage both communications with the relay UE 104b via the side link 158a and communications with the base station 102a via the access link 120a.

[0045] Similarly, the base station 102a may include a base station multi-link communications component 127 configured to manage both communications with the relay UE 104b via the access link 120b and communications with the sidelink-assisted multi-link UE 104a via the access link 120a.

[0046] Further details of these sidelink relay operating modes and operations performed by relay UE 104b, destination UE 104a, and base station 102a are discussed in greater detail below.

[0047] Base stations 102, including base station 102a, 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.

[0048] The base station 102 configured for 4G LTE (collectively referred to as the Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)) can interface with the EPC 160 via a backhaul link 132 (e.g., an S1 interface). The base station 102 configured for 5G NR (collectively referred to as the Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN)) can interface with the 5G core network 190 via a backhaul link 184. Among other functions, the base station 102 can also perform one or more of the following 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.

[0049] Base station 102 can communicate wirelessly with UE 104 (including relay UE 104b and sidelink assisted multi-link UE 104a). Each base station 102 can 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' overlapping 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). The communication link 120 (including access links 120a and 120b) between base station 102 and UE 104 may include an uplink (UL) (also referred to as a reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to base station 102 and / or a downlink (DL) (also referred to as a forward link) transmission from base station 102 to 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. For each carrier allocated in a carrier aggregation of up to Yx MHz (x component carriers) for transmission in each direction, the base station 102 / UE104 may use a spectrum of up to Y MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400 MHz, etc.) bandwidth. These 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 carrier 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).

[0050] Some UEs 104, such as relay UE 104b and destination UE 104a, may communicate with each other using a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158, an example of which includes a side link 158a. The D2D communication link 158 may use DL / UL WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or more side link channels, such as a physical side link broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical side link discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical side link shared channel (PSSCH), and a physical side link 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.

[0051] 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.

[0052] 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.

[0053] Whether a small cell 102' or a large cell (e.g., a macro base station), the base station 102 may include an eNB, a gB node (gNB), or another type of base station. Some base stations (such as gNB 180) may operate in traditional sub-6 GHz spectrum, millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies, and / or near mmW frequencies to communicate with UE 104. When gNB 180 operates in mmW or near mmW frequencies, gNB 180 may be referred to as a mmW base station. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 mm and 10 mm. The radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW can be extended down to 3 GHz frequencies with a wavelength of 100 mm. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, which is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communications using mmW / near mmW radio frequency bands (e.g., 3 GHz–300 GHz) have extremely high path loss and short range. The mmW base station 180 may utilize beamforming 182 with the UE 104 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range.

[0054] 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.

[0055] 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.

[0056] 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.

[0057] 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 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.

[0058] Figures 2A-2D Included is a diagram of example frame structures and resources that may be utilized in communications between base stations 102 and UEs 104 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 2D 280 is a diagram illustrating an example of UL channels within a 5G / NR subframe. The 5G / NR frame structure can 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 can be 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 , 2CIn 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.

[0059] 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. Figures 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.

[0060] 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.

[0061] 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).

[0062] 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.

[0063] 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.

[0064] 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.

[0065] Figure 3 300 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.

[0066] 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 aggregated together, and Figure 3 The example aggregation of two time slots in should not be considered as limiting, as the aggregated number of 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.

[0067] Figure 41 is a diagram of hardware components of example transmitter and / or receiver (tx / rx) nodes 410 and 450, which may be any combination of base station 102-UE 104 communications and / or UE 104-UE 104 communications in system 100. For example, such communications may include, but are not limited to, communications in an access network such as a base station transmitting to a relay UE, a relay UE transmitting to a destination UE, a destination UE transmitting to a relay UE, or a relay UE transmitting to a base station. In a specific example, tx / rx node 410 may be an example implementation of base station 102, and tx / rx node 450 may be an example implementation of UE 104. In the DL, IP packets from EPC 160 may be provided to controller / processor 475. 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 medium 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.

[0068] 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 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 tx / rx node 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.

