Method and apparatus for resource allocation

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods and apparatus for resource allocation. A method implemented at a network node includes determining one or more candidate resource block segments having corresponding channel quality indicators. The one or more candidate resource block segments include corresponding consecutive one or more candidate resource blocks, and the corresponding channel quality of the corresponding consecutive one or more candidate resource blocks is equal to or higher than the channel quality of the candidate resource block segment indicated by the corresponding channel quality indicator. The method also includes selecting at least one candidate resource block segment from the one or more candidate resource block segments. The method also includes determining at least one resource block for a terminal device from the selected at least one candidate resource block segment. The method also includes sending information about the at least one resource block to the terminal device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communication technology, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for resource allocation. Background Art

[0002] This section introduces various aspects that may help to better understand the present disclosure. Therefore, the statements in this section should be read in this light and should not be understood as admissions about what is or is not in the prior art.

[0003] Radio networks can define various resource allocation methods. For example, NR (New Radio) defines two frequency-domain resource allocation types for downlink and uplink. Resource allocation type 0 allocates discrete resource block groups (RBGs). Resource allocation type 1 requires a set of contiguous virtual resource blocks.

[0004] If multiple user equipment (UE) are scheduled in one time slot, especially when frequency selective scheduling is enabled, many discontinuous resource blocks (RB) may be generated. Since each RB can have a different channel quality indicator (CQI), in order to implement frequency selective scheduling, some UEs may use resource allocation type 0 to occupy at least one discrete RB position. This process may result in many discontinuous RBs.

[0005] Table 1 shows an example of non-contiguous RBs. As shown in Table 1, there are 271 RBs. RBs 64 to RB 79, RBs 101 to RB 143, and RBs 160 to RB 239 have already been allocated. Other RBs are available for allocation. There are four non-contiguous RB segments: RBs 0 to RB 63, RBs 80 to RB 100, RBs 144 to RB 159, and RBs 240 to RB 271.

[0006] Table 1

[0007] Summary of the Invention

[0008] This Summary is provided in a simplified form to introduce selected concepts that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0009] When other UEs require continuous resource blocks, the discrete nature of the RBs makes the scheduler (such as the frequency scheduler) more complex. How to select the optimal continuous RB segment becomes an important factor for improving system throughput and / or reducing resource allocation complexity.

[0010] Due to intra-frequency interference between different radio systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and NR, there may be more requirements for frequency selective scheduling in a radio system such as NR to avoid interference from other radio systems such as LTE.

[0011] One of the objects of the present disclosure is to provide an improved solution for resource allocation.

[0012] A first aspect of the present disclosure provides a method implemented at a network node. The method includes determining one or more candidate resource block segments having corresponding channel quality indicators. The one or more candidate resource block segments include corresponding consecutive one or more candidate resource blocks, and the corresponding channel quality of the corresponding consecutive one or more candidate resource blocks is equal to or higher than the channel quality of the candidate resource block segment indicated by the corresponding channel quality indicator. The method also includes selecting at least one candidate resource block segment from the one or more candidate resource block segments. The method also includes determining at least one resource block for a terminal device from the selected at least one candidate resource block segment. The method also includes sending information about the at least one resource block to the terminal device.

[0013] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of the corresponding consecutive one or more candidate resource blocks may be equal to or greater than the number of resource blocks required by the terminal device.

[0014] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, for each type of channel quality of one or more candidate resource blocks, there may be at least one candidate resource block segment having the corresponding type of channel quality.

[0015] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, determining one or more candidate resource block segments includes determining a channel quality indicator for the candidate resource block segment as the channel quality indicator for the first resource block in one or more consecutive resource blocks, or determining the channel quality indicator for the candidate resource block segment as the channel quality indicator for the starting resource block, wherein the starting resource block is a resource block having a channel quality different from the channel quality of the preceding consecutive resource blocks of the resource block; adding the first resource block or the starting resource block to the candidate resource block segment with the determined channel quality indicator; when the corresponding channel quality of one or more preceding and / or succeeding consecutive resource blocks is equal to or higher than the channel quality of the candidate resource block segment indicated by the determined channel quality indicator, adding one or more succeeding consecutive resource blocks of the first resource block or one or more preceding and / or succeeding consecutive resource blocks of the starting resource block to the candidate resource block segment with the determined channel quality indicator.

[0016] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the starting resource block may be a resource block that has not been added to an existing candidate resource block segment having the same channel quality indicator as that of the starting resource block.

[0017] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, determining one or more candidate resource block segments may include judging the status of a resource block; when the resource block is judged to be available, checking the channel quality of a preceding resource block of the resource block; and when there are no preceding resource blocks of the resource block, determining the channel quality indicator for a new candidate resource block segment as the channel quality indicator of the resource block, and adding the resource block to the new candidate resource block segment.

[0018] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, determining one or more candidate resource block segments may also include: when the preceding resource block of the resource block is available and the channel quality of the resource block is equal to the channel quality of the preceding resource block of the resource block, adding the resource block to at least one candidate resource block segment including the preceding resource block of the resource block.

[0019] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, determining one or more candidate resource block segments may also include: when the preceding resource block of the resource block is available and the channel quality of the resource block is higher than the channel quality of the preceding resource block of the resource block, adding the resource block to at least one candidate resource block segment including the preceding resource block of the resource block; and determining the channel quality indicator for the new candidate resource block segment as the channel quality indicator of the resource block, and adding the resource block to the new candidate resource block segment.

[0020] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, determining one or more candidate resource block segments may also include: when a previous resource block of the resource block is available and the channel quality of the resource block is less than the channel quality of the previous resource block of the resource block, when the corresponding channel quality of at least one candidate resource block segment including the previous resource block of the resource block is less than or equal to the channel quality of the resource block, adding the resource block to each candidate resource block segment in at least one candidate resource block segment including the previous resource block of the resource block, when the channel quality of each candidate resource block segment including the previous resource block of the resource block is not equal to the channel quality of the resource block, determining the channel quality indicator for the new candidate resource block segment as the channel quality indicator of the resource block, and adding the resource block and one or more previous resource blocks of the resource block whose channel quality is equal to or higher than the channel quality of the resource block to the new candidate resource block segment.

[0021] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, determining one or more candidate resource block segments may also include: when the resource block is judged to be unavailable, checking whether there is any candidate resource block segment in front of the resource block, and when there is at least one candidate resource block segment in front of the resource block, storing the at least one candidate resource block segment; and when there is no candidate resource block segment in front of the resource block, continuing to judge the status of the resource blocks behind the resource block.

[0022] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, determining at least one resource block for the terminal device from the selected at least one candidate resource block segment may also include: determining at least one resource block for the terminal device from the selected at least one candidate resource block segment based on the corresponding channel quality indicator of the selected at least one candidate resource block segment and the number of resource blocks required by the terminal device.

[0023] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a candidate resource block segment with a higher channel quality may have a higher priority to be selected for determining at least one resource block for a terminal device.

[0024] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the resource block may include at least one of a downlink frequency resource or an uplink frequency resource.

[0025] A second aspect of the present disclosure provides a method implemented at a terminal device. The method includes receiving information about at least one resource block from a network node. The method also includes obtaining information about the at least one resource block. The at least one resource block can be determined from at least one candidate resource block segment having a corresponding channel quality indicator. The at least one candidate resource block segment includes one or more corresponding consecutive candidate resource blocks, and the corresponding channel quality of the one or more corresponding consecutive candidate resource blocks in the at least one candidate resource block segment is equal to or higher than the channel quality of the at least one candidate resource block segment indicated by the corresponding channel quality indicator.

[0026] A third aspect of the present disclosure provides a network node. The network node includes a processor; and a memory storing instructions executable by the processor, whereby the network node is operable to determine one or more candidate resource block segments having corresponding channel quality indicators. The one or more candidate resource block segments include corresponding consecutive one or more candidate resource blocks, and the corresponding channel quality of the corresponding consecutive one or more candidate resource blocks is equal to or higher than the channel quality of the candidate resource block segment indicated by the corresponding channel quality indicator. The network node is further operable to select at least one candidate resource block segment from the one or more candidate resource block segments. The network node is further operable to determine at least one resource block for a terminal device from the selected at least one candidate resource block segment. The network node is further operable to send information about the at least one resource block to the terminal device.

[0027] A fourth aspect of the present disclosure provides a terminal device. The terminal device includes a processor; and a memory storing instructions executable by the processor, whereby the terminal device is operable to receive information about at least one resource block from a network node. The terminal device is also operable to obtain information about at least one resource block. The at least one resource block is determined from at least one candidate resource block segment having a corresponding channel quality indicator. The at least one candidate resource block segment includes one or more corresponding consecutive candidate resource blocks, and the corresponding channel quality of the one or more corresponding consecutive candidate resource blocks in the at least one candidate resource block segment is equal to or higher than the channel quality of the at least one candidate resource block segment indicated by the corresponding channel quality indicator.

[0028] A fifth aspect of the present disclosure provides a network node. The network node includes a first determination module, a selection module, a second determination module, and a sending module. The first determination module can be configured to determine one or more candidate resource block segments with corresponding channel quality indicators. The one or more candidate resource block segments include corresponding continuous one or more candidate resource blocks, and the corresponding channel quality of the corresponding continuous one or more candidate resource blocks is equal to or higher than the channel quality of the candidate resource block segment indicated by the corresponding channel quality indicator. The selection module can be configured to select at least one candidate resource block segment from the one or more candidate resource block segments. The second determination module can be configured to determine at least one resource block for a terminal device from the selected at least one candidate resource block segment. The sending module can be configured to send information about the at least one resource block to the terminal device.

[0029] A sixth aspect of the present disclosure provides a terminal device. The terminal device includes a receiving module and an obtaining module. The receiving module can be configured to receive information about at least one resource block from a network node. The obtaining module can be configured to obtain information about the at least one resource block. The at least one resource block is determined from at least one candidate resource block segment having a corresponding channel quality indicator. The at least one candidate resource block segment includes one or more corresponding consecutive candidate resource blocks, and the corresponding channel quality of the one or more corresponding consecutive candidate resource blocks in the at least one candidate resource block segment is equal to or higher than the channel quality of the at least one candidate resource block segment indicated by the corresponding channel quality indicator.

[0030] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform any of the methods according to the first and second aspects of the present disclosure.

[0031] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform any of the methods according to the first and second aspects of the present disclosure.

[0032] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a communication system including a host computer, the host computer including: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a terminal device. The cellular network includes the aforementioned network node and / or the aforementioned terminal device.

[0033] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the system further includes a terminal device, wherein the terminal device is configured to communicate with the network node.

[0034] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a processing circuit of a host computer is configured to execute a host computer application to provide user data; and a terminal device includes a processing circuit configured to execute a client application associated with the host computer application.

[0035] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a communication system comprising a host computer and a network node, wherein the host computer includes a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a terminal device. The transmission is from the terminal device to the network node. The network node is as described above, and / or the terminal device is as described above.

[0036] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing circuit of the host computer is configured to execute a host computer application, and the terminal device is configured to execute a client application associated with the host computer application, thereby providing user data to be received by the host computer.

