Timeslot aggregation and selective prioritization for uplink and sidelink feedback communications

Abstract

Embodiments of an apparatus, system, baseband processor, and method for performing uplink communication and vehicle-to-vehicle sidelink communication are presented herein. A wireless device receives first control information via a sidelink control channel, the first control information specifying one or more first time slots for the wireless device to transmit a sidelink acknowledgment message on a sidelink feedback channel. The wireless device receives a resource grant via a downlink control channel, wherein the resource grant specifies one or more second time slots for the wireless device to transmit an uplink transmission on an uplink channel. The first time slot and the second time slot at least partially overlap, and a determination is selectively made during the overlapping time slots whether to transmit the sidelink acknowledgment message or the uplink transmission.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to wireless devices, and more particularly, to apparatus, systems, and methods for wireless devices to perform selective prioritization between uplink and sidelink feedback communications in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) wireless cellular communications.

[0002] Related technical description

[0003] The use of wireless communication systems is rapidly growing. One proposed use of wireless communication is in vehicular applications, particularly in V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) systems. V2X systems allow for communication between vehicles (e.g., via communication devices housed in or otherwise carried by the vehicle), pedestrian UEs (including UEs carried by other persons such as cyclists), and other wireless communication devices for various purposes, such as coordinating traffic movements, facilitating autonomous driving, and performing collision avoidance.

[0004] V2X communications have the potential to become a source of wireless communications with increasing demand and a wide range of anticipated applications, which can present various design and development challenges. Therefore, improvements are needed in areas that support such development and design. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Embodiments of apparatuses, systems, and methods for performing vehicle-to-everything (V2X) sidelink wireless cellular communications are provided herein. In some embodiments, a baseband processor is configured to perform the operations described herein. For example, the baseband processor may be installed within the wireless device described herein.

[0006] In some embodiments, the wireless device receives first control information over a sidelink control channel, the first control information specifying one or more first time slots for the wireless device to transmit a sidelink acknowledgment message over a sidelink feedback channel. The sidelink acknowledgment message provides an acknowledgment of a sidelink data packet received by the wireless device.

[0007] In some embodiments, the wireless device receives a resource grant via a downlink control channel, the resource grant specifying one or more second time slots for the wireless device to transmit an uplink transmission on an uplink channel. The uplink transmission may be an uplink data packet transmitted on an uplink shared channel such as a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). Alternatively, the uplink transmission may be uplink control information transmitted on an uplink control channel such as a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

[0008] In some embodiments, it is determined that one or more of the first time slots coincide with one or more of the second time slots.It can then be determined whether the sidelink data packet or the uplink transmission has a higher priority.

[0009] Based on determining that the side link data packet has a higher priority, the first confirmation message is transmitted during a first subset of the first time slot that coincides with one or more second time slots in the second time slot, and the second confirmation message is not received during the first subset of the first time slot.

[0010] Alternatively, based on determining that the uplink transmission has a higher priority, the second acknowledgment message is received during the first subset of the first time slots, and the first acknowledgment message is not transmitted during the first subset of the first time slots.

[0011] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the uplink transmission takes precedence over the sidelink data packet by default, and the overlapping time slot is used to transmit the uplink transmission instead of the sidelink data packet. Alternatively, if the wireless device is equipped with dual radio components, it may transmit both the sidelink acknowledgment message and the uplink transmission during the overlapping time slot, but it may transmit the sidelink acknowledgment message at a reduced transmit power to mitigate intermodulation interference.

[0012] Note that the techniques described herein may be implemented in and / or used with a number of different types of devices, including but not limited to base stations, access points, cellular telephones, portable media players, tablets, wearable devices, and various other computing devices.

[0013] This summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the subject matter described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above-described features are merely examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following detailed description, accompanying drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] A better understanding of the present subject matter may be obtained when the following detailed description of various embodiments is considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0015] Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication system according to some embodiments;

[0016] Figure 2 shows a base station in communication with a user equipment (UE) device according to some embodiments;

[0017] Figure 3 is an exemplary block diagram of a UE according to some embodiments;

[0018] Figure 4 is an exemplary block diagram of a base station according to some embodiments;

[0019] Figures 5A-5C shows a resource pool indicating resource allocation enabling time slot aggregation for sidelink feedback communications according to some embodiments;

[0020] Figures 6A-6B is a diagram illustrating selective prioritization of resource pools for sidelink feedback transmission and reception according to some embodiments;

[0021] Figures 7A-7B is a resource pool illustrating resource sharing for sidelink feedback transmission and reception according to some embodiments;

[0022] Figures 8A-8B is a resource pool illustrating weighted resource sharing sidelink feedback transmission and reception according to some embodiments;

[0023] Figures 9A-9B is a resource pool illustrating selective prioritization of long format and short format sidelink feedback transmission and reception according to some embodiments;

[0024] Figure 10 is a flow chart illustrating a method for performing selective prioritization of sidelink feedback transmission and reception according to some embodiments; and

[0025] Figure 11 is a flow chart illustrating a method for performing selective prioritization of sidelink feedback transmissions and uplink transmissions according to some embodiments.

[0026] While the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to limit this disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] the term

[0028] The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

[0029] Memory medium—any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include installation media, such as CD-ROMs, floppy disks, or tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media, such as hard drives or optical storage devices; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. Memory media may also include other types of non-transitory memory or combinations thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in the first computer system executing the program, or may be located in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term "memory medium" may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations in different computer systems connected, for example, via a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., represented as a computer program) that can be executed by one or more processors.

[0030] Programmable hardware elements—include various hardware devices that include multiple programmable function blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), PLDs (programmable logic devices), FPOAs (field programmable object arrays), and CPLDs (complex PLDs). Programmable function blocks can range from fine-grained (combinational logic units or lookup tables) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "configurable logic units."

[0031] Computer system—any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), mainframe computer system, workstation, network appliance, Internet appliance, personal digital assistant (PDA), television system, grid computing system, or other device or combination of devices. In general, the term "computer system" can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0032] User Equipment—as used herein, generally refers in the context of a V2X system to devices associated with movable participants or traffic participants in the V2X system, i.e., movable (capable of moving) communication devices such as vehicles and pedestrian user equipment (PUE) devices, rather than infrastructure equipment such as base stations, roadside units (RSUs), and servers.

[0033] Infrastructure equipment—As used herein, this term generally refers to certain devices in a V2X system that are not user equipment (UE) and are not carried by traffic participants (i.e., pedestrians, vehicles, or other mobile users) but facilitate user equipment participation in the V2X network. Infrastructure equipment includes base stations and roadside units (RSUs).

[0034] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE device") - any of various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and that perform wireless communication. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smartphones (e.g., iPhones, TM , based on Android TM phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM PlayStation Portable TM 、Gameboy Advance TM , iPhone TM ), laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices or other handheld devices, etc. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to cover any electronic device, computing device and / or telecommunication device (or combination of devices) that can be easily transported by a user and capable of wireless communication.

