Reference signal conflict handling method and device

Abstract

A user equipment (UE) can include a processing circuit system configured to decode control information of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) received via resources within a control resource set (CORESET), the CORESET occupying a subset of a plurality of OFDM symbols within a time slot. At least one of the symbols in the subset coincides with a predefined symbol position associated with a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) of the PDSCH. The DM-RS can be detected within the time slot, the DM-RS starting at a symbol position that is shifted from the predefined symbol position and after the subset of symbols. Downlink data scheduled by the PDCCH and received via the PDSCH can be decoded, wherein the decoding is based on the detected DM-RS.

Description

[0001] Description of the case

[0002] This application is a divisional application of the Chinese invention patent application with application number 201880043092.8 and name “Conflict Handling of Reference Signals” filed on December 26, 2019. Background Art

[0004] Mobile communications have evolved significantly from early voice systems to today's highly sophisticated integrated communication platforms. With the increase of different types of devices communicating with various network devices, the use of 3GPP LTE systems has increased. The penetration of mobile devices (user equipment or UE) in contemporary society continues to drive the demand for a wide variety of networked devices in a variety of different environments. The fifth generation (5G) wireless system is coming and is expected to achieve even higher speeds, connectivity and availability. The next generation 5G network is expected to increase throughput, coverage and robustness and reduce latency as well as operating and infrastructure costs. Since current cellular network frequencies are saturated, higher frequencies such as millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies may be beneficial due to their high bandwidth.

[0005] Potential LTE operations in unlicensed spectrum may include (and are not limited to) LTE operation in unlicensed spectrum via dual connectivity (DC), or LAA over DC, and a standalone LTE system in unlicensed spectrum, whereby LTE-based technology operates only in unlicensed spectrum without requiring an "anchor" in licensed spectrum, called MulteFire. MulteFire combines the performance benefits of LTE technology with the simplicity of WiFi-like deployment.

[0006] Further enhanced operation of LTE systems in licensed spectrum as well as unlicensed spectrum is expected in future releases and 5G systems. Such enhanced operation may include techniques for resolving conflicts of signals. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] In the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like reference numerals may describe similar components in different views. Like reference numerals with different letter suffixes may represent different instances of similar components. The drawings generally illustrate various aspects discussed in this document by way of example and not by way of limitation.

[0008] Figure 1A The architecture of a network according to some aspects is illustrated.

[0009] Figure 1B is a simplified diagram of the overall Next Generation (NG) system architecture according to some aspects.

[0010] Figure 1CThe diagram illustrates an example MulteFire Neutral Host Network (NHN) 5G architecture according to some aspects.

[0011] Figure 1D Illustrated is a functional split between a Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) and a 5G Core Network (5GC) according to some aspects.

[0012] Figure 1E and Figure 1F A non-roaming 5G system architecture is illustrated in accordance with some aspects.

[0013] Figure 1G An example cellular Internet of Things (CIoT) network architecture is illustrated in accordance with some aspects.

[0014] Figure 1H An example service capability exposure function (SCEF) is illustrated in accordance with some aspects.

[0015] Fig. 1I An example roaming architecture for a SCEF in accordance with some aspects is illustrated.

[0016] Figure 2 Illustrated are example components of device 200 in accordance with some aspects.

[0017] Figure 3 Illustrated are example interfaces of baseband circuitry in accordance with some aspects.

[0018] Figure 4 is a diagram of a control plane protocol stack according to some aspects.

[0019] Figure 5 is an illustration of a user plane protocol stack according to some aspects.

[0020] Figure 6 is a block diagram illustrating components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (eg, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, according to some example aspects.

[0021] Figure 7 is an illustration of an initial access procedure including PRACH preamble retransmissions in accordance with some aspects.

[0022] Figure 8 is a diagram of PRACH resource configuration according to some aspects.

[0023] Fig.9A SS block mapping and SS block patterns for 15 kHz subcarrier spacing are illustrated in accordance with some aspects.

[0024] Fig. 9BIllustrated are example SS block transmissions in accordance with some aspects.

[0025] Fig.10

[0046] Illustrated is beam assignment for different SS blocks within an SS burst set in accordance with some aspects.

[0026] Fig.11

[0013] Illustrated is non-uniform time-frequency gridding for a single UE in accordance with some aspects.

[0027] Fig.12

[0013] Illustrated is non-uniform time-frequency gridding for multiple UEs in accordance with some aspects.

[0028] Fig.13 , Fig.14 and Fig.15 Illustrated is multiplexing of SS blocks and reference signals according to some aspects.

[0029] Fig.16

[0013] A frontloaded DM-RS structure is illustrated in accordance with some aspects.

[0030] Fig.17

[0046] Illustrated is collision handling for CORESET and DM-RS in accordance with some aspects.

[0031] Fig.18

[0046] Illustrated is collision handling for CORESET and DM-RS in accordance with some aspects.

[0032] Fig.19

[0046] Illustrated is collision handling for CORESET and DM-RS in accordance with some aspects.

[0033] Fig. 20

[0046] Illustrated are DM-RS structures for two-symbol non-slot based transmissions with CORESETs of different lengths in accordance with some aspects.

[0034] Fig.21

[0046] Illustrated are DM-RS structures for four-symbol non-slot-based transmissions with CORESETs of different lengths in accordance with some aspects.

[0035] Fig. 22

[0046] Illustrated is a DM-RS structure for a seven-symbol non-slot based transmission with CORESETs of different lengths in accordance with some aspects.

[0036] Fig.23 Illustrated are PDCCH and PDSCH overlapped in the time domain and multiplexed in the frequency domain without shifting of the PDSCH DM-RS in accordance with some aspects.

[0037] Fig.24Illustrated are relative positions for a 4-symbol PDSCH with mapping type B in accordance with some aspects.

[0038] Fig.25 Illustrated are relative positions for a 2-symbol PDSCH with mapping type B in accordance with some aspects.

[0039] Fig.26 A flow diagram generally illustrates example functions that may be performed in a 5G wireless architecture with respect to signal collision avoidance in accordance with some aspects.

[0040] Fig. 27 A block diagram of a communication device such as an evolved Node B (eNB), a next-generation Node B (gNB), an access point (AP), a wireless station (STA), a mobile station (MS), or a user equipment (UE) according to some aspects is illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] The following description and accompanying drawings fully illustrate the various aspects so that those skilled in the art can implement them. Other aspects may include structural, logical, electrical, process and other changes. Parts and features of some aspects may be included in or replaced by parts and features of other aspects. The aspects recorded in the claims cover all available equivalents of those claims.

[0042] Any radio link described herein may operate according to any one or more of the following exemplary radio communication technologies and / or standards, including but not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) radio communication technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) radio communication technology, Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) radio communication technology, and / or Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) radio communication technology, such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Freedom of Multimedia Access (FOMA), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3GPP Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE Advanced), Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA2000), Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD), Mobitex, Third Generation (3G), Circuit Switched Data (CSED), and / or 3GPP LTE. Data, CSD), High-Speed ​​Circuit-Switched Data (HSCSD), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (Third Generation) (UMTS (3G)), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) (W-CDMA (UMTS)), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), High-Speed ​​Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High-Speed ​​Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA),High Speed ​​Packet Access Plus (HSPA+), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System-Time-Division Duplex (UMTS-TDD), Time Division-Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA), Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA), 3GPP Rel.8(Pre-4G), 3GPP Rel.9, 3GPP Rel.10, 3GPP Rel.11, 3GPP Rel.12, 3GPP Rel.13, 3GPP Rel.14, 3GPP Rel.15 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 15), 3GPP Rel.16 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 16), 3GPP Rel.17 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 17), 3GPP Rel.18 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 18), 3GPP 5G, 3GPP LTE Extra, LTE Advanced Professional, LTE Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA), MulteFire, UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), Long Term Evolution Advanced (4th Generation) (LTE Advanced (4G)), cdmaOne (2G), Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (3rd Generation) (CDMA2000 (3G)), Evolution-Data Optimized or Evolution-Data Only (Evolution-Data Optimized or Evolution-Data Only Only, EV-DO), Advanced Mobile Phone System (1st Generation), AMPS (1G),Total Access Communication System / Extended Total Access Communication System (TACS / ETACS), Digital AMPS (2nd Generation) (D-AMPS (2G)), Push-to-talk (PTT), Mobile Telephone System (MTS), Improved Mobile Telephone System (IMTS), Advanced Mobile Telephone System (AMTS), OLT (Norwegian, Offentlig Landmobil Telefoni, Public Land Mobile Telephone), MTD (Swedish abbreviation of Mobiltelefonisystem D, or Mobile Telephone System D), Public Automated Land Mobile (Autotel / PALM), ARP (Finnish, Autoradiopuhelin, "Car Radio Telephone"), NMT (Nordic Mobile Telephony, Nordic Mobile Telephone), High Capacity Version (Hicap) of NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone), Cellular Digital Packet Data (Cellular Digital Packet Data, CDPD), Mobitex, DataTAC, Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN), Personal Digital Cellular (PDC), Circuit Switched Data (CSD), Personal Handy-phone System (PHS), Wideband Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (WiDEN), iBurst, Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) (also known as the 3GPP Universal Access Network, or GAN standard), Zigbee, Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGig) standards, general mmWave standards (wireless systems operating at 10-300 GHz and above, such as WiGig, IEEE 802.11ad, IEEE 802.11ay, etc.), technologies operating above 300 GHz and THz bands (based on 3GPP / LTE or IEEE 802.11p and others), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and infrastructure-to-vehicle (I2V) communication technologies, 3GPP cellular V2X, DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications) communication systems, such as intelligent transportation systems and others.

[0043] LTE and LTE Advanced are standards for wireless communication of high-speed data for user equipment (UE) such as mobile phones. In LTE Advanced and various wireless systems, carrier aggregation is a technique whereby multiple carrier signals operating on different frequencies can be used to carry communications for a single UE, thereby increasing the bandwidth available to a single device. In some aspects, carrier aggregation can be used where one or more component carriers operate on unlicensed frequencies.

[0044] There is an emerging interest in the operation of LTE systems in unlicensed spectrum. As a result, an important enhancement to LTE in 3GPP Release 13 is its operation in unlicensed spectrum via Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA), which extends the system bandwidth by leveraging the flexible carrier aggregation (CA) framework introduced by LTE Advanced systems. Release 13's LAA system focuses on the design of downlink operation on unlicensed spectrum via CA, while Release 14's enhanced LAA (eLAA) system focuses on the design of uplink operation on unlicensed spectrum via CA.

[0045] The aspects described herein may be used in the context of any spectrum management scheme, including, for example, dedicated licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, (licensed) shared spectrum (e.g., Licensed Shared Access (LSA) in 2.3-2.4 GHz, 3.4-3.6 GHz, 3.6-3.8 GHz, and additional frequencies, and Spectrum Access System (SAS) in 3.55-3.7 GHz, and additional frequencies). Applicable exemplary spectrum bands include IMT (International Mobile Telecommunications) spectrum (including 450–470 MHz, 790–960 MHz, 1710–2025 MHz, 2110–2200 MHz, 2300–2400 MHz, 2500–2690 MHz, 698–790 MHz, 610–790 MHz, 3400–3600 MHz, etc.), Advanced IMT spectrum, IMT-2020 spectrum (expected to include, for example, 3600-3800 MHz, the 3.5 GHz band, the 700 MHz band, bands in the 24.25-86 GHz range), spectrum available under the FCC’s “Spectrum Frontier” 5G initiative (including 27.5-28.35 GHz, 29.1-29.25 GHz, 31-31.3 GHz, 37-38.6 GHz, 38.6-40.8 GHz, Hz, 42-42.5 GHz, 57-64 GHz, 71-76 GHz, 81-86 GHz, and 92-94 GHz, etc.), the ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) bands at 5.9 GHz (typically 5.85-5.925 GHz) and 63-64 GHz, the bands currently allocated to WiGig, such as WiGig Band 1 (57.24-59.40 GHz), WiGig Band 2 (59.40-61.56 GHz), WiGig Band 3 (61.56-63.72 GHz), and WiGig Band 4 (63.72-65.88 GHz); the 70.2 GHz-71 GHz band; any band between 65.88 GHz and 71 GHz; bands currently allocated to automotive radar applications, such as 76-81 GHz; and future bands including 94-300 GHz and above. In addition, the solution can also be used as a secondary basis on frequency bands such as TV white space bands (usually below 790MHz), especially 400MHz and 700MHz bands. In addition to cellular applications, specific applications in vertical markets can also be addressed, such as PMSE (Program Making and Special Events), medical, health, surgery, automotive, low latency, drones, etc.

[0046] By allocating OFDM carrier data bit vectors to corresponding symbol resources, the aspects described in this article can also be applied to different single carrier or OFDM forms (CP-OFDM, SC-FDMA, SC-OFDM, filter bank-based multicarrier (FBMC), OFDMA, etc.) and in particular 3GPP NR (New Radio).

[0047] Figure 1A The architecture of a network according to some aspects is illustrated. The network 140A is shown to include user equipment (UE) 101 and UE 102. UE 101 and 102 are shown as smart phones (e.g., handheld touch screen mobile computing devices that can connect to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing devices, such as personal data assistants (PDAs), pagers, laptop computers, desktop computers, wireless handsets, drones, or any other computing device that includes a wired and / or wireless communication interface.

[0048] In some aspects, any one of UE 101 and 102 may include an Internet of Things (IoT) UE or a cellular IoT (CIoT) UE, which may include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications that utilize short-term UE connections. In some aspects, any one of UE 101 and 102 may include a narrowband (NB) IoT UE (e.g., an enhanced NB-IoT (eNB-IoT) UE and a further enhanced (FeNB-IoT) UE). The IoT UE may utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or machine-type communications (MTC) to exchange data with an MTC server or device via a public land mobile network (PLMN), proximity-based services (ProSe) or device-to-device (D2D) communications, sensor networks, or IoT networks. The M2M or MTC data exchange may be a machine-initiated data exchange. The IoT network includes interconnecting IoT UEs using short-term connections, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure). The IoT UEs may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate the connection of the IoT network.

[0049] In some aspects, an NB-IoT device may be configured to operate in a single physical resource block (PRB) and may be instructed to re-tune to two different PRBs within the system bandwidth. In some aspects, an eNB-IoT UE may be configured to acquire system information in one PRB, and then it may re-tune to a different PRB to receive or transmit data.

[0050] In some aspects, any one of UEs 101 and 102 may comprise an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE or a further enhanced MTC (FeMTC) UE.

[0051] UEs 101 and 102 may be configured to be connected, e.g., communicatively coupled, to a radio access network (RAN) 110. RAN 110 may be, for example, an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network, E-UTRAN), a Next Generation RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. UEs 101 and 102 utilize connections 103 and 104, respectively, each of which includes a physical communication interface or layer (discussed in more detail below); in this example, connections 103 and 104 are shown as air interfaces for achieving communication coupling and may conform to cellular communication protocols, such as the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol, code-division multiple access (CDMA) network protocol, Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocol, PTT over Cellular (POC) protocol, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocol, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, fifth generation (5G) protocol, New Radio (NR) protocol, and the like.

[0052] In some aspects, the network 140A may include a core network (CN) 120. Various aspects of the NG RAN and NG core are described herein, for example with reference to Figure 1B , Figure 1C , Figure 1D , Figure 1E , Figure 1F and Figure 1G Let's discuss.

[0053] In one aspect, the UEs 101 and 102 may also directly exchange communication data via the ProSe interface 105. The ProSe interface 105 may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface including one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), a Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), and a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).

