Scalable resizing of transport blocks for uplink transmission

Abstract

The UE may be configured to determine a TB size for transmission to the base station based on signaling received from the base station for configuring at least one of a scaling factor or a time slot aggregation factor associated with the TB size. The UE may also be configured to send information on a TB to the base station in at least one time slot, the TB having the determined size. The base station may be configured to send signaling to the UE for configuring at least one of a scaling factor or a time slot aggregation factor associated with the TB size to be used by the UE for transmission. The base station may also be configured to receive information from the UE on at least one TB having a size based on at least one of the scaling factor or the time slot aggregation factor.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of the following applications: U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 63 / 023,227, filed on May 11, 2020 and entitled “METHODAND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING MODIFIED TB SIZE FOR SLOT AGGREGATION”; and U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 316,605, filed on May 10, 2021 and entitled “SCALABLE SIZING OF TRANSPORT BLOCKS FOR UPLINK TRANSMISSIONS”, the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure generally relates to communication systems, and more particularly, to sizing of transport blocks for uplink transmissions from user equipment to a base station. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcast. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

[0005] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate at a city, country, region, and even global level. An example telecommunication standard is 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is part of the continuous mobile broadband evolution released by the Third Generation Partnership (3GPP) to meet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security, scalability (e.g., together with the Internet of Things (IoT)) and other requirements. 5G NR includes services associated with the following: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC). Some aspects of 5G NR may be based on the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. There is a need for further improvements to 5GNR technology. These improvements may also be applicable to other multiple access technologies and telecommunication standards that employ these technologies. Summary of the invention

[0006] A brief summary of one or more aspects is given below to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all expected aspects, and is neither intended to identify the key or important elements of all aspects, nor to delineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description that will be given later.

[0007] User equipment (UE) in limited coverage scenarios (such as near the cell edge) may experience some loss of data reliability, an increase in block error rate (BLER), or otherwise reduced link budget. In order to adapt to these conditions and meet the link budget, UEs in limited coverage scenarios may attempt to reduce the size of the transport blocks (TBs) onto which the payload bits from the higher layer protocol data units (PDUs) are mapped. Smaller TB size settings are typically insufficient to accommodate all payload bits (when aggregated with header bits and / or other mandatory control information that are to accompany the payload bits in transmission). One approach to this problem is to segment the PDU so that a corresponding subset of the payload bits is assigned to each TB in a set of TBs that, as a whole, carry all payload bits in an uplink transmission.

[0008] Dividing the PDU in this manner typically enables simultaneous transmission of all payload bits of one higher layer PDU. However, such segmentation may necessarily increase the amount of control information sent, for example, because each segment will include a corresponding header accommodated in association with the TB transmission. In addition, each segment sent on a corresponding TB may be assigned to a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process, which inherently causes increased overhead in terms of processing power, over-the-air signaling, etc.

[0009] Thus, attempting to meet a lower link budget when in a coverage-limited scenario may have some additional effects that tend to increase the load on both the UE and the network (e.g., base station and air interface). This increase in overhead may adversely affect the effective code rate at which the payload bits are transmitted, and may offset (or at least significantly reduce) any benefit from a smaller TB size. Thus, there is a need to improve uplink transmissions from the UE to the network in coverage-limited scenarios.

[0010] The present disclosure provides various techniques and solutions for improving the reliability and performance of uplink transmissions by UEs located near a cell edge or in other limited coverage situations. Specifically, aspects of the present disclosure describe a UE configured with an approach that is the opposite of satisfying a lower link budget: the UE can enlarge or increase the TB size used for uplink transmissions. This approach can overcome some or all of the disadvantages associated with a smaller TB size.

[0011] For example, increasing the TB size can have the desired effect of reducing the number of signaling and HARQ processes employed to provide feedback, e.g., because fewer TBs can be used to transmit the same number of bits. Such an increase can be particularly beneficial to UEs near a cell edge or otherwise within limited coverage, because the increased TB size can result in a proportional increase in data reliability and / or improved spectral efficiency. Furthermore, the benefits of a larger TB size can be obtained without significantly affecting the effective code rate, that is, a larger sized TB that includes all payload bits can have an effective code rate comparable to that of multiple smaller sized TBs into which the payload is split.

[0012] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a first method, a first computer-readable medium, and a first device are provided. The first device may be a UE or a component thereof, which may be configured to: determine the size of a TB for transmission to the base station based on signaling received from a base station for configuring at least one of a scaling factor or a time slot aggregation factor associated with the TB size. The first device may also be configured to: send information on the TB to the base station in at least one time slot, the TB having the determined size.

[0013] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a second method, a second computer-readable medium, and a second apparatus are provided. The second apparatus may be a base station or a component thereof, which may be configured to: send signaling to a UE for configuring at least one of a scaling factor or a time slot aggregation factor associated with a TB size to be used by the UE for transmission. The second apparatus may also be configured to: receive from the UE information on at least one TB having a size based on at least one of the scaling factor or the time slot aggregation factor.

[0014] To accomplish the foregoing and related purposes, one or more aspects include features fully described below and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of one or more aspects. However, these features are indicative of only some of the various ways in which the principles of the various aspects may be employed, and this specification is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and an access network.

[0016] Figure 2A is a diagram illustrating an example of a first frame according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 2B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of downlink channels within a subframe according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 2C is a diagram illustrating an example of a second frame according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 2D is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of uplink channels within a subframe according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a base station and a user equipment (UE) in an access network.

[0021] Figure 4 is a call flow diagram illustrating an example flow of wireless communications and operations performed by a base station and a UE.

[0022] Figure 5 is a flow chart of an example method of wireless communications by a UE.

[0023] Figure 6 is a flow chart of an example method of wireless communications by a base station.

[0024] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an example apparatus.

[0025] Figure 8 is another schematic diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an example apparatus. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The detailed description set forth below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configuration in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. For the purpose of providing a comprehensive understanding of each concept, the detailed description includes specific details. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some cases, well-known structures and components are shown in the form of block diagrams in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

[0027] Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various devices and methods. These devices and methods will be described in the detailed description below and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0028] By way of example, an element, or any part of an element, or any combination of elements, can be implemented as a "processing system" including one or more processors. Examples of processors include microprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs), application processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, systems on chip (SoCs), baseband processors, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gating logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform various functions described throughout the present disclosure. One or more processors in a processing system can execute software. Whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or other names, software should be broadly interpreted as meaning instructions, instruction sets, computer executable codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subroutines, software components, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, processes, functions, etc.

[0029] Accordingly, in one or more example embodiments, the described functions may be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored or encoded on a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or computer-executable codes. Computer-readable media include computer storage media. Storage media may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, a combination of computer-readable media of the aforementioned types, or any other medium that can be used to store computer-executable code in the form of instructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer.

[0030] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a wireless communication system and access network 100. The wireless communication system (also referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) includes a base station 102, a user equipment (UE) 104, an evolved packet core (EPC) 160, and another core network 190 (e.g., a 5G core (5GC)). The base station 102 may include a macro cell (a high-power cellular base station) and / or a small cell (a low-power cellular base station). A macro cell includes a base station. A small cell includes a femto cell, a pico cell, and a micro cell.

[0031] The base station 102 configured for 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE), which is collectively referred to as the Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), can interface with the EPC 160 via a first backhaul link 132 (e.g., an S1 interface). The base station 102 configured for 5G New Radio (NR), which can be collectively referred to as the Next Generation Radio Access Network (RAN) (NG-RAN), can interface with the core network 190 via a second backhaul link 184. Among other functions, the base station 102 can also perform one or more of the following functions: transmission of user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), user and device tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages.

[0032] In some aspects, the base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via the EPC 160 or the core network 190) via a third backhaul link 134 (e.g., an X2 interface). The first backhaul link 132, the second backhaul link 184, and the third backhaul link 134 may be wired or wireless. At least some of the base stations 102 may be configured for integrated access and backhaul (IAB). Thus, such base stations may communicate wirelessly with other such base stations. For example, at least some of the base stations 102 configured for IAB may have a split architecture, which includes at least one of a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a radio unit (RU), a remote radio head (RRH), and / or a remote unit, some or all of which may be collocated or distributed and / or may communicate with each other. In some configurations of such a split architecture, the CU may implement some or all of the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) layer, and the DU may implement some or all of the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer.

[0033] Illustratively, some of the base stations 102 configured for IAB may communicate with a DU of an IAB donor node or other parent IAB node (e.g., a base station) through a corresponding CU, and may further communicate with one or more of the child IAB nodes (e.g., other base stations) and / or UEs 104 through a corresponding DU. One or more of the base stations 102 configured for IAB may be an IAB donor connected to at least one of the EPC 160 and / or the core network 190 through a CU. In doing so, the base station 102 operating as an IAB donor may provide a link to one of the EPC 160 or the core network 190 for one or more UEs and / or other IAB nodes (which may be directly or indirectly connected to the IAB donor (e.g., separated from the IAB donor by more than one hop)). In the context of communicating with the EPC 160 or the core network 190, both the UE and the IAB node may communicate with the DU of the IAB donor. In some additional aspects, one or more of the base stations 102 may be configured with connectivity in an open RAN (ORAN) and / or a virtualized RAN (VRAN), which may be achieved via at least one corresponding CU, DU, RU, RRH and / or remote unit.

[0034] The base stations 102 may communicate wirelessly with the UEs 104. Each of the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. There may be overlapping geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell 102' may have a coverage area 110' that overlaps with a coverage area 110 of one or more macro base stations 102. A network that includes both small cells and macro cells may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home evolved Node B (eNB) (HeNB), which may provide services to a restricted group referred to as a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0035] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include an uplink (also referred to as a reverse link) transmission from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or a downlink (also referred to as a forward link) transmission from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may be through one or more component carriers (CCs). The base station 102 / UE 104 may use a spectrum of up to Y MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400, etc. MHz) bandwidth per carrier allocated in a carrier aggregation of up to Yx megahertz (MHz) (e.g., x CCs) for transmission in each direction. The CCs may be adjacent to each other or may not be adjacent to each other. The allocation of CCs may be asymmetric with respect to the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer CCs may be allocated for the downlink than for the uplink).