[0069] At the tx / rx node 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 tx / rx node 450. If there are multiple spatial streams destined for the tx / rx node 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 symbol on each subcarrier and the reference signal are recovered and demodulated by determining the signal constellation point most likely to be transmitted by the tx / rx node 410. These soft decisions may be based on 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 tx / rx node 410. These data and control signals are then provided to the controller / processor 459 which implements layer 4 and layer 2 functionality.

[0070] 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.

[0071] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with DL transmissions performed by the tx / rx node 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.

[0072] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator 458 from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the tx / rx node 410 may be used by the 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.

[0073] UL transmissions are processed at the tx / rx node 410 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver functionality at the tx / rx node 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.

[0074] 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 tx / rx node 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.

[0075] In one implementation, 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 Various aspects of the combination of components 121, 125 and / or 127.

[0076] In one implementation, 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 Aspects of the combination of components 121, 125 and / or 127.

[0077] Reference Figure 5 , 6 7, aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to sidelink communication scenarios 500, 600, and 700 including relaying communications on a sidelink. 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.

[0078] In the sidelink relay communication scenario 500, the sidelink assisted multi-link UE 104a can establish multi-link communications with one or more base stations 102a and / or 102b on two or more communication links, including at least one direct link and at least one indirect link via a sidelink with a relay UE 104b. In a first scenario, such as in the sidelink relay communication scenarios 500 and 652, 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 102a via a sidelink 158a with the relay UE 104b, which has a second access link 120b with the base station 102a.

[0079] In general, 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. In general, a side link 158a is a communication link between each UE, which may be referred to as a PC5 interface in 4G LTE and / or 5G NR technology. In any case, the side link relay communication scenarios 500, 502 and / or 504 can 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 a mmW system, multiple transmit / receive beams and multiple antenna panels (subarrays) can be used to achieve this type of multi-link communication between each UE and / or between the corresponding UE and the corresponding base station / gNB.

[0080] In addition, in a second scenario, such as in a sidelink relay communication scenario 504, 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-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 a relay UE 104b, which has a second access link 120b with the base station 102b. Additionally, in this scenario, the base stations 102a and 102b can exchange communications on a backhaul link 134a.

[0081] In the multi-link communication scenario 600, the multi-link UE 104a may establish multi-link communications with one or more base stations 102a and / or 102b over two or more communication links including at least one access link to each of the base stations 102a and / or 102b. In a first scenario, such as in the multi-link communication scenarios 600 and 602, the multi-link UE 104a communicates directly with the base station 102a via a first access link (AL) 120a, and may communicate indirectly with the base station 102a via another access link (AL) including reflection paths 120b and 120c with reflection at radio clutter 606. For example, the clutter 606 may be any object (such as a building surface, a road sign, a ground surface, etc.) that is capable of reflecting / scattering radio waves. In general, an access link (such as access link 120a or 120b / c) 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. In any case, the multi-link communication scenarios 600, 602, and / or 604 may be used for improved diversity (eg, sending the same data on two separate links), and / or improved throughput (eg, sending different independent data on each link).

[0082] In addition, in a second scenario, such as in the multi-link communication scenario 604, the 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 multi-link UE 104a communicates directly with the base station 102a via a first access link (AL) 120a, and communicates directly with the base station 102b via another access link 120b. Additionally, in this scenario, the base stations 102a and 102b can exchange communications on the backhaul link 134a. In one implementation, in an mmW system, multiple transmit / receive beams and multiple antenna panels (subarrays) can be used between UEs and / or between the respective UEs and the respective base stations / gNBs to implement this type of multi-link communication.

[0083] Additionally, in the sidelink relay communication scenario 500 and / or the multilink communication scenario 600, 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 702 and / or downlink (DL) communications 704 (see Figure 7 ).

[0084] refer to Figure 8, the resource allocation scheme 800 may support sidelink-assisted virtual multilink. For example, a base station (BS) 802 may be the same or similar to the base station 102. A second UE (UE2) may be the same or similar to the relay UE 104b, and a first UE (UE 1) may correspond to a sidelink-assisted multilink UE 104a. For example, UE 1 may have one or more sidelinks established with one or more relay UEs (such as UE2). For DL / UL data transmission between BS 802 and UE1 804, slot aggregation and / or multi-slot scheduling grant 808 may be used that allocates at least one slot 806 in the access link and at least one slot 818 in the side link.