[0035] Pedestrian UE (PUE) devices—User Equipment (UE) devices considered in the context of V2X systems that may be worn or carried by various persons, including not only pedestrians in the strict sense of people walking near roads, but also certain other peripheral or secondary participants or potential participants in the traffic environment. These include stationary persons, persons not in vehicles and who may not necessarily be near traffic or roads, persons jogging, running, skating, etc., or persons in vehicles (such as bicycles, scooters, or certain motor vehicles) that may not substantially support the power capabilities of a UE.

[0036] Base Station—The term “base station” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0037] Processing element (or processor)—refers to any element or combination of elements capable of performing functions in a device such as user equipment or a cellular network device. Processing elements include, for example, a processor and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, individual processors, circuits such as ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits), programmable hardware elements such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and any of the above combinations.

[0038] Channel - the medium used to transmit information from a sender (transmitter) to a receiver. It should be noted that since the characteristics of the term "channel" may vary according to different wireless protocols, the term "channel" as used in the present invention may be considered to be used in a manner that is consistent with the standard of the type of device to which the term is used. In some standards, the channel width may be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, frequency band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths of 1.4MHz to 20MHz. In contrast, a WLAN channel may be 22MHz wide, while a Bluetooth channel may be 1Mhz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. In addition, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, such as different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different purposes such as data, control information, etc.

[0039] Configured to—Various components may be described as being “configured to” perform one or more tasks. In such contexts, “configured to” is a broad expression that generally means “having structure” to perform one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component can be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently performing the task (e.g., a set of electrical conductors can be configured to electrically connect a module to another module even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, “configured to” can be a broad expression that generally means “having circuitry” to perform one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component can be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently turned on. Generally, the circuitry that forms the structure corresponding to “configured to” may include hardware circuitry.

[0040] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to." Representing a component as being configured to perform one or more tasks expressly does not invoke the sixth paragraph of section 112 of title 35 of the United States Code for that component.

[0041] Figure 1 -V2X communication system

[0042] Figure 1 An exemplary vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication system is shown in accordance with some embodiments. Note that Figure 1 The system is only one example of a possible system, and features of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of systems as desired.

[0043] A vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication system can be characterized as a network in which vehicles, UEs, and / or other devices and network entities exchange communications to coordinate traffic activities and other possible purposes. V2X communications include communications transmitted between vehicles (e.g., wireless devices or communication devices that form part of, are contained in, or are otherwise carried by a vehicle) and various other devices. V2X communications include vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communications, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications, vehicle-to-network (V2N) communications, and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, as well as communications between vehicles and other possible network entities or devices. V2X communications can also refer to communications between other non-vehicle devices participating in the V2X network to share V2X-related information.

[0044] V2X communications may, for example, follow the 3GPP Cellular V2X (C-V2X) specification, or follow one or more other or subsequent standards, whereby vehicles and other devices and network entities may communicate. V2X communications may utilize both long-range (e.g., cellular) communications and short- to medium-range (e.g., non-cellular) communications. V2X communications with cellular capabilities may be referred to as cellular V2X (C-V2X) communications. C-V2X systems may use various cellular radio access technologies (RATs), such as 4G LTE or 5G NRRAT. Certain LTE standards available in V2X systems may be referred to as LTE-Vehicle (LTE-V) standards.

[0045] As shown, the exemplary V2X system includes multiple user devices. As used herein in the context of a V2X system, "user device" may generally refer to a device associated with a mobile participant or traffic participant in the V2X system, i.e., a movable (mobile) communication device such as a vehicle and a pedestrian user equipment (PUE) device. The user devices in the exemplary V2X system include PUEs 104A and 104B and vehicles 106A and 106B.

[0046] The vehicle 106 may constitute various types of vehicles. For example, the vehicle 106A may be a road vehicle or automobile, a public transportation vehicle, or another type of vehicle. The vehicle 106 may perform wireless communications in various ways. For example, the vehicle 106A may include a communication device that is part of or housed in the vehicle, or may perform communications via wireless communication devices currently contained within or otherwise carried by the vehicle, such as user equipment (UE) devices (e.g., smartphones or similar devices) carried or worn by the driver, passengers, or other persons on the vehicle, among other possibilities. For simplicity, the term "vehicle," as used herein, may include wireless communication equipment that represents the vehicle and performs its communications. Thus, for example, when the vehicle 106A is referred to as performing wireless communications, it should be understood that, more specifically, certain wireless communication equipment associated with and carried by the vehicle 106A is performing the wireless communications.

[0047] Pedestrian UEs (PUEs) 104 may constitute various types of user equipment (UE) devices, i.e., portable devices capable of wireless communication, such as smartphones, smartwatches, etc., and may be associated with various types of users. Thus, PUEs 104 are UEs and may be referred to as UEs or UE devices. Note that while UEs 104 may be referred to as PUEs (pedestrian UEs), they may not necessarily be carried by people actively walking near roads or streets. PUEs may refer to UEs participating in a V2X system that are carried by a stationary person, by a person walking or running, or by a person in a vehicle that may not substantially support the power capabilities of the device, such as a bicycle, scooter, or certain motor vehicles. Note also that not necessarily all UEs participating in a V2X system are PUEs.

[0048] The user equipment is capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-V, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000, 5G NR, etc.), the UE 104A can be configured to communicate using wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.). If desired, the UE 104A can also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS, such as GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H), and / or any other wireless communication protocols. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0049] As shown in the figure, some user devices may be able to communicate directly with each other, that is, without intermediate infrastructure equipment such as base stations 102A or RSU 110A. As shown in the figure, vehicle 106A can directly perform V2X-related communications with vehicle 106B. Similarly, vehicle 106B can directly perform V2X-related communications with PUE 104B. In the case of some LTE implementation schemes, this peer-to-peer communication can utilize a "side link" interface such as a PC5 interface. In certain LTE implementation schemes, the PC5 interface supports direct cellular communication between user devices (e.g., between vehicles 106), while the Uu interface supports cellular communication with infrastructure equipment such as base stations. The LTE PC5 / Uu interface is used only as an example, and PC5 as used herein can represent various other possible wireless communication technologies that allow direct side link communication between user devices, while Uu can represent cellular communication performed between user devices and infrastructure equipment such as base stations. For example, at least according to some implementation schemes, NRV2X side link communication technology can also be used to perform device-to-device communication. It is also noted that some user equipment in a V2X system (such as PUE 104A as one possibility) may not be able to perform sidelink communications, for example, because they lack certain hardware required to perform such communications.

[0050] As shown, the exemplary V2X system includes multiple infrastructure devices in addition to the aforementioned user devices. As used herein, "infrastructure devices" in the context of a V2X system refer to certain devices in the V2X system that are not user devices and are not carried by traffic participants (i.e., pedestrians, vehicles, or other mobile users), but that facilitate user devices' participation in the V2X network. The infrastructure devices in the exemplary V2X system include a base station 102A and a roadside unit (RSU) 110A.

[0051] Base station (BS) 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site ("cellular base station") and may include hardware capable of wirelessly communicating with user equipment (eg, with user equipment 104A and 106A).

[0052] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a "cell" or "coverage area". The base station 102A and user equipment such as PUE 104A may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs), also known as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS, LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), LTE-Vehicle (LTE-V), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000, 5G NR, and the like. Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternatively be referred to as an "eNodeB" or eNB. Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of NR, it may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or gNB.