[0054] UE 102 is shown as being configured to access access point (AP) 106 via connection 107. Connection 107 may include a logical wireless connection, such as a connection conforming to any IEEE 802.11 protocol, according to which AP 106 may include wireless fidelity. In this example, AP 106 is shown connected to the Internet, but not to the core network of the wireless system (described in more detail below).

[0055] The RAN 110 may include one or more access nodes that support connections 103 and 104. These access nodes (AN) may be referred to as base stations (BS), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next generation NodeBs (gNBs), RAN nodes, etc., and may include ground stations (e.g., ground access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a certain geographic area (e.g., a cell). In some aspects, the communication nodes 111 and 112 may be transmission / reception points (TRPs). In the case where the communication nodes 111 and 112 are NodeBs (e.g., eNBs or gNBs), one or more TRPs may operate within the communication cell of the NodeB. The RAN 110 may include one or more RAN nodes for providing macro cells, such as a macro RAN node 111, and one or more RAN nodes for providing femto cells or micro cells (e.g., cells with a smaller coverage area, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth than macro cells), such as a low power (LP) RAN node 112.

[0056] Any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 may terminate the air interface protocol and may be the first point of contact for the UEs 101 and 102. In some aspects, any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 may implement various logical functions for the RAN 110, including but not limited to radio network controller (RNC) functions, such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management. In one example, any of the nodes 111 and / or 112 may be a new generation Node B (gNB), an evolved Node B (eNB), or another type of RAN node.

[0057] According to some aspects, UEs 101 and 102 may be configured to communicate with each other or with any of RAN nodes 111 and 112 using Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals over a multi-carrier communication channel according to various communication techniques, such as, but not limited to, Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for downlink communications) or Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for uplink and ProSe, for sidelink communications), although such aspects are not required. OFDM signals may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0058] In some aspects, a downlink resource grid may be used for downlink transmissions from any one of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 to the UEs 101 and 102, while uplink transmissions may utilize similar techniques. The grid may be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or a time-frequency resource grid, which is a physical resource in the downlink in each time slot. This time-frequency plane representation may be used in OFDM systems, which makes it applicable to radio resource allocation. Each column and the first row of the resource grid may correspond to an OFDM symbol and an OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain may correspond to a time slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid may be represented as a resource element. Each resource grid may include several resource blocks, which describe the mapping of a specific physical channel to a resource element. Each resource block may include a set of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this may represent the minimum number of resources that can currently be allocated in some aspects. There may be several different physical downlink channels that are transported using such resource blocks.

[0059] The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) may carry user data and higher layer signaling to the UEs 101 and 102. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) may carry information about the transport format and resource allocation related to the PDSCH channel, among other things. It may also inform the UEs 101 and 102 about the transport format, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (assignment of control and shared channel resource blocks to the UEs 102 within a cell) may be performed at either of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 based on channel quality information fed back from either of the UEs 101 and 102. The downlink resource assignment information may be transmitted on the PDCCH for (e.g., assigned to) each of the UEs 101 and 102.

[0060] PDCCH can use control channel elements (CCE) to carry control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, PDCCH complex symbols can first be organized into quadruplets, which can then be permuted using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE can correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements called resource element groups (REGs). Four Quadrature Phase ShiftKeying (QPSK) symbols can be mapped to each REG. Depending on the size of the downlink control information (DCI) and the channel conditions, one or more CCEs can be used to transmit the PDCCH. Four or more different PDCCH formats can be defined in LTE, with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation levels L=1, 2, 4, or 8).

[0061] Some aspects may use the concept of resource allocation for control channel information, which is an extension of the above concepts. For example, some aspects may utilize an enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH) that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. One or more enhanced control channel elements (ECCE) may be used to transmit EPDCCH. Similar to the above, each ECCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements referred to as enhanced resource element groups (EREGs). ECCEs may have other numbers of EREGs according to some arrangements.

[0062] RAN 110 is shown as being communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) 120 via an S1 interface 113. In one aspect, CN 120 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) network, a NextGenPacket Core (NPC) network, or some other type of CN (e.g., as described in reference to FIG. Figure 1B to Figure 1I In this aspect, the S1 interface 113 is split into two parts: an S1-U interface 114, which carries service data between the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and a serving gateway (S-GW) 122, and an S1 mobility management entity (MME) interface 115, which is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and the MME 121.

[0063] In this aspect, CN 120 includes MME 121, S-GW 122, Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) 123 and Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 124. MME 121 may be similar in function to the control plane of the legacy Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN). MME 121 may manage mobility aspects in access, such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. HSS 124 may include a database for network users, including subscription related information, to support network entities in handling communication sessions. CN 120 may include one or several HSS 124, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, the capacity of the equipment, the organization of the network, and the like. For example, HSS 124 may provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / addressing resolution, location dependency, and the like.

[0064] The S-GW 122 may terminate the S1 interface 113 towards the RAN 110 and route data packets between the RAN 110 and the CN 120. In addition, the S-GW 122 may be a local mobility anchor point for handovers between RAN nodes and may also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities of the S-GW 122 may include lawful interception, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0065] The P-GW 123 may terminate the SGi interface toward the PDN. The P-GW 123 may route data packets between the EPC network 120 and an external network, such as a network including an application server 184 (alternatively referred to as an application function (AF)) via an Internet Protocol (IP) interface 125. The P-GW 123 may also communicate data to other external networks 131A, which may include the Internet, an IP multimedia subsystem (IPS) network, and other networks. In general, the application server 184 may be an element that utilizes the core network to provide applications that use IP bearer resources (e.g., UMTS Packet Service (PS) domain, LTE PS data service, etc.). In this aspect, the P-GW 123 is shown as being communicatively coupled to the application server 184 via the IP interface 125. Application server 184 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (eg, Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for UEs 101 and 102 via CN 120 .

[0066] The P-GW 123 may also be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. The Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) 126 is a policy and charging control element of the CN 120. In a non-roaming scenario, in some aspects, there may be a single PCRF in the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with the UE's Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with local outbreak of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with the UE's IP-CAN session: the Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within the HPLMN and the Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) within the Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 126 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 184 via the P-GW 123. The application server 184 may signal the PCRF 126 to indicate a new service flow and select appropriate Quality of Service (QoS) and charging parameters. PCRF 126 may configure this rule into a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) (not shown) using the appropriate traffic flow template (TFT) and QoS class of identifier (QCI), which initiates the QoS and charging specified by the application server 184.

[0067] In one example, either node 111 or 112 may be configured to communicate (e.g., dynamically communicate) antenna plane selection and receive (Rx) beam selection to UE 101, 102, which antenna plane selection and receive (Rx) beam selection may be used by the UE for data reception on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and for channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) measurement and channel state information (CSI) calculation.

[0068] In one example, either node 111 or 112 may be configured to communicate (e.g., dynamically communicate) antenna panel selection and transmit (Tx) beam selection to UE 101, 102, which antenna panel selection and transmit (Tx) beam selection may be used by the UE for data transmission on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and for sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission.

[0069] In some aspects, the communication network 140A may be an IoT network. One of the current implementers of IoT is narrowband-IoT (NB-IoT). NB-IoT has goals such as coverage extension, reduced UE complexity, long battery life, and backward compatibility with LTE networks. In addition, NB-IoT is committed to providing deployment flexibility, allowing operators to introduce NB-IoT using a small portion of their existing available spectrum, and operate in one of the following three forms: (a) independent deployment (the network operates in the re-farmed GSM spectrum); (b) in-band deployment (the network operates in the LTE channel); and (c) guard band deployment (the network operates in the guard band of the legacy LTE channel). In some aspects, such as aspects with further enhanced NB-IoT (FeNB-IoT), support for NB-IoT in small cells may be provided (e.g., in microcell, picocell, or femtocell deployments). One of the challenges faced by NB-IoT systems for small cell support is UL / DL link imbalance, where for small cells, base stations have lower power available compared to macro cells, and thus DL coverage may be affected and / or reduced. In addition, if repetition is used for UL transmission, some NB-IoT UEs may be configured to transmit at maximum power. This may lead to significant inter-cell interference in dense small cell deployments.

[0070] In some aspects, the UE 101 may receive configuration information 190A via, for example, higher layer signaling. The configuration information 190A may include a set of synchronization signals (SS), which may include a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), and / or other types of configuration signaling. In some aspects, the UE 101 may also receive a reference signal 192A. In some aspects, the reference signal may be a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), which may be used by the UE to estimate the channel and generate channel quality information (CQI) for reporting back to the gNB. In some aspects, the reference signal 192A may be a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS), which may be used for demodulation and decoding of data, such as data received via a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). In addition, the UE 101 may be configured to receive control information, such as information received on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) 193A. In some aspects, the control information may include a control resource set (CORESET) communicated via the PDCCH 193A. Techniques disclosed herein may be used to avoid or mitigate collisions between configuration information 190A, reference signals 192A, and / or PDCCH 193A.

[0071] Figure 1B is a simplified diagram of a next generation (NG) system architecture 140B according to some aspects. Figure 1B , the NG system architecture 140B includes the RAN 110 and the 5G network core (5GC) 120. The NG-RAN 110 may include multiple nodes, such as gNB 128 and NG-eNB 130. The gNB 128 and the NG-eNB 130 may be communicatively coupled to the UE 102 via, for example, an N1 interface.

[0072] The core network 120 (e.g., a 5G core network or 5GC) may include an access and mobility management function (AMF) 132 and / or a user plane function (UPF) 134. AMF 132 and UPF 134 may be communicatively coupled to gNB 128 and NG-eNB 130 via an NG interface. More specifically, in some aspects, gNB 128 and NG-eNB 130 may be connected to AMF 132 via an NG-C interface and to UPF 134 via an NG-U interface. gNB 128 and NG-eNB 130 may be coupled to each other via an Xn interface.

[0073] In some aspects, gNB 128 may comprise a node that provides New Radio (NR) user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards UEs and is connected to 5GC 120 via an NG interface. In some aspects, NG-eNB 130 may comprise a node that provides Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards UEs and is connected to 5GC 120 via an NG interface.

[0074] In some aspects, each of gNB 128 and NG-eNB 130 may be implemented as a base station, a mobile edge server, a small cell, a home eNB, or the like.

[0075] Figure 1C An example MulteFire Neutral Host Network (NHN) 5G architecture 140C is illustrated according to some aspects. Figure 1C , the MulteFire 5G architecture 140C may include a UE 102, a NG-RAN 110, and a core network 120. The NG-RAN 110 may be a MulteFire NG-RAN (MF NG-RAN), and the core network 120 may be a MulteFire 5G neutral host network (NHN).

[0076] In some aspects, MF NHN 120 may include a neutral host AMF (NH AMF) 132, a NH SMF 136, a NH UPF 134, and a local AAA proxy 151C. The local AAA proxy 151C may provide connections to a 3GPP AAA server 155C and a participating service provider AAA (PSP AAA) server 153C. The NH-UPF 134 may provide connections to a data network 157C.

[0077] The MF NG-RAN 120 may provide functionality similar to that of an NG-RAN operating in accordance with 3GPP specifications. The NH-AMF 132 may be configured to provide functionality similar to that of an AMF in a 3GPP 5G core network (e.g., as described in reference Figure 1D NH-SMF 136 may be configured to provide functionality similar to that of the SMF in the 3GPP 5G core network (e.g., as described in reference Figure 1D NH-UPF 134 may be configured to provide functionality similar to that of the UPF in the 3GPP 5G core network (e.g., as described in reference Figure 1D ) similar functionality.

[0078] Figure 1D The diagram illustrates the functional split between NG-RAN and 5G Core (5GC) according to some aspects. Figure 1D , illustrates a more detailed diagram of functions that may be performed by gNB 128 and NG-eNB 130 within NG-RAN 110 and AMF 132, UPF 134, and SMF 136 within 5GC 120. In some aspects, 5GC 120 may provide access to the Internet 138 to one or more devices via NG-RAN 110.

[0079] In some aspects, gNB 128 and NG-eNB 130 may be configured to host the following functions: functions for radio resource management (e.g., inter-cell radio resource management 129A, radio bearer control 129B, connection mobility control 129C, radio admission control 129D, dynamic allocation of resources to UEs in both uplink and downlink (scheduling) 129F); IP header compression, encryption and integrity protection of data; selection of AMF at UE attach when the route to the AMF cannot be determined from information provided by the UE; user plane data routing towards (one or more) UPFs; control plane information routing towards the AMF; connection establishment and release; scheduling and transmission of paging messages (originating from the AMF); scheduling and transmission of system broadcast information (originating from the AMF or operations and maintenance); measurements and measurement report configuration for mobility and scheduling 129E; transport level packet marking in the uplink; session management; support for network slicing; QoS flow management and mapping to data radio bearers; support for UE in RRC_INACTIVE state; for non-access layer (non-access stratum, NAS) message distribution function; radio access network sharing; dual connectivity; and tight interworking between NR and E-UTRA, etc.

[0080] In some aspects, the AMF 132 may be configured to host functions such as: NAS signaling termination; NAS signaling security 133A; access stratum (AS) security control; core network (CN) inter-node signaling for mobility between 3GPP access networks; idle state / mode mobility processing 133B, including mobile device (e.g., UE) reachability (e.g., control and execution of paging retransmissions); registration area management; support for intra-system and inter-system mobility; access authentication; access authorization, including verification of roaming rights; mobility management control (subscription and policy); support for network slicing; and / or SMF selection, among other functions.

[0081] The UPF 134 may be configured to host functions such as: mobility anchor 135A (e.g., an anchor point for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility); packet data unit (PDU) processing 135B (e.g., an external PDU session interconnection point to a data network); packet routing and forwarding; packet inspection and user plane portions of policy rule enforcement; service usage reporting; an uplink classifier to support routing of service flows to a data network; a branching point to support multi-homed PDU sessions; QoS processing for the user plane, such as packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement; uplink service verification (SDF to QoS flow mapping); and / or downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, among other functions.

[0082] The session management function (SMF) 136 may be configured to host functions such as: session management; UE IP address allocation and management 137A; selection and control of user plane functions (UPFs); PDU session control 137B, including configuring service handling at the UPF 134 to route services to the appropriate destination; control portions of policy enforcement and QoS; and / or downlink data notification, among other functions.

[0083] Figure 1E and Figure 1F A non-roaming 5G system architecture is illustrated according to some aspects. Figure 1E, illustrates a 5G system architecture 140E represented by reference points. More specifically, the UE 102 can communicate with the RAN 110 and one or more other 5G core (5GC) network entities. The 5G system architecture 140D includes multiple network functions (NFs), such as access and mobility management function (AMF) 132, session management function (SMF) 136, policy control function (PCF) 148, application function (AF) 150, user plane function (UPF) 134, network slice selection function (NSSF) 142, authentication server function (AUSF) 144, and unified data management (UDM) / home subscriber server (HSS) 146. The UPF 134 can provide a connection to a data network (DN) 152, which can include, for example, operator services, Internet access, or third-party services. AMF can be used to manage access control and mobility, and may also include a network slice selection function. SMF can be configured to establish and manage various sessions according to network policies. UPF can be deployed into one or more configurations according to the desired service type. PCF can be configured to provide a policy framework using network slicing, mobility management, and roaming (similar to PCRF in 4G communication systems). UDM can be configured to store subscriber profiles and data (similar to HSS in 4G communication systems).

