Methods for flexible resource use

Abstract

A method and system for flexible resource control of a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) is disclosed. The WTRU may monitor a first control channel region and receive a first control channel transmission in the first control region indicating a boundary of a plurality of mathematical blocks of a carrier. The WTRU may then receive a second control channel transmission in a second control channel of a second control region, wherein the second control channel transmission indicates one or more mathematical parameters for at least one mathematical block of the plurality of mathematical blocks. The WTRU may then transmit or receive data based on the one or more mathematical parameters of the one or more mathematical blocks.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the Chinese patent application with the application date of August 9, 2017, application number "201780057241.1", and name "Method for Flexible Resource Utilization".

[0002] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0003] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 373,089, filed August 10, 2016, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 400,950, filed September 28, 2016, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Background Art

[0004] In the field of mobile communications, wireless technology progresses in generations. For example, in 1980, the first generation of wireless technology was established. By the late 1980s, the second generation had followed. This pattern has continued, albeit at different rates. Several generations have been retired while others continue to develop in parallel. All generations of wireless technology require standards, protocols, hardware, and other related developments. Each new generation must address the same challenges. Summary of the Invention

[0005] A method and system for flexible resource control of a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) is disclosed. The WTRU may monitor a first control channel region and receive a first control channel transmission in the first control region that indicates boundaries of multiple numerology blocks of a carrier. The WTRU may then receive a second control channel transmission in a second control channel of a second control region, wherein the second control channel transmission indicates one or more numerology parameters of at least one numerology block in the multiple numerology blocks. The WTRU may then send or receive data based on the one or more numerology parameters of the one or more numerology blocks. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] The present invention may be understood in more detail from the following description given by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate like elements, and in which:

[0007] Figure 1A is a system diagram depicting an example communication system in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented;

[0008] Figure 1B It is shown that according to the embodiment Figure 1A A system diagram of an example wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) used in a communication system is shown;

[0009] Figure 1C It is shown that according to the embodiment Figure 1A A system diagram of an example radio access network (RAN) and an example core network (CN) used in the illustrated communication system;

[0010] Figure 1D It is shown that according to the embodiment Figure 1A A system diagram of yet another example RAN and yet another example CN used in the communication system shown;

[0011] Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of a transmission bandwidth;

[0012] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of flexible spectrum allocation;

[0013] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of non-adjacent time slots / subframes ensuring time slot / subframe synchronization between different mathematical blocks;

[0014] Figure 5A is a diagram showing an example of a two-step configuration of a mathematical block;

[0015] Figure 5B is a flowchart of an example process according to implementations discussed herein;

[0016] Figure 5C is a flowchart of an example process according to implementations discussed herein;

[0017] Figure 6A is a diagram of an example system for receiving signals according to one or more mathematical principles;

[0018] Figure 6B is a diagram of an example system for transmitting signals according to one or more mathematical principles;

[0019] Figure 7 is a diagram showing examples of a plurality of mathematical mappings; and

[0020] Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of repetition of RSs in time or frequency for orthogonalization of RSs from different TRPs. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] Figure 1AThe present invention is a diagram illustrating an example communication system 100 in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. The communication system 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple wireless users. The communication system 100 may enable multiple wireless users to access the content by sharing system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, the communication system 100 may utilize one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero tail unique word discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (ZT UW DTS-s OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block filtered OFDM, filter bank multi-carrier (FBMC), and the like.

[0022] like Figure 1A As shown, the communication system 100 may include wireless / wired transmit / receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, RAN 104 / 113, CN 106 / 115, public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and other networks 112. However, it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments may encompass any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and / or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and / or communicate in a wired or wireless environment. By way of example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, any of which may be referred to as a "station" and / or "STA," may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and may include user equipment (UE), a mobile station (STA), a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscription-based unit, a pager, a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, a hotspot or Mi-Fi device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated process chain settings), consumer electronics, devices operating in commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. Any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be interchangeably referred to as a UE.

[0023] The communication system 100 may also include a base station 114a and / or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interact with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CNs 106 / 115, the Internet 110, and / or the networks 112. For example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node B, an eNode B, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a next generation (gNB), a new radio (NR) Node B, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. Although the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted as a single element, it will be appreciated that the base stations 114a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and / or network elements.

[0024] Base station 114a may be part of RAN 104 / 113, which may also include other base stations and / or network elements (not shown), such as a site controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), and relay nodes. Base station 114a and / or base station 114b may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be referred to as cells (not shown). These frequencies may be in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide coverage for wireless services to a specific geographic area that may be relatively fixed or change over time. A cell may also be divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, base station 114a may include three transceivers, one for each sector of the cell. In another embodiment, base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology and, thus, may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell. For example, beamforming may be used to transmit and / or receive signals in a desired spatial direction.

[0025] The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0026] More specifically, as previously described, the communication system 100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, the base station 114a in the RAN 104 / 113 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may employ Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) to establish the air interface 115 / 116. WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA) and / or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High Speed ​​Downlink (DL) Packet Access (HSDPA) and / or High Speed ​​Uplink (UL) Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0027] In another embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and / or LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro).

[0028] In one embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR radio access, which may establish the air interface 116 using NR.

[0029] In one embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement both LTE radio access and NR radio access, such as using dual connectivity (DC). Thus, the air interface utilized by the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may feature multiple types of radio access technologies and / or transmissions to or from multiple types of base stations (e.g., eNBs and gNBs).

[0030] In other embodiments, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity (WiFi)), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA 2000 1X, CDMA2000 Evolution Data Only / Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO), Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), and GSM EDGE (GERAN).

[0031] For example, Figure 1A The base station 114b in the may be a wireless router, a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or an access point, and may utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating communication connectivity in a local area, such as a business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a road, or the like. In one embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In one embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA 2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR, etc.) to establish a picocell and a femtocell. As Figure 1A As shown, base station 114b may have a direct connection to Internet 110. Thus, base station 114b does not necessarily require access to Internet 110 via CN 106 / 115.

[0032] The RAN 104 / 113 may be in communication with the CN 106 / 115, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications, and / or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. Data may have varying quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as varying throughput requirements, latency requirements, fault tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, and the like. The CN 106 / 115 may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, prepaid calling, internet connectivity, video distribution, and / or perform advanced security functions, such as user authentication. Although Figure 1A Although not shown, it should be appreciated that the RAN 104 / 113 and / or the CN 106 / 115 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 113 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104 / 113, which may employ NR radio technology, the CN 106 / 115 may also be in communication with other RANs (not shown) employing GSM, UMTS, CDMA 2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or WiFi radio technology.

[0033] The CN 106 / 115 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and / or other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include a circuit-switched telephone network that provides plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as TCP, User Datagram Protocol (UDP), and / or IP from the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) / Internet Protocol (IP) suite of Internet protocols. The networks 112 may include wired and / or wireless communication networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. For example, the networks 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may use the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 113 or a different RAT.

[0034] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communication system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks via different wireless links). Figure 1AThe WTRU 102c shown in FIG. 1 may be configured to communicate with the base station 114a employing a cellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114b employing an IEEE 802 radio technology.

[0035] Figure 1B 1 is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. Figure 1B , the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit / receive element 122, a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display / touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power supply 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and / or other peripherals 138. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may include any subcombination of the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0036] The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors associated with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) circuit, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, etc. The processor 118 may perform signal decoding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, and / or any other functionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120, which may be coupled to the transmit / receive element 122. Although Figure 1B The processor 118 and the transceiver 120 are described in FIG. 1 as separate components, but it is understood that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together into an electronic package or chip.

[0037] The transmit / receive element 122 can be configured to transmit signals to a base station (e.g., base station 114a) or receive signals from a base station (e.g., base station 114a) via the air interface 116. For example, in one embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 can be an antenna configured to transmit and / or receive RF signals. In one embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 can be an emitter / detector configured to transmit and / or receive, for example, IR, UV, or visible light signals. In another embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 can be configured to transmit and receive both RF signals and light signals. It should be understood that the transmit / receive element 122 can be configured to transmit and / or receive any combination of wireless signals.

[0038] Although the transmit / receive element 122 is Figure 1BAlthough depicted as a single element in the embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit / receive elements 122. More particularly, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two or more transmit / receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

[0039] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate signals to be transmitted by the transmit / receive element 122 and to demodulate signals received by the transmit / receive element 122. As described above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers to enable the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11.

[0040] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may receive user input data from, a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, and / or a display / touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor 118 may also output user data to the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128. Furthermore, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, any suitable type of memory, such as the non-removable memory 130 and / or the removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, or the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (not shown).

[0041] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134 and may be configured to distribute and / or control the power to the other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any device suitable for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 may include one or more dry cell batteries (nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel-metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, etc.

[0042] The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to or in lieu of the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) over the air interface 116 and / or determine its location based on the timing of signals received from two or more neighboring base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may acquire location information using any suitable location-determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0043] The processor 118 may also be coupled to other peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and / or hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality, and / or wireless or wired connectivity. For example, the peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an electronic compass (e-compass), a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photos and / or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands-free headset, module, a frequency modulation (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, a virtual reality and / or augmented reality (AR / VR) device, an activity tracker, etc. The peripheral device 138 may include one or more sensors, which may be one or more of the following: a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a Hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientation sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor, a geolocation sensor, an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, a magnetometer, an air pressure sensor, a gesture sensor, a biometer sensor, and / or a humidity sensor.

[0044] The WTRU 102 may include a full-duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all signals (e.g., associated with specific subframes for UL (e.g., for transmission) and downlink (e.g., for reception)) may occur simultaneously and / or synchronously. The duplex radio may include an interference management unit 139 to reduce and / or substantially eliminate self-interference via hardware (e.g., a choke) or via processor signal processing (e.g., a separate processor (not shown) or via processor 118). In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include a half-duplex radio for transmission and reception of some or all signals (e.g., associated with specific subframes for UL (e.g., for transmission) or downlink (e.g., for reception)).

[0045] Figure 1C1 is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to an embodiment. As described above, the RAN 104 may employ an E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0046] The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, for example, the eNode-B 160a may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to and / or receive wireless signals from the WTRU 102a.

[0047] Each of the eNodeBs 160a, 160b, and 160c may be associated with a specific unit (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, and user scheduling in the UL and / or DL. Figure 1C As shown in FIG, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with one another via an X2 interface.

[0048] Figure 1C The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1 may include a mobility management entity gateway (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (or PGW) 166. Although each of the above elements is described as being part of the CN 106, it should be understood that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0049] The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 162a, 162b, 162c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, bearer activation / deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like. The MME 162 may also provide control plane functions for switching between the RAN 104 and RANs (not shown) employing other radio technologies, such as GSM or WCDMA.

[0050] The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface. The SGW 164 may generally route and forward user data packets to / from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The SGW 164 may also perform other functions, such as anchoring the user plane during inter-eNode-B handovers, triggering paging when downlink data is available for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing contexts for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like.

[0051] The SGW 164 may also be connected to the PGW 166, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, thereby facilitating communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0052] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, thereby facilitating communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional land-line communications devices. For example, the CN 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) server) that acts as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks owned and / or operated by other service providers.

[0053] Despite Figures 1A-1D While the WTRU is described in

[0014] as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments such a terminal may utilize (eg, temporarily or permanently) a wired communication interface with a communication network.