[0085] The grant 808 may be a semi-persistent and / or configured grant, or a dynamic grant given by a control channel (PDCCH 810). A processing offset 814 between the access link time slot and the side link time slot may provide processing time at a relay UE (such as UE2). The time slot for the side link may contain a resource SCI (e.g., via PSCCH 816). The aggregated time slots for both PDSCH 812 and PSSCH 818 may be used to transmit data according to the resources allocated on the access link or the side link, respectively.

[0086] In one example, a relay UE or node (e.g., UE2 804) may receive a grant (e.g., implicitly or explicitly) of access link and side link resources from BS 802. On the access link resources, the relay UE (e.g., UE2) may receive data from a BS (BS 802) or UE (UE1) (UL relay). On the side link resources, the relay UE (UE2) may forward the data received on the access link (e.g., potentially in a modified format) to a destination node (e.g., BS 802 or UE1804). Relaying may depend on the successful decoding of the access link by the relay UE (UE2). If the relay UE (UE2) fails to decode the data on the access link, the relay UE may skip relaying. If the SCI may be delivered to the destination node, the relay UE may notify the destination node of the decoding failure event.

[0087] In another example, a joint QCL indication may be transmitted to a destination UE (UE1). Specifically, a transmission configuration indication (TCI) state / spatial relationship may be configured as a combination of one or more QCL source reference signals on different links, such as an access link reference signal (AL-RS) and a side link reference signal (SL-RS). A base station (e.g., BE 802) may send joint access link-side link QCL information to a destination UE (e.g., UE1 804) along with access link and side link grants. For example, the joint QCL information may indicate a transmit and / or receive beam that the UE may use for access link and side link transmission and / or reception.

[0088] In addition, the synchronization signal block (SSB) / channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) can become a DL / UL QCL source, and the sounding reference signal (SRS) can become a UL QCL source. Specifically, the SL-RS can become a SL QCL source. In addition, instead of the SL-RS, an identifier of the SL UE can be indicated, and the actual beam used for sidelink communication between the UE and the identified SL UE can be implicitly determined (for example, maintaining and selecting the SL beam can depend on the UE).

[0089] A joint TCI state / spatial relationship sequence may be configured and / or indicated for sweeping. For example, beam sweeping (one or more beams per link) and link sweeping (one or more links, e.g., AL and one or more SLs) may be performed on aggregated slots. By scheduling the DCI, only the index of the starting TCI state in the configured sequence may be indicated, and the TCI state for each aggregated slot may cyclically follow the order in the sequence. For semi-persistent scheduling and / or configured grants (e.g., for UL communications that are not dynamically scheduled via PDCCH), the TCI state for each aggregated slot may follow the order in the sequence starting from a fixed or preconfigured position (e.g., the first entry of the sequence).

[0090] refer to Fig. 9 , the example method 900 of wireless communication may be performed by a relay UE 104b, which may include Figure 1 , 4 or one or more components discussed in 11, and may be based on the above Figure 5-8 The virtual multilink component 123 in question operates.

[0091] At 902, method 900 includes receiving a grant of one or more access link resources or one or more side link resources from a base station. For example, in an aspect, relay UE 104b may operate one or any combination of antenna 1165, RF front end 1188, transceiver 1102, processor 1112, memory 1116, modem 1140, or relay communication component 121 to receive a grant of one or more access link resources or one or more side link resources from base station 102. For example, any of the above components may include receiving a grant of one or more access link resources or one or more side link resources from a base station.

[0092] At 904, method 900 includes at least one of receiving data from a base station on an access link using one or more access link resources or receiving data from a UE on a side link using one or more side link resources. For example, in one aspect, relay UE 104b may operate one or any combination of antenna 1165, RF front end 1188, transceiver 1102, processor 1112, memory 1116, modem 1140, or relay communication component 121 to receive data from a base station on an access link using one or more access link resources or receiving data from a UE on a side link using one or more side link resources. For example, any of the above components may include receiving data from a base station on an access link using one or more access link resources or receiving data from a UE on a side link using one or more side link resources.