[0084] In some aspects, the 5G system architecture 140E includes an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) 168E and multiple IP multimedia core network subsystem entities, such as a call session control function (CSCF). More specifically, the IMS 168E includes a CSCF that can act as a proxy CSCF (P-CSCF) 162E, a serving CSCF (S-CSCF) 164E, an emergency CSCF (E-CSCF) ( Figure 1EThe P-CSCF 162E may be configured as the first point of contact for the UE 102 within the IM subsystem (IMS) 168E. The S-CSCF 164E may be configured to handle session states in the network, and the E-CSCF may be configured to handle certain aspects of emergency sessions, such as routing emergency requests to the correct emergency center or PSAP. The I-CSCF 166E may be configured to act as a point of contact within the operator's network for all IMS connections that are scheduled to go to the network operator's subscribers or roaming subscribers that are currently located within the network operator's service area. In some aspects, the I-CSCF 166E may be connected to another IP multimedia network 170E, such as an IMS operated by a different network operator.

[0085] In some aspects, the UDM / HSS 146 may be coupled to an application server 160E, which may include a telephony application server (TAS) or another application server (AS). The AS 160E may be coupled to the IMS 168E via the S-CSCF 164E and / or the I-CSCF 166E.

[0086] In some aspects, the 5G system architecture 140E may employ a unified access barring mechanism utilizing one or more of the techniques described herein that may be applicable to all RRC states of the UE 102, such as the RRC_IDLE, RRC_CONNECTED, and RRC_INACTIVE states.

[0087] In some aspects, the 5G system architecture 140E may be configured to use the 5G access control mechanism techniques described herein based on access categories that can be classified by a minimum default set of common access categories across all networks. This functionality may allow a public land mobile network PLMN, such as a visited PLMN (VPLMN), to protect the network for different types of registration attempts, achieve acceptable services for roaming subscribers, and enable the VPLMN to control access attempts aimed at receiving certain basic services. It also provides more options and flexibility to individual operators by providing a set of access categories that can be configured and used in an operator-specific manner.

[0088] refer to Figure 1F , illustrates a 5G system architecture 140F and a service-based representation. The system architecture 140F may be substantially similar (or identical) to the system architecture 140E. Figure 1EIn addition to the network entities shown in FIG. 140 , the system architecture 140F may further include a network exposure function (NEF) 154 and a network repository function (NRF) 156 .

[0089] In some aspects, the 5G system architecture may be service-based and the interactions between network functions may be represented by corresponding point-to-point reference points Ni (e.g. Figure 1E ) or as a service-based interface (such as Figure 1F ).

[0090] Reference point representation indicates that interactions can exist between corresponding NF services. For example, Figure 1E The following reference points are illustrated: N1 (between UE 102 and AMF 132), N2 (between RAN 110 and AMF 132), N3 (between RAN 110 and UPF 134), N4 (between SMF 136 and UPF 134), N5 (between PCF 148 and AF 150), N6 (between UPF 134 and DN 152), N7 (between SMF 136 and PCF 148), N8 (between UDM 146 and AMF 132), N9 (between two UPFs 134), N10 (between UDM 146 and SMF 136), N11 (between AMF 132 and SMF 136), N12 (between AUSF 144 and AMF 132), N13 (between AUSF 144 and AMF 132). 144 and UDM 146), N14 (between two AMFs 132), N15 (between PCF 148 and AMF 132 in the case of non-roaming scenario, or between PCF 148 and visited network and AMF 132 in the case of roaming scenario), N6 (between two SMFs; Figure 1E ), and N22 (between AMF 132 and NSSF 142). Figure 1E Other reference points not shown are indicated.

[0091] In some aspects, such as Figure 1FAs shown in , a service-based representation can be used to represent network functions within the control plane that enable other authorized network functions to access their services. In this regard, the 5G system architecture 140F may include the following service-based interfaces: Namf 158H (a service-based interface presented by AMF 132), Nsmf 158I (a service-based interface presented by SMF 136), Nnef 158B (a service-based interface presented by NEF 154), Npcf 158D (a service-based interface presented by PCF 148), Nudm 158E (a service-based interface presented by UDM 146), Naf 158F (a service-based interface presented by AF 150), Nnrf 158C (a service-based interface presented by NRF 156), Nnssf 158A (a service-based interface presented by NSSF 142), and Nausf 158G (a service-based interface presented by AUSF 144). Figure 1F Other service-based interfaces not shown (e.g., Nudr, N5g-eir, and Nudsf).

[0092] Figure 1G An example CIoT network architecture is illustrated according to some aspects. Figure 1G, the CIoT architecture 140G may include a UE 102 and a RAN 110 coupled to multiple core network entities. In some aspects, the UE 102 may be a machine type communication (MTC) UE. The CIoT network architecture 140G may also include a mobile services switching center (MSC) 160, an MME 121, a serving GPRS support node (SGSN) 162, an S-GW 122, an IP short message gateway (IP-Short-Message-Gateway, IP-SM-GW) 164, a Short Message Service Service Center (SMS-SC) / gateway mobile service center (GMSC) / interworking MSC (IWMSC) 166, an MTC interworking function (MTC-IWF) 170, a Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF) 172, a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) / packet GW (P-GW) 174, a charging data function (CDF) / charging gateway function ( function, CGF) 176, home subscriber server (HSS) / home location register (HLR) 177, short message entity (SME) 168, MTC authorization, authentication, and accounting (MTC AAA) server 178, service capability server (SCS) 180, and application servers (AS) 182 and 184.

[0093] In some aspects, SCEF 172 may be configured to securely expose services and capabilities provided by various 3GPP network interfaces. SCEF 172 may also provide means for discovering exposed services and capabilities, as well as access to network capabilities through various network application programming interfaces (e.g., API interfaces to SCS 180).

[0094] Figure 1G Various reference points between different servers, functions or communication nodes of the CIoT network architecture 140G are also illustrated. Some example reference points associated with the MTC-IWF 170 and the SCEF 172 include the following: Tsms (a reference point used by entities external to the 3GPP network to communicate with UEs for MTC via SMS), Tsp (a reference point used by the SCS to communicate control plane signaling related to the MTC-IWF), T4 (a reference point used between the MTC-IWF 170 and the SMS-SC 166 in the HPLMN), T6a (a reference point used between the SCEF 172 and the serving MME 121), T6b (a reference point used between the SCEF 172 and the serving SGSN 162), T8 (a reference point used between the SCEF 172 and the SCS / AS 180 / 182), S6m (a reference point used by the MTC-IWF 170 to query the HSS / HLR 177), S6n (a reference point used by the MTC-AAA server 178 to query the HSS / HLR 177), and S6t (reference point between SCEF 172 and HSS / HLR 177).

[0095] In some aspects, the CIoT UE 102 may be configured to communicate with one or more entities within the CIoT architecture 140G via the RAN 110 in accordance with a non-access stratum (NAS) protocol and utilizing one or more reference points, such as a narrowband air interface, based on one or more communication technologies, such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technology. As used herein, the term "CIoT UE" refers to a UE that is capable of CIoT optimization as part of a CIoT communication architecture.

[0096] In some aspects, the NAS protocol may support a set of NAS messages for communication between the CIoT UE 102 and the Evolved Packet System (EPS) Mobile Management Entity (MME) 121 and the SGSN 162.

[0097] In some aspects, the CIoT network architecture 140F may include a packet data network, an operator network, or a cloud service network, having, for example, a service capability server (SCS) 180, an application server (AS) 182, or one or more other external servers or network components, etc.

[0098] The RAN 110 may be coupled to the HSS / HLR server 177 and the AAA server 178 using one or more reference points, for example, including an air interface based on the S6a reference point, and is configured to authenticate / authorize the CIoT UE 102 to access the CIoT network. The RAN 110 may be coupled to the CIoT network architecture 140G using one or more other reference points, including, for example, an air interface corresponding to the SGi / Gi interface for 3GPP access. The RAN 110 may be coupled to the SCEF 172 using, for example, an air interface based on the T6a / T6b reference point for service capability exposure. In some aspects, the SCEF 172 may act as an API GW towards a third-party application server such as the AS 182. The SCEF 172 may be coupled to the HSS / HLR 177 and the MTC AAA 178 server using the S6t reference point, and may also be exposed to an application programming interface for network capabilities.

[0099] In some examples, one or more of the CIoT devices disclosed herein, such as CIoT UE 102, CIoTRAN 110, etc., may include one or more other non-CIoT devices, or non-CIoT devices that act as CIoT devices, or have the functionality of CIoT devices. For example, CIoT UE 102 may include a smart phone, a tablet computer, or one or more other electronic devices that act as CIoT devices for specific functions and have other additional functions.

[0100] In some aspects, the RAN 110 may include a CIoT enhanced Node B (CIoT eNB) 111, which is communicatively coupled to a CIoT Access Network Gateway (CIoT GW) 195. In some examples, the RAN 110 may include a plurality of base stations (e.g., CIoT eNBs) connected to the CIoT GW 195, and the CIoT GW 195 may include an MSC 160, an MME 121, an SGSN 162, and / or an S-GW 122. In some examples, the internal architecture of the RAN 110 and the CIoT GW 195 may be left to implementation and need not be standardized.

[0101] As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to, be part of, or include: an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) or other dedicated circuit, an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, or other appropriate hardware components that provide the described functions. In some aspects, the circuit system may be implemented in one or more software or firmware modules, or the functions associated with the circuit system may be implemented by one or more software or firmware modules. In some aspects, the circuit system may include logic that is at least partially operable in hardware. In some aspects, the circuit system and modules disclosed herein may be implemented in a combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware. In some aspects, the functions associated with the circuit system may be distributed over more than one hardware or software / firmware module. In some aspects, the module (disclosed herein) may include logic that is at least partially operable in hardware. The aspects described herein may be implemented in a system using any appropriately configured hardware or software.

[0102] Figure 1H An example service capability exposure function (SCEF) is illustrated in accordance with some aspects. Figure 1H , SCEF 172 can be configured to expose services and capabilities provided by the 3GPP network interface to external third-party service provider servers that host various applications. In some aspects, a 3GPP network such as a CIoT architecture 140G can expose the following services and capabilities: home subscriber server (HSS) 116H, policy and charging rules function (PCRF) 118H, packet flow description function (PFDF) 120H, MME / SGSN 122H, broadcast multicast service center (BM-SC) 124H, serving call server control function (S-CSCF) 126H, RAN congestion awareness function (RCAF) 128H and one or more other network entities 130H. The above services and capabilities of the 3GPP network can be accessed via Figure 1H One or more interfaces shown in FIG. 1 communicate with SCEF 172 .

[0103] The SCEF 172 may be configured to expose 3GPP network services and capabilities to one or more applications running on one or more service capability servers (SCS) / application servers (AS) (e.g., SCS / AS 102H, 104H, ..., 106H). Each of the SCS / AG 102H-106H may communicate with the SCEF 172 via an application programming interface (API) 108H, 110H, 112H, ..., 114H, such as Figure 1H as shown in .

[0104] Fig. 1I An example roaming architecture of a SCEF according to some aspects is illustrated. Fig. 1I , SCEF 172 may be located in HPLMN 110I and may be configured to expose 3GPP network services and capabilities, such as 102I, ..., 104I. In some aspects, 3GPP network services and capabilities, such as 106I, ..., 108I, may be located within VPLMN 112I. In this case, the 3GPP network services and capabilities within VPLMN 112I may be exposed to SCEF 172 via interworking SCEF (IWK-SCEF) 197 within VPLMN 112I.

[0105] Figure 2 Example components of the device 200 are illustrated according to some aspects. In some aspects, the device 200 may include an application circuit system 202, a baseband circuit system 204, a radio frequency (RF) circuit system 206, a front-end module (FEM) circuit system 208, one or more antennas 210, and a power management circuit system (PMC) 212 coupled together at least as shown. The components of the illustrated device 200 may be included in a UE or a RAN node. In some aspects, the device 200 may include fewer elements (e.g., the RAN node may not utilize the application circuit system 202, but instead include a processor / controller to process IP data received from the EPC). In some aspects, the device 1400 may include additional elements, such as memory / storage, a display, a camera, a sensor, and / or an input / output (I / O) interface element. In other aspects, the components described below may be included in more than one device (e.g., for a Cloud-RAN (C-RAN) implementation, the circuit system may be separately included in more than one device).

[0106] The application circuitry 202 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 202 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination of general-purpose processors, special-purpose processors, and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processor may be coupled to memory / storage and / or may include memory / storage and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the device 200. In some aspects, the processor of the application circuitry 202 may process IP data packets received from the EPC.

[0107] The baseband circuit system 204 may include circuit systems such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuit system 204 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of the RF circuit system 206 and generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of the RF circuit system 206. The baseband processing circuit system 204 may interface with the application circuit system 202 to generate and process baseband signals and control the operation of the RF circuit system 206. For example, in some aspects, the baseband circuit system 204 may include a third generation (3G) baseband processor 204A, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 204B, a fifth generation (5G) baseband processor 204C, or other (one or more) baseband processors 204D for other existing generations, generations under development, or generations to be developed in the future (e.g., second generation (2G), sixth generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuitry 204 (e.g., one or more of the baseband processors 204A-D) may handle various radio control functions to enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 206. In other aspects, some or all of the functions of the baseband processors 204A-D may be included in a module stored in the memory 204G and executed via the central processing unit (CPU) 204E. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, radio frequency offset, and the like. In some aspects, the modulation / demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 204 may include Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping / demapping functions. In some aspects, the encoding / decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 204 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functions. The aspects of modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functions are not limited to these examples, and in other aspects may include other suitable functions.

[0108] In some aspects, the baseband circuit system 204 may include one or more audio digital signal processors (DSPs) 204F. (One or more) audio DSPs 204F may include elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and may include other appropriate processing elements in other aspects. The components of the baseband circuit system 204 may be appropriately combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or arranged on the same circuit board in some aspects. In some aspects, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuit system 204 and the application circuit system 202 may be implemented together, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

[0109] In some aspects, baseband circuitry 204 can provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some aspects, baseband circuitry 204 can support communications with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), and / or wireless personal area networks (WPANs). In some aspects, baseband circuitry 204 configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol can be referred to as a multi-mode baseband circuitry.

[0110] RF circuitry 206 may enable communication with a wireless network using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various aspects, RF circuitry 206 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to support communication with a wireless network. RF circuitry 206 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from FEM circuitry 208 and provide a baseband signal to baseband circuitry 204. RF circuitry 206 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by baseband circuitry 204 and provide an RF output signal to FEM circuitry 208 for transmission.

[0111] In some aspects, the receive signal path of the RF circuit system 206 may include a mixer 206A, an amplifier 206B, and a filter 206C. In some aspects, the transmit signal path of the RF circuit system 206 may include a filter 206C and a mixer 206A. The RF circuit system 206 may also include a synthesizer 206D for synthesizing frequencies for use by the mixer 206A of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some aspects, the mixer 206A of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from the FEM circuit system 208 based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer 206D. The amplifier 206B may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and the filter 206C may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or a band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to the baseband circuit system 204 for further processing. In some aspects, the output baseband signal may optionally be a zero-frequency baseband signal. In some aspects, the mixer 206A of the receive signal path may include a passive mixer.

[0112] In some aspects, mixer 206A of the transmit signal path may be configured to upconvert an input baseband signal based on a synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer 206D to generate an RF output signal for FEM circuitry 208. The baseband signal may be provided by baseband circuitry 204 and may be filtered by filter 206C.

[0113] In some aspects, the mixer 206A of the receive signal path and the mixer 206A of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and up-conversion, respectively. In some aspects, the mixer 206A of the receive signal path and the mixer 206A of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image frequency suppression (e.g., Hartley image frequency suppression). In some aspects, the mixer 206A of the receive signal path and the mixer 206A of the transmit signal path may be arranged for direct down-conversion and direct up-conversion, respectively. In some aspects, the mixer 206A of the receive signal path and the mixer 206A of the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0114] In some aspects, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may optionally be analog baseband signals. According to some alternative aspects, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative aspects, the RF circuit system 206 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuit systems, and the baseband circuit system 204 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuit system 206.