[0037] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method implemented in a communication system that may include a host computer, a network node, and a UE. The method may include providing user data at the host computer. Optionally, the method may include: at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network, the cellular network including a network node that can perform any of the steps of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0038] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a communication system including a host computer. The host computer may include processing circuitry configured to provide user data and a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment terminal (UE). The cellular network may include a network node having a radio interface and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry of the network node may be configured to perform any of the steps of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0039] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method implemented in a communication system, which may include a host computer, a network node, and a user equipment (UE). The method may include providing user data at the host computer. Alternatively, the method may include, at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network including the network node. The UE may perform any steps of the method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0040] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a communication system including a host computer. The host computer may include processing circuitry configured to provide user data, and a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE). The UE may include a radio interface and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry of the UE may be configured to perform any of the steps of the method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0041] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method implemented in a communication system that may include a host computer, a network node, and a UE. The method may include receiving, at the host computer, user data sent from the UE to the network node, and the UE may perform any steps of the method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0042] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a communication system including a host computer. The host computer may include a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a UE to a network node. The UE may include a radio interface and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry of the UE may be configured to perform any of the steps of the method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0043] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method implemented in a communication system that may include a host computer, a network node, and a UE. The method may include receiving, at the host computer, from the network node user data originating from a transmission that the network node has received from the UE. The network node may perform any of the steps of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0044] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a communication system that may include a host computer. The host computer may include a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a UE to a network node. The network node may include a radio interface and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry of the network node may be configured to perform any of the steps of the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0045] The embodiments herein provide many advantages, the following is a non-exhaustive list of examples of the advantages. In some embodiments herein, the proposed solution can reduce the resource allocation complexity, for example, for frequency selective scheduling in NR resource allocation type 1. In some embodiments herein, the proposed solution can provide a method to efficiently select RBs at appropriate CQI levels. In some embodiments herein, the proposed solution can reduce the runtime of the resource allocation algorithm. The embodiments herein are not limited to the above-described features and advantages. After reading the following detailed description, those skilled in the art will recognize additional features and advantages. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] The above and other aspects, features and benefits of various embodiments of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, by way of example, in which like reference numerals or letters are used to designate similar or equivalent elements. The accompanying drawings are illustrated to facilitate a better understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale, wherein:

[0047] Figure 1 depicts an illustrative system in which some embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0048] Figure 2 A flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0049] Figure 3 A flowchart of a method for determining one or more candidate resource block segments according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0050] Figure 4 A flowchart of a method for determining one or more candidate resource block segments according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0051] Figure 5A flowchart of a method for determining one or more candidate resource block segments according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0052] Figure 6 A flowchart of a method for determining one or more candidate resource block segments according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0053] Figure 7a A flowchart of a method for determining one or more candidate resource block segments according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0054] Figure 7b A flowchart of a method for determining one or more candidate resource block segments according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0055] Figure 7c The running time for the conventional algorithm and the proposed algorithm is shown with 8 UEs and CQI threshold = 1 for the conventional algorithm;

[0056] Figure 7d The running time for the conventional algorithm and the proposed algorithm is shown with 8 UEs and CQI threshold = 2 for the conventional algorithm;

[0057] Figure 7e The running time for the conventional algorithm and the proposed algorithm is shown with 8 UEs and CQI threshold = 3 for the conventional algorithm;

[0058] Figure 7f The running time for the conventional algorithm and the proposed algorithm is shown with 10 UEs and CQI threshold = 2 for the conventional algorithm;

[0059] Figure 7g The running time for the conventional algorithm and the proposed algorithm is shown with 12 UEs and CQI threshold = 2 for the conventional algorithm;

[0060] Figure 7h The running time for the conventional algorithm and the proposed algorithm is shown with 14 UEs and CQI threshold = 2 for the conventional algorithm;

[0061] Figure 8 A flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0062] Figure 9a is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus suitable for implementing some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0063] Figure 9b is a block diagram illustrating a network node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0064] Figure 9cis a block diagram illustrating a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0065] Figure 9d is a schematic diagram illustrating a wireless network according to some embodiments;

[0066] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a user equipment according to some embodiments;

[0067] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a virtualized environment according to some embodiments;

[0068] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a telecommunications network connected to a host computer via an intermediary network according to some embodiments;

[0069] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a host computer communicating with a user device via a base station over a partially wireless connection according to some embodiments;

[0070] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment according to some embodiments;

[0071] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment according to some embodiments;

[0072] Figure 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment according to some embodiments; and

[0073] Figure 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment according to some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0074] Embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that these embodiments are discussed only for the purpose of enabling those skilled in the art to better understand and therefore implement the present disclosure, and that no limitation on the scope of the present disclosure is suggested. References to features, advantages or similar language throughout the specification do not mean that all features and advantages that can be implemented with the present disclosure should be in or in any single embodiment of the present disclosure. On the contrary, language referring to features and advantages should be understood to mean that specific features, advantages or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiments are included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. In addition, in one or more embodiments, the features, advantages and characteristics described in the present disclosure may be combined in any suitable manner. Those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the present disclosure may be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other cases, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments, while the additional features and advantages may not be present in all embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0075] As used herein, the term "network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable wireless communication standard. For example, wireless communication standards may include New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), and other wireless networks. A CDMA network may implement radio technologies such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA). UTRA includes WCDMA and other variants of CDMA. A TDMA network may implement radio technologies such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA network may implement radio technologies such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDMA, Ad-hoc networks, wireless sensor networks, and the like. In the following description, the terms "network" and "system" may be used interchangeably. Furthermore, communication between two devices in a network may be performed according to any suitable communication protocol, including but not limited to wireless communication protocols or wired communication protocols defined by standards organizations such as the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). For example, wireless communication protocols may include first generation (1G), 2G, 3G, 4G, 4.5G, 5G communication protocols, and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future.

[0076] The term "network node" or "network-side node" refers to a network device with access functionality in a communication network, through which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from it. A network node may include a base station (BS), an access point (AP), a multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), a controller, or any other suitable device in a wireless communication network. A BS may be, for example, a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a next-generation NodeB (gNodeB or gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a remote radio head (RRH), a repeater, a low-power node (e.g., femto, pico), etc.

[0077] Yet another example of a network node includes a multi-standard radio (MSR) wireless device such as an MSR BS, a network controller such as a radio network controller (RNC) or a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a transmission point, a transmission node, a positioning node, etc. However, more generally, a network node may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) that is capable of, configured, arranged and / or operable to enable a terminal device to access a wireless communication network and / or to provide certain services to a terminal device that has accessed the wireless communication network.

[0078] The term "terminal device" refers to any end device that can access a communication network and receive services therefrom. By way of example and not limitation, a terminal device refers to a mobile terminal, user equipment (UE), or other suitable device. A UE may be, for example, a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). Terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, portable computers, image capture devices such as digital cameras, gaming devices, music storage and playback devices, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, wearable terminal devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), and the like. In the following description, the terms "terminal device," "terminal," "user equipment," and "UE" may be used interchangeably. As an example, a terminal device may represent a UE configured to communicate in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by 3GPP (e.g., 3GPP's LTE standards or NR standards). As used herein, a "user equipment" or "UE" may not necessarily have a "user" in reference to a human user who owns and / or operates the associated device. In some embodiments, a terminal device may be configured to send and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from a communication network, a terminal device may be designed to send information to the network according to a predetermined schedule. Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is intended to be sold to or operated by a human user but may not initially be associated with a specific human user.

[0079] As another example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a terminal device may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement, and sends the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another terminal device and / or network device. In this case, the terminal device may be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may be referred to as a machine type communication (MTC) device in the 3GPP context. As a specific example, the terminal device may be a UE that implements the 3GPP Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) standard. Specific examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices (e.g., electricity meters, industrial machinery), or household or personal appliances (e.g., refrigerators, televisions), personal wearable devices (e.g., watches), etc. In other scenarios, the terminal device may represent a vehicle or other device that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting its operating status or other functions related to its operation.

[0080] As used herein, downlink DL transmission refers to transmission from a network device to a terminal device, while uplink UL transmission refers to transmission in the opposite direction.

[0081] References in the specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an exemplary embodiment," etc., indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, these phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is understood that it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to influence such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0082] It should be understood that although the terms "first" and "second" may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element without departing from the scope of the example embodiments. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed terms.

[0083] As used herein, the phrase "at least one of A and B" should be understood to mean "only A, only B, or both A and B." The phrase "A and / or B" should be understood to mean "only A, only B, or both A and B."

[0084] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the example embodiments. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, as used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well. It will be further understood that when used herein, the terms "include," "comprising," "having," "having," "containing," and / or "covering" specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0085] Note that these terms are used herein only for convenience of description and to distinguish between nodes, devices, or networks, etc. As technology develops, other terms with similar / identical meanings may also be used.

[0086] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0087] Note that some embodiments of the present disclosure are primarily described with respect to cellular networks as defined by 3GPP, which are used as non-limiting examples of certain exemplary network configurations and system deployments. Therefore, the description of the exemplary embodiments given herein specifically refers to terms directly related thereto. Such terms are used only in the context of the non-limiting examples and embodiments presented and naturally do not limit the present disclosure in any way. On the contrary, any other system configuration or radio technology (such as a wireless sensor network) may be used equally as long as the exemplary embodiments described herein are applicable.

[0088] Note that some embodiments of the present disclosure may use downlink frequency resource allocation as an example to explain the proposed solution, although the solution may be applied to both downlink and uplink frequency schedulers. In one embodiment, RB herein may refer to a frequency domain virtual resource block.

[0089] In one embodiment, resource allocation type 1 can be divided into two steps. The first step is to select RBs with unequal but continuous CQIs, and the variation range of the continuous CQIs is less than a certain threshold. This RB part allows the CQI of each RB to be different but within a certain range. The RB with the highest CQI may not be enough, and some suboptimal RBs can also be considered by lowering the CQI value. In the second step, a sliding window can be performed in this RB part. Finally, the RB with the highest average CQI in this RB part can be used as the RB segment to be allocated, and the lowest CQI level of these RBs is set to the unified CQI of the allocated RB segment. The specific implementation method can be as follows.

[0090] Candidate RB segment list generation

[0091] Cycle through all available RBs:

[0092] - If RB(i) is not occupied, where i is an integer, such as 0...271, calculate whether the difference between the CQI of RB(i) and the preceding consecutive RB of RB(i) is greater than the threshold:

[0093] o If yes, the preceding RB of RB(i) may be stored as a candidate RB segment, with the CQI of the candidate RB segment being set equal to the lowest CQI among these RBs.

[0094] o If no, the CQI of RB(i) is within the allowed range, then increase the candidate RB segment length by 1 and continue checking the next available RB.

[0095] - If RB(i) is occupied, determine whether there is a previous continuous available RB segment before RB(ii):

[0096] o If yes, the previous continuously available RB segment may be stored as a candidate RB segment.

[0097] o If no, go to the next available RB of RB(i).

[0098] Through the above operations, available continuous candidate RB segments can be determined. However, due to the discretization of CQI reporting and the permission of CQI range changes, the CQI level of each RB in the available candidate RB segment may be different. In this implementation, the CQI level of the RB segment can be set to the lowest CQI of the RBs in the candidate RB segment.

[0099] RB selection when resource allocation

[0100] When resources are allocated, a candidate RB segment with the largest number of RBs and the highest CQI in the candidate RB segment list may be selected first, and then the CQI difference between the selected RBs in the selected candidate RB segment may be checked as follows.

[0101] - If all RBs in the selected candidate RB segment have the same CQI

[0102] o Allocate the number of CQIs required by the UE in sequence.

[0103] -other

[0104] o If the number of RBs required by the UE is greater than the number of RBs in the selected candidate RB segment, all RBs of the candidate RB segment are allocated in sequence.

[0105] Otherwise, a sliding window operation is performed in the selected candidate RB segment, and the window length is the number of RBs required by the UE. Each time the window slides, the sum of the CQI levels of all RBs in the sliding window can be calculated. At the end of the sliding window process, the RB with the largest CQI sum is selected as the allocated RB for the UE.

[0106] Example for implementation

[0107] Table 2 shows an example of a list of all available RBs and corresponding CQIs.

[0108] Table 2

[0109]

[0110] Assuming the CQI threshold is 2, all available RBs may be cycled to generate a candidate RB segment list.

[0111] Candidate segment 1 starts with RB0 whose CQI is 10, and the CQI difference between RB6 and RB0 is greater than a CQI threshold 2. Therefore, RB5 is set as the end of candidate segment 1.

[0112] Perform the same check on other RBs, and the candidate RB segment list may be as shown in Table 3-5.

[0113] Table 3

[0114]

[0115] Table 4

[0116]

[0117] Table 5

[0118]

[0119] If the required number of RBs is 2, the lengths of candidate segments 1 and 2 are both sufficient, and candidate segment 2 with a higher CQI level is selected.

[0120] The CQI status of the selected candidate RB segment is shown in Table 6.

[0121] Table 6

[0122]

[0123] There are 6 RBs in the selected candidate RB segment, and the number of RBs required by the UE is 2. Therefore, 5 cycles are required to complete the window sliding, and the sum CQI of each cycle is recorded in Table 7.

[0124] Table 7

[0125]

[0126] Finally, cycle 4 including RB8 and RB9 with the largest sum CQI can be allocated. And assuming that the number of RBs in the selected candidate RB segment is N RB_set , and the number of RBs required by the UE is N RB_required , then the number of periods during the window sliding is:

[0127] N RB_set +1-N RB_required

[0128] The above implementation may have some issues. For example, the scheduling process is relatively complex. It is necessary to first cycle through all available RBs to obtain candidate RB segments. Then, the selected candidate RB segments are cycled through to obtain the allocated RBs for the UE. If the number of RBs required by the UE is less than the number of RBs in the selected candidate RB segment, a sliding window operation must be performed. This sliding window operation can result in many cycles of processing when scheduling UEs.