[0036] A CC may include a primary CC and one or more secondary CCs. A primary CC may be referred to as a primary cell (PCell), and each secondary CC may be referred to as a secondary cell (SCell). When the UE is known to a base station at the access network level and to at least one core network entity (e.g., AMF and / or MME) at the core network level, and the UE is configured to receive downlink control information in the access network (e.g., the UE may be in an RRC connected state), the PCell may also be referred to as a "serving cell". In some cases where carrier aggregation is configured for a UE, each of the PCell and one or more SCells may be a serving cell.

[0037] Some UEs 104 may communicate with each other using a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158. The D2D communication link 158 may use downlink / uplink WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). The D2D communication may be through a variety of wireless D2D communication systems, such as, for example, WiMedia, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR.

[0038] The wireless communication system may also include a Wi-Fi access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a Wi-Fi station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154, for example, in a 5 gigahertz (GHz) unlicensed spectrum. When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the STA 152 / AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) prior to communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0039] The small cell 102' may operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in unlicensed spectrum, the small cell 102' may employ NR and use the same unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz, etc.) as used by the Wi-Fi AP 150. The small cell 102' employing NR in the unlicensed spectrum may improve coverage and / or increase capacity of the access network.

[0040] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified with the frequency range names FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz). Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are sometimes referred to as mid-band frequencies. Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "sub-6 GHz" band in various documents and articles. Similar naming issues sometimes arise with respect to FR2, although unlike the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz-300 GHz) identified as the "millimeter wave" band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), FR2 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" (or "mmWave" or simply "mmW") band in documents and articles.

[0041] In view of the above, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if the term "sub-6 GHz" or the like is used herein, it can broadly represent frequencies that can be less than 6 GHz, can be within FR1, or can include mid-band frequencies. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if the term "millimeter wave" or the like is used herein, it can broadly represent frequencies that can include mid-band frequencies, can be within FR2, or can be within the EHF band.

[0042] The base station 102, whether a small cell 102' or a large cell (e.g., a macro base station), may include and / or be referred to as an eNB, a gNodeB (gNB), or another type of base station. Some base stations, such as gNB 180, may operate in traditional sub-6 GHz spectrum, in millimeter wave frequencies, and / or near millimeter wave frequencies to communicate with UE 104. When the gNB 180 operates in millimeter wave or near millimeter wave frequencies, the gNB 180 may be referred to as a millimeter wave base station. The millimeter wave base station 180 may utilize beamforming 182 with the UE 104 to compensate for path loss and short range. The base station 180 and the UE 104 may each include multiple antennas, such as antenna elements, antenna panels, and / or antenna arrays to facilitate beamforming.

[0043] The base station 180 may transmit beamformed signals in one or more transmit directions 182' to the UE 104. The UE 104 may receive beamformed signals from the base station 180 in one or more receive directions 182". The UE 104 may also transmit beamformed signals to the base station 180 in one or more transmit directions. The base station 180 may receive beamformed signals from the UE 104 in one or more receive directions. The base station 180 / UE 104 may perform beam training to determine the best receive and transmit directions for each of the base station 180 / UE 104. The transmit direction and receive direction for the base station 180 may be the same or may be different. The transmit direction and receive direction for the UE 104 may be the same or may be different.

[0044] The EPC 160 may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, other MMEs 164, a serving gateway 166, an MBMS gateway 168, a broadcast multicast service center (BM-SC) 170, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway 172. The MME 162 may communicate with a home subscriber server (HSS) 174. The MME 162 is a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the EPC 160. Typically, the MME 162 provides bearer and connection management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are transmitted through the serving gateway 166, which itself is connected to the PDN gateway 172. The PDN gateway 172 provides IP address allocation and other functions to the UE. The PDN gateway 172 and the BM-SC 170 are connected to IP services 176. The IP services 176 may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), a packet switched (PS) streaming service, and / or other IP services. The BM-SC 170 may provide functions for MBMS user service provision and delivery. The BM-SC 170 may be used as an entry point for content provider MBMS transmissions, may be used to authorize and initiate MBMS bearer services within a public land mobile network (PLMN), and may be used to schedule MBMS transmissions. The MBMS Gateway 168 may be used to distribute MBMS services to base stations 102 belonging to a multicast broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) area broadcasting a particular service, and may be responsible for session management (start / stop) and for collecting eMBMS-related billing information.

[0045] The core network 190 may include an access and mobility management function (AMF) 192, other AMFs 193, a session management function (SMF) 194, and a user plane function (UPF) 195. The AMF 192 may communicate with a unified data management (UDM) 196. The AMF 192 is a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the core network 190. Typically, the AMF 192 provides quality of service (QoS) flows and session management. All user IP packets are transmitted through the UPF 195. The UPF 195 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. The UPF 195 is connected to an IP service 197. The IP service 197 may include the Internet, an intranet, an IMS, a PS streaming service, and / or other IP services.

[0046] A base station may include and / or be referred to as a gNB, a Node B, an eNB, an access point, a base transceiver, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver functional unit, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), a transmit receive point (TRP), or some other appropriate term. The base station 102 provides an access point to the EPC 160 or the core network 190 for the UE 104. Examples of UE 104 include a cellular phone, a smart phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio unit, a global positioning system, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., an MP3 player), a camera, a game console, a tablet computer, a smart device, a wearable device, a vehicle, an electric meter, a gas pump, a large or small kitchen appliance, a healthcare device, an implant, a sensor / actuator, a display, or any other similarly functional device. Some of the UEs 104 may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., a parking meter, a gas pump, an oven, a vehicle, a heart monitor, etc.). UE 104 may also be referred to as a station, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communication device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handheld device, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology.

[0047] Reference again Figure 1 In some aspects, radio access networks and other wireless networks may establish a timing structure to discretely divide a wireless channel into corresponding sets of time resources. The time resources may be individually identifiable, and therefore, transmissions on the wireless channel may be multiplexed in the time domain. Some radio access technologies or other wireless technologies may refer to the duration of a transmission on a radio or other wireless communication link in units of transmission time intervals (TTIs).

[0048] Illustratively, a TTI may be usable as a scheduling unit (e.g., for synchronization or coordinated communications). For example, a TTI may be used when scheduling transmission blocks (TBs) between a medium access control (MAC) layer and a physical (PHY) layer of a device. For each TTI, one or two (or another number) of the TBs may be transmitted between the MAC layer and the PHY layer of the device. Some versions of Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio access technology (RAT) have fixed the TTI at a duration of one (1) millisecond (ms) for transmission over a radio air interface. However, some versions of the 5G New Radio (NR) RAT allow TTIs of variable duration (e.g., achieved through different subcarrier spacing configurations).

[0049] TTI can be used for an ACK / NACK feedback mechanism, such as a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) implemented as a MAC layer. While this feedback mechanism can improve data protection and reduce the occurrence of lost or unrecoverable data (e.g., where the transmission of a set of bits and all retransmissions are completely lost), some latency overhead is incurred while waiting for ACK feedback on the HARQ process.

[0050] Methods to reduce such latency overhead may include TTI bundling and / or timeslot aggregation. TTI bundling may refer to "bundling" a transmission (e.g., at least one TB) with one or more corresponding retransmissions (e.g., TBs with the same information but with different sets of error correction / detection bits) over a set of consecutive TTIs, where the consecutive TTI sets are sent without regard to HARQ feedback on the associated HARQ process. This approach may be particularly beneficial for UEs operating near a cell edge or otherwise having limited (uplink) coverage, since the UE will not wait for HARQ feedback before sending a retransmission, and further, the base station can send bundled ACK or NACK feedback for the transmission / retransmission as a whole (rather than sending it individually for each TTI).

[0051] Similar to TTI bundling, timeslot aggregation may include scheduling a transmission within one or more aggregated timeslots, which may then be associated with one HARQ process for feedback purposes. In some implementations, a transmission (e.g., at least one TB) may be aggregated with one or more retransmissions within a set of consecutive (or contiguous) timeslots or non-consecutive (or non-consecutive) timeslots. In some other implementations, a transmission may include bits scheduled within multiple consecutive or non-consecutive timeslots, which may include data without retransmission protection provided by TTI bundling.

[0052] Using either mechanism (or other similar mechanisms), the HARQ process is utilized to a greater extent than when ACK / NACK feedback is exchanged for each individual TTI and / or retransmission is predicted upon receipt of ACK / NACK feedback for another transmission (or retransmission). Thus, the latency inherent in the round trip time (RTT) can be reduced, while also potentially reducing the overhead commensurate with predicting retransmissions based on ACK / NACK feedback. Such a mechanism can improve reliability and throughput for UEs at the cell edge and in other coverage-limited scenarios. In addition, such bundling and aggregation mechanisms can reduce the number of segments from the RLC layer.

[0053] In some aspects, for UEs located in limited coverage areas, data packets may be segmented into smaller sized packets to fit within a link budget. Each segment of a data packet may be sent using a separate HARQ process. However, such segmentation may increase the amount of control information sent. In one configuration, slot aggregation or TTI bundling may enable the entire payload / packet to be sent over a span of multiple slots (e.g., four (4) slots) without any additional segmentation or increase in control information sent.

[0054] Specifically, such a TB transmission scheme may be implemented by redundancy version (RV) cycling. In short, RV cycling may involve cycling through different RVs, e.g., RV 0, RV 2, RV 3, RV 1, potentially in slot n, slot n+1, slot n+2, slot n+3, respectively, according to a known pattern. However, repeating the same RV in multiple slots before cycling to the next RV may allow bits to be symbol or soft-merged across multiple slots, thereby allowing the aggregated slots (e.g., slots in which the same RV is used without cycling to the next RV) to effectively act as a single TB when decoding at the receiving base station.

[0055] By way of example and not limitation, a base station may allocate RBs for UEs located at the edge of a cell or otherwise within limited coverage, and the base station may configure the modulation order of the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) as quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) on the RBs. Illustratively, nine (9) symbols of each RB may be allocated for data transmission on an uplink data channel, such as a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), and three (3) symbols may be allocated for a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS).

