Network-based operation of data transmission based on super-slots

Abstract

A base station indicates a resource allocation for a shared channel transmission to a user equipment, where the shared channel transmission includes mapping modulation symbols of a transport block having a single dedicated hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number on resource elements of N consecutive slots of the resource allocation, where N is at least 2. The base station can also transmit, to the UE, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) trigger (DMRS-T) value indicating a DMRS pattern to be used for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission, where the PDSCH transmission includes mapping modulation symbols of a transport block having a single dedicated hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number on resource elements of N consecutive slots of a PDSCH resource allocation, where N is at least 2; and transmit the DMRS pattern corresponding to the DMRS-T value.

Description

BACKGROUND

[0001] A user equipment (UE) can be configured to establish a connection with a network. In one example, the UE can connect to a 5G New Radio (NR) network. NR specifications defining operation for frequencies up to 52.6 GHz have been developed in Rel-15 and Rel-16, where all physical layer channels, signals, procedures, and protocols are designed to be optimized for use at 52.6 GHz. Specifications defining operation for frequencies above 52.6 GHz are under development, however, various challenges arise when using higher frequencies relative to 52.6 GHz below. For example, higher frequencies experience higher phase noise, greater propagation loss due to high atmospheric absorption, and lower power amplifier efficiency.

[0002] To mitigate the problem of higher phase noise, the maximum subcarrier spacing (SCS) can be increased. However, a larger SCS results in a longer round trip time for a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process and increases downlink control information (DCI) signaling overhead, as the HARQ process number is signaled in a scheduling DCI format. In addition, UE complexity for HARQ process management increases. SUMMARY

[0003] Some example embodiments relate to one or more processors configured to perform operations. The operations include indicating a resource allocation for a shared channel transmission, where the shared channel transmission includes mapping modulation symbols of a transport block having a single dedicated hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number on resource elements of N consecutive slots of the resource allocation, where N is at least 2.

[0004] Other example embodiments relate to a base station having a transceiver configured to connect to a user equipment (UE) and one or more processors configured to perform operations. The operations include transmitting a resource allocation for a shared channel transmission between the UE and the base station, where the shared channel transmission includes mapping modulation symbols of a transport block having a single dedicated hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number on resource elements of N consecutive slots of the resource allocation, where N is at least 2.

[0005] Yet other example embodiments relate to one or more processors configured to perform operations. The operations include transmitting, by a base station to a UE, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) trigger (DMRS-T) value indicating a DMRS pattern to be used for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission, wherein the PDSCH transmission includes mapping modulation symbols of a transport block having a single dedicated hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number on resource elements of N contiguous slots of a PDSCH resource allocation, where N is at least 2, and transmitting the DMRS pattern corresponding to the DMRS-T value. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0006] Figure 1 An example network arrangement is shown in accordance with various example embodiments.

[0007] Figure 2 An example UE is shown in accordance with various example embodiments.

[0008] Figure 3 An example network cell is shown in accordance with various example embodiments.

[0009] Figure 4 An example transport block mapping scheme utilizing a super-slot (S-slot) is shown in accordance with various example embodiments.

[0010] Figure 5 An example super-slot (S-slot) based TDRA table for PDSCH / PUSCH scheduling on S-slots is shown in accordance with various example embodiments.

[0011] Figure 6 An example super-slot (S-slot) including K slots is shown in accordance with various example embodiments.

[0012] Figure 7 A table providing example dynamic DMRS pattern indication is shown in accordance with various example embodiments.

[0013] Figure 8 An example DMRS pattern for S-slot based PDSCH transmission is shown in accordance with various example embodiments.

[0014] Figure 9 An example DMRS positioning configuration for S-slot based PDSCH transmission is shown in accordance with various example embodiments.

[0015] Figure 10 A method for performing super-slot (S-slot) based data transmission is shown in accordance with various example embodiments.