[0054] In a representative embodiment, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

[0055] A WLAN in infrastructure basic service set (BSS) mode may have an access point (AP) for the BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated with the AP. The AP may have access or an interface to a distribution system (DS) or other type of wired / wireless network that carries traffic into and / or out of the BSS. Traffic originating from outside the BSS to a STA may be reached by the AP and delivered to the STA. Traffic originating from a STA to a destination outside the BSS may be sent to the AP to be delivered to the corresponding destination. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, for example, a source STA may send traffic to the AP, and the AP may deliver the traffic to the destination STA. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be considered and / or referred to as peer-to-peer traffic. Peer-to-peer traffic may be sent (e.g., directly) between a source and destination STA via direct link setup (DLS). In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use 802.11e DLS or 802.11z tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an independent BSS (IBSS) mode may not have an AP, and STAs (eg, all STAs) within or using an IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS communication mode may sometimes be referred to herein as an "ad-hoc" communication mode.

[0056] When using 802.11ac infrastructure operating mode or a similar operating mode, the AP can send beacons on a fixed channel such as the primary channel. The primary channel can be a fixed width (e.g., 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width through signaling. The primary channel can be the operating channel of the BSS and can be used by STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certain representative embodiments, such as in an 802.11 system, carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA / CA) can be implemented. For CSMA / CA, STAs including the AP (e.g., each STA) can sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed / detected and / or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA can exit. One STA (e.g., only one station) can transmit at any given time in a given BSS.

[0057] High throughput (HT) STAs may communicate using a 40 MHz wide channel, for example, formed by combining a primary 20 MHz channel with adjacent or non-adjacent 20 MHz channels.

[0058] Very high throughput (VHT) STAs can support 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, and / or 160MHz wide channels. 40MHz and / or 80MHz channels can be formed by combining consecutive 20MHz channels. A 160MHz channel can be formed by combining 8 consecutive 20MHz channels or by combining two discontinuous 80MHz channels (which can be referred to as an 80+80 configuration). For the 80+80 configuration, the data after channel coding can be passed through a segment parser that can separate the data into two streams. Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing and time domain processing can be performed on each stream separately. The stream can be mapped to two 80MHz channels, and the data can be transmitted by the transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the operation of the above-mentioned 80+80 configuration can be reversed, and the combined data can be sent to the media access control (MAC).

[0059] 802.11af and 802.11ah support Sub 1GHz operating modes. The channel operating bandwidth and carrier are reduced in 802.11af and 802.11ah relative to those used in 802.11n and 802.11ac. 802.11af supports 5MHz, 10MHz and 20MHz bandwidths in the TV White Space (TVWS) spectrum, while 802.11ah supports 1MHz, 2MHz, 4MHz, 8MHz and 16MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to a representative embodiment, 802.11ah can support meter type control / machine type communication such as MTC devices in macro coverage areas. MTC devices may have certain capabilities, for example, limited capabilities, including support for (for example, only support for) certain and / or limited bandwidths. MTC devices may include batteries with battery life above a threshold (for example, to maintain very long battery life).

[0060] WLAN systems that can support multiple channels and channel bandwidths such as 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11af, and 802.11ah include channels that can be designated as primary channels. The primary channel can have a bandwidth equal to the maximum common operating bandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel can be set and / or limited by a STA from among all STAs operating in the BSS that supports the minimum bandwidth operating mode. In the example of 802.11ah, the primary channel can be a 1MHz wide STA (e.g., an MTC-type device) that supports (i.e., only supports) a 1MHz mode, even if the AP and other STAs in the BSS support 2MHz, 4MHz, 8MHz, 16MHz, and / or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sensing and / or network allocation vector (NAV) settings may depend on the status of the primary channel. If the primary channel transmitted to the AP is busy, for example, due to a STA (which only supports the 1MHz operating mode), the entire available frequency band may be considered busy, even if most of the frequency band remains idle and may be available.

[0061] In the United States, 802.11ah can operate in the available frequency bands from 902MHz to 928MHz. In South Korea, the available frequency bands are from 917.5MHz to 923.5MHz. In Japan, the available frequency bands are from 916.5MHz to 927.5MHz. Depending on the country code, the total available bandwidth for 802.11ah ranges from 6MHz to 26MHz.

[0062] Figure 1D 1 is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 113 and the CN 115 according to an embodiment. As described above, the RAN 113 may employ NR radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 113 may also be in communication with the CN 115.

[0063] The RAN 113 may include gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 113 may include any number of gNBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c may implement MIMO technology. For example, the gNBs 180a and 180b may utilize beamforming to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from the gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c. Thus, for example, the gNB 180a may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to and / or receive wireless signals from the WTRU 102a. In one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c may implement carrier aggregation techniques. For example, the gNB 180a may transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be on unlicensed spectrum, while the remaining component carriers may be on licensed spectrum. In one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c may implement coordinated multi-point (CoMP) techniques. For example, the WTRU 102a may receive coordinated transmissions from the gNB 180a and gNB 180b (and / or gNB 180c).

[0064] The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with scalable mathematics. For example, the OFDM symbol spacing and / or OFDM subcarrier spacing may vary for different transmissions, different cells, and / or different portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using subframes or transmission time intervals (TTIs) of varying or scalable lengths (e.g., containing varying numbers of OFDM symbols and / or varying absolute time lengths).

[0065] The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be configured to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in a standalone configuration and / or a non-standalone configuration. In a standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c without accessing other RANs (e.g., such as the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c). In a standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may utilize one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c as mobility anchors. In a standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using signals in an unlicensed band. In a non-standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate / connect with the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c while also communicating / connecting with another RAN, such as the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c. For example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement DC principles to communicate with one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c and one or more eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c substantially simultaneously. In a non-standalone configuration, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may serve as a mobility anchor for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may provide additional coverage and / or throughput for serving the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0066] Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a specific cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, user scheduling in UL and / or DL, support network slicing, dual connectivity, interworking between NR and E-UTRA, routing user plane data to user plane functions (UPFs) 184a and 184b, routing control plane information to access and mobility management functions (AMFs) 182a and 182b, etc. Figure 1D As shown, gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c can communicate with each other via the Xn interface.

[0067] Figure 1DThe illustrated CN 115 may include at least one AMF 182a and 182b, at least one UPF 184a and 184b, at least one Session Management Function (SMF) 183a and 183b, and possibly Data Network (DA) 185a and 185b. While each of the above elements is depicted as part of the CN 115, it should be understood that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0068] The AMF 182a, 182b may be connected to one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via the N2 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the AMF 182a, 182b may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRU 102a, 102b, 102c, supporting network slicing (e.g., handling different PDU sessions with different requirements), selecting specific SMFs 183a and 183b, managing registration areas, terminating NAS signaling, mobility management, etc. The AMF 182a, 182b may use network slicing to customize CN support for the WTRU 102a, 102b, 102c based on the type of service being used by the WTRU 102a, 102b, 102c. For example, different network slices may be established for different use cases, such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced massive mobile broadband (eMBB) access, services for machine-type communication (MTC) access, and / or the like. The AMF 182a / 182b may provide control plane functionality for switching between the RAN 113 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-APro, and / or non-3GPP access technologies, such as WiFi.

[0069] The SMFs 183a and 183b can connect to the AMFs 182a and 182b in the CN 115 via the N11 interface. The SMFs 183a and 183b can also connect to the UPFs 184a and 184b in the CN 115 via the N4 interface. The SMFs 183a and 183b can select and control the UPFs 184a and 184b and configure the routing of traffic through the UPFs 184a and 184b. The SMFs 183a and 183b can perform other functions, such as managing and allocating UE IP addresses, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, and providing downlink data notifications. The PDU session type can be IP-based, non-IP-based, Ethernet-based, and so on.

[0070] The UPF 184a, 184b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via the N3 interface and may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The UPF 184a, 184b may perform other functions, such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing user plane policies, supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering downlink packets, providing mobility anchoring, etc.

[0071] The CN 115 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 115 may include an IP gateway (e.g., an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 115 and the PSTN 108, and may also communicate therewith. Furthermore, the CN 115 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. In one embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be connected to a local data network (DN) 185a, 185b through the UPF 184a, 184b via the N3 interface to the UPF 184a, 184b and the N6 interface between the UPF 184a, 184b and the DN 185a, 185b.

[0072] Given that Figures 1A-1D as well as Figures 1A-1D As described herein, one or more or all of the functions described herein with respect to one or more of the following may be performed by one or more emulated devices (not shown): the WTRUs 102a-d, base stations 114a-b, eNodeBs 160a-c, MMEs 162, SGWs 164, PGWs 166, gNBs 180a-c, AMFs 182a-b, UPFs 184a-b, SMFs 183a-b, DNs 185a-b, and / or any other apparatus described herein. An emulated device may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more or all of the functions described herein. For example, an emulated device may be used to test other devices and / or simulate network and / or WTRU functions.

[0073] Emulation devices can be designed to implement one or more tests of other devices in a lab environment and / or in a carrier network environment. For example, one or more emulation devices can perform one or more or all functions while being fully or partially implemented and / or deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network in order to test other devices within the communication network. One or more emulation devices can perform one or more or all functions while being temporarily implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. An emulation device can be directly coupled to another device in order to test and / or perform tests using over-the-air wireless communications.

[0074] One or more emulated devices can perform one or more functions, including all functions, without being implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. For example, the emulated devices can be used in test scenarios in a test lab and / or a non-deployed (e.g., testing) wired and / or wireless communication network to implement testing of one or more components. The one or more emulated devices can be test devices. Direct RF coupling and / or wireless communication via RF circuitry (e.g., which can include one or more antennas) can be used by the emulated devices to transmit and / or receive data.

[0075] In one embodiment, the WTRU may operate on the fifth generation (5G) of technology. The 5G air interface may have the following non-exhaustive uses: improved broadband performance (IBB), industrial control and communications (ICC), vehicular applications such as vehicle-to-everything (V2X) or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), massive machine-type communications (mMTC). These example uses may require the air interface to support ultra-low latency (ULLC or LLC), ultra-reliable transport (URC), and / or MTC operation (including narrowband operation), as further discussed herein.

[0076] Support for LLC may involve an air interface latency with a 1ms round trip time (RTT), which in turn may require support for a time transmission interval (TTI) in the range of, for example, between 100us and (no more than) 250us. Support for ultra-low access latency is also a consideration, defined as the time from initial system access to the completion of transmission of the first user plane data unit. For example, IC and V2X may require end-to-end (e2e) latency of less than 10ms.

[0077] Supporting URC may involve improving transmission reliability compared to LTE systems. For example, one goal is 99.999% transmission success and service availability. Another consideration is supporting mobility at speeds in the example range of 0-500 km / h. IC and V2X may require less than 10e -6 Packet loss rate (PLR).

[0078] Supporting MTC operations (including narrowband operations) may involve an air interface that supports narrowband operation (e.g., using less than 200 kHz), extended battery life (e.g., up to 15 years of autonomy), and minimal communication overhead for small and infrequent data transmissions (e.g., access latency of a few seconds to a few hours and low data rates in the range of 1-100 kbps).

[0079] In wireless communication technologies such as 5G, a WTRU may be configured to perform transmissions according to one or more spectrum operation modes (SOMs). For example, a SOM may correspond to transmissions using at least one of: a specific TTI duration, a specific initial power level, a specific HARQ process type, a specific upper limit for successful HARQ reception / transmission, a specific transmission mode, a specific physical channel (uplink or downlink), a specific waveform type, or even transmissions according to a specific RAT (e.g., legacy LTE or 5G transmission methods). The SOM may correspond to a quality of service (QoS) level and / or related aspects such as maximum / target latency, maximum / target block error rate (BLER), or the like. The SOM may correspond to a spectrum region and / or a specific control channel or aspect thereof (including search space, downlink control information (DCI) type, etc.). For example, a WTRU may be configured with a SOM for each of the following: URC type of service, LLC type of service, and MBB type of service. The WTRU may be configured for system access and / or for transmission / reception of L3 control signaling (e.g., radio resource control (RRC)) for the SOM, for example in a portion of the spectrum associated with the system, such as in the nominal system bandwidth (discussed further herein).