[0115] In some dual-mode aspects, separate radio IC circuitry may optionally be provided to process signals for each spectrum.

[0116] In some aspects, synthesizer 206D may optionally be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, but other types of frequency synthesizers may also be suitable. For example, synthesizer 206D may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0117] Synthesizer 206D may be configured to synthesize an output frequency based on a frequency input and a divider control input for use by mixer 206A of RF circuitry 206. In some aspects, synthesizer 206D may be a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer.

[0118] In some aspects, the frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), but this is not a necessary requirement. Depending on the desired output frequency, the divider control input may be provided, for example, by the baseband circuit system 204 or the application circuit system 202. In some aspects, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table based on the channel instructed by the application circuit system 202.

[0119] The synthesizer circuit system 206D of the RF circuit system 206 may include a frequency divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some aspects, the frequency divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some aspects, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry output) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example aspects, the DLL may include a set of cascaded tunable delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a D-type flip-flop. In these aspects, the delay element may be configured to decompose the VCO cycle into Nd equal phase groups, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help keep the total delay through the delay line to one VCO cycle.

[0120] In some aspects, synthesizer circuitry 206D can be configured to generate a carrier frequency as an output frequency, while in other aspects, the output frequency can be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, or four times the carrier frequency) and can be used in conjunction with quadrature generator and divider circuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with multiple different phases relative to each other. In some aspects, the output frequency can be an LO frequency (fLO). In some aspects, RF circuitry 206 can include an IQ / polar converter.

[0121] FEM circuitry 208 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 210 and / or to amplify received signals and provide an amplified version of the received signals to RF circuitry 206 for further processing. FEM circuitry 208 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry configured to amplify signals provided by RF circuitry 206 for transmission for transmission by one or more of one or more antennas 210. In various aspects, amplification by the transmit signal path or the receive signal path may be performed partially or exclusively in RF circuitry 206, partially or exclusively in FEM circuitry 208, or in both RF circuitry 206 and FEM circuitry 208.

[0122] In some aspects, the FEM circuit system 208 may include a TX / RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuit system 208 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuit system 208 may include an LNA to amplify a received RF signal and provide an amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to the RF circuit system 206). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuit system 208 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify an input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuit system 206) and one or more filters to generate an RF signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 210).

[0123] In some aspects, the PMC 212 can manage the power provided to the baseband circuit system 204. The PMC 212 can control power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, and / or DC to DC conversion. When the device 200 is capable of being powered by a battery, such as when the device is included in a UE, in some aspects the PMC 212 can be included. The PMC 212 can increase power conversion efficiency while providing beneficial implementation size and heat dissipation characteristics.

[0124] Figure 2 PMC 212 is shown coupled to baseband circuitry 204. In other aspects, PMC 212 may additionally or alternatively be coupled to and perform similar power management operations for other components, such as, but not limited to, application circuitry 202, RF circuitry 206, or FEM circuitry 208.

[0125] In some aspects, the PMC 212 may control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of the device 200. For example, if the device 200 is in the RRC_Connected state, in which it is still connected to the RAN node because it expects to receive traffic soon, it may enter a state known as Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the device 200 may power off at brief intervals and thereby save power.

[0126] According to some aspects, if there is no data traffic activity for a longer period of time, the device 200 may transition off to the RRC_Idle state, in which it is disconnected from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The device 200 enters a very low power state and it performs paging, during which it periodically wakes up to listen to the network and then powers off again. The device 200 may transition back to the RRC_Connected state to receive data.

[0127] Additional power saving modes may allow the device to be unavailable to the network for periods longer than the paging interval (ranging from a few seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device 200 may be unreachable to the network and may be powered off in some aspects. Any data sent during this time is subject to potentially significant delays, and it is assumed that the delays are acceptable.

[0128] The processor of the application circuit system 202 and the processor of the baseband circuit system 204 can be used to execute elements of one or more instances of the protocol stack. For example, the processor of the baseband circuit system 204 can be used alone or in combination to perform layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, and the processor of the application circuit system 202 can utilize data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) and further perform layer 4 functions (e.g., transmission communication protocol (TCP) and user datagram protocol (UDP) layers). For the purposes of this document, layer 3 may include a radio resource control (RRC) layer, which is described in more detail below. For the purposes of this document, layer 2 may include a medium access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, which is described in more detail below. For the purposes of this document, layer 1 may include a physical (PHY) layer of a UE / RAN node, which is described in more detail below.

[0129] Figure 3 204 according to some aspects. Figure 2 The baseband circuit system 204 may include processors 204A to 204E and a memory 204G utilized by the processors. Each of the processors 204A to 204E may include a memory interface 304A to 304E, respectively, to send / receive data to / from the memory 204G.

[0130] Baseband circuitry 204 may also include one or more interfaces to communicatively couple to other circuitry / devices, such as a memory interface 312 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to baseband circuitry 204), an application circuitry interface 314 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to baseband circuitry 204), and an application circuitry interface 315 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to baseband circuitry 204). Figure 2 202), RF circuit system interface 316 (e.g., to / from Figure 2 an interface for sending / receiving data to / from the RF circuit system 206), a wireless hardware connectivity interface 318 (e.g., to / from a Near Field Communication (NFC) component, Components (e.g., low energy ), components and other communication components to send / receive data) and a power management interface 320 (eg, an interface for sending / receiving power or control signals to / from PMC212).

[0131] Figure 4 4 is a diagram of a control plane protocol stack according to some aspects. In one aspect, the control plane 400 is shown as a communication protocol stack between the UE 102, the RAN node 128 (or alternatively the RAN node 130), and the AMF 132.

[0132] The PHY layer 401 may in some aspects send or receive information over one or more air interfaces for use by the MAC layer 402. The PHY layer 401 may also perform link adaptation or adaptive modulation and coding (AMC), power control, cell search (e.g., for initial synchronization and handover purposes), and other measurements used by higher layers (e.g., the RRC layer 405). The PHY layer 401 may in some aspects also perform error detection on transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of transport channels, modulation / demodulation of physical channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, and multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna processing.

[0133] The MAC layer 402 may in some aspects perform mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing MAC service data units (SDUs) from one or more logical channels to transport blocks (TBs) for delivery to the PHY via transport channels, demultiplexing MAC SDUs from transport blocks (TBs) delivered from the PHY via transport channels to one or more logical channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), and logical channel prioritization.

[0134] The RLC layer 403 can in some aspects operate in a variety of operating modes, including: Transparent Mode (TM), Unacknowledged Mode (UM), and Acknowledged Mode (AM). The RLC layer 403 can perform transmission of upper layer protocol data units (PDUs), error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ) for AM data transmission, and segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transmission. The RLC layer 403 can also maintain sequence numbers for UM and AM data transmissions independently of sequence numbers in PDCP. The RLC layer 403 can also in some aspects perform re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs for AM data transmission, detect duplicate data for AM data transmission, discard RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transmission, detect protocol errors for AM data transmission, and perform RLC re-establishment.

[0135] The PDCP layer 404 may in some aspects perform header compression and decompression of IP data, maintain PDCP sequence numbers (SN), perform in-order delivery of upper layer PDUs when lower layers are re-established, perform reordering and deduplication of lower layer SDUs, perform PDCP PDU routing for split bearer scenarios, perform retransmission of lower layer SDUs, encrypt and decrypt control plane and user plane data, perform integrity protection and integrity verification of control plane and user plane data, control timer-based discard of data, and perform security operations (e.g., encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification, etc.).

[0136] In some aspects, the main services and functions of the RRC layer 405 may include broadcasting of system information (e.g., included in a Master Information Block (MIB) or System Information Block (SIB) related to the non-access stratum (NAS); broadcasting of system information related to the access stratum (AS); paging initiated by the 5GC 120 or the NG-RAN 110, establishment, maintenance and release of an RRC connection between the UE and the NG-RAN (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection addition, RRC connection modification and RRC connection release, also used for carrier aggregation and dual connectivity in NR or between E-UTRA and NR); establishment, configuration, maintenance and release of signaling radio bearers (SRB) and data radio bearers (DRB); security functions including key management, mobility functions including handover and context transfer, UE cell selection and reselection and control of cell selection and reselection, and radio access technology (RT). technology, RAT) mobility; and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting. The MIB and SIB may include one or more information elements (IE), each of which may include individual data fields or data structures. The RRC layer 405 may also perform QoS management functions, detection of radio link failures and recovery from radio link failures, and NAS message transmission between NAS 406 in the UE and NAS 406 in the AMF 132 in some aspects.

[0137] In some aspects, the following NAS messages may be communicated during the corresponding NAS process, as shown in Table 1 below:

[0138]

[0139]

[0140] Table 1

[0141] In some aspects, when the same message is used for more than one procedure, a parameter (e.g., Registration Type or TAU Type) may be used to indicate the specific purpose of the procedure, such as Registration Type = "Initial Registration", "Mobility Registration Update", or "Periodic Registration Update".

[0142] UE 101 and RAN node 128 / 130 may utilize an NG radio interface (e.g., an LTE-Uu interface or an NR radio interface) to exchange control plane data via a protocol stack including a PHY layer 401, a MAC layer 402, an RLC layer 403, a PDCP layer 404, and an RRC layer 405.

[0143] The non-access stratum (NAS) protocol 406 forms the highest level of the control plane between the UE 101 and the AMF 132, such as Figure 4 . In some aspects, the NAS protocol 406 supports the mobility and session management process of the UE 101 to establish and maintain the IP connectivity between the UE 101 and the UPF 134. In some aspects, the UE protocol stack may include one or more upper layers above the NAS layer 406. For example, the upper layer may include an operating system layer 424, a connection manager 420, and an application layer 422. In some aspects, the application layer 422 may include one or more clients that may be used to perform various application functions, including providing an interface for one or more external networks and communicating with the external network. In some aspects, the application layer 422 may include an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) client 426.

[0144] The NG application protocol (NG-AP) layer 415 may support the functionality of the N2 and N3 interfaces and include an elementary procedure (EP). The EP is the unit of interaction between the RAN node 128 / 130 and the 5GC 120. In certain aspects, the NG-AP layer 415 services may include two groups: UE-associated services and non-UE-associated services. These services perform functions including, but not limited to: UE context management, PDU session management, management of corresponding NG-RAN resources (e.g., data radio bearers (DRBs)), UE capability indication, mobility, NAS signaling transmission, and configuration transmission (e.g., for the transmission of SON information).

[0145] The Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) layer (which may alternatively be referred to as the SCTP / IP layer) 414 may ensure reliable delivery of signaling messages between the RAN node 128 / 130 and the AMF 132 based in part on the IP protocol supported by the IP layer 413. The L2 layer 412 and the L1 layer 411 may refer to communication links (e.g., wired or wireless) used by the RAN node 128 / 130 and the AMF 132 to exchange information.

[0146] The RAN node 128 / 130 and the AMF 130 may utilize the N2 interface to exchange control plane data via a protocol stack including an L1 layer 411 , an L2 layer 412 , an IP layer 413 , an SCTP layer 414 , and an S1-AP layer 415 .

[0147] Figure 5 4 is a diagram of a user plane protocol stack according to some aspects. In this aspect, the user plane 500 is shown as a communication protocol stack between the UE 102, the RAN node 128 (or the RAN node 130) and the UPF 134. The user plane 500 may utilize at least some of the same protocol layers as the control plane 400. For example, the UE 102 and the RAN node 128 may utilize the NR radio interface to exchange user plane data via a protocol stack including the PHY layer 401, the MAC layer 402, the RLC layer 403, the PDCP layer 404 and the service data adaptation protocol (Service Data Adaptation Protocol, SDAP) layer 416. The SDAP layer 416 may perform mapping between quality of service (QoS) flows and data radio bearers (DRBs) and marking both DL and UL packets using QoS flow IDs (QoS flowID, QFI). In some aspects, the IP protocol stack 513 may be located above the SDAP 416. A user datagram protocol (UDP) and transmission control protocol (TCP) stack 520 may be located above the IP stack 513. A session initiation protocol (SIP) stack 522 may be located above the UDP / TCP stack 520 and may be used by the UE 102 and the UPF 134.

[0148] The user plane General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GPRS Tunneling Protocol for the user plane, GTP-U) layer 504 may be used to carry user data within the 5G core network 120 and between the radio access network 110 and the 5G core network 120. The transmitted user data may be packets in, for example, IPv4, IPv6, or PPP format. The UDP and IP Security (UDP / IP) layer 503 may provide checksums for data integrity, port numbers for addressing different functions at the source and destination, and encryption and authentication on selected data flows. The RAN node 128 / 130 and the UPF 134 may utilize the N3 interface to exchange user plane data via a protocol stack including the L1 layer 411, the L2 layer 412, the UDP / IP layer 503, and the GTP-U layer 504. As described above, Figure 4As described above, the NAS protocol supports the mobility and session management procedures of UE 101 to establish and maintain IP connectivity between UE 101 and UPF 134.

[0149] Figure 6 is a block diagram illustrating components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the methods discussed herein according to some example aspects. Specifically, Figure 6 A diagrammatic representation of hardware resources 600 is shown, including one or more processors (or processor cores) 610, one or more memory / storage devices 620, and one or more communication resources 630, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 640. For aspects utilizing node virtualization (e.g., NFV), a hypervisor 602 may be executed to provide an execution environment for utilizing hardware resources 600 for one or more network slices and / or sub-slices.

[0150] Processor 610 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP) (e.g., a baseband processor), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination of these) may include, for example, processor 612 and processor 614.

[0151] The memory / storage device 620 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination of these. The memory / storage device 620 may include, but is not limited to, any type of volatile or non-volatile memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state storage, and the like.

[0152] The communication resources 630 may include an interconnect or network interface component or other appropriate device to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 604 or one or more databases 606 via the network 608. For example, the communication resources 630 may include a wired communication component (e.g., for coupling via a Universal Serial Bus (USB)), a cellular communication component, an NFC component, Components (e.g., low energy ), components and other communication components.

[0153] The instructions 650 may include software, programs, applications, applet programs, apps, or other executable code for causing at least any one of the processors 610 to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein. The instructions 650 may reside in whole or in part within at least one of the processors 610 (e.g., within a cache memory of the processor), within the memory / storage device 620, or any suitable combination of these. In addition, any portion of the instructions 650 may be transmitted to the hardware resources 600 from any combination of the peripheral device 604 or the database 606. Thus, the memory of the processor 610, the memory / storage device 620, the peripheral device 604, and the database 606 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0154] Figure 7 is an illustration of an initial access procedure 700 including PRACH preamble retransmission according to some aspects. Figure 7, the initial access process 700 may begin at operation 702, at which time initial synchronization may be performed. For example, the UE 101 may receive a primary synchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal to achieve initial synchronization. In some aspects, the initial synchronization at operation 702 may be performed using one or more SS blocks received within an SS burst set. At operation 704, the UE 101 may receive system information, such as one or more system information blocks (SIBs) and / or master information blocks (MIBs).

[0155] At operations 706 to 714, a random access procedure may be performed. More specifically, at operation 706, a PRACH preamble transmission may be performed as message 1 (Msg1). At operation 710, UE 101 may receive a random access response (RAR) message, which may be a random access procedure message 2 (Msg2). In Msg2, node (e.g., gNB) 111 may respond with a random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI), which may be calculated from the preamble resources (e.g., time and frequency allocation).

[0156] In some aspects, when a RAR is not received or detected within a preconfigured or predefined time window, the UE 101 may be configured to perform one or more retransmissions of the PRACH preamble at operation 708. The PRACH preamble retransmissions may be performed with power ramping, as described below, whereby the transmit power is increased until a random access response is received.