[0053] As shown, base station 102A may also be configured to communicate with network 100 (e.g., a V2X network, as well as a cellular service provider's core network, a telecommunications network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, among other possibilities). Thus, base station 102A may facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. Cellular base station 102A may provide user devices such as UE 104A with various communication capabilities, such as voice, SMS, and / or data services. Specifically, base station 102A may provide connected user devices, such as UE 104A and vehicle 106A, with access to the V2X network.

[0054] Thus, while base station 102A may serve as a "serving cell" for user equipment 104A and 106A, Figure 1 102A. The user devices shown, i.e., user devices 104A, 104B, 106A, and 106B, may also be able to receive signals from (and may be within communication range of) one or more other cells (which may be provided by base stations 102B-N and / or any other base stations), such cells may be referred to as "neighboring cells." Such cells may also be able to facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. Such cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pico" cells, and / or cells of any other variety of granularity of service area size. For example, in Figure 1 The base stations 102A-102B shown in FIG may be macro cells, while the base station 102N may be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible.

[0055] A roadside unit (RSU) 110A constitutes another infrastructure device that may be used to provide certain user devices with access to the V2X network. The RSU 110A may be one of various types of devices, such as a base station, e.g., a transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site ("cell base station"), or another type of device that includes hardware capable of wirelessly communicating with user devices and facilitating their participation in the V2X network.

[0056] The RSU 110A may be configured to communicate using one or more wireless networking communication protocols (e.g., Wi-Fi), cellular communication protocols (e.g., LTE, LTE-V, etc.), and / or other wireless communication protocols. In some embodiments, the RSU 110A may be capable of communicating with devices using a "sidelink" technology such as LTE PC5 or NR V2X sidelink communication technology.

[0057] The RSU 110A may communicate directly with user devices, such as vehicles 106A and 106B, as shown. The RSU 110A may also communicate with the base station 102A. In some cases, the RSU 110A may provide certain user devices (e.g., vehicle 106B) with access to the base station 102A. Although the RSU 110A is shown as communicating with the vehicle 106, it may also (or otherwise) be able to communicate with the PUE 104. Similarly, the RSU 110A may not necessarily forward user device communications to the base station 102A. In some embodiments, the RSU 110A may constitute the base station itself and / or may forward communications to the server 120.

[0058] As shown, server 120 constitutes a network entity of the V2X system and may be referred to as a cloud server. Base station 102A and / or RSU 110A may relay certain V2X-related communications between user devices 104 and 106 and server 120. Server 120 may be configured to process certain information collected from multiple user devices and may manage V2X communications to the user devices to coordinate traffic activities. In various other embodiments of the V2X system, various functions of cloud server 120 may be performed by infrastructure equipment such as base station 102A or RSU 110A, by one or more user devices, or / and not at all.

[0059] Figure 2 – Communication between UE and base station

[0060] Figure 2 102 (e.g., Figure 1 A user equipment (UE) device 104 (e.g., a base station 102A in FIG. Figure 1UE 104 may be a device with cellular communication capabilities, such as a mobile phone, handheld device, computer or tablet computer, or virtually any type of portable wireless device.

[0061] The UE 104 may include a processor (processing element) configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. The UE 104 may perform any of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, the UE 104 may include a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), an integrated circuit, and / or any of various other possible hardware components configured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein or any portion of any of the method embodiments described herein.

[0062] UE 104 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, UE 104 may be configured to communicate using, for example, CDMA2000 (1xRTT / 1xEV-DO / HRPD / eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio and / or GSM or LTE using a single shared radio. The shared radio may be coupled to a single antenna, or may be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communications. Typically, the radio may include any combination of a baseband processor, analog radio frequency (RF) signal processing circuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.), or digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio may implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains using the aforementioned hardware. For example, UE 104 may share one or more portions of a receive chain and / or transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0063] In some embodiments, the UE 104 may include a separate transmit chain and / or receive chain (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol with which it is configured to communicate. As another possibility, the UE 104 may include one or more radio components shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radio components used uniquely by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, the UE 104 may include a shared radio component for communicating using either LTE or 5GNR (or, in various possibilities, either LTE or 1xRTT, or either LTE or GSM), and independent radio components for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

[0064] Figure 3—UE block diagram

[0065] Figure 3 An exemplary block diagram of a UE 104 according to some embodiments is shown. As shown, the UE 104 may include a system on a chip (SOC) 300, which may include components for various purposes. For example, as shown, the SOC 300 may include a processor 302 that may execute program instructions for the UE 104, and a display circuit 304 that may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to a display 360. One or more processors 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340 (which may be configured to receive addresses from the one or more processors 302 and convert those addresses into locations in a memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310)), and / or to other circuits or devices (such as the display circuit 304, wireless communication circuitry 330, connector I / F 320, and / or display 360). The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the processor 302.

[0066] As shown, SOC 300 may be coupled to various other circuits of UE 104. For example, UE 104 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), a connector interface 320 (e.g., for coupling to a computer system, a docking station, a charging station, etc.), a display 360, and wireless communication circuitry 330 (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, LTE-V, 5GNR, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, etc.). The UE may also include at least one SIM device, and may include two SIM devices, each providing a respective International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and associated functionality.

[0067] As shown, the UE device 104 may include at least one antenna (and, in various possibilities, multiple antennas, e.g., for MIMO and / or for implementing different wireless communication technologies) for performing wireless communications with base stations, access points, and / or other devices. For example, the UE device 104 may use antenna 335 to perform wireless communications.

[0068] The UE 104 may also include and / or be configured for use with one or more user interface elements. The user interface elements may include various elements such as a display 360 (which may be a touch screen display), a keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or may be implemented as part of the touch screen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or speakers, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of various other elements capable of providing information to a user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0069] As described herein, the UE 104 may include hardware components and software components for implementing features such as those described herein for performing V2X sidelink communications. The processor 302 of the UE device 104 may be configured to implement part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). In other embodiments, the processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 300, 304, 306, 310, 320, 330, 335, 340, 350, 360, the processor 302 of the UE device 104 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein, such as the features described herein.

[0070] Figure 4 —Block diagram of a base station

[0071] Figure 4 A base station 102 (e.g., Figure 1 102A). Figure 4 The base station 102 is only one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include a processor 404 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 or other circuit or device that may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 404 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450).

[0072] The base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. The network port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to the telephone network for a plurality of devices, such as the UE device 104.

[0073] The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, such as a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as the UE device 104. In some cases, the network port 470 may couple to a telephony network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide a telephony network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0074] Base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas. The at least one antenna 434 may be configured to function as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with UE device 104 via radio 430. Antenna 434 communicates with radio 430 via communication chain 432. Communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both. Radio 430 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to LTE, LTE-A, LTE-V, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, 5G NR, Wi-Fi, and the like.

[0075] Base station 102 may be configured to communicate wirelessly using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, base station 102 may include multiple radio components that enable base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, base station 102 may include an LTE radio for communicating according to LTE and a Wi-Fi radio for communicating according to Wi-Fi. In such a case, base station 102 may be capable of operating as both an LTE base station and a Wi-Fi access point. As another possibility, base station 102 may include a multimode radio component capable of communicating according to any of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., LTE and NR, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0076] As further described later herein, BS 102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting specific implementations of the features described herein. The processor 404 of base station 102 may be configured to implement or support specific implementations of part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit), or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, 470, the processor 404 of BS 102 may be configured to implement or support specific implementations of part or all of the features described herein.