[0080] In wireless communication technologies such as 5G, multi-carrier signals may be supported. For comparison, LTE employs multi-carrier signals such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or SC-FDMA. The use of multi-carrier signals may result in high spectral efficiency, efficient multiplexing of users on a carrier, and implementation efficiency. Multi-carrier signals may be characterized by a limited number of parameters, such as subcarrier spacing, symbol duration, and / or (when applicable) a cyclic prefix or time guard duration.

[0081] In wireless communication technologies such as LTE, there may be a limited and small number of combinations of the parameters discussed herein that may be applicable. For example, in the downlink, the subcarrier spacing may be set to 15 kHz (a value of 7.5 kHz is also specified for Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS), but may not be fully supported in some configurations), and the type of signal may be OFDM. In the uplink, the subcarrier spacing may be set to 15 kHz for channels and all signals except the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), which may use smaller values ​​(7.5 kHz and 1.25 kHz). The type of uplink signal may be Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiplexing (SC-FDM). Given the propagation characteristics in deployments targeted by LTE, a primary subcarrier spacing value of 15 kHz may be appropriate. More specifically, the subcarrier spacing may be high compared to the expected Doppler spread value for the maximum speed and frequency band used by a given WTRU, and the symbol duration may be high compared to the duration of the cyclic prefix required to avoid inter-symbol interference due to delay spread. In one example, two possible durations are defined for a cyclic prefix (CP): a "normal CP" of approximately 5 microseconds, and an "extended CP" of approximately 17 microseconds. The latter value may be used when the desired delay spread is larger.

[0082] In wireless communication technologies such as 5G, bandwidth flexibility may be possible. In one embodiment, the 5G air interface can have different transmission bandwidths on the uplink and downlink, ranging from the nominal system bandwidth to any value between the maximum value corresponding to the system bandwidth.

[0083] For single carrier operation, the supported system bandwidths may include, for example, at least 5, 10, 20, 40, and 80 MHz. The supported system bandwidth may be any bandwidth within a given range (e.g., a few MHz to 160 MHz). The nominal bandwidth may have one or more fixed values. Narrowband transmissions up to 200 kHz may be supported within the operating bandwidth of the MTC device.

[0084] Figure 2 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a transmission bandwidth 200. As discussed herein, the system bandwidth 201 represents the maximum portion of the spectrum that can be managed by the network for a given carrier. Figure 2 In the example shown, this is 20 MHz. For such a carrier, the portion that the WTRU minimally supports for cell acquisition, measurements, and initial access to the network may correspond to the nominal system bandwidth 202, which is Figure 2In the example shown, 5 MHz. A WTRU may be configured with a channel bandwidth that falls within the range of the entire system bandwidth. For example, WTRUx may have a channel bandwidth 203 of 10 MHz, WTRUy may have a channel bandwidth 204 of 20 MHz, and WTRUz may have a channel bandwidth of 5 MHz 205, but allocated at the end of the system bandwidth. The WTRU's configured channel bandwidth may or may not include a nominal portion of the system bandwidth.

[0085] Bandwidth flexibility can be achieved because, due to baseband filtering that efficiently supports frequency domain waveforms, all applicable sets of RF requirements for a given maximum operating bandwidth in a band can be met without introducing additional allowed channel bandwidth for that operating band.

[0086] Methods for configuring, reconfiguring, and / or dynamically changing a WTRU's channel bandwidth for single carrier operation and allocating spectrum for narrowband transmissions within the nominal system bandwidth, total system bandwidth, or configured channel bandwidth are described herein.

[0087] In wireless communication technologies such as 5G, the physical layer of the air interface can be band-independent and can support operation in licensed bands below 5 GHz as well as operation in frequency bands in the 5-6 GHz range. For operation in unlicensed bands, a listen-before-talk (LBT) Category 4 channel access framework similar to LTE Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) can be supported.

[0088] Methods for measuring and managing (e.g., scheduling, addressing resources, broadcasting signals, measurements) cell-specific and / or WTRU-specific channel bandwidth for any spectrum block size are also a consideration for any wireless technology (e.g., 5G).

[0089] Figure 3 FIG3 is a diagram of an exemplary flexible spectrum allocation 300 for wireless communication technology, such as 5G. In the exemplary flexible spectrum allocation 300, system bandwidth 302 is shown in increasing horizontally (e.g., 20 MHz), and time 301 is shown in increasing vertically. Subcarrier spacing 304 may be a first value delta F1 and may span a spectrum allocation 306a with variable transmission characteristics. The subcarrier spacing 305 may be a second value delta F2, may be larger than the subcarrier spacing 304 and may span a spectrum allocation 306b with variable transmission characteristics.There may be a nominal portion of bandwidth 303 (eg, 5 MHz) that includes the cell.

[0090] The downlink control channels and signals may support frequency division multiplexing (FDM) operation. In FDM operation, the WTRU may acquire a downlink carrier by receiving transmissions using only a nominal portion 303 of the system bandwidth 302; for example, the WTRU may not initially need to receive transmissions covering the entire system bandwidth 302 being managed by the network for the associated carrier.

[0091] The downlink data channel may be allocated over a bandwidth that may or may not correspond to the nominal system bandwidth 303, except within the WTRU's configured channel bandwidth without restriction. For example, the network may operate a carrier with a 12 MHz system bandwidth using a 5 MHz nominal bandwidth 303, allowing devices supporting up to 5 MHz maximum RF bandwidth to acquire and access the system while allocating carrier frequencies between +10 and -10 MHz to other WTRUs supporting channel bandwidths up to 20 MHz.

[0092] Figure 3 An example of spectrum allocation in which, at least conceptually, different subcarriers may be allocated to different operating modes, i.e., spectrum operating modes (SOMs). Different SOMs may be used to meet different requirements for different transmissions. The SOM may include at least one subcarrier spacing, a TTI length, and one or more reliability aspects, such as HARQ processing or auxiliary control channels. Furthermore, the SOM may be used to refer to a specific waveform, or may be related to processing aspects; for example, the SOM may be related to the coexistence of different waveforms in the same carrier using FDM and / or TDM; in another example, the SOM may be related to the coexistence of frequency division duplex (FDD) operation in a time division duplex (TDD) band supported, for example, in a TDM manner or a similar manner.

[0093] In wireless communication technologies such as 5G, system signatures may be considered. The WTRU may be configured to receive and / or detect one or more system signatures. The system signature may consist of a signal structure that uses a sequence. The signal may be similar to a synchronization signal (SS) similar to the LTE primary synchronization signal (PSS) and / or secondary synchronization signal (SSS). The signature may be specific to a particular node or transmit / receive point (TRP) within a given area (e.g., uniquely identifiable) or may be common to multiple such nodes or TRPs within the area; the signature information may not be known to the WTRU and / or relevant to the WTRU. The WTRU may determine and / or detect a system signature sequence and further determine one or more parameters associated with the system. For example, the WTRU may derive an index therefrom and may use the index to retrieve the relevant parameters from a table described herein. In another example, the WTRU may use the received power associated with the signature for open loop power control so that the initial transmit power is set if the WTRU determines that it can access and / or transmit using the available resources of the system. In yet another example, the WTRU may use the timing of the received signature sequence, for example, to set the timing of a transmission (e.g., a preamble on a PRACH resource) if the WTRU determines that it can access and / or transmit using the available resources of the system.

[0094] In wireless communication technologies such as 5G, an access table may store parameters used by a WTRU. A WTRU may be configured with a list of one or more entries. The list may be referred to as an access table and may be indexed such that each entry may be associated with a system signature and / or its sequence. The access table may provide initial access parameters for one or more areas. Each entry may provide one or more parameters necessary to perform initial access to the system. The parameters may include at least one of a set of one or more random access parameters, for example, including: physical layer resources available in time and / or frequency (e.g., PRACH resources), initial power level, physical layer resources for receiving responses. The parameters may also include access restrictions such as Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) identity and / or Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) information. The parameters may also include routing related information, such as available routing areas. Each entry may be associated with and / or indexed by a system signature. For example, an entry may be common to multiple nodes or TRPs. The WTRU may receive the access table via a transmission using dedicated resources, such as via RRC configuration and / or via a transmission using broadcast resources. When the WTRU receives the access table via transmission using broadcast resources, the periodicity of the transmission of the access table may be relatively long (e.g., up to 10240 ms); this transmission may be longer than the periodicity of the transmission of the signature (e.g., in the range of 100 ms).

[0095] In wireless communication technologies such as 5G, the air interface may need to support various frequency bands and use cases, such as eMBB, URLLC, and mMTC. Due to the CAPEX / OPEX of network deployment, it may be necessary to reuse different use cases on the same contiguous spectrum block. Each use case may have its own requirements, which may lead to the need for different transmission parameters, including signal structure, numerology (such as subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol size, CP length, etc.).

[0096] As described herein, transmission parameters, signal structures, or mathematics may be used interchangeably and may be defined or parameterized by at least one of: a waveform (e.g., OFDM, SC-FDMA, zero-tail DFT-extended OFDM, etc.); parameters associated with the waveform, such as subcarrier spacing (SCS), cyclic prefix (CP) length, symbol size, etc.; parameters associated with the transmission, such as the number of symbols that constitute a transmission opportunity or the location and / or timing of scheduling opportunities, or another example may be unauthorized channel access parameters (e.g., listen-before-talk or clear channel assessment parameters); multiple access schemes such as OFDMA, NOMA (including any variant of non-orthogonal multiple access), etc.; conditions under which a transmission is received or transmitted by a node (e.g., whether the transmission at the WTRU is UL or DL); and / or use cases (i.e., eMBB, URLLC, mMTC).

[0097] In a method and system for flexible resource usage, the bandwidth of a carrier may be partitioned into mathematical blocks. The carrier may be configured to support different transmission types, each transmission type being associated with a different mathematical block. Such support may be achieved by enabling multiplexing of the different mathematical blocks using at least one of: frequency domain multiplexing (FDM), whereby each supported mathematical block may be associated with a portion of the spectrum allocated to the carrier; time division multiplexing (TDM), whereby each supported mathematical block may be associated with a specific time; spatial domain multiplexing (SDM), whereby each supported mathematical block may be associated with a specific precoder or beam (e.g., a transmitter beam or a receiver beam or beam pair). For example, a TRP may support concurrent transmissions on multiple analog beams, each with a different mathematical block and / or code domain multiplexing, whereby each supported mathematical block may use an orthogonal spreading sequence.

[0098] A block, region or portion of a carrier may be defined by at least one of: a frequency range, such as a continuous frequency range or a set of discontinuous frequency ranges; a time portion, such as a continuous time portion or a set of discontinuous time portions, where the time portion may be repeated indefinitely, for example, in a periodic manner; a beam (e.g. a transmitter beam or a receiver beam or a beam pair) or a set of beams; and / or an extension sequence or a set of extension sequences.

[0099] A block, region or portion of a carrier may be configured with or associated with a physical block, and may therefore be referred to as a physical block (or region or portion).A carrier may consist of one or more physical blocks.

[0100] In a method and system for flexible resource utilization, the bandwidth of a carrier can be divided into physical blocks, where each physical block can have multiple physical blocks. A physical block can be defined by blocks, regions, or portions of one or more carriers and more than one physical block. For example, in TDD, a physical block can be defined with a first physical block for UL transmission and a second physical block for DL ​​transmission.