[0129] In order to overcome or alleviate at least one of the above problems or other problems, embodiments of the present disclosure provide an improved resource allocation solution.

[0130] In one embodiment, a new frequency selective scheduling method is provided for NR resource allocation type 1. The proposed method can efficiently select the required number of RBs at all CQI levels and only needs to cycle through all available RBs once.

[0131] In one embodiment, when creating the candidate RB segment list, the proposed method may store all available RB parts / segments at all CQI levels.

[0132] In one embodiment, when selecting RBs, the proposed method can start from the candidate RB segment with the highest CQI level in the candidate RB segment list and find an appropriate candidate RB segment based on the number of RBs required by the UE. If there are not enough RBs in the current candidate RB segment, the proposed method can lower the CQI level to obtain another candidate RB segment to check whether it can meet the number of RBs required by the UE.

[0133] In one embodiment, the CQI levels of the selected candidate RB segments are relatively accurate because the selection starts from the candidate RB segment with the highest CQI level. If the number of RBs required by the UE is not met, the candidate RB segment with the second highest CQI level can be selected, which can include the RB with the second highest CQI level.

[0134] Figure 1An illustrative system is described in which some embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. In the embodiments described herein, the cellular communication system 100 may be a 5G system (5GS) including a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) and a 5G core (5GC), or an LTE system including a RAN and an EPC (evolved packet core). In this example, the RAN includes base stations 102-1 and 102-2 that control corresponding (macro) cells 104-1 and 104-2. In the 5GS, the base stations 102-1 and 102-2 include NR base stations (gNBs) and optional next generation eNBs (ng-eNBs) (i.e., LTE RAN nodes connected to the 5GC). The base stations 102-1 and 102-2 are generally referred to herein collectively as base stations 102, and individually as base stations 102. Similarly, the (macro) cells 104-1 and 104-2 are generally referred to herein collectively as (macro) cells 104, and individually as macro cells 104. The RAN may also include a plurality of low-power nodes 106-1 to 106-4 that control corresponding small cells 108-1 to 108-4. The low-power nodes 106-1 to 106-4 may be small base stations (e.g., pico base stations or femto base stations) or remote radio heads (RRHs), etc. Note that, although not shown, one or more of the small cells 108-1 to 108-4 may be provided by the base station 102 instead. The low-power nodes 106-1 to 106-4 are generally referred to herein as low-power nodes 106, and individually as low-power nodes 106. Similarly, the small cells 108-1 to 108-4 are generally referred to herein as small cells 108, and individually as small cells. The cellular communication system 100 also includes a core network 110, which is called 5GC in 5GS and EPC in LTE. The base station 102 (and optional low-power nodes 106) are connected to the core network 110.

[0135] Base station 102 and low power node 106 provide services to wireless communication devices 112-1 through 112-5 in corresponding cells 104 and 108. Wireless communication devices 112-1 through 112-5 are generally referred to herein collectively as wireless communication devices 112, and individually as wireless communication devices 112. In the following description, wireless communication device 112 is generally a UE, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0136] Figure 2 A flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The method can be performed by an apparatus implemented in a network node, an apparatus implemented as a network node, or an apparatus communicatively coupled to a network node. In this way, the apparatus can provide components or modules for implementing various parts of method 200, as well as components for implementing other processes in conjunction with other components.

[0137] At block 202, the network node may determine one or more candidate resource block segments having corresponding channel quality indicators, wherein the one or more candidate resource block segments include corresponding consecutive one or more candidate resource blocks, and respective channel qualities of the corresponding consecutive one or more candidate resource blocks are equal to or higher than the channel quality of the candidate resource block segment indicated by the corresponding channel quality indicator.

[0138] A network node may be any suitable network device / entity / function that can implement resource allocation functionality for a device such as a UE or terminal device. For example, a network node may be a base station such as a 4G RAN or a 5G(R)AN or a cloud RAN (C-RAN).

[0139] The candidate resource block segment may include any suitable number of consecutive resource blocks. The terms "contiguous" or "contiguous" refer to resource blocks that are adjacent or consecutive to each other in the absence of allocated resource blocks. The size and / or number of resource blocks in different radio systems may be the same or different. In one embodiment, the resource block may include at least one of a downlink frequency resource or an uplink frequency resource.

[0140] In one embodiment, the number of the corresponding one or more consecutive candidate resource blocks may be equal to or greater than the number of resource blocks required by the terminal device. For example, the number of the one or more consecutive candidate resource blocks in each candidate resource block segment may be equal to or greater than the number of resource blocks required by the terminal device. This embodiment may exclude candidate resource block segments from being available for RB allocation to the UE.

[0141] For example, as defined in 3GPP TS 38.104 V16.3.0 Section 5.3.2 (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), the value range of the number of RBs for different bandwidths may be 11 to 273. Table 8 shows the transmission bandwidth configuration N for FR1 (frequency range 1 (410 MHz - 7125 MHz)). RB , which is a copy of Table 5.3.2-1 of 3GPP TS 38.104 V16.3.0. SCS stands for Subcarrier Spacing.

[0142] Table 8

[0143]

[0144] The channel quality indicator can be determined in various ways. For example, for a downlink channel quality indicator, it can be measured by the UE and reported to the network node. For an uplink channel quality indicator, it can be measured or estimated by the network node. The value range of the channel quality indicator (CQI) can be any suitable range, for example, depending on the specific radio network. For example, as defined in Section 5.2.2.1 of 3GPP TS 38.214 V16.1.0, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, the value range of the channel quality indicator (CQI) reported from the UE is 1 to 15. In one embodiment, each candidate resource block segment can be configured with a corresponding channel quality indicator. For example, the CQI of a candidate resource block segment can be set to the lowest CQI of the RBs in the candidate RB segment.

[0145] In one embodiment, for each type of channel quality of one or more candidate resource blocks, there is at least one candidate resource block segment with the corresponding type of channel quality. For example, when there are one or more candidate resource blocks with four types of channel quality, such as CQI 9, CQI 10, CQI 11, and CQI 12, there is at least one candidate resource block segment with CQI 9, at least one candidate resource block segment with CQI 10, at least one candidate resource block segment with CQI 11, and at least one candidate resource block segment with CQI 12.

[0146] In one embodiment, the channel quality of one or more consecutive candidate resource blocks in the candidate resource block segment is equal to or higher than the channel quality of the candidate resource block segment indicated by their corresponding channel quality indicators. This means that as long as the channel quality of the consecutive candidate resource blocks is equal to or higher than the channel quality of the candidate resource block segment indicated by their corresponding channel quality indicators, the candidate resource block segment can include as many consecutive candidate resource blocks as possible.

[0147] As long as the one or more candidate resource block segments include corresponding consecutive one or more candidate resource blocks, and the corresponding channel quality of the corresponding consecutive one or more candidate resource blocks is equal to or higher than the channel quality of the candidate resource block segment indicated by the corresponding channel quality indicator, the network node can determine the one or more candidate resource block segments in various ways.

[0148] Figure 3 A flowchart of a method for determining one or more candidate resource block segments according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0149] At block 302, the network node may determine the channel quality indicator for the candidate resource block segment as the channel quality indicator for a first resource block of one or more consecutive resource blocks. Alternatively, the network node may determine the channel quality indicator for the candidate resource block segment as the channel quality indicator for a starting resource block. A starting resource block is a resource block having a channel quality that is different from the channel quality of the preceding consecutive resource blocks of the resource block.

[0150] The network node may add the first resource block to the section of candidate resource blocks having the determined channel quality indicator at block 304. Alternatively, the network node may add the starting resource block to the section of candidate resource blocks having the determined channel quality indicator.

[0151] At block 306, when the corresponding channel qualities of one or more preceding and / or succeeding consecutive resource blocks are equal to or higher than the channel quality of the candidate resource block segment indicated by the determined channel quality indicator, the network node may add the one or more succeeding consecutive resource blocks of the first resource block to the candidate resource block segment having the determined channel quality indicator. Alternatively, when the corresponding channel qualities of one or more preceding and / or succeeding consecutive resource blocks are equal to or higher than the channel quality of the candidate resource block segment indicated by the determined channel quality indicator, the network node may add the one or more preceding and / or succeeding consecutive resource blocks of the starting resource block to the candidate resource block segment having the determined channel quality indicator.

[0152] In one embodiment, the starting resource block is a resource block that has not been added to an existing candidate resource block segment having the same channel quality indicator as that of the starting resource block. This embodiment can avoid generating duplicate candidate resource block segments.

[0153] Figure 4 A flowchart of a method for determining one or more candidate resource block segments according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0154] At block 402, the network node may determine the status of a resource block. The status of a resource block may include allocated or available. For example, if a resource block has been allocated to another UE, the status of the resource block may be determined to be allocated. Otherwise, it may be determined to be available for the UE.

[0155] At block 404 , when a resource block is determined to be available, the network node may check the channel quality of a resource block preceding the resource block.

[0156] At block 406, when there are no preceding resource blocks for the resource block, the network node may determine the channel quality indicator for the new candidate resource block segment as the channel quality indicator of the resource block and add the resource block to the new candidate resource block segment.

[0157] Figure 5 FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for determining one or more candidate resource blocks according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 4 Boxes 402 and 404 are identical.

[0158] At block 506 , the network node adds the resource block to at least one candidate resource block segment including the preceding resource block of the resource block when the preceding resource block of the resource block is available and the channel quality of the resource block is equal to the channel quality of the preceding resource block of the resource block.

[0159] Figure 6 FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method for determining one or more candidate resource blocks according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 4 Blocks 402 and 404 of are the same. In this embodiment, the resource block preceding the resource block is determined to be available, and the channel quality of the resource block is higher than the channel quality of the resource block preceding the resource block.

[0160] At block 606, the network node may add the resource block to at least one candidate resource block segment including a preceding resource block of the resource block.

[0161] At block 608, the network node may determine the channel quality indicator for the new candidate resource block segment as the channel quality indicator of the resource block and add the resource block to the new candidate resource block segment.

[0162] Figure 7a FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method for determining one or more candidate resource blocks according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 4 Blocks 402 and 404 of are the same. In this embodiment, a resource block preceding the resource block is determined to be available, and a channel quality of the resource block is less than a channel quality of a resource block preceding the resource block.

[0163] In box 706, when the corresponding channel quality of at least one candidate resource block segment including the previous resource block of the resource block is less than or equal to the channel quality of the resource block, the network node may add the resource block to each candidate resource block segment of at least one candidate resource block segment including the previous resource block of the resource block.

[0164] In box 708, when the channel quality for each candidate resource block segment including the previous resource block of the resource block is not equal to the channel quality of the resource block, the network node can determine the channel quality indicator for the new candidate resource block segment as the channel quality indicator of the resource block, and add the resource block and one or more previous resource blocks of the resource block whose channel quality is equal to or higher than the channel quality of the resource block to the new candidate resource block segment.

[0165] Figure 7b FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing a method for determining one or more candidate resource blocks according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 4 In this embodiment, the resource block is determined to be unavailable.

[0166] At block 714, the network node may check whether there are any candidate resource block segments preceding the resource block.

[0167] At block 716, when there is at least one candidate resource block segment preceding the resource block, the network node may store the at least one candidate resource block segment.

[0168] In block 718 , when there is no candidate resource block segment preceding the resource block, the network node may continue to determine the status of resource blocks following the resource block.

[0169] In one embodiment, the network node may cycle through all RBs and determine the RB status.

[0170] In one embodiment, if RB(i) is unavailable, the network node may check whether there are any consecutive RB segments preceding RB(i). If there are any consecutive RB segments preceding RB(i), the network node may store the RB segments as candidate RB segments. If there are no consecutive RB segments preceding RB(i), the network node may continue to cycle through the RBs following RB(i).

[0171] In one embodiment, if RB(i) is available, the network node may check the CQI of RB(i) and the consecutive preceding RBs of RB(i), and continue to cycle the following RBs of RB(i) or store the RB segment. For example, if RB(i) is available, the network node may check the CQI of the consecutive preceding RBs of RB(i). If the CQI level of RB(i) is equal to the CQI level of RB(i-1), which means that there is no CQI change, the network node may continue to cycle the following RBs of RB(i), and may add RB(i) to one or more candidate resource block segments including RB(i-1).