[0093] At 906, method 900 includes at least one of the following operations: when data is received from a base station on an access link using the one or more access link resources, the one or more side link resources are used to forward the data to the UE, or when data is received from a UE on a side link using the one or more side link resources, the one or more access link resources are used to forward the data to the base station. For example, in one aspect, the relay UE 104b can operate one or any combination of the antenna 1165, the RF front end 1188, the transceiver 1102, the processor 1112, the memory 1116, the modem 1140, or the relay communication component 121 to perform at least one of the following operations: when data is received from a base station on an access link using the one or more access link resources, the one or more side link resources are used to forward the data to the UE, or when data is received from a UE on a side link using the one or more side link resources, the one or more access link resources are used to forward the data to the base station.

[0094] In some implementations, method 900 may further include determining whether data received on the access link has been successfully decoded; forwarding the data based on determining that the data received on the access link has been successfully decoded; and abandoning forwarding the data based on determining that the data received on the access link has not been successfully decoded.

[0095] In some implementations, method 900 may further include transmitting a failure indication within the sidelink control information to at least one of the UE or the base station.

[0096] In some implementations, receiving the grant may include receiving the grant from the base station on a PSCCH.

[0097] In some implementations, one or more access link resources and one or more side link resources may be offset in the time domain.

[0098] In some implementations, the one or more sidelink resources may include at least one resource for sidelink control information.

[0099] In some implementations, a relay node facilitates multi-link communications between a base station and a UE with a single antenna panel.

[0100] In some implementations, a relay node may serve as an additional virtual antenna panel for a UE.

[0101] In some implementations, one or more access link resources may facilitate communications over the Uu interface.

[0102] In some implementations, one or more side link resources may facilitate communications over the PC5 interface.

[0103] refer to Fig.10 , the example method 1000 of wireless communication may be performed by a base station 102, which may include, for example, Figure 1 , 4 or one or more components discussed in 12, and may be based on the above Figure 8 The base station multi-link communication component 127 in question operates.

[0104] At 1002, method 1000 includes determining QCL information and granting one or both of one or more access link resources or one or more side link resources for a UE. For example, in an aspect, base station 102 may operate one or any combination of antenna 1265, RF front end 1288, transceiver 1202, processor 1212, memory 1216, modem 1240, or base station multi-link communication component 127 to determine QCL information and granting one or both of one or more access link resources or one or more side link resources for a UE. For example, any of the above components may include determining QCL information and granting one or both of one or more access link resources or one or more side link resources for a UE.

[0105] At 1004, method 1000 includes transmitting the QCL information and the grant to the UE on a downlink communication channel. For example, in one aspect, base station 102 may operate one or any combination of antenna 1265, RF front end 1288, transceiver 1202, processor 1212, memory 1216, modem 1240, or base station multi-link communication component 127 to transmit the QCL information and the grant to the UE on a downlink communication channel. For example, any of the above components may include encoding and decoding algorithms for transmitting the QCL information and the grant to the UE on a downlink communication channel.

[0106] In other implementations, the QCL information may indicate one or more beams to be used for one or both of access link communications or side link communications.

[0107] In some implementations of method 1000, the QCL information may indicate one or more QCL resources corresponding to one or more access link reference signals, side link reference signals, or a combination thereof.

[0108] In some implementations, the QCL information may indicate a relay node identifier.

[0109] In some implementations, the QCL information may indicate a joint TCI state sequence for combined beam and sidelink sweeping.

[0110] refer to Fig.11 , an example of an implementation of UE 104 (including relay UE 104b and / or sidelink assisted multi-link UE 104a) may include various components, some of which have been described above and further described herein, but also include 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 a configuration component 198 for communicating sidelink capability information.

[0111] 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.

[0112] In addition, the memory 1116 may 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 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, when the UE 104 is operating at least one processor 1112 to perform multi-link communication 125 and / or relay communication component 121 and / or one or more subcomponents thereof, the memory 1116 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more computer-executable codes and / or data associated therewith that define the UE multi-link communication 125 and / or relay communication component 121 and / or one or more subcomponents thereof.