[0101] In another example, a mathematical block may be defined as a set of mathematical blocks, each of which may be associated with one or more physical channels, where a control channel may have a first mathematical block and a data channel may have a second mathematical block.

[0102] In yet another example, a mathematical block may be associated with the mathematics of a WTRU-specific transmission. Any broadcast or public transmission may use pre-configured and predetermined mathematics. For example, a system information block may provide the mathematics or signal structure of the broadcast information. The system information block may also indicate the location of the broadcast information (e.g., in terms of frequency, time, beam, etc.). In this example, the WTRU may be configured to understand that the mathematics associated with the mathematical block may not be valid for all instances of the block or region or portion of the indicated carrier. Instead, it may only be valid for resources that are not associated with a broadcast or public transmission.

[0103] In the method and system for flexible resource usage, the bandwidth of a carrier may be divided into physical blocks, wherein there may be parameters associated with the physical blocks. The physical blocks may be configured with a set of parameters to implement scheduling of data transmission. The set of parameters may include at least one of the following: definition of resource block size, for example, a resource block (RB) may be defined by a bandwidth portion and may have a different number of subcarriers depending on the physical subcarrier spacing, or a RB may be defined as a plurality of subcarriers and may occupy different bandwidth portions depending on the subcarrier spacing; definition of subframe length, for example, a subframe length may be defined by an absolute time value and may have a different number of symbols depending on the physical symbol length, or a subframe length may be defined by a plurality of symbols and may have different absolute time durations depending on the physical symbol length; timing of slot lengths or scheduling opportunities, where a scheduling opportunity (or slot boundary) may be defined as a time at which a control channel may be received by a WTRU indicating a scheduling allocation (e.g., when a subframe or slot starts) or granting one or more upcoming subframes (e.g., subframes may not be adjacent in time and may have unused time periods, where the unused time periods may be used to ensure proper synchronization between different physical blocks in different frequency regions); timing for UL to DL or DL ​​to UL switching, which may be explicitly configured in a TDD system to ensure that all physical blocks have aligned UL / DL boundaries, for example, independent of the SCS.

[0104] Figure 4 An example of non-adjacent subframes or time slots for achieving subframe synchronization between different physical blocks in the same carrier is shown. Additionally or alternatively, multiple subframes or time slots may occur between each scheduling opportunity. Additionally or alternatively, different physical blocks may have different subframe or time slot durations or scheduling opportunity periods. Time 401 is shown on the horizontal axis, and frequency 402 is shown on the vertical axis. A scheduling opportunity is shown as 406. In the example shown, subframe 404a or an integer multiple thereof may not occupy the entire scheduling opportunity 406. The next subframe 404b will be identical to 404a, and subframe 404b will begin where the first scheduling opportunity 406 ended. The block of subframes 403 represents an alternative scheduling example in which a subframe occupies the entire scheduling opportunity. The gap between 404a and 404b may be unused resources for synchronizing subframes between the two physical blocks. Note also that in this example, scheduling instance 404a is broken down into blocks or symbols that are two and a half times the time length of the block of scheduling instance 403.

[0105] In one embodiment, some or all of the parameters discussed herein may be configured or indicated at the same time as the configuration or indication of the mathematical blocks. In another embodiment, some or all of the parameters may be indicated within a scheduling assignment or grant. For example, a WTRU may be scheduled for downlink transmission, and the scheduling information may include the mathematical blocks in which the transmission may occur and the subframe length measured in symbols.

[0106] A mathematical block may have more than one set of parameters. For example, a mathematical block in TDD may have different parameters for UL and DL.

[0107] In a method and system for flexible resource utilization, the bandwidth of a carrier may be divided into physical blocks, where multiple physical blocks may span the entire spectrum allocated to the carrier. In another embodiment, the multiple physical blocks may not span the entire spectrum, and there may be gaps between at least some of the physical blocks. Such gaps may be configured as guard bands.

[0108] When FDM is used to support multiple mathematical blocks, one or more guard bands may be configured. In one embodiment, the boundary between two blocks may be configured with a guard band or guard band region. For example, a block may be configured (e.g., similar to a mathematical block) to indicate resources for a guard band. In another embodiment, a mathematical block may be configured to have one or two guard bands within the resources of the mathematical block or at one or both frequency edges of an immediately outer mathematical block.

[0109] A guard band or guard band region may be considered a collection of time resources and / or frequencies where the WTRU expects no transmissions from another node and does not expect to be granted resources for transmission to another node (or autonomously selects resources therefrom). One or more guard band regions may be configured in conjunction with the configuration of at least one mathematical block. Alternatively, one or more guard band regions may be configured independently.

[0110] The frequency span of the guard band can be defined in terms of absolute spectral width. In another embodiment, the frequency span of the guard band can be defined based on subcarrier spacing specifically allocated for guard band definition. In yet another embodiment, the frequency span of the guard band can be defined based on subcarrier spacing, assuming that the subcarrier spacing of at least one of the adjacent mathematical blocks is the same.

[0111] Similarly, the duration of the guard band may be defined in absolute time units according to the symbol duration assigned to the guard band definition or according to the symbol duration of at least one adjacent physical block.

[0112] In the method and system for flexible resource usage, the bandwidth of a carrier can be divided and configured into physical blocks. As discussed herein, the configuration or indication of physical blocks can also be applied to the configuration or indication of guard bands or guard band regions.

[0113] A carrier may be partitioned into multiple physical blocks. In one embodiment, the WTRU needs to know the boundaries of at least one physical block and the parameters associated with transmissions on the at least one physical block. The boundaries and parameters of the at least one physical block may be indicated jointly or separately.

[0114] One or more mathematical block boundaries or sets of parameters may be semi-statically indicated. For example, one or more boundaries or sets of parameters may be indicated in a transmission that enables the WTRU to perform initial access. For example, a system information block or a signature sequence or a synchronization signal may indicate at least one boundary and a set of parameters for at least one mathematical block. The WTRU may use such a mathematical block to receive further information to continue initial access. The original system information block, signature sequence, or synchronization signal may be transmitted with a fixed set of mathematical parameters and parameters. In another example, multiple mathematical parameters may support the original system information block, signature sequence, or synchronization signal, and the WTRU may perform blind decoding to determine the appropriate mathematical parameter for the transmission.

[0115] Additionally, at least one boundary or set of parameters for at least one mathematical block may be semi-statically indicated by higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling). For example, one or more WTRUs may receive a transmission indicating at least one boundary or set of parameters for at least one mathematical block.

[0116] In a method and system for flexible resource usage, the bandwidth of a carrier may be partitioned into physical blocks, where the physical blocks may be configured for dynamic indication. Further, one or more physical block boundaries or sets of parameters may be dynamically indicated. For example, downlink control information (DCI) may indicate the boundaries of at least one physical block and a set of parameters. DCI transmissions may use common control signaling (e.g., including a group radio network identifier (RNTI) identifier, etc.), which may enable a group of WTRUs to be updated with new boundaries for at least one physical block and / or a set of parameters for at least one physical block or a new set of parameters. DCI transmissions may occur periodically, for example, based on a configuration provided by a higher layer. Transmissions may be repeated on more than one downlink beam to ensure uniform coverage.

[0117] In another example, in a DCI scheduled transmission (for DL ​​or UL), the appropriate number (or numbers) may be indicated to the WTRU to use in the resources that the WTRU is scheduled to transmit or receive data.

[0118] Dynamically indicating the configuration of at least one mathematical block can be accomplished in two parts. For example, the boundaries of at least one mathematical block can be changed less frequently and, therefore, can be indicated in a less frequently transmitted control channel (e.g., DCI). The TRP (e.g., eNB) can use the previously indicated boundaries to transmit a second control channel transmission (e.g., DCI) indicating a set of parameters for the mathematical block. This transmission can be more frequent than the first transmission to enable more dynamic control of the mathematical parameters.

[0119] The search spaces for the first and second control channel transmissions may occupy the same or different frequency portions of the carrier. For example, the first and / or second control channel transmissions may be transmitted in a control region spanning the entire bandwidth of the carrier using a fixed (i.e., WTRU-known) algorithm. Alternatively, the search space for the control channel transmission may span a portion of the bandwidth of the carrier. For example, the search space may span all bandwidth portions that are being configured or reconfigured. In another alternative, the search space may span only the bandwidth portions that are being configured / reconfigured using the same set of mathematical parameters; given this, multiple mathematical blocks (e.g., non-intersecting blocks) may be configured / reconfigured using the same set of mathematical parameters. In this case, the search space for the control channel may span non-intersecting frequencies that use the same mathematical parameters.

[0120] The search space for the first and / or second control channel transmissions may use the same boundaries and / or set of mathematical parameters as the mathematical block being configured / reconfigured. This may require the WTRU to blindly determine the boundaries and / or set of mathematical parameters for the control channel. Alternatively, the control channel used to configure / reconfigure the boundaries and / or set of parameters for at least one mathematical block may use predetermined and configurable / reconfigurable boundaries and mathematics.

[0121] Figure 5AAn embodiment of a two-step configuration of physical blocks is shown. Time 501 is shown on the horizontal axis and frequency 502 is shown on the vertical axis. The WTRU may receive a first control channel transmission in a first control region 503, for example, possibly using a group RNTI (or the like). A control region may be a collection of resources over which control channels are transmitted and may span one or more physical blocks. The control channel transmission may indicate to the WTRU the boundaries of one or more physical blocks that span part or all of the carrier bandwidth, and the control channel transmission may indicate a partitioning of at least a portion of the carrier bandwidth. Within the outer boundaries of carriers 506a and 506c, there may be additional boundaries such as 506b. The control channel transmission may be transmitted in pre-configured frequencies, bandwidth parts (BWPs), or physical blocks using known algorithms; BWPs may be interchangeable with physical blocks. Such control transmissions may be periodic or aperiodic. Such control channel transmissions may also be used to configure the WTRU with the necessary parameters to decode at least one second control region containing a second control channel transmission.

[0122] After decoding the boundaries 506a-c, the WTRU may expect a second control channel transmission that indicates a parameter set to be used in at least one of the physical blocks in the second control regions 504 and 505. The second control region 504 or 505 may span the resources of a single physical block and may be used to transmit control signaling related to that physical block. As shown in FIG. 5A and 5B, the WTRU may expect such a control channel transmission to be at the same preconfigured frequency as the first control channel transmission. In another case, the WTRU may expect the second control channel to be transmitted within the frequency range encompassed by the physical blocks for which the configuration is available.

[0123] In one embodiment, the boundaries of the mathematical blocks 506a-c may be semi-statically indicated (not shown), for example, in a system information block. The WTRU may then monitor the different mathematical blocks to receive control channel transmissions indicating appropriate mathematical parameters for at least one mathematical block.

[0124] Figure 5B Shown with Figure 5AExample process flow for related examples. At 551, the WTRU may receive a transmission on a first control channel, wherein the transmission includes first control information (i.e., a first control channel transmission). At 552, the WTRU may receive a transmission on a second control channel, wherein the transmission includes second control channel information (i.e., a second control channel transmission). Based on the information provided in the first control channel transmission, the WTRU may be aware of the second control channel. At 553, the WTRU may transmit / receive data based on the first control channel transmission and / or the second control channel transmission. The first control channel transmission may configure frequency boundaries for the second control channel transmission, and the second control channel transmission may have mathematical configuration parameters for scheduling data transmission or receiving data.