[0157] At operation 712, UE 101 may send a random access procedure message 3 (Msg3), which may include a radio resource control (RRC) connection request message. At operation 714, a random access procedure message 4 (Msg4) may be received by UE 101, which may include an RRC connection establishment message, carrying a cell radio network temporary identifier (CRNTI) for subsequent communications between UE 101 and node 111.

[0158] In some aspects, UE 101 may be configured to perform uplink (UL) beam switching during retransmission of configuration data such as a PRACH preamble. In some aspects, where the UE has multiple analog beams and beam correspondence between transmission and reception is not available, the UE may need to change the transmit beam for retransmission of PRACH or increase the transmit power of PRACH. In aspects where the UE changes the Tx beam, its power ramp counter may remain unchanged (i.e., the UE uses the same or similar power for PRACH transmission as compared to the previous PRACH transmission). In aspects where the UE does not change the Tx beam, its power ramp counter may increase (e.g., increment by 1), and the UE may be configured to increase power for PRACH retransmissions.

[0159] In aspects where the UE is configured for multi-beam operation, a synchronization signal (SS) may be received from multiple antennas in a base station, wherein the base station may be configured to generate the SS using beam sweeping. In aspects where the UE detects a synchronization signal from a beam, there may be a PRACH resource associated with the beam of the detected synchronization signal. In this regard, the UE may be configured to use the PRACH resource for transmission of a PRACH preamble. Depending on the beam of the detected synchronization signal, the UE may use different PRACH resources for different PRACH sequences.

[0160] Figure 8 is an illustration of a PRACH resource configuration according to some aspects. In some aspects, a base station (e.g., a gNB or node 111) may communicate a synchronization signal burst set 802, which may include multiple synchronization signals (or SS blocks), such as 806, 808, ..., 810. The base station may use multiple synchronization signal blocks (SS blocks) for each downlink transmission beam. In some aspects, for each downlink transmission beam, there may be a PRACH resource subset configured by system information. For example, UE 101 may be configured with a PRACH resource set 804, which may include PRACH resource subsets 812, 814, ..., 816. Each PRACH resource subset may include time and frequency information for conveying PRACH related information such as a PRACH preamble. In some aspects, a one-to-one or many-to-one correlation may exist between the synchronization signal blocks 806, ..., 810 and the PRACH resource subsets 812, ..., 816.

[0161] NR PDCCH (e.g., CORESET)

[0162] In some aspects, the control information carried by the PDCCH may include one or more control resource sets (CORESETs). A PDCCH CORESET represents a time-frequency resource that is configured to a UE for monitoring potential transmissions of a PDCCH carrying DL control information (DCI). In this regard, a CORESET may be defined as a set of resource element groups (REGs) with one or more symbol durations under given digital parameters within which the UE 101 may attempt to decode (e.g., blindly decode) downlink control information (DCI). The UE is configured with PDCCH monitoring opportunities and is expected to monitor the PDCCH in a CORESET associated with a specific PDDCH monitoring opportunity configuration. In the frequency domain, a CORESET may be continuous or non-continuous; while in the time domain, a CORESET may be configured with one or a group of continuous OFDM symbols. In addition, for large carrier bandwidths, the maximum CORESET duration in time may be, for example, 2 symbols, while for narrow carrier bandwidths, the maximum CORESET duration in time may be, for example, 3 symbols. In addition, for NR PDDCH, time-first or frequency-first REG to control channel element (CCE) mapping can be supported.

[0163] Analog Beamforming

[0164] In some aspects, the physical antenna elements of the transmission-reception point (TRP), gNB, and UE may be grouped into antenna subarrays, where the antenna array may include multiple subarrays. In some aspects, the physical antenna elements of the antenna subarray may be virtualized into (one or more) antenna ports using analog beamforming. Analog beamforming may be used to improve the performance of the communication link between the TRP and the UE. The analog beamforming at the TRP and at the UE may be trained by transmitting a series of reference signals with different beamforming. In some aspects, the UE may also train the receive beamforming. The optimal analog beamforming at the UE may depend on the beamforming at the TRP, and vice versa. In some aspects, each subarray may have different analog beamforming, which may be controlled by the antenna weights.

[0165] In some aspects, multiple optimal Tx / Rx beam combinations at the TRP / gNB and UE may be established for possible communications. The optimal Tx beam on one antenna subarray may be reused on another antenna subarray. The optimal Rx beam at the UE may be the same. Reference signals sent on antenna ports with the same beam (using the same or different panels) are quasi-co-located (or QCL) with respect to spatial channel parameters.

[0166] SS Block

[0167] Fig.9A According to some aspects, SS block mapping and SS block pattern for 15kHz subcarrier spacing are illustrated. Fig.9A , the SS block 900 may include a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). In some aspects, various patterns may be defined for transmission of the SS block within a time slot, depending on the subcarrier spacing and carrier frequency employed in the SS block. For example, from Fig.9A As can be seen in Figure 1, two SS blocks can be transmitted in a time slot using a 15kHz subcarrier spacing, but other transmission patterns of SS blocks can also be used. Fig.9A An example SS block signal configuration in the frequency domain is illustrated.

[0168] In some aspects, transmission of SS blocks within an SS burst set may be limited to a 5 millisecond (ms) window, regardless of the SS burst set period. Within the 5 ms window, the number of possible candidate SS block positions may be specified as L, where the maximum number of SS blocks within an SS burst set for different frequency ranges may be as follows: (a) for a frequency range up to 3 GHz, L may be 4; (b) for a frequency range from 3 GHz to 6 GHz, L may be 8; and (c) for a frequency range from 6 GHz to 52.6 GHz, L may be 64.

[0169] Fig. 9B An example SS block transmission according to some aspects is illustrated. Fig. 9B , which illustrates another view of an SS burst set 802 including a plurality of SS blocks 900. Fig. 9B As can be seen in FIG. 1 , the SS burst set may have a period of 904, which is configured by higher layers.

[0170] Fig.10 FIG. 1 illustrates beam assignments for different SS blocks within an SS burst set according to some aspects. Fig.10, which illustrates a communication sequence 1000 between a gNB 128 and a UE 102. More specifically, the gNB 128 may transmit different SS blocks from a SS burst set 1010 using corresponding different beams 1002, 1004, 1006, and 1008. In this regard, by transmitting different SS blocks using different beams, Tx beamforming for each individual SS block transmitted by the gNB may be supported for the UE 102. Upon detecting a particular SS block, the UE 102 may obtain TX / RX beam information, which may be used for transmission of other physical channels and reference signals.

[0171] Reference signal (e.g., CSI-RS)

[0172] The Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) is a reference signal that is received by the UE and used for beam management and CSI acquisition for generating, for example, channel quality information (CQI) for communication to the gNB. In some aspects, the CSI-RS, as well as other reference signals, may collide with one or more SS blocks, which may result in the CSI-RS transmission being dropped. Techniques disclosed herein may be used to manage collisions associated with reference signals.

[0173] In some aspects, NR time-frequency resources may be divided (or configured) in a diverse manner. For example, in an NR communication system, the network configuration (or definition) of component carrier (CC) bandwidth, operating frequency range, bandwidth part (BWP), etc. may be different for different user equipments (UEs). In addition, the numerical parameters used in different BWPs for the same UE or for different UEs may also be different. As a result, the time-frequency resource division in NR may be non-uniform between different frequency bands (in frequency) or samples (in time).

[0174] The techniques disclosed herein can be used to design downlink reference signals (RS), such as CSI-RS, that are compatible with diversified system time-frequency resource partitioning (heterogeneous or non-uniform). More specifically, the techniques disclosed herein can utilize the nested properties of pseudo-noise (PN) sequences, i.e., PN sequences can be designed / generated so that their subsets are also PN sequences. In addition to other means of achieving orthogonality such as frequency division multiplexing (FDM), time division multiplexing (TDM), subsampling in time and / or frequency, this can also be further used to design downlink reference signals that can be used in conjunction with a variety of UE configurations. Even though the techniques disclosed herein are discussed with reference to CSI-RS as an example downlink RS, other types of downlink RSs may also use similar PN sequences.

[0175] In an NR communication system, there may be multiple units that divide the total system bandwidth, including the following:

[0176] (1) Component carrier: In some aspects, a component carrier may be configured for a specific UE and may be different for different UEs depending on UE capabilities;

[0177] (2) Frequency range: In some aspects, the frequency range may be a UE-specific configured operating bandwidth and may be a subset of a component carrier; and

[0178] (3) Bandwidth part: In some aspects, a UE may be configured with one or more active frequency regions referred to as bandwidth parts (BWPs). Each BWP may have different digital parameters, namely, subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix value.

[0179] Based on the above resource partitioning definition, a non-uniform time-frequency grid can be used in the NR communication system at a given time. Fig.11 , while the multi-UE example is shown in Fig.12 Shown in.

[0180] Fig.11 Illustrated is a non-uniform time-frequency grid partitioning for a single UE according to some aspects. Fig.11 , wherein a component carrier 1100 of a first UE, UE1, is illustrated. The time-frequency resources of the component carrier may span a certain number of OFDM symbols indicated as 1102. Fig.11The time-frequency resources shown in FIG. 1 may include a first BWP 1104 having a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz, and a second BWP 1106 having a subcarrier spacing of 30 kHz. Both BWPs 1104 and 1106 may be associated with the same UE, UE1.

[0181] Fig.12 Illustrated is a non-uniform time-frequency grid partitioning for multiple UEs according to some aspects. Fig.12 , wherein a component carrier 1200 of a first UE, UE1, is illustrated. The time-frequency resources of the component carrier may span a certain number of OFDM symbols indicated as 1206. Fig.11 The time-frequency resources shown in FIG. 1 may include a first BWP 1202 for a second UE (UE2) with a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz, and a second BWP 1204 for a third UE (UE3) with a subcarrier spacing of 30 kHz. Both BWPs 1104 and 1106 may be associated with the same UE, UE1.

[0182] In some aspects, the following RS design options compatible with this non-uniform diverse time-frequency gridding can be used in NR medical systems:

[0183] Option 1. In some aspects, the RS may be based on a subsampled mother PN sequence. For example, a common "mother" PN sequence may be used, which may be gNB / TRP / cell specific. The common PN sequence may be configured to use a small subcarrier spacing granularity (e.g., 15KHz) for that gNB / TRP / cell. If at any time a portion of the system bandwidth is scheduled to one or more UEs using a wider subcarrier spacing digital parameter (e.g., 60KHz), such UEs may be configured to utilize a subsampled (e.g., by 4) common PN sequence, as per the digital parameter used. This technique may be used due to the fact that in NR, the subcarrier spacing defined in different digital parameters are integer multiples of each other (e.g., 15kHz, 30kHz, 60kHz, etc.).

[0184] Option 2. In some aspects, different PN sequences may be used for different digital parameters. More specifically, RSs based on multiple PN sequences may be used, one for each segment of the system bandwidth using common digital parameters. The PN sequence used may be notified (or configured) to UEs scheduled on each segment. In some aspects, this option may be applied to RSs generated via methods that do not use PN sequences.

[0185] Option 3. Time division multiplexing of RS transmissions of different digital parameters. In some aspects, RS transmissions of different digital parameters can be configured so that they do not overlap in time, i.e., TDM. For each digital parameter, a different PN sequence can be designed for the complete system bandwidth. UEs using different digital parameters can be configured on different subframes for RS reception. In some aspects, this option can be applied to RS generated via a method that does not use a PN sequence.

[0186] Option 4. In some aspects, RS design may utilize a combination of the above three options.

[0187] The technology disclosed in this article for RS generation may be based on one or more of the following: the system time-bandwidth resources are divided into heterogeneous hybrid digital parameter components; (one or more) different time domain symbols may use (or configure) different digital parameters; different frequency domain areas referred to as BWP or frequency range or component carrier may use (or configure) different digital parameters; the downlink reference signals used for different digital parameter symbols may be different; the downlink reference signal is generated using a PN sequence; the downlink reference signal is generated using methods other than the PN sequence; the downlink reference signal for different digital parameter symbols is derived from a common mother PN sequence; the downlink reference signal for different digital parameter symbols is derived using truncation and / or subsampling of the mother sequence; the downlink reference signal for different digital parameter symbols is different; the downlink reference signal is generated using a PN sequence; the downlink reference signal is generated using methods other than the PN sequence; the downlink reference signal for different digital parameter symbols is derived from a common mother PN sequence; the downlink reference signal for different digital parameter symbols is derived using truncation and / or subsampling of the mother sequence; the DL RS is designed to be compatible with hybrid digital parameter resource partitioning.

[0188] In some aspects, CSI-RS and SS block transmissions may be configured with the following features: an indication of the energy per resource element (EPRE) ratio between the CSI-RS and SS block REs to enable joint reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement using two reference signals; and multiplexing of the CSI-RS and SS blocks on the same OFDM symbol, where the SS block punctures a portion of the CSI-RS signal on overlapping PRBs.

[0189] In some aspects, multiple beams may be utilized to transmit SS blocks. However, the bandwidth of the SS blocks may be limited to a small number of PRBs. As a result, physical layer measurement accuracy, such as RSRP, may be reduced due to the lack of observations in the frequency domain. In order to improve RSRP measurement accuracy on SS blocks, CSI-RS-based extensions may be considered, where the same beam may be used to transmit SS blocks and CSI-RS. The CSI-RS configuration in this case may include associated SS blocks. The configuration of the CSI-RS may also include an energy per resource element (EPRE) ratio between the CSI-RS and SS block signals.

[0190] In some aspects, in order to minimize reference signal overhead, the CSI-RS signal can be multiplexed with the SS block signal on the same OFDM symbol. When multiplexing of CSI-RS and SS blocks is performed on the same OFDM symbol, the signal of the SS block punctures a portion of the CSI-RS on the overlapping PRBs.

[0191] Fig.13 , Fig.14 and Fig.15 Illustrated is the multiplexing of SS blocks and reference signals according to some aspects. Fig.13 , which illustrates a time slot 1300, wherein an SS block 1302 and a CSI-RS 1304 are transmitted within the time slot 1300. Fig.13 In the aspect shown, the UE may assume that CSI-RS 1304 is not transmitted on PRBs not occupied by SS blocks 1302 on all OFDM symbols within slot 1300 .

[0192] refer to Fig.14 , which illustrates a time slot 1400, wherein an SS block 1402 and a CSI-RS 1404 are transmitted within the time slot 1400. Fig.14 In the aspect shown, the UE may assume that CSI-RS 1304 is not transmitted on a PRB not occupied by SS block 1402 on the current OFDM symbol used for CSI-RS transmission.

[0193] refer to Fig.15 , which illustrates a time slot 1500, wherein an SS block 1502 and a CSI-RS 1504 are transmitted within the time slot 1500. Fig.15 In the illustrated aspect, the UE is configured with PRBs for CSI-RS transmission on a subframe corresponding to SS block 1502. In some aspects, the configuration of CSI-RS transmission timing may support a transmission periodicity of CSI-RS according to a transmission periodicity of an SS block.