[0113] 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.

[0114] Moreover, in one aspect, the UE 104 may include an RF front end 1188 that may operate in communication with 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 one or more antennas 1165 may include one or more antenna panels and / or subarrays, such as may be used for beamforming. 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.

[0115] 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.

[0116] 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.

[0117] 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.

[0118] As such, the transceiver 1102 may be configured to transmit and receive wireless signals through one or more antennas 1165 via the RF front end 1188. 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 104 and a communication protocol used by the modem 1140.

[0119] 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 104 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 104, such as provided by the network during cell selection and / or cell reselection.

[0120] 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.

[0121] Reference Fig.12, an example of an implementation of a base station 102 (e.g., base stations 102, 102a and / or 102b 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 base station multi-link communication component 127.

[0122] 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 UE 104 as described above, but are configured or otherwise programmed for base station operation rather than UE operation.

[0123] In one aspect, processor 1212 may correspond to combining 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.

[0124] Some further examples:

[0125] In one example, a method for wireless communication by a relay node includes: receiving a grant for one or both of one or more access link resources or one or more side link resources from a base station; receiving data from the base station on an access link using the one or more access link resources or receiving data from a UE on a side link using the one or more side link resources; and at least one of the following operations: when data is received from the base station on the access link using the one or more access link resources, forwarding the data to the UE using the one or more side link resources, or when data is received from the UE on the side link using the one or more side link resources, forwarding the data to the base station using the one or more access link resources.

[0126] One or more of the above examples may further include determining whether data received on the access link has been successfully decoded; forwarding the data based on determining that the data received on the access link has been successfully decoded; and abandoning forwarding the data based on determining that the data received on the access link has not been successfully decoded.

[0127]

[00136] One or more of the above examples may further include transmitting a failure indication within the sidelink control information to at least one of the UE or the base station.

[0128]

[0013] One or more of the above examples may further include receiving the grant comprising receiving the grant from the base station on a PDCCH.

[0129]

[0013] One or more of the above examples may further include, wherein the one or more access link resources and the one or more side link resources are offset in the time domain.

[0130]

[0013] One or more of the above examples may further include, wherein the one or more sidelink resources include at least one resource for sidelink control information.

[0131]

[0013] One or more of the above examples may further include, wherein the relay node facilitates multi-link communications between the base station and a UE having a single antenna panel.

[0132]

[0013] One or more of the above examples may further include, wherein the relay node serves as an additional virtual antenna panel for the UE.

[0133]

[0013] One or more of the above examples may further include where the one or more access link resources may facilitate communications over a cellular (Uu) interface.

[0134]

[0013] One or more of the above examples may further include, wherein the one or more sidelink resources facilitate communication over a ProSe sidelink (PC5) interface.

[0135] In another example, a method for wireless communication by a base station includes: determining QCL information and a grant of one or both of one or more access link resources or one or more side link resources for a UE; and transmitting the QCL information and the grant to the UE on a downlink communication channel.

[0136]

[0013] One or more of the above examples may further include, wherein the QCL information indicates one or more beams to be used for one or both of access link communications or side link communications.

[0137]

[0013] One or more of the above examples may further include, wherein the QCL information indicates one or more QCL resources corresponding to one or more access link reference signals, side link reference signals, or a combination thereof.

[0138]

[0013] One or more of the above examples may further include, wherein the QCL information indicates a relay node identifier.

[0139]

[00136] One or more of the above examples may further include, wherein the QCL information indicates a joint TCI state sequence for combined beam and sidelink sweeping.

[0140] 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.