[0125] In a method and system for flexible resource usage, the bandwidth of a carrier may be partitioned into mathematical blocks, wherein there may be a protocol for resolving possible errors. The transmission of the first, second, or both control channels may be periodic or aperiodic. If aperiodic transmission is used, the WTRU may assume that there has been no change until it receives a new control channel transmission indicating a configuration change. In one example, when aperiodic transmission is used, an error may exist if the WTRU incorrectly decodes an indication of a change in the boundaries of a set of parameters for at least one mathematical block. In addition, when the first and second control channels are used to indicate a boundary and a set of parameters, respectively, a missed first control channel may result in an erroneous detection of a second control channel transmission.

[0126] To address the possibility of this error, the WTRU may send an acknowledgement upon receiving an aperiodic control channel for a change in boundaries or a change in parameter sets, or both.

[0127] Figure 5C shows a method for dynamically receiving and changing Figure 5A and 5B581 . In one embodiment, the WTRU 102 is preconfigured to periodically or aperiodically monitor 581 a control channel in a first control region. The gNB 180 sends a first control channel transmission 582, such as a first DCI, to the WTRU 102 that includes a physical block boundary. In some cases, the WTRU 102 may be configured to send an acknowledgment (ACK) 583 to acknowledge the first control channel transmission 582. The gNB 180 may send a second control channel transmission 584 to the WTRU 102 indicating parameters for the physical block used for the first control channel. In some cases, the WTRU 102 may be configured to send an acknowledgment (ACK) 585 to acknowledge the second control channel transmission 584. The WTRU 102 may use the received information to process 586 the physical configuration for transmitting / receiving data. The WTRU 102 may transmit 587 data to the gNB 180 based on the processing it performed based on the received physical boundaries / parameters.

[0128] Alternatively, a change in the set or boundaries of a parameter of a mathematical block may include a new value tag. Future scheduling assignments or grants may also include a value tag. This may enable the WTRU to determine whether a change in a mathematical block or its parameters has occurred since the last successful (re)configuration was received. In another alternative, the mathematical block value tag may be transmitted in a periodic manner, either on its own or in conjunction with other (e.g., system information) transmissions.

[0129] In a method and system for flexible resource usage, the bandwidth of a carrier may be partitioned into blocks, where an indication of the blocks received from a first signal may be present. The WTRU may be configured to detect and decode synchronization signals (SSs) (e.g., PSS, SSS) using a configurable number and bandwidth. For example, the WTRU may attempt to blindly detect one or more SSs using a subset of the possible numbers and bandwidths.

[0130] Upon detecting an applicable SS, the WTRU may determine appropriate datagrams and / or bandwidth for at least one of: subsequent system information transmissions (e.g., MIB or SIB); control channel transmissions, such as a control channel indicating a datagram block partition and / or a set of datagram parameters for each datagram block; paging transmissions; and / or uplink transmissions (e.g., PRACH transmissions).

[0131] In one example, if the WTRU detects SS in a set of first resources, the WTRU may implicitly determine that system information will be transmitted in a second set of resources using a particular algorithm (e.g., the same algorithm as used for SS). In another example, upon detecting SS in a set of first resources using a first algorithm, the WTRU may attempt to detect system information or control channel transmissions in a subset of possible resources (e.g., a subset of possible frequency regions or subbands and / or time instances), each possible resource using a subset of the possible algorithms.

[0132] The subset of resources and algorithms that the WTRU may attempt to blindly decode system information may be implicitly determined from the SS transmission. For example, based on the bandwidth and / or sequence and / or algorithm of the SS transmission, the WTRU may be configured to attempt blind detection and / or use a set of possible algorithms to blindly detect system information on a particular set of resources.

[0133] System information resources (or the resources of any transmission expected after the SS) may be defined relative to the resources of the SS. For example, an SS at time n may indicate that system information may be present at time n+k, where the time units for n and k may be predetermined or may depend on parameters of the SS (e.g., the duration of the symbol SS). The relative relationship between the SS and subsequent transmissions (e.g., n and k) may be previously known by the WTRU or always limited or configured by another cell, TRP, or carrier.

[0134] In one embodiment, at least one SS transmission may explicitly indicate the set of resources and / or the number of resources that the WTRU may attempt to decode system information. For example, the indication may be encoded as a parameter of the SS sequence or encoded on top of the SS sequence. In another example, the SS may consist of two parts: a sequence on a first set of resources and an indication of the parameters for system information in a second set of resources.

[0135] In one embodiment, multiple SSs may indicate multiple mathematical blocks. Furthermore, the WTRU may detect multiple SSs simultaneously. Each SS may be restricted to a specific frequency range, have a specific bandwidth, and may use different mathematical blocks. The location, bandwidth, and / or mathematical blocks of each SS may enable the WTRU to determine mathematical block boundaries and mathematical block parameters. The parameters of each SS may enable the WTRU to detect and decode one or more system information transmissions, possibly using parameters indicated by the SS as discussed herein. In one example, each SS may indicate the parameters required for the WTRU to decode a unique system information transmission. Furthermore, such a system information transmission may apply only to that mathematical block. In another example, one, some, or all SSs may indicate parameters for decoding general system information to the WTRU. Furthermore, such a system information transmission may apply to all mathematical blocks. In another example, each SS may point to any one of multiple resources that may transmit system information. Depending on the resource from which the WTRU obtains the system information, the content may include information relevant to all mathematical blocks, or information relevant to only a subset of mathematical blocks (e.g., the block or blocks in which the system information is transmitted).

[0136] The WTRU may indicate to the network (e.g., in a first UL transmission) the set of SSs it has detected and / or related measurements made on the set of SSs it has detected. For example, the WTRU may indicate the channel quality indicator (CQI), reference signal received power (RSRP), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), or path loss measurements made on each SS it has detected. This may enable the WTRU to indicate its capabilities (e.g., in terms of bandwidth and data rate).

[0137] In a method and system for flexible resource usage, the bandwidth of a carrier may support multiple flexible control channel regions, which may be configured accordingly. The control channel may operate with a more flexible bandwidth so as to allow for sufficient flexibility in the mathematical block size. The control channel region may not span the entire carrier (e.g., frequency or time). The control channel region may also be defined as applicable only to scheduled transmissions on a subset of subcarriers. For example, a control channel region transmitted on a subset of subcarriers may be applicable only to scheduled transmissions on that subset of subcarriers. In another example, a control channel region sent on a first subset of subcarriers may be applicable only to scheduled transmissions on a second subset of subcarriers, where the second subset of subcarriers is a superset of the first subset of subcarriers.

[0138] In a method and system for flexible resource usage, the bandwidth of a carrier may support multiple flexible control channel regions, where one or more control channel regions may exist for each physical block. A WTRU configured with multiple physical blocks may assume at least one control channel region per physical block. A control channel region may include multiple search spaces. For example, a control channel region may span an entire physical block (e.g., frequency or time). Alternatively, a control region may span a subset of resources of a physical block (e.g., frequency, time, beam, and / or spreading sequence).

[0139] The control region can reuse the mathematical parameters configured for the mathematical block within which it resides. In one embodiment, the control region can use another set of mathematical parameters. This set of mathematical parameters specific to the control region can be indicated as part of the configuration of the mathematical block. Alternatively, the set of mathematical parameters for the control region can be included independently of the configuration of the mathematical block using the methods described herein for configuring a set of parameters for a mathematical block.

[0140] In the method and system for flexible resource usage, the bandwidth of a carrier may support multiple flexible control channel regions, where one or more control channel regions may exist for each set of physical blocks. A WTRU may be configured to monitor at least one control channel region that spans multiple physical blocks.

[0141] In one embodiment, the WTRU may monitor the control channel region of multiple physical blocks if the physical blocks share the same parameters (e.g., same SCS, same cyclic prefix, same subframe length, etc.). The control region may span the entire set of physical blocks (e.g., in frequency or time).

[0142] In one embodiment, the control region may span resources of a subset of a physical block. For example, a carrier may be partitioned into two physical blocks, and the control channel region may span all subcarriers of a single physical block. In one embodiment, the control region may span a subset of the combined resources (e.g., frequency, time, beam, and / or spreading sequence) of multiple physical blocks. For example, the control region may span one physical block and may apply to multiple physical blocks. The subset of combined resources may be adaptive and may be determined based on a previous transmission or multiple transmissions (e.g., a previously transmitted control channel).

[0143] In one embodiment, multiple mathematical blocks may share a control region only when they are adjacent. Alternatively, discontinuous mathematical blocks may share a control channel region. If discontinuous mathematical blocks share a control channel region, the control channel region may only be included in a subset of contiguous mathematical blocks.

[0144] In one embodiment, the control channel region may span multiple non-contiguous physical blocks. The non-contiguous physical blocks may be considered to be continuous in the virtual mapping. The virtual mapping may be used to effectively spread control channel elements (CCEs) and / or resource element groups (REGs) in a manner similar to how multiple physical blocks are continuous. The virtual mapping of the non-contiguous blocks may depend on at least one of: the transmission time of the symbol, subframe, or frame when the control channel is transmitted; the frequency of the physical blocks, wherein the mapping may depend on the set of physical blocks over which the control channel is valid; the beam or beam pair used to transmit the control channel; and / or a previously used virtual mapper, and / or wherein the mapping rules may cycle through a predetermined set for each control channel transmission.

[0145] In one embodiment, a first control channel region applicable to a set of mathematical blocks may be used to determine resources for transmission of a set of second control channels. The set of second control channels may be applicable to a subset of mathematical blocks. For example, a set of n mathematical blocks may use a first control channel region located in resources designated for mathematical block i. The first control channel region may indicate the location of a set of second control channel regions, wherein each second control channel region in the set of second control channel regions is located in a different set of mathematical blocks. For example, a second control channel region may exist in consecutive mathematical blocks j and k, and another second control channel region may exist in discontinuous mathematical blocks 1 and m. This is similar to Figure 5A Similar, except the purpose of the first control channel is to indicate the presence of the second control channel, which is to be scheduled in the appropriate data block.

[0146] In a method and system for flexible resource usage, the behavior of a WTRU may be monitored based on capabilities or needs: for example, when the WTRU does not support or cannot support certain mathematical blocks, the WTRU may save power by not monitoring those mathematical blocks. The WTRU may monitor one or more control channel regions, which may be selected based on whether the control channel region is within a mathematical block in which the WTRU may be scheduled to transmit and / or receive data. This may be determined based on the capabilities of the WTRU: for example, if the WTRU cannot use a particular set of mathematical parameters, it may not use that set of mathematical parameters to monitor the control channel region applicable to the mathematical block.

[0147] In one embodiment, the WTRU may monitor the control channel region based on the type of service required. For example, a physical block may be associated with a service type and the WTRU may only monitor the control channel for physical block scheduled transmissions for the service for which it may be configured.

[0148] The WTRU may determine that some or all of the mathematical blocks of a carrier are not applicable to the WTRU. In this case, the WTRU may enter a low power mode / state (e.g., sleep or idle). In this mode, the WTRU may not monitor some or all control channels on at least the mathematical blocks for which it may not or does not need to receive any control channel transmissions. In addition, to enable the WTRU to determine when to exit sleep mode, the mathematical block configuration may include a validity timer, where the transmission configuring one or more mathematical blocks may indicate the amount of time (e.g., in time units, symbol units, or subframe units) that the mathematical block configuration is valid. Low overhead transmissions may be used periodically to indicate the remaining time that the mathematical block configuration is valid. This may enable the WTRU to determine (e.g., when the WTRU is awakened) whether it needs to monitor one or more control channels, or whether it may re-enter sleep.