[0056] In the time domain of such a configuration, a timeslot may have a capacity to carry a number of coded bits that is equal to the product of the number of RBs multiplied by the number of subcarriers per RB, the number of allocated data symbols, and the number of repetitions (e.g., configured per timeslot on the PUSCH). Thus, utilizing one (1) RB, twelve (12) subcarriers, nine (9) data symbols, and two (2) repetitions, a total of 1×12×9×2=216 coded bits may be sent per timeslot. Further with respect to this example, a UE may obtain (e.g., a lower layer of the UE may obtain from an upper layer) an adaptive multi-rate (AMR) payload configured with robust header compression (RoHC) having a total size of 328 bits.

[0057] The total of 328 bits is greater than the 216 coded bits configured to be sent in each timeslot. One option that the UE may have for sending the AMR payload and the RoHC header may include subdividing the payload into two (2) payloads (e.g., 164 bits each when there are 328 bits in total) and sending the two payload subdivisions as two separate TBs. Taking into account the overhead commensurate with carrying information from multiple other layers (such as Layer 2 (L2) RLC, Medium Access Control (MAC), and Packet Data Convergence (PDCP) layers), which may be five (5) bytes or forty (40) bits, each of the two TBs may carry a number of bits equal to the sum of the packet overhead plus the subdivided payload size, or 40+164=204 bits. Using two (2) repetitions with an RV cycle, the effective code rate for sending an AMR payload with RoHC (when subdivided into two (2) TBs) can be equal to the number of bits per TB divided by the number of coded bits available for transmission in each timeslot, or 204 ÷ 216 ÷ 2 = 0.4722.

[0058] Figure 1 An example is shown in which one UE 104' may send some uplink transmissions to a base station 102' on a TB configured with a relatively small size or short duration to accommodate a poor link budget. Thus, two bit segments 127a, 127b may be split across two TBs 117a, 117b. Each of the two bit segments 127a, 127b may include a respective set of 204 bits and respective error detection code (EDC) and / or error correction code (ECC) (EDC / ECC) bits, such as parity bits. The first bit segment 127a may be carried in the first TB 117a in the first two (2) time slots as two repetitions with an RV cycle, and similarly, the second segment 127b may be carried in the second TB 117b in the second two (2) time slots as two repetitions with a different bit RV cycle (and therefore different EDC / ECC bits). Such a split over two TBs 117a, 117b may involve a larger overhead in terms of HARQ processing and / or other time- or reliability-sensitive operations compared to the overhead of a single TB.

[0059] Therefore, another option could be for the UE to send the 328 bits as a single TB, but over four (4) repetitions with an RV cycle. Figure 1As shown, the UE 104 may transmit all AMR payload bits 125 (with RoHC) as a single TB 115 within four (4) time slots, with one repetition per time slot, and the RV is consistent across all four repetitions / time slots. Although the first transmission (a subset of the AMR payload bits 125 in the first time slot (time slot 1)) may be undecodable due to the size of the TB 115 exceeding the number of coded bits configured for one time slot (e.g., 216 bits per time slot), the RV cycle may enable all bits 125 across all four (4) time slots to be decoded as a single TB 115.

[0060] In practice, a TB may be configured using TTI bundling or slot aggregation to have a size at least equal to the sum of the number of bits used for transmission and header, or 328+40=368. Such a configuration may occupy up to four (4) (or more) repetitions with an RV cycle, and thus, the effective code rate for transmitting an AMR payload with RoHC as a single TB within four (4) slots may be equal to the number of bits of the single TB divided by the number of coded bits available for transmission in each slot, or 328÷216÷4=0.4259. This effective code rate for the entire TB (e.g., a TB carrying all AMR payload bits with RoHC within four (4) slots with the same RV) may be comparable to a smaller sized TB while avoiding or reducing the adverse additional factors of increased HARQ usage, increased and redundant signaling, increased processor load, and network congestion caused by the smaller TB size.

[0061] For example, such a larger TB may be beneficial in terms of reducing latency and other overhead on the air interface because spectral efficiency may be improved relative to a smaller TB size. Since splitting an AMR payload with RoHC across two (2) TBs requires two (2) different sets of EDC / ECC bits and two different headers from each of one or more L2 layers (e.g., MAC, RLC, PDCP), there may be increased overhead when splitting the payload, at least in part because additional HARQ processes are employed for the additional TBs, which may involve additional processing power for the additional HARQ processes and additional signaling for ACK / NACK feedback. In other words, a larger TB size may be beneficial in terms of device performance and network congestion on the air interface because the amount of control and / or other overhead signaling to encode, send, decode, etc. for a relatively large TB size is significantly reduced compared to a relatively small TB size.

[0062] Quantitatively, channel performance can be measured as the ratio of signal energy per bit to average noise (E b / N o ) or the ratio of signal energy per symbol to average noise (E s / N o ). For the modulation order of 4 quadrature amplitude modulation (4QAM), 10 -2 and 10 -5 The target block error rate (BLER) required by E b / N o (or E s / N o ) (e.g., as evaluated on a tapped delay line channel (TDLC)) may be related to the bit size of the payload. Then for payloads with smaller bit sizes, the E used to achieve the target BLER b / N o Inversely proportional to the TB size. That is, the smaller the payload on the TB, the smaller the E required to achieve the target BLER for that data payload. b / N o Therefore, a larger TB size necessarily contributes to improved data reliability, and therefore, increasing or expanding the TB size for uplink transmission can result in a higher or equivalent effective code rate, lower E b / N o (or E s / N o ) and generally more reliable uplink communications.

[0063] Thus, the present disclosure describes various techniques and solutions for expanding or increasing TB size. Such an increase may be particularly valuable for UEs near cell edges or otherwise within limited coverage, because the increased TB size may result in a proportional increase in data reliability. Coupled with lower signaling overhead and improved spectral efficiency, both UE and network (e.g., base station) communications and performance may be improved over communications and performance using a smaller TB size.

[0064] In various aspects, the UE 104 or a component thereof may be configured to determine the size of a TB for transmission to the base station 102 / 180 based on signaling received from the base station 102 / 180 for configuring at least one of a scaling factor or a time slot aggregation factor associated with the TB size. The UE 104 may also be configured to send information on the TB to the base station 102 / 180 in at least one time slot, wherein the TB has a determined size (198), which may be enlarged or increased from the size of another TB.

[0065] Accordingly, base station 102 / 180 may be configured to send signaling to UE 104 for configuring at least one of a scaling factor or a slot aggregation factor associated with a TB size to be used for transmission by UE 104. Base station 102 / 180 may also be configured to receive information (198) from UE 104 on at least one TB having a size (e.g., an enlarged or increased size) based on at least one of the scaling factor or the slot aggregation factor.

[0066] Although the present disclosure may focus on 5G NR, the concepts and aspects described herein may be applicable to other similar areas such as LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), or other wireless / radio access technologies.

[0067] Figure 2A 200 is a diagram illustrating an example of a first subframe within a 5G NR frame structure. Figure 2B 230 is a schematic diagram showing an example of downlink channels within a 5G NR subframe. Figure 2C 250 is a diagram illustrating an example of a second subframe within a 5G NR frame structure. Figure 2D 280 is a diagram illustrating an example of an uplink channel within a 5G NR subframe. The 5G NR frame structure may be frequency division duplex (FDD), where for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within that subcarrier set are dedicated to either downlink or uplink, or the 5G NR frame structure may be time division duplex (TDD), where for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within that subcarrier set are dedicated to both downlink and uplink. Figure 2A , 2C In the example provided, it is assumed that the 5G NR frame structure is TDD, where subframe 4 is configured with a time slot format 28 (mainly downlink), where D is downlink, U is uplink, and F is flexibly used between downlink / uplink, and subframe 3 is configured with a time slot format 34 (mainly uplink). Although subframes 3 and 4 are shown as having time slot formats 34 and 28, respectively, any particular subframe can be configured with any of the various available time slot formats 0-61. Time slot formats 0 and 1 are full downlink and uplink, respectively. Other time slot formats 2-61 include a mixture of downlink, uplink and flexible symbols. The UE is configured with a time slot format (dynamically configured by downlink control information (DCI) or semi-statically / statically configured by RRC signaling) through a received time slot format indicator (SFI). It should be noted that the description below also applies to a 5G NR frame structure as TDD.

[0068] Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels. A frame (e.g., with 10 milliseconds (ms)) may be divided into subframes of the same size (1ms). Each subframe may include one or more time slots. A subframe may also include a microslot, which may include 7, 4, or 2 symbols. Each time slot may include 7 or 14 symbols, depending on the time slot configuration. For time slot configuration 0, each time slot may include 14 symbols, and for time slot configuration 1, each time slot may include 7 symbols. The symbol on the downlink may be a cyclic prefix (CP) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) (CP-OFDM) symbol. The symbol on the uplink may be a CP-OFDM symbol (for high throughput scenarios) or a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbol (also referred to as a single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) symbol) (for power-constrained scenarios; limited to single-stream transmission). The number of time slots in a subframe is based on the time slot configuration and numerology. For slot configuration 0, different digital schemes μ0 to 4 allow 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 slots per subframe, respectively. For slot configuration 1, different digital schemes 0 to 2 allow 2, 4, and 8 slots per subframe, respectively. Therefore, for slot configuration 0 and digital scheme μ, there are 14 symbols / slot and 2 μ The subcarrier spacing and symbol length / duration are functions of the digital scheme. The subcarrier spacing may be equal to 2μ*15 kilohertz (kHz), where μ is the digital scheme 0 to 4. As such, digital scheme μ=0 has a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz, and digital scheme μ=4 has a subcarrier spacing of 240 kHz. The symbol length / duration is inversely proportional to the subcarrier spacing. Figures 2A-2D An example of a slot configuration 0 with 14 symbols per slot and a digital scheme μ=2 with 4 slots per subframe is provided. The slot duration is 0.25 ms, the subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz, and the symbol duration is approximately 16.67 microseconds (μs). Within a frame set, there may be one or more different bandwidth parts (BWPs) of frequency division multiplexing (see Figure 2B ). Each BWP can have a specific numbering scheme.

