URLLC Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) with repetition

Abstract

The present invention describes a user equipment (UE). The UE includes a processor configured to determine a subslot structure of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) repetition for ultra-reliable low-delay communication (URLLC) transmission. The UE also includes a transmitting circuit configured to transmit the PUCCH repetition for the URLLC transmission based on the subslot structure.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to communication systems. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to an Ultra-Reliable Low-Delay Communication (URLLC) Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) with repetition. Background Art

[0002] To meet consumer demands and improve portability and convenience, wireless communication devices have become smaller and more powerful. Consumers have become dependent on wireless communication devices and expect reliable service, expanded coverage areas, and enhanced functionality. A wireless communication system may provide communication for multiple wireless communication devices, each of which may be served by a base station. A base station may be a device that communicates with a wireless communication device.

[0003] With the development of wireless communication equipment, people have been seeking ways to improve communication capacity, speed, flexibility and / or efficiency. However, improving communication capacity, speed, flexibility and / or efficiency may bring certain problems.

[0004] For example, a wireless communication device may communicate with one or more devices using a communication structure. However, the communication structure used may only provide limited flexibility and / or efficiency. As shown in this discussion, systems and methods for improving communication flexibility and / or efficiency may be advantageous. Summary of the invention

[0005] In one example, a user equipment (UE) includes: a processor configured to determine a subslot structure of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) repetition for an ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) transmission; and a transmitting circuit configured to transmit the PUCCH repetition for the URLLC transmission based on the subslot structure.

[0006] In one example, a base station (gNB) includes: a processor configured to determine a subslot structure of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) repetition for an ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) transmission; and a receiving circuit configured to transmit the PUCCH repetition for the URLLC transmission based on the subslot structure.

[0007] In one example, a method performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: determining a subslot structure of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) repetition for an ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) transmission; and transmitting the PUCCH repetition for the URLLC transmission based on the subslot structure.

[0008] In one example, a method performed by a base station (gNB), the method comprising: determining a subslot structure of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) repetition for an ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) transmission; and receiving the PUCCH repetition for the URLLC transmission based on the subslot structure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] [ Figure 1 ] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating one specific implementation of one or more gNBs and one or more UEs in which systems and methods for an ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) with repetition may be implemented.

[0010] [ Figure 2 ] Figure 2 An example of a subslot structure for URLLC PUCCH allocation is shown.

[0011] [ Figure 3 ] Figure 3 An example of PUCCH resource configuration in each subslot is shown.

[0012] [ Figure 4 ] Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of PUCCH repetition with a subslot structure.

[0013] [ Figure 5 ] Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of PUCCH repetition with a subslot structure.

[0014] [ Figure 6 ] Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of a method for PUCCH repetition according to a first case.

[0015] [ Figure 7 ] Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of a method for PUCCH repetition according to the second case.

[0016] [ Figure 8 ] Figure 8 is a diagram showing an additional example of a method for PUCCH repetition according to the second case.

[0017] [ Fig. 9 ] Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a method for PUCCH repetition according to a third case.

[0018] [ Fig.10 ] Fig.10 is a block diagram illustrating a specific implementation of a gNB.

[0019] [ Fig.11 ] Fig.11 is a block diagram illustrating a specific implementation of a UE.

[0020] [ Fig.12 ] Fig.12 Various components that may be utilized in a UE are shown.

[0021] [ Fig.13 ] Fig.13 Various components that may be utilized in a gNB are shown.

[0022] [ Fig.14 ] Fig.14 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a UE in which systems and methods for PUCCH repetition may be implemented.

[0023] [ Fig.15 ] Fig.15 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a gNB in ​​which systems and methods for PUCCH repetition may be implemented. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The present invention describes a user equipment (UE). The UE includes a processor configured to determine a subslot structure of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) repetition for ultra-reliable low-delay communication (URLLC) transmission. The UE also includes a transmitting circuit configured to transmit the PUCCH repetition for the URLLC transmission based on the subslot structure.

[0025] PUCCH repetition may be configured for format 0, format 2, format 1, format 3, or format 4. PUCCH repetition may be configured for frequency domain with continuous resource element (RE) allocation mapping. PUCCH repetition may be configured for frequency domain with distributed resource element (RE) allocation mapping.

[0026] PUCCH repetition may be configured for the time domain. PUCCH repetition within a subslot may be supported, and PUCCH transmissions across subslot boundaries may not be allowed. PUCCH repetition within a subslot may be supported, PUCCH transmissions across subslot boundaries may be allowed within a slot, and PUCCH transmissions across slot boundaries may not be supported. PUCCH repetition within a subslot may not be supported, and one subslot-based PUCCH transmission may be transmitted in a subslot, and PUCCH repetition may be performed by PUCCH transmissions in multiple subslots.

[0027] If the sub-slot based PUCCH repetition is scheduled to collide with another PUCCH in the sub-slot, the processor may be configured to compare uplink control information (UCI) priorities. A PUCCH carrying a first UCI having a higher priority may be transmitted, and the other PUCCH may be discarded. If the sub-slot based PUCCH repetition is scheduled to collide with another PUCCH in a sub-slot having the same uplink control information (UCI) priority, the PUCCH that started earlier may be transmitted, and the other PUCCH may be discarded.

[0028] The present invention also describes a base station (gNB). The gNB includes a processor configured to determine a subslot structure of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) repetition for ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) transmission. The gNB also includes a receiving circuit configured to transmit the PUCCH repetition for the URLLC transmission based on the subslot structure.

[0029] PUCCH repetition may be configured for format 0, format 2, format 1, format 3, or format 4. PUCCH repetition may be configured for frequency domain with continuous resource element (RE) allocation mapping. PUCCH repetition may be configured for frequency domain with distributed resource element (RE) allocation mapping.

[0030] PUCCH repetition may be configured for the time domain. PUCCH repetition within a subslot may be supported, and PUCCH transmissions across subslot boundaries may not be allowed. PUCCH repetition within a subslot may be supported, PUCCH transmissions across subslot boundaries may be allowed within a slot, and PUCCH transmissions across slot boundaries may not be supported. PUCCH repetition within a subslot may not be supported, and one subslot-based PUCCH transmission may be transmitted in a subslot, and PUCCH repetition may be performed by PUCCH transmissions in multiple subslots.

[0031] If the sub-slot based PUCCH repetition is scheduled to collide with another PUCCH in the sub-slot, the processor may be configured to compare uplink control information (UCI) priorities. A PUCCH carrying a first UCI having a higher priority may be transmitted, and the other PUCCH may be discarded. If the sub-slot based PUCCH repetition is scheduled to collide with another PUCCH in a sub-slot having the same uplink control information (UCI) priority, the PUCCH that started earlier may be transmitted, and the other PUCCH may be discarded.

[0032] A method performed by a user equipment (UE) is also described. The method includes determining a subslot structure of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) repetition for an ultra-reliable low-delay communication (URLLC) transmission. The method also includes transmitting the PUCCH repetition for the URLLC transmission based on the subslot structure.

[0033] A method performed by a base station (gNB) is also described. The method includes determining a subslot structure of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) repetition for an ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) transmission. The method also includes receiving the PUCCH repetition for the URLLC transmission based on the subslot structure.

[0034] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (also known as "3GPP") is a collaborative agreement that develops globally applicable technical specifications and technical reports for third, fourth, and fifth generation wireless communication systems. 3GPP develops specifications for next generation mobile networks, systems, and devices.

[0035] 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is the name given to a project to improve the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile phone or device standard to cope with future requirements. In one aspect, UMTS has been modified to provide support and specifications for Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN).

[0036] At least some aspects of the systems and methods disclosed herein may be described in conjunction with 3GPP LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), and other standards (e.g., 3GPP Releases 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17). However, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited in this regard. At least some aspects of the systems and methods disclosed herein may be used in other types of wireless communication systems.

[0037] A wireless communication device may be an electronic device that is used to transmit voice and / or data to a base station, which in turn may communicate with a network of devices (e.g., a public switched telephone network (PSTN), the Internet, etc.). When describing the systems and methods herein, a wireless communication device may alternatively be referred to as a mobile station, UE, access terminal, subscriber station, mobile terminal, remote station, user terminal, terminal, subscriber unit, mobile device, etc. Examples of wireless communication devices include cellular phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, netbooks, e-readers, wireless modems, etc. In the 3GPP specification, a wireless communication device is generally referred to as a UE. However, since the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the 3GPP standard, the terms "UE" and "wireless communication device" are used interchangeably herein to represent the more general term "wireless communication device". UE may also be more generally referred to as a terminal device.