[0172] In one embodiment, if the CQI level of RB(i) is greater than the CQI level of RB(i-1), the network node may record the CQI of RB(i) as the channel quality indicator of a new candidate resource block segment and record the position of RB(i) as the starting point of the new candidate resource block segment for the CQI level. The network node may add RB(i) to at least one candidate resource block segment including RB(i-1).

[0173] In one embodiment, if the CQI level of RB(i) is less than the CQI level of RB(i-1), the network node may check all RBs in the candidate resource block segment preceding RB(i-1) and store them in the candidate resource block segment list according to their corresponding CQI levels and positions. If there is no unfinished candidate resource block segment with the same CQI level in the candidate resource block segment list, the network node may create a new candidate resource block segment with the CQI of RB(i). The starting RB number of the candidate resource block segment may be the same as the starting RB number of the unfinished segment with a higher CQI.

[0174] In one embodiment, when the corresponding CQI level for at least one candidate resource block segment including RB(i-1) is less than or equal to the CQI level of RB(i), the network node may add RB(i) to each candidate resource block segment including RB(i-1). When the CQI level for each candidate resource block segment including RB(i-1) is not equal to the CQI level of RB(i), the network node may determine the channel quality indicator for the new candidate resource block segment as the CQI of RB(i), and add RB(i) and one or more preceding resource blocks of RB(i) whose channel quality is equal to or higher than the channel quality of RB(i) to the new candidate resource block segment.

[0175] In one embodiment, the network node may check if there are any RB segments that do not end with a higher CQI and may set the ending RB number of these RB segments equal to i.

[0176] refer to Figure 2 In block 204, the network node may select at least one candidate resource block segment from the one or more candidate resource block segments. The network node may select at least one candidate resource block segment from the one or more candidate resource block segments based on various factors such as service requirements (e.g., channel quality requirements and / or RB quantity requirements, etc.). In one embodiment, a candidate resource block segment with a higher channel quality has a higher priority to be selected for determining at least one resource block for the terminal device. In one embodiment, when the RBs in one candidate resource block segment cannot meet the requirements of the terminal device, the network node may select two or more candidate resource block segments.

[0177] At block 206, the network node may determine at least one resource block for the terminal device from the selected at least one candidate resource block segment. In one embodiment, the network node may determine at least one resource block for the terminal device from the selected at least one candidate resource block segment based on the corresponding channel quality indicator of the selected at least one candidate resource block segment and the number of resource blocks required by the terminal device. For example, the network node may first find the RB segment with the highest CQI, and if the number of RBs in the RB segment with the highest CQI can meet the required number of RBs, the network node may select the RB segment with the highest CQI. If it cannot find the RB segment, it may lower the CQI level of the RB segment and check whether there is any RB segment that can meet the required number of RBs.

[0178] The network node may send information about the at least one resource block to the terminal device at block 208. The information about the at least one resource block may be included in any suitable message sent from the network node to the terminal device.

[0179] A detailed example implementation is given below.

[0180] Table 9 shows a list of all available RBs and corresponding CQIs.

[0181] Table 9

[0182]

[0183] The network node may loop from the first RB0 whose CQI is 9 and store RB0 as the starting point of segment 1 having a CQI level of 9. The network node may then move to the following RB1 whose CQI is 9. Thus, segment 1 will not end, the network node may place RB1 into segment 1, and no new segment will be created.

[0184] However, for RB2, whose CQI is greater than RB1, the network node may add RB2 to segment 1 with CQI 9 and create a new segment 2 starting from RB2. The network node may record the CQI of segment 2 as 11. Then, for RB3 with a CQI of 11, the network node may add RB3 to segments 1 and 2, and no new segment will be created.

[0185] The network node may perform the same operation from RB3 to RB7, and the candidate RB segment list may be as shown in Table 10 below:

[0186] Table 10

[0187]

[0188] The network node can continue to check RB8, whose CQI is 10 and is lower than the CQI of RB7. Since there is no segment with CQI 10 in the existing segment list, the network node can use to create a new segment 5 with CQI 10. Because segment 2 has not ended and has a higher CQI level, i.e., CQI 11, the starting RB number of segment 5 should be the same as segment 2, i.e., RB2.

[0189] The network node can check the previous segment of the continuous RB with RB8 in the segment list. The CQI level of segments 2, 3, and 4 is greater than the CQI level of RB8, so the network node can set RB8 as the end of these segments. After this process, the candidate RB segment list can be as shown in Table 11 below:

[0190] Table 11

[0191]

[0192] The network node can check the remaining RBs and perform the same operation. The candidate RB segment list can be as shown in Table 12 below:

[0193] Table 12

[0194]

[0195] Now, the network node can obtain the CQI level list as shown in Table 13 below. In each CQI level, it stores one or more RB segments.

[0196] Table 13

[0197] CQI13 Segment 4 (2 RBs), ... CQI12 Segment 3 (4 RBs), ... CQI11 Segment 2 (6 RBs), ... CQI10 Segment 5 (8 RBs), segment 7 (1 RB), ... CQI9 Segment 1 (10 RBs), ... CQI8 Segment 6 (12 RBs), ... … … CQI1 …

[0198] When the scheduler of the network node allocates RBs, it can first find the RB segment with the highest CQI. If the number of RBs in the RB segment with the highest CQI can meet the required number of RBs, it can select the RB segment with the highest CQI. If not found, it can reduce the CQI level of the RB segment and check whether there is any RB segment that can meet the required number of RBs.

[0199] Another detailed example implementation is given below.

[0200] Table 14 shows a list of all available RBs and their corresponding CQIs:

[0201] Table 14

[0202]

[0203] The network node may loop from the first RB0 with a CQI of 9 and store RB0 as the starting point of segment 1 with a CQI level of 9. The network node may then move to the next RB1 with a CQI of 9. Thus, segment 1 will not end, the network node may place RB1 into segment 1, and no new segment will be created.

[0204] However, for RB2, its CQI is greater than RB1. The network node can add RB2 to segment 1 and create a new segment 2, whose starting point is RB2. The network node can record the CQI of segment 2 as 11. Then, for RB3 with a CQI of 11, RB3 is set to be in segments 1 and 2, and no new segment will be created. The candidate RB segment list is shown in Table 15 below.

[0205] Table 15

[0206]

[0207] For RB4, its CQI is less than that of RB2. The network node can check the previous consecutive segments 1 and 2. Segment 1 has the same CQI9, so the network node can add RB4 to segment 1 and no new segment will be created. The network node can perform the same operation from RB5, and the candidate RB segment list is shown in Table 16 below.

[0208] Table 16

[0209]

[0210] Then, for RB6, whose CQI is greater than the previous RB5, the network node can create a new segment 3 with its starting point as RB6 and record the CQI of the segment as 13. Then, the network node can add RB7 to segment 3 and segment 1, and the candidate RB segment list is shown in Table 17 below.

[0211] Table 17

[0212]

[0213] The network node may continue to check RB8, whose CQI is 12 and is less than the CQI of RB7.

[0214] There is no segment with CQI level 12 in the existing segment list, so the network node can set a new segment 4. Segment 3 has not ended and has a higher CQI level of 13, so the starting RB number of segment 4 should be the same as that of segment 3, that is, RB6.

[0215] The network node can check the segment list for previous segments with RBs that are contiguous with RB8. If segments 1 and 3 are contiguous with RB8 and the CQI of segment 1 is less than that of RB8, the network node can add RB8 to segment 1. The network node can perform the same check for RB9 and RB10. After this process, the candidate RB segment list is shown in Table 18 below.

[0216] Table 18

[0217]

[0218] The network node can check the remaining RBs and perform the same operation. The list of candidate RB segments is shown in Table 19 below.

[0219] Table 19

[0220]

[0221] Now, the network node can obtain the CQI level list as shown in Table 20, in which it stores one or more RB segments.

[0222] Table 20

[0223] CQI13 Segment 3 (2 RBs), segment 5 (1 RB), ... CQI12 Segment 4 (5 RBs), ... CQI11 Segment 2 (2 RBs), ... CQI10 Segment 6 (1 RB), ... CQI9 Segment 1 (12 RBs), ... … … CQI1 …

[0224] When the scheduler of the network node allocates RBs for a UE, it can first find the RB segment with the highest CQI. If the number of RBs in the RB segment with the highest CQI can meet the required number of RBs, the segment with the highest CQI can be selected. Otherwise, the network node can lower the CQI of the RB segment and check whether there is any segment that can meet the required number of RBs.

[0225] Figure 7c 、 7d 7e are simulation results for a conventional scheduling algorithm (e.g., for the example implementation described above) and the proposed scheduling algorithm according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The total number of required RBs for the test case cycles ranges from 10 to 270. At each required number of RBs, the scheduling algorithm is run 500 times.

[0226] Figure 7c 、 7d 7e and 7e show the different running times of the two algorithms for different CQI thresholds. Assume that 8 UEs can be scheduled simultaneously. Figure 7c The runtime for the conventional algorithm and the proposed algorithm (or new algorithm (Alg)) is shown, with 8 UEs and CQI threshold = 1 for the conventional algorithm. Figure 7d The runtime for the conventional algorithm and the proposed algorithm is shown, with 8 UEs and CQI threshold = 2 for the conventional algorithm. Figure 7eThe runtime for the conventional algorithm and the proposed algorithm is shown, with 8 UEs and CQI threshold = 3 for the conventional algorithm.

[0227] like Figure 7c 、 7d As shown in Figures 7e and 7e, the execution time of the scheduling algorithm according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is shorter than that of the traditional scheduling algorithm. This means that the time complexity of the scheduling algorithm according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is lower than that of the traditional algorithm for different CQI thresholds. In addition, when the CQI threshold is higher, the traditional algorithm may require a longer execution time.

[0228] Figure 7f 、 7g 7a and 7b show the running time of the traditional scheduling algorithm and the proposed scheduling algorithm when scheduling different numbers of UEs simultaneously. Figure 7f The runtime for the conventional algorithm and the proposed algorithm is shown, with 10 UEs and CQI threshold = 2 for the conventional algorithm. Figure 7g The runtime for the conventional algorithm and the proposed algorithm is shown, with 12 UEs and CQI threshold = 2 for the conventional algorithm. Figure 7h The runtime for the conventional algorithm and the proposed algorithm is shown, with 14 UEs and CQI threshold = 2 for the conventional algorithm.

[0229] As the number of scheduled UEs increases, the runtime for RB allocation also increases. However, the runtime of the proposed algorithm is always less than that of the conventional algorithm (approximately half to one-third). This indicates that the proposed algorithm is more efficient for contiguous RB allocation (such as NR resource allocation type 1), saving more time to support multiple UEs scheduled simultaneously.

[0230] Figure 8 A flowchart of method 800 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. This method can be performed by an apparatus implemented in a terminal device, an apparatus implemented as a terminal device, or an apparatus communicatively coupled to a terminal device. Thus, the apparatus can provide components or modules for implementing various parts of method 800, as well as components for implementing other processes in conjunction with other components. For the sake of brevity, detailed descriptions of some parts already described in the above embodiments are omitted here.

[0231] At block 802, a terminal device may receive information about at least one resource block from a network node. For example, the network node may receive information about at least one resource block from a network node. Figure 2 The information is sent at block 208 of the UE, and then the terminal device can receive the information.

[0232] At block 804, the terminal device may obtain information about at least one resource block.The terminal may send and / or receive messages and / or data based on the information about the at least one resource block.

[0233] As described above, the at least one resource block is determined from at least one candidate resource block segment having a corresponding channel quality indicator.

[0234] As described above, the at least one candidate resource block segment includes corresponding consecutive one or more candidate resource blocks, and the corresponding channel quality of the corresponding consecutive one or more candidate resource blocks in the at least one candidate resource block segment is equal to or higher than the channel quality of the at least one candidate resource block segment indicated by the corresponding channel quality indicator.

[0235] Figure 9a 900 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus suitable for implementing some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, any one of the terminal device and the network node described above may be implemented as the apparatus 900 or implemented by the apparatus 900.

[0236] The apparatus 900 includes at least one processor 921, such as a digital processor (DP), and at least one memory (MEM) 922 coupled to the processor 921. The apparatus 900 may also include a transmitter TX and a receiver RX 923 coupled to the processor 921. The memory 922 stores a program (PROG) 924. The program 924 may include instructions that, when executed on the associated processor 921, enable the apparatus 900 to operate in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. The combination of the at least one processor 921 and the at least one memory 922 may form a processing device 825 suitable for implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0237] Various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented through a computer program, which may be executed by one or more of the following: the processor 921 , software, firmware, hardware, or a combination thereof.