[0149] In the method and system for flexible resource usage, the WTRU may perform monitoring based on the scheduling relationship between physical blocks. For example, the WTRU may be scheduled in multiple physical blocks of a single control channel. The WTRU may monitor the control channel region based on predetermined rules, such as rules related to the physical block configuration.

[0150] In one embodiment, the WTRU may monitor the control channel region located in a physical block using specific physical parameters (e.g., maximum SCS or equivalently, minimum symbol size). The WTRU may be configured with cross-physical block scheduling. In such an embodiment, when the subframe boundaries in different physical blocks are inconsistent, the control region in a first physical block may be applicable only to the physical blocks with consistent subframe boundaries. For example, the carrier may be divided into two physical blocks, with the subframe duration of the first physical block being half that of the second physical block. The control channel transmission in the first physical block may be applicable to scheduling the WTRU only in the first subframe in the second physical block.

[0151] In one embodiment, the control region in the first physical block may be applicable to any other physical block and any subframe of the other physical blocks until the next subframe boundary of the first physical block where the control channel region is located. For example, the carrier may be divided into two physical blocks, with the subframe duration of the first physical block being half that of the second physical block. The control channel transmission in the first physical block may be applicable to scheduling the WTRU in two concurrent subframes of the second physical block.

[0152] In one embodiment, the WTRU may monitor the control channel region based on the type of service required. For example, a physical block may be associated with a service type, and the WTRU may only monitor the control channel for physical blocks that may schedule transmissions for the service for which it is configured.

[0153] In a method and system for flexible resource usage, the behavior of a WTRU may be monitored based on configuration. In one embodiment, a WTRU may monitor a control channel region based on an indication from another transmission. For example, a WTRU may be configured to monitor a specific control channel region. This configuration may be semi-static (e.g., using system information or higher layer signaling), or it may be dynamic (e.g., using another control channel transmission located in a configurable control channel region).

[0154] In a method and system for flexible resource usage, a WTRU may perform monitoring based on a configuration, where the configuration may relate to monitoring control channels based on a hierarchy: for example, a WTRU may reduce its power consumption by periodically monitoring a smaller amount of control channel regions until instructed to monitor more. The WTRU may monitor a first-level control channel to determine whether it needs to monitor or decode one or more second-level control channels. The first-level control channel may occur over a limited bandwidth or set of resources or a set of mathematical blocks, and the WTRU may only decode the first-level control channel over a limited bandwidth or set of resources or mathematical blocks (one or more). Based on an indication from the first-level control channel that the second-level control channel needs to be decoded, the WTRU may potentially perform decoding of the second-level control channel based on parameters provided in the first-level control channel. The decoding of the second-level control channel may be performed over a second subband or set of resources or a set of mathematical blocks (e.g., the entire bandwidth, set of resources, or set of mathematical blocks). In addition, this may include turning on larger or different portions of the WTRU receiver's front end or digital processing, waking up certain portions of the hardware required to process the second-level control channel, or other related actions. The WTRU may further determine its resource grant (UL / DL) for data, system information, or other data / information on the second control channel.

[0155] In one embodiment, when scheduling activity at the WTRU is low, the WTRU may be configured to be in a low power state, which may reduce the need to enable all WTRU control channel processing during the low power state.

[0156] In the method and system for flexible resource usage, the WTRU may receive information from a first control channel. Upon decoding the first level control channel, the WTRU may be able to determine some parameters of a second level control channel.

[0157] After decoding the first control channel, the desired behavior of the WTRU may be the parameters of the second control channel determined by the WTRU based on the decoding of the first control channel. That is, the first channel may indicate whether the WTRU should monitor the second control channel.

[0158] The parameters of the second control channel determined by the WTRU based on the decoding of the first control channel may determine which control channels in the second level the WTRU should monitor. For example, which control channel region to monitor. In another example, the control channel region may be associated with a specific mathematical block.

[0159] In one embodiment, the WTRU may, after decoding the first channel, use the time-frequency resource location and bandwidth information provided in the first control channel to perform decoding of the second control channel to locate the control channel. The second channel may further be decoded using the first channel decoding method, C-RNTI, and math, and may also assume the location of the reference signal (RS) provided in the first control channel as the assumed location in the second control channel. Parameters associated with the second control channel include, but are not limited to: timing and duration of the second control channel, in the form of an offset from the first control channel, absolute time, or an offset from absolute time; bandwidth, frequency resources, or mathematical blocks, in the form of absolute bandwidth or an index to a table providing allowed bandwidth; decoding method, such as the number of search spaces to be decoded, the aggregation level of the search spaces, the DCI or subset of DCI to be searched; C-RNTI or other identifier used for decoding; number (subcarrier spacing, FFT size, etc.), where the number of the second control channel may not match the number of mathematical blocks in which the second control channel may be transmitted; process parameters for the second control channel, such as beam steering, beam timing, Rx beam width (for example, as an example, the WTRU may use a wide Rx beam to decode the first control channel, which wide Rx beam may indicate the required beam width for the second control channel, and then the WTRU may use a narrower beam to decode the second control channel, and vice versa); and / or the location of reference signals in the second level control channel.

[0160] When decoding the first control channel, the WTRU may determine the resource grant. In this case, the WTRU may ignore the decoding of the second level control channel.

[0161] The parameters of the second control channel may be explicitly indicated in the first control channel. In one alternative, the parameters of the second control channel may be determined by the WTRU by an implicit method, such as one or more parameters of the first control channel that are directly mapped to one or more parameters of the second control channel. For example, the mathematics used for the first control channel may indicate to the WTRU the mathematics used for the second control channel. In another alternative, the one or more parameters described herein for decoding the second level control channel may not be provided in the first level control channel and may be known a priori by the WTRU, or may be provided to the WTRU using semi-static signaling, and the first level control channel may simply indicate that the second level control channel needs to be decoded.

[0162] In a method and system for flexible resource usage, a WTRU may receive an indication to monitor a second level control channel for a fixed time period. The WTRU may only need to decode the second level control channel for a fixed time period when a message is received on the first level control channel. The time period may be indicated in the message on the first control channel. The time period may be a time, a symbol, or a subframe (e.g., using a symbol or subframe size of the second control channel or the mathematical block in which the second control channel is located). In another embodiment, the time period may be known to the WTRU or semi-statically configured by the network. During the time period, the WTRU may further not need to monitor the first level control channel. When the time period during which the WTRU needs to monitor the second level control channel expires, the WTRU may return to monitoring the first level control channel and stop monitoring the second level control channel until further signaling is sent on the first level control channel.

[0163] In the method and system for flexible resource usage, there may be reference signals for control channels. The WTRU may use reference signals (RSs) for channel estimation to enable demodulation of control channel transmissions. In one embodiment, the RSs may be concatenated within the CCEs in a manner similar to REGs. The RSs may then be interleaved in a manner similar to REGs to ensure proper spreading of the RSs within the resources used for the control channel region.

[0164] In another embodiment, the RS may be configured or placed in a manner according to a set of mathematical parameters used within the mathematical block. Such placement may be fixed or configurable at the same or different time as the configuration of the mathematical block.

[0165] RSs can be mapped to one or more physical blocks. For example, RSs can be present in all physical blocks and all subframes. In another example, RSs can be present in all physical blocks, but only in subframes with scheduling opportunities. In another example, RSs can be present only in physical blocks and / or subframes where control channel regions have been configured.

[0166] In a method and system for flexible resource usage, a WTRU may transmit or receive data on multiple physical blocks. A WTRU may be configured to transmit (or receive) signals according to more than one physical block at a given time in the same or different carriers. This type of operation may be advantageous for supporting multiple use cases for the WTRU and / or may enable the WTRU to access the full frequency resources of a carrier configured with multiple physical blocks.

[0167] Figure 6AAn example embodiment for receiving a signal according to more than one mathematics is shown. The received signal 601 may consist of signals constructed according to more than one mathematics in different frequency blocks. For example, the subcarrier spacing of the first and second signal components may be S1 and S2, respectively. The first signal component may occupy a frequency block of a bandwidth W1=K1×S1 of a higher frequency range of the carrier, where K1 is the number of subcarriers used by the first signal component. The second signal component may occupy a frequency block of a bandwidth W2=(C2-K2)×S2 of a lower frequency range of the carrier, where K2 is the number of subcarriers used by the second signal component and C2 is the carrier bandwidth expressed in units of S2. The first and second signal components may occupy non-overlapping frequencies.

[0168] After sampling at rate Ts at 602, the sample r n can be processed by parallel chains. In the example where different mathematical symbols start at different times, the parallel chains start from the element Z which may increase the delay (e.g., d1 or d2). -d1 603a and Z -d2 603b; in other examples, no delay may be used. In each chain, the cyclic prefix (CP) (if applicable) may be removed at CP1 604a and CP2 604b before DFT processing, where CP1 and CP2 are the respective cycle durations. The CP may be removed so that the DFT operation occurs every (N1 x Ts + CP1) and every (N2 x Ts + CP2) for the first and second chains, respectively. Serial-to-parallel processing may occur at 605a and 605b to enable the input of time samples into the DFT as a group. Each chain may perform DFT operations of different sizes and different rates at the DFT 606a of the first chain and the DFT 606b of the second chain. The DFT sizes for the first and second chains are: N1 = 1 / (Ts x S1) and N2 = 1 / (Ts x S2), respectively. After DFT processing, samples 608 that do not correspond to subcarriers for which the signal exists according to the corresponding mathematical formula may be discarded. The samples corresponding to the subcarriers according to the corresponding mathematical presence signal may be subjected to parallel-to-serial processing 607a and 607b, where the DFT produces a set of elements that may then be placed in a serial manner to enable further processing of the data for its final destination 609a and 609b.

[0169] Figure 6BAn example implementation for transmitting a signal according to more than one calculus is shown. Similar to the reception example, the transmitted signal may consist of signals constructed according to more than one calculus in different frequency blocks. The processing steps correspond to the processing steps on the receiving side in reverse order. There may be data 619a and 619b from sources processed in parallel chains. The data may be serial-parallel processed at 617a and 617b. For each calculus, an inverse DFT (IDFT) operation 616a and 616b may be performed on the signal corresponding to each subcarrier, and a value of zero (0) 618 may be inserted for the subcarrier positions where the signal for the corresponding calculus does not exist. The signal then undergoes parallel-to-serial processing at 615a and 615b. After the cyclic prefix is ​​inserted at 614a and 614b, the samples from each chain may be processed at element Z. -t1 613a and Z -t2 613b handles the delay (ie, similar to 603a and 603b discussed herein). The samples are summed at 612 prior to digital to analog conversion at 611, after which they may be transmitted at 610.

[0170] Figure 6A and 6B The order of operations shown is an example and can be reordered, removed, or added as needed. For example, windowing (i.e., multiplying the samples by a time-varying factor) can be performed before CP removal to enhance spectral isolation between signals during receive operations. In another example, windowing can also be performed at the transmitter before summing.

[0171] The WTRU may be scheduled to receive or transmit data on resources within a physical block.The control channel scheduling resources for transmission may be in the same physical block as the data transmission or in another physical block.

[0172] A WTRU may be scheduled with transmissions that span multiple physical blocks using a single control channel transmission. In one embodiment, the WTRU may receive or transmit at least one transport block (TB) per physical block. In this embodiment, the WTRU may be scheduled with multiple transport blocks to enable transmission or reception of data across the entire carrier bandwidth.

[0173] The WTRU may receive or transmit at least one transport block per set of physical blocks. For example, a transport block may span multiple physical blocks if the transport blocks share the same set of physical parameters. A transport block may span multiple consecutive or non-consecutive physical blocks. RE mapping for transport blocks spanning multiple non-consecutive physical blocks may be done virtually before converting them to actual physical resources.