[0069] A resource grid may be used to represent a frame structure. Each time slot may include a resource block (RB) (also referred to as a physical RB (PRB)) that extends 12 consecutive subcarriers. A resource grid may be divided into a plurality of resource elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE may depend on the modulation scheme.

[0070] like Figure 2AAs shown, some of the REs carry at least one pilot and / or reference signal (RS) for the UE. In some configurations, the RS may include at least one demodulation RS (DM-RS) for channel estimation at the UE (indicated as Rx for a particular configuration, where 100x is the port number, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) and / or at least one channel state information (CSI) RS (CSI-RS). In some other configurations, the RS may additionally or alternatively include at least one beam measurement (or management) RS (BRS), at least one beam refinement RS (BRRS) and / or at least one phase tracking RS (PT-RS).

[0071] Figure 2B Examples of various downlink channels within a subframe of a frame are shown. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries DCI in one or more control channel elements (CCEs), each CCE including nine RE groups (REGs), each REG including four consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol. The PDCCH within a BWP may be referred to as a control resource set (CORESET). Additional BWPs may be located at larger and / or lower frequencies across the channel bandwidth. The primary synchronization signal (PSS) may be within symbol 2 of a particular subframe of a frame. The PSS is used by UE 104 to determine subframe / symbol timing and physical layer identification. The secondary synchronization signal (SSS) may be within symbol 4 of a particular subframe of a frame. The SSS is used by the UE to determine the physical layer cell identification group number and the radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identification and the physical layer cell identification group number, the UE may determine the physical cell identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE may determine the position of the aforementioned DM-RS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying the master information block (MIB) can be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form a synchronization signal (SS) / PBCH block (also referred to as an SS block (SSB)). The MIB provides the number of RBs in the system bandwidth and the system frame number (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information not sent over the PBCH (such as the system information block (SIB)), and paging messages.

[0072] like Figure 2CAs shown, some of the REs carry DM-RS for channel estimation at the base station (for a specific configuration, which is indicated as R, but other DMRS configurations are possible). The UE can send DM-RS for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and DM-RS for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The PUSCH DM-RS can be sent in the first one or two symbols of the PUSCH. The PUCCH DM-RS can be sent in different configurations depending on whether a short PUCCH or a long PUCCH is sent and according to the specific PUCCH format used. The UE can send a sounding reference signal (SRS). The SRS can be sent in the last symbol of the subframe. The SRS can have a comb structure, and the UE can send the SRS on one of the combs in the comb. The SRS can be used by the base station for channel quality estimation to achieve frequency-dependent scheduling on the uplink.

[0073] Figure 2D Examples of various uplink channels within a subframe of a frame are shown. The PUCCH may be positioned as indicated in one configuration. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), which may include a scheduling request (SR), a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), a rank indicator (RI), and HARQ ACK / NACK feedback. The PUSCH carries data, and may additionally be used to carry a buffer status report (BSR), a power headroom report (PHR), and / or UCI.

[0074] Figure 33 is a block diagram of a base station 310 in an access network communicating with a UE 350. In the downlink, IP packets from the EPC 160 may be provided to a controller / processor 375. The controller / processor 375 implements L2 and L3 functions. The L3 includes an RRC layer, and the L2 includes a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, and a MAC layer. The controller / processor 375 provides: RRC layer functions, which are associated with the following: broadcasting of system information (e.g., MIB, SIB), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions, which are associated with the following: header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification) and switching support functions; RLC layer functions, which are associated with the following: transmission of upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions, which are associated with the following: mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto TBs, demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority processing and logical channel prioritization.

[0075] The transmit (TX) processor 316 and the receive (RX) processor 370 implement layer 1 (L1) functions associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection of the transmission channel, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of the transmission channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The TX processor 316 processes the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), QPSK, M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-order quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be divided into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an OFDM subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., a pilot) in the time domain and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream is spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator 374 may be used to determine coding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. Channel estimates may be derived from reference signals and / or channel condition feedback sent by the UE 350. Each spatial stream is then provided to a different antenna 320 via a separate transmitter 318TX. Each transmitter 318TX may modulate a radio frequency (RF) carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0076] At the UE 350, each receiver 354RX receives a signal through its corresponding antenna 352. Each receiver 354RX recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to a receive (RX) processor 356. The TX processor 368 and the RX processor 356 implement L1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. The RX processor 356 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial stream destined for the UE 350. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 350, the RX processor 356 can combine them into a single OFDM symbol stream. The RX processor 356 then uses a fast Fourier transform (FFT) to convert the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency domain signal may include a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier and the reference signal are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation point sent by the base station 310. These soft decisions can be based on the channel estimate calculated by the channel estimator 358. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally sent on the physical channel by the base station 310. The data and control signals are then provided to the controller / processor 359, which implements the L3 and L2 functionality.

[0077] The controller / processor 359 may be associated with a memory 360 that stores program codes and data. The memory 360 may be referred to as a computer readable medium. In the uplink, the controller / processor 359 provides demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the EPC 160. The controller / processor 359 is also responsible for error detection using ACK and / or NACK protocols to support HARQ operations.

[0078] Similar to the functions described in conjunction with downlink transmissions performed by the base station 310, the controller / processor 359 provides: RRC layer functions, which are associated with the following: system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions, which are associated with the following: header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functions, which are associated with the following: transmission of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions, which are associated with the following: mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto TBs, demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0079] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator 358 from a reference signal or feedback sent by the base station 310 may be used by the TX processor 368 to select the appropriate coding and modulation schemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the TX processor 368 may be provided to different antennas 352 via respective transmitters 354TX. Each transmitter 354TX may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0080] At the base station 310, uplink transmissions are processed in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver functionality at the UE 350. Each receiver 318RX receives a signal through its respective antenna 320. Each receiver 318RX recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to a RX processor 370.

[0081] The controller / processor 375 may be associated with a memory 376 that stores program codes and data. The memory 376 may be referred to as a computer readable medium. In the uplink, the controller / processor 375 provides demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 350. The IP packets from the controller / processor 375 may be provided to the EPC 160. The controller / processor 375 is also responsible for error detection using ACK and / or NACK protocols to support HARQ operations.

[0082] In some aspects, at least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller / processor 359 may be configured to perform operations related to Figure 1 (198) related aspects.

[0083] In some other aspects, at least one of the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller / processor 375 may be configured to perform operations related to Figure 1 (198) related aspects.

[0084] Figure 4 4 is a call flow diagram 400 illustrating an example flow of wireless communications and operations performed by a base station 402 and a UE 404. The base station 402 may determine to direct the UE 404 to send a data payload 406 in a TB having a modified size. The determination that the base station directs the UE 404 to send a data payload in a TB having a modified size may be based on a BSR received from the UE 404. Thus, the base station 402 may receive a BSR 428 from the UE 404 and, based on the received BSR, may determine to direct the UE 404 to send a data payload in a TB having a modified size.

[0085] For example, the BSR may inform the base station 402 of the amount of data pending uplink transmission from the UE 404, and potentially the packet structure of such data. Thus, the base station 402 may select or determine a TB size suitable for use by the UE 404 (e.g., so that the UE 404 can include the payload bits of each individual packet on a single corresponding TB). The base station 402 may calculate the size of such a TB relative to the currently configured TB size used by the UE 404 for uplink transmissions to the base station 402. The base station 402 may identify the calculated TB size based on a scaling factor or slot aggregation factor, which may refer to the number of repetitions of consecutive time slots that are configured so that an RV cycle is used on these consecutive time slots, so that such time slots with the same RV can be treated as a single TB. The scaling factor or slot aggregation factor may be greater than or equal to one (1). The scaling factor or slot aggregation factor may not be applicable to downlink signaling from the base station 402 to the UE 404, because the TB size may benefit the base station to the UE downlink transmission by being reduced or decreased.

[0086] The base station 402 may send a signal 408 indicating at least one of an MCS, a scaling factor S, a number of resources assigned per time slot, or a time slot aggregation factor to the UE 404. In some aspects, the signal 408 may include signaling from the base station 402 to configure at least one of a scaling factor or a time slot aggregation factor associated with a TB size. The information may indicate at least one of a modulation order or a coding rate, and the scaling factor may be determined by the UE 404 based on the at least one of the modulation order or the coding rate.

[0087] The signal 408 may include a DCI, a configured grant (CG), a MAC control element (CE), and / or an RRC message. In other words, the base station 402 may send a signal including a DCI, a CG, a MAC CE, and / or an RRC message to the UE 404, which indicates at least one of the MCS, the scaling factor S, the number of resources assigned per time slot, or the time slot aggregation factor.

[0088] In some other aspects, the signaling from the base station 402 includes an index value that identifies an entry in the table that indicates the scaling factor using the index value. For example, the UE 404 may receive other signaling from the base station 402 for configuring a set of entries in the table, each entry in the set of entries including at least a respective index value corresponding to a respective scaling factor greater than or equal to one (1).

[0089] UE 404 may determine the size of a TB based on a signal received from base station 402. First, UE 404 may determine an uplink TB size scaling factor S (hereinafter referred to as scaling factor S) 410 to determine the size of a TB. Scaling factor S is different from the size scaling factor assigned for certain downlink configurations (e.g., paging and random access configurations). Scaling factor S may have a value greater than or equal to 1. The signal may include a value of scaling factor S and / or a predefined indicator that signals scaling factor S. For example, Table 1 shows an example of scaling factor S. Scaling factor S may be signaled to UE 404 by base station 402, and UE 404 may be driven by DCI, CG (e.g., MAC-CE) and / or RRC messages. That is, base station 402 may include a bit value in the TB scaling field of the signal to indicate scaling factor S to UE 404 using DCI, CG (e.g., MAC-CE) and / or RRC messages.

