Sounding reference channel measurements for sidelink communications

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. In general, the described techniques provide for determining a sidelink channel metric using reference signal measurements of reference signals sent by other UEs. A first UE may receive a control message from a base station, and the control message may indicate a measurement threshold. The first UE may generate a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by a second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE. The UE may send a measurement report to the base station based at least in part on the measurement satisfying the threshold. The report may be a quantized value of the measurement, or a bit indicating that the measurement satisfies the threshold. Based on receiving the measurement report, the base station may determine to send data to the second UE via a transmission to the first UE.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This patent application claims priority to U.S. patent application No. 16 / 998,687, filed by Wang et al. on August 20, 2020, entitled “SOUNDING REFERENCE SIGNAL CHANNEL MEASUREMENT FOR SIDELINK COMMUNICATION,” which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 895,211, filed by Wang et al. on September 3, 2019, entitled “SOUNDING REFERENCE SIGNAL CHANNEL MEASUREMENT FOR SIDELINK COMMUNICATION,” which has been assigned to the assignee of this application. Technical Field

[0003] The following relates generally to wireless communications and, more particularly, to sounding reference signal channel measurements for sidelink communications. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcasting, etc. These systems can support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems, such as long term evolution (LTE) systems, advanced LTE (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems, which may be referred to as new radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ techniques such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform spread spectrum orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple access communication system may include one or more base stations or one or more network access nodes, each base station or node simultaneously supporting communication with multiple communication devices, which may also be referred to as user equipment (UE).

[0005] In some wireless communication systems, such as Industrial Internet of Things (I-IoT) applications, various UEs can be configured to communicate with each other through side link channels. These side link communications can enhance the wireless system via reduced latency, multipath diversity, coverage extension, battery life improvement, location enhancement, and infrastructure-free communications. In some cases, the UE can perform various measurements to determine the side link channel quality, channel throughput, and other metrics. Summary of the invention

[0006] The described technology relates to improved methods, systems, devices and apparatuses, which relate to sounding reference signal channel measurements for sidelink communications. In general, the described technology provides for determining a sidelink channel metric using a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by other UEs. A first UE may receive a control message from a base station, and the control message may indicate a measurement threshold. The first UE may generate a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by a second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE. In some cases, the reference signal is a sounding reference signal (SRS). The UE may send a measurement report to the base station based at least in part on the reference signal measurement satisfying the measurement threshold. In some cases, the report is a quantized value of the reference signal measurement. In some cases, the measurement report includes a bit indicating that the reference signal measurement satisfies the measurement threshold. Based on receiving the measurement report, the base station may determine to send a data transmission to the second UE so as to be relayed to the first UE via the sidelink channel.

[0007] A method for wireless communication by a first UE is described. The method may include receiving a control message indicating a measurement threshold from a base station, generating a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by a second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE, and sending a measurement report to the base station based on the reference signal measurement satisfying the measurement threshold.

[0008] An apparatus for wireless communication by a first UE is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions may be executed by the processor to cause the apparatus to receive a control message indicating a measurement threshold from a base station, generate a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by a second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE, and send a measurement report to the base station based on the reference signal measurement satisfying the measurement threshold.

[0009] Another apparatus for wireless communication by a first UE is described. The apparatus may include components for receiving a control message indicating a measurement threshold from a base station, generating a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by a second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE, and sending a measurement report to the base station based on the reference signal measurement satisfying the measurement threshold.

[0010] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication by a first UE is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to receive a control message indicating a measurement threshold from a base station, generate a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by a second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE, and send a measurement report to the base station based on the reference signal measurement satisfying the measurement threshold.

[0011] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, sending a measurement report to a base station may include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending a measurement report including a quantized value of a reference signal measurement.

[0012] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, sending a measurement report to a base station may include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending a measurement report indicating a bit that a reference signal measurement satisfies a measurement threshold.

[0013] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving a data transmission from the base station based on sending the measurement report, and sending the data transmission to the second UE via a sidelink channel.

[0014] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving a grant to schedule transmission of a data transmission via a sidelink channel, where the data transmission may be sent to a second UE via the sidelink channel based on the grant.

[0015] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a control message may include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving a control message including measurement resources for a side link channel, wherein a reference signal measurement may be generated based on measuring the measurement resources for the side link channel.

[0016] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a control message may include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving a control message indicating a measurement threshold, which may be a function of a transmit power used by a second UE to transmit a reference signal via a sidelink channel.

[0017] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a control message may include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving a control message indicating a measurement threshold, which may be a function of a transmit power and an offset used by a second UE to transmit a reference signal via a sidelink channel.

[0018] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a control message may include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving a control message indicating a measurement threshold, which may be a function of a transmit power used by the second UE to send a reference signal via a sidelink channel and a receive power for downlink data transmission from the base station to the second UE.

[0019] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a control message may include an operation, feature, component, or instruction for receiving a control message indicating a measurement threshold, which measurement threshold may be a function of a transmit power used by a second UE to send a reference signal via a sidelink channel, a downlink channel between a base station and the second UE, and a downlink transmit power used by the base station to transmit via the downlink channel.

[0020] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a control message may include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving a radio resource control message indicating a measurement threshold.

[0021] A method for wireless communication by a base station is described. The method may include sending a control message indicating a measurement threshold to a first UE; and receiving a measurement report from the first UE, the measurement report indicating that a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by a second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE satisfies the measurement threshold.

[0022] An apparatus for wireless communication by a base station is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to send a control message indicating a measurement threshold to a first UE; and receive a measurement report from the first UE, the measurement report indicating that a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by a second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE satisfies the measurement threshold.

[0023] Another apparatus for wireless communication by a base station is described. The apparatus may include means for sending a control message indicating a measurement threshold to a first UE and receiving a measurement report from the first UE, the measurement report indicating that a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by a second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE satisfies the measurement threshold.

[0024] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for a base station to perform wireless communications is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to send a control message indicating a measurement threshold to a first UE; and receive a measurement report from the first UE, the measurement report indicating that a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by a second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE satisfies the measurement threshold.

[0025] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a measurement report of a base station may include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving a measurement report including a quantized value of a reference signal measurement.

[0026] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a measurement report from a base station may include operations, features, components, or instructions for receiving a measurement report including a bit indicating that a reference signal measurement satisfies a measurement threshold.

[0027] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending data transmission and relay instructions to the first UE based on receiving the measurement report, the relay instructions instructing the first UE to relay the data transmission to the second UE via a sidelink channel.

[0028] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending a grant to schedule transmission of a data transmission via a sidelink channel to the first UE.

[0029] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, sending a control message may include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending a control message including measurement resources for measuring a sidelink channel of a reference signal sent by a second UE.

[0030] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, sending a control message may include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending a control message indicating a measurement threshold, which may be a function of a transmit power used by the second UE to send a reference signal via a sidelink channel.

[0031] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, sending a control message may include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending a control message indicating a measurement threshold, which may be a function of a transmit power and an offset used by a second UE to send a reference signal via a sidelink channel.

[0032] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, sending a control message may include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending a control message indicating a measurement threshold, which may be a function of a transmit power used by the second UE to send a reference signal via a sidelink channel and a receive power for downlink data transmission from the base station to the second UE.

[0033] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, sending a control message may include an operation, feature, component, or instruction for sending a control message indicating a measurement threshold, which measurement threshold may be a function of a transmit power used by the second UE to send a reference signal via a sidelink channel, a downlink channel between the base station and the second UE, and a downlink transmit power used by the base station to transmit via the downlink channel.

[0034] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, sending a control message may include operations, features, components, or instructions for sending a radio resource control message indicating a measurement threshold. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] Figure 1

[0013] An example of a system for wireless communications in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0036] Figure 2A and Figure 2B An example of a wireless communication system according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0037] Figure 3 An example of a wireless communication system according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0038] Figure 4 An example of a process flow diagram according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0039] Figure 5 and Figure 6 A block diagram of a device according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0040] Figure 7 A block diagram of a communications manager in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0041] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a system including devices according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0042] Fig. 9 and Fig.10 A block diagram of a device according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0043] Fig.11 A block diagram of a communications manager in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0044] Fig.12 A schematic diagram of a system including devices according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0045] Figures 13 to 16 A flow chart illustrating a method according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] In some wireless communication systems, such as Industrial Internet of Things (I-Iot) applications and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems, various user equipment (UE) can be configured to communicate with each other through side link channels. These side link communications can enhance the wireless system via reduced latency, multipath diversity, coverage extension, battery life improvement, location enhancement, and infrastructure-free communication. A communication link can be established between the UE and the base station, but the link quality may be reduced due to fading or blocking. Another UE can be used to help the affected UE by communicating with the affected UE using a side link channel. In some cases, the UE can perform various measurements to determine the side link channel quality, channel throughput, and other metrics to determine whether to utilize the side link channel.