[0038] In the 3GPP specifications, a base station is often referred to as a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), a home enhanced or evolved Node B (HeNB), or some other similar term. Since the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the 3GPP standards, the terms "base station", "Node B", "eNB", "gNB" and / or "HeNB" may be used interchangeably herein to represent the more general term "base station". In addition, the term "base station" may be used to represent an access point. An access point may be an electronic device that provides wireless communication devices with access to a network (e.g., a local area network (LAN), the Internet, etc.). The term "communication device" may be used to represent a wireless communication device and / or a base station. An eNB may also be more generally referred to as a base station device.

[0039] It should be noted that as used herein, a "cell" may be any communication channel that is specified by a standardization or regulatory body for use with International Mobile Telecommunications-Advanced (IMT-Advanced) and all or a subset thereof, so that it is adopted by 3GPP as an authorized band (e.g., frequency band) for communication between an eNB and a UE. It should also be noted that in the E-UTRA and E-UTRAN general description, as used herein, a "cell" may be defined as a "combination of downlink resources and optional uplink resources". The link between the carrier frequency of the downlink resources and the carrier frequency of the uplink resources may be indicated in the system information sent on the downlink resources.

[0040] "Configured cells" are those cells that the UE is aware of and is permitted by the eNB to transmit or receive information. "Configured cells" may be serving cells. The UE may receive system information and perform required measurements on all configured cells. "Configured cells" for a radio connection may include a primary cell and / or zero, one or more secondary cells. "Activated cells" are those configured cells on which the UE is transmitting and receiving. That is, activated cells are those cells whose physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) the UE monitors, and in the case of downlink transmissions, those cells whose physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) the UE decodes. "Deactivated cells" are those configured cells where the UE does not monitor the transmission PDCCH. It should be noted that "cells" may be described in different dimensions. For example, a "cell" may have time, space (e.g., geographic) and frequency characteristics.

[0041] The fifth generation (5G) cellular communications (also referred to as "new radio", "new radio access technology" or "NR" by 3GPP) envisions the use of time / frequency / space resources to enable services such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) communications and ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) services and massive machine type communications (MMTC). New radio (NR) base stations may be referred to as gNBs. gNBs may also be more generally referred to as base stations or base station devices.

[0042] In 5G NR, different services can be supported by different quality of service (QoS) requirements (e.g., reliability and delay tolerance). For example, eMBB can target high data rates, and URLLC is used to achieve ultra-reliability and low latency. In order to support ultra-low latency, more than one HARQ-ACK feedback in a time slot can be configured for URLLC services. This article describes an example of a sub-slot structure for PUCCH repetition for URLLC. In NR, two or more HARQ-ACK codebooks can be constructed simultaneously for different service types. The PUCCH for URLLC HARQ-ACK can be used to transmit HARQ-ACK at the sub-slot level. In some examples, ultra-reliability can be used to enhance the PUCCH for URLLC HARQ-ACK (e.g., a block error rate (BLER) of 10^-6 instead of a0^-2). Additionally, aspects of URLLC PUCCH enhancement with different PUCCH formats are described herein, which may include supporting PUCCH repetition in the frequency domain and / or time domain for URLLC with a time slot level and / or sub-slot level structure.

[0043] Various examples of the systems and methods disclosed herein will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals may indicate functionally similar elements. The systems and methods as generally described and illustrated in the drawings herein can be arranged and designed in a variety of different specific implementations. Therefore, the following more detailed description of several specific implementations presented in the drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claims, but is merely representative of the systems and methods.

[0044] Figure 1 1 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of one or more gNBs 160 and one or more UEs 102 in which systems and methods for URLLC PUCCH with repetition may be implemented. The one or more UEs 102 communicate with the one or more gNBs 160 using one or more antennas 122a-n. For example, the UEs 102 transmit electromagnetic signals to and receive electromagnetic signals from the gNBs 160 using the one or more antennas 122a-n. The gNB 160 communicates with the UEs 102 using one or more antennas 180a-n.

[0045] The UE 102 and the gNB 160 may communicate with each other using one or more channels 119, 121. For example, the UE 102 may transmit information or data to the gNB 160 using one or more uplink channels 121. Examples of uplink channels 121 include PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) and PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel), PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel), etc. For example, the uplink channel 121 (e.g., PUSCH) may be used to transmit UL data (i.e., transport blocks), MAC PDUs, and / or UL-SCH (Uplink Shared Channel).

[0046] In some examples, the UL data may include URLLC data. The URLLC data may be UL-SCH data. Here, URLLC-PUSCH (i.e., a different physical uplink shared channel from PUSCH) may be defined to transmit URLLC data. For simplicity of description, the term "PUSCH" may represent any of the following: (1) PUSCH only (e.g., conventional PUSCH, non-URLLC-PUSCH, etc.), (2) PUSCH or URLLC-PUSCH, (3) PUSCH and URLLC-PUSCH, or (4) URLLC-PUSCH only (e.g., not conventional PUSCH).

[0047] Also, for example, the uplink channel 121 may be used to transmit a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK), channel state information (CSI), and / or a scheduling request (SR) signal. The HARQ-ACK may include information indicating a positive acknowledgement (ACK) or a negative acknowledgement (NACK) of DL data (i.e., a transport block), a medium access control protocol data unit (MAC PDU), and / or a DL-SCH (downlink shared channel).

[0048] The CSI may include information indicating the channel quality of the downlink. The SR may be used to request UL-SCH (uplink shared channel) resources for new transmission and / or retransmission. For example, the SR may be used to request UL resources for transmitting UL data.

[0049] For example, one or more gNBs 160 may also transmit information or data to one or more UEs 102 using one or more downlink channels 119. Examples of downlink channels 119 include PDCCH, PDSCH, etc. Other types of channels may be used. PDCCH may be used to transmit downlink control information (DCI).

[0050] Each of the one or more UEs 102 may include one or more transceivers 118, one or more demodulators 114, one or more decoders 108, one or more encoders 150, one or more modulators 154, a data buffer 104, and a UE operation module 124. For example, one or more receive paths and / or transmit paths may be implemented in the UE 102. For convenience, only a single transceiver 118, decoder 108, demodulator 114, encoder 150, and modulator 154 are shown in the UE 102, but multiple parallel elements (e.g., multiple transceivers 118, decoders 108, demodulators 114, encoders 150, and modulators 154) may be implemented.

[0051] The transceiver 118 may include one or more receivers 120 and one or more transmitters 158. The one or more receivers 120 may receive signals from the gNB 160 using one or more antennas 122a-n. For example, the receiver 120 may receive and downconvert the signals to produce one or more received signals 116. The one or more received signals 116 may be provided to the demodulator 114. The one or more transmitters 158 may transmit signals to the gNB 160 using one or more antennas 122a-n. For example, the one or more transmitters 158 may upconvert and transmit the one or more modulated signals 156.

[0052] The demodulator 114 may demodulate one or more received signals 116 to generate one or more demodulated signals 112. The one or more demodulated signals 112 may be provided to the decoder 108. The UE 102 may use the decoder 108 to decode the signal. The decoder 108 may generate a decoded signal 110, which may include the UE-decoded signal 106 (also referred to as the first UE-decoded signal 106). For example, the first UE-decoded signal 106 may include received payload data, which may be stored in the data buffer 104. Another signal included in the decoded signal 110 (also referred to as the second UE-decoded signal 110) may include overhead data and / or control data. For example, the second UE-decoded signal 110 may provide data that the UE operation module 124 may use to perform one or more operations.

[0053] Generally speaking, the UE operation module 124 can enable the UE 102 to communicate with one or more gNBs 160. The UE operation module 124 may include a UE scheduling module 126.

[0054] In some examples, the UE scheduling module 126 can be used to perform URLLC PUCCH communication with repetition as described herein. The UE 102 can be configured with a sub-slot structure for PUCCH repetition. Different sub-slot structures can be specified, such as a 2-symbol structure, a 3- and 4-symbol structure, and / or a 7-symbol structure, etc. In some examples, the UE 102 can be configured with high-layer signaling of the sub-slot structure for PUCCH repetition.