[0077] V2X side link communication

[0078] In wireless communications, particularly cellular wireless communications, sidelink communication refers to a special type of communication mechanism between devices that is not carried through a base station, such as an eNB / gNB. In other words, devices communicate with each other without going through a base station. In a sense, these devices can be said to be communicating directly with each other. However, adapting this type of communication requires a new physical layer design.

[0079] Many recent studies have identified technical solutions that require sidelink designs, such as those in 5G-NR, to meet the requirements of advanced V2X services, including support for sidelink unicast, sidelink multicast, and sidelink broadcast. Many specific use cases for advanced V2X services have been identified, such as vehicle platooning, extended sensors, advanced driving, and remote driving.

[0080] In LTE V2X, broadcast sidelink communications are supported, where sidelink connection maintenance is performed by using keep-alive messages transmitted between upper layers (e.g., application layer, non-access stratum, etc.) of wireless devices in the communication. For example, in addition to broadcast sidelink communications, NR V2X also supports unicast and multicast sidelink communications.

[0081] To support such V2X sidelink communications, various communication channels (e.g., control channels, data channels) may need to be provided. Therefore, this document proposes various possible techniques for supporting V2X sidelink communications, including various possible V2X channel design features and considerations. These techniques may include techniques for slot aggregation and selective prioritization of communications on the physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH), as well as various other techniques.

[0082] According to some embodiments, a wireless device may operate in a manner such that the wireless device performs resource selection for its V2X sidelink transmissions, which may also be referred to as a "Mode 2" wireless device. In this scenario, it may be advantageous for the wireless device to consider the potential impact of its own transmissions and / or the half-duplex limitations of other wireless devices. For example, if the wireless device is not capable of (or not configured to) transmit and receive simultaneously, scheduling a transmission during the same time slot in which the wireless device is scheduled to receive a transmission from another wireless device may result in the wireless device being unable to receive the transmission. Similarly, if the target wireless device is not capable of (or not configured to) transmit and receive simultaneously, scheduling a transmission to the target wireless device during the same time slot in which the target wireless device is scheduled to perform a transmission may result in the target wireless device being unable to receive the transmission. Thus, in at least some embodiments, the wireless device may be configured to selectively prioritize specific transmissions and / or receptions for situations in which the scheduled transmissions and scheduled receptions at least partially overlap in time.

[0083] Scheduling overlap for PSFCH messages

[0084] The transmission and reception of PSFCH messages can be scheduled to overlap in time in various situations. As a first example, a wireless device may transmit a PSSCH message and configure a scheduled time slot for receiving a corresponding first acknowledgment message on the PSFCH. In addition, the wireless device may receive sidelink control information (SCI) from a remote device on the PSSCH indicating a time slot for transmitting a second acknowledgment message on the PSFCH. In some cases, the PSFCH resources corresponding to these two PSFCH messages may appear in the same time slot. In these cases, the embodiments herein provide methods and devices for selecting which PSFCH message to transmit or receive based on data priority and / or other factors.

[0085] As a second example, a wireless device may be scheduled to transmit multiple PSFCH messages simultaneously, or it may be scheduled to receive multiple PSFCH messages simultaneously. In these embodiments, the wireless device may determine which PSFCH message is associated with the highest priority data and may prioritize the PSFCH messages for transmission and / or reception.

[0086] As a third example, the wireless device may receive SCIs from multiple different wireless devices, and the associated PSFCH responses may appear in the same time slot. Alternatively, the wireless device may receive multiple SCI messages from a single remote device, and the associated PSFCH responses may appear in the same time slot. In these embodiments, the wireless device may select the number of PSFCH transmissions to perform based on the data priority.

[0087] In some embodiments, scheduling conflicts may occur between sidelink (SL) feedback transmissions or receptions and uplink (UL) transmissions.Embodiments herein propose methods and apparatus for selectively prioritizing specific transmissions and / or receptions.

[0088] In various embodiments, the acknowledgment and / or negative acknowledgment (ACK / NACK) messages sent on the PSFCH may have a short PSFCH format or a long PSFCH format. In some embodiments, a sequence-based short PSFCH format may be used for sidelink ACK / NACK messaging, where one or two symbols are used for the ACK / NACK message. Alternatively, a long PSFCH format may be used, where more than two symbols are used for the ACK / NACK message, e.g., up to the size of an entire slot (e.g., up to 14 symbols for a 14-symbol slot structure). In either the long or short PSFCH format, the ACK / NACK message may be repeated for each symbol to increase the likelihood of successful reception by the receiving device.

[0089] In some embodiments, sidelink control information (SCI) may be transmitted on the PSCCH, and data payload may be transmitted on the PSSCH. The SCI information may specify resources for an upcoming PSFCH ACK / NACK message associated with the data payload. In some embodiments, the SCI may specify specific time, frequency, and / or code resources. Typically, the PSFCH resource may be offset by 2 or 3 slots from the corresponding PSSCH (i.e., the PSFCH may be scheduled to occur 2 or 3 slots after the PSSCH).

[0090] The embodiments herein propose methods and apparatus to further enhance PSFCH coverage for longer distances and poorer radio conditions. For example, in some embodiments, long PSFCH format slot aggregation is utilized to increase message fidelity. Some embodiments propose prioritization rules for resolving scheduling conflicts between PSFCH transmissions and receptions in a long PSFCH format with slot aggregation. Some embodiments propose prioritization rules for resolving scheduling conflicts between multiple simultaneous PSFCH transmissions in a long PSFCH format with slot aggregation. Some embodiments propose prioritization rules for resolving scheduling conflicts between multiple simultaneous PSFCH transmissions in a long PSFCH format with slot aggregation and a short PSFCH format with slot aggregation. Some embodiments propose prioritization rules for resolving scheduling conflicts between PSFCH transmissions in a long PSFCH format with slot aggregation and uplink transmissions.

[0091] PSFCH slot aggregation

[0092] In some embodiments, the wireless device may configure slot aggregation for PSFCH feedback messaging. For example, each data packet transmitted on a PSSCH resource may have a corresponding PSFCH resource scheduled in a plurality of consecutive slots for ACK / NACK feedback, starting from a configured (or preconfigured) gap after the PSSCH time resource. As used herein, the term "resource" is intended to refer to one or both of a frequency resource and / or a time resource dedicated to transmitting or receiving a particular message on a particular channel such as PSSCH, PSCCH, or PSFCH. Figure 5A As shown, each of the six different PSCCH / PSSCH resources has two corresponding PSFCH time resources, corresponding to an aggregation level of N=2. As shown, each PSCCH and PSSCH resource occupies a single time slot and a single subchannel, while each PSFCH resource occupies a single time slot and a single physical resource block (PRB). For example, subchannel and time slot resource 502 is used to transmit both sidelink control information on the PSCCH and sidelink data on the PSSCH. The sidelink control information in resource 502 schedules resources 504 and 506 for sending acknowledgment message transmissions on the PSFCH corresponding to the sidelink data sent on resource 502.