[0194] The techniques disclosed herein for configuring and managing CSI-RS signals and conflicts involving reference signals may include one or more of the following: CSI-RS and SS blocks may be transmitted using the same beam; the power ratio between the CSI-RS and SS block signals may also be indicated to the UE; the received signal power may be calculated using both the CSI-RS and the associated SS block based on the configuration and the reference signal power ratio; measurements based on the CSI-RS and / or SS blocks may be reported to the serving transmission point; CSI-RS transmission and SS block transmission may be on the same OFDM symbol; the PRBs used by the CSI-RS are non-overlapping with the PRBs of the SS block; the non-overlapping PRBs are determined using the current OFDM symbol; the non-overlapping PRBs may be determined using all OFDM symbols of the SS block; the non-overlapping PRBs may be configured to the UE by the serving TRP; the antenna ports associated with the SS block and CSI-RS transmission may be assumed to be quasi-colocated with respect to one or more spatial parameters; and the configuration of the CSI-RS may support an indication that the time slot used for the CSI-RS transmission is the same as the time slot used for the associated SS block.

[0195] Demodulation Reference Signal (DM-RS)

[0196] PDSCH DM-RS is used to assist UE in channel estimation for demodulation of data channels (e.g., PDSCH). In NR communication systems, variable / configurable DM-RS patterns for data demodulation are supported for slot-based and non-slot-based transmissions of 2 / 4 / 7 symbol durations.

[0197] DM-RS mapping type A (or DM-RS for slot-based transmission) supports frontloaded DM-RS, which starts at the 3rd or 4th OFDM symbol of the slot. DM-RS mapping type B (or DM-RS for 2 / 4 / 7 non-slot-based transmission) supports frontloaded DM-RS, which starts at the first OFDM symbol of the scheduled PDSCH. The frontloaded DMRS can be mapped on 1 or 2 adjacent OFDM symbols. Additional DM-RS can be configured for the later part of the slot. At least for the slot, the position of the frontloaded DL DM-RS can be fixed, regardless of the first symbol position of the PDSCH. For both type A (i.e., slot-based) and for type B (i.e., 2 / 4 / 7 symbol non-slot-based DM-RS), in Fig.16 An example of front-loaded DM-RS is illustrated in FIG.

[0198] Fig.16 FIG. 1 illustrates a front-loaded DM-RS structure according to some aspects. Fig.16 , where a time slot 1600A with a front-loaded DM-RS 1602 of mapping type A is illustrated. Fig.16Also illustrated are slots 1600B, 1600C, and 1600D having DM-RS mapping type B for slot durations of seven, four, and two symbols, respectively.

[0199] In some aspects, the PDSCH DM-RS may overlap with a CORESET containing the PDCCH or with "reserved resources", which may correspond to a set of resources that may be semi-statically or dynamically configured and indicated for rate matching of the PDSCH. In this case, the PDSCH DM-RS may be shifted based on one or more of the techniques disclosed herein. This shifting of the DM-RS may cause the PDSCH DM-RS to deviate from its "front-load" characteristics, thereby affecting the UE processing timeline. If the PDCCH CORESET includes the scheduling DCI itself, the impact on the UE processing timeline is further increased because the UE may need to first decode the PDCCH in order to obtain information about the details of the DM-RS configuration.

[0200] In some aspects, the techniques disclosed herein may be used to avoid collisions between PDSCH DM-RS and overlapping CORESETs or overlapping resource sets configured for rate matching based on, for example, shifting of PDSCH DM-RS and / or PDSCH puncturing or rate matching. These techniques may include rules based on PDSCH duration and number of overlapping symbols. In addition, possible adjustments to the definition of minimum UE processing time are also described.

[0201] In some aspects, for both DM-RS mapping type A and type B cases, the techniques disclosed herein may assume that overlap with the PDCCH CORESET and the resource set configured / indicated for rate matching is handled in the same manner. Alternatively, it may be specified that for the latter case of overlap with the rate matching resource set, the UE may still assume that the PDSCH DM-RS is transmitted and only the PDSCH REs are rate matched around such overlapping resource sets. Therefore, aspects of the present disclosure apply at least to handling the case of overlap with the PDCCH CORESET, but the aspects disclosed herein are not limited to this scenario. In addition, for simplicity, the aspects disclosed herein use an example overlap with the PDCCH CORESET, but the present disclosure should not be interpreted as limited to this particular use case.

[0202] DM-RS mapping type A

[0203] For DM-RS mapping type A, in case of overlap with the PDCCH CORESET or resource set configured / indicated for rate matching, the PDSCH DM-RS may be shifted to the first available PDSCH symbol that is not affected by the overlap. According to some aspects, Fig.17 , Fig.18 and Fig.19 The following three options shown in can be used to shift the DM-RS.

[0204] Fig.17 FIG. 4 illustrates conflict handling for CORESET and DM-RS according to some aspects. Fig.17 In the first option (Option 1) shown, the DM-RS symbol(s) are shifted to OFDM symbols that are not affected by the overlap. Fig.17 , where a time slot 1700 is illustrated with a CORESET 1702 that is transmitted starting from the fourth symbol. In this case, the front-loaded DM-RS 1704 of type A mapping may be shifted to the first available OFDM symbol after the CORESET 1702 that is not affected by overlap. Fig.17 In the example, it is the seventh symbol.

[0205] Fig.18 FIG. 4 illustrates conflict handling for CORESET and DM-RS according to some aspects. Fig.18 In the second option (Option 2) shown, the UE may assume that the DM-RS symbol is shifted to the first OFDM symbol in the slot that is not affected by overlap only for the PRB carrying the PDCCH CORESET. For other PRBs, the UE may assume the same DM-RS symbol position. Fig.18 , where a time slot 1800 is illustrated with a CORESET 1802 being transmitted starting from the fourth symbol. DM-RS 1804A in a PRB not affected by the CORESET transmission may be transmitted at its intended starting symbol, i.e., the third or fourth symbol. DM-RS 1804B transmitted in a PRB affected by the CORESET transmission may be shifted to the first available OFDM symbol and Fig.18 In the specific example, it can start at symbol #7.

[0206] Fig.19 FIG. 4 illustrates conflict handling for CORESET and DM-RS according to some aspects. Fig.19 In the third option (option 3) shown, the UE may assume that the DM-RS symbols are punctured for the PRB carrying the PDCCH CORESET, and for the PRB carrying the CORESET, the PDSCH in the symbols after the CORESET symbol is also punctured. Here, the "puncturing" operation means that the PDSCH is assumed to be mapped to these affected resource elements but is not actually used for transmission. For other PRBs, the UE may assume the same DM-RS symbol position. Reference Fig.19, which illustrates a time slot 1900 with a CORESET 1902 within the start transmission at symbol number four. DM-RS 1904 may be transmitted at the same symbol number four, since the DM-RS PRB is not affected by the CORESET transmission. However, the PDSCH data 1906 after the CORESET transmission may be dropped / punctured (i.e., for PRBs with a PDCCH CORESET that may collide with the DM-RS, the DM-RS to the UE is punctured).

[0207] In some aspects, when the pre-carried DM-RS occupies 2 OFDM symbols, both OFDM symbols may be shifted to a later portion of the slot or punctured according to the three options above.

[0208] In some aspects, the DM-RS pattern may use repetition of DM-RS symbols in a later portion of a slot or PDSCH duration (e.g., additional DMRS for a 7-symbol PDSCH with mapping type B). In some cases, overlap of such later-appearing DM-RS with a PDCCH CORESET or resource set for rate matching may occur. In this case, in one aspect, the above options or a combination thereof may be applied sequentially by first shifting the first or first two DM-RS symbols to the first available OFDM symbol(s) that are not affected by any overlap, and then shifting the repetition of the DM-RS symbols to symbol(s) that are neither affected by any overlap nor conflicting with the newly positioned first set of one or more DMRS symbols. In aspects where there are no available DM-RS symbols within the indicated PDSCH duration, the UE may assume that the additional DM-RS symbol(s) are discarded.

[0209] In some aspects, shifting (one or more) DM-RS symbols to later symbols can be expected to affect the UE processing timeline, specifically affecting the pipeline operation between the channel estimation, demodulation and decoding steps for PDSCH reception. Thus, in order to address this potential processing impact, in one aspect, for UE processing capabilities 1 and 2, the minimum UE processing time (which can be indicated as a parameter N1 or N1+d) from the end of PDSCH reception to the start of the corresponding hybrid automatic repeat request confirmation (HARQ-ACK) transmission can be increased (i.e., the relaxation processing time). Therefore, the minimum UE processing time can be defined as N1_DMRSshifted=N1+n1_DMRSshift, where n1_DMRSshift is either fixed in the wireless specification (e.g., 1 symbol) or a function of the number of OFDM symbols to which the front-loaded DMRS is shifted. For example, n1_DMRSshift can be equal to the number of OFDM symbols to which the front-loaded PDSCH DMRS is shifted to later symbols.

[0210] In another aspect, if the PDSCH front-loaded DM-RS is shifted by one or two symbols, n1_DMRSshift=0, and if the PDSCH front-loaded DM-RS is shifted by more than two symbols, n1_DMRSshift is greater than zero.

[0211] In another aspect, if the PDSCH front-loaded DMRS shift is by one symbol, then n1_DMRSshift=0, and if the PDSCH front-loaded DM-RS shift is by more than one symbol, then n1_DMRSshift is greater than zero.

[0212] In one aspect, the above relaxation of the minimum UE processing time may be applied to two UE processing capabilities, capability 1 and capability 2 (these capabilities may be defined in one or more 3GPP specifications). In another aspect, the relaxation of the minimum UE processing time may be limited to UE processing time capability 2 (i.e., the "aggressive" UE processing time capability). In some aspects, the above techniques may be applied only to UE processing capability 2, i.e., only to the more aggressive UE capabilities, which are currently only defined for subcarrier spacing (SCS) values ​​of 15 kHz and 30 kHz. In some aspects, the relaxation of the minimum UE processing time may be applied only if the frontloaded DMRS is shifted, while no relaxation is defined if only the additional DMRS symbols are shifted.

[0213] DM-RS mapping type B

[0214] In some aspects, shifting of DM-RS mapping type B with 2 / 4 / 7 symbol non-slot based transmission may be supported. Collision handling in this case may be based on the PDSCH duration and the number of overlapping symbols within the PDSCH duration.

[0215] 2 Symbols are not transmitted based on time slots

[0216] Fig. 20 DM-RS structures for two-symbol non-slot-based transmissions with CORESETs of different lengths are illustrated in accordance with some aspects. Fig. 20 , which illustrates a two-symbol time slot 2000A, which may include the transmission of two symbols CORESET 2002 and one symbol DM-RS 2004. Fig. 20 Also illustrated is a two-symbol slot 2000B, which includes the transmission of a one-symbol CORESET 2006 and a one-symbol DM-RS 2008 .

[0217] For 2-symbol non-slot-based transmission, if the overlap duration is 2 symbols, then in one aspect, the DM-RS may be punctured in the PRB containing the PDCCH CORESET, such as Fig. 20 (time slot 2000A). The associated PDSCH in these PRBs can either be assumed to be punctured (ie, it is assumed that the PDSCH is mapped to these resource elements (RE) but not actually transmitted) or rate matched (ie, it is assumed that the PDSCH is not mapped to these REs).

[0218] In some aspects, when the overlap is limited to 1 symbol, as an alternative to shifting the DM-RS symbols, for the PRB containing the PDCCH CORESET, the DM-RS and PDSCH are punctured, and the PDSCH is assumed not to be transmitted (punctured / dropped), but is mapped to REs in the 2nd OFDM symbol on the PRB corresponding to the CORESET transmission, as shown in Fig. 20 (time slot 2000B and dropped PDSCH 2010). Alternatively, the PDSCH may be assumed to be rate matched around the PRBs in the affected symbols.

[0219] Compared to the above, if option 1 or 2 (as given in the context of PDSCH with DMRS mapping type A) is used and the PDSCH DM-RS is shifted to the second symbol of a 2-symbol PDSCH for all PRBs or only for affected PRBs, then in one aspect, the minimum UE processing time N1 can be relaxed to (N1+n1_DMRSshift), where in one example n1_DMRSshift=1 symbol or a function of the shift amount (1 symbol in this case). This technique can be applied to both UE processing capabilities.

[0220] In some aspects, the relaxation of the minimum UE processing time may be limited to a UE processing time capability of 2 (ie, an "aggressive" UE processing time capability).

[0221] 4-symbol non-slot-based transmission

[0222] Fig.21 DM-RS structures for four-symbol non-slot-based transmissions with CORESETs of different lengths are illustrated in accordance with some aspects. Fig.21 , where a 4-symbol slot 2100A is illustrated, which may include transmissions for a CORESET 2102 (3 symbols) and a one-symbol DM-RS 2104. The PDSCH 2106 transmitted after the process at 2102 and on the PRB used for CORESET transmissions may be discarded. Fig.21Also illustrated is a 4-symbol slot 2100B that includes a 2-symbol CORESET 2108 and the transmission of a one-symbol DM-RS 2110 shifted to the first available symbol after the transmission of the CORESET. Fig.21 Also illustrated is a 4-symbol slot 2100C that includes transmission of a 1-symbol CORESET 2112 and a 1-symbol DM-RS 2114 shifted to the first available symbol after the transmission of the CORESET.

[0223] Regarding 4-symbol non-slot-based transmissions, if the overlap duration is 3 symbols, then as an alternative to DM-RS shifting, in one aspect, for the PRB containing the PDCCH CORESET, the DM-RS and PDSCH are punctured and in the PRB corresponding to the transmission of the PDCCH CORESET, the PDSCH on the last OFDM symbol of the slot is dropped (as seen in slot 2100A).

[0224] In aspects where the overlap duration is 2 symbols and 1 symbol respectively, the DM-RS for the entire transmission (all PRBs) may be shifted to the first OFDM symbol that is not affected by the overlap (i.e., does not contain the PDCCH CORESET in this example), as shown in Fig.21 In some aspects, this approach may also be applied to the case of 3-symbol overlap, where the DM-RS may be shifted to the last symbol of the PDSCH.

[0225] In aspects with PDSCH DM-RS shift, the minimum UE processing time may be relaxed to (N1+n1_DMRSshift), where n1_DMRSshift=1 symbol in one example, or n1_DMRSshift is defined as a function of the shift amount (1, 2 or 3 symbols in this case).

[0226] As a specific example, if the PDSCH DM-RS shift is by one or two symbols, n1_DMRSshift=0, and if the PDSCH DM-RS shift is by more than 2 symbols, n1_DMRSshift is equal to 1 symbol. Alternatively, if the PDSCH DM-RS shift is by one symbol, n1_DMRSshift=0, and if the PDSCH DM-RS shift is by more than one symbol, n1_DMRSshift is equal to 1 symbol. In some aspects, the above-mentioned relaxation of the minimum UE processing time N1 can be applied to two UE processing capabilities. In addition, in some aspects, the relaxation of the minimum UE processing time can be limited to UE processing time capability 2 (i.e., "aggressive" UE processing time capability).

[0227] 7 Symbols are not transmitted based on time slots

[0228] Fig. 22 DM-RS structures for seven-symbol non-slot-based transmissions with CORESETs of different lengths are illustrated in accordance with some aspects. Fig. 22 , which illustrates a 7-symbol time slot 2200A, which may include a CORESET 2202 (3 symbols) and a transmission of a one-symbol DM-RS 2204 at the first available symbol after the CORESET transmission. Fig. 22 Also illustrated is a 7-symbol slot 2200B that includes the transmission of a 2-symbol CORESET 2206 and a one-symbol DM-RS 2208 shifted to the first available symbol after the transmission of the CORESET. Fig. 22 Also illustrated is a 7-symbol slot 2200C that includes a 1-symbol CORESET 2210 and the transmission of a 1-symbol DM-RS 2212 shifted to the first available symbol after the transmission of the CORESET.

[0229] For 7-symbol non-slot-based transmissions, the collision between PDCCH CORESET and PDSCH can be handled, for example, by shifting the entire DM-RS to the first OFDM symbol that does not contain the PDCCH CORESET for CORESET lengths of 3, 2, and 1 symbols, such as Fig. 22 as shown in .