[0055] In some methods, a sub-slot structure may be configured for UE 102. Additionally or alternatively, URLLC HARQ-ACK PUCCH resources may be configured at the sub-slot level. For example, the PUCCH format may be enhanced to provide target (e.g., improved) reliability. In addition to enhancements to a single PUCCH resource, the PUCCH for URLLC may be configured with repetitions to enhance PUCCH reliability. Some methods of PUCCH repetition for URLLC are described herein.

[0056] For sub-slot based PUCCH, PUCCH repetition may be supported to improve PUCCH reliability. For example, PUCCH formats 0 and 2 and PUCCH formats 1, 3, and 4 may support repetition. Some methods may only allow PUCCH repetition for formats 1, 3, and 4. According to some examples of the systems and methods disclosed herein, all PUCCH formats (e.g., formats 0, 2, 1, 3, and 4) may support sub-slot based PUCCH repetition.

[0057] In some examples, repetition may be configured for frequency domain with continuous and / or distributed RE allocation mapping. For example, PUCCH repetition may be configured and performed in the frequency domain. Thus, the PUCCH format may be used with a repetition factor. For example, PUCCH resources may be repeated in the frequency domain based on the configuration. Frequency domain repetition may support continuous and / or distributed mapping.

[0058] In some examples, repetition may be configured for the time domain. For example, PUCCH repetition may be configured and performed in the time domain. In some methods, PUCCH repetition may be performed within a sub-slot and / or a time slot. In some methods, PUCCH repetition may be transmitted across multiple sub-slots and / or time slots.

[0059] In the first case of time domain repetition, PUCCH repetition within a subslot may be supported. In some examples, PUCCH transmission across subslot boundaries may not be allowed.

[0060] In the second case of time domain repetition, PUCCH repetition within a subslot may be supported. PUCCH transmission across subslot boundaries may be allowed within a slot. In some examples, PUCCH transmission across slot boundaries may not be supported.

[0061] In the third case of time domain repetition, PUCCH repetition within a subslot may not be supported. One subslot-based PUCCH may be transmitted in a subslot. In some examples, PUCCH repetition may be performed by PUCCH transmission in multiple subslots.

[0062] If a subslot-based PUCCH repetition may collide with another PUCCH in a subslot, the UCI priorities may be compared. A PUCCH carrying UCI with a higher priority may be transmitted. Other PUCCHs may be discarded. In the case of the same UCI priority, the PUCCH that started earlier (e.g., an ongoing PUCCH with repetition) may be transmitted. Other PUCCHs may be discarded.

[0063] This article describes various aspects of PUCCH formats in NR. PUCCH can be used to report important uplink control information (UCI), including HARQ-ACK, SR, channel state information (CSI), etc. Although NR Release 15 is primarily designed for enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), multiple physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) formats are specified for different bit numbers, as described below.

[0064] The physical uplink control channel supports multiple formats as shown in Table 1. In the case where frequency hopping is configured for PUCCH format 1, 3 or 4, the number of symbols in the first hop is determined by Given, where is the length of the PUCCH transmission in OFDM symbols.

[0065]

[0066] Table 1

[0067] Examples of HARQ-ACK feedback PUCCH allocations for URLLC are described herein. The UE 102 may be configured with a separate PUCCH resource set for an enhanced PUCCH format from a "normal" PUCCH format (i.e., the PUCCH resource set for URLLC traffic may be configured independently and separately from the eMBB PUCCH resource set). The PUCCH resources for URLLC may be configured with different parameters and / or some different fields than the eMBB resources.

[0068] In NR, multiple PUCCH resource sets can be configured for different payload sizes. In each PUCCH resource set, up to 16 PUCCH resources can be configured. If the number of resources is greater than 4, a subset is formed. In NR, for PUCCH reporting, the PUCCH resource set can be first determined based on the UCI payload size. The ARI field may indicate a subset of PUCCH resources in a PUCCH resource set. If there are more than 1 PUCCH resources in each subset, the PUCCH resources for UCI reporting may be implicitly determined based on the CCE index of the scheduled DCI. That is, the PUCCH resource subset for URLLC or eMBB may be indicated by using the ARI field. In addition, the PUCCH resources for URLLC or eMBB may be determined based on the CCE index of the scheduled DCI (e.g., the CCE index of the PDCCH that schedules PDSCH transmission).

[0069] URLLC traffic requires ultra-high reliability and low latency. HARQ-ACK for URLLC packets can be supported to provide the required reliability. In addition, HARQ-ACK feedback should be reported immediately after URLLC transmission.

[0070] In order to provide the target (e.g., improved) reliability for DL ​​URLLC transmission, PUCCH resources may need to be allocated to allow PDSCH retransmissions. Due to high reliability and low latency requirements, in order to support retransmissions of URLLC PDSCH, one or more HARQ-ACK feedbacks need to be reported within a subframe, and more than one HARQ-ACK reporting PUCCH resources may need to be configured in a subframe or time slot.

[0071] In NR, the subslot configuration of PUCCH for HARQ-ACK reporting can be configured separately from PDSCH and PUSCH scheduling for different service types (e.g., URLLC). For the UL subslot configuration for HARQ-ACK feedback on PUCCH, different subslot configurations can be specified for NR. Figure 2 An example of a subslot structure for URLLC PUCCH allocation is shown.

[0072] In one case, a PUCCH resource may be configured in each subslot of a configured subslot structure. Multiple PUCCH resource sets may be configured in each subslot. Each PUCCH resource set may be configured for a payload range. Each resource set may contain PUCCH resources with the same or different formats and with the same or different starting positions in a subslot. In some examples, a single PUCCH resource may not cross a subslot boundary.

[0073] In some examples, the same PUCCH configuration may be applied to all subslots, such as Figure 3 In case of different durations of subslots (eg, in case of 3-symbol and 4-symbol subslot structures), the same PUCCH configuration may be determined based on the subslot with the shorter duration.

[0074] In some examples of subslot structures, seven 2-symbol subslots and two 7-symbol subslots may be supported in NR. 4-symbol and 3-symbol structures are another example of subslot structures that may be beneficial in some cases. In some methods, UE 102 may be configured with multiple subslot structures and may configure different PUCCH resource sets that follow different subslot structure configurations.

[0075] To support different service types, two or more HARQ-ACK codebooks may be constructed (e.g., concurrently constructed or simultaneously constructed with partially overlapping time ranges). For URLLC services, subslot-based PUCCH may be configured for subslot-based HARQ-ACK feedback. In some examples, the same PUCCH resource may be configured in all subslots with a configured subslot structure.

[0076] In some approaches, PUCCH resources may cross sub-slot boundaries. In some examples of NR, a single PUCCH resource may not cross slot boundaries. However, different approaches may be taken based on whether the PUCCH resources configured for sub-slot-based HARQ-ACK may cross sub-slot boundaries within a slot.

[0077] In methods where a PUCCH resource may cross one or more subslot boundaries, the duration of the PUCCH resource may be different depending on the location of the PUCCH resource. For example, a PUCCH resource in an earlier subslot may have a longer duration and cross a subslot boundary within the same slot. For example, a PUCCH resource in the last subslot in a slot may be shorter and confined to a given subslot.

[0078] In some examples, different PUCCH resource durations may be configured in different subslots based on the subslot position in the timeslot. Some configurations may be more complex with little or no benefit. In this case, the PUCCH resources and performance in different subslots may be different, and the PUCCH resource configuration may not maintain the subslot structure. Therefore, it may be beneficial to limit a single PUCCH resource within a subslot. Therefore, for subslot-based PUCCH resource allocation, in some methods, a single PUCCH resource may not cross subslot boundaries. In order to achieve similar results with PUCCH duration length, PUCCH repetitions may be configured across subslots to avoid different PUCCH configurations in different subslots based on the position of the subslot in the timeslot.

[0079] This document describes an example use case for subslot-based PUCCH repetition. In order to achieve the goal of longer duration and reliability of PUCCH resources across subslot boundaries, subslot-based PUCCH repetition for URLLC may be considered. Therefore, in addition to enhancements to single PUCCH resource configuration, enhancements to PUCCH repetition may also be supported.