[0047] In some cases, the UE may measure the sidelink reference signal received power (RSRP) and report the measurement or a signal quality based on the measurement to the base station. The base station may determine a group of UEs that can utilize the sidelink communication based on the received sidelink channel quality metric. When the link between base stations fails or fades due to fading, blocking, etc., the base station may utilize the UE group to transmit data to and receive data from the affected UE (e.g., target UE) using another UE (e.g., helping UE) by utilizing the sidelink channel.

[0048] The UE may also send a sounding reference signal (SRS), and the base station may perform one or more measurements on the SRS to determine the link quality between the base station and the UE. The SRS may be periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic. In some cases, the base station may notify UEs near a specific UE to listen to the SRS of that specific UE for sidelink channel quality measurement. However, the SRS signal power may be controlled based on the link between the UE and the base station, and there may be no power information in the sidelink reference signal. Therefore, when the potential helping UE sends the SRS, the target UE may not have information about the SRS transmit power, and therefore the RSRP measurement may not provide information about the sidelink channel quality.

[0049] Provided herein is a technique for determining the signal quality of a side link channel using SRS measurements. A base station may transmit a measurement threshold to a first UE, and the first UE may generate a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by a second UE via a side link channel. The first UE may send a measurement report to the base station based at least in part on the reference signal measurement satisfying the threshold. Thus, the base station and / or the first UE may determine the side link channel quality based on the measurement of the reference signal satisfying the threshold. If the side link RSRP is satisfactory (e.g., satisfies the threshold), the base station may send data to the first UE, and the first UE may transmit data to the second UE via the side link channel.

[0050] Certain aspects of the subject matter described herein can be implemented to achieve one or more advantages. Among other advantages, the described techniques can support improvements to the sidelink communication framework, reduce signaling overhead, and improve reliability. Thus, the supported techniques can include improved network operations, and in some examples, can improve network efficiency and other benefits.

[0051] Various aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the context of wireless communication systems. Various aspects of the disclosure are further described with respect to wireless communication systems and process flow diagrams. Various aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flow diagrams related to sounding reference signal channel measurements for sidelink communications.

[0052] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system 100 according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The wireless communication system 100 may include one or more base stations 105, one or more UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may be a long term evolution (LTE) network, an advanced LTE (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, or a new radio (NR) network. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may support enhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission-critical) communications, low-latency communications, communications with low-cost and low-complexity devices, or any combination thereof.

[0053] The base stations 105 may be dispersed throughout a geographic area to form the wireless communication system 100 and may be devices of different forms or capabilities. The base stations 105 and the UEs 115 may communicate wirelessly via one or more communication links 125. Each base station 105 may provide a coverage area 110 over which the UEs 115 and the base stations 105 may establish one or more communication links 125. The coverage area 110 may be an example of a geographic area over which the base stations 105 and the UEs 115 may support communication of signals according to one or more radio access technologies.

[0054] The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout the coverage area 110 of the wireless communication system 100, and each UE 115 may be stationary, mobile, or both at different times. The UEs 115 may be devices of different forms or with different capabilities. Figure 1 Some example UEs 115 are shown in FIG. 1. The UEs 115 described herein can communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115, base stations 105, or network devices (e.g., core network nodes, relay devices, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, or other network devices), such as Figure 1 shown.

[0055] Base stations 105 may communicate with core network 130, or with each other, or both. For example, base stations 105 may interface with core network 130 via one or more backhaul links 120 (e.g., via S1, N2, N3, or other interfaces). Base stations 105 may communicate with each other via backhaul links 120 (e.g., via X2, Xn, or other interfaces) directly (e.g., directly between base stations 105) or indirectly (e.g., via core network 130), or both directly or indirectly. In some examples, backhaul links 120 may be or include one or more wireless links.

[0056] The one or more base stations 105 described herein may include or may be referred to by one of ordinary skill in the art as a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next generation NodeB or a giga NodeB (any of which may be referred to as a gNB), a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or other suitable terminology.

[0057] UE 115 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where a "device" may also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, etc. UE 115 may also include or may be referred to as a personal electronic device, such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, UE 115 may include or be referred to as a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or a machine type communication (MTC) device, etc., which may be implemented in various objects such as appliances or vehicles, meters, etc.

[0058] The UE 115 described herein is capable of communicating with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115 that may sometimes act as relays, as well as base stations 105 and network devices, including macro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or gNBs, or relay base stations, etc. Figure 1 shown.

[0059] The UE 115 and the base station 105 may communicate with each other wirelessly via one or more communication links 125 through one or more carriers. The term "carrier" may refer to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting the communication link 125. For example, a carrier for the communication link 125 may include a portion (e.g., bandwidth portion (BWP)) of a radio spectrum band operating according to one or more physical layer channels of a given radio access technology (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR). Each physical layer channel may carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information), control signaling for coordinating carrier operations, user data, or other signaling. The wireless communication system 100 may use carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation to support communication with the UE 115. Depending on the carrier aggregation configuration, the UE 115 may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers. Carrier aggregation may be used with both frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD) component carriers.

[0060] In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have acquisition signaling or control signaling to coordinate the operation of other carriers. A carrier may be associated with a frequency channel (e.g., an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (EARFCN)) and may be located according to a channel grid for discovery by UE 115. A carrier may operate in a standalone mode, where initial acquisition and connection may be performed by UE 115 via the carrier, or a carrier may operate in a non-standalone mode, where a different carrier (e.g., the same or different radio access technology) is used to anchor the connection.

[0061] The communication link 125 shown in the wireless communication system 100 may include an uplink transmission from the UE 115 to the base station 105, or a downlink transmission from the base station 105 to the UE 115. A carrier may carry downlink or uplink communications (e.g., in FDD mode), or may be configured to carry both downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in TDD mode).

[0062] A carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of a radio spectrum, and in some examples, a carrier bandwidth may be referred to as a "system bandwidth" of a carrier or wireless communication system 100. For example, a carrier bandwidth may be one of a plurality of bandwidths determined for a carrier of a particular radio access technology (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80 megahertz (MHz)). A device of the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115, or both) may have a hardware configuration that supports communications on a particular carrier bandwidth, or may be configured to support communications on one of a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may include a base station 105 or a UE 115 that supports simultaneous communications via carriers associated with multiple carrier bandwidths. In some examples, each served UE 115 may be configured to operate on a portion (e.g., a subband, a BWP) or all of a carrier bandwidth.

[0063] The signal waveform transmitted on the carrier may be composed of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)). In a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may be composed of a symbol period (e.g., the duration of a modulation symbol) and a subcarrier, where the symbol period and the subcarrier spacing are inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the coding rate of the modulation scheme, or both). Therefore, the more resource elements received by UE 115 and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate for UE 115. Wireless communication resources may refer to a combination of radio frequency spectrum resources, time resources, and spatial resources (e.g., spatial layers or beams), and the use of multiple spatial layers may further improve the data rate or data integrity of communications with UE 115.

[0064] One or more numerologies of a carrier may be supported, where the numerology may include a subcarrier spacing (Δf) and a cyclic prefix. A carrier may be divided into one or more BWPs with the same or different numerologies. In some examples, UE 115 may be configured with multiple BWPs. In some examples, a single BWP of a carrier may be active at a given time, and communications of UE 115 may be limited to the one or more active BWPs.

[0065] The time interval of the base station 105 or the UE 115 can be expressed as a multiple of a basic time unit, and the basic time unit can be, for example, T s =1 / (Δf max ·N f ) seconds sampling period, where Δf maxIt can represent the maximum supported subcarrier spacing, and N f The maximum supported discrete Fourier transform (DFT) size may be indicated. The time intervals of the communication resources may be organized according to radio frames, each radio frame having a specified duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)). Each radio frame may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023).

[0066] Each frame may include multiple consecutively numbered subframes or time slots, and each subframe or time slot may have the same duration. In some examples, the frame may be divided (e.g., in the time domain) into subframes, and each subframe may be further divided into multiple time slots. Alternatively, each frame may include a variable number of time slots, and the number of time slots may depend on the subcarrier spacing. Each time slot may include multiple symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of a cyclic prefix prepended to each symbol period). In some wireless communication systems 100, the time slot may be further divided into multiple mini-time slots containing one or more symbols. In addition to the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may contain one or more (e.g., N f ) sampling period. The duration of a symbol period may depend on the subcarrier spacing or the operating frequency band.

[0067] A subframe, slot, mini-slot, or symbol may be the smallest scheduling unit (e.g., in the time domain) of the wireless communication system 100 and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). In some examples, the TTI duration (e.g., the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable. Additionally or alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 may be dynamically selected (e.g., in a burst of a shortened TTI (sTTI)).