[0238] Memory 922 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology such as, by way of non-limiting example, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory.

[0239] Processor 921 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include one or more of the following: by way of non-limiting examples, a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture.

[0240] In an embodiment where the device is implemented as a terminal device or implemented at a terminal device, the memory 922 stores instructions executable by the processor 921 , whereby the terminal device operates according to any steps of the methods related to the terminal device described above.

[0241] In an embodiment where the apparatus is implemented as or at a network node, the memory 922 stores instructions executable by the processor 921 , whereby the network node operates according to any of the steps of the methods described above in relation to network nodes.

[0242] Figure 9b is a block diagram illustrating a network node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, network node 950 includes a first determination module 951, a selection module 952, a second determination module 953, and a transmission module 954. The first determination module 951 can be configured to determine one or more candidate resource block segments having corresponding channel quality indicators. The one or more candidate resource block segments include one or more corresponding consecutive candidate resource blocks, and the corresponding channel quality of the one or more consecutive candidate resource blocks is equal to or higher than the channel quality of the candidate resource block segment indicated by the corresponding channel quality indicator. The selection module 952 can be configured to select at least one candidate resource block segment from the one or more candidate resource block segments. The second determination module 953 can be configured to determine at least one resource block for a terminal device from the selected at least one candidate resource block segment. The transmission module 954 can be configured to send information about the at least one resource block to the terminal device.

[0243] Figure 9c is a block diagram illustrating a terminal device 970 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, the terminal device 970 includes a receiving module 971 and an obtaining module 972. The receiving module 971 can be configured to receive information about at least one resource block from a network node. The obtaining module 972 can be configured to obtain information about at least one resource block. The at least one resource block is determined from at least one candidate resource block segment having a corresponding channel quality indicator. The at least one candidate resource block segment includes one or more corresponding consecutive candidate resource blocks, and the corresponding channel quality of the one or more corresponding consecutive candidate resource blocks in the at least one candidate resource block segment is equal to or higher than the channel quality of the at least one candidate resource block segment indicated by the corresponding channel quality indicator.

[0244] The embodiments herein provide many advantages, the following is a non-exhaustive list of examples of the advantages. In some embodiments herein, the proposed solution can reduce the resource allocation complexity, for example, for frequency selective scheduling in NR resource allocation type 1. In some embodiments herein, the proposed solution can provide a method to efficiently select RBs at appropriate CQI levels. In some embodiments herein, the proposed solution can reduce the runtime of the resource allocation algorithm. The embodiments herein are not limited to the above-described features and advantages. After reading the following detailed description, those skilled in the art will recognize additional features and advantages.

[0245] In some embodiments herein, the proposed solution can quickly and efficiently create a CQI list that can easily know how many RB segments are stored in each CQI level and how many consecutive RBs can be used in each segment.

[0246] In some embodiments herein, the proposed solution may provide flexibility to select RBs in the created CQI list according to the scheduling request.

[0247] In some embodiments herein, if the number of RBs of the best CQI level does not meet the requirement, the proposed solution may support lowering the CQI level to select more RBs.

[0248] In some embodiments, for NR resource allocation type 1 with frequency selective scheduling, the network node can create a CQI level list with all CQI levels including several consecutive RB segments, and select the RB segment according to the scheduling RB requirements simply and efficiently without sliding windows or comparison and recalculation. All selected RBs can use the same CQI level, which is more accurate in the scheduler.

[0249] In some embodiments, the proposed resource allocation method may be performed in each scheduling period (eg, time slot).

[0250] The term unit / module may have a conventional meaning in the field of electronic devices, electrical equipment and / or electronic equipment, and may include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuits, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid-state and / or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for performing corresponding tasks, processes, calculations, output and / or display functions, etc., such as those described herein.

[0251] By using functional units / modules, terminal devices and network nodes can eliminate the need for fixed processors or memory. The introduction of virtualization technology and network computing technology can improve the efficiency of network resource utilization and network flexibility.

[0252] Furthermore, an exemplary overall communication system including a terminal device and a network node such as a network base station will be introduced below.

[0253] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication system including a host computer, the host computer including: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a terminal device. The cellular network includes the aforementioned base station and / or the aforementioned terminal device.

[0254] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the system further includes a terminal device, which is configured to communicate with the base station.

[0255] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a processing circuit of a host computer is configured to execute a host computer application to provide user data; and a terminal device includes a processing circuit configured to execute a client application associated with the host computer application.

[0256] Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a communication system including a host computer and a base station. The host computer includes a communication interface configured to receive user data transmitted from a terminal device. The transmission is from the terminal device to the base station. The base station is as described above, and / or the terminal device is as described above.

[0257] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing circuit of the host computer is configured to execute a host computer application, and the terminal device is configured to execute a client application associated with the host computer application, thereby providing user data to be received by the host computer.

[0258] Figure 9d is a schematic diagram illustrating a wireless network according to some embodiments.

[0259] Although the subject matter described herein can be implemented in any suitable type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are described with respect to wireless networks, e.g. Figure 9d For simplicity, the example wireless network shown in Figure 9d The wireless network shown in FIG. 1 only depicts network 1006, network nodes 1060 (corresponding to network-side nodes) and 1060b, and WDs (corresponding to terminal devices) 1010, 1010b, and 1010c. In practice, the wireless network may also include any additional components suitable for supporting communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device (e.g., a landline phone, a service provider, or any other network node or terminal device). Of the components shown, network node 1060 and wireless device (WD) 1010 are depicted with additional detail. The wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate wireless devices accessing and / or using services provided by or via the wireless network.

[0260] A wireless network may include an interface and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and / or radio network or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, a wireless network may be configured to operate according to a particular standard or other type of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, particular embodiments of a wireless network may implement communication standards such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards; wireless local area network (WLAN) standards such as the IEEE 802.11 standard; and / or any other suitable wireless communication standards such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, and / or ZigBee standards.

[0261] The network 1006 may include one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), packet data networks, optical networks, wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks to enable communication between devices.

[0262] The network node 1060 and the WD 1010 include various components described in more detail below. These components work together to provide network node and / or wireless device functionality, such as providing wireless connectivity in a wireless network. In various embodiments, a wireless network may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and signals over a wired or wireless connection.

[0263] As used herein, a network node refers to a device that is capable of, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and / or with other network nodes or devices in a wireless network to enable and / or provide wireless access to the wireless device and / or perform other functions (e.g., management) in the wireless network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, node Bs, evolved node Bs (eNBs), and NR node Bs (gNBs)). Base stations can be classified based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, in other words, their transmit power levels), and may then also be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node that controls a relay. A network node may also include one or more components (or all components) of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), sometimes referred to as a remote radio head (RRH). Such a remote radio unit may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna-integrated radio. Components of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS). Yet another example of a network node includes a multi-standard radio (MSR) device (e.g., an MSR BS), a network controller (e.g., a radio network controller (RNC) or a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a transmission point, a transmission node), a multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), a core network node (e.g., an MSC, an MME), an O&M node, an OSS node, a SON node, a positioning node (e.g., an E-SMLC), and / or an MDT. As another example, a network node may be a virtual network node as described in more detail below. However, more generally, a network node may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) that is capable of, configured, arranged, and / or operable to enable a wireless device to access a wireless network and / or provide a wireless device with access to a wireless network or provide certain services to a wireless device that has accessed a wireless network.

[0264] exist Figure 9d In FIG. 1 , the network node 1060 includes a processing circuit 1070, a device-readable medium 1080, an interface 1090, an auxiliary device 1084, a power supply 1086, a power supply circuit 1087, and an antenna 1062. Figure 9dThe network node 1060 shown in the example wireless network of FIG. 1060 may represent a device that includes the combination of hardware components shown, but other embodiments may include network nodes with different combinations of components. It should be understood that the network node includes any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. Furthermore, while the components of the network node 1060 are depicted as a single box within a larger box or as a single box nested within multiple boxes, in reality, the network node may include multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g., the device readable medium 1080 may include multiple separate hard drives and multiple RAM modules).

[0265] Similarly, network node 1060 may be comprised of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), each of which may have its own corresponding components. In certain scenarios where network node 1060 includes multiple separate components (e.g., a BTS component and a BSC component), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may be considered a single, separate network node in some cases. In some embodiments, network node 1060 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components (e.g., separate device-readable media 1080 for different RATs) may be duplicated, and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 1062 may be shared by all RATs). Network node 1060 may also include various combinations of the illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1060, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets and other components within network node 1060 .

[0266] The processing circuitry 1070 is configured to perform any determinations, calculations, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being provided by the network node. These operations performed by the processing circuitry 1070 may include processing information obtained by the processing circuitry 1070 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or the converted information with information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or the converted information and making a determination as a result of the processing.

[0267] The processing circuitry 1070 may include one or more combinations of: a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic, which may operate alone or in conjunction with other network node 1060 components (e.g., device-readable medium 1080) to provide network node 1060 functionality. For example, the processing circuitry 1070 may execute instructions stored in the device-readable medium 1080 or in memory within the processing circuitry 1070. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1070 may include a system-on-chip (SOC).

[0268] In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1070 may include one or more of the following: radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1072 and baseband processing circuitry 1074. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1072 and baseband processing circuitry 1074 may be on separate chips (or chipsets), boards, or units (e.g., a radio unit and a digital unit). In alternative embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1072 and baseband processing circuitry 1074 may be on the same chip, chipset, board, or unit.

[0269] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB, or other such network device may be performed by processing circuitry 1070 executing instructions stored on device-readable medium 1080 or memory within processing circuitry 1070. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 1070, for example, in a hardwired manner, without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable medium. In any of these embodiments, processing circuitry 1070 may be configured to perform the described functionality, regardless of whether or not executing instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 1070 or other components of network node 1060, but may be enjoyed generally by network node 1060 as a whole and / or by end users and wireless networks.

[0270] Device-readable medium 1080 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including, but not limited to, permanent storage devices, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., a flash drive, compact disc (CD), or digital video disc (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable storage device that stores information, data, and / or instructions usable by processing circuit 1070. Device-readable medium 1080 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including computer programs, software, applications including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions that can be executed by processing circuit 1070 and used by network node 1060. Device-readable medium 1080 may be used to store any computations performed by processing circuit 1070 and / or any data received via interface 1090. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1070 and device-readable medium 1080 may be considered integrated.

[0271] Interface 1090 is used for wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network node 1060, network 1006, and / or WD 1010. As shown, interface 1090 includes port / terminal 1094 for sending and receiving data to and from network 1006 via a wired connection. Interface 1090 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1092, which may be coupled to antenna 1062 or, in some embodiments, be part of antenna 1062. Radio front-end circuitry 1092 includes filter 1098 and amplifier 1096. Radio front-end circuitry 1092 may be connected to antenna 1062 and processing circuitry 1070. Radio front-end circuitry 1092 may be configured to condition signals transmitted between antenna 1062 and processing circuitry 1070. Radio front-end circuitry 1092 may receive digital data to be transmitted to other network nodes or WDs via wireless connections. Radio front-end circuitry 1092 may use a combination of filter 1098 and / or amplifier 1096 to convert the digital data into a radio signal with appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 1062. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 1062 may collect the radio signal, which may then be converted into digital data by radio front-end circuitry 1092. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 1070. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0272] In some alternative embodiments, the network node 1060 may not include a separate radio front end circuitry 1092, and instead, the processing circuitry 1070 may include the radio front end circuitry and may be connected to the antenna 1062 without the separate radio front end circuitry 1092. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1072 may be considered part of the interface 1090. In still other embodiments, the interface 1090 may include one or more ports or terminals 1094, the radio front end circuitry 1092, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1072 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the interface 1090 may communicate with the baseband processing circuitry 1074, which is part of the digital unit (not shown).

[0273] Antenna 1062 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 1062 may be coupled to radio front-end circuitry 1090 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 1062 may include one or more omnidirectional, sectored, or flat panel antennas operable to transmit / receive radio signals between, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz. Omnidirectional antennas can be used to transmit / receive radio signals in any direction, sectored antennas can be used to transmit / receive radio signals to / from devices within a specific area, and flat panel antennas may be line-of-sight antennas used to transmit / receive radio signals in a relatively straight line. In some cases, using more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO. In some embodiments, antenna 1062 may be separate from network node 1060 and may be connected to network node 1060 via an interface or port.