[0090] TB scaling field Scaling factor S 00 1 01 2 10 4 11 Reserve

[0091]

[0092] The activation / deactivation of the scaling factor S determined (and used) by the UE 404 can be semi-statically controlled for multiple uplink time slot numbers, or dynamically controlled in response to an activation / deactivation code sent from the base station 402. Specifically, the base station 402 can send a DCI, a CG, and / or an RRC message to the UE 404 to semi-statically or dynamically indicate that the UE 404 uses the modified TB size for uplink communication. For example, the base station 402 can semi-statically instruct the UE 404 to determine the scaling factor S, and use the scaling factor S for a set number of subsequent uplink communication time slots. In other aspects, a new scaling factor S can be used until an explicit deactivation is received. The base station 402 can also dynamically activate or deactivate the UE 404 to determine the scaling factor S and use the scaling factor S for a set number of subsequent uplink communication time slots. When deactivated, the UE 404 can revert to not determining the size of the TB based on the scaling factor S.

[0093] The UE 404 may select the scaling factor S based on a predefined rule agreed upon in advance by the UE 404 and the base station 402 based on the DCI, CG and / or RRC message received from the base station 402. For example, the UE 404 may be configured to determine the scaling value S and determine the modified TB size for uplink transmission when the number of RBs assigned to the UE 404 is lower than the predefined RB threshold value. The UE 404 may be configured to determine the scaling value S and determine the modified TB size for uplink transmission when the assigned MCS has a modulation order lower than the predefined RB threshold value (e.g., limiting its use to an MCS with only QPSK modulation). In addition, the UE 404 may determine the scaling value S to be equal to the number of repetitions for data configured in the DCI received from the base station 402 (e.g., pusch-AggregationFactor). The predetermined rule may also be any combination of the above in any form.

[0094] UE 404 may use scaling factor S and perform the following operations to determine the modified size of TB 412. UE 404 may utilize the following information when determining the modified TB size: number of symbols and RBs assigned to the UE, DM-RS overhead, other overhead, number of layers, and / or coding rate.

[0095] First, UE 404 may determine the number of REs N′ allocated for PUSCH within a PRB. RE :

[0096]

[0097] in, and is the number of symbols and RBs allocated to PUSCH, is the amount of resources assigned for the DM-RS overhead factor, and is the additional overhead factor.

[0098] UE 404 may determine the total number of REs (N) allocated to the PUSCH. RE ):

[0099] N RE =n prb *min(156,N′ RE )

[0100] Among them, n prb represents the total number of PRBs assigned to UE 404.

[0101] UE 404 may then determine the modified number of intermediate information bits (N info ):

[0102] N info =S*N RE *R*Q m *

[0103] Where S is the scaling factor, R is the coding rate, and Q m is the modulation order, and ν is the number of layers.

[0104] After obtaining the modified number N of intermediate information bits info , UE 404 may determine the modified TB size according to one of two methods, the selection of which is based on N info Is it equal to or less than 3824 (N info ≤3824).

[0105] When N info When the number of quantized intermediate information bits N′ is equal to or less than 3824, the UE 404 may calculate info :

[0106]

[0107] in, Then, UE 404 may use the quantized number of intermediate information bits N′ info as an index value to find the TB size from Table 2.

[0108]

[0109] < Table 2 – Example table for TB sizes, where N info ≤3824>

[0110] However, when N info When it is not equal to or less than 3824, that is, when N info When it is greater than 3824, the UE can calculate N' according to the following equation info :

[0111]

[0112] in,

[0113] In addition, if the coding rate R is equal to or less than 1 / 4 (R≤1 / 4), the UE 404 may determine the TB size according to the following formula:

[0114]

[0115] in,

[0116] If the coding rate R is not equal to or less than 1 / 4 (R>1 / 4), the UE 404 may determine the TB size (TBS):

[0117] Among them, N′ info <8424, or

[0118] Among them, N′ info ≥8424,

[0119] in,

[0120] In some aspects, the use of scaling factor S can increase the effective code rate of each time slot to a value greater than 1. However, each MCS may have a coding rate limit. For example, for an MCS limited to QPSK, the coding rate may be limited to 0.66. Therefore, the UE 404 may shift the modulation order 414 to support a larger TB size selected using the scaling factor S. The MCS specifies the modulation order and the coding scheme. Therefore, the UE 404 is configured to encode and modulate data according to the MCS. The modulation order may be defined by a parameter labeled Qm in a data structure (e.g., a table) associated with the MCS. The relationship between the modulation order and the Qm parameter may be given by the same or different data structures, an example of which is shown in Table 3:

[0121] Q Modulation order 2 QPSK 4 16QAM 6 64QAM 8 256QAM

[0122] <Table 3 – MCS modulation order>

[0123] In one configuration, the UE 404 may shift the modulation order to determine the size of the TB and / or send the TB. Specifically, the base station 402 may send instructions to the UE 404 in a signal (such as a DCI, CG, and / or RRC message) to shift the modulation order to a higher modulation order to determine the size of the TB and / or to shift the modulation order back to a lower modulation order when sending the TB via uplink communication.

[0124] In one configuration, the base station 402 may instruct the UE 404 to use an MCS within a reserved range defined in the MCS index table. Specifically, the UE 404 may be instructed to send a TB with a first modulation order and to retransmit the TB with a second modulation order of an MCS within the reserved range, the second modulation order being lower than the first modulation order. For example, the UE 404 may first send a TB encoded and transmitted using a 16QAM MCS to the base station 402, and retransmit a TB encoded and transmitted using QPSK. Therefore, the UE 404 may first try to send the first TB with a higher modulation order. When the communication condition has too much noise or has too much loss, there is a high probability that the first transmission fails due to noise / interference. However, the first transmission is independently decodable. Retransmitting the TB using a lower code rate second modulation order may compensate for noisy channel conditions that enable the TB to be successfully received at the base station 402. Therefore, the UE 404 may reduce the possibility of violating the packet delay budget for certain types of transmissions (e.g., voice call transmissions).

[0125] In another configuration, the base station 402 may add bits in the DCI, CG, and / or RRC message to direct the UE 404 to lower the modulation order MCS for uplink transmission. For example, the base station 402 may generate the DCI to include 5 bits for indicating the MCS and include an additional bit for indicating the correction / modification. In response to receiving the DCI, CG, and / or RRC message, the UE 404 may determine the TB size based on the first modulation order of the MCS as directed, and shift the modulation order to a second modulation order lower than the first modulation order, and retransmit the TB using the second modulation order.

[0126] Specifically, the UE determines the size of the TB based on the MCS with the first modulation order provided in the DCI, CG and / or RRC message. Once the TB size is determined and the encoding is completed, the UE 404 can adjust the modulation order down to the second modulation order and map the coded bits to the modulation symbols at the second modulation order. For example, the base station 402 can send a DCI to the UE 404, and the DCI uses a correction / modification bit to signal the 16QAM MCS. The UE 404 can select the TB size and encode the data payload based on the 16QAM MCS. Then, the UE 404 can adjust the modulation order down to QPSK, map the coded bits to the modulation symbols of QPSK, and send the TB with the QPSK modulation order. Therefore, the base station 402 can instruct the UE to use a higher value for the MCS than the normal value, so that a larger TB size can be selected to send data.

[0127] UE 404 may send TB 416 to base station 402 via uplink transmissions in a series of uplink time slots 418. Base station 402 may receive the uplink transmissions from UE 404 and may initially be unable to decode the first time slot. However, base station 402 may store (e.g., buffer) the bits of the first time slot, and when base station 402 receives subsequent time slots, base station 402 may perform soft or symbol combining to decode the payload included therein (e.g., according to the RV cycle with which the bits are encoded in the series of time slots).

[0128] Figure 5 500 is a flow chart of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a UE (e.g., UE 104, 350, 404), an apparatus (e.g., apparatus 702), and / or any component thereof. According to various aspects, one or more of the blocks shown may be swapped, omitted, and / or performed simultaneously.

[0129] At 502, the UE may receive signaling from a base station for configuring at least one of a scaling factor or a time slot aggregation factor associated with a TB size. For example, the signaling may include a DCI, a CG, a MAC CE, and / or an RRC message from the base station. The DCI may include a semi-static or dynamic instruction from the base station to determine a modified TB size for uplink transmission and / or shift the modulation order of the MCS. The information may indicate at least one of a modulation order or a coding rate, and the scaling factor may be determined by the UE based on at least one of the modulation order or the coding rate.

[0130] exist Figure 4 In the context of , 502 may include UE 404 receiving signaling 408 from base station 402, signaling 408 including at least one of DCI, CG, MAC CE and / or RRC message. Figure 7 In the context of Figure 7 The receiving component 730 is executed.

[0131] At 504, the UE may determine the scaling factor S based on the DCI, CG, and / or RRC message received from the base station. In some aspects, the signaling from the base station includes an index value that identifies an entry in the table that indicates the scaling factor using the index value. For example, the UE may receive other signaling from the base station to configure a set of entries in the table, each entry in the set of entries including at least a corresponding index value corresponding to a corresponding scaling factor greater than or equal to one (1).

[0132] The scaling factor and / or slot aggregation factor may be associated with increasing the effective code rate from another effective code rate associated with another TB size. The scaling factor and / or slot aggregation factor may not apply to downlink signaling from the base station to the UE. For example, different tables may be configured to modify the size of the TB on the downlink, the downlink scaling factor may be configured to reduce the TB size, and the downlink scalar value may be less than or equal to one (1). In contrast, the scaling factor and / or slot aggregation factor may apply to uplink transmissions and may be greater than or equal to one (1).

[0133] The UE may select a scaling factor S based on a predefined rule agreed upon in advance by the UE and the base station based on the DCI, CG and / or RRC message received from the base station. For example, the UE may be configured to determine the scaling value S and determine the modified TB size for uplink transmission when the number of RBs assigned to the UE is lower than the predefined RB threshold value. The UE may be configured to determine the scaling value S and determine the modified TB size for uplink transmission when the assigned MCS has a modulation order lower than the predefined RB threshold value. In addition, the UE may determine that the scaling value S is equal to the number of repetitions for data configured in the DCI received from the base station (e.g., pusch-AggregationFactor). The predetermined rule may also be any combination of the above in any form.

[0134] exist Figure 4 In the context of , 504 may include UE 404 determining the scaling factor S based on signaling 408 of a DCI, CG, and / or RRC message received from base station 402. Figure 7 In the context of Figure 7 The scaling factor determination component 742 is performed.