[0068] Physical channels may be multiplexed on a carrier according to various techniques. For example, physical control channels and physical data channels may be multiplexed on a downlink carrier using one or more of a time division multiplexing (TDM) technique, a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) technique, or a hybrid TDM-FDM technique. A control region (e.g., a control resource set (CORSET)) of a physical control channel may be defined by a plurality of symbol periods and may be extended across a system bandwidth or a subset of a system bandwidth of a carrier. One or more control regions (e.g., CORSETs) may be configured for a group of UEs 115. For example, one or more UEs 115 may monitor or search for a control region for control information according to one or more search space sets, and each search space set may include one or more control channel candidates in one or more aggregation levels arranged in a cascaded manner. The aggregation level of a control channel candidate may refer to the number of control channel resources (e.g., control channel elements (CCEs)) associated with coded information of a control information format having a given payload size. A search space set may include a common search space set configured for sending control information to a plurality of UEs 115, and a UE-specific search space set for sending control information to a specific UE 115.

[0069] Each base station 105 can provide communication coverage via one or more cells, such as macro cells, small cells, hot spots or other types of cells, or any combination thereof. The term "cell" can refer to a logical communication entity used to communicate with the base station 105 (e.g., via a carrier), and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID), etc.) used to distinguish adjacent cells. In some examples, a cell can also refer to a geographic coverage area 110 or a portion of a geographic coverage area 110 (e.g., a sector) on which a logical communication entity operates. Depending on various factors, such as the capabilities of the base station 105, these cells can range from smaller areas (e.g., large buildings, subsets of large buildings) to larger areas. For example, a cell can be or include a building, a subset of a building, or an external space between or overlapping a geographic coverage area 110, and so on.

[0070] A macro cell typically covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access to UEs 115 that subscribe to services from a network provider that supports the macro cell. A small cell may be associated with a base station 105 that is less powerful than a macro cell, and the small cell may operate in a frequency band that is the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed) from the macro cell. A small cell may provide unrestricted access to a UE 115 that subscribes to services from a network provider, or may provide restricted access to a UE 115 associated with a small cell (e.g., a UE 115 in a closed subscriber group (CSG), a UE 115 associated with a user in a home or office). A base station 105 may support one or more cells, and may also use one or more component carriers to support communications on one or more cells.

[0071] In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., MTC, narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB)) that may provide access to different types of devices.

[0072] In some examples, the base stations 105 may be mobile and thus provide communication coverage for mobile geographic coverage areas 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, but the different geographic coverage areas 110 may be supported by the same base station 105. In other examples, overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may be supported by different base stations 105. The wireless communication system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous network in which different types of base stations 105 provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas 110 using the same or different radio access technologies.

[0073] The wireless communication system 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the base stations 105 may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the base stations 105 may have different frame timing, and in some examples, transmissions from different base stations 105 may not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for synchronous or asynchronous operation.

[0074] Some UEs 115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low-cost or low-complexity devices and may provide automated communication between machines (e.g., via machine-to-machine (M2M) communication). M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication technology that allows devices to communicate with each other or with a base station 105 without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTC may include communications from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay such information to a central server or application that utilizes the information or presents the information to a person interacting with the application. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collect information or implement automated behavior of machines or other devices. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based business charging.

[0075] Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ a reduced power consumption mode of operation, such as half-duplex communication (e.g., a mode that supports unidirectional communication via transmission or reception, but does not support simultaneous transmission and reception). In some examples, half-duplex communication may be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power saving techniques for UE 115 include entering a power saving deep sleep mode when not engaged in active communications, operating over a limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communications), or a combination of these techniques. For example, some UEs 115 may be configured to operate using a narrowband protocol type that is associated with a defined portion or range (e.g., a set of subcarriers or resource blocks (RBs)) within a carrier, within a guard band of a carrier, or outside a carrier.

[0076] The wireless communication system 100 may be configured to support ultra-reliable communication or low-latency communication, or various combinations thereof. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may be configured to support ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) or mission-critical communication. UE115 may be designed to support ultra-reliable, low-latency or mission-critical functions (e.g., mission-critical functions). Ultra-reliable communication may include private communication or group communication, and may be supported by one or more mission-critical services, such as mission-critical push-to-talk (MCPTT), mission-critical video (MCVideo), or mission-critical data (MCData). Support for mission-critical functions may include service priorities, and mission-critical services may be used for public safety or general commercial applications. The terms ultra-reliable, low-latency, mission-critical, and ultra-reliable low-latency may be used interchangeably herein.

[0077] In some examples, the UE 115 is also able to communicate directly with other UEs 115 via a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 135 (e.g., using a peer-to-peer (P2P) or D2D protocol). One or more UEs 115 utilizing D2D communication may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105. Other UEs 115 in the group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105 or unable to receive transmissions from the base station 105. In some examples, a group of UEs 115 communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, in which each UE 115 transmits to each other UE 115 in the group. In some examples, the base station 105 facilitates resource scheduling for the D2D communication. In other cases, the D2D communication is performed between the UEs 115 without involving the base station 105.

[0078] In some systems, the D2D communication link 135 can be an example of a communication channel (e.g., a sidelink communication channel) between vehicles (e.g., UE 115). In some examples, the vehicles can communicate using vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, or some combination of these communications. The vehicles can signal information related to traffic conditions, signal scheduling, weather, safety, emergency situations, or any other information related to the V2X system. In some examples, vehicles in a V2X system can communicate with roadside infrastructure (e.g., roadside units) or with a network, or both, using vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication via one or more network nodes (e.g., base station 105).

[0079] The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connection, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC), which may include at least one control plane entity (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management function (AMF)) for managing access and mobility and at least one user plane entity (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), a packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or a user plane function (UPF)) for routing packets or interconnections to an external network. The control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions of UE 115 served by a base station 105 associated with the core network 130, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management. User IP packets may be transmitted through user plane entities, which may provide IP address allocation and other functions. The user plane entity may be connected to a network operator IP service 150. The operator IP service 150 may include access to the Internet, (multiple) intranets, an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), or a packet-switched streaming service.

[0080] Some network devices, such as base stations 105, may include subcomponents, such as access network entities 140, which may be examples of access node controllers (ANCs). Each access network entity 140 may communicate with UE 115 through one or more other access network transport entities 145, which may be referred to as radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmission / reception points (TRPs). Each access network transport entity 145 may include one or more antenna panels. In some configurations, the various functions of each access network entity 140 or base station 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and ANCs) or merged into a single network device (e.g., base station 105).

[0081] The wireless communication system 100 may operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz). Typically, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is referred to as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelengths range from approximately 1 decimeter to 1 meter long. UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features, but these waves may penetrate structures sufficient for a macro cell to provide service to a UE 115 located indoors. Transmission of UHF waves may be associated with smaller antennas and a shorter range (e.g., less than 100 kilometers) than transmission of smaller frequencies and longer waves using the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portions of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

[0082] The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in a super high frequency (SHF) region (also known as a centimeter wave band) using a frequency band from 3 GHz to 30 GHz, or in an extremely high frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30 GHz to 300 GHz) (also known as a millimeter wave band). In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may support millimeter wave (mmW) communications between the UE 115 and the base station 105, and the EHF antennas of the corresponding devices may be smaller and more closely spaced than UHF antennas. In some examples, this may facilitate the use of antenna arrays within the device. However, the propagation of EHF transmissions may be affected by greater atmospheric attenuation and a shorter range than SHF or UHF transmissions. The techniques disclosed herein may be employed across transmissions using one or more different frequency regions, and the designated use of frequency bands across these frequency regions may vary by country or regulatory agency.

[0083] The wireless communication system 100 can utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communication system 100 can use license assisted access (LAA), LTE-unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in an unlicensed band such as the 5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. When operating in an unlicensed radio spectrum band, devices such as base stations 105 and UEs 115 can use carrier sensing for conflict detection and avoidance. In some examples, operations in unlicensed bands can be based on carrier aggregation configurations together with component carriers operating in licensed bands (e.g., LAA). Operations in unlicensed spectrum can include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P transmissions, or D2D transmissions, etc.

[0084] The base station 105 or UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas that may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, or beamforming. The antennas of the base station 105 or UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels that may support MIMO operations or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some examples, the antennas or antenna arrays associated with the base station 105 may be located at different geographic locations. The base station 105 may have an antenna array having multiple rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station 105 may use to support beamforming for communications with the UE 115. Similarly, the UE 115 may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally or alternatively, the antenna panel may support radio frequency beamforming of signals sent via the antenna ports.

[0085] The base station 105 or UE 115 can use MIMO communication to exploit multipath signal propagation and improve spectral efficiency by sending or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers. This technology can be referred to as spatial multiplexing. For example, multiple signals can be sent by a transmitting device via different antennas or different antenna combinations. Similarly, a receiving device can receive multiple signals via different antennas or different antenna combinations. Each of the multiple signals can be referred to as a separate spatial stream and can carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams (e.g., different codewords). Different spatial layers can be associated with different antenna ports for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO technology includes single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO), in which multiple spatial layers are sent to the same receiving device, and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), in which multiple spatial layers are sent to multiple devices.