[0141] 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 method for wireless communication by a relay node, comprising: receiving, from a network node and via an aggregated time slot on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a semi-persistent or dynamic grant of one or more access link resources and one or more side link resources, the one or more access link resources and the one or more side link resources being offset in the time domain; At least one of the following: receiving data from the network node on an access link using the one or more access link resources, or receiving data from the UE on a sidelink using the one or more sidelink resources; as well as At least one of the following: when the data is received from the network node on the access link using the one or more access link resources, forwarding the data to the UE using the one or more side link resources, or When the data is received from the UE on the sidelink using the one or more sidelink resources, the data is forwarded to the network node using the one or more access link resources.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining whether data received on the access link has been successfully decoded; forwarding the data based on determining that the data received on the access link has been successfully decoded; as well as Forwarding the data is abandoned based on determining that the data received on the access link has not been successfully decoded.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: A failure indication is transmitted within a sidelink control message to at least one of the UE or the network node.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more sidelink resources include at least one resource for sidelink control information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the relay node facilitates multi-link communication between the network node and the UE having a single antenna panel.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the relay node serves as an additional virtual antenna panel for the UE.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more access link resources facilitate communications over a cellular (Uu) interface.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more sidelink resources facilitate communication over a ProSe sidelink (PC5) interface.

9. A relay node for wireless communication, comprising: a memory configured to store instructions; as well as at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receiving, from a network node and via an aggregated time slot on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a semi-persistent or dynamic grant of one or more access link resources and one or more side link resources, the one or more access link resources and the one or more side link resources being offset in the time domain; At least one of the following: receiving data from the network node on an access link using the one or more access link resources, or receiving data from the UE on a sidelink using the one or more sidelink resources; as well as At least one of the following: when the data is received from the network node on the access link using the one or more access link resources, forwarding the data to the UE using the one or more side link resources, or When the data is received from the UE on the sidelink using the one or more sidelink resources, the data is forwarded to the network node using the one or more access link resources.

10. The relay node of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to: determining whether data received on the access link has been successfully decoded; forwarding the data based on determining that the data received on the access link has been successfully decoded; and Forwarding the data is abandoned based on determining that the data received on the access link has not been successfully decoded.

11. The relay node of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to transmit a failure indication to at least one of the UE or the network node within a sidelink control message.

12. The relay node of claim 9, wherein the one or more sidelink resources include at least one resource for sidelink control information.

13. The relay node of claim 9, wherein the relay node facilitates multi-link communication between the network node and the UE having a single antenna panel.

14. The relay node of claim 13, wherein the relay node serves as an additional virtual antenna panel for the UE.

15. The relay node of claim 9, wherein the one or more access link resources facilitate communications over a cellular (Uu) interface.

16. The relay node of claim 9, wherein the one or more sidelink resources facilitate communication over a ProSe sidelink (PC5) interface.

17. A relay node for wireless communication, comprising: means for receiving, from a network node and via an aggregated time slot on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a semi-persistent or dynamic grant of one or more access link resources and one or more side link resources, the one or more access link resources and the one or more side link resources being offset in the time domain; Means for at least one of the following operations: receiving data from the network node on an access link using the one or more access link resources, or receiving data from the UE on a sidelink using the one or more sidelink resources; as well as At least one of the following: when the data is received from the network node on the access link using the one or more access link resources, forwarding the data to the UE using the one or more side link resources, or When the data is received from the UE on the sidelink using the one or more sidelink resources, the data is forwarded to the network node using the one or more access link resources.

18. The relay node of claim 17, further comprising: means for determining whether data received on said access link has been successfully decoded; means for forwarding the data based on determining that the data received on the access link has been successfully decoded; as well as Means for abstaining from forwarding the data based on determining that the data received on the access link has not been successfully decoded.

19. The relay node of claim 18, further comprising: Means for transmitting a failure indication to at least one of the UE or the network node within a sidelink control message.

20. The relay node of claim 17, wherein the one or more sidelink resources include at least one resource for sidelink control information.

21. The relay node of claim 17, wherein the relay node facilitates multi-link communication between the network node and the UE having a single antenna panel.

22. The relay node of claim 21, wherein the relay node serves as an additional virtual antenna panel for the UE.

23. The relay node of claim 17, wherein the one or more access link resources facilitate communications over a cellular (Uu) interface.

24. The relay node of claim 17, wherein the one or more sidelink resources facilitate communication over a ProSe Sidelink (PC5) interface.

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