[0230] In aspects involving PDSCH DM-RS shift, in one example, the minimum UE processing time may be relaxed to (N1+n1_DMRSshift), where n1_DMRSshift=1 symbol, or n1_DMRSshift is defined as a function of the shift amount (in this case 1, 2 or 3 symbols).

[0231] In one aspect, if the PDSCH DM-RS shift is by one or two symbols, n1_DMRSshift=0, and if the PDSCH DM-RS shift is by more than 2 symbols, n1_DMRSshift is equal to 1 symbol. Alternatively, if the PDSCH DM-RS shift is by one symbol, n1_DMRSshift=0, and if the PDSCH DM-RS shift is by more than one symbol, n1_DMRSshift is equal to 1 symbol.

[0232] In some aspects, the relaxation of the minimum UE processing time described above may be applied to both UE processing capabilities.In some aspects, the relaxation of the minimum UE processing time may be limited to UE processing time capability 2 (ie, the "aggressive" UE processing time capability).

[0233] In some aspects, the PDCCH and the scheduled PDSCH may be overlapped in the time domain and may be multiplexed in the frequency domain such that in any allocated symbol of the PDSCH, on any scheduled PRB of the PDSCH, there is no overlap between the PDCCH and the PDSCH, such as Fig.23 as shown in .

[0234] Fig.23 Illustrated is a PDCCH and a PDSCH overlapped in the time domain and multiplexed in the frequency domain without shifting of the PDSCH DM-RS according to some aspects. Fig.23 , which illustrates a transmission 2300 that may include a scheduling PDCCH 2302 and a frequency domain multiplexed PDSCH 2304. The PDSCH 2304 may include a DM-RS 2306 that is transmitted in the first symbol of a time slot and frequency multiplexed with the PDCCH 2302.

[0235] exist Fig.23 In the aspect shown, the PDSCH DM-RS does not need to be shifted to the later symbols of the PDSCH. However, even if the DM-RS is still in the first symbol of the PDSCH, the UE may not start performing channel estimation until the scheduling DCI is decoded. To address this constraint on UE processing, in one aspect, if the scheduled PDCCH ends at d symbols after the first PDSCH symbol of PDSCH type B with 2-symbol, 4-symbol, or 7-symbol duration, the minimum UE processing time N1 can be increased by d symbols.

[0236] Considering that the 7-symbol PDSCH already provides some time budget for the UE to "catch up" the delay initially incurred, this relaxation may not be necessary for the 7-symbol PDSCH with mapping type B, but only applied to 2-symbol or 4-symbol duration PDSCH. In another aspect, this relaxation is only defined for PDSCH type B with 2-symbol duration.

[0237] In some aspects, for the UE minimum processing time, any of the above relaxations may be specified for both capabilities 1 and 2 ("baseline" and "aggressive" values). Alternatively, any of the above relaxation techniques may be specified for capability 2 only for the UE minimum processing time. Applicability of the relaxations to different PDSCH durations (2, 4, 7 symbols) and other combinations between the two capabilities may be feasible. In some aspects, the minimum UE processing time is determined with respect to a DM-RS that is shifted by zero (i.e., not shifted and transmitted at a predefined or predetermined symbol position within a slot) or more than zero symbols within a slot.

[0238] Fig.24The relative positions of a 4-symbol PDSCH with mapping type B are illustrated in accordance with some aspects. Fig.24 , which illustrates a time slot 2400A including a frequency domain multiplexed (FDM) PDCCH 2402A and a 4-slot PDSCH 2404A. The PDSCH 2404A includes a DM-RS 2406A transmitted in the first symbol of the time slot 2400A and frequency multiplexed with the PDCCH 2402A and the first and second symbols of the time slot.

[0239] refer to Fig.24 , which also illustrates a time slot 2400B that includes a time domain multiplexed (TDM) PDCCH 2402B and a 4-slot PDSCH 2404B. The PDSCH 2404B includes a DM-RS 2406B transmitted in the first available symbol after the transmission of the PDCCH 2402B.

[0240] In some aspects, for example Fig.24 For PDSCH mapping type B with 4-symbol duration as shown in , the N1 value of capability #1 may be increased by 3 symbols, regardless of the relative position of the start of the scheduling PDCCH and the scheduled PDSCH. In this regard, Fig.24 Both slot transmission types shown in will correspond to the same minimum UE processing time given by (N1+3) symbols. In some aspects, N1 may be predefined (example N1 values ​​are listed in Table 5.3-1 of 3GPP TS 38.214_v15.0).

[0241] Fig.25 FIG. 4 illustrates the relative positions of a 2-symbol PDSCH with mapping type B according to some aspects. Fig.25 , which illustrates a time slot 2500A including a frequency domain multiplexed (FDM) PDCCH 2502A and a 2-slot PDSCH 2504A. The PDSCH 2504A includes a DM-RS 2506A transmitted in the first symbol of the time slot 2500A and frequency multiplexed with the PDCCH 2502A and the first and second symbols of the time slot.

[0242] refer to Fig.25 , which also illustrates a time slot 2500B that includes a time domain multiplexed (TDM) PDCCH 2502B and a 2-slot PDSCH 2504B. The PDSCH 2504B includes a DM-RS 2506B transmitted in the first available symbol after the transmission of the PDCCH 2502B.

[0243] In some aspects, other forms of time slot 2500B are possible where there are additional symbol gaps between the end of the PDCCH and the start of the PDSCH, but it is sufficient to consider the scenario in time slot 2500B in the context of UE minimum processing time.

[0244] Compare Fig.24 and Fig.25 In the scenario in FIG. 1 , it can be noted that from the perspective of the minimum UE processing time definition for PDSCH processing and HARQ-ACK feedback generation, a UE that can handle the slot 2400A case with a processing time of N1=X symbols can also handle the slot 2500B case, because the N1 duration starts at the end of the scheduled PDSCH. Therefore, the same processing time as for the 4-symbol PDSCH with mapping type B can be applied to this case.

[0245] However, the time slot 2500A case may be more challenging because the UE may not know the PDSCH start symbol until the scheduling PDCCH is decoded, and thus may not be able to start the channel estimation and demodulation process until then. On the other hand, the N1 time reference may be at the end of the scheduled PDSCH, effectively reducing the available processing time by two symbols. Therefore, for the time slot 2500A case, two additional symbols may be added to the N1 value corresponding to the time slot 2500B case.

[0246] The slot 2400A case can be generalized to have an overlap of d = {1, 2} symbols between PDCCH and PDSCH, and thus in one aspect, for baseline (capability 1) UE processing time, for PDSCH mapping type B with 2-symbol duration, the minimum UE processing time is defined as follows:

[0247] (1) N1+3 symbols when there is no time domain overlap between the scheduling PDCCH and the scheduled PDSCH; and

[0248] (2) N1+3+d symbols, when there is a time domain overlap of "d" symbols between the scheduling PDCCH and the scheduled PDSCH. In the above two techniques, N1 may be given by the corresponding values ​​from Table 5.3-1 of 3GPP TS 38.214 v15.0. In some aspects, the above techniques may also be applied to capability #2 UE processing time.

[0249] Fig.26 A flowchart generally illustrates example functions that may be performed in a 5G wireless architecture with respect to signal collision avoidance in accordance with some aspects. Fig.26, the example method 2600 may begin at operation 2601, when the processing circuit system of the UE (e.g., 102) may decode control information of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) received via resources within a control resource set (CORESET) occupying a subset of multiple orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols within a time slot. At least one of the symbols in the subset may coincide with a predefined symbol position associated with a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). The predefined symbol position may be the 3rd or 4th symbol for DM-RS mapping type A, or the first symbol for DM-RS mapping type B. At operation 2604, a DM-RS is detected within the time slot, the DM-RS starting at a symbol position shifted from the predefined symbol position and after the subset of symbols. For example, the DM-RS may be shifted based on one or more of the aforementioned figures discussed herein. At operation 2606, downlink data scheduled by the PDCCH and received via the PDSCH may be decoded, the decoding being based on the detected DM-RS. At operation 2608, control information including a parameter indicating a minimum UE processing time according to the end of reception of downlink data and the start of corresponding hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) transmission may be decoded. At operation 2610, after the end of reception of downlink data, based on the minimum UE processing time, a HARQ-ACK may be generated.

[0250] Fig. 27 A block diagram of a communication device such as an evolved Node B (eNB), a new generation Node B (gNB), an access point (AP), a wireless station (STA), a mobile station (MS), or a user equipment (UE) according to some aspects is illustrated. In alternative aspects, the communication device 2700 can operate as a standalone device or can be connected (e.g., networked) to other communication devices.

[0251] A circuit system (e.g., processing circuit system) is a collection of circuits implemented in a tangible entity of device 2700 including hardware (e.g., simple circuits, gates, logic, etc.). The circuit system component members can be flexible over time. The circuit system includes components that can perform specified operations individually or in combination when operated. In one example, the hardware of the circuit system can be permanently designed to perform specific operations (e.g., hard-wired). In one example, the hardware of the circuit system can include variably connected physical components (e.g., execution units, transistors, simple circuits, etc.), including machine-readable media that are physically modified (e.g., magnetic modification, electrical modification, movable placement of invariant aggregate particles, etc.) to encode instructions for specific operations.

[0252] When connecting physical components, the underlying electrical properties of the hardware components are changed, such as from an insulator to a conductor, or vice versa. Instructions enable embedded hardware (e.g., an execution unit or a loading mechanism) to create components of a circuit system via variable connections with hardware when operating to perform some parts of a specific operation. Therefore, in one example, a machine-readable medium element is a part of a circuit system or is communicatively coupled to other components of a circuit when the device is operating. In one example, any physical component can be used in more than one component of more than one circuit system. For example, in operation, an execution unit can be used in a first circuit of a first circuit system at one point in time, and reused by a second circuit in the first circuit system or by a third circuit in the second circuit system at a different time. Additional examples of these components of device 2700 are as follows.

[0253] In some aspects, the device 2700 may be operated as an independent device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other devices. In a networked deployment, the communication device 2700 may be operated as a server communication device, a client communication device, or both in a server-client network environment. In an example, the communication device 2700 may act as a peer communication device in a peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. The communication device 2700 may be a UE, an eNB, a PC, a tablet PC, a STB, a PDA, a mobile phone, a smart phone, a web appliance, a network router, a switch or a bridge or any of the following communication devices, which can execute instructions (sequential or otherwise) specifying the actions to be taken by the communication device. In addition, although only a single communication device is illustrated, the term "communication device" should also be adopted to include any of the following communication device collections, which individually or jointly execute an instruction set (or multiple instruction sets) to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS) or other computer cluster configurations.

[0254] Examples as described herein may include logic or several components, modules or mechanisms or may operate on logic or several components, modules or mechanisms. A module is a tangible entity (e.g., hardware) that can perform specified operations and can be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In one example, a circuit may be arranged as a module in a specified manner (e.g., internally or with respect to an external entity, such as other circuits). In one example, all or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., stand-alone, client or server computer systems) or one or more hardware processors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g., instructions, application parts or applications) to operate to perform a specified operation. In one example, the software may reside on a communication device readable medium. In one example, the software causes the hardware to perform a specified operation when executed by the underlying hardware of the module.

[0255] Thus, the term "module" is understood to encompass a tangible entity that is physically constructed, specifically configured (e.g., hardwired) or temporarily (e.g., transient) configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or to perform part or all of any of the operations described herein. Considering the example of temporarily configured modules, it is not necessary to instantiate each module at any one time. For example, where a module includes a general-purpose hardware processor configured using software, the general-purpose hardware processor may be configured as various different modules at different times. The software may accordingly configure the hardware processor to, for example, constitute a particular module at one time and constitute a different module at a different time.

[0256] The communication device (e.g., UE) 2700 may include a hardware processor 2702 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination of these), a main memory 2704, a static memory 2706, and a mass storage 2707 (e.g., a hard drive, a tape drive, flash memory, or other block or storage device), some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interconnection link (e.g., a bus) 2708.

[0257] The communication device 2700 may also include a display device 2710, an alphanumeric input device 2712 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 2714 (e.g., a mouse). In one example, the display device 2710, the input device 2712, and the UI navigation device 2714 may be a touch screen display. The communication device 2700 may also include a signal generating device 2718 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 2720, and one or more sensors 2721, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or other sensors. The communication device 2700 may include an output controller 2728, such as a serial (e.g., a universal serial bus (USB)), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate with one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, a card reader, etc.) or control one or more peripheral devices.

[0258] The storage device 2707 may include a communication device-readable medium 2722 on which is stored one or more data structure sets or instruction sets 2724 (e.g., software) that implement any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein or are utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. In some aspects, registers of the processor 2702, the main memory 2704, the static memory 2706, and / or the mass storage 2707 may be or may include (completely or at least partially) a device-readable medium 2722 on which is stored one or more data structure sets or instruction sets 2724 that implement any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein or are utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. In an example, one or any combination of the hardware processor 2702, the main memory 2704, the static memory 2706, or the mass storage 2716 may constitute the device-readable medium 2722.

[0259] As used herein, the term "device readable medium" is interchangeable with "computer readable medium" or "machine readable medium." Although the communication device readable medium 2722 is illustrated as a single medium, the term "communication device readable medium" may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and / or associated caches and servers) configured to store one or more instructions 2724.

[0260] The term "communication device readable medium" may include any medium capable of storing, encoding or carrying instructions (e.g., instructions 2724) for execution by the communication device 2700 and causing the communication device 2700 to perform any one or more techniques of the present disclosure, or any medium capable of storing, encoding or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting communication device readable medium examples may include solid-state memory, as well as optical and magnetic media. Specific examples of communication device readable media may include: non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; random access memory (RAM); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. In some examples, the communication device readable medium may include non-transient communication device readable media. In some examples, the communication device-readable medium may include communication device-readable media that is not a transitory propagating signal.

[0261] Instructions 2724 may also be sent or received over a communications network 2726 using a transmission medium via the network interface device 2720 using any of a variety of transmission protocols (e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communications networks may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), a mobile phone network (e.g., a cellular network), a Plain Old Telephone (POTS) network, and a wireless data network (e.g., a wireless network known as a WLAN). The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards, known as IEEE 802.16 family of standards), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, Long Term Evolution (LTE) family of standards, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) family of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, and the like. In one example, the network interface device 2720 may include one or more physical sockets (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or telephone sockets) or one or more antennas to connect to the communication network 2726. In one example, the network interface device 2720 may include multiple antennas to communicate wirelessly using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO), MIMO, or multiple-input single-output (MISO) technology. In some examples, the network interface device 2720 may communicate wirelessly using multi-user MIMO technology.

[0262] The term "transmission medium" should be understood to include any intangible medium that can store, encode or carry instructions for execution by the communication device 2700, and includes digital or analog communication signals or other intangible media to support communication of such software. In this regard, a transmission medium in the context of the present disclosure is a device-readable medium.

[0263] Additional notes and examples:

[0264] Example 1 is a device of a user equipment (UE), the device comprising: a processing circuit system, the processing circuit system being configured to: decode control information of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) received via resources within a control resource set (CORESET), the CORESET occupying a subset of multiple orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols within a time slot, wherein at least one of the symbols in the subset coincides with a predefined symbol position, the predefined symbol position being associated with a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); detect the DM-RS within the time slot, the DM-RS starting at a symbol position that is shifted from the predefined symbol position and after the subset of symbols; and decode downlink data scheduled by the PDCCH and received via the PDSCH, the decoding being based on the detected DM-RS; and a memory coupled to the processing circuit system, the memory being configured to store the control information.