[0016] Figure 11 A method for determining a DMRS pattern for S-slot data transmission is shown in accordance with various example embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The example embodiments can be further understood with reference to the following description and related drawings in which like elements are referred to with the same reference numerals. The example embodiments describe a sub-slot (S-slot) based time domain resource allocation (TDRA) scheme for transmission / reception operations between a user equipment (UE) and a next generation NodeB (gNB). An S-slot can include two or more consecutive slots for which a single dedicated hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number is assigned. Modulation symbols (e.g., one transport block with a dedicated HARQ process number) of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission can be mapped in sequence to all resource elements (REs) included on an aggregated S-slot.

[0018] The example embodiments described herein relate to S-slot mapping, signaling details for S-slot based TDRA scheme, and demodulation reference symbol (DMRS) pattern for S-slot based scheduling.

[0019] Network / device

[0020] Figure 1 An example network arrangement 100 is shown in accordance with various example embodiments. The example network arrangement 100 includes a plurality of UEs 110, 112. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a UE can be any type of electronic component configured to communicate via a network, such as a component of a connected car, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a smart phone, a phablet, an embedded device, a wearable device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc. It will also be appreciated that a practical network arrangement can include any number of UEs used by any number of users. Thus, the example having two UEs 110, 112 is provided for illustrative purposes only. In some example embodiments described below, a group of UEs can be employed for corresponding channel measurements.

[0021] The UEs 110, 112 can communicate directly with one or more networks. In the example of network configuration 100, the networks with which the UEs 110, 112 can wirelessly communicate are a 5G NR radio access network (5G NR-RAN) 120, a LTE radio access network (LTE-RAN) 122, and a wireless local area network (WLAN) 124. Thus, the UEs 110, 112 can include a 5G NR chipset to communicate with the 5G NR-RAN 120, a LTE chipset to communicate with the LTE-RAN 122, and an ISM chipset to communicate with the WLAN 124. However, the UEs 110, 112 can also communicate with other types of networks (e.g., legacy cellular networks), and the UE 110 can also communicate with networks through a wired connection. With reference to the example embodiments, the UEs 110, 112 can establish a connection with the 5G NR-RAN 120 and / or the LTE-RAN 122.

[0022] The 5G NR-RAN 120 and the LTE-RAN 122 can be part of a cellular network that can be deployed by a cellular provider (e.g., Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.). These networks 120, 122 can include, for example, cells or base stations (NodeBs, eNodeBs, HeNBs, eNBS, gNBs, gNodeBs, macrocell base stations, microcell base stations, small cell base stations, femtocell base stations, etc.) configured to send and receive traffic from UEs equipped with the appropriate cellular chipset. The WLAN 124 can include any type of wireless local area network (WiFi, hotspots, IEEE 802.1 lx networks, etc.).

[0023] The UEs 110, 112 can connect to the 5G NR-RAN 120 via at least one of a next generation NodeB (gNB) 120A and / or gNB 120B. The gNBs 120A, 120B can be configured with the necessary hardware (e.g., antenna arrays), software, and / or firmware to perform massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) functionality. Massive MIMO can refer to a base station configured to generate multiple beams for multiple UEs. The reference to two gNBs 120A, 120B is for illustrative purposes only. Example embodiments can apply to any suitable number of gNBs. For example, the UEs 110, 112 can simultaneously connect and exchange data with multiple gNBs in a multi-cell CA configuration. The UEs 110, 112 can also connect to the LTE-RAN 122 via either or both of eNBs 122A, 122B, or to any other type of RAN, as discussed above. In the network arrangement 100, the UE 110 is shown with a connection to the gNB 120A, while the UE 112 is shown with a connection to the gNB 120B. According to certain example embodiments, the UE 110’s connection to the gNB 120A can be at frequencies greater than 52.6 GHz.

[0024] In addition to the networks 120, 122, and 124, the network arrangement 100 includes a cellular core network 130, the Internet 140, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 150, and a network services backbone 160. The cellular core network 130 (e.g., 5GC for NR) can be viewed as an interconnected set of components that manage the operation and traffic of a cellular network. The cellular core network 130 also manages traffic that flows between the cellular network and the Internet 140.