[0135] At 506, the UE may determine the modified size of the TB for uplink transmission based on the received signaling. For example, the signaling may include a DCI, a CG, and / or an RRC message. For example, the UE may determine the size of the TB for transmission to the base station based on signaling received from the base station for configuring at least one of a scaling factor or a slot aggregation factor associated with the TB size. The UE may determine the size of the TB based on the number of symbols and RBs assigned to the UE, DM-RS overhead, other overhead, number of layers, and / or coding rate indicated in the DCI, CG, and / or RRC message received from the base station. In some aspects, the UE may obtain the intermediate information bit set by multiplying the intermediate information bit set, which is based on the product of the scaling factor and the number of layers used to send the information, the coding rate used to send the information, the modulation order used to send the information, and the number of REs allocated to send the information. The UE may then compare the intermediate information bit set with at least one threshold to determine the method that the UE will follow when calculating the modified TB size.

[0136] exist Figure 4 In the context of , 506 may include UE 404 determining a modified size (412) of a TB for uplink transmission based on received signaling 408 including DCI, CG, and / or RRC messages. Figure 7 In the context of Figure 7 The TB size determination component 744 is executed.

[0137] At 508, the UE may shift the modulation order of the MCS based on the received DCI, CG, and / or RRC message to accommodate the modified size of the TB. For example, the signaling for configuring at least one of a scaling factor or a slot aggregation factor associated with the TB size may include information indicating at least one of a modulation order or a coding rate, and the scaling factor may be determined based on the at least one of the modulation order or the coding rate.

[0138] exist Figure 4 In the context of , 508 may include the UE 404 shifting 414 the modulation order of the MCS to accommodate the modified size of the TB 416 based on the signaling 408 including the received DCI, CG and / or RRC message. Figure 7 In the context of Figure 7 The data MCS component 746 is executed.

[0139] At 510, the UE may send a TB including a data payload to the base station. The TB may have a determined size, for example, the TB may have a size that is enlarged or increased relative to other TBs. For example, the TB may include multiple time slots, where a set of payload bits is mapped into the multiple time slots and is encoded with a redundancy version that is consistent across the multiple time slots.

[0140] exist Figure 4 In the context of , 510 may include UE 404 sending a TB (including a data payload) having a determined (eg, enlarged or increased) size to base station 402 over sequential time slot set 418. Figure 7 In the context of Figure 7 The data MCS component 746 and / or the sending component 734 are executed.

[0141] In some aspects, the UE may send a buffer status report to the base station before receiving at least one of a scaling factor or a slot aggregation factor for configuring the size of the TB to carry information from the UE, as shown at 512. The base station may direct the UE to send the data payload in the TB with the modified size based on the BSR and send such instructions or instructions related to the configuration to the UE in signaling 408 including DCI, CG and / or RRC messages.

[0142] exist Figure 4 In the context of , 510 may include UE 404 sending BSR 428 to base station 402 (e.g., before base station 402 directs UE 404 to send data payload 406 in a TB having a modified size). That is, base station 402 may send signaling 408 to UE 404 in response to receiving BSR 428 or based on BSR 428. Figure 7 In the context of Figure 7 The BSR generation component 740 and the sending component 734 are executed.

[0143] Figure 6 600 is a flow chart of a method of wireless communication. The method may be performed by a base station (e.g., base station 102 / 180, 310, 402), an apparatus (e.g., apparatus 802), and / or any component thereof. According to various aspects, one or more of the blocks shown may be swapped, omitted, and / or performed simultaneously.

[0144] At 602, the base station may receive a BSR from the UE, which may indicate data buffered at the UE for uplink transmission. The base station may determine whether the buffered data includes one or more payloads having a size that can fit on a single TB of the currently configured size, or whether the buffered data includes multiple packets having a size greater than (or equal to) the size currently configured for the TB. If the latter, the base station may determine that the UE may benefit from an increased TB size, for example, if the base station detects that the UE is near a cell edge or within limited coverage.

[0145] exist Figure 4 In the context of , 602 may include base station 402 receiving BSR 428 from UE 404. Figure 8 In the context of Figure 8 The receiving component 830 is executed.

[0146] At 604, the base station may determine, based on the received BSR, to direct the UE to send a data payload in a TB of a modified size. The base station may determine whether the buffered data indicated by the BSR includes one or more payloads of a size that can be accommodated on a single TB of a currently configured size, or whether the buffered data includes multiple packets of a size greater than (or equal to) the size currently configured for the TB. If the latter, the base station may determine that the UE may benefit from an increased TB size, for example, if the base station detects that the UE is near a cell edge or within limited coverage. Therefore, the base station may determine to direct the UE to send a data payload in a TB of a modified size.

[0147] exist Figure 4 In the context of , 604 may include base station 402 determining to direct UE 404 to send data payload 406 in TB 416 having a modified size. Figure 8 In the context of Figure 8 The TB size determination component 840 is executed.

[0148] At 606, the base station may send signaling to the UE for configuring at least one of a scaling factor or a slot aggregation factor associated with a TB size for uplink transmission by the UE. For example, the signaling may include a DCI, a CG, a MAC CE, and / or an RRC message from the base station. The DCI may include a semi-static or dynamic instruction from the base station to determine a modified TB size for uplink transmission and / or shift the modulation order of the MCS. The information may indicate at least one of a modulation order or a coding rate, and the scaling factor may be determined by the UE based on the at least one of the modulation order or the coding rate.

[0149] In some aspects, the signaling from the base station includes an index value that identifies an entry in a table that uses the index value to indicate a scaling factor. For example, the base station may send other signaling to the UE to configure a set of entries in the table, each entry in the set of entries including at least a corresponding index value corresponding to a corresponding scaling factor greater than or equal to one (1).

[0150] The scaling factor and / or slot aggregation factor may be associated with increasing the effective code rate from another effective code rate associated with another TB size. The scaling factor and / or slot aggregation factor may not apply to downlink signaling from the base station to the UE. For example, different tables may be configured to modify the size of the TB on the downlink, and the downlink scaling factor may be configured to reduce the TB size, and the downlink scalar value may be less than or equal to one (1). In contrast, the scaling factor and / or slot aggregation factor may apply to uplink transmissions and may be greater than or equal to one (1).

[0151] exist Figure 4 In the context of , 606 may include base station 402 sending signaling 408 to UE 404 for configuring at least one of a scaling factor or a time slot aggregation factor associated with a TB size for uplink transmission by UE 405. Signaling 508 may include at least one of a DCI, a CG, a MAC CE, and / or an RRC message from base station 402. Figure 8 In the context of Figure 8 The signal generating component 842 and the sending component 834 are executed.

[0152] At 608, the base station may receive a TB including a data payload having an enlarged or increased size from the UE, e.g., the TB may have an enlarged or increased size relative to other TBs. For example, a TB may include multiple time slots, a set of payload bits is mapped into the multiple time slots and is encoded with a redundancy version that is consistent across the multiple time slots.

[0153] exist Figure 4 In the context of , 608 may include the base station 402 receiving the TB 416 having the determined (eg, enlarged or increased) size from the UE 404 over the sequential time slot set 418. Figure 8 In the context of Figure 8 The receiving component 830 is executed.

[0154] Figure 77 is a schematic diagram 700 showing an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus 702. The apparatus 702 may be a UE or similar device, or the apparatus 702 may be a component of a UE or similar device. The apparatus 702 may include a cellular baseband processor 704 (also referred to as a modem) and / or a cellular RF transceiver 722, which may be coupled together and / or integrated into the same package or module.

[0155] In some aspects, the device 702 may accept or include one or more subscriber identity module (SIM) cards 720, which may include one or more integrated circuits, chips, or similar circuits, and which may be removable or embedded. The one or more SIM cards 720 may carry identification and / or authentication information, such as an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and / or IMSI-related keys. In addition, the device 702 may include one or more of the following: an application processor 706 coupled to a secure digital (SD) card 708 and a screen 710, a Bluetooth module 712, a wireless local area network (WLAN) module 714, a global positioning system (GPS) module 716, and / or a power supply 718.

[0156] The cellular baseband processor 704 communicates with the base station 102 / 180 through the cellular RF transceiver 722. The cellular baseband processor 704 may include a computer-readable medium / memory. The computer-readable medium / memory may be non-temporary. The cellular baseband processor 704 is responsible for general processing, including executing software stored on the computer-readable medium / memory. When executed by the cellular baseband processor 704, the software causes the cellular baseband processor 704 to perform the various functions described above. The computer-readable medium / memory can also be used to store data manipulated by the cellular baseband processor 704 when executing the software. The cellular baseband processor 704 also includes a receiving component 730, a communication manager 732, and a sending component 734. The communication manager 732 includes one or more of the components shown. The components within the communication manager 732 may be stored in a computer-readable medium / memory and / or configured as hardware within the cellular baseband processor 704.

[0157] exist Figure 3 In the context of , the cellular baseband processor 704 may be a component of the UE 350 and may include at least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and / or the controller / processor 359 and / or the memory 360. In one configuration, the device 702 may be a modem chip and / or may be implemented as the baseband processor 704, while in another configuration, the device 702 may be the entire UE (e.g., Figure 3UE 350) and may include some or all of the above modules, components and / or circuits shown in the context of device 702. In one configuration, the cellular RF transceiver 722 may be implemented as at least one of the transmitter 354TX and / or the receiver 354RX.

[0158] The receiving component 730 may be configured to receive signaling on a wireless channel, such as signaling from a base station 102 / 180. The transmitting component 734 may be configured to transmit signaling on a wireless channel, such as transmitting signaling to a base station 102 / 180. The communication manager 732 may coordinate or manage some or all wireless communications conducted by the device 702, including across the receiving component 730 and the transmitting component 734.

[0159] Receiving component 730 may provide some or all of the data and / or control information included in the received signaling to communications manager 732, and communications manager 732 may generate some or all of the data and / or control information to be included in the transmitted signaling and provide it to transmitting component 734. Communications manager 732 may include various illustrated components, including one or more components configured to process received data and / or control information, and / or one or more components configured to generate data and / or control information for transmission.