[0086] Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam, a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming may be achieved by combining signals transmitted via antenna elements of an antenna array so that some signals propagating in a particular direction relative to the antenna array experience constructive interference, while other signals experience destructive interference. Adjustments to signals transmitted via antenna elements may include the transmitting device or the receiving device applying an amplitude offset, a phase offset, or both to signals carried via antenna elements associated with the device. Adjustments associated with each antenna element may be defined by a set of beamforming weights associated with a particular direction (e.g., relative to the antenna array of the transmitting device or the receiving device, or relative to some other direction).

[0087] The base station 105 or the UE 115 may use beam scanning techniques as part of a beamforming operation. For example, the base station 105 may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays (e.g., antenna panels) to perform beamforming operations for directional communication with the UE 115. Some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be sent multiple times by the base station 105 in different directions. For example, the base station 105 may send signals based on different sets of beamforming weights associated with different transmission directions. Transmissions in different beam directions may be used to identify (e.g., by a transmitting device such as the base station 105, or by a receiving device such as the UE 115) a beam direction for later transmission or reception by the base station 105.

[0088] Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particular receiving device, may be transmitted by base station 105 in a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with a receiving device such as UE 115). In some examples, a beam direction associated with transmissions along a single beam direction may be determined based on signals transmitted in one or more beam directions. For example, UE 115 may receive one or more signals transmitted by base station 105 in different directions and may report to base station 105 an indication of the signal received by UE 115 with the highest signal quality or other acceptable signal quality.

[0089] In some examples, transmissions by a device (e.g., a base station 105 or a UE 115) may be performed using multiple beam directions, and the device may generate a combined beam for transmission (e.g., from the base station 105 to the UE 115) using a combination of digital precoding or radio frequency beamforming. The UE 115 may report feedback indicating precoding weights for one or more beam directions, and the feedback may correspond to a configured number of beams across the system bandwidth or one or more subbands. The base station 105 may send a reference signal (e.g., a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS)), which may be precoded or unprecoded. The UE 115 may provide feedback for beam selection, which may be a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) or codebook-based feedback (e.g., a multi-panel codebook, a linear combination codebook, a port selection codebook). Although these techniques are described with reference to signals sent by base station 105 in one or more directions, UE 115 may employ similar techniques to send signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., to identify a beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by UE 115) or to send signals in a single direction (e.g., to send data to a receiving device).

[0090] When receiving various signals from the base station 105, such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals, a receiving device (e.g., UE 115) may try multiple reception configurations (e.g., directional listening). For example, the receiving device may try multiple reception directions by receiving via different antenna subarrays, by processing received signals according to different antenna subarrays, by receiving according to different reception beamforming weight sets (e.g., different directional listening weight sets) applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, or by processing received signals according to different reception beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array (according to different reception configurations or reception directions, any of which may be referred to as "listening"). In some examples, a receiving device may use a single reception configuration to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving a data signal). According to different reception configuration directions, a single reception configuration may be aligned in a beam direction determined based on listening (e.g., a beam direction determined to have the highest signal strength, the highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or other acceptable signal quality based on listening according to multiple beam directions).

[0091] The wireless communication system 100 can be a packet-based network operated according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, the communication of the bearer or packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer can be based on IP. The radio link control (RLC) layer can perform packet segmentation and reorganization to communicate through logical channels. The media access control (MAC) layer can perform priority processing and multiplex logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer can also use error detection technology, error correction technology or both to support retransmission at the MAC layer to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, the radio resource control (RRC) protocol layer can provide the establishment, configuration and maintenance of the RRC connection between the UE 115 and the base station 105 or the core network 130 supporting the radio bearer of the user plane data. At the physical layer, the transport channel can be mapped to the physical channel.

[0092] UE 115 and base station 105 can support retransmission of data to increase the possibility of successfully receiving data. Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback is a technology for increasing the possibility of correctly receiving data through communication link 125. HARQ can include a combination of error detection (e.g., using cyclic redundancy check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC) and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). Under poor radio conditions (e.g., low signal-to-noise ratio conditions), HARQ can improve the throughput of the MAC layer. In some examples, a device can support HARQ feedback for the same time slot, wherein the device can provide HARQ feedback in a specific time slot for data received in the previous symbol in the time slot. In other cases, the device can provide HARQ feedback in subsequent time slots or according to some other time interval.

[0093] UE 115 can be configured to communicate with each other through side link channels. These side link communications can enhance the wireless system via reduced latency, multipath diversity, coverage extension, battery life improvement, location enhancement and infrastructure-free communication. For example, a communication link can be established between UE 115 and base station 105. However, due to fading or blocking, link quality may decline. By using the side link channel to communicate with the affected UE 115, another UE 115 can be utilized to help the affected UE 115. In some cases, UE 115 can perform various measurements to determine side link channel quality, channel throughput and other metrics to determine whether to utilize the side link channel.

[0094] In some cases, the UE 115 may measure the sidelink reference signal received power (RSRP), pilot signals, etc., and report the measurements or signal quality to the base station 105. The base station 105 may determine a group of UEs 115 that can utilize the sidelink communication based on the received sidelink channel quality metrics. When the link between the base station 105 and the UE 115 fails or degrades due to fading, blocking, etc., then the base station 105 may utilize the UE group to transmit (e.g., relay) data to and receive data from the affected UE 115 (e.g., target UE) using another UE 115 (e.g., helping UE) by utilizing the sidelink channel.

[0095] UE 115 may also transmit a sounding reference signal (SRS), and base station 105 may perform one or more measurements on the SRS to determine the link quality between base station 105 and UE 115. SRS may be periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic. For example, base station 105 may request a specific UE 115 to transmit an aperiodic SRS. In some cases, the base station may notify UE 115 near a specific UE 115 to listen to the SRS of the specific UE for side link channel quality measurement. However, the SRS signal power may be controlled based on the link between UE 115 and base station 105, and power information may not be included in the side link reference signal. Therefore, when the potential helping UE 115 transmits the SRS, the target UE 115 may not have information about the SRS transmit power, and therefore RSRP measurement may not provide information about the side link channel quality.

[0096] Provided herein is a technique for determining the signal quality of a side link channel using SRS measurements. The base station 105 may transmit a measurement threshold to the first UE 115, and the first UE 115 may generate a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by the second UE 115 via the side link channel. The first UE 115 may send a measurement report to the base station 105 based at least in part on the reference signal measurement satisfying the threshold. Thus, the base station 105 and / or the first UE 115 may determine the side link channel quality by using a power threshold. If the side link RSRP is satisfactory (e.g., satisfies the threshold), the base station may send data to the first UE 115, and the first UE 115 may transmit (e.g., relay) data to the second UE 115 via the side link channel.

[0097] Figure 2A and Figure 2B An example of a wireless communication system 200 according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. In some examples, the wireless communication system 200 can implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100. The wireless communication system 200 includes base stations 105-a and 105-b and UE 115, which can be Figure 1 Examples of corresponding devices.

[0098] like Figure 2A As shown, each of UE 115-a, UE 115-b, and UE 115-c can establish a respective communication link with base station 105-a. However, due to problems such as fading or blocking, the communication link 125-a between UE 115-a and base station 105-a degrades or drops. Therefore, base station 105-a can utilize a side link channel (e.g., side link channel 205-a) to communicate with UE 115-a. In some cases, in order to determine the quality of the side link channel, base station 105-b can notify nearby UE 115-b and UE 115-c to send SRS signals, which can be measured by UE 115-a to identify the side link channel. The SRS power transmitted by UE 115-b and UE 115-c can be controlled based on the corresponding links 125-b and 125-c. Figure 2A , UE 115-b and UE 115-c are helping or assisting UE 115-a. The SRS power of UE 115-b may be designated as P2, and the SRS power of the reference signal sent by UE 115-c may be designated as P3. The sidelink powers of the sidelink channels of UE 115-b and UE 115-c may be different from their respective SRS powers. Thus, UE 115-a may not be able to identify a better sidelink channel based on P2 and P3.

[0099] To address these potential issues, helper UEs 115 (e.g., UE 115-b and UE 115-c) may measure the SRS power of target UE 115-a. UE 115-b and 115-c may send a measurement report to base station 105-a for determination of the side link channel. Since base station 105-a configures the SRS power of UE 115-a, base station 105-a may utilize the SRS power of UE 115-a and the detected received power of both UE 115-b and UE 115-c to select a side link channel for communication with UE 115-a. In some cases, base station 105-a may send a threshold to each of UE 115-b and 115-c, and UE 115-b and 115-c may report whether the measured received power of the reference signal meets the threshold, or may report a quantized value of the reference signal measurement to base station 105-a. Base station 105-a may then send the data and the relay instruction to one of UEs 115-b and 105-c so that UE 115-b or 115-c may retransmit the data to UE 115-a using the sidelink channel. For example, base station 105-a sends the data to UE 115-c using link 125-c, and UE 115-c relays the data to UE 115-a using sidelink channel 205-a.