[0025] The IMS 150 can generally be described as an architecture for delivering multimedia services to the UEs 110 using IP protocols. The IMS 150 can communicate with the cellular core network 130 and the Internet 140 to provide multimedia services to the UEs 110. The network services backbone 160 is in direct or indirect communication with the Internet 140 and the cellular core network 130. The network services backbone 160 can generally be described as a set of components (e.g., servers, network storage arrangements, etc.) that implement a suite of services that can be used to extend the functionality of the UEs 110 in communicating with various networks.

[0026] Figure 2 An example UE 110 is shown in accordance with various example embodiments. Reference will be made to the example UE 110 in describing various example embodiments. Figure 1The UE 110 can represent any electronic device and can include a processor 205, a memory arrangement 210, a display device 215, an input / output (I / O) device 220, a transceiver 225, and other components 230. The other components 230 can include, for example, an audio input device, an audio output device, a battery providing a limited power source, a data acquisition device, a port for electrically connecting the UE 110 to other electronic devices, a sensor for detecting a condition of the UE 110, and the like. Figure 2 The UE 110 shown can also represent the UE 112.

[0027] The processor 205 can be configured to execute a number of engines of the UE 110. For example, the engines can include a super-slot (S-slot) engine 235 for performing operations including transmit / receive operations for using a transport block of a plurality of contiguous aggregated slots. The S-slot engine 235 can perform operations such as determining an S-slot configuration for data transmission, which will be described in further detail below.

[0028] The engines described above are exemplary only as applications (e.g., programs) executed by the processor 205. The functionality associated with the engines can also be represented as separate, integrated components of the UE 110, or can be modular components coupled to the UE 110, e.g., integrated circuits with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuits can include input circuitry for receiving signals and processing circuitry for processing the signals and other information. The engines can also be embodied as one application or as multiple applications separate from one another. Moreover, in some UEs, the functionality described with respect to the processor 205 is split between two or more processors, such as a baseband processor and an application processor. The example embodiments can be implemented in any of these or other configurations of the UE.

[0029] The memory 210 can be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the UE 110. The display device 215 can be a hardware component configured to display data to a user, while the I / O device 220 can be a hardware component that enables a user to make inputs. The display device 215 and the I / O device 220 can be separate components or can be integrated together, such as a touch screen. The transceiver 225 can be a hardware component configured to establish a connection with the 5G-NR RAN 120, the LTE RAN 122, and the like. Thus, the transceiver 225 can operate on various different frequencies or channels (e.g., contiguous groups of frequencies). For example, the transceiver 225 can operate on unlicensed spectrum when, for example, NR-U is configured.

[0030] Figure 3An example network cell, in this case a gNB 120A, is shown in accordance with various example embodiments. As described above with reference to the UEs 110, the gNB 120A can represent a cell that is provided as a PCell or SCell or configured independently of the UEs 110, 112. The gNB 120A can represent any access node of a 5G NR network through which the UEs 110, 112 can establish a connection and manage network operations. Figure 3 The gNB 120A shown can also represent the gNB 120B.

[0031] The gNB 120A can include a processor 305, a memory arrangement 310, input / output (I / O) devices 320, a transceiver 325, and other components 330. The other components 330 can include, for example, an audio input device, an audio output device, a battery, a data acquisition device, a port for electrically connecting the gNB 120A to other electronic devices, and the like.

[0032] The processor 305 can be configured to execute a number of engines of the gNB 120A. For example, the engines can include a super-slot (S-Slot) engine 235 for performing operations including configuring S-Slots for data transmission, which will be described in detail below.

[0033] The engines described above are each exemplary of an application (e.g., a program) executed by the processor 305. The functionality associated with the engines can also be represented as integral components of the gNB 120A, or can be modular components coupled to the gNB 120A, e.g., integrated circuits with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuits can include input circuitry for receiving signals and processing circuitry for processing the signals and other information. Further, in some gNBs, the functionality described with respect to the processor 305 is split among multiple processors (e.g., a baseband processor, an application processor, etc.). The example embodiments can be implemented in accordance with any of these or other configurations of the gNB.