[0093] In some embodiments, as Figure 5B As shown, frequency hopping can be employed on the PSFCH repetitions. For example, to achieve frequency diversity gain, two aggregated time slots for PSFCH messaging can be configured on two different frequency resources. In various embodiments, the PSFCH frequency offset can be part of the resource pool configuration or pre-configuration.

[0094] In some embodiments, PSFCH slot aggregation may be configured using a Sidelink Control Information (SCI) indication. In some embodiments, the aggregation level (ie, the number of PSFCH slots used for each PSSCH resource) may be indicated in SCI stage 2.

[0095] In some embodiments, the maximum number of aggregated PSFCH slots may be capped by a resource pool (pre-)configuration. For example, the resource pool may configure N=4 as the maximum PSFCH aggregation level, while a specific SCI indicator transmitted by the wireless device may configure the actual aggregation level to be 2. The wireless device may determine its desired aggregation level based on various factors such as current radio conditions, the reference signal received power (RSRP) of the remote device, the distance to the remote device, etc. In some embodiments, the size of the Phase 2 SCI indicator indicating the aggregation level may be equal to log2 N. In various embodiments, PSFCH slot aggregation may be configured for either PSFCH long format or PSFCH short format.

[0096] In some embodiments, as Figure 5C As shown, two aggregated PSFCH resources can be configured on either side of the frequency resource pool for PSSCH and PSCCH. Figure 5A and Figure 5B This configuration may result in a greater diversity gain of the PSFCH resources compared to the configuration shown.

[0097] Prioritization between PSFCH transmission and reception

[0098] In some embodiments, methods and apparatus are described for performing selective prioritization of PSFCH ACK / NACK messaging when scheduled PSFCH transmission and reception overlap in time. Figure 6A An example is shown in FIG, where a wireless device transmits a message on PSCCH and PSSCH in a first time slot (PSCCH / PSSCH transmission, Tx), and the wireless device receives a message on PSCCH and PSSCH in a subsequent adjacent second time slot (PSCCH / PSSCH reception, Rx). In this example, and as Figure 6A As shown, it may occur that PSCCH / PSSCH transmissions and PSCCH / PSSCH receptions are scheduled for PSFCH feedback during the same time slots used for receiving and transmitting HARQ feedback, respectively. If the wireless device is a half-duplex device, the wireless device may not be able to simultaneously transmit and receive PSFCH messaging in the same time slot. To address these and other issues, the priority of data associated with overlapping PSFCH feedback messages may be considered to determine whether to transmit or receive ACK / NACK messaging during the overlapping time slots. For example, the wireless device may determine whether a first data packet transmitted on the PSSCH during a first time slot or a second data packet received on the PSSCH during a second time slot has a higher priority. As shown Figure 6B As shown, the wireless device may transmit or receive a PSFCH message corresponding to a higher priority PSSCH data packet.

[0099] In some embodiments, if the first data packet and the second data packet have the same priority, the wireless device may autonomously determine which PSFCH message to execute. For example, in these cases, the wireless device may default to always transmitting a PSFCH message when their respective associated data packets have the same priority, or alternatively, always receiving a PSFCH message.

[0100] In some embodiments, time-sharing of PSFCH message transmissions may be performed in conjunction with time slot aggregation of one or both of the Tx and / or Rx PSFCH messages. In these embodiments, time-sharing may be implemented to accommodate both Tx and Rx PSFCH message transmissions. For example, Figures 7A-7BAs shown in FIG, if the aggregation level of the Tx PSFCH message and the Rx PSFCH message is 2, the wireless device may allocate one of the aggregated time slots for the Tx PSFCH message and the other of the aggregated time slots for the Rx PSFCH message. In some embodiments, the PSFCH message corresponding to the earlier PSFCH message may be allocated the earlier of the aggregated time slots. For example, Figure 7B As shown, PSCCH / PSSCH message 1 is transmitted before receiving PSCCH / PSSCH message 2. Therefore, the PSFCH message corresponding to message 1 can be received in the earlier of the two aggregated time slots, while the PSFCH message corresponding to message 2 can be transmitted in the later of the two aggregated time slots.

[0101] In some embodiments, if the PSFCH aggregation level is greater than 2, then non-uniform PSFCH slot allocation may be applied depending on the quality of service requirements and / or priority levels of the data packets corresponding to the two PSFCH messages. Figures 8A-8B As shown, PSCCH / PSSCH message 1 has a higher priority than PSCCH / PSSCH message 2, and PSFCH messages corresponding to higher priority data may have more time slots allocated than PSFCH messages corresponding to lower priority data.

[0102] In some embodiments, if the priority difference between two PSSCH data packets is large enough, the PSFCH message transmission associated with the high priority PSSCH data packet may be allocated all aggregated time slots. For example, if a Tx data packet sent on the PSSCH has a priority greater than a threshold amount than an Rx data packet received on the PSSCH, all scheduled PSFCH time slots may be allocated to the PSFCH message corresponding to the Tx data packet (and vice versa). In some embodiments, different priorities may be assigned to different types of data packets on a scale from 1 (highest priority) to 8 (lowest priority). A priority difference threshold may be set (as an example, the priority difference threshold may be set to 6). If one data priority is level 1 (highest) and the other data priority is level 8 (lowest), the interval between the two priorities is 7, which is greater than the priority difference threshold. Alternatively, a priority threshold level (e.g., 4) may be set, where if the data priority of PSSCH Tx is greater than the threshold and the data priority of PSSCH Rx is less than the threshold, all scheduled PSFCH time slots may be allocated to the PSFCH message corresponding to the Tx data packet (and vice versa).

[0103] In some embodiments, the distance between the transmitting wireless device and the receiving wireless device may also be considered when allocating aggregated time slots for PSFCH messaging.In some embodiments, a gap symbol may be added at the end of the time slot used for PSFCH messaging.

[0104] Although embodiments herein are described in the context of time overlap between a Tx PSFCH message and an Rx PSFCH message, similar prioritization rules may apply in the case of time overlap between multiple PSFCH Tx messages.

[0105] In some embodiments, two scheduled PSFCH messages may partially overlap. Figure 9A As shown, the PSFCH message corresponding to message 1 may be a long format PSFCH message with an aggregation level of two, and one of the scheduled PSFCH Rx resources may partially overlap with the PSFCH resource corresponding to message 2. The PSFCH message corresponding to message 2 may have a short PSFCH format including only one or two symbols (i.e., rather than occupying the entire time slot).

[0106] In some embodiments, similar to reference Figures 6A-6B The method described may compare the priorities and / or quality of service (QoS) requirements of Message 1 and Message 2 to determine which PSFCH message to transmit or receive. Figure 9B As shown, time division may be employed, wherein short format PSFCH transmission is performed in the first of two aggregated time slots, while long format PSFCH reception is performed in the second, non-time-overlapping time slot.

[0107] In some embodiments, if the data priority of the PSSCH data packets corresponding to the long-format PSFCH message is significantly greater than the data priority of the PSSCH data packets corresponding to the short-format PSFCH message (i.e., greater than a predetermined threshold), then all aggregated PSFCH time slots may be used for the long-format PSFCH message. Alternatively, a predetermined priority threshold may be set such that if the data priority of the PSSCH data packets corresponding to the long-format PSFCH message is greater than the threshold and the data priority of the PSSCH data packets corresponding to the short-format PSFCH message is less than the threshold, then all aggregated PSFCH time slots may be used for the long-format PSFCH message.