[0100] Figure 2B Includes base station 105-b, UE 115-d, UE 115-e and UE 115-f and node 210. Node 210 can be an example of base station 105 or UE 115, mobile UE 115, power line communication UE 115, high power UE 115, etc. Node 210 communicates with base station 105-b via communication link 125-g. In addition, node 210 communicates with UE 115 via respective communication links 125. However, due to problems such as fading or blocking, the communication link 125-d between UE 115-d and node 210 is degraded or dropped. Therefore, node 210 can utilize a side link channel (e.g., side link channel 205) to communicate with UE 115-a. In some cases, to determine the quality of the sidelink channel, node 210 may notify nearby UEs 115-e and 115-f to transmit SRS signals, which may be measured by UE 115-d to identify the sidelink channel. The SRS power transmitted by UE 115f and UE 115-e may be controlled based on the corresponding links 125e and 125f. Figure 2B, UE 115-e and UE 115-f are helping or assisting UE 115-d. The SRS power of UE 115-e may be designated as P2, and the SRS power of the reference signal sent by UE 115-f may be designated as P3. The sidelink powers of the sidelink channels of UE 115-e and UE 115-f may be different from their respective SRS powers. Thus, UE 115-d may not be able to determine a better sidelink channel based on P2 and P3.

[0101] To address these potential issues, helper UEs 115 (e.g., UEs 115-e and UEs 115-f) may measure the SRS power of target UE 115-d. UEs 115-e and 115-f may send measurement reports to node 210 for determination of the side link channel. Since node 210 may configure the SRS power of UE 115-a (via communication with base station 105-b), node 210 may utilize the SRS power of UE 115-d and the detected received power of both UE 115-e and UE 115-f to select a side link channel to communicate with UE 115-d. In some cases, base station 105-a may send a threshold to each of UEs 115-e and 115-f, and UEs 115-e and 115-f may report whether the measured received power of the reference signal meets the threshold, or may report a quantized value of the reference signal measurement to node 210. Base station 105-b or node 210 may then send data and relay instructions to one of UEs 115-e and 105f so that UE 115-e or 115-f may retransmit the data to UE 115-d using the sidelink channel. For example, node 210 sends data to UE 115-f using link 125f, and UE 115-f relays the data to UE 115-d using sidelink channel 205-b.

[0102] Figure 3 An example of a wireless communication system 300 according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. In some examples, the wireless communication system 300 can implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100. The wireless communication system 300 includes base stations 105-a and 105-b and UE 115, which can be Figure 1 , Figure 2A and Figure 2B An example of a corresponding device. The base station 105-c can establish a respective communication link 125 with the UE 115.

[0103] Due to problems such as blocking or fading, the communication link 125-g between the base station 105-c and the UE 115-g may degrade, fail, or drop. Therefore, the base station 105-c can utilize the techniques described herein to identify a side link for communicating with the UE 115-g. The base station 105-c can send a control message to the UEs 115-h and 115-i, and the control message can indicate a measurement threshold. The UEs 115-h and 115-i can generate reference signal measurements of a reference signal (e.g., SRS) generated by the UE 115-g, and send a measurement report to the base station 105-c based at least in part on the reference signal measurements satisfying the measurement threshold.

[0104] For example, UE 115-g may transmit an SRS using power P1, and UE 115-h and UE 115-i and base station 105-c may receive the SRS. Base station 105-c and UEs 115-h and 115-i may measure the received SRS power of the transmitted SRS. For example, UE 115-i may receive an SRS from UE 115-g at power P1*C2, where C2 is the channel from UE 115-g to UE 115-i. UE 115-i is configured with a sidelink channel power of SP2. Therefore, UE 115-i may calculate P1*C2*SP2, where C2*SP2 is the received power of the sidelink data transmitted from UE 115-i to UE 115-g. Similarly, UE 115-h may receive SRS from UE 115-g at power P1*C1, where C1 is the channel from UE 115-g to UE 115-h. UE 115-h is configured with a sidelink channel power of SP1. Therefore, UE 115-h may calculate P1*C1*SP1, where C1*SP1 is the received power of the sidelink data sent from UE 115-h to UE 115-g.

[0105] The base station 105-c can be configured with a downlink power P and can calculate P1*C*P, where C is the downlink channel from the base station 105-c to the UE 115-g. In addition, C*P can correspond to the received power of the downlink data from the base station 105-c to the UE 115-g. The base station 105-c can determine (e.g., set) a threshold T based on P1*C*P. For example, T can be 5dB higher than P1*C*P. When the sidelink transmit power of other UEs 115 multiplied by their received SRS power (e.g., P1*C1*SP1 or P1*C2*SP2) meets (e.g., is greater than or equal to) the threshold, the UE 115 can potentially assist the UE 115-g and can therefore send a measurement report to the base station 105-c indicating that the threshold T is met. For example, if UE 115-i determines that P1*C2*SP2 is greater than threshold T, base station 105-c may determine that UE 115-i may assist UE 115-g via sidelink communications based on a measurement report received from UE 115-i indicating that the reference signal measurement satisfies threshold T. If UE 115 determines that P1*C2*SP2 does not satisfy the threshold, UE 115 may skip sending the measurement report.

[0106] In some cases, base station 105-c may send threshold T to UE 115-i and UE 115-h via radio resource control (RRC) messaging. In some cases, the RRC message may also indicate an SRS resource corresponding to the threshold, and UE 115 may measure SRS transmissions within the identified SRS resource to generate reference signal measurements. When P1*C2*SP2 satisfies (e.g., is greater than or equal to) threshold T, UE 115 (e.g., UE 115-i) may report to base station 105-c that it may assist UE 115-h.

[0107] In some cases, potentially helping / assisting UEs 115 (e.g., UE 115-i and UE 115-h) may report quantized values ​​of P1*C2*SP2 (for UE 115-i) to base station 105-c, and base station 105-c may determine which UEs 115 may assist UE 115-g based on the received quantized values ​​(e.g., selecting the UE 115 with the highest quantized value corresponding to the highest reference signal measurement). The determination by base station 105-c may be based on threshold T and / or relative values ​​received from various UEs 115. For example, base station 105-c may determine a relative quantized value of the transmit power between the respective UEs and base station 105-c multiplied by the received SRS power received in the measurement report, and may select one or more UEs 115 to relay communications based on the quantized value (e.g., picking the highest quantized value, the highest two or more quantized values, etc.). In some cases, when the quantization value meets (eg, is greater than or equal to) a threshold value T, the UE 115 may determine to report the quantization value of the base station 105 - c , and may otherwise skip reporting the quantization value.

[0108] Figure 4 An example of a process flow diagram 400 according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. In some examples, the process flow diagram 400 can implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100. The process flow diagram 400 includes UE 115-j, UE 115-k, and base station 105-d, which can be Figures 1 to 4 An example of a corresponding device. The base station can establish a communication link with UE 115-j and UE 115-k.

[0109] At 405, base station 105-d detects that the communication link between base station 105-d and UE 115-j is dropped or degraded. This may be due to blocking or fading. Therefore, base station 105-d determines to communicate with UE 115-j using a sidelink channel between another UE 115 and UE 115-j.

[0110] At 410, UE 115-k receives a control message from base station 105-d indicating a measurement threshold. In some cases, the control message includes a measurement resource for a sidelink channel. The measurement threshold may be sent using a radio resource control (RRC) message. Base station 105-d may send such a control message to multiple UEs 115 in the vicinity of UE 115-j.

[0111] At 415, UE 115-j transmits a reference signal. The reference signal may be a sounding reference signal. At 420, UE 115-k generates a reference signal measurement of a reference signal transmitted by UE 115-j via a sidelink channel between UE 115-k and UE 115-j.

[0112] At 425, UE 115-k sends a measurement report to base station 105-d based at least in part on the reference signal measurement satisfying the measurement threshold. The report may include a quantized value of the reference signal measurement or a bit indicating that the reference signal satisfies the measurement threshold. The measurement threshold may be a function of a transmit power used by UE 115-j to send the reference signal via a sidelink channel. In some cases, the measurement threshold may be a transmit power and an offset used by UE 115-j to send the reference signal via the sidelink channel. In some cases, the measurement threshold may be a function of the transmit power used by UE 115-j to send the reference signal via the sidelink channel and a receive power of a downlink data transmission from base station 105-d to a second UE 115-j.

[0113] At 430, UE 115-k receives a data transmission from the base station based at least in part on sending the measurement report. At 435, UE 115-k sends (e.g., relays) the data transmission to UE 115-j via the sidelink channel. In some cases, the data transmission is sent to UE 115-j based on a grant received from base station 105-d, and the grant may schedule transmission of the data transmission via the sidelink channel.