[0034] The memory 310 can be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the UEs 110, 112. The I / O devices 320 can be hardware components or ports that enable a user to interact with the gNB 120A. The transceiver 325 can be a hardware component configured to exchange data with the UEs 110, 112 and any other UEs in the system 100. The transceiver 325 can operate on various different frequencies or channels (e.g., a set of contiguous frequencies). For example, when configured with NR-U functionality, the transceiver 325 can operate on unlicensed bandwidth. Accordingly, the transceiver 325 can include one or more components (e.g., radio components) to enable data exchange with various networks and UEs.

[0035] TDRA based on super slot

[0036] NR specifications defining operation for frequencies up to 52.6 GHz have been developed in Rel-15 and Rel-16, where all physical layer channels, signals, procedures and protocols are designed to be optimized for use at 52.6 GHz. To operate in NR systems with radio spectrum above 52.6 GHz, the RAN #86 plenary approved the Rel-17 study item “Study on supporting NR from 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz”. However, frequencies above 52.6 GHz face more difficult challenges such as higher phase noise, larger propagation loss due to high atmospheric absorption, and lower power amplifier efficiency. More specifically, to mitigate the problem of higher phase noise, the maximum subcarrier spacing (SCS), i.e., the width of a subcarrier in frequency domain, can be increased to 480 kHz or even higher (e.g., 960 kHz). However, the data processing time and HARQ-ACK feedback timing for these higher frequency operations can not scale linearly with respect to the legacy SCS specified for low frequency NR system operation for higher SCS (e.g., 480 kHz / 960 kHz).

[0037] Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) operation includes an acknowledge / negative acknowledge (ACK / NACK) mechanism to indicate whether a transmitted packet is successfully received or should be retransmitted. In NR systems, a stop-and-wait (SAW) procedure is used for HARQ operation, which relies on HARQ-ACK information from the receiver before proceeding to deliver any additional data. The round trip time of the SAW procedure includes transmitter and receiver data processing time and propagation delay. More specifically, multiple parallel SAW procedures, e.g., HARQ procedures, are used to avoid the round trip time from impacting throughput performance. For example, up to 16 parallel HARQ procedures can occur simultaneously for one transmitter / receiver pair. The longer round trip time for larger SCS (e.g., 480 kHz / 960 kHz) can result in an increased number of parallel HARQ procedures, which can also result in high DCI signaling overhead since the HARQ process number is signaled in the scheduling DCI format. In addition, UE complexity for HARQ procedure management increases. It is clear that these issues need to be addressed without degrading throughput.

[0038] According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, a super-slot (S-slot) based time domain resource allocation (TDRA) scheme is used for transmission / reception operations between a user equipment (UE) and a next generation NodeB (gNB). An S-slot can consist of two or more consecutive slots in time domain for which a single dedicated hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number is assigned. Modulation symbols (e.g., one transport block with a dedicated HARQ process number) for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission can be mapped to all resource elements (REs) on the S-slot in a sequential order. The sequential RE mapping can be in an increasing order first in the frequency domain and then in the time domain, or first in the time domain and then in the frequency domain.

[0039] Figure 4 An exemplary transport block mapping scheme 400 utilizing a super-slot (S-slot) 460 is shown in accordance with various exemplary embodiments. A transport block 410 undergoes channel coding 420, HARQ processing 430 (e.g., including a dedicated HARQ process number), and data modulation 440 to generate modulation symbols for a PDSCH / PUSCH transmission. The modulation symbols are then mapped in a sequential order to N slots 450 of the S-slot 460. In the example, the mapping is performed in an increasing order first in the frequency and then in the time, as shown by the dashed lines in the slots 450. Figure 4

[0040] Signaling details

[0041] A variety of methods can be used to indicate the S-slot within the window for data transmission.