[0108] Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the distance between the transmitting wireless device and the receiving wireless device may also be considered when configuring PSFCH slot aggregation.Similar prioritization rules may apply when scheduling multiple overlapping PSFCH transmissions.

[0109] Figure 10- Flowchart for Selective PSFCH Prioritization

[0110] Figure 10 is a flow chart illustrating example aspects of methods and apparatus for performing selective PSFCH prioritization according to at least some embodiments. Figure 10 Aspects of the methods of can be implemented by wireless devices such as PUE 104, vehicle 106, any of the various other possible wireless devices shown in the various figures herein, and / or more generally, can be implemented in conjunction with any of the computer circuits, systems, devices, elements or components shown in the above figures, etc., as desired. For example, a processor (e.g., a baseband processor and / or other hardware) installed in such a device can be configured to cause the device to perform any combination of the method elements shown and / or other method elements.

[0111] In various embodiments, some of the elements of the method shown may be performed simultaneously in an order different from that shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional elements may also be performed as needed. As shown in the figure, Figure 10 The method can be operated as follows.

[0112] At 1002, first control information is received via a sidelink control channel, the first control information specifying one or more first time slots for the wireless device to transmit a first acknowledgment message on a sidelink feedback channel. The first acknowledgment message is associated with a first data packet received by the wireless device. In some embodiments, the sidelink feedback channel is a PSFCH, the sidelink control channel is a PSCCH, and the first data packet is received on a PSSCH. The first control information and the first data packet may be received during a single common subchannel and time slot, and an acknowledgment message may be used to indicate whether the first data packet was successfully received.

[0113] At 1004, second control information is transmitted via the sidelink control channel, the second control information specifying one or more second time slots for the wireless device to receive a second acknowledgment message on the sidelink feedback channel. The second acknowledgment message is associated with a second data packet transmitted by the wireless device. For example, the second acknowledgment message may indicate whether the second data packet was successfully received by the second device. The second control information and the second data packet may be transmitted during a single common subchannel and time slot.

[0114] At 1006, it is determined that one or more of the first time slots coincide with one or more of the second time slots. For example, at least some of the first time slots may overlap with at least some of the second time slots. If the wireless device is a half-duplex device that cannot simultaneously receive and transmit messages, selective prioritization may be employed to determine which sidelink acknowledgment message to transmit or receive during the overlapping time slots.

[0115] At 1008, a determination is made as to whether the first data packet or the second data packet has a higher priority. For example, each of the first data packet and the second data packet may include a designated data priority level (e.g., on a scale of 1, the highest priority, to 8, the lowest priority, or another type of priority scale may be used), and these priority levels may be compared.

[0116] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the formats of the first and second acknowledgment messages can be used to determine priority. For example, in some embodiments, one of the first or second acknowledgment messages can be determined to be transmitted / received according to the long PSFCH format, while the other is determined to be received / transmitted according to the short PSFCH format. In these embodiments, acknowledgment messages transmitted or received according to the short PSFCH format can be prioritized during overlapping time slots.

[0117] At 1010, a first acknowledgment message or a second acknowledgment message is transmitted or received using at least a subset of overlapping time slots, depending on whether the first acknowledgment message or the second acknowledgment message is associated with a higher priority data packet, respectively.

[0118] For example, when it is determined that the first data packet has a higher priority, the first confirmation message is transmitted during a first subset of the first time slots that coincides with one or more of the second time slots, and the second confirmation message is not received during the first subset of the first time slots. Alternatively, when it is determined that the second data packet has a higher priority, the second confirmation message is received during the first subset of the first time slots, and the first confirmation message is not transmitted during the first subset of the first time slots.

[0119] In some embodiments, one or both of the first time slot and the second time slot comprise an aggregated plurality of time slots. The first subset of the first time slots may comprise a first portion of the aggregated plurality of time slots, and the second acknowledgment message may be received during a second portion of the aggregated plurality of time slots that is disjoint from the first portion. The first portion may be selected to be larger than the second portion based at least in part on a determination that the first data packet has a higher priority.

[0120] In some embodiments, it may be determined that a first data packet is to be received before a second data packet is to be transmitted. Based on this determination, the first portion of the aggregated plurality of time slots may be selected to occur before the second portion of the aggregated plurality of time slots. Alternatively, it may be determined that a first data packet is to be received before a second data packet is to be transmitted, and based on this determination, the first portion of the aggregated plurality of time slots may be selected to occur after the second portion of the aggregated plurality of time slots.

[0121] In some embodiments, it may be determined that the first data packet and the second data packet differ in priority by more than a predetermined threshold amount, and based on this determination, the first subset of first time slots for transmitting / receiving higher priority acknowledgment messages may include all overlapping time slots.

[0122] In some embodiments, control information may be used to configure the aggregated time slots used for PSFCH feedback. For example, one or both of the first control information or the second control information may include a sidelink control information (SCI) phase 2 indication that specifies an aggregation level for transmitting or receiving acknowledgment messages on the sidelink feedback channel, where a number of time slots equal to the aggregation level are used to transmit or receive acknowledgment messaging. In some embodiments, the control information may specify frequency hopping for acknowledgment messaging, thereby transmitting or receiving acknowledgment messaging on different frequency bands during different aggregated time slots. In some embodiments, the frequency hopping may be configured such that one of the frequency bands used for feedback messaging is higher than the frequency band used for transmitting or receiving control information, while another of the frequency bands used for feedback messaging is lower than the frequency band used for transmitting or receiving control information. In other words, the physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) may utilize a first frequency band, and the PSFCH may utilize at least two frequency bands on either side of the first frequency for different time slots in two or more aggregated time slots. Advantageously, in these embodiments, by increasing the frequency difference between two of the frequency bands used for sidelink feedback messaging, frequency diversity gain may be enhanced (eg, compared to utilizing two adjacent frequency bands for sidelink feedback messaging).

[0123] Figure 11 - Flowchart of PSFCH and UL transmission prioritization

[0124] In some embodiments, scheduled PSFCH messages may overlap in time with scheduled uplink transmissions. In these cases, in some embodiments, uplink transmissions may always be prioritized. For example, PSFCH messages that overlap in time may be dropped or power-limited, while non-overlapping PSFCH transmissions may proceed normally at normal transmission power. Alternatively, in some embodiments, existing NR V2X prioritization rules may be reused for overlapping uplink and PSFCH transmissions. For example, higher-priority data may be transmitted in the overlapping time slot.

[0125] Figure 11 is a flow chart illustrating example aspects of methods and apparatus for performing selective prioritization between sidelink feedback messaging and uplink data transfer, according to at least some embodiments. Figure 11Aspects of the methods of can be implemented by wireless devices such as PUE 104, vehicle 106, any of the various other possible wireless devices shown in the various figures herein, and / or more generally, can be implemented in conjunction with any of the computer circuits, systems, devices, elements or components shown in the above figures, etc., as desired. For example, a processor (e.g., a baseband processor and / or other hardware) installed in such a device can be configured to cause the device to perform any combination of the method elements shown and / or other method elements.