[0114] Figure 5 A block diagram 500 of a device 505 according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 505 may be an example of aspects of the UE 115 as described herein. The device 505 may include a receiver 510, a communication manager 515, and a transmitter 520. The device 505 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0115] The receiver 510 may receive information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to sounding reference signal channel measurements for sidelink communications, etc.), such as packets, user data, or control information. The information may be delivered to other components of the device 505. The receiver 510 may be a reference Figure 8 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 820 are described. The receiver 510 may utilize a single antenna or a group of antennas.

[0116] The communication manager 515 may receive a control message indicating a measurement threshold from the base station, generate a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by the second UE via a side link channel between the first UE and the second UE, and send a measurement report to the base station based on the reference signal measurement satisfying the measurement threshold. The communication manager 515 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 810 described herein.

[0117] The communication manager 515 or its subcomponents may be implemented in hardware, in code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager 515 or its subcomponents may be performed by a general purpose processor, a DSP, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in the present disclosure.

[0118] The communication manager 515 or its subcomponents can be physically located in various locations, including being distributed so that part of the functionality is implemented by one or more physical components at different physical locations. In some examples, according to various aspects of the present disclosure, the communication manager 515 or its subcomponents can be separate and distinct components. In some examples, according to various aspects of the present disclosure, the communication manager 515 or its subcomponents can be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to input / output (I / O) components, transceivers, network servers, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof.

[0119] Transmitter 520 can transmit signals generated by other components of device 505. In some examples, transmitter 520 can be co-located with receiver 510 in a transceiver module. For example, transmitter 520 can be a reference Figure 8 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 820 are described. The transmitter 520 may utilize a single antenna or a group of antennas.

[0120] In some examples, the communication manager 515 can be implemented as an integrated circuit or chipset for a mobile device modem, and the receiver 510 and the transmitter 520 can be implemented as analog components (e.g., amplifiers, filters, antennas) coupled with the mobile device modem to enable wireless transmission and reception on one or more frequency bands.

[0121] The communication manager 515 described herein may be implemented to achieve one or more potential advantages. One implementation may allow a device 505 (e.g., UE 115) to more efficiently coordinate communications between a base station 105 and a second UE 115, and more specifically, determine a sidelink channel metric using a reference signal sent by the second UE 115. For example, the device 505 may receive a control message from a base station, wherein the control metric indicates a threshold, generate a measurement of a reference signal sent by the second UE 115, and determine whether to send a measurement report to the base station 105 based on the threshold.

[0122] Based on implementing the sidelink measurement techniques described herein, the processor of UE 115 (e.g., as shown in reference Figure 8As described above, controlling the receiver 510, transmitter 520, or transceiver 820) can improve reliability and reduce signaling overhead in sidelink communications because the base station can determine whether to utilize the sidelink based at least in part on the transmitted threshold.

[0123] Figure 6 A block diagram 600 of a device 605 according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 605 may be an example of aspects of the device 505 or UE 115 as described herein. The device 605 may include a receiver 610, a communication manager 615, and a transmitter 635. The device 605 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0124] The receiver 610 may receive information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to sounding reference signal channel measurements for sidelink communications, etc.), such as packets, user data, or control information. The information may be delivered to other components of the device 605. The receiver 610 may be a reference Figure 8 Examples of aspects of the transceiver 820 are described. The receiver 610 may utilize a single antenna or a group of antennas.

[0125] Communications manager 615 may be an example of aspects of communications manager 515 as described herein. Communications manager 615 may include measurement threshold component 620, reference signal component 625, and measurement reporting component 630. Communications manager 615 may be an example of aspects of communications manager 810 as described herein.

[0126] The measurement threshold component 620 can receive a control message indicating a measurement threshold from the base station. The reference signal component 625 can generate a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by the second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE. The measurement report component 630 can send a measurement report to the base station based on the reference signal measurement satisfying the measurement threshold.

[0127] Transmitter 635 can transmit signals generated by other components of device 605. In some examples, transmitter 635 can be co-located with receiver 610 in a transceiver module. For example, transmitter 635 can be a reference Figure 8 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 820 are described. The transmitter 635 can utilize a single antenna or a group of antennas.

[0128] Figure 7A block diagram 700 of a communication manager 705 is shown in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communication manager 705 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 515, the communication manager 615, or the communication manager 810 described herein. The communication manager 705 may include a measurement threshold component 710, a reference signal component 715, a measurement report component 720, a communication interface 725, a sidelink interface 730, a control component 735, and an RRC component 740. Each of these modules may be in communication with each other, directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0129] The measurement threshold component 710 can receive a control message indicating a measurement threshold from the base station. The reference signal component 715 can generate a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by the second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE. The measurement report component 720 can send a measurement report to the base station based on the reference signal measurement satisfying the measurement threshold.

[0130] In some examples, measurement reporting component 720 may send a measurement report including a quantized value of the reference signal measurement. In some examples, measurement reporting component 720 may send a measurement report including a bit indicating that the reference signal measurement satisfies a measurement threshold.

[0131] The communication interface 725 may receive a data transmission from the base station based on sending the measurement report. In some examples, the communication interface 725 may receive a grant to schedule the transmission of the data transmission via the sidelink channel, where the data transmission may be sent to the second UE via the sidelink channel based on the grant. The sidelink interface 730 may send the data transmission to the second UE via the sidelink channel.

[0132] Control component 735 can receive a control message including measurement resources for a sidelink channel, wherein a reference signal measurement is generated based on measuring the measurement resources for the sidelink channel.

[0133] In some examples, control component 735 may receive a control message indicating a measurement threshold that is a function of a transmit power used by the second UE to transmit a reference signal via a sidelink channel. In some examples, control component 735 may receive a control message indicating a measurement threshold that is a function of a transmit power and an offset used by the second UE to transmit a reference signal via a sidelink channel.

[0134] In some examples, control component 735 may receive a control message indicating a measurement threshold that is a function of a transmit power used by the second UE to send a reference signal via a sidelink channel and a receive power for downlink data transmissions from the base station to the second UE.

[0135] In some examples, control component 735 can receive a control message indicating a measurement threshold that is a function of a transmit power used by the second UE to transmit a reference signal via a sidelink channel, a downlink channel between the base station and the second UE, and a downlink transmit power used by the base station to transmit via the downlink channel. RRC component 740 can receive a radio resource control message indicating the measurement threshold.

[0136] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a system 800 including a device 805 according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 805 may be an example of, or include components of, a device 505, a device 605, or a UE 115 as described herein. The device 805 may include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for sending and receiving communications, including a communications manager 810, an I / O controller 815, a transceiver 820, an antenna 825, a memory 830, and a processor 840. These components may communicate electronically via one or more buses (e.g., a bus 845).

[0137] The communication manager 810 can receive a control message indicating a measurement threshold from the base station, generate a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by the second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE, and send a measurement report to the base station based on the reference signal measurement satisfying the measurement threshold.

[0138] I / O controller 815 can manage input and output signals for device 805. I / O controller 815 can also manage peripheral devices that are not integrated into device 805. In some cases, I / O controller 815 can represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some cases, I / O controller 815 can utilize an operating system, such as Or other known operating systems. In other cases, I / O controller 815 can represent or interact with a modem, keyboard, mouse, touch screen, or similar device. In some cases, I / O controller 815 can be implemented as part of a processor. In some cases, a user can interact with device 805 via I / O controller 815 or via hardware components controlled by I / O controller 815.

[0139] As described above, the transceiver 820 can communicate bidirectionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links. For example, the transceiver 820 can represent a wireless transceiver and can communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 820 can also include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the antenna for transmission, and demodulate the packets received from the antenna.

[0140] In some cases, a wireless device may include a single antenna 825. However, in some cases, a device may have more than one antenna 825 that is capable of sending or receiving multiple wireless transmissions simultaneously.

[0141] The memory 830 may include RAM and ROM. The memory 830 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 835, which includes instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, the memory 830 may contain a basic input / output system (BIOS), etc., which may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0142] Processor 840 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, processor 840 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into processor 840. Processor 840 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 830) to cause device 805 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting sounding reference signal channel measurements for sidelink communications).

[0143] The code 835 may include instructions for implementing various aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions for supporting wireless communications. The code 835 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, the code 835 may not be directly executable by the processor 840, but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein.

[0144] Fig. 9 A block diagram 900 of a device 905 according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 905 may be an example of aspects of the base station 105 as described herein. The device 905 may include a receiver 910, a communication manager 915, and a transmitter 920. The device 905 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0145] The receiver 910 may receive information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to sounding reference signal channel measurements for sidelink communications, etc.), such as packets, user data, or control information. The information may be delivered to other components of the device 905. The receiver 910 may be a reference Fig.12Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1220 are described. The receiver 910 may utilize a single antenna or a group of antennas.

[0146] The communication manager 915 may send a control message indicating a measurement threshold to the first UE, and receive a measurement report from the first UE indicating that a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by the second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE satisfies the measurement threshold. The communication manager 915 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1210 described herein.

[0147] The communication manager 915 or its subcomponents may be implemented in hardware, in code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager 915 or its subcomponents may be performed by a general purpose processor, a DSP, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in the present disclosure.

[0148] The communication manager 915 or its subcomponents can be physically located in various locations, including being distributed so that part of the functionality is implemented by one or more physical components at different physical locations. In some examples, according to various aspects of the present disclosure, the communication manager 915 or its subcomponents can be separate and distinct components. In some examples, according to various aspects of the present disclosure, the communication manager 915 or its subcomponents can be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to input / output (I / O) components, transceivers, network servers, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof.

[0149] The transmitter 920 can transmit signals generated by other components of the device 905. In some examples, the transmitter 920 can be co-located with the receiver 910 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 920 can be a reference Fig.12 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1220 are described. The transmitter 920 may utilize a single antenna or a group of antennas.

[0150] Fig.10 A block diagram 1000 of a device 1005 according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 1005 may be an example of aspects of the device 905 or base station 105 as described herein. The device 1005 may include a receiver 1010, a communication manager 1015, and a transmitter 1030. The device 1005 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0151] The receiver 1010 may receive information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to sounding reference signal channel measurements for sidelink communications, etc.), such as packets, user data, or control information. The information may be delivered to other components of the device 1005. The receiver 1010 may be a reference Fig.12 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1220 are described. The receiver 1010 may utilize a single antenna or a group of antennas.

[0152] Communications manager 1015 can be an example of aspects of communications manager 915 as described herein. Communications manager 1015 can include measurement threshold component 1020 and measurement reporting component 1025. Communications manager 1015 can be an example of aspects of communications manager 1210 as described herein.

[0153] Measurement threshold component 1020 can send a control message indicating the measurement threshold to the first UE. Measurement reporting component 1025 can receive a measurement report from the first UE indicating that a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by the second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE satisfies the measurement threshold.

[0154] Transmitter 1030 can transmit signals generated by other components of device 1005. In some examples, transmitter 1030 can be co-located with receiver 1010 in a transceiver module. For example, transmitter 1030 can be a reference Fig.12 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1220 are described. The transmitter 1030 may utilize a single antenna or a group of antennas.

[0155] Fig.11 A block diagram 1100 of a communication manager 1105 is shown in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communication manager 1105 can be an example of aspects of the communication manager 915, the communication manager 1015, or the communication manager 1210 described herein. The communication manager 1105 can include a measurement threshold component 1110, a measurement reporting component 1115, a communication interface 1120, a control component 1125, and an RRC component 1130. Each of these modules can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0156] Measurement threshold component 1110 can send a control message indicating a measurement threshold to the first UE. Measurement reporting component 1115 can receive a measurement report from the first UE indicating that a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by a second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE satisfies the measurement threshold.

[0157] In some examples, measurement reporting component 1115 may receive a measurement report including a quantized value of a reference signal measurement. In some examples, measurement reporting component 1115 may receive a measurement report of bits indicating that the reference signal measurement satisfies a measurement threshold.

[0158] The communication interface 1120 may send a data transmission and relay instruction to the first UE based on receiving the measurement report, the relay instruction instructing the first UE to relay the data transmission to the second UE via the side link channel. In some examples, the communication interface 1120 may send a grant to the first UE to schedule the transmission of the data transmission via the side link channel.

[0159] Control component 1125 may send a control message including a measurement resource for measuring a sidelink channel of a reference signal sent by the second UE. In some examples, control component 1125 may send a control message indicating a measurement threshold that is a function of a transmit power used by the second UE to send the reference signal via the sidelink channel.

[0160] In some examples, control component 1125 can send a control message indicating a measurement threshold that is a function of a transmit power and an offset used by the second UE to send a reference signal via a sidelink channel.

[0161] In some examples, control component 1125 can send a control message indicating a measurement threshold that is a function of a transmit power used by the second UE to send a reference signal via a sidelink channel and a receive power of a downlink data transmission from the base station to the second UE.

[0162] In some examples, control component 1125 can send a control message indicating a measurement threshold that is a function of a transmit power used by the second UE to transmit a reference signal via a sidelink channel, a downlink channel between the base station and the second UE, and a downlink transmit power used by the base station to transmit via the downlink channel. RRC component 1130 can send a radio resource control message indicating the measurement threshold.

[0163] Fig.12 A schematic diagram of a system 1200 including a device 1205 according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 1205 may be an example of, or include, components of the device 905, device 1005, or base station 105 described herein. The device 1205 may include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for sending and receiving communications, including a communications manager 1210, a network communications manager 1215, a transceiver 1220, an antenna 1225, a memory 1230, a processor 1240, and an inter-station communications manager 1245. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses (e.g., bus 1250).

[0164] The communication manager 1210 may send a control message indicating a measurement threshold to the first UE and receive a measurement report from the first UE indicating that a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by the second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE satisfies the measurement threshold.

[0165] The network communications manager 1215 may manage communications with the core network (eg, via one or more wired backhaul links). For example, the network communications manager 1215 may manage the transmission of data communications for client devices (eg, one or more UEs 115).

[0166] As described above, the transceiver 1220 can communicate bidirectionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links. For example, the transceiver 1220 can represent a wireless transceiver and can communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1220 can also include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the antenna for transmission, and demodulate the packets received from the antenna. In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 1225. However, in some cases, the device may have more than one antenna 1225, which can send or receive multiple wireless transmissions simultaneously.

[0167] Memory 1230 may include RAM, ROM, or a combination thereof. Memory 1230 may store computer readable code 1235 including instructions that, when executed by a processor (e.g., processor 1240), cause the device to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, memory 1230 may include BIOS, etc., which may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0168] Processor 1240 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, processor 1240 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some cases, the memory controller may be integrated into processor 1240. Processor 1240 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1230) to cause device 1205 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting sounding reference signal channel measurements for sidelink communications).

[0169] The inter-site communication manager 1245 may manage communications with other base stations 105 and may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications of the UE 115 in cooperation with the other base stations 105. For example, the inter-site communication manager 1245 may coordinate the scheduling of transmissions to the UE 115 for various interference mitigation techniques such as beamforming or joint transmission. In some examples, the inter-site communication manager 1245 may provide an X2 interface in an LTE / LTE-A wireless communication network technology to provide communications between base stations 105.

[0170] The code 1235 may include instructions to implement various aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions to support wireless communications. The code 1235 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, the code 1235 may not be directly executable by the processor 1240, but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein.

[0171] Fig.13 1300 according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1300 may be implemented by the UE 115 or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1300 may be implemented by the UE 115 or its components as described herein. Figures 5 to 8 In some examples, the UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the functions described below.

[0172] At 1305, the UE may receive a control message indicating a measurement threshold from a base station. The operations of 1305 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1305 may be described with reference to Figures 5 to 8 The measurement threshold component described is performed.

[0173] At 1310, the UE may generate a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by a second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE. The operations of 1310 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1310 may be performed by reference Figures 5 to 8 The described reference signal components are implemented.

[0174] At 1315, the UE may send a measurement report to the base station based on the reference signal measurement satisfying the measurement threshold. The operations of 1315 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1315 may be performed by reference signal measurement. Figures 5 to 8 The measurement reporting component described here is used to perform the

[0175] Fig.141400 according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1400 may be implemented by the UE 115 or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1400 may be implemented by the UE 115 or its components as described herein. Figures 5 to 8 In some examples, the UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

[0176] At 1405, the UE may receive a control message indicating a measurement threshold from a base station. The operations of 1405 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1405 may be described with reference to Figures 5 to 8 The measurement threshold component described is performed.

[0177] At 1410, the UE may generate a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by a second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE. The operations of 1410 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1410 may be performed by reference Figures 5 to 8 The described reference signal components are implemented.

[0178] At 1415, the UE may send a measurement report to the base station based on the reference signal measurement satisfying the measurement threshold. The operations of 1415 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1415 may be performed by reference to Figures 5 to 8 The measurement reporting component described here is used to perform the

[0179] At 1420, the UE may receive data transmission from the base station based on sending the measurement report. The operations of 1420 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1420 may be described with reference to Figures 5 to 8 The communication interface described is implemented.

[0180] At 1425, the UE may send a data transmission to a second UE via a sidelink channel. The operations of 1425 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1425 may be described with reference to Figures 5 to 8 The sidelink interface described is implemented.

[0181] Fig.15 105 or a component thereof. For example, the operations of the method 1500 may be implemented by the base station 105 or a component thereof as described herein. Figures 9 to 12In some examples, the base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the base station may use dedicated hardware to perform the functional aspects described below.

[0182] At 1505, the base station may send a control message indicating a measurement threshold to the first UE. The operations of 1505 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1505 may be described with reference to Figures 9 to 12 The measurement threshold component described is performed.

[0183] At 1510, the base station may receive a measurement report from the first UE indicating that a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by a second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE satisfies a measurement threshold. The operations of 1510 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1510 may be performed by reference to Figures 9 to 12 The measurement reporting component described here is used to perform the

[0184] Fig.16 1600 according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1600 may be implemented by the base station 105 or its components as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1600 may be implemented by reference to Figures 9 to 12 In some examples, the base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the base station may use dedicated hardware to perform the functional aspects described below.

[0185] At 1605, the base station may send a control message indicating a measurement threshold to the first UE. The operations of 1605 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1605 may be described with reference to Figures 9 to 12 The measurement threshold component described is performed.

[0186] At 1610, the base station may receive a measurement report from the first UE indicating that a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by a second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE satisfies a measurement threshold. The operations of 1610 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1610 may be performed by reference to Figures 9 to 12 The measurement reporting component described here is used to perform the

[0187] At 1615, the base station may send a data transmission and relay instruction to the first UE based on receiving the measurement report, the relay instruction instructing the first UE to relay the data transmission to the second UE via the side link channel. The operation of 1615 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, various aspects of the operation of 1615 may be described with reference to Figures 9 to 12 The communication interface described is implemented.

[0188] It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the operations and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified, and that other implementations are possible. Furthermore, aspects from two or more methods may be combined.

[0189] Although aspects of LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR systems may be described for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, the techniques described herein are applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR networks. For example, the techniques described may be applicable to various other wireless communication systems, such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, and other systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.

[0190] The information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips mentioned throughout the specification may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0191] The various illustrative blocks and components described in conjunction with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors and a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0192] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware; software executed by a processor, firmware; or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination of these. Features that implement the functions may also be physically located in various locations, including being distributed so that parts of the functions are implemented in different physical locations.

[0193] Computer-readable media include non-transitory computer storage media and communication media, and communication media include any media that facilitates the transfer of computer programs from one place to another.Non-transitory storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a general or special computer.As an example and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage device, or can be used to carry or store desired program code devices in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a general or special computer or a general or special processor.Again, any connection is properly referred to as a computer-readable medium.For example, if a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL) or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio and microwaves are used to transmit software from a website, server or other remote source, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio and microwaves are included in the definition of computer-readable media. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0194] As used herein, including in the claims, "or" used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items beginning with a phrase such as "at least one of" or "one or more of") means an inclusive list, so that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). In addition, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be interpreted as referring to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step described as "based on condition A" can be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should be interpreted in the same manner as the phrase "based at least in part on."

[0195] In the drawings, similar parts or features may have the same reference numeral. In addition, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference numeral with a dash and a second numeral, the second numeral being used to distinguish similar components. If only the first reference numeral is used in the specification, the description applies to any one of the similar components having the same first reference numeral, regardless of the second reference numeral or other subsequent reference numerals.

[0196] The description set forth herein, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, describes example configurations and does not represent all examples that may be implemented or within the scope of the claims. The term "example" as used herein means "used as an example, instance, or illustration," rather than "preferred" or "superior to other examples." The specific embodiments include specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described technology. However, these technologies may be practiced without these specific details. In some cases, known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

[0197] The description provided herein is to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to the present disclosure will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but conforms to the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication by a first user equipment UE, comprising: receiving a control message indicating a measurement threshold from a network node; generating a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by a second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE; sending a measurement report to the network node based at least in part on the reference signal measurement satisfying the measurement threshold; receiving a data transmission from the network node based at least in part on sending the measurement report; and The data transmission is sent to the second UE via the sidelink channel.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Sending the measurement report to the network node includes: A measurement report is sent including a quantized value of the reference signal measurement.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Sending the measurement report to the network node includes: A measurement report is sent that includes a bit indicating that the reference signal measurement satisfies the measurement threshold.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A grant is received to schedule transmission of the data transmission via the sidelink channel, wherein the data transmission is sent to the second UE via the sidelink channel based at least in part on the grant.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Receiving control messages includes: A control message is received including measurement resources of the sidelink channel, wherein the reference signal measurement is generated based at least in part on measuring the measurement resources of the sidelink channel.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Receiving control messages includes: A control message is received indicating the measurement threshold, the measurement threshold being a function of a transmit power used by the second UE to transmit the reference signal via the sidelink channel.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Receiving control messages includes: A control message is received indicating the measurement threshold, the measurement threshold being a function of a transmit power and an offset used by the second UE to transmit the reference signal via the sidelink channel.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Receiving control messages includes: A control message is received indicating the measurement threshold, the measurement threshold being a function of a transmit power used by the second UE to transmit the reference signal via the sidelink channel and a receive power of downlink data transmissions from the network node to the second UE.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Receiving the control message includes: A control message is received indicating the measurement threshold, wherein the measurement threshold is a function of a transmit power used by the second UE to transmit the reference signal via the sidelink channel, a downlink channel between the network node and the second UE, and a downlink transmit power used by the network node to transmit via the downlink channel.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Receiving control messages includes: A radio resource control message is received indicating the measurement threshold.

11. A method for wireless communication by a network node, comprising: Sending a control message indicating a measurement threshold to a first user equipment UE; receiving a measurement report from the first UE, the measurement report indicating that a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by a second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE satisfies the measurement threshold; as well as Based at least in part on receiving the measurement report, sending data transmission and relay instructions to the first UE, the relay instructions instructing the first UE to relay the data transmission to the second UE via the sidelink channel.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The received measurement report includes: A measurement report including a quantized value of the reference signal measurement is received.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The received measurement report includes: A measurement report is received that includes a bit indicating that the reference signal measurement satisfies the measurement threshold.

14. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: A grant is sent to the first UE to schedule transmission of the data transmission via the sidelink channel.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein: Sending control messages includes: A control message including measurement resources for measuring the sidelink channel of the reference signal sent by the second UE is sent.

16. The method according to claim 11, wherein: Sending control messages includes: A control message is sent indicating the measurement threshold, the measurement threshold being a function of a transmit power used by the second UE to transmit the reference signal via the sidelink channel.

17. The method according to claim 11, wherein: Sending control messages includes: A control message is sent indicating the measurement threshold, the measurement threshold being a function of a transmit power and an offset used by the second UE to transmit the reference signal via the sidelink channel.

18. The method according to claim 12, wherein: Sending control messages includes: A control message is sent indicating the measurement threshold, the measurement threshold being a function of a transmit power used by the second UE to transmit the reference signal via the sidelink channel and a receive power of a downlink data transmission from the network node to the second UE.

19. The method according to claim 11, wherein: Sending control messages includes: Sending a control message indicating the measurement threshold, wherein the measurement threshold is a function of a transmit power used by the second UE to send the reference signal via the sidelink channel, a downlink channel between the network node and the second UE, and a downlink transmit power used by the network node to send via the downlink channel.

20. The method according to claim 11, wherein: Sending control messages includes: A radio resource control message is sent indicating the measurement threshold.

21. An apparatus for wireless communication by a first user equipment UE, comprising: means for receiving a control message indicating a measurement threshold from a network node; means for generating a reference signal measurement of a reference signal transmitted by a second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE; means for sending a measurement report to the network node based at least in part on the reference signal measurement satisfying the measurement threshold; means for receiving a data transmission from a network node based at least in part on sending the measurement report; as well as Means for sending the data transmission to the second UE via the sidelink channel.

22. The device according to claim 21, wherein The means for sending a measurement report to the network node comprises: Means for sending a measurement report comprising a quantized value of said reference signal measurement.

23. The device according to claim 21, wherein The means for sending a measurement report to the network node comprises: Means for sending a measurement report of bits indicating that the reference signal measurement meets the measurement threshold.

24. An apparatus for wireless communication by a network node, comprising: A means for sending a control message indicating a measurement threshold to a first user equipment UE; means for receiving a measurement report from the first UE, the measurement report indicating that a reference signal measurement of a reference signal sent by a second UE via a sidelink channel between the first UE and the second UE satisfies the measurement threshold; Means for sending a data transmission and a relay instruction to the first UE based at least in part on the measurement report, the relay instruction instructing the first UE to relay the data transmission to the second UE via the sidelink channel.

25. The device according to claim 24, wherein: The components for receiving measurement reports include: Means for receiving a measurement report comprising a quantized value of the reference signal measurement.

26. The device according to claim 24, wherein: The components for receiving measurement reports include: Means for receiving a measurement report including a bit indicating that the reference signal measurement satisfies the measurement threshold.

27. A computer-readable medium having a program code recorded thereon, wherein the program code can be executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE) to enable the one or more processors to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-10.

28. A computer-readable medium having a program code recorded thereon, wherein the program code is executable by one or more processors of a network node to enable the one or more processors to perform the method according to any one of claims 11-20.

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