[0274] Antenna 1062, interface 1090 and / or processing circuit 1070 can be configured to perform any receiving operation and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and / or signal can be received from a wireless device, another network node and / or any other network device. Similarly, antenna 1062, interface 1090 and / or processing circuit 1070 can be configured to perform any transmitting operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and / or signal can be sent to a wireless device, another network node and / or any other network device.

[0275] Power circuit 1087 may include or be coupled to power management circuitry and is configured to provide power to the components of network node 1060 to perform the functions described herein. Power circuit 1087 may receive power from power source 1086. Power source 1086 and / or power circuit 1087 may be configured to provide power to the various components of network node 1060 in a form appropriate for the respective components (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required by each respective component). Power source 1086 may be included in power circuit 1087 and / or network node 1060 or external to power circuit 1087 and / or network node 1060. For example, network node 1060 may be connected to an external power source (e.g., a power outlet) via an input circuit or interface (e.g., a cable), whereby the external power source provides power to power circuit 1087. As another example, power circuit 1086 may include a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack that is connected to power circuit 108 or integrated into power circuit 1087. The battery may provide backup power if the external power source fails. Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, may also be used.

[0276] Alternative embodiments of network node 1060 may include, in addition to Figure 9d , which may be responsible for providing certain aspects of the network node functionality, including any functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node 1060 may include user interface devices to allow input of information to network node 1060 and output of information from network node 1060. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other management functions for network node 1060.

[0277] As used herein, a wireless device (WD) refers to a device that is capable of, configured, arranged, and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with a network node and / or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise specified, the term WD may be used interchangeably with user equipment (UE) herein. Wireless communication may involve the use of electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for transmitting information through the air to send and / or receive wireless signals. In some embodiments, a WD may be configured to send and / or receive information without direct human-computer interaction. For example, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the network, the WD may be designed to transmit information to the network according to a predetermined schedule. Examples of WDs include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones, cellular phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablet computers, laptop computers, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop-on-board devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless client equipment (CPEs), vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, and the like. For example, by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), and vehicle-to-everything (V2X), a WD can support device-to-device (D2D) communication, in which case it can be referred to as a D2D communication device. As another specific example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a WD can represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another WD and / or a network node. In this case, the WD can be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which can be referred to as an MTC device in the 3GPP context. As a specific example, a WD can be a UE that implements the 3GPP Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) standard. Specific examples of such machines or devices are sensors, such as metering equipment such as power meters, industrial machinery, or household or personal appliances (such as refrigerators, televisions, etc.), personal wearable devices (such as watches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other scenarios, a WD can represent a vehicle or other device that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting its operating status or other functions associated with its operation. As described above, WD may represent an endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. In addition, as described above, WD may be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal.

[0278] As shown, wireless device 1010 includes antenna 1011, interface 1014, processing circuitry 1020, device-readable medium 1030, user interface device 1032, auxiliary device 1034, power supply 1036, and power supply circuitry 1037. WD 1010 may include multiple sets of one or more of the components shown for different wireless technologies supported by WD 1010 (e.g., GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, to name a few). These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets as other components in WD 1010.

[0279] Antenna 1011 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and connected to interface 1014. In some alternative embodiments, antenna 1011 may be separate from WD 1010 and connectable to WD 1010 via an interface or port. Antenna 1011, interface 1014, and / or processing circuit 1020 may be configured to perform any receive or transmit operation described herein as being performed by a WD. Any information, data, and / or signal may be received from a network node and / or another WD. In some embodiments, the radio front-end circuit and / or antenna 1011 may be considered an interface.

[0280] As shown, interface 1014 includes radio front-end circuitry 1012 and antenna 1011. Radio front-end circuitry 1012 includes one or more filters 1018 and an amplifier 1016. Radio front-end circuitry 1014 is connected to antenna 1011 and processing circuitry 1020 and is configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1011 and processing circuitry 1020. Radio front-end circuitry 1012 may be coupled to or part of antenna 1011. In some embodiments, WD 1010 may not include a separate radio front-end circuitry 1012; instead, processing circuitry 1020 may include radio front-end circuitry and be connected to antenna 1011. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1022 may be considered part of interface 1014. Radio front-end circuitry 1012 may receive digital data to be transmitted to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front-end circuitry 1012 may use a combination of filters 1018 and / or amplifiers 1016 to convert the digital data into a radio signal with appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 1011. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 1011 may collect the radio signal, which may then be converted into digital data by radio front-end circuitry 1012. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 1020. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0281] The processing circuit 1020 may include one or more of a combination of a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic that can operate to provide WD 1010 functionality alone or in conjunction with other WD 1010 components (e.g., device readable medium 1030). Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, the processing circuit 1020 may execute instructions stored in the device readable medium 1030 or in a memory within the processing circuit 1020 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.

[0282] As shown, processing circuitry 1020 includes one or more of the following: RF transceiver circuitry 1022, baseband processing circuitry 1024, and application processing circuitry 1026. In other embodiments, the processing circuitry may include different components and / or different combinations of components. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1020 of WD 1010 may include a system-on-chip (SoC). In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 1022, baseband processing circuitry 1024, and application processing circuitry 1026 may be implemented on separate chips or chipsets. In alternative embodiments, part or all of baseband processing circuitry 1024 and application processing circuitry 1026 may be combined into one chip or a set of chips, and RF transceiver circuitry 1022 may be implemented on a separate chip or a set of chips. In yet another alternative embodiment, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1022 and baseband processing circuitry 1024 may be implemented on the same chip or chipset, and application processing circuitry 1026 may be implemented on a separate chip or chipset. In yet another alternative embodiment, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1022, baseband processing circuitry 1024, and application processing circuitry 1026 may be combined in the same chip or chipset. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 1022 may be part of interface 1014. RF transceiver circuitry 1022 may condition RF signals for processing circuitry 1020.

[0283] In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein as being performed by the WD may be provided by processing circuit 1020 executing instructions stored on device-readable medium 1030, which in some embodiments may be a computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functions may be provided by processing circuit 1020, for example, in a hardwired manner, without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium. In any of these specific embodiments, processing circuit 1020 may be configured to perform the described functions regardless of whether instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium are executed. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuit 1020 alone or other components of WD 1010, but are generally enjoyed by WD 1010 and / or by end users and wireless networks.

[0284] The processing circuit 1020 may be configured to perform any determination, calculation, or similar operation (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being performed by the WD. These operations performed by the processing circuit 1020 may include processing information obtained by the processing circuit 1020 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or the converted information with information stored by the WD 1010, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or the converted information, and making a determination as a result of the processing.

[0285] Device-readable medium 1030 is operable to store computer programs, software, applications including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc., and / or other instructions executable by processing circuit 1020. Device-readable medium 1030 may include computer memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., a compact disk (CD) or digital video disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable storage device that stores information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by processing circuit 1020. In some embodiments, processing circuit 1020 and device-readable medium 1030 may be considered integrated.

[0286] The user interface device 1032 may provide components that allow a human user to interact with the WD 1010. This interaction can take various forms, such as visual, auditory, or tactile. The user interface device 1032 can operate to generate output to the user and allow the user to provide input to the WD 1010. The type of interaction may vary depending on the type of user interface device 1032 installed in the WD 1010. For example, if the WD 1010 is a smartphone, the interaction may be through a touch screen; if the WD 1010 is a smart meter, the interaction may be through a screen that provides usage information (e.g., gallons used) or a speaker that provides an audible alarm (e.g., if smoke is detected). The user interface device 1032 may include input interfaces, devices, and circuitry, as well as output interfaces, devices, and circuitry. The user interface device 1032 is configured to allow information to be input into the WD 1010 and is connected to the processing circuit 1020 to allow the processing circuit 1020 to process the input information. The user interface device 1032 may include, for example, a microphone, a proximity sensor or other sensor, keys / buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuitry. The user interface device 1032 is also configured to allow information to be output from the WD 1010 and to allow the processing circuit 1020 to output information from the WD 1010. The user interface device 1032 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, a vibration circuit, a USB port, a headphone jack, or other output circuitry. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits of the user interface device 1032, the WD 1010 may communicate with an end user and / or a wireless network and allow them to benefit from the functionality described herein.

[0287] Auxiliary device 1034 is operable to provide more specific functions that are not typically performed by a WD. This may include specialized sensors for taking measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wired communication, etc. The inclusion and types of components of auxiliary device 1034 may vary depending on the embodiment and / or scenario.

[0288] In some embodiments, power source 1036 may be in the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources may also be used, such as an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a battery. WD 1010 may also include power circuitry 1037 for delivering power from power source 1036 to various accessories of WD 1010 that require power from power source 1036 to perform any functions described or indicated herein. In some embodiments, power circuitry 1037 may include power management circuitry. Power circuitry 1037 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source; in this case, WD 1010 may be connected to the external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet) via an interface such as an input circuit or a power cord. In some embodiments, power circuitry 1037 may also be used to deliver power from the external power source to power source 1036. This may be used, for example, to charge power source 1036. Power circuitry 1037 may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modifications to the power from power source 1036 to make it suitable for the various components of WD 1010 being powered.

[0289] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating user equipment according to some embodiments.

[0290] Figure 10 One embodiment of a UE according to various aspects described herein is illustrated. As used herein, a user equipment or UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the associated equipment. Rather, a UE may represent a device that is intended to be sold to or operated by a human user but may not be, or may not initially be, associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended to be sold to or operated by an end user but may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart meter). UE 1100 may be any UE identified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including an NB-IoT UE, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. As Figure 10 As shown, UE 1100 is an example of a WD configured to communicate in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 3GPP's GSM, UMTS, LTE, and / or 5G standards. As previously mentioned, the terms WD and UE may be used interchangeably. Figure 10 It's UE, but the components discussed here also apply to WD, and vice versa.

[0291] exist Figure 10In the embodiment, UE 1100 includes a processing circuit 1101 operatively coupled to an input / output interface 1105, a radio frequency (RF) interface 1109, a network connection interface 1111, a memory 1115 (including a random access memory (RAM) 1117, a read-only memory (ROM) 1119, and a storage medium 1121, etc.), a communication subsystem 1131, a power supply 1133, and / or any other components, or any combination thereof. The storage medium 1121 includes an operating system 1123, an application 1125, and data 1127. In other embodiments, the storage medium 1121 may include other similar types of information. Some UEs may utilize Figure 10 All or only a subset of the components shown in . The level of integration between components may vary from one UE to another. In addition, some UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0292] exist Figure 10 In the embodiment of the present invention, processing circuit 1101 can be configured to process computer instructions and data. Processing circuit 1101 can be configured to implement any sequential state machine that is operable to execute machine instructions stored as a machine-readable computer program in memory, such as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logic and appropriate firmware; one or more stored program, general-purpose processors, such as microprocessors or digital signal processors (DSPs), and appropriate software; or any combination thereof. For example, processing circuit 1101 may include two central processing units (CPUs). Data may be information in a form suitable for use by a computer.

[0293] In the depicted embodiment, the input / output interface 1105 can be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, an output device, or both. The UE 1100 can be configured to use an output device via the input / output interface 1105. The output device can use the same type of interface port as the input device. For example, a USB port can be used to provide input to the UE 1100 and provide output from the UE 1100. The output device can be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, a transmitter, a smart card, another output device, or any combination thereof. The UE 1100 can be configured to use an input device via the input / output interface 1105 to allow a user to capture information into the UE 1100. The input device can include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a webcam, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional key, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smart card, etc. The presence-sensitive display can include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from the user. For example, the sensor can be an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another similar sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device can be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and an optical sensor.

[0294] exist Figure 10 In the embodiment of the present invention, the RF interface 1109 can be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as transmitters, receivers and antennas. The network connection interface 1111 can be configured to provide a communication interface to the network 1143a. The network 1143a can include a wired and / or wireless network, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network or any combination thereof. For example, the network 1143a can include a Wi-Fi network. The network connection interface 1111 can be configured to include a receiver and a transmitter interface, which is used to communicate with one or more other devices through a communication network according to one or more communication protocols (such as Ethernet, TCP / IP, SONET, ATM, etc.). The network connection interface 1111 can implement receiver and transmitter functions suitable for communication network links (e.g., optical, electrical, etc.). The transmitter and receiver functions can share circuit components, software or firmware, or can be implemented separately.