[0126] In various embodiments, some of the elements of the method shown may be performed simultaneously in an order different from that shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional elements may also be performed as needed. As shown in the figure, Figure 11 The method can be operated as follows.

[0127] At 1102, control information is received via a sidelink control channel. The control information specifies one or more first time slots for the wireless device to transmit a sidelink acknowledgment message on a sidelink feedback channel, wherein the sidelink acknowledgment message is related to a sidelink data packet received by the wireless device. The sidelink data packet may be received during the same time and frequency resources as the time and frequency resources during which the control information is received. The control information may be received on a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and the sidelink data packet may be received on a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH).

[0128] In some implementations, the control information is a sidelink control information (SCI) phase 2 indication. The SCI phase 2 indication may indicate an aggregation level of the plurality of time slots.

[0129] At 1104, a resource grant is received via a downlink control channel. The resource grant may be received via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). The resource grant specifies one or more second time slots for the wireless device to transmit an uplink transmission, such as a second data packet (i.e., an uplink data packet) or control information (e.g., HARQ-ACK messaging, CSI reporting, etc.), on an uplink channel. The uplink channel may be a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) (e.g., for uplink data packets) or a physical uplink control channel (e.g., for control information).

[0130] At 1106, it is determined that one or more of the first time slots overlap with one or more of the second time slots. For example, at least some of the first time slots may overlap with at least some of the second time slots. If the wireless device cannot transmit both messages simultaneously, selective prioritization may be employed to determine whether to transmit a sidelink acknowledgment message or an uplink transmission during the overlapping time slots.

[0131] At 1108, a time slot for transmitting a sidelink acknowledgment message and / or an uplink transmission is determined, and at 1110, one or more messages are transmitted based on the determination made at step 1108. Various methods may be employed to determine which message to transmit during overlapping time slots, as described in detail below.

[0132] As a first example, in some embodiments, uplink transmissions are by default prioritized over sidelink acknowledgment messaging. In other words, uplink transmissions are transmitted on the uplink channel during a first time slot that overlaps with one or more of the second time slots, and sidelink acknowledgment messaging is not transmitted during the overlapping first time slot.

[0133] Alternatively, the wireless device may be equipped with dual radios such that both uplink transmissions and sidelink acknowledgment messaging can be transmitted during a single time slot. In these embodiments, it may be desirable to reduce the transmit power used to transmit the sidelink acknowledgment messaging to reduce the likelihood of intermodulation issues between the uplink data transmission and the sidelink acknowledgment transmission. In these embodiments, the wireless device may transmit an uplink transmission at normal transmit power on the uplink channel during one or more first time slots that overlap with one or more second time slots in the second time slots, and the wireless device may transmit the sidelink acknowledgment message at reduced transmit power during the overlapping one or more first time slots. In some embodiments, the first time slot is an aggregated plurality of time slots, wherein only a subset of the first time slots overlap with the second time slots. In these embodiments, the first time slots that do not overlap with the second time slots may be used to transmit the sidelink acknowledgment message at normal transmit power.

[0134] As a third possibility, in some embodiments, it may be determined whether the sidelink data packet associated with the sidelink confirmation message or the sidelink data packet associated with the uplink transmission has a higher priority. In these embodiments, the wireless device may transmit the higher priority message during the overlapping time slots. For example, based on determining that the uplink transmission has a higher priority, the uplink transmission may be transmitted during a first subset of the first time slot that coincides with one or more second time slots in the second time slot, and the sidelink confirmation message may not be transmitted during the first subset of the first time slot. Alternatively, based on determining that the sidelink data packet has a higher priority, the sidelink confirmation message may be transmitted on the uplink channel during the first subset of the first time slot, while the uplink transmission may not be transmitted during the first subset of the first time slot.

[0135] In some embodiments, it may be determined that the sidelink data packets and the uplink transmission differ in priority by more than a predetermined threshold amount. Based on this determination, the first subset of first time slots may be selected to include all first time slots that overlap with one or more of the second time slots. Alternatively, if the sidelink feedback transmission and the uplink feedback transmission differ in priority by less than a threshold amount, or if they have the same priority, a subset of the overlapping time slots may be used to transmit the sidelink data packets, while the remaining overlapping time slots are used to transmit the uplink transmission.

[0136] For example, in some embodiments, the first time slot comprises an aggregated plurality of time slots, wherein a first subset of the first time slots that overlaps with the second time slot is a first portion of the aggregated plurality of time slots. When the first portion of the aggregated plurality of time slots is used to transmit uplink transmissions other than sidelink acknowledgment messages, a second portion of the aggregated plurality of time slots that is disjoint from the first portion may be used to transmit the sidelink acknowledgment messages.

[0137] In some embodiments, the sidelink confirmation message is transmitted on at least two different frequency bands for two or more of the aggregated time slots. In some embodiments, the control information is received in a first frequency band, and the sidelink confirmation message is transmitted in both a second frequency band and a third frequency band during two different corresponding time slots, wherein the first frequency band is between the second frequency band and the third frequency band. The second frequency band and the third frequency band can be used to transmit sidelink feedback, messaging for different time slots in the two or more aggregated time slots. Advantageously, in these embodiments, by increasing the frequency difference between two of the frequency bands used for sidelink feedback messaging, frequency diversity gain can be enhanced (e.g., compared to utilizing two adjacent frequency bands for sidelink feedback messaging).

[0138] In the following, additional exemplary embodiments are provided.

[0139] One set of embodiments may include an apparatus comprising: a processor configured to cause a wireless device to perform any or all of the foregoing examples.

[0140] Yet another example embodiment may include a method comprising performing, by a wireless device, any or all of the foregoing examples.

[0141] Another example embodiment may include a device comprising: an antenna; a radio coupled to the antenna; and a processor operatively coupled to the radio, wherein the device is configured to implement any or all of the foregoing examples.

[0142] Another exemplary set of embodiments may include a non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium including program instructions that, when executed at a device, cause the device to implement any or all portions of any of the foregoing examples.

[0143] Another exemplary set of embodiments may include a computer program comprising instructions for performing any or all portions of any of the foregoing examples.

[0144] Another exemplary set of embodiments may include an apparatus comprising means for performing any or all of the elements of any of the preceding examples.

[0145] Another exemplary set of embodiments may include an apparatus comprising a processor configured to cause a wireless device to perform any or all elements of any of the preceding examples.

[0146] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0147] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments may be implemented as computer-implemented methods, computer-readable storage media, or computer systems. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0148] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured such that it stores program instructions and / or data, wherein the program instructions, if executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method, such as any one of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0149] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., UE 104) may be configured to include a processor (or a group of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, wherein the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method embodiments described herein (or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of various forms.