[0080] There are several beneficial use cases for PUCCH repetition. In some examples, multiple PUCCH transmissions can provide higher reliability through time diversity compared to a single PUCCH transmission of an existing or enhanced PUCCH format. PUCCH repetition can provide fast feedback with finer granularity. For example, gNB 160 can start decoding PUCCH earlier and can obtain feedback before all PUCCH repetitions are completed. UE 102 can start PUCCH feedback earlier than with a fixed starting position without PUCCH resource overlap. Figure 4 An example with a 2-symbol subslot structure is shown.

[0081] This article describes some methods for enhancing PUCCH repetition of sub-slot based PUCCH. In order to provide higher reliability of sub-slot based PUCCH for URLLC, PUCCH repetition can achieve the same performance gain in addition to enhanced PUCCH format.

[0082] Some methods for frequency domain repetition are described herein. In some methods, PUCCH repetition can be configured and performed in the frequency domain. For example, a PUCCH format with a repetition factor (e.g., a traditional PUCCH format) can be configured for URLLC services. For example, an existing method can be used to determine the initial PUCCH resource. The repetition factor can determine the number of repetitions of the PUCCH in the frequency domain. The repetition factor can be used to achieve the same results as an enhanced PUCCH resource with multiple physical resource blocks (PRBs) (e.g., for PUCCH format 0 and PUCCH format 1).

[0083] In some examples, two or more resource allocation methods may be supported. In one method, PUCCH repetition may be performed in consecutive RBs from an initial PUCCH transmission. In another method, PUCCH repetition is performed in distributed resource blocks (RBs) in a bandwidth part (BWP). Some modes may be defined and indicated as RB resource allocations.

[0084] Some methods for time domain repetition are described herein. In order to provide improved (eg, higher) reliability for URLLC HARQ-ACK, the PUCCH of URLLC in a slot and / or subslot may support or enhance time domain repetition.

[0085] In some methods, PUCCH repetition is supported only for long PUCCH format 1, format 3 and format 4. PUCCH repetition is performed at the time slot level. The same PUCCH resource configuration is applied in each time slot, that is, the PUCCH in each time slot has the same starting symbol, duration, number of PRBs, etc. The number of PUCCH repetitions is configured by RRC signaling with parameter nrofSlots. When PUCCH repetition is configured, frequency hopping can be further configured. If inter-slot frequency hopping is enabled, frequency hopping is performed at each time slot according to List 1.

[0086]

[0087] List 1

[0088] Among some different methods of PUCCH repetition, URLLC subslot based PUCCH repetition may support short PUCCH formats 0 and 2 in addition to or alternatively to long PUCCH formats 1, 3, and 4. PUCCH repetition may allow multiple PUCCH transmissions of the same UCI report.

[0089] In some methods of PUCCH repetition, only one PUCCH transmission is allowed in a time slot, and repetition is performed by PUCCH transmissions in multiple time slots. For PUCCH repetition based on URLLC sub-slots, PUCCH repetition within a time slot can be supported and even repetition within a sub-slot can be supported.

[0090] Since more than one PUCCH for HARQ-ACK reporting can be supported in a time slot for URLLC, PUCCH repetition can be supported within a time slot. If the use of sub-slots is configured, PUCCH repetition can also be supported within sub-slots and / or time slots. One or more cases can be implemented for PUCCH repetition based on sub-slots.

[0091] In the first case, PUCCH repetition within a subslot is supported. PUCCH transmissions across subslot boundaries may not be allowed. For example, if a subslot structure is configured and PUCCH resources are configured in a subslot, PUCCH repetition may be performed within a subslot. In this case, more than one PUCCH transmission may occur in a subslot. Figure 6 An example of a method for the first case is given.

[0092] In the second case, PUCCH repetition within a subslot is supported. PUCCH transmissions across subslot boundaries may be allowed within a slot, but may not be supported. In the second case, as an exception, PUCCH transmissions across subslot boundaries may be allowed for PUCCH repetition. The initial PUCCH transmission may still be restricted to within a subslot. Therefore, for PUCCH configuration, PUCCH transmissions across subslot boundaries may not be allowed, and PUCCH transmissions across subslot boundaries may be allowed for PUCCH transmissions during repetition. PUCCH transmissions across slot boundaries may not be allowed. Therefore, if the subslot boundary is also the slot boundary, PUCCH transmissions across subslot (and slot) boundaries may not be allowed. Combined with Figure 7 and Figure 8 An example of a method for the second case is given.

[0093] In the third case, PUCCH repetition within a subslot may not be supported. For example, a subslot-based PUCCH may be transmitted in a subslot, and PUCCH repetition may be performed with PUCCH transmissions in one or more subslots. For example, a single PUCCH transmission may be allowed within a subslot, and multiple PUCCH transmissions may be performed in multiple subslots, with one PUCCH transmission in each subslot. If a subslot does not have enough UL symbols available for the configured PUCCH duration, then the PUCCH may not be transmitted, and PUCCH repetition may be performed in the next available subslot. Combined with Fig. 9 An example of a method for the third case is given.

[0094] PUCCH repetition and collision with PUCCH for the same UCI type are discussed as follows. If a slot is configured with multiple subslots, PUCCH resources may be configured in all subslots or a subset of subslots.

[0095] In one case, PUCCH repetition may not extend to the starting symbol of the next configured PUCCH resource of the same UCI type in a later subslot. This can avoid potential overlap of PUCCH transmissions for HARQ-ACK reporting. If PUCCH resources are configured in each subslot, PUCCH repetition can be restricted to the same subslot.

[0096] In another case, the PUCCH repetition may extend beyond the starting symbol of the next configured PUCCH resource of the same UCI type in a later subslot. Before the ongoing multiple PUCCH transmissions are completed, the PUCCH transmission configured in the later subslot may not be expected to transmit for the same UCI type. This can provide a cascaded mode with earlier reported PUCCH repetitions with a smaller granularity of PUCCH starting position in the slot.

[0097] However, in another case, the PUCCH repetition may extend beyond the starting symbol of the next configured PUCCH resource of the same UCI type in a later subslot. Before the ongoing multiple PUCCH transmissions are completed, the configured PUCCH transmissions in the later subslots of the same UCI type may be discarded and not transmitted for the same UCI type.

[0098] If a PUCCH repetition may collide with another PUCCH in a subslot, the UCI priorities may be compared and the PUCCH carrying the UCI with a higher priority may be transmitted and the other PUCCHs may be discarded. In the case of the same UCI priority, the PUCCH that started earlier (e.g., an ongoing PUCCH with repetition) may be transmitted and the other PUCCHs may be discarded.

[0099] In some examples, if the URLLC PUCCH uses a higher SCS setting than the eMBB service, the symbol duration of the URLLC PUCCH becomes shorter than the symbol duration of the eMBB. The time domain PUCCH repetition can be configured to align the symbol boundary between the eMBB and URLLC symbols on the same carrier or band or bandwidth portion. Therefore, the PUCCH for URLLC can be repeated in the time domain to fit the symbol duration of the reference parameters defined by the eMBB service. This can avoid overlapping partial symbols between transmissions with different parameters.

[0100] For example, if a 15 kilohertz (kHz) subcarrier spacing (SCS) (e.g., a first SCS) is used as a reference parameter for eMBB and URLLC uses a 60kHz subcarrier spacing (e.g., a second SCS), four 60kHz SCS symbols may be transmitted in a symbol with a 15kHz SCS. If a one-symbol PUCCH is configured for enhanced PUCCH format 0 or format 2 with a 60kHz SCS, it may be repeated 4 times to fit a symbol with 15kHz. Similarly, if a two-symbol PUCCH is configured for enhanced PUCCH format 0 or format 2 with a 60kHz SCS, it may be repeated 2 times to fit a symbol with 15kHz, and so on.

[0101] The UE operations module 124 may provide the information 148 to the one or more receivers 120. For example, the UE operations module 124 may inform the one or more receivers 120 when to receive a retransmission.

[0102] The UE operations module 124 may provide information 138 to the demodulator 114. For example, the UE operations module 124 may inform the demodulator 114 of the modulation pattern expected for transmissions from the gNB 160.

[0103] The UE operations module 124 may provide information 136 to the decoder 108. For example, the UE operations module 124 may inform the decoder 108 of the encoding expected for the transmission from the gNB 160.

[0104] The UE operation module 124 may provide information 142 to the encoder 150. The information 142 may include data to be encoded and / or instructions for encoding. For example, the UE operation module 124 may instruct the encoder 150 to encode the transmission data 146 and / or other information 142. The other information 142 may include PDSCH HARQ-ACK information.

[0105] The encoder 150 may encode the transmission data 146 and / or other information 142 provided by the UE operations module 124. For example, encoding the data 146 and / or other information 142 may involve error detection and / or correction coding, mapping the data to spatial, time, and / or frequency resources for transmission, multiplexing, etc. The encoder 150 may provide the encoded data 152 to a modulator 154.

[0106] The UE operations module 124 may provide information 144 to the modulator 154. For example, the UE operations module 124 may inform the modulator 154 of the type of modulation (e.g., constellation mapping) to be used for transmission to the gNB 160. The modulator 154 may modulate the coded data 152 to provide one or more modulated signals 156 to one or more transmitters 158.

[0107] The UE operations module 124 may provide information 140 to the one or more transmitters 158. The information 140 may include instructions for the one or more transmitters 158. For example, the UE operations module 124 may instruct the one or more transmitters 158 when to transmit signals to the gNB 160. For example, the one or more transmitters 158 may transmit during a UL subframe. The one or more transmitters 158 may up-convert the modulated signal 156 and transmit the modulated signal to the one or more gNBs 160.

[0108] Each of the one or more gNBs 160 may include one or more transceivers 176, one or more demodulators 172, one or more decoders 166, one or more encoders 109, one or more modulators 113, a data buffer 162, and a gNB operation module 182. For example, one or more receive paths and / or transmit paths may be implemented in the gNB 160. For convenience, only a single transceiver 176, decoder 166, demodulator 172, encoder 109, and modulator 113 are shown in the gNB 160, but multiple parallel elements (e.g., multiple transceivers 176, decoders 166, demodulators 172, encoders 109, and modulators 113) may be implemented.

[0109] The transceiver 176 may include one or more receivers 178 and one or more transmitters 117. The one or more receivers 178 may receive signals from the UE 102 using one or more antennas 180a-n. For example, the receiver 178 may receive and downconvert the signals to produce one or more received signals 174. The one or more received signals 174 may be provided to the demodulator 172. The one or more transmitters 117 may transmit signals to the UE 102 using one or more antennas 180a-n. For example, the one or more transmitters 117 may upconvert and transmit one or more modulated signals 115.

[0110] The demodulator 172 may demodulate one or more received signals 174 to produce one or more demodulated signals 170. The one or more demodulated signals 170 may be provided to the decoder 166. The gNB 160 may decode the signal using the decoder 166. The decoder 166 may produce one or more decoded signals 164, 168. For example, the signal 164 decoded by the first eNB may include received payload data, which may be stored in the data buffer 162. The signal 168 decoded by the second eNB may include overhead data and / or control data. For example, the signal 168 decoded by the second eNB may provide data (e.g., PDSCH HARQ-ACK information) that the gNB operations module 182 may use to perform one or more operations.

[0111] In general, the gNB operations module 182 may enable the gNB 160 to communicate with one or more UEs 102. The gNB operations module 182 may include a gNB scheduling module 194. The gNB scheduling module 194 may perform operations for PUCCH repetition as described herein.

[0112] The gNB operations module 182 may provide information 188 to the demodulator 172. For example, the gNB operations module 182 may inform the demodulator 172 of the modulation pattern expected for transmissions from one or more UEs 102.

[0113] The gNB operations module 182 may provide information 186 to the decoder 166. For example, the gNB operations module 182 may inform the decoder 166 of the encoding expected for transmissions from one or more UEs 102.

[0114] The gNB operation module 182 may provide information 101 to the encoder 109. The information 101 may include data to be encoded and / or instructions for encoding. For example, the gNB operation module 182 may instruct the encoder 109 to encode the information 101, including the transmission data 105.

[0115] The encoder 109 may encode the transmission data 105 and / or other information included in the information 101 provided by the gNB operation module 182. For example, encoding the transmission data 105 and / or other information included in the information 101 may involve error detection and / or correction coding, mapping the data to space, time and / or frequency resources for transmission, multiplexing, etc. The encoder 109 may provide the encoded data 111 to the modulator 113. The transmission data 105 may include network data to be relayed to the UE 102.

[0116] The gNB operations module 182 may provide information 103 to the modulator 113. The information 103 may include instructions for the modulator 113. For example, the gNB operations module 182 may inform the modulator 113 of the type of modulation (e.g., constellation mapping) to be used for transmission to the UE 102. The modulator 113 may modulate the coded data 111 to provide one or more modulated signals 115 to one or more transmitters 117.

[0117] The gNB operations module 182 may provide information 192 to the one or more transmitters 117. The information 192 may include instructions for the one or more transmitters 117. For example, the gNB operations module 182 may instruct the one or more transmitters 117 when (and when not) to transmit signals to the one or more UEs 102. The one or more transmitters 117 may upconvert the one or more modulated signals 115 and send the one or more modulated signals to the one or more UEs 102.

[0118] It should be noted that DL subframes may be transmitted from the gNB 160 to one or more UEs 102, and UL subframes may be transmitted from one or more UEs 102 to the gNB 160. In addition, both the gNB 160 and the one or more UEs 102 may transmit data in standard special subframes.

[0119] It should also be noted that one or more of the elements or components thereof included in one or more eNBs 160 and one or more UEs 102 may be implemented in hardware. For example, one or more of these elements or components thereof may be implemented as a chip, a circuit, a hardware component, etc. It should also be noted that one or more of the functions or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware and / or performed using hardware. For example, one or more of the methods described herein may be implemented in and / or implemented using a chipset, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a large scale integrated circuit (LSI), or an integrated circuit, etc.

[0120] Figure 2 An example of a subslot structure for a URLLC PUCCH allocation is shown. An example of subslot indices 204a-d for a 14-symbol slot is shown.

[0121] Different sub-slot configurations 202 may be specified for NR. Figure 2 As shown, possible subslot structures in a 14-symbol time slot may include one or more of the following. A first subslot configuration 202a includes seven 2-symbol subslots (i.e., 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2). A second subslot configuration 202b includes {4, 3, 4, 3} symbol subslots. A third subslot configuration 202c includes {4, 3, 3, 4} symbol subslots. A fourth subslot configuration 202d includes {7, 7} symbol subslots.

[0122] In the example, for a structure of 2 symbol subslots (e.g., the first subslot configuration 202a), there may be 7 subslots that can carry HARQ-ACK with PUCCH feedback. However, in most cases, 2 to 4 HARQ-ACK feedbacks in a slot may be sufficient to meet the target low latency requirement.

[0123] Different sub-slot configurations may be configured for different parameters with different subcarrier spacing (SCS) settings. For example, for an SCS with 15 kilohertz (kHz), 2-symbol or 3-symbol and 4-symbol sub-slots may be used to ensure more retransmissions occur within 1 millisecond (ms). For an SCS with 60 kHz, a 7-symbol sub-slot may be sufficient to ensure retransmissions within 1 ms.

[0124] Figure 3An example of a PUCCH resource configuration in each subslot is shown.Subslot indices 304a-b for a 14-symbol slot are shown.

[0125] The same PUCCH configuration can be applied to all subslots, such as Figure 3 The same PUCCH resource configuration may be applied to each subslot of a 2-symbol subslot.

[0126] In the case of different durations of sub-time slots (e.g., in the case of 3-symbol and 4-symbol sub-time slot structures of the second sub-time slot configuration 302b), the same PUCCH configuration may be determined based on the sub-time slot with the shorter duration. For example, the same PUCCH resource configuration may be applied in each sub-time slot based on the sub-time slot with the shorter duration. In the case of the example of the second sub-time slot configuration 302b, the 3-symbol sub-time slot is the shorter duration.

[0127] Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of PUCCH repetition with a subslot structure. Specifically, Figure 4 An example with a 2-symbol subslot structure is shown. A subslot index 404 for a 2-symbol subslot structure is shown. An example of an initial PUCCH transmission 408 and a PUCCH repetition transmission 410 is shown. For example, Figure 4 An example of a 2-symbol PUCCH that may be repeated twice to achieve a target reliability is shown 406. PUCCH repetition may provide more potential starting positions and therefore faster feedback.

[0128] Figure 4 An example of a 4-symbol PUCCH 412 is also shown in FIG. PUCCH resources may be configured at fewer fixed locations with 4-symbol PUCCH to provide the same reliability. PUCCH repetition transmission 410 (e.g., of 2-symbol PUCCH) may provide faster feedback with the same reliability as the case of non-overlapping PUCCH locations in the time domain.

[0129] Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of PUCCH repetition with a subslot structure. Specifically, Figure 5 An example of a {4, 3, 4, 3} symbol subslot structure is shown. A subslot index 504 of a {4, 3, 4, 3} symbol subslot structure is shown. An example of an initial PUCCH transmission 508 and a PUCCH repetition transmission 510 is shown.

[0130] In some examples, PUCCH repetitions may utilize all symbols in the subslot structure (e.g., fully utilize available symbols). Figure 5In 514, for both 4 and 3 symbol subslot structures, PUCCH with repetitions can potentially use all available symbols in a subslot. In a 4-symbol subslot, to use all symbols, a UE may be configured with 2 transmissions of 2-symbol PUCCH (e.g., an initial 2-symbol PUCCH transmission with 2-symbol PUCCH repetition transmissions as shown in example 514), 4 transmissions of 1-symbol PUCCH, or 4-symbol PUCCH. In a 3-symbol subslot, a UE may be configured with 1-symbol PUCCH and 3 transmissions (e.g., an initial 1-symbol PUCCH transmission with 2 1-symbol PUCCH repetition transmissions as shown in example 516) to utilize all symbols in a subslot.

[0131] Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of a method for PUCCH repetition according to a first case. In the first case, PUCCH repetition within a subslot is supported, but PUCCH transmission across a subslot boundary may not be allowed. For example, if a subslot structure is configured and PUCCH resources are configured in a subslot, PUCCH repetition may be performed within the subslot. In this case, more than one PUCCH transmission may occur in a subslot.

[0132] Specifically, Figure 6 An example of a method for PUCCH repetition within a subslot is shown. In one method, each PUCCH transmission may use the same configured PUCCH format and duration. Thus, if the remaining symbols in the subslot are less than the configured PUCCH duration, no PUCCH is transmitted, e.g. Figure 6 618. Specifically, the first example shows that an initial PUCCH transmission 608 is performed in the first 7-symbol subslot (7-symbol subslot 0), followed by PUCCH repetition A 610a and PUCCH repetition B 610b. In this example, PUCCH repetition C 610c is performed in the second 7-symbol subslot (7-symbol subslot 1). Symbols are not used in the first 7-symbol subslot because the number of remaining symbols (e.g., 1) is insufficient for PUCCH transmission (e.g., PUCCH repetition). This approach may be beneficial because it simplifies PUCCH configuration and ensures the integrity of each PUCCH transmission.

[0133] In another method, the last PUCCH transmission may use the configured PUCCH format, possibly with puncturing of symbols depending on the available symbols until the next subslot. Figure 6As shown in the second example 620 of , an initial PUCCH transmission 608 is performed in the first 7-symbol subslot, followed by PUCCH repetition A 610a and PUCCH repetition B 610b. In this instance, a truncated version of PUCCH repetition C 610c is transmitted because the number of remaining symbols in the first 7-symbol subslot is insufficient for a PUCCH transmission (e.g., a PUCCH repetition). The truncated PUCCH may not provide the target performance, especially when the number of remaining symbols is small compared to the initial PUCCH transmission. Therefore, in some examples of PUCCH repetitions, truncated PUCCH transmissions may not be beneficial. In combination with Figure 6 In both methods described, within a subslot, the number of repetitions may be limited by the duration of the subslot, the duration of the PUCCH transmission and / or the starting symbol of the initial PUCCH transmission.

[0134] In some methods, for PUCCH repetition in a slot, PUCCH repetition may be performed first in a subslot. If the remaining symbols in the subslot are or less than the configured PUCCH duration and the number of PUCCH repetitions has not been reached, PUCCH repetition may start from the earliest uplink symbol that satisfies the PUCCH format and duration in the next available subslot. If the number of PUCCH repetitions has not been reached at the end of the slot, PUCCH repetition may start from the earliest uplink symbol that satisfies the PUCCH format and duration in the next available subslot of the next available slot.

[0135] Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of a method for PUCCH repetition according to a second case. In the second case, PUCCH repetition may cross subslot boundaries within a slot. For example, PUCCH repetition within a subslot may be supported. PUCCH transmission across subslot boundaries may be allowed within a slot, but PUCCH transmission across slot boundaries may not be supported. In the second case, PUCCH transmission across subslot boundaries may be allowed for PUCCH repetition.

[0136] In the second case, the PUCCH repetition at the end of a subslot may cross a subslot boundary and may extend to the next subslot within the same slot as the previous subslot, e.g. Figure 7 As shown. PUCCH repetition can be performed within a slot using available uplink (UL) symbols regardless of the subslot structure in the slot. This can achieve the same goal as allowing PUCCH resources across subslot boundaries.

[0137] Figure 7An example 722 of a method is shown in , for example, for PUCCH repetitions within a slot, each PUCCH transmission may use the same configured PUCCH format and duration. If the remaining symbols in the slot are or are less than the configured PUCCH duration, then the PUCCH is not transmitted, as shown in example 722. Specifically, example 722 shows an initial PUCCH transmission 708, followed by PUCCH repetition A 710a and PUCCH repetition B 710 in a slot having two 7-symbol subslots. In example 722, symbols are not used because the number of remaining symbols in the slot (or subslots) is insufficient for the PUCCH transmission repetition to be performed in the next available slot. Therefore, PUCCH repetition C 710c may be performed in the next slot.

[0138] In another approach, the final PUCCH transmission may use the configured PUCCH format, with symbols potentially truncated depending on the available symbols until the next configured starting symbol position or end of the slot. Specifically, example 724 shows an initial PUCCH transmission 708, followed by truncated versions of PUCCH repetition A 710a, PUCCH repetition B 710, and PUCCH repetition C 710c, because the remaining number of symbols is insufficient for the PUCCH transmission. The truncated PUCCH may not provide the target performance, especially when the number of remaining symbols is too small compared to the initial PUCCH transmission. Therefore, in some examples of PUCCH repetitions, truncated PUCCH transmissions may not be beneficial. In combination with Figure 7 In both methods described, the number of repetitions may be limited within a slot by the duration of a PUCCH transmission and / or the starting symbol of an initial PUCCH transmission.

[0139] Figure 8 is a diagram showing an additional example of a method for PUCCH repetition according to the second case. Specifically, Figure 8 An example is shown in which PUCCH repetitions may cross subslot boundaries but may not cross slot boundaries. For PUCCH repetitions within a slot, PUCCH repetitions may be performed in subslots that allow cross-subslot PUCCH transmissions during the PUCCH repetition. If the number of PUCCH repetitions is not reached at the end of the slot, the PUCCH repetitions may start from the earliest uplink symbol that meets the configured PUCCH format and duration in the next available subslot of the next available slot. Figure 8Two examples 826, 828 with 4 PUCCH transmissions (e.g., initial PUCCH transmission 808, PUCCH repetition A 810a, PUCCH repetition B 810b, and PUCCH repetition C 810c) are shown. The starting position of the initial PUCCH transmission 808 is different in the slot, and the resulting PUCCH repetitions are also different because the PUCCH repetitions can cross subslot boundaries but may not cross slot boundaries. In one example 826, a 7-symbol subslot includes an initial PUCCH transmission 808, a PUCCH transmission A 810a, a PUCCH repetition B 810b, and a PUCCH repetition C 810c, where PUCCH repetition C 810c crosses a subslot boundary. In another example 828, a 7-symbol subslot includes an initial PUCCH transmission 808, a PUCCH transmission A 810a, a PUCCH repetition B 810b, and a PUCCH repetition C 810c, where PUCCH repetition C 810c is transmitted after a slot boundary.

[0140] Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a method for PUCCH repetition according to a third case. The third case may include subslot-based PUCCH repetition with one PUCCH in each subslot. For example, one subslot-based PUCCH may be transmitted in a subslot, and the PUCCH repetition may be performed by PUCCH transmission in one or more subslots. For example, a single PUCCH transmission may be allowed within a subslot, and multiple PUCCH transmissions may be performed in multiple subslots with one PUCCH transmission in each subslot.

[0141] In one method, if the PUCCH is configured with a subslot structure, the PUCCH repetition transmission may use the same PUCCH format as the initial PUCCH transmission, with the same duration and the same starting symbol position in each subslot. Thus, the method may support PUCCH repetition at the subslot level. In some examples, this method may be beneficial if the subslot duration is relatively short (e.g., in a 2-symbol subslot structure). In some examples of the method, PUCCH repetition within a subslot may not be performed.

[0142] Fig. 9930, 932 of PUCCH repetitions using the same PUCCH format, duration, and starting position in each subslot. Specifically, one example 930 shows 7-symbol subslots with an initial PUCCH transmission 908 in subslot 1. PUCCH repetition A 910a is performed in subslot 2, PUCCH repetition B 910b is performed in subslot 3, and PUCCH repetition C 910c is performed in subslot 4, where each of the PUCCH repetitions 910a-c uses the same format and the same starting position in each of the subslots. Another example 932 shows 4-symbol and 3-symbol subslots with an initial PUCCH transmission 908 in subslot 1. PUCCH repetition A 910a is performed in subslot 2, PUCCH repetition B 910b is performed in subslot 3, and PUCCH repetition C 910c is performed in subslot 4, where each of the PUCCH repetitions 910a-c uses the same format and the same starting position in each of the subslots.

[0143] In another method, if the PUCCH is configured with a subslot structure, the PUCCH repetition transmission may use the same PUCCH format as the initial PUCCH transmission, with the same duration in each subslot. In this method, the starting position of the PUCCH repetition in the later subslot may be different. For example, the earliest available UL symbol that fits the configured PUCCH format and duration may be used as the starting position, such as Fig. 9 As shown in example 934 shown.

[0144] In some examples, PUCCH repetition may be applied to both short PUCCH formats 0 and 2 and long PUCCH formats 1, 3, and 4. In the case of subslot-based PUCCH allocation and transmission, the supported PUCCH formats may depend on the subslot configuration (e.g., the duration of each subslot).

[0145] Fig.10 is a block diagram illustrating a specific implementation of gNB 1060. gNB 1060 may be configured in accordance with some examples in combination with Figure 1 The gNB 1060 may be implemented by the gNB 1060 described herein and / or may perform one or more of the functions described herein. The gNB 1060 may include a high layer processor 1023, a DL transmitter 1025, a UL receiver 1033, and one or more antennas 1031. The DL transmitter 1025 may include a PDCCH transmitter 1027 and a PDSCH transmitter 1029. The UL receiver 1033 may include a PUCCH receiver 1035 and a PUSCH receiver 1037.

[0146] The high-level processor 1023 can manage the behavior of the physical layer (the behavior of the DL transmitter and the UL receiver) and provide high-level parameters to the physical layer. The high-level processor 1023 can obtain a transport block from the physical layer. The high-level processor 1023 can send / obtain high-level messages such as RRC messages and MAC messages to / from the high-level of the UE. The high-level processor 1023 can provide a transport block to the PDSCH transmitter and provide a transmission parameter related to the transport block to the PDCCH transmitter.

[0147] The DL transmitter 1025 may multiplex downlink physical channels and downlink physical signals (including reserved signals) and transmit them via the transmit antenna 1031. The UL receiver 1033 may receive and demultiplex the multiplexed uplink physical channels and uplink physical signals via the receive antenna 1031. The PUCCH receiver 1035 may provide UCI to the higher layer processor 1023. The PUSCH receiver 1037 may provide the received transport block to the higher layer processor 1023.

[0148] Fig.11 1 is a block diagram showing a specific implementation of UE 1102. UE 1102 may be configured in accordance with some examples in combination with Figure 1 The UE 1102 described herein may be implemented and / or may perform one or more of the functions described herein. The UE 1102 may include a high-layer processor 1123, a UL transmitter 1151, a DL receiver 1143, and one or more antennas 1131. The UL transmitter 1151 may include a PUCCH transmitter 1153 and a PUSCH transmitter 1155. The DL receiver 1143 may include a PDCCH receiver 1145 and a PDSCH receiver 1147.

[0149] The high-layer processor 1123 can manage the behavior of the physical layer (the behavior of the DL transmitter and the UL receiver) and provide high-layer parameters to the physical layer. The high-layer processor 1123 can obtain a transport block from the physical layer. The high-layer processor 1123 can send / obtain high-layer messages such as RRC messages and MAC messages to / from the high-layer of the UE. The high-layer processor 1123 can provide a transport block to the PUSCH transmitter and provide UCI to the PUCCH transmitter 1153.

[0150] The DL receiver 1143 may receive and demultiplex the multiplexed downlink physical channel and the downlink physical signal via the reception antenna 1131. The PDCCH receiver 1145 may provide the DCI to the higher layer processor 1123. The PDSCH receiver 1147 may provide the higher layer processor 1123 with the received transport block.

[0151] It should be noted that the names of the physical channels described herein are examples. Other names may be used, such as "NRPDCCH, NRPDSCH, NRPUCCH, and NRPUSCH," "New Generation-(G)PDCCH, GPDSCH, GPUCCH, and GPUSCH," etc.

[0152] Fig.12 Various components that may be used in a UE 1202 are shown. Fig.12 The UE 1202 described may be based on the combination of Figure 1 1202 is implemented by the UE 102 described in the embodiment of the present invention. The UE 1202 includes a processor 1203 that controls the operation of the UE 1202. The processor 1203 may also be referred to as a central processing unit (CPU). The memory 1205 (which may include a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a combination of these two memories, or any type of device that can store information) provides instructions 1207a and data 1209a to the processor 1203. A portion of the memory 1205 may also include a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM). The instructions 1207b and data 1209b may also reside in the processor 1203. The instructions 1207b and / or data 1209b loaded into the processor 1203 may also include instructions 1207a and / or data 1209a from the memory 1205 and loaded for execution or processing by the processor 1203. The instructions 1207b may be executed by the processor 1203 to implement the above method.

[0153] The UE 1202 may also include a housing that houses one or more transmitters 1258 and one or more receivers 1220 to allow transmission and reception of data. The transmitters 1258 and receivers 1220 may be combined into one or more transceivers 1218. One or more antennas 1222a-n are attached to the housing and electrically coupled to the transceiver 1218.

[0154] The various components of UE 1202 are coupled together via a bus system 1211 (which may include a power bus, a control signal bus, and a status signal bus in addition to a data bus). However, for the sake of clarity, the various buses are described in detail in the following sections. Fig.12 1202 is shown as bus system 1211. UE 1202 may also include a digital signal processor (DSP) 1213 for processing signals. UE 1202 may also include a communication interface 1215 that provides user access to the functions of UE 1202. Fig.12 The UE 1202 is shown as a functional block diagram rather than a listing of specific components.

[0155] Fig.13 Various components that may be used in gNB 1360 are shown. Fig.13 The gNB 1360 described may be based on the combination of Figure 1 The gNB 1360 described herein is implemented. The gNB 1360 includes a processor 1303 that controls the operation of the gNB 1360. The processor 1303 may also be referred to as a central processing unit (CPU). The memory 1305 (which may include a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a combination of the two memories, or any type of device that can store information) provides instructions 1307a and data 1309a to the processor 1303. A portion of the memory 1305 may also include a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM). The instructions 1307b and data 1309b may also reside in the processor 1303. The instructions 1307b and / or data 1309b loaded into the processor 1303 may also include instructions 1307a and / or data 1309a from the memory 1305, which are loaded for execution or processing by the processor 1303. The instructions 1307b may be executed by the processor 1303 to implement the above method.

[0156] The gNB 1360 may also include a housing that houses one or more transmitters 1317 and one or more receivers 1378 to allow transmission and reception of data. The transmitters 1317 and receivers 1378 may be combined into one or more transceivers 1376. One or more antennas 1380a-n are attached to the housing and electrically coupled to the transceivers 1376.

[0157] The various components of gNB 1360 are coupled together via bus system 1311 (which may include a power bus, a control signal bus, and a status signal bus in addition to a data bus). However, for the sake of clarity, the various buses are described in detail in the following sections. Fig.13 1311. The gNB 1360 may also include a digital signal processor (DSP) 1313 for processing signals. The gNB 1360 may also include a communication interface 1315 that provides users with access to the functions of the gNB 1360. Fig.13 The gNB 1360 shown is a functional block diagram rather than a listing of specific components.

[0158] Fig.14 14 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a UE 1402 in which systems and methods for PUCCH repetition may be implemented. The UE 1402 includes a transmitting device 1458, a receiving device 1420, and a control device 1424. The transmitting device 1458, the receiving device 1420, and the control device 1424 may be configured to perform the above Figure 1 One or more of the functions described above. Fig.12 Shows Fig.14 Various other structures can be implemented to achieve Figure 1For example, the DSP may be implemented by software.

[0159] Fig.15 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a gNB 1560 in which systems and methods for PUCCH repetition may be implemented. The gNB 1560 includes a transmitting device 1523, a receiving device 1578, and a control device 1582. The transmitting device 1523, the receiving device 1578, and the control device 1582 may be configured to perform a combination of the above Figure 1 One or more of the functions described. Fig.13 Shows Fig.15 Various other structures can be implemented to achieve Figure 1 For example, the DSP may be implemented by software.

[0160] The term "computer-readable medium" refers to any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a processor. As used herein, the term "computer-readable medium" may refer to a non-transitory and tangible computer-readable medium and / or a processor-readable medium. By way of example and not limitation, a computer-readable medium or a processor-readable medium may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage devices, magnetic disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer or a processor.

[0161] As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Optical disks, where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, optical disks reproduce data optically using lasers.

[0162] It should be noted that one or more of the methods described herein may be implemented in hardware and / or performed using hardware. For example, one or more of the methods described herein may be implemented in and / or performed using a chipset, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a large scale integrated circuit (LSI), or an integrated circuit, etc.

[0163] Each of the methods disclosed herein includes one or more steps or actions for implementing the method. These method steps and / or actions may be interchangeable with each other and / or combined into a single step without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions is required for the correct operation of the method, the order and / or use of specific steps and / or actions may be modified without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0164] It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the precise configuration and components shown above. Various modifications, changes and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of the systems, methods, and apparatus described herein without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0165] The program running on the gNB 160 or UE 102 according to the system and method is a program that controls the CPU, etc. in a manner that realizes the functions according to the system and method (a program that causes the computer to operate). Then, the information processed in these devices is temporarily stored in the RAM while being processed. Subsequently, the information is stored in various ROMs or HDDs, and is read by the CPU whenever necessary for modification or writing. As a recording medium on which the program is stored, any of a semiconductor (e.g., ROM, nonvolatile memory card, etc.), an optical storage medium (e.g., DVD, MO, MD, CD, BD, etc.), a magnetic storage medium (e.g., a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, etc.), etc. is possible. In addition, in some cases, the above-mentioned functions according to the system and method are realized by running the loaded program, and in addition, the functions according to the system and method are realized based on instructions from the program and in combination with an operating system or other application programs.

[0166] In addition, in the case where the program is available on the market, the program stored on a portable recording medium may be distributed, or the program may be transferred to a server computer connected via a network such as the Internet. In this case, a storage device in the server computer is also included. In addition, some or all of the gNB 160 and UE 102 according to the above-mentioned system and method may be implemented as LSI, which is a typical integrated circuit. Each functional block of the gNB 160 and UE 102 may be built into a chip separately, and some or all of the functional blocks may be integrated into a chip. In addition, the technology of the integrated circuit is not limited to LSI, and the integrated circuit for the functional block may be implemented using a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. In addition, if an integrated circuit technology that replaces LSI emerges as semiconductor technology continues to advance, an integrated circuit applying the technology may also be used.

[0167] In addition, each functional block or various features of the base station equipment and terminal equipment used in each of the above-mentioned specific implementations can be implemented or executed by a circuit (usually an integrated circuit or multiple integrated circuits). The circuit designed to perform the functions described in this specification may include a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a dedicated or general-purpose integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device or a discrete hardware component or a combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or alternatively, the processor may be a conventional processor, a controller, a microcontroller or a state machine. The general-purpose processor or each of the above-mentioned circuits may be configured by a digital circuit, or may be configured by an analog circuit. In addition, when a technology for making an integrated circuit that replaces the current integrated circuit appears due to advances in semiconductor technology, the integrated circuit produced by the technology can also be used.

[0168] As used herein, the term "and / or" should be interpreted as meaning one or more items. For example, the phrase "A, B, and / or C" should be interpreted as meaning any of the following: only A, only B, only C, A and B (but not C), B and C (but not A), A and C (but not B), or all of A, B, and C. As used herein, the phrase "at least one" should be interpreted as meaning one or more items. For example, the phrase "at least one of A, B, and C" or the phrase "at least one of A, B, or C" should be interpreted as meaning any of the following: only A, only B, only C, A and B (but not C), B and C (but not A), A and C (but not B), or all of A, B, and C. As used herein, the phrase "one or more" should be understood to refer to one or more items. For example, the phrase "one or more of A, B, and C" or the phrase "one or more of A, B, or C" should be interpreted to mean any of the following: only A, only B, only C, A and B (but not C), B and C (but not A), A and C (but not B), or all of A, B, and C.

[0169] <Cross Reference>

[0170] This nonprovisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 910,169, filed on October 3, 2019, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

Claims

1. A user equipment UE, the UE comprising: a processor configured to determine a subslot structure of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) repetition; and a transmitting circuit configured to transmit the PUCCH repetition based on the subslot structure, The PUCCH repetition is configured for time domain, Wherein PUCCH repetition within a subslot is not supported, and one subslot-based PUCCH transmission is transmitted in a subslot, and the PUCCH repetition is performed by PUCCH transmissions in multiple subslots.

2. The UE according to claim 1, wherein: The PUCCH repetition is configured with a plurality of sub-time slots in the time domain; A PUCCH is included in a subslot, wherein a PUCCH format is configured with any one of format 0, format 2, format 1, format 3, or format 4 according to the configuration of the subslot; and PUCCH repetition transmission uses the same PUCCH format as the initial PUCCH transmission in each subslot, as well as the same duration and the same starting symbol position.

3. The UE of claim 1 , wherein if subslot-based PUCCH repetition is scheduled to collide with another PUCCH in the subslot, the processor is configured to compare uplink control information (UCI) priorities, wherein a PUCCH carrying a first UCI having a higher priority is transmitted, and the other PUCCH is discarded.

4. The UE of claim 1, wherein if subslot-based PUCCH repetition is scheduled to collide with another PUCCH in a subslot having the same uplink control information (UCI) priority, the PUCCH started earlier is transmitted and the other PUCCH is dropped.

5. A base station gNB, the gNB comprising: a processor configured to determine a subslot structure of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) repetition; and a receiving circuit configured to transmit the PUCCH repetition based on the subslot structure, The PUCCH repetition is configured for time domain, Wherein PUCCH repetition within a subslot is not supported, and one subslot-based PUCCH transmission is transmitted in a subslot, and the PUCCH repetition is performed by PUCCH transmissions in multiple subslots.

6. The gNB according to claim 5, wherein: The PUCCH repetition is configured with a plurality of sub-time slots in the time domain; A PUCCH is included in a subslot, wherein a PUCCH format is configured with any one of format 0, format 2, format 1, format 3, or format 4 according to the configuration of the subslot; and PUCCH repetition transmission uses the same PUCCH format as the initial PUCCH transmission in each subslot, as well as the same duration and the same starting symbol position.

7. The gNB of claim 5, wherein if subslot-based PUCCH repetition is scheduled to collide with another PUCCH in the subslot, the processor is configured to compare uplink control information (UCI) priorities, wherein a PUCCH carrying a first UCI having a higher priority is transmitted and the other PUCCH is discarded.

8. The gNB of claim 5, wherein if subslot-based PUCCH repetition is scheduled to collide with another PUCCH in a subslot having the same uplink control information (UCI) priority, the PUCCH started earlier is transmitted and the other PUCCH is dropped.

9. A method performed by a user equipment UE, the method comprising: Determine the subslot structure of physical uplink control channel PUCCH repetition for ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) transmission; as well as transmitting the PUCCH repetition for the URLLC transmission based on the subslot structure, The PUCCH repetition is configured for time domain, Wherein PUCCH repetition within a subslot is not supported, and one subslot-based PUCCH transmission is transmitted in a subslot, and the PUCCH repetition is performed by PUCCH transmissions in multiple subslots.

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