[0160] The communication manager 732 may include, among other things, a BSR generation component 740, a scaling factor determination component 742, a TB size determination component 744, and a data MCS component 746. The BSR generation component 740 may be configured to generate and send (via the sending component 734) a BSR. For example, the BSR generation component 740 may detect data in a buffer of a lower layer (e.g., L2 or L1) for uplink transmission to the base station 102 / 180, and may generate a BSR indicating a size of at least a portion of the buffered data. The sending component 734 may then send the BSR to the base station 102 / 180.

[0161] The scaling factor determining component 742 may be configured to determine at least one of a scaling factor or a slot aggregation factor based on signaling received from the base station 102 / 180, for example, as described in conjunction with Figure 5 504 of . In some aspects, the signaling for configuring at least one of a scaling factor or a time slot aggregation factor associated with a TB size may include information for indicating at least one of a modulation order or a coding rate, and the scaling factor is determined based on at least one of the modulation order or the coding rate. The scaling factor may be greater than or equal to one (1). The scaling factor may be associated with increasing the effective code rate from another effective code rate associated with another TB size. At least one of the scaling factor or the time slot aggregation factor is not applicable to downlink signaling from the base station 102 / 180.

[0162] In another example, scaling factor determining component 742 can determine the scaling factor based on signaling received from base station 102 / 180. For example, scaling factor determining component 742 can receive (via receiving component 730) other signaling from the base station for configuring a set of entries in a table, each entry in the set of entries including at least a respective index value corresponding to a respective scaling factor greater than or equal to one (1). Scaling factor determining component 742 can then identify an entry in the table that indicates the scaling factor using the index value that the signaling from the base station included.

[0163] The TB size determining component 744 may be configured to determine the size of the TB for transmission to the base station based on signaling received from the base station for configuring at least one of a scaling factor or a time slot aggregation factor associated with the TB size, for example, as described in conjunction with Figure 5 As described in 504. For example, the size of the TB can be based on the intermediate information bit set, which is based on the product of the scaling factor and the number of layers used to send the information, the coding rate used to send the information, the modulation order used to send the information, and the number of REs allocated to send the information. The scaling factor determination component 742 can use the above variables to calculate the intermediate information bit set, and then the intermediate information bit set can be compared with at least one threshold. The size of the TB can be further determined based on comparing the intermediate information bit set with the threshold.

[0164] The data MCS component 746 can be configured to shift the MCS of the TB having the determined size, for example, as combined with Figure 5 The transmitting component 734 may be configured to transmit information on a TB to the base station 102 / 180 in at least one time slot, the TB having the determined size, for example, as combined with Figure 5 As described in 510.

[0165] The apparatus 702 may include additional components that perform Figure 4 and / or 5 of the foregoing call flow chart and / or the blocks, operations, signaling, etc. of the algorithms in the flow chart. Therefore, Figure 4 Some or all of the blocks, operations, signaling, etc. in the aforementioned call flow diagrams and / or flowcharts of 5 may be performed by components, and the apparatus 702 may include one or more of these components. The components may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to execute the process / algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to execute the process / algorithm, stored in a computer-readable medium to be implemented by a processor, or some combination thereof.

[0166] In one configuration, the device 702 (and specifically, the cellular baseband processor 704) includes: a unit for determining the size of a transport block (TB) for transmission to a base station based on signaling received from the base station for configuring at least one of a scaling factor or a time slot aggregation factor associated with the TB size; and a unit for sending information on the TB to the base station in at least one time slot, the TB having the determined size.

[0167] In one configuration, the size of the TB is further based on a set of intermediate information bits, which is based on the product of a scaling factor and the number of layers used to send the information, the coding rate used to send the information, the modulation order used to send the information, and the number of REs allocated to send the information.

[0168] In one configuration, the apparatus 702 (and specifically the cellular baseband processor 704) includes means for comparing the set of intermediate information bits to at least one threshold, and the size of the TB is further determined based on comparing the set of intermediate information bits to the threshold.

[0169] In one configuration, the apparatus 702 (and specifically the cellular baseband processor 704) includes means for determining a scaling factor based on signaling received from a base station.

[0170] In one configuration, the scaling factor is determined based on a slot aggregation factor, and the slot aggregation factor is associated with a number of repetitions configured for uplink transmissions on the uplink shared channel.

[0171] In one configuration, the means for determining the scaling factor is configured to use an index value to identify an entry in the table indicating the scaling factor, and the signaling from the base station includes the index value.

[0172] In one configuration, the apparatus 702 (and specifically, the cellular baseband processor 704) includes: a unit for receiving other signaling from a base station for configuring a set of entries in a table, each entry in the set of entries including at least a corresponding index value corresponding to a corresponding scaling factor greater than or equal to one (1).

[0173] In one configuration, signaling for configuring at least one of a scaling factor or a time slot aggregation factor associated with a TB size includes information indicating at least one of a modulation order or a coding rate, and the scaling factor is determined based on at least one of the modulation order or the coding rate.

[0174] In one configuration, the scaling factor is greater than or equal to one (1).

[0175] In one configuration, the scaling factor is associated with increasing the effective code rate from another effective code rate associated with another TB size.

[0176] In one configuration, at least one of the scaling factor or the slot aggregation factor is not applicable for downlink signaling from the base station to the apparatus 702 .

[0177] The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned components of the apparatus 702 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. As described above, the apparatus 702 may include a TX processor 368, an RX processor 356, and a controller / processor 359. Therefore, in one configuration, the aforementioned means may be a TX processor 368, an RX processor 356, and a controller / processor 359 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.

[0178] Figure 8 8 is a schematic diagram 800 showing an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus 802. The apparatus 802 may be a base station or similar device, or the apparatus 802 may be a component of a base station or similar device or system. The apparatus 802 may include a baseband unit 804. The baseband unit 804 may communicate via a cellular RF transceiver. For example, the baseband unit 804 may communicate with the UE 104 (such as for downlink and / or uplink communications) and / or communicate with the base station 102 / 180 (such as for IAB) via the cellular RF transceiver.

[0179] The baseband unit 804 may include a computer-readable medium / memory, which may be non-temporary. The baseband unit 804 is responsible for general processing, including executing software stored on a computer-readable medium / memory. When executed by the baseband unit 804, the software causes the baseband unit 804 to perform the various functions described above. The computer-readable medium / memory may also be used to store data manipulated by the baseband unit 804 when executing the software. The baseband unit 804 also includes a receiving component 830, a communication manager 832, and a sending component 834. The communication manager 832 includes one or more of the components shown. The components within the communication manager 832 may be stored in a computer-readable medium / memory, and / or configured as hardware within the baseband unit 804. The baseband unit 804 may be a component of the base station 310, and may include at least one of the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and / or the controller / processor 375 and / or the memory 376.

[0180] The receiving component 830 may be configured to receive signaling over a wireless channel, such as signaling from the UE 104. The transmitting component 834 may be configured to transmit signaling over a wireless channel, such as signaling to the UE 104. The communication manager 832 may coordinate or manage some or all wireless communications by the apparatus 802, including across the receiving component 830 and the transmitting component 834.

[0181] The receiving component 830 may provide some or all of the data and / or control information included in the received signaling to the communication manager 832, and the communication manager 832 may generate some or all of the data and / or control information to be included in the transmitted signaling and provide it to the sending component 834. The communication manager 832 may include the various components shown, including one or more components configured to process received data and / or control information, and / or one or more components configured to generate data and / or control information for transmission. In some aspects, the generation of data and / or control information may include packaging or otherwise reformatting the data and / or control information received from the core network (such as the core network 190 or the EPC 160) for transmission.

[0182] The communication manager 832 includes a TB size determining component 840 and a signal generating component 842. The TB size determining component 840 can be configured to receive (via a receiving component) a BSR from the UE 104, which can indicate data buffered at the UE 104 for uplink transmission, for example, as described in conjunction with Figure 6 As described in 602.

[0183] TB size determining component 840 can determine whether the buffered data includes one or more payloads having a size that can fit on a single TB of the currently configured size, or whether the buffered data includes multiple packets of a size greater than (or equal to) the size currently configured for the TB. If the latter, TB size determining component 840 can determine that UE 104 can benefit from an increased TB size, for example, if TB size determining component 840 detects that UE 104 is near a cell edge or within limited coverage.

[0184] TB size determining component 840 can determine based on the received BSR to direct UE 104 to send the data payload in a TB having a modified size, for example, as combined with Figure 6604. The TB size determination component 840 can determine whether the buffered data indicated by the BSR includes one or more payloads having a size that can be accommodated on a single TB of the currently configured size, or whether the buffered data includes multiple packets of a size greater than (or equal to) the size currently configured for the TB. If the latter, the TB size determination component 840 can determine that the UE 104 can benefit from an increased TB size, for example, if the TB size determination component 840 detects that the UE 104 is near a cell edge or within limited coverage. Therefore, the TB size determination component 840 can determine to direct the UE 104 to send a data payload in a TB of a modified size.

[0185] The signal generating component 842 can generate signaling for configuring at least one of a scaling factor or a time slot aggregation factor associated with a TB size for uplink transmissions by the UE 104, and transmit the signaling to the UE 104 (via the transmitting component 834), e.g., as described in conjunction with Figure 6 606 of . For example, the signaling may include DCI, CG, MAC CE, and / or RRC message from device 802. The DCI may include a semi-static or dynamic instruction from device 802 to determine a modified TB size for uplink transmission and / or shift the modulation order of the MCS. The information may indicate at least one of the modulation order or the coding rate, and the scaling factor may be determined by UE 104 based on at least one of the modulation order or the coding rate.

[0186] In some aspects, the signaling from the signal generating component 842 includes an index value identifying an entry in the table that indicates a scaling factor using the index value. For example, the signal generating component 842 can generate and send to the UE 104 other signaling for configuring a set of entries in the table, each entry in the set of entries including at least a respective index value corresponding to a respective scaling factor greater than or equal to one (1).