[0265] In Example 2, the subject matter as in Example 1 includes, wherein the DM-RS is a full DM-RS occupying the same number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) as the CORESET.

[0266] In Example 3, the subject matter of Examples 1-2 includes, wherein the DM-RS is shifted by zero or more OFDM symbols.

[0267] In Example 4, the subject matter of Examples 1-3 includes, wherein the DM-RS is a front-loaded DM-RS having a predefined symbol position at a first symbol of a PDSCH duration.

[0268] In Example 5, the subject matter of Examples 1-4 includes, wherein the downlink DM-RS occupies one of: a single symbol or two symbols within a slot, starting at a predefined symbol position within a PDSCH transmission.

[0269] In Example 6, the subject matter as described in Examples 1-5 includes, wherein the processing circuit system is configured to: detect a first portion of the DM-RS at a first plurality of physical resource blocks (PRBs) starting at a predefined symbol position; and detect a remaining portion of the DM-RS at a second plurality of PRBs starting at a shifted symbol position.

[0270] In Example 7, the subject matter as described in Examples 1-6 includes, wherein the processing circuit system is configured to: detect a first portion of the DM-RS at a first plurality of physical resource blocks (PRBs) starting at predefined symbol positions; and detect a CORESET at a second plurality of PRBs starting at predefined symbol positions.

[0271] In Example 8, the subject matter of Example 7 includes, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: decode a portion of downlink data received via the first plurality of PRBs and based on the first portion of the DM-RS.

[0272] In Example 9, the subject matter of Examples 7-8 includes, wherein the first portion of the DM-RS includes a complete demodulation reference signal that can be used to decode a PDSCH received in the slot.

[0273] In Example 10, the subject matter as described in Examples 7-9 includes, wherein the processing circuit system is configured to: detect a second DM-RS within a time slot, the second DM-RS starting at a second symbol position, the second symbol position being after an end symbol of the CORESET; and avoid decoding a portion of downlink data received via a second plurality of PRBs, the portion of the downlink data being after the end symbol of the CORESET and before the second symbol position.

[0274] In Example 11, the subject matter as described in Examples 1-10 includes, wherein the mapping associated with the DM-RS is one of DM-RS mapping type A or DM-RS mapping type B.

[0275] In Example 12, the subject matter as described in Example 11 includes wherein for mapping type A, the PDSCH spans a duration of 3 to 14 symbols within a time slot, and for mapping type B, the PDSCH spans a duration of 2, 4, or 7 symbols.

[0276] In Example 13, the subject matter as described in Examples 1-12 includes, wherein the DM-RS is shifted by zero or more symbols and the processing circuit system is configured to: determine the minimum UE processing time based on the end of reception of the PDSCH and the start of a corresponding hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) transmission.

[0277] In Example 14, the subject matter as in Example 13 includes, wherein the minimum UE processing time is a function of a difference in symbols between a DM-RS start symbol position and a predefined symbol position.

[0278] In Example 15, the subject matter as described in Examples 13-14 includes, wherein the PDCCH and PDSCH are multiplexed in the frequency domain for some or all PRBs of the PDSCH, and wherein when the PDCCH ends at d symbols after the start symbol of the PDSCH, the minimum UE processing time is increased by d symbols.

[0279] In Example 16, the subject matter as described in Examples 13-15 includes, wherein the DM-RS is a mapping type B with a duration of 2 symbols, and wherein when there is no time domain overlap between the PDCCH and the PDSCH, the minimum UE processing time is (N1+3) symbols, where the N1 symbols correspond to the minimum UE processing time for a PDSCH with mapping type A or B having a duration of at least 7 symbols.

[0280] In Example 17, the subject matter as described in Examples 13-16 includes, wherein the DM-RS is a mapping type B with a 2-symbol duration, and wherein when there is a time domain overlap of d symbols between the PDCCH and the PDSCH, the UE processing time is (N1+3+d) symbols.

[0281] Example 18 is a device of a user equipment (UE), comprising: a processing circuit system, the processing circuit system being configured to: decode synchronization information within a synchronization signal (SS) block, the SS block being received via a receive beam and within a SS burst set, the SS block occupying a subset of multiple orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols within a time slot; perform a synchronization process with a next generation Node B (gNB) based on the synchronization information within the SS block; and decode a reference signal received via the receive beam; and a memory coupled to the processing circuit system, the memory being configured to store the synchronization information.

[0282] In Example 19, the subject matter as in Example 18 includes, wherein the reference signal is a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0283] In Example 20, the subject matter of Examples 18-19 includes, wherein the reference signal is received on a physical resource block (PRB) not occupied by an SS block within a subset of symbols.

[0284] In Example 21, the subject matter of Examples 18-20 includes wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: decode configuration information indicating an energy per resource element (EPRE) ratio between a reference signal and an SS block; and estimate the CQI based at least in part on the EPRE ratio.

[0285] In Example 22, the subject matter of Examples 18-21 includes, wherein the reference signal is received on at least one symbol of a subset of symbols used to receive the SS block.

[0286] In Example 23, the subject matter of Examples 18-22 includes, wherein antenna ports associated with transmission of SS blocks and reference signals are quasi-co-located with respect to one or more spatial parameters of a transmit channel.

[0287] In Example 24, the subject matter of Examples 18-23 includes, wherein the time slot is configured with at least two bandwidth parts (BWPs), each BWP being associated with a different digital parameter.

[0288] In Example 25, the subject matter as described in Example 24 includes, wherein the processing circuit system is configured to: decode configuration information using a second reference signal received on a time-frequency resource associated with a first BWP of at least two BWPs, the first BWP being associated with a first digital parameter; and derive a reference signal using the second reference signal, wherein the reference signal is associated with data received via a second BWP of the at least two BWPs.

[0289] In Example 26, the subject matter of Example 25 includes wherein the second reference signal comprises a mother pseudo-random (PN) sequence, and the processing circuitry is configured to derive the reference signal based on sub-sampling of the second reference signal.

[0290] In Example 27, the subject matter of Examples 25-26 includes, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: derive the reference signal based on a PN sequence for each of the at least two BWPs, the PN sequence configured based on the configured digital parameters and the common resource block.

[0291] In Example 28, the subject matter of Examples 18-27 includes transceiver circuitry coupled to the processing circuitry; and one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry.

[0292] Example 29 is a device of a next generation Node B (gNB), the device comprising: a processing circuit system configured to: encode control information of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for transmission to a user equipment (UE) via resources within a control resource set (CORESET), the CORESET occupying a subset of multiple orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols within a time slot, wherein at least one of the symbols in the subset is consistent with a predefined symbol position, and the predefined symbol position is associated with a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) scheduled by the PDCCH; encode the DM-RS for transmission within the time slot, the DM-RS starting at a symbol position that is shifted from the predefined symbol position and after the subset of symbols; and encode downlink data for transmission via the PDSCH and based on the DM-RS; and a memory coupled to the processing circuit system, the memory being configured to store the control information.

[0293] In Example 30, the subject matter as described in Example 29 includes, wherein the processing circuit system is configured to: encode a first portion of the DM-RS at a first plurality of physical resource blocks (PRBs) starting at predefined symbol positions for transmission; and encode a remaining portion of the DM-RS at a second plurality of PRBs starting at shifted symbol positions.

[0294] In Example 31, the subject matter as described in Examples 29-30 includes, wherein the processing circuit system is configured to: encode a first portion of the DM-RS at a first plurality of physical resource blocks (PRBs) starting at predefined symbol positions; and encode control information within the CORESET at a second plurality of PRBs starting at predefined symbol positions.

[0295] In Example 32, the subject matter as in Example 31 includes, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: encode a portion of the downlink data for transmission via resources associated with the first plurality of PRBs and based on the first portion of the DM-RS.

[0296] In Example 33, the subject matter of Examples 31-32 includes, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: encode a second DM-RS for transmission within the time slot, the second DM-RS starting at a second symbol position after the end symbol of the CORESET.

[0297] In Example 34, the subject matter as described in Examples 31-33 includes, wherein the DM-RS is shifted by zero or more than zero symbols, and the processing circuit system is configured to: encode configuration information for transmission to the UE, the configuration information indicating the minimum UE processing time based on the end of reception of the PDSCH and the start of the corresponding hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) transmission.

[0298] In Example 35, the subject matter as described in Examples 31-34 includes, wherein the processing circuit system is configured to: encode synchronization information for transmission to a UE via a transmit beam within a synchronization signal (SS) block, the SS block occupying a subset of multiple orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols within a time slot; and encode a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) for transmission to the UE via a transmit beam; and decode channel quality information (CQI) received based on the CSI-RS.

[0299] Example 36 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), the instructions configuring the one or more processors to cause the UE to: decode control information of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) received via resources within a control resource set (CORESET), the CORESET occupying a subset of a plurality of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols within a time slot, wherein at least one symbol of the symbols in the subset coincides with a predefined symbol position, the predefined symbol position being associated with a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) connecting; detecting a DM-RS in a time slot, the DM-RS starting at a symbol position that is shifted from a predefined symbol position and after a subset of symbols; decoding downlink data scheduled by a PDCCH and received via a PDSCH, the decoding being based on the detected DM-RS; and decoding configuration information, the configuration information comprising a parameter indicating a minimum UE processing time according to an end of reception of the downlink data and a start of a corresponding hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) transmission; and generating a HARQ-ACK after an end of reception of the downlink data, based on the minimum UE processing time.

[0300] In Example 37, the subject matter as described in Example 36 includes, wherein the instructions further cause the UE to: detect a first portion of the DM-RS at a first plurality of physical resource blocks (PRBs) starting at a predefined symbol position; and detect a remaining portion of the DM-RS at a second plurality of PRBs starting at a shifted symbol position.

[0301] In Example 38, the subject matter as described in Examples 36-37 includes, wherein the instructions further cause the UE to: detect a first portion of the DM-RS at a first plurality of physical resource blocks (PRBs) starting at predefined symbol positions; and detect a CORESET at a second plurality of PRBs starting at predefined symbol positions.

[0302] In Example 39, the subject matter as in Example 38 includes, wherein the instructions further cause the UE to: decode a portion of downlink data received via the first plurality of PRBs and based on the first portion of the DM-RS.

[0303] In Example 40, the subject matter as described in Examples 38-39 includes, wherein the instructions further cause the UE to: detect a second DM-RS within the time slot, the second DM-RS starting at a second symbol position after the end symbol of the CORESET; and avoid decoding a portion of downlink data received via a second plurality of PRBs, the portion of the downlink data being located after the end symbol of the CORESET and before the second symbol position.

[0304] Example 41 is at least one machine-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform operations to implement any of Examples 1-40.

[0305] Example 42 is an apparatus comprising means for implementing any of Examples 1-40.

[0306] Example 43 is a system for implementing any of Examples 1-40.

[0307] Example 44 is a method to implement any of Examples 1-40.

[0308] Although one aspect has been described with reference to specific example aspects, it will be appreciated that various modifications and changes may be made to these aspects without departing from the broader scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the specification and the drawings should be considered illustrative rather than restrictive. The drawings forming part of this article show specific aspects in which the subject matter can be implemented in an illustrative and non-limiting manner. The illustrative aspects are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to implement the teachings disclosed herein. Other aspects may be utilized and derived therefrom, thereby making structural and logical substitutions and changes without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. This specific implementation section should therefore not be adopted in a limiting sense, and the scope of the various aspects is limited only by the appended claims and the full equivalent scope to which such claims are authorized.

[0309] Such aspects of the subject matter of the invention may be referred to individually and / or collectively herein, which is only for convenience and is not intended to actively limit the scope of the present application to any single aspect or inventive concept, if more than one aspect or inventive concept is actually disclosed. Thus, although specific aspects have been illustrated and described herein, it should be understood that any arrangement intended to achieve the same purpose can replace the specific aspects shown. The present disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations or variations of various aspects. It will be clear to those skilled in the art after reading the above description that the combination of the above aspects and other aspects not specifically described herein.

[0310] The abstract of the present disclosure is provided to allow the reader to quickly determine the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the aforementioned detailed description section, it can be seen that in order to streamline the disclosure, various features are grouped together in a single aspect. This method of disclosure should not be interpreted as reflecting the intention that the claimed aspects require more features than those explicitly stated in each claim. On the contrary, as reflected in the attached claims, the subject matter of the invention exists in less than all the features of a single disclosed aspect. Thus, the attached claims are incorporated into the detailed description section herein, with each claim independently serving as a separate aspect.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising: Sending a configuration of a first resource for physical downlink control channel PDCCH monitoring and an associated control resource set CORESET configuration to a user equipment UE, wherein the first resource occupies a subset of a plurality of OFDM symbols in a time slot; Scheduling a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH demodulation reference signal DM-RS in the time slot, wherein a first front-loaded DM-RS symbol of the scheduled PDSCH DM-RS conflicts with a first resource; as well as The first frontloaded DM-RS symbol PDSCH DM-RS is transmitted starting from a shifted symbol position based on the collision, wherein the shifted symbol position is immediately after CORESET.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein when an additional DM-RS is associated with the PDSCH: (1) the additional DM-RS is shifted to a second symbol position, or (2) the UE assumes that the additional DM-RS is not transmitted. The method of claim 1 , wherein PDSCH transmission uses mapping type B. The method of claim 1 , wherein the DM-RS is a full DM-RS.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the full DM-RS occupies the same number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) as the CORESET. The method of claim 1 , wherein the DM-RS occupies one of the following within the time slot: a single symbol or two symbols. The method of claim 1 , wherein the DM-RS is shifted by zero or more OFDM symbols.

8. A method of communication, comprising: Sending a configuration of a first resource for physical downlink control channel PDCCH monitoring and a configuration of an associated control resource set CORESET to a user equipment UE, wherein the first resource occupies a subset of a plurality of OFDM symbols in a time slot; Schedule a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH demodulation reference signal DM-RS in a time slot; as well as When the first frontloaded DM-RS symbol of the scheduled PDSCH DM-RS conflicts with the configuration of the first resource, the first frontloaded DM-RS symbol of the scheduled PDSCH DM-RS is transmitted immediately after the associated CORESET.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein: When an additional DM-RS is associated with the PDSCH: (1) the additional DM-RS is shifted to a second symbol position, or (2) the UE assumes that the additional DM-RS is not transmitted.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein PDSCH transmission uses mapping type B. The method of claim 8 , wherein the DM-RS is a full DM-RS.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the DM-RS occupies one of the following within the time slot: a single symbol or two symbols.

13. A method of communication, comprising: Receiving, from a next generation Node B gNB, a configuration of a first resource for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring and a configuration of an associated control resource set (CORESET), wherein the first resource occupies a subset of a plurality of OFDM symbols within a time slot; receiving, from the gNB, a message for scheduling a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) in the time slot, wherein a first frontloaded DM-RS symbol of the scheduled PDSCH DM-RS conflicts with a configuration of the first resource; as well as Based on the collision, the first frontloaded DM-RS symbol PDSCH DM-RS is received starting from a shifted symbol position, wherein the shifted symbol position is immediately after CORESET.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein: When an additional DM-RS is associated with the PDSCH: (1) the additional DM-RS is shifted to a second symbol position, or (2) the UE assumes that the additional DM-RS is not transmitted. The method of claim 13 , wherein PDSCH transmission uses mapping type B. The method of claim 13 , wherein the DM-RS is a full DM-RS.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the DM-RS occupies one of the following within the time slot: a single symbol or two symbols.

18. An apparatus for communication, comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 13 to 17.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising a radio operably coupled to the processor.

20. A computer program product configured to cause a device to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

Images