[0174] A WTRU may receive or transmit at least one transmission that spans multiple numerology blocks. For example, a transport block may span multiple numerology blocks regardless of whether the set of numerology parameters is the same for each numerology block. In a specific example, the system has a carrier supporting a first service (e.g., eMBB) using a first numerology block and a second service (e.g., URLLC) using a second numerology with different numerology parameters; in this case, the carrier may reconfigure at least one numerology block to coordinate parameters before scheduling the WTRU. Alternatively, numerology parameters may be maintained differently for different blocks. In one embodiment, better inter-cell interference coordination may be achieved by a WTRU receiving or transmitting at least one transmission that spans multiple blocks.

[0175] In a method and system for flexible resource use, there is control information related to frequency allocation for WTRU data transmission. Data transmission may be scheduled via a control channel located in at least one numerology block. The control information for data transmitted on one or more numerology blocks may include frequency allocation. The frequency allocation may indicate the set of actual carriers on which data is transmitted or received by the WTRU. Depending on the numerology block configuration, subcarriers may be numbered sequentially. For example, if a first numerology block has a subcarrier spacing (SCS) resulting in an SCS with n subcarriers, its subcarriers may be labeled from 0 to n. A second numerology block (where numerology blocks are numbered from lowest frequency to highest frequency) may have m subcarriers, and its subcarriers may be labeled from n + 1 to n + m - 1, and so on. In another example, subcarriers may be labeled in a manner independent of the subcarrier numbering in other numerology blocks. For example, the n subcarriers of numerology block N may be labeled as N.i, where 0 ≤ i < n. The above also applies to the case of using resource blocks instead of subcarriers in the allocation.

[0176] In another embodiment, the frequency allocation may indicate the set (or range of frequencies) of frequencies on which data may be transmitted or received by the WTRU. Based on the set of frequencies and the numerology block configuration, the WTRU may determine the total number of resource elements (REs).

[0177] In another embodiment, the frequency allocation may be represented according to a set of resource blocks independent of numerology, where the resource blocks may be defined according to a fixed bandwidth independent of the subcarrier spacing. Thus, the number of subcarriers in a resource block defined in this way depends on the subcarrier spacing. For example, for subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz or 30 kHz respectively, an 180 kHz resource block may be defined as 12 subcarriers or 6 subcarriers. Such an embodiment may enable the indication of frequency allocation to be independent of the subcarrier spacing used in each numerology block.

[0178] In a method and system for flexible resource use, there may be control information related to the frequency allocation for WTRU data transmission, where data channel reception / transmission is adaptable. The WTRU may be configured with a subset (a whole carrier) of the frequency resources on which data can be transmitted or received. Such a configuration may be required to achieve efficient frequency allocation. For example, the WTRU may be configured with a subset of physical blocks or a subset of resources within a physical block.

[0179] In one embodiment, the WTRU may be configured with an operating bandwidth B1 on a carrier C (whose total bandwidth is B > B1). At certain times, the WTRU may be reconfigured by the network to change its operating bandwidth from B1 to B2 (B1 < B2 < B) so as to enable scheduling the WTRU with a larger amount of resources. In another example, the WTRU may be configured to operate with a first subset of physical blocks and at certain times may be configured to change to a second subset of physical blocks: such reconfiguration may include adding resource blocks, subcarriers, or physical blocks to the total bandwidth that the WTRU can use for data scheduling or for UL transmission.

[0180] The WTRU configured with a smaller bandwidth may configure its reception, data processing, measurements, etc., such that it is restricted to that segment. The WTRU may use a front end, FFT / IFFT, or baseband processing limited to the segment configured by the network. For example, the WTRU configured with bandwidth B1 may use an FFT size F1 to receive a data channel. When configured with bandwidth B2 > B1, the WTRU may use an FFT size F2 > F1 to receive a data channel. This configuration may result in power saving advantages when the load requirements of the WTRU are not sufficient to warrant operating its receiving circuitry / HW / SW over the entire bandwidth of a given carrier.

[0181] The bandwidth or segment (including resource blocks and their configuration) may be predefined through standardization or cell broadcast-based system information. The WTRU may receive a set of indices, each index corresponding to one of the segments or physical blocks of the WTRU-specific bandwidth that can be used as a configuration at a given time.

[0182] The adaptable data bandwidth may enable a greater granularity in frequency allocation in a scheduling assignment or grant without requiring a large payload. In these examples, the interpretation by the WTRU of the frequency allocation included in the control information for scheduling may depend on the configured frequency resources. For example, if the WTRU is configured with a first set of frequency resources, the frequency allocation in a scheduling assignment or grant may indicate the granularity at the level of subcarriers or subcarrier groups. Or, if the WTRU is configured with a second larger set of frequency resources, for example having multiple physical blocks, the frequency allocation in a scheduling assignment or grant may indicate the granularity of resource blocks or resource block groups.

[0183] Based on the configured data channel bandwidth, the WTRU may perform scaling of resource-related information in the DCI message. This scaling may enable the use of the same type of DCI message regardless of the adaptive data channel bandwidth currently configured for the WTRU, while still allowing the scheduler to address all resources with sufficient granularity. The WTRU may scale the following metrics within the DCI: resource block index (e.g., the starting index of a resource allocation); length or number of resource blocks; and / or bitmap of allocated resource blocks.

[0184] For example, the WTRU may interpret the length field in a DCI message that allocates multiple contiguous resource blocks according to the configured data bandwidth. The WTRU may receive a length N for a resource allocation with B1 and decode data over N resource blocks. When the configured bandwidth B2 > B1, the WTRU may decode x * N resource blocks (where x > 1).

[0185] The WTRU may be reconfigured to change the bandwidth and / or location of the data channels activated by the network on the carrier.

[0186] The WTRU may change the adaptive data channel bandwidth to save power. The changes in the adaptive data channel may be based on semi-static bandwidth change signaling, dynamic signaling of data bandwidth, periodic determination of bandwidth, and / or automatic fallback to a lower bandwidth, all of which are discussed herein.

[0187] For semi-static bandwidth change signaling, the WTRU may receive a message from the network (RRC signaling, medium access control (MAC) CE, or physical layer (PHY)) to indicate a change in the configured data channel bandwidth. For example, the WTRU may be configured to use this signaling to increase / decrease data bandwidth, possibly due to the introduction / removal of services and / or the network determining that a larger / smaller amount of resources is required.

[0188] For dynamic signaling of data bandwidth, the data bandwidth to be used may be signaled by the presence / absence and / or positioning of a reference signal. The WTRU may detect a change in the configured bandwidth based on a change in the positioning of the reference signal. For example, a change in the positioning of the reference signal at B1 may indicate to the WTRU that the configured bandwidth has changed to B2.

[0189] To determine the bandwidth periodically, the WTRU may need to periodically determine the data channel bandwidth for a period of time by reading system information from the network or by a periodically transmitted group-specific (re)configuration. The WTRU may operate on the cell bandwidth or set of physical blocks broadcast by the cell for a specific period of time until the next expected broadcast of the set of cell bandwidth or physical blocks by the network.

[0190] In the case of automatic fallback to a lower bandwidth, after using a larger bandwidth (B2>B1), the WTRU may automatically fall back to using the lower bandwidth (B1). This fallback may potentially occur under at least one of the following conditions: after no message to increase, change, or maintain the larger bandwidth is received from the network for a certain amount of time; upon detecting the absence of a reference signal in the additional portion of the segment or the bandwidth associated with the extension (i.e., B2-B1), where such absence may be determined by the WTRU if the reference signal power associated with the extension is below a configured threshold; and / or after no schedule is received from the network (DL or UL) for a certain amount of time, or after the number of grants received by the network is below a configured threshold for a period of time.

[0191] When falling back to a lower operating bandwidth (or fallback for a set of mathematical blocks), the WTRU may begin monitoring the fallback control channel region. Such a fallback control channel region may be a regular control channel region associated with the set of mathematical blocks used for fallback operation. Such a fallback control channel region may be the first control channel as explained in the hierarchical control channel embodiment presented herein. In another embodiment, the WTRU may fall back to monitoring the control channel region that may be used to reconfigure the mathematical blocks.

[0192] A WTRU may change its data channel bandwidth within a single TTI such that the configured data bandwidth for the WTRU, and accordingly the FFT / baseband processing performed by the WTRU, may be different for a set of symbols in a TTI compared to a different set of symbols in the same TTI. For example, a WTRU operating with a configured data bandwidth B2 > B1 may assume that for the first x symbols, the WTRU operates with data bandwidth B1 and for the remaining symbols of the TTI, the WTRU operates with data bandwidth B2.

[0193] Based on its variable data channel configuration, the WTRU may further operate using intra-TTI adaptation. For example, the WTRU may assume that for certain configurations (e.g., the WTRU is configured with bandwidth B1), the WTRU may always use bandwidth B1, while for other configurations (e.g., the WTRU is configured with bandwidth B2 > B1), the WTRU may use bandwidth B1 for the start of the TTI and bandwidth B2 for the end of the TTI.

[0194] A WTRU may be scheduled with a variable or adaptive data channel by having the WTRU receive data on a first set of resource blocks in an initial allocation, and having additional or extended resources provided to the WTRU simultaneously or at a predefined offset. The WTRU may then receive supplemental control information related to its resource allocation within one of the set of resource blocks or resource elements or sets of resource blocks allocated to it for data. The supplemental control information may provide the resources (e.g., resource blocks) or the usage of the resources (e.g., modulation and coding scheme (MCS)) used by the WTRU in the extended resources. The WTRU may expect the supplemental control information to be present under certain data channel configurations or bandwidths, and may be determined in: coded control frames that are located in a defined or semi-statically configured set of resources in the WTRU's initial allocation; and / or MAC CEs sent in the resources in the WTRU's initial allocation.

[0195] In an example embodiment, the WTRU may be configured to operate using a 5 MHz, 10 MHz, or 20 MHz data channel. Operation at 10 MHz or below 20 MHz may be considered to be operating under extended resources. When operating using a 20 MHz data channel, the WTRU may receive a resource grant indicating specific resource blocks allocated within the initial 5 MHz bandwidth. The WTRU operating using extended resources may determine the additional resources allocated to it in the extended band by decoding a WTRU-specific control message located within the WTRU-specific resources allocated in the initial 5 MHz. The WTRU may further assume a time offset between the base 5 MHz and the extended (additional 15 MHz) data resources to allow decoding of the supplemental control information, or as previously described, it may assume that the data channel adaptation may occur within a TTI.

[0196] Data may be mapped to REs in virtual resource blocks (VRBs) and may combat frequency selectivity where such VRBs may be mapped to non-adjacent PRBs. The VRB to PRB mapping may be indicated in a DCI scheduled transmission using a bitmap of all PRBs or an input to a preconfigured mapping function. In some cases, the WTRU or TRP may not transmit on a set of physical blocks that are considered to be blank or unused resources. The VRB to PRB mapping may depend on the blocks that may be used for transmission. In one case, the VRB to PRB mapping may be explicitly indicated to the WTRU in a control channel transmission (e.g., in the DCI). In another case, the VRB to PRB mapping may be implemented by a block-based interleaver and / or by partitioning resource block pairs by specific frequency gaps. In the case of a block-based interleaver, the interleaving function may be performed only on the PRBs of the physical blocks on which the WTRU is configured to operate. For example, the PRBs configured to the WTRU may be indexed consecutively and such indexing may skip portions of the bandwidth of the carrier that are not configured for the WTRU (e.g., blank or unused resources). For the case of resource block pair partitioning, in a similar manner as described above for interleaving, gaps may be counted only on the PRBs of the physical block on which the WTRU is configured to operate.