[0042] In a first method, when a UE is scheduled with PDSCH / PUSCH by a downlink control information (DCI) transmission from a gNB, the time domain resource allocation (TDRA) field value of the DCI provides a row index to an allocation table. Each index value corresponds to a parameter of a starting slot (e.g., a slot offset field) and a starting and length indicator value (SLIV) for each of the N slots of the super-slot, where N > 2. The slot offset value and SLIVs can be configured for the UE via higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling).

[0043] Figure 5 ​An exemplary slot-based (S-slot) TDRA table 500 for PDSCH / PUSCH scheduling on an S-slot 550 is shown in accordance with various exemplary embodiments. Each TDRA field index value 510 indicates a slot offset 520 and N SLIVs 530 for each slot of the N slots 560 of an S-slot, where N≥2. That is, each indicated (SLIV) combination can include multiple SLIVs 530 in consecutive slots 560 within an S-slot 550. The starting slot 560 of an S-slot 550 is signaled relative to the slot offset field 520 of the PDCCH / PUCCH slot. As shown, up to N slots of an S-slot can be used for resource allocation for a single transport block (TB) transmission. More than one UE can be scheduled in slots 560 of an S-slot 550 in a time domain multiplexing (TDM) manner to improve resource efficiency, as shown, for example, by portion 570 of slot 560 for a first UE configuration and portion 580 of slot 560 for a second UE configuration. Note that the size of each S-slot can be the same or different. Figure 4

[0044] In a second approach, a super-slot (S-slot) resource grid can be introduced for resource allocation and RE mapping for PDSCH / PUSCH transmissions between a UE and a gNB. Each S-slot grid is described with subcarriers and OFDM symbols, where N RB represents the number of PRBs, represents the RB size in the number of SCs, is the number of OFDM symbols in a slot, and K represents the number of slots within an S-slot, as shown. Figure 6

[0045] The value K can be provided to the UE in different ways. In some embodiments, K can be defined by the standard and can be a function of the SCS used for PDSCH / PUSCH transmissions. In other embodiments, K can be signaled in a system information block (SIB). For example, SIB1 can be used to carry the K value. In further embodiments, K can be provided on a per-UE basis using dedicated RRC signaling. For example, different K values can be configured according to the 5QI delay requirement of the data traffic. Larger K values can be configured for UEs with delay tolerant traffic.

[0046] According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, a scaling factor can be introduced to determine the time domain resource allocation for S-slot based TDRA without increasing the signaling overhead relative to the NR system operation specified for frequencies of 52.6 MHz and below. Different approaches can be considered to achieve this purpose.

[0047] ​​A UE can derive a time domain resource allocation (TDRA) based on a SLIV value encoded in a scheduling DCI format, which indicates a starting symbol S0 and a number of symbols L. The UE can then scale S0 and / or the number of symbols L to determine a S-slot starting position, e.g., and / or a number of symbols of the S-slot, e.g., L sslot = SF*L. In some embodiments, only the S0 value is scaled, e.g., and L sslot = L. In other embodiments, only the L value is scaled, e.g., and L sslot = SF*L. In further embodiments, both the S0 value and the L value are scaled, e.g., and L sslot = SF*L.

[0048] Each of the above embodiments of scaling the TDRA can be more or less suitable for a given transmission type. For example, the exemplary embodiment discussed above that scales only the L value can be configured for a UE with ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) traffic in order to provide a finer granularity of resource allocation in the time domain and better meet the stringent latency requirements of URLLC.

[0049] In some exemplary embodiments, the value of the scaling factor SF can be a function of the value of K. For example, the scaling factor value can be equal to the size of the S-slot, e.g., SF = K. In another embodiment, the value of the scaling factor SF can be configured through dedicated RRC signaling based on, e.g., the type of traffic.

[0050] Figure 10 A method 1000 for performing super-slot (S-slot) based data transmissions is shown in accordance with various exemplary embodiments. The S-slot can include 2 or more consecutive slots in a resource allocation for a PDSCH or PUSCH transmission, with a single transport block (TB) mapped to resource elements (REs) on the S-slot. The method 1000 can be particularly suitable when the operating frequency is greater than 52.6 GHz and a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 480 kHz or greater is being used for network operations between a user equipment (UE) and a next generation Node B (gNB) in order to reduce HARQ signaling overhead and UE complexity for HARQ process management relative to lower frequencies and lower SCS.