[0187] The scaling factor and / or the slot aggregation factor may be associated with increasing the effective code rate from another effective code rate associated with another TB size. The scaling factor and / or the slot aggregation factor may not apply to downlink signaling to the UE 104. For example, a different table may be configured to modify the size of a TB on the downlink, and the downlink scaling factor may be configured to reduce the TB size, and the downlink scalar value may be less than or equal to one (1). In contrast, the scaling factor and / or the slot aggregation factor may apply to uplink transmissions and may be greater than or equal to one (1).

[0188] The receiving component 830 can receive a TB including a data payload having an enlarged or increased size from the UE 104, for example, as combined with Figure 6 As described in 608. A TB may be enlarged or increased relative to other TBs. For example, a TB may include multiple time slots, a set of payload bits is mapped into the multiple time slots and is encoded with a redundancy version that is consistent across the multiple time slots.

[0189] The apparatus 802 may include additional components that perform Figure 4 and / or 6 of the foregoing call flow chart and / or the blocks, operations, signaling, etc. of the algorithms in the flow chart. Therefore, Figure 4 Some or all of the blocks, operations, signaling, etc. in the aforementioned call flow diagrams and / or flowcharts of 800 and / or 6 may be performed by components, and the apparatus 802 may include one or more of these components. The components may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to execute the process / algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to execute the process / algorithm, stored in a computer-readable medium to be implemented by a processor, or some combination thereof.

[0190] In one configuration, the apparatus 802 (and specifically, the cellular baseband processor 804) includes: a unit for sending signaling to a UE for configuring at least one of a scaling factor or a time slot aggregation factor associated with a TB size to be transmitted by the UE; and a unit for receiving information from the UE on at least one TB having a size based on at least one of the scaling factor or the time slot aggregation factor.

[0191] In one configuration, the size of the TB is further based on at least one of: the number of layers configured for transmission of the information by the UE, the coding rate configured for transmission, the modulation order configured for transmission, or the number of REs allocated for transmission.

[0192] In one configuration, signaling for configuring at least one of a scaling factor or a timeslot aggregation factor associated with a TB size includes at least one of a DCI message, a MAC CE, a CG, or an RRC message.

[0193] In one configuration, the slot aggregation factor is associated with a number of repetitions configured for uplink transmissions by the UE on the uplink shared channel.

[0194] In one configuration, signaling for configuring at least one of a scaling factor or a slot aggregation factor associated with a TB size includes an index value corresponding to an entry in a table indicating the scaling factor.

[0195] In one configuration, the apparatus 802 (and specifically the baseband unit 804) includes means for sending further signaling to the UE for configuring a set of entries of a table, each entry in the set of entries including at least a respective index value corresponding to a respective scaling factor greater than or equal to one (1).

[0196] In one configuration, signaling for configuring at least one of a scaling factor or a timeslot aggregation factor associated with a TB size includes information indicating at least one of a modulation order or a coding rate, and the size of the TB is based on at least one of the modulation order or the coding rate.

[0197] In one configuration, the scaling factor is greater than or equal to one (1).

[0198] In one configuration, the scaling factor is associated with increasing the effective code rate from another effective code rate associated with another TB size.

[0199] In one configuration, at least one of the scaling factor or the slot aggregation factor is not applicable for downlink signaling from the apparatus 802 to the UE.

[0200] The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned components of the apparatus 802 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. As described above, the apparatus 802 may include a TX processor 316, an RX processor 370, and a controller / processor 75. Therefore, in one configuration, the aforementioned means may be a TX processor 316, an RX processor 370, and a controller / processor 375 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.

[0201] It is to be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of the blocks in the disclosed process / flowchart is an illustration of an exemplary method. It is to be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of the blocks in the process / flowchart may be rearranged based on design preferences. In addition, some blocks may be combined or omitted. The attached method claims provide the elements of the various blocks in an exemplary order and are not intended to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy provided.

[0202] The following examples are merely illustrative and may be combined with other embodiments or aspects of the teachings described herein without limitation.

[0203] <Please ignore. Will be completed after claims are finalized>

[0204] Example 1 is <>.

[0205] Example 2 is based on <>, <> described in Example 1.

[0206] Example 3 is <>, <> according to any one of Examples 1 and 2.

[0207] Example 4 is <>, <> according to any one of Examples 1 to 3.

[0208] The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but are to be given the full scope consistent with the language. Therefore, the language employed herein is not intended to limit the scope of the claims to only those aspects shown herein, but is to be given the full scope consistent with the language of the claims.

[0209] As an example, the language "determine" may cover a wide variety of actions and, therefore, may not be limited to the concepts and aspects explicitly described or illustrated in the present disclosure. In some contexts, "determine" may include calculating, computing, processing, measuring, deriving, investigating, finding (e.g., finding in a table, database, or another data structure), ascertaining, solving, selecting, choosing, establishing, etc. In some other contexts, "determining" may include some communication and / or memory operations / processes through which some information or values ​​are obtained, such as "receiving" (e.g., receiving information), "accessing" (e.g., accessing data in a memory), "detecting", etc.

[0210] As another example, unless explicitly stated as such, a reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean "one and only one", but "one or more". Specifically, unless explicitly stated as such, a reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean "one and only one", but "one or more". Terms such as "if", "when ..." and "while ..." should be interpreted as "under the condition of ...", and do not mean an immediate time relationship or reaction. That is, these phrases (e.g., "when ...") do not mean an immediate action in response to the occurrence of an action or during the occurrence of an action, but only mean that the action will occur if the condition is met, but do not require a specific or immediate time constraint for the occurrence of the action. The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "used as an example, instance or illustration". Any aspect described as "exemplary" herein is not necessarily interpreted as being preferred over or having advantages over other aspects. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, the term "some" refers to one or more. Combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or any combination thereof” include any combination of A, B, and / or C, and may include multiples of A, multiples of B, or multiples of C. Specifically, combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or any combination thereof” may be only A, only B, only C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, wherein any such combination may include one or more members of A, B, or C. All structural and functional equivalents of the elements throughout the various aspects described in the present disclosure that are known or later become known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. In addition, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is expressly recited in the claims. The words “module,” “mechanism,” “element,” “device,” etc. may not be substitutes for the word “unit.” Thus, no claim element should be interpreted as a functional unit unless the element is explicitly recited using the phrase “a means for….”

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving an indication of an index value identifying an entry in a table, the table comprising a plurality of scaling factors, wherein the index value identifying the entry in the table indicates a scaling factor of the plurality of scaling factors; determining a size of a transport block (TB) for the uplink transmission based at least on (i) a total number of resource elements (REs) allocated for the uplink transmission and (ii) the scaling factor, wherein the scaling factor is associated with a number of time slots configured for the TB; and The uplink transmission is sent via the TB in at least one time slot, the TB having the determined size.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The total number of REs allocated to the uplink transmission is a function of the scaling factor.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Prior to receiving the indication of the index value, signaling is received including a plurality of index values ​​for configuring a set of entries in the table, each index value having a corresponding scaling factor greater than or equal to one (1).

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Each scaling factor of the plurality of scaling factors is greater than or equal to one (1).

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Each of the plurality of scaling factors is configured to increase an effective code rate from another effective code rate associated with another size of the TB.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A set of intermediate information bits is calculated based on the total number of REs and the scaling factor, wherein the size of the TB is also based on the set of intermediate information bits.

7. A method of wireless communication at a base station, comprising: sending an indication of an index value identifying an entry in a table to a user equipment (UE), the table comprising a plurality of scaling factors, wherein the index value identifying the entry in the table indicates a scaling factor of the plurality of scaling factors; and An uplink transmission is received from the UE via a transport block (TB), the TB having a size based at least on (i) a total number of resource elements (REs) allocated to the uplink transmission and (ii) a scaling factor, wherein the scaling factor is associated with the number of time slots configured for the TB.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The total number of REs allocated to the uplink transmission is a function of the scaling factor.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The indication of the index value is sent via at least one of: a downlink control information (DCI) message, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), a configured grant (CG), or a radio resource control (RRC) message.

10. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: Prior to sending the indication of the index value, signaling including a plurality of index values ​​for configuring a set of entries of the table is sent to the UE, each index value having a corresponding scaling factor greater than or equal to one (1).

11. The method according to claim 7, wherein: Each scaling factor of the plurality of scaling factors is greater than or equal to one (1).

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: Each of the plurality of scaling factors is configured to increase the effective code rate from another effective code rate associated with another size of another TB.

13. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: Prior to sending the indication of the index value, signaling is sent to the UE to configure a set of entries in the table including the plurality of scaling factors, wherein each scaling factor in the plurality of scaling factors is greater than or equal to one (1).

14. An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory having instructions; as well as One or more processors, which are configured, individually or in combination, to execute the instructions and cause the UE to perform the following operations: receiving an indication of an index value identifying an entry in a table, the table comprising a plurality of scaling factors, wherein the index value identifying the entry in the table indicates a scaling factor of the plurality of scaling factors; determining a size of a transport block (TB) for the uplink transmission based at least on (i) a total number of resource elements (REs) allocated for the uplink transmission and (ii) the scaling factor, wherein the scaling factor is associated with a number of time slots configured for the TB; and The uplink transmission is sent via the TB in at least one time slot, the TB having the determined size.

15. The device according to claim 14, wherein: The total number of REs allocated to the uplink transmission is a function of the scaling factor.

16. An apparatus for wireless communication at a base station, comprising: a memory having instructions; as well as One or more processors, which are configured, individually or in combination, to execute the instructions and cause the base station to perform the following operations: sending an indication of an index value identifying an entry in a table to a user equipment (UE), the table comprising a plurality of scaling factors, wherein the index value identifying the entry in the table indicates a scaling factor of the plurality of scaling factors; and An uplink transmission is received from the UE via a transport block (TB), the TB having a size based at least on (i) a total number of resource elements (REs) allocated to the uplink transmission and (ii) a scaling factor, wherein the scaling factor is associated with the number of time slots configured for the TB.

17. The device according to claim 16, wherein: The total number of REs allocated to the uplink transmission is a function of the scaling factor.

18. The device according to claim 16, wherein: The indication of the index value is sent via at least one of: a downlink control information (DCI) message, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), a configured grant (CG), or a radio resource control (RRC) message.

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