[0295] RAM 1117 can be configured to interface with processing circuit 1101 via bus 1102 to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during the execution of software programs such as an operating system, application programs, and device drivers. ROM 1119 can be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuit 1101. For example, ROM 1119 can be configured to store unchanging low-level system code or data used for basic system functions, such as basic input and output (I / O), startup, or receiving keystrokes from a keyboard, which are stored in non-volatile memory. Storage media 1121 can be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disk, optical disk, floppy disk, hard disk, removable tape, or flash drive. In one example, the storage medium 1121 can be configured to include an operating system 1123, an application 1125 (e.g., a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine, or another application), and data files 1127. The storage medium 1121 can store any of a variety of different operating systems or a combination of operating systems for use by the UE 1100.

[0296] Storage medium 1121 can be configured to include multiple physical drive units, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), a floppy disk drive, a flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical drive, an internal hard drive, a Blu-ray disc drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical drive, an external mini dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), an external micro DIMM SDRAM, smart card memory (e.g., a subscriber identity module or removable user identity (SIM / RUIM) module), other memory, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 1121 can allow UE 1100 to access computer-executable instructions, applications, etc. stored on temporary or non-temporary storage media to download or upload data. An article of manufacture (e.g., an article of manufacture utilizing a communication system) can be tangibly embodied in storage medium 1121, which can include device-readable media.

[0297] exist Figure 10In the embodiment, the processing circuit 1101 can be configured to communicate with the network 1143b using the communication subsystem 1131. The network 1143a and the network 1143b can be the same network or multiple networks or different networks or multiple networks. The communication subsystem 1131 can be configured to include one or more transceivers for communicating with the network 1143b. For example, the communication subsystem 1131 can be configured to include one or more transceivers for communicating with the network 1143b according to one or more communication protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.11, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, etc.) with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication, such as another WD, UE, or a base station of a radio access network (RAN). Each transceiver can include a transmitter 1133 and / or a receiver 1135 to respectively implement transmitter or receiver functions suitable for the RAN link (e.g., frequency allocation, etc.). In addition, the transmitter 1133 and receiver 1135 of each transceiver can share circuit components, software, or firmware, or can be implemented separately.

[0298] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of the communication subsystem 1131 may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as using a global positioning system (GPS) to determine location, another similar communication function, or any combination thereof. For example, the communication subsystem 1131 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication. The network 1143b may include a wired and / or wireless network, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, the network 1143b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and / or a near-field network. The power supply 1113 may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to the components of the UE 1100.

[0299] The features, benefits, and / or functionality described herein may be implemented in one of the components of UE 1100 or divided across multiple components of UE 1100. Furthermore, the features, benefits, and / or functionality described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software, or firmware. In one example, the communication subsystem 1131 may be configured to include any of the components described herein. Furthermore, the processing circuit 1101 may be configured to communicate with any such component via bus 1102. In another example, any such component may be represented by program instructions stored in a memory that, when executed by the processing circuit 1101, perform the corresponding functions described herein. In another example, the functionality of any such component may be divided between the processing circuit 1101 and the communication subsystem 1131. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any such component may be implemented in software or firmware, and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0300] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a virtualized environment according to some embodiments.

[0301] Figure 11 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1200 in which functionality implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means creating a virtual version of an apparatus or device, which may include virtualized hardware platforms, storage devices, and network resources. As used herein, virtualization may be applied to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) or a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device, or any other type of communication device) or a component thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., by one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines, or containers running on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).

[0302] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments 1200 hosted by one or more hardware nodes 1230. Furthermore, in embodiments where the virtual nodes are not radio access nodes or do not require radio connectivity (e.g., core network nodes), the network nodes may be fully virtualized.

[0303] Functionality may be implemented by one or more applications 1220 (which may alternatively be referred to as software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.), which are operable to implement some of the features, functionality, and / or benefits of some embodiments disclosed herein. The applications 1220 run in a virtualized environment 1200 that provides hardware 1230 including processing circuitry 1260 and memory 1290. The memory 1290 stores instructions 1295 that are executable by the processing circuitry 1260, thereby enabling the applications 1220 to operate to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and / or functionality disclosed herein.

[0304] The virtualized environment 1200 includes general-purpose or specialized network hardware devices 1230, which include a set of one or more processors or processing circuits 1260, which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, dedicated application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuit, including digital or analog hardware components or specialized processors. Each hardware device may include memory 1290-1, which may be non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions 1295 or software executed by the processing circuits 1260. Each hardware device may include one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 1270, also known as network interface cards, which include physical network interfaces 1280. Each hardware device may also include non-transitory, persistent, machine-readable storage media 1290-2 having stored therein software 1295 and / or instructions executable by the processing circuits 1260. The software 1295 may include any type of software, including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers 1250 (also known as hypervisors), software for executing virtual machines 1240, and software that enables them to perform the functions, features, and / or benefits associated with some embodiments described herein.

[0305] The virtual machines 1240 include virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networks or interfaces, and virtual storage, and may be run by corresponding virtualization layers 1250 or hypervisors. Different embodiments of instances of the virtual device 1220 may be implemented on one or more virtual machines 1240 and in different ways.

[0306] During operation, processing circuitry 1260 executes software 1295 to instantiate a hypervisor or virtualization layer 1250, which may sometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). Virtualization layer 1250 may present to virtual machines 1240 a virtual operating platform that appears to be network hardware.

[0307] like Figure 11As shown, hardware 1230 can be a standalone network node with common or specialized components. Hardware 1230 can include antenna 12225 and can implement some functions through virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1230 can be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., in a data center or customer premises equipment (CPE)), where many hardware nodes work together and are managed by management and orchestration (MANO) 12100, which, among other things, oversees the lifecycle management of application 1220.

[0308] Virtualization of hardware is referred to in some contexts as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV can be used to consolidate many network device types onto industry-standard high-volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers and customer premises equipment.

[0309] In the context of NFV, a virtual machine 1240 can be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs a program as if the program were running on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each virtual machine 1240, and the portion of the hardware 1230 on which it executes, whether dedicated to that virtual machine and / or shared with other virtual machines 1240, forms a separate virtual network element (VNE).

[0310] Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function (VNF) is responsible for handling specific network functions running in one or more virtual machines 1240 on top of the hardware network infrastructure 1230 and corresponds to Figure 11 Application 1220.

[0311] In some embodiments, one or more radio units 12200 (each including one or more transmitters 12220 and one or more receivers 12210) may be coupled to one or more antennas 12225. The radio units 12200 may communicate directly with the hardware nodes 1230 through one or more appropriate network interfaces, and may be used in conjunction with virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or base station.

[0312] In some embodiments, some signaling may be implemented using a control system 12230 , which may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware node 1230 and the radio unit 12200 .

[0313] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a telecommunications network connected to a host computer via an intermediary network according to some embodiments.

[0314] Reference Figure 12According to an embodiment, a communications system includes a telecommunications network 1310, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, which includes an access network 1311, such as a radio access network, and a core network 1314. Access network 1311 includes multiple base stations 1312a, 1312b, and 1312c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs, or other types of wireless access points, each of which defines a corresponding coverage area 1313a, 1313b, and 1313c. Each base station 1312a, 1312b, and 1312c can be connected to core network 1314 via a wired or wireless connection 1315. A first UE 1391 located in coverage area 1313c is configured to wirelessly connect to or be paged by a corresponding base station 1312c. A second UE 1392 located in coverage area 1313a can wirelessly connect to a corresponding base station 1312a. Although multiple UEs 1391 , 1392 are shown in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to situations where only one UE is in the coverage area or only one UE is connected to the corresponding base station 1312 .

[0315] Telecommunications network 1310 itself is connected to a host computer 1330, which can be embodied in the hardware and / or software of a standalone server, a cloud-enabled server, a distributed server, or as a processing resource in a server farm. Host computer 1330 can be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or can be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. Connections 1321 and 1322 between telecommunications network 1310 and host computer 1330 can extend directly from core network 1314 to host computer 1330, or can extend to host computer 1330 via an optional intermediate network 1320. Intermediate network 1320 can be one of the following, or a combination of more than one of the following: a public network, a private network, or a hosted network; if present, intermediate network 1320 can be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, intermediate network 1320 can include two or more subnetworks (not shown).

[0316] Figure 12The communication system as a whole enables connectivity between connected UEs 1391, 1392 and a host computer 1330. This connectivity can be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1350. The host computer 1330 and the connected UEs 1391, 1392 are configured to transmit data and / or signaling via the OTT connection 1350, using the access network 1311, the core network 1314, any intermediate networks 1320, and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 1350 can be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 1350 passes are unaware of the routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station 1312 may not or need not be informed of the past routing of incoming downlink communications with data originating from the host computer 1330 that will be forwarded (e.g., handed off) to the connected UE 1391. Similarly, the base station 1312 does not need to be aware of the future routing of outgoing uplink communications from the UE 1391 to the host computer 1330.

[0317] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a host computer communicating with a user device over a partially wireless connection via a base station in accordance with some embodiments.

[0318] According to the embodiment, reference will now be made to Figure 13 Describe an example implementation of the UE, base station, and host computer discussed in the previous paragraphs. In the communication system 1400, the host computer 1410 includes: hardware 1415, which includes a communication interface 1416, which is configured to establish and maintain a wired or wireless connection to the interface of different communication devices of the communication system 1400. The host computer 1410 also includes processing circuitry 1418, which may have storage and / or processing capabilities. In particular, the processing circuitry 1418 may include: one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The host computer 1410 also includes software 1411, which is stored in the host computer 1410 or accessible by the host computer 1410 and executable by the processing circuitry 1418. The software 1411 includes a host computer application 1412. The host computer application 1412 may be used to provide services to a remote user, such as a UE 1430 connected via an OTT connection 1450 terminated at the UE 1430 and the host computer 1410. In providing services to the remote user, the host computer application 1412 may provide user data sent using the OTT connection 1450.

[0319] The communication system 1400 also includes a base station 1420, which is provided in the telecommunications system and includes hardware 1425 that enables it to communicate with the host computer 1410 and the UE 1430. The hardware 1425 may include a communication interface 1426 for establishing and maintaining wired or wireless connections with the interfaces of the different communication devices of the communication system 1400, and for communicating with other devices located in the coverage area ( Figure 13 The communication interface 1426 may be configured to facilitate a connection 1460 to the host computer 1410. The connection 1460 may be direct, or it may be through a core network (e.g., a telecommunications system) of the telecommunications system. Figure 13 (not shown) and / or through one or more intermediate networks external to the telecommunications system. In the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 1425 of base station 1420 also includes processing circuitry 1428, which may include one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field-programmable gate arrays, or a combination thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. Base station 1420 also has software 1421 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

[0320] Communication system 1400 also includes the aforementioned UE 1430. Its hardware 1435 may include a wireless interface 1437 configured to establish and maintain a wireless connection 1470 with a base station serving the coverage area in which UE 1430 is currently located. UE 1430's hardware 1435 also includes processing circuitry 1438, which may include one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field-programmable gate arrays, or a combination thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. UE 1430 further includes software 1431, which is stored in or accessible to UE 1430 and executable by processing circuitry 1438. Software 1431 includes client applications 1432. Client applications 1432 may be used to provide services to human or non-human users via UE 1430 with the support of host computer 1410. In host computer 1410, an executing host computer application 1412 can communicate with an executing client application 1432 via an OTT connection 1450 terminated at UE 1430 and host computer 1410. In providing a service to a user, client application 1432 can receive request data from host computer application 1412 and provide user data in response to the request data. OTT connection 1450 can transmit both the request data and the user data. Client application 1432 can interact with the user to generate the user data it provides.

[0321] Notice, Figure 13The host computer 1410, base station 1420 and UE 1430 shown can be connected to Figure 12 The host computer 1330, one of the base stations 1312a, 1312b, 1312c and one of the UEs 1391, 1392 are similar or identical to each other. That is, the internal workings of these entities can be as follows Figure 13 shown, and independently, the surrounding network topology can be Figure 12 The surrounding network topology.

[0322] exist Figure 13 In FIG, an OTT connection 1450 has been abstractly drawn to illustrate communication between a host computer 1410 and a UE 1430 via a base station 1420, without explicitly referencing any intermediate devices and the precise routing of messages through these devices. The network infrastructure can determine the routing, which can be configured to be hidden from the UE 1430, the service provider operating the host computer 1410, or both. While the OTT connection 1450 is active, the network infrastructure can further make decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., based on load balancing considerations or network reconfiguration).