[0051] In 1005, the gNB allocates resources for data transmission and signals the resource allocation to the UE. The resource allocation can or can not include an explicit indication of the S-slot parameter, according to various embodiments discussed above. For example, in the first method described above, the gNB includes a TDRA field value in the scheduling DCI to indicate the sum of the slot offsets and SLIV values for each of the slots in the S-slot. In the second method described above, the gNB indicates parameters of the resource grid that can include a K value (representing the number of slots within the S-slot). In some embodiments, the K value is signaled by the gNB, while in other embodiments, K is hard-coded in the UE configuration and based on the SCS. In yet other embodiments, the gNB additionally signals a scaling factor (SF) to scale one or both of the starting symbol or the number of symbols of the S-slot.

[0052] In 1010, the UE determines the S-slot parameters for mapping the transport block to the S-slot. As discussed above, the mapping can be determined by an explicit indication from the gNB. In other embodiments, the UE can determine the number of slots of the S-slot and / or apply a scaling factor SF signaled by the gNB or hard-coded in the UE specification.

[0053] In 1015, the transport block is processed (e.g., channel coded, HARQ processed, and data modulated) and mapped onto the S-slot for transmission, according to the S-slot parameters determined in 1010. For PUSCH transmission, the UE performs the mapping and transmission of the TB, while for PDSCH transmission, the gNB performs the mapping and transmission of the TB. Figure 4

[0054] DMRS pattern for S-slot based scheduling

[0055] According to certain aspects of the disclosure, a UE can be configured with a set of demodulation reference signal (DMRS) patterns. Each DMRS pattern has different DMRS symbol locations and / or different DMRS densities in the time domain relative to the other DMRS patterns in the set of DMRS patterns. The gNB can then select one of the DMRS patterns based on, for example, the UE mobility state. However, the gNB can also select the DMRS pattern based on other factors. In other example embodiments, the set of DMRS patterns (DMRS symbol locations and / or densities) can be specified by the standard.

[0056] A DMRS trigger (DMRS-T) field can be included in the scheduling DCI to indicate which DMRS pattern in the set of DMRS patterns is to be used for the scheduled PDSCH transmission. The association between the value of the DMRS-T field and the DMRS pattern can be configured by higher layers.

[0057] Figure 7 ​Table 700 illustrates an exemplary dynamic DMRS mode indication according to various exemplary embodiments. In this example, the DMRS-T field in the scheduling DCI format is 2 bits, allowing four possible values, such as 00, 01, 10, or 11. For '00', no DMRS is transmitted for the data associated with the scheduling DCI, and for the remaining DMRS-T values ​​(01, 10, or 11), a first, second, or third DMRS mode is configured by a higher layer. However, in other embodiments, more or fewer bits can be used to indicate different numbers of possible DMRS-T values. DMRS can be shared across multiple consecutive S-slots to minimize reference signal overhead. The following will discuss... Figure 8 An example describing a DMRS shared over consecutive S-slots.

[0058] Figure 8 An exemplary DMRS mode 800 for S-slot-based PDSCH transmission is illustrated according to various exemplary embodiments. In this example, it is assumed that the UE is in a low mobility state. In this example, six S-slots 810 are shown, such as S-slots 810a-810f, each S-slot 810 aggregating two slots 820, 825 for data scheduling. The first slot 820 of every two S-slots 810 may contain a DMRS signal 830, and the remaining slots may be used for PDSCH transmission 840. In this example, two PDSCH transmissions 840 are shown, such as a first PDSCH transmission 840a in S-slot 810d and a second PDSCH transmission 840b in S-slot 810e.