[0150] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to encompass all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising a baseband processor, wherein the baseband processor is configured to perform operations comprising: receiving control information over a sidelink control channel, wherein the control information specifies one or more first time slots for a wireless device to transmit a sidelink acknowledgement message over a sidelink feedback channel, wherein the sidelink acknowledgement message is associated with a sidelink data packet received by the wireless device; receiving a resource grant via a downlink control channel, wherein the resource grant specifies one or more second time slots for the wireless device to transmit an uplink transmission on an uplink channel; determining that one or more first time slots of the first time slots include overlapping time slots that coincide with one or more second time slots of the second time slots; as well as determining whether the sidelink data packet and the uplink transmission differ in priority by more than a predetermined threshold amount; transmitting the sidelink acknowledgment message on the sidelink feedback channel or transmitting the uplink transmission during the overlapping time slot based at least in part on a determination that the sidelink data packet and the uplink transmission differ in priority by more than the predetermined threshold amount; as well as Based at least in part on determining that the sidelink data packet and the uplink transmission differ in priority by less than the predetermined threshold amount or have the same priority, the sidelink confirmation message is transmitted on the sidelink feedback channel during a first subset of the overlapping time slots, and the uplink transmission is transmitted on the uplink channel during a second subset of the overlapping time slots that is separate from the first subset.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the first time slot comprises a plurality of aggregated time slots, wherein the first subset of the first time slots comprises a first portion of the aggregated plurality of time slots, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the wireless device to: The sidelink acknowledgement message is transmitted during a second portion of the aggregated plurality of time slots, wherein the second portion is disjoint from the first portion.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the one or more first time slots comprise a plurality of aggregated time slots, and The control information includes a sidelink control information (SCI) phase 2 indication, wherein the SCI phase 2 indication indicates an aggregation level of the plurality of time slots.

4. The device according to claim 1, The uplink transmission includes one of the following: uplink data packets; or Uplink control information.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the operations performed by the baseband processor further comprise: The sidelink acknowledgement message is transmitted on at least two different frequency bands for two or more of the aggregated time slots.

6. The device according to claim 3, The control information is received in a first frequency band, and the operations performed by the baseband processor further include: transmitting the sidelink acknowledgement message in a second frequency band higher than the first frequency band during a first aggregated time slot of the plurality of aggregated time slots; as well as The sidelink acknowledgement message is transmitted in a third frequency band lower than the first frequency band during a second aggregated time slot of the plurality of aggregated time slots.

7. A wireless device comprising: at least one antenna for performing wireless communication; a radio coupled to the at least one antenna; as well as a processor coupled to the radio; The wireless device is configured to: receiving control information over a sidelink control channel, wherein the control information specifies one or more first time slots for the wireless device to transmit a sidelink acknowledgement message over a sidelink feedback channel, wherein the sidelink acknowledgement message is associated with a sidelink data packet received by the wireless device; receiving a resource grant via a downlink control channel, wherein the resource grant specifies one or more second time slots for the wireless device to transmit an uplink transmission on an uplink channel; determining that one or more first time slots of the first time slots include overlapping time slots that coincide with one or more second time slots of the second time slots; determining whether the sidelink data packet and the uplink transmission differ in priority by more than a predetermined threshold amount; transmitting the sidelink acknowledgment message on the sidelink feedback channel or transmitting the uplink transmission during the overlapping time slot based at least in part on a determination that the sidelink data packet and the uplink transmission differ in priority by more than the predetermined threshold amount; as well as Based at least in part on determining that the sidelink data packet and the uplink transmission differ in priority by less than the predetermined threshold amount or have the same priority, the sidelink confirmation message is transmitted on the sidelink feedback channel during a first subset of the overlapping time slots, and the uplink transmission is transmitted on the uplink channel during a second subset of the overlapping time slots that is separate from the first subset.

8. The wireless device of claim 7, wherein the wireless device is further configured to: Based at least in part on determining that the sidelink data packet has a higher priority: The sidelink acknowledgement message is transmitted on the uplink channel during the first subset of the first time slots, wherein the uplink transmission is not transmitted during the first subset of the first time slots.

9. The wireless device according to claim 7, wherein the first time slot comprises a plurality of aggregated time slots, wherein the first subset of the first time slots comprises a first portion of the aggregated plurality of time slots, The wireless device is further configured as follows: The sidelink acknowledgement message is transmitted during a second portion of the aggregated plurality of time slots, wherein the second portion is disjoint from the first portion.

10. The wireless device of claim 7, wherein the wireless device is further configured to: determining that the sidelink data packet and the uplink transmission differ in priority by more than a predetermined threshold amount, Based at least in part on a determination that the sidelink data packet and the uplink transmission differ in priority by more than the predetermined threshold amount, the first subset of the first time slots is selected to include all first time slots in the first time slots that overlap with one or more second time slots in the second time slots.

11. The wireless device according to claim 7, wherein the one or more first time slots comprise a plurality of aggregated time slots, and The control information includes a sidelink control information (SCI) phase 2 indication.

12. The wireless device according to claim 11, The SCI stage 2 indication indicates an aggregation level of the plurality of time slots.

13. The wireless device of claim 11 , wherein the wireless device is further configured to: The sidelink acknowledgement message is transmitted on at least two different frequency bands for two or more of the aggregated time slots.

14. The wireless device according to claim 11, wherein the control information is received in a first frequency band, wherein the wireless device is further configured to: transmitting the sidelink acknowledgement message in a second frequency band higher than the first frequency band during a first aggregated time slot of the plurality of aggregated time slots; and The sidelink acknowledgement message is transmitted in a third frequency band lower than the first frequency band during a second aggregated time slot of the plurality of aggregated time slots.

15. A method for operating a wireless device, the method comprising: receiving control information over a sidelink control channel, wherein the control information specifies one or more first time slots for the wireless device to transmit a sidelink acknowledgement message over a sidelink feedback channel, wherein the sidelink acknowledgement message is associated with a sidelink data packet received by the wireless device; receiving a resource grant via a downlink control channel, wherein the resource grant specifies one or more second time slots for the wireless device to transmit an uplink transmission on an uplink channel; determining that one or more first time slots in the first time slots coincide with one or more second time slots in the second time slots; transmitting the uplink transmission at a normal transmit power on the uplink channel during a first subset of the first time slots coinciding with one or more of the second time slots; as well as The sidelink acknowledgement message is transmitted at a reduced transmit power during the first subset of the first time slots coinciding with one or more of the second time slots.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the first time slot comprises a plurality of aggregated time slots, wherein the first subset of the first time slots comprises a first portion of the aggregated plurality of time slots, The method further comprises: The sidelink acknowledgement message is transmitted at the normal transmit power during a second portion of the aggregated plurality of time slots, wherein the second portion is disjoint from the first portion.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the one or more first time slots comprise a plurality of aggregated time slots, and The control information includes a sidelink control information (SCI) phase 2 indication, wherein the SCI phase 2 indication indicates an aggregation level of the plurality of time slots.

18. The method according to claim 15, The uplink transmission includes one of the following: uplink data packets; or Uplink control information.

19. The method according to claim 17, further comprising: The sidelink acknowledgement message is transmitted on at least two different frequency bands for two or more of the aggregated time slots.

20. The method according to claim 17, The control information is received in a first frequency band, and the method further comprises: transmitting the sidelink acknowledgement message in a second frequency band higher than the first frequency band during a first aggregated time slot of the plurality of aggregated time slots; as well as The sidelink acknowledgement message is transmitted in a third frequency band lower than the first frequency band during a second aggregated time slot of the plurality of aggregated time slots.

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