[0323] The wireless connection 1470 between the UE 1430 and the base station 1420 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments utilize the OTT connection 1450 to improve the performance of the OTT service provided to the UE 1430, with the wireless connection 1470 forming the final leg. More specifically, the teachings of these embodiments can improve latency and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user latency.

[0324] A measurement process may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rates, latency, and other factors improved by one or more embodiments. Optional network functionality may also be present for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1450 between the host computer 1410 and the UE 1430 in response to changes in measurement results. The measurement process and / or network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1450 may be implemented in the software 1411 and hardware 1415 of the host computer 1410, or in the software 1431 and hardware 1435 of the UE 1430, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with the communication device through which the OTT connection 1450 passes. The sensors may participate in the measurement process by providing values ​​of the monitored quantities exemplified above or other physical quantities, from which the software 1411 or 1431 may calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. Reconfiguration of the OTT connection 1450 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routing, and the like. The reconfiguration does not necessarily affect the base station 1420 and may be unaware or imperceptible to the base station 1420. Such processes and functions are known and practiced in the art. In some embodiments, the measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates host computer 1410 to measure throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. The measurements may be implemented in software 1411 and 1431 that uses OTT connection 1450 to transmit messages (particularly empty messages or "dummy" messages) while software 1411 and 1431 monitors propagation time, errors, etc.

[0325] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment according to some embodiments.

[0326] Figure 14 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which may be reference Figure 12 and Figure 13 For the sake of brevity of this disclosure, this section only includes references to Figure 14 FIG. In step 1510, the host computer provides user data. In sub-step 1511 of step 1510 (which may be optional), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host computer application. In step 1520, the host computer initiates a transmission to the UE carrying the user data. In step 1530 (which may be optional), in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the base station transmits the user data carried in the host computer-initiated transmission to the UE. In step 1540 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host computer application executed by the host computer.

[0327] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment according to some embodiments.

[0328] Figure 15 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which may be reference Figure 12 and Figure 13 For the sake of brevity of this disclosure, only references to Figure 15 FIG. In step 1610 of the method, a host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step (not shown), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host computer application. In step 1620, the host computer initiates a transmission to the UE carrying the user data. According to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the transmission may be via a base station. In step 1630 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

[0329] Figure 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment according to some embodiments.

[0330] Figure 16 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which may be reference Figure 12 and Figure 13 For the sake of brevity of this disclosure, this section only includes references to Figure 16 . In step 1710 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 1720, the UE provides user data. In sub-step 1721 (which may be optional) of step 1720, the UE provides the user data by executing a client application. In sub-step 1711 (which may be optional) of step 1710, the UE executes a client application that provides the user data in response to the received input data provided by the host computer. When providing the user data, the executed client application may further consider the user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data is provided, the UE initiates the transmission of the user data to the host computer in sub-step 1730 (which may be optional). In step 1740 of the method, the host computer receives the user data sent from the UE in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.

[0331] Figure 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment according to some embodiments.

[0332] Figure 17 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which may be reference Figure 12 and 13 For the sake of brevity of this disclosure, this section only includes references to Figure 17 In step 1810 (which may be optional), the base station receives user data from the UE in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1820 (which may be optional), the base station initiates a transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 1830 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

[0333] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable storage medium and comprising instructions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform any one of the methods described above.

[0334] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions is provided. When the instructions are executed by at least one processor, the instructions cause the at least one processor to perform any one of the methods described above.

[0335] In addition, the present disclosure may also provide a carrier containing the above-mentioned computer program, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, an optical disc or an electronic storage device such as RAM (random access memory), ROM (read-only memory), flash memory, magnetic tape, CD-ROM, DVD, Blu-ray disc, etc.

[0336] The techniques described herein can be implemented in various ways such that a device that implements one or more functions of the corresponding devices described with the embodiments includes not only prior art components, but also components for implementing one or more functions of the corresponding devices described with the embodiments, and it can include separate components for each separate function or components that can be configured to perform two or more functions. For example, these techniques can be implemented in hardware (one or more devices), firmware (one or more devices), software (one or more modules), or a combination thereof. For firmware or software, implementation can be accomplished by modules (e.g., processes, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein.

[0337] The exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of the methods and apparatus. It will be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, respectively, can be implemented by various components including computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be loaded onto a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, such that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable data processing device create components for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.

[0338] In addition, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that the operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequence, or that all illustrated operations be performed to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although the above discussion contains several specific implementation details, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the subject matter described herein, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable subcombination.

[0339] Although this specification contains many specific implementation details, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of any implementation or the scope of what may be claimed, but rather should be interpreted as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment of a particular implementation. Certain features described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments, either individually or in any suitable subcombination. Furthermore, although the features described above may be described as working in certain combinations, or even initially claimed to be so protected, in some cases one or more features from the claimed combination may be deleted from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or a variation of the subcombination.

[0340] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, as technology advances, the present invention can be implemented in various ways. The above embodiments are provided to illustrate, not to limit, the present disclosure, and it should be understood that, as those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims. The scope of protection of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method (200) for resource allocation type 1 implemented at a network node in a New Radio (NR) system, the method comprising: determining (202) one or more candidate resource block segments having corresponding channel quality indicators, wherein the one or more candidate resource block segments include corresponding consecutive one or more candidate resource blocks, and respective channel qualities of the corresponding consecutive one or more candidate resource blocks are equal to or higher than a channel quality of the candidate resource block segment indicated by the corresponding channel quality indicator; selecting (204) at least one candidate resource block segment from the one or more candidate resource block segments; determining (206) at least one resource block for the terminal device from the selected at least one candidate resource block segment; and Information about the at least one resource block is sent (208) to the terminal device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The number of the corresponding one or more consecutive candidate resource blocks is equal to or greater than the number of resource blocks required by the terminal device.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein For each type of channel quality of one or more candidate resource blocks, there is at least one segment of candidate resource blocks having the corresponding type of channel quality.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein Determining one or more candidate resource block segments includes: determining (302) a channel quality indicator for a candidate resource block segment as the channel quality indicator for a first resource block of one or more consecutive resource blocks, or determining (302) the channel quality indicator for a candidate resource block segment as the channel quality indicator for a starting resource block, wherein the starting resource block is the resource block having a channel quality different from the channel quality of preceding consecutive resource blocks of the resource block; adding (304) the first resource block or the starting resource block to the segment of candidate resource blocks having the determined channel quality indicator; When the corresponding channel quality of one or more preceding and / or succeeding consecutive resource blocks is equal to or higher than the channel quality of the candidate resource block segment indicated by the determined channel quality indicator, the one or more succeeding consecutive resource blocks of the first resource block or the one or more preceding and / or succeeding consecutive resource blocks of the starting resource block are added (306) to the candidate resource block segment with the determined channel quality indicator.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The starting resource block is the resource block that has not been added to an existing candidate resource block segment having the same channel quality indicator as the channel quality indicator of the starting resource block.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein Determining one or more candidate resource block segments includes: Determining (402) the status of a resource block; When the resource block is determined to be available, checking (404) the channel quality of a resource block preceding the resource block; and When there is no preceding resource block of the resource block, the channel quality indicator for a new candidate resource block segment is determined (406) as the channel quality indicator of the resource block, and the resource block is added to the new candidate resource block segment.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein: Determining one or more candidate resource block segments further includes: When the preceding resource block of the resource block is available and the channel quality of the resource block is equal to the channel quality of the preceding resource block of the resource block, the resource block is added (506) to at least one candidate resource block segment including the preceding resource block of the resource block.

8. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 7, wherein Determining one or more candidate resource block segments further includes: When the preceding resource block of the resource block is available and the channel quality of the resource block is higher than the channel quality of the preceding resource block of the resource block, adding (606) the resource block to at least one candidate resource block segment including the preceding resource block of the resource block; and The channel quality indicator for a new candidate resource block segment is determined (608) as the channel quality indicator of the resource block, and the resource block is added to the new candidate resource block segment.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 7, wherein: Determining one or more candidate resource block segments further includes: When the preceding resource block of the resource block is available and the channel quality of the resource block is less than the channel quality of the preceding resource block of the resource block, - adding (706) the resource block to each of the at least one candidate resource block segment including the preceding resource block of the resource block when the corresponding channel quality for at least one candidate resource block segment including the preceding resource block of the resource block is less than or equal to the channel quality of the resource block, and - when the channel quality for each candidate resource block segment including the preceding resource block of the resource block is not equal to the channel quality of the resource block, determining (708) the channel quality indicator for a new candidate resource block segment as the channel quality indicator of the resource block, and adding the resource block and one or more preceding resource blocks of the resource block having a channel quality equal to or higher than the channel quality of the resource block to the new candidate resource block segment.

10. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 7, wherein: Determining one or more candidate resource block segments further includes: When the resource block is determined to be unavailable, checking (714) whether there is any candidate resource block segment preceding the resource block; When there is at least one candidate resource block segment preceding the resource block, storing (716) the at least one candidate resource block segment; and When there is no candidate resource block segment before the resource block, the process continues (718) to determine the status of the resource block following the resource block.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and 5 to 7, wherein Determining at least one resource block for the terminal device from the selected at least one candidate resource block segment includes: The at least one resource block for the terminal device is determined from the selected at least one candidate resource block segment based on the corresponding channel quality indicator of the selected at least one candidate resource block segment and the number of resource blocks required by the terminal device.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The candidate resource block segments with higher channel quality have higher priority to be selected for determining the at least one resource block for the terminal device.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, 5 to 7 and 12, wherein: The resource block includes at least one of a downlink frequency resource or an uplink frequency resource.

14. A method (800) for resource allocation type 1 implemented at a terminal device in a New Radio (NR) system, the method comprising: receiving (802) information about at least one resource block from a network node; as well as obtaining (804) said information about at least one resource block, wherein the at least one resource block is determined from at least one candidate resource block segment having a corresponding channel quality indicator, The at least one candidate resource block segment includes one or more corresponding consecutive candidate resource blocks, and the corresponding channel quality of the one or more corresponding consecutive candidate resource blocks in the at least one candidate resource block segment is equal to or higher than the channel quality of the at least one candidate resource block segment indicated by the corresponding channel quality indicator.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein The number of the corresponding one or more consecutive candidate resource blocks is equal to or greater than the number of resource blocks required by the terminal device.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein For each type of channel quality of one or more candidate resource blocks, there is at least one segment of candidate resource blocks having the corresponding type of channel quality.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein: The at least one resource block is determined based on the corresponding channel quality indicator of the at least one candidate resource block segment and the number of resource blocks required by the terminal device.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein: The candidate resource block segments with higher channel quality have higher priority to be selected for determining the at least one resource block for the terminal device.

19. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16 and 18, wherein The resource block includes at least one of a downlink frequency resource or an uplink frequency resource.

20. A network node (900) for resource allocation type 1 in a New Radio (NR) system, comprising: Processor (921); and a memory (922) storing instructions executable by the processor (921), whereby the network node (900) is operable to: determining one or more candidate resource block segments having corresponding channel quality indicators, wherein the one or more candidate resource block segments include corresponding consecutive one or more candidate resource blocks, and respective channel qualities of the corresponding consecutive one or more candidate resource blocks are equal to or higher than the channel quality of the candidate resource block segment indicated by the corresponding channel quality indicator; selecting at least one candidate resource block segment from the one or more candidate resource block segments; Determining at least one resource block for the terminal device from the selected at least one candidate resource block segment; and Information about the at least one resource block is sent to the terminal device.

21. The network node according to claim 20, wherein: The network node is operable to perform a method according to any one of claims 2 to 13.

22. A terminal device (900) for resource allocation type 1 in a New Radio (NR) system, comprising: Processor (921); and A memory (922) storing instructions executable by the processor (921), whereby the terminal device (900) is operable to: receiving information about at least one resource block from a network node; as well as obtaining said information about at least one resource block, wherein the at least one resource block is determined from at least one candidate resource block segment having a corresponding channel quality indicator, The at least one candidate resource block segment includes one or more corresponding consecutive candidate resource blocks, and the corresponding channel quality of the one or more corresponding consecutive candidate resource blocks in the at least one candidate resource block segment is equal to or higher than the channel quality of the at least one candidate resource block segment indicated by the corresponding channel quality indicator.

23. The terminal device according to claim 22, wherein: The terminal device is operable to perform a method according to any one of claims 15 to 19.

24. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processing program to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

25. A computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

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