[0059] According to some exemplary embodiments, the DMRS 830 can be in continuous S-slots 810 (e.g., Figure 8 The PDSCH transmission 840 is shared on S-slots 810d and 810e. The UE may receive an indication in an earlier S-slot 810 (e.g., S-slot 810d) to reuse the DMRS 830 scheduled in a later S-slot 810 (e.g., DMRS 830 in S-slot 810e) for two PDSCH transmissions 840 in consecutive S-slots 810d and 810e in order to reduce reference signal overhead.

[0060] In other example embodiments, three or more consecutive S-slots 810 with PDSCH transmissions 840 can share DMRS. For example, if another PDSCH 840 is scheduled in S-slot 810c, the UE can receive an indication to reuse the DMRS from S-slot 810e for the PDSCH in S-slot 810c to further minimize PDSCH decoding latency. Note that even if the UE or gNB decides to skip the associated PDSCH / PUSCH transmission (e.g., PDSCH 840b scheduled in S-slot 810e), the DMRS 830 can be transmitted in S-slot 810e in order to facilitate decoding operations for earlier PDSCH / PUSCH (e.g., PDSCH 840a).

[0061] For DMRS location / in S-slot data transmission, multiple approaches can be considered. In a first approach, the UE can be configured with a reference subcarrier spacing (SCS) for DMRS location determination. The UE can determine the location of DMRS symbols based on the data mapping type and duration corresponding to the reference SCS. For example, DMRS can be transmitted in the first symbol that overlaps with the DMRS location based on the reference SCS.

[0062] In some example embodiments, to avoid the impact on decoding latency, the first DMRS location, e.g., / = 0, can be based on the SCS of the PDSCH / PUSCH transmission, while other DMRS locations, if any, can be determined based on the reference SCS depending on the duration of the data transmission.

[0063] Figure 9 An example DMRS positioning configuration 900 for S-slot based PDSCH transmission according to various example embodiments is shown. Figure 9 An example assumes a reference SCS of 120 kHz, where the SCS of the serving cell is 480 kHz. As shown in Figure 9 The UE can determine the DMRS locations based on the reference SCS (e.g., 120 kHz) to avoid unnecessary RS overhead.

[0064] In a second approach, the DMRS pattern can be defined on a per-S-slot basis by distributing the possible locations across the S-slot. In other words, any pattern that distributes the DMRS across the S-slot can be used.

[0065] Figure 11 A method 1100 for determining a DMRS pattern for S-slot data transmission according to various example embodiments is shown. In 1105, the UE receives a configuration of a set of DMRS patterns. The DMRS patterns can be hard-coded or signaled by the gNB.

[0066] In 1110, the gNB indicates to the UE one of the set of DMRS patterns to be used for the S-slot data transmission. The indication can be a DMRS-T field value included in the DCI transmission.

[0067] In 1115, the UE determines the DMRS locations in the S-slot transmission. For example, a reference SCS (e.g., 120 KHz) can be used and scaled to the SCS used by the gNB (e.g., 480 KHz).

[0068] Those skilled in the art will understand that the exemplary embodiments described above can be implemented in any suitable software configuration or hardware configuration, or a combination thereof. Exemplary hardware platforms for implementing the exemplary embodiments can include, for example, Intel x86-based platforms with compatible operating systems, Windows OS, Mac platforms and MAC OS, mobile devices with operating systems such as iOS, Android, and the like. In other examples, the exemplary embodiments of the above-described methods can be embodied as a program including code lines stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, which, when compiled, can be executed on a processor or microprocessor.

[0069] While this patent application describes various combinations of various aspects each having different features, one of skill in the art will understand that any feature of one aspect can be combined with features of other aspects or features that are not inconsistent with the functioning or the operation of the devices of the aspects disclosed or the features described in terms of function or logic, in any manner not expressly disclosed but that would be within the scope of the inventor's disclosure.

[0070] It is well understood that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled in a way to minimize risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use of data, and every effort should be made to secure user's privacy while maintaining the integrity, availability and development of tools for enhancing or even robbing the user experience.

[0071] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the disclosed implementations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, it is intended that the disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising: one or more processors configured to perform operations comprising: indicating a resource allocation for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission, wherein the PDSCH transmission comprises mapping modulation symbols of a transport block having a single dedicated hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number on resource elements of N contiguous slots of the resource allocation, where N is at least 2; and generating a downlink control information (DCI) transmission for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the DCI transmission comprising a time domain resource allocation (TDRA) value corresponding to the N contiguous slots of the resource allocation, wherein the TDRA value provides a row index corresponding to a slot offset and a plurality of start and length indicator (SLIV) values of the PDSCH.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: mapping the modulation symbols of the transport block on the resource elements of the N contiguous slots.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the modulation symbols are sequentially mapped to the resource elements in an increasing order of i) first in frequency and then in time or ii) first in time and then in frequency.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: indicating to the UE a value of N to be used for the PDSCH transmission, wherein N is any one of: i) signaled to the UE in a system information block; or ii) signaled to the UE using dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the TDRA value further indicates a starting symbol and a number of symbols L, wherein one or both of the starting symbol and the number of symbols L are scaled by a scaling coefficient.

6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the operations further comprise: configuring, via higher layer signaling and based on a traffic type of the PDSCH transmission, a value of the scaling coefficient to be used by the UE.

7. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein for ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) traffic, the number of symbols L is scaled by the scaling factor and the starting symbol is not scaled by the scaling factor.

8. A base station, comprising: a transceiver configured to connect to a user equipment (UE); and one or more processors configured to perform operations comprising: generating a resource allocation for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission between the UE and the base station for transmission, wherein the PDSCH transmission comprises mapping modulation symbols of a transport block having a single dedicated hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number on resource elements of N contiguous slots of the resource allocation, where N is at least 2; and generating a downlink control information (DCI) transmission for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the DCI transmission comprising a time domain resource allocation (TDRA) value corresponding to the N contiguous slots of the resource allocation, wherein the TDRA value provides a row index corresponding to a slot offset and a plurality of start and length indicator (SLIV) values of the PDSCH.

9. The base station of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise: mapping the modulation symbols of the transport block on the resource elements of the N contiguous slots.

10. The base station of claim 8, wherein the modulation symbols are sequentially mapped to the resource elements in an increasing order of i) first in frequency and then in time or ii) first in time and then in frequency.

11. The base station of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise: indicating a value of N to be used for the PDSCH transmission, wherein N is any of i) signaled to the UE in a system information block or ii) signaled to the UE using dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

12. The base station of claim 8, wherein the TDRA value further indicates a starting symbol and a number of symbols L, wherein one or both of the starting symbol and the number of symbols L are scaled by a scaling coefficient.

13. The base station of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise: configuring, via higher layer signaling and based on a traffic type of the PDSCH transmission, a value of the scaling factor to be used by the UE, wherein for ultra-reliable low latency communication, URLLC, traffic, the number of symbols L is scaled by the scaling factor and the starting symbol is not scaled by the scaling factor.

14. The base station of claim 8, wherein a connection between the UE and the base station uses frequencies greater than 52.6 GHz and subcarrier spacing of 480 kHz or greater.

15. A method performed by a base station, comprising operations comprising: indicating a resource allocation for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission, wherein the PDSCH transmission comprises mapping modulation symbols of a transport block having a single dedicated hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number on resource elements of N consecutive slots of the resource allocation, wherein N is at least 2, and generating a downlink control information (DCI) transmission for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the DCI transmission comprising a time domain resource allocation (TDRA) value corresponding to the N consecutive slots of the resource allocation, wherein the TDRA value provides a row index corresponding to a slot offset and a plurality of start and length indicator values (SLIVs) of the PDSCH.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise: mapping the modulation symbols of the transport block on the resource elements of the N consecutive slots.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the modulation symbols are sequentially mapped to the resource elements in an increasing order of i) first in frequency and then in time or ii) first in time and then in frequency.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise: indicating a value of N to be used for the PDSCH transmission to the UE, wherein N is any of i) signaled to the UE in a system information block or ii) signaled to the UE using dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the TDRA value further indicates a starting symbol