[0197] In some cases, the VRB to PRB mapping may be defined in a manner that is independent of whether one or more frequency regions are unused. For example: the VRB to PRB mapping may take into account unused physical blocks; interleaving may always ensure that a VRB is not mapped to a PRB of a physical block that should not be used; and / or the total bandwidth may be divided into PRBs, and such PRBs may be indexed in a certain order (e.g., from lowest frequency to highest). The WTRU may interpret the VRB to PRB mapping rules to take into account all PRBs, including those in regions where the WTRU may not expect data transmission (e.g., regions where it has not been configured with a physical block). In such cases, the WTRU may need to know the number of unused physical blocks and may determine the appropriate number of unused PRBs in the unused physical blocks (i.e., if the PRB size depends on the number, e.g., if it is a fixed number of subcarriers). The WTRU may be configured with physical parameters for unused physical blocks. Such configuration may indicate to the WTRU the physical parameters assumed for the block and may also include an indication that such block may not be used for data transmission in the UL, DL, or SL.

[0198] In a method and system for flexible resource usage, data may be mapped to resource elements of multiple mathematical blocks, each with different mathematical parameters. Figure 7An example of RE mapping over multiple mathematical blocks using frequency 702 first and time 701 is shown: mapping each mathematical block 703a; increasing by a minimum symbol time 703b; increasing by a symbol time per mathematical block 703c; and / or increasing by a maximum symbol time 703c. Groups 704a, 704b, and 704c represent example frequency ranges.

[0199] A transport block may be transmitted over a single physical block or multiple physical blocks, and resource element (RE) mapping may be done first in frequency (ie, on subcarriers) and then in time (ie, on symbols), or vice versa.

[0200] Alternatively, a transmission block may span multiple mathematical blocks, with different sets of mathematical parameters, where the RE mapping may be predetermined, indicated in the control information scheduling the transmission, or indicated in the configuration of the mathematical block.

[0201] In one embodiment, RE mapping may be done at each physical block, whereby mapping is done within a physical block following the mapping rules discussed for a single physical block. The order of the physical blocks for RE mapping may be done sequentially in frequency or time.

[0202] In with Figure 7 In an embodiment related to the example in section 703b, RE mapping can be performed across all mathematical blocks. For example, RE mapping can be performed first across subcarriers. A symbol boundary of the smallest symbol can be used, and mapping can begin at the first symbol boundary across all subcarriers with boundaries at that time. Mapping can then continue to the second smallest symbol boundary and be performed across all subcarriers with boundaries at that time. Similar embodiments can use time-first and subcarrier boundaries of the smallest subcarrier.

[0203] In with Figure 7 In an embodiment related to the example in section 703c, RE mapping can be performed across all physical blocks first in frequency (or time) and then in time (or frequency). In this example, time is incremented by the maximum symbol size. For a physical block with a smaller symbol time, RE mapping is performed within the frequency range of that physical block and shifted in time until the larger symbol time ends.

[0204] In with Figure 7 In embodiments related to the example of section 703d, RE mapping can be performed first in frequency, but using time boundaries defined by symbol sizes other than the minimum. The appropriate symbol size boundaries can be indicated in the control information or can depend on the parameters of the control channel used to transmit the control information (e.g., the control channel region or the number of control channel regions). In this example, some REs in some numbers may remain unused.

[0205] In the time domain, data can be mapped to non-adjacent symbols. For example, RE mapping can use time interleaving, potentially randomizing the effects of per-symbol interference variations. In another example, data mapping can skip certain symbols. For example, RE mapping can be completed across all subcarriers for a first set of symbols, then skipped for a second set of symbols and continued for a third set of symbols. Such an interruption does not require signaling the transmission of different transport blocks. The timing and size of the interruption can be indicated in a control channel transmission that provides scheduling information.

[0206] In a method and system for flexible resource usage, the algorithm used for a WTRU transmission may be selected by the WTRU. For example, a WTRU may be configured with a set of mathematical blocks having a particular set of mathematical parameters. However, the WTRU may require a grant-free transmission using a different set of mathematical parameters. In another example, a WTRU may be configured with a suitable mathematical block, however, it may require a larger bandwidth for its transmission using that algorithm.

[0207] The mathematical parameters selected by the WTRU may depend on the pre-configuration in which the network indicates to the WTRU which set of parameters are available. This configuration may be done together with the mathematical block configuration.

[0208] In another embodiment, the WTRU may follow some predetermined rules for a set of mathematical parameters that are selected by the applicable WTRU. For example, the WTRU may only select mathematical parameters that scale mathematically in the conflicting mathematical block. For example, the WTRU may only select mathematical parameters whose symbol duration or subcarrier spacing is an integer multiple (or divisor) of the symbol duration or subcarrier spacing of the conflicting mathematical block. In yet another embodiment, only parameters that do not create new inter / intra-mathematical block interference are changed. For example, the WTRU may select a different subframe length but maintain subcarrier orthogonality by not changing the subcarrier spacing.

[0209] In a method and system for flexible resource usage, resource elements are mapped with reference signals for addressing when transmissions with different mathematical parameters (to or from different TRPs) may collide. Different TRPs or WTRUs may be configured to have different mathematical block configurations for a carrier. For example, a first TRP may have a set of first mathematical block boundaries and a set of mathematical blocks of parameters, and a second TRP may have a set of second mathematical block boundaries and a set of mathematical blocks of parameters. It may be desirable for RSs using different sets of mathematical parameters on the same subband of a carrier to have dependent characteristics. For example, in order to perform appropriate interference management, orthogonal cover coding (OCC) may be used when the RSs overlap in time and frequency. In another example, it may be beneficial for a WTRU to be able to measure RSs from different TRPs using the same mathematical parameters in a subband. However, if the RSs do not share the same mathematical parameters, both of these cases may be difficult to achieve.

[0210] Figure 8 An example of RS reception in time or frequency orthogonalization for RSs from different TRPs is shown. Time or symbol length is indicated in the horizontal axis 801, and frequency is indicated in the vertical axis 802. RS mapping can be done in a way that different symbols have similar RS overhead. For example, there may be a first RS 800a transmission from a first TRP (or intended for a first TRP) on a portion of a carrier using a first symbol length 803 and a second RS 800b transmission from a second TRP (or intended for a second TRP) on the same portion of the carrier using a second symbol length 804. Assuming that the first symbol length 803 is divisible by the second symbol length 804, the RS transmitted (or received) using the first symbol length should be repeated in time to match the second symbol length 804. For example, "a" with the first symbol length 803 can overlap in time with two "c" with the second symbol length 804, which is half the length of the first symbol length 803. Similar embodiments can be used for integer scalable subcarrier sizes using frequency repetition. A combination of time and frequency repetition may be used, for example, an RS transmitted using the first mathematical function 800b (with small symbol time and large SCS) may use time repetition, while an RS transmitted using the second mathematical function 800a (with large symbol time and small SCS) may use frequency repetition.

[0211] In another embodiment, all RSs in the colliding subband (e.g., from different TRPs or WTRUs) may use the same set of mathematical parameters. In this case, the RS mathematical configuration may be independent of the mathematical block configuration. For example, RS transmissions may occupy time-frequency resource blocks. Modulation may be accomplished using an IFFT with a subcarrier spacing that matches the minimum subcarrier spacing between colliding mathematical blocks. Furthermore, sampling may be accomplished assuming a minimum symbol time between colliding mathematical blocks.

[0212] In another embodiment, blanking can be used to ensure orthogonality between RSs of different matrices using the same time-frequency resources. For example, an RS transmitted using a first matrice with a small subcarrier spacing may require a second matrice with a larger subcarrier spacing to blank multiple symbols for conflicting subcarriers. Similarly, an RS transmitted using a first matrice with a large subcarrier spacing may require a second matrice with a smaller subcarrier spacing to blank multiple subcarriers for conflicting symbols.

[0213] Although the features and elements of the present invention are described above in specific combinations, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that each feature or element can be used alone without the other features and elements, or in various combinations with any other features and elements of the present invention. In addition, the methods described in the present invention can be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware executed by a computer or processor, wherein the computer program, software, or firmware is contained in a computer-readable storage medium. Examples of computer-readable media include electronic signals (transmitted via wired or wireless connections) and computer-readable storage media. Examples of computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), registers, buffer memory, semiconductor storage devices, magnetic media (e.g., internal hard disk or removable disk), magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROMs and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor associated with the software can be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver used in a WTRU, a WTRU, a terminal, a base station, an RNC, or any host computer.

Claims

1. A wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), comprising: transceiver; processor, Wherein the transceiver and the processor are configured to: receiving at least one message including control channel region information for a plurality of mathematical blocks, wherein each of the plurality of mathematical blocks is within a carrier bandwidth, and each of the plurality of mathematical blocks has a frequency range within the carrier bandwidth and an associated subcarrier spacing and symbol duration, and wherein the received control channel region information indicates at least one control channel region for each of the plurality of mathematical blocks, and a subset of time and frequency resources for each control channel region within a corresponding mathematical block of the plurality of mathematical blocks, and receiving a control channel transmission based on the received control channel region information, wherein the control channel transmission is received in a subset of time and frequency resources of a first control channel region of the at least one control channel region of the corresponding one of the indicated plurality of mathematical blocks, and The first control channel region has the subcarrier spacing and the symbol duration of the corresponding mathematical block of the plurality of mathematical blocks.

2. The WTRU of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of physical blocks has a plurality of control channel regions with different frequency resources.

3. The WTRU of claim 1 , wherein the first control channel region has an associated beam.

4. A WTRU according to claim 1, wherein the received control channel transmission in the first of the multiple mathematical blocks indicates cross-mathematical block scheduling, and the transceiver and the processor are configured to receive the transmission in a mathematical block of the multiple mathematical blocks that is different from the first of the multiple mathematical blocks.

5. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the plurality of mathematical blocks are time division multiplexed.

6. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein at least one of the control channel regions comprises a plurality of search spaces.

7. The WTRU of claim 1 , wherein each of the control channel regions is received periodically in a time slot.

8. A method implemented by a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), the method comprising: receiving at least one message including control channel region information for a plurality of mathematical blocks, wherein each of the plurality of mathematical blocks is within a carrier bandwidth, and each of the plurality of mathematical blocks has a frequency range within the carrier bandwidth and an associated subcarrier spacing and symbol duration, and wherein the received control channel region information indicates at least one control channel region for each of the plurality of mathematical blocks and a subset of time and frequency resources for each control channel region within a corresponding mathematical block of the plurality of mathematical blocks, and receiving a control channel transmission based on the received control channel region information, wherein the control channel transmission is received in a subset of time and frequency resources of a first control region of the at least one control channel region of the corresponding one of the indicated plurality of mathematical blocks, and The first control channel region has the subcarrier spacing and the symbol duration of the corresponding mathematical block of the plurality of mathematical blocks.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein at least one of the plurality of mathematical blocks has a plurality of control channel regions with different frequency resources.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the first control channel region has an associated beam.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the received control channel transmission in the first of the plurality of mathematical blocks indicates cross-mathematical block scheduling, and further comprising receiving a transmission in a mathematical block of the plurality of mathematical blocks that is different from the first of the plurality of mathematical blocks.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of mathematical blocks are time division multiplexed.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein at least one of the control channel regions comprises a plurality of search spaces.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein each of the control channel regions is received periodically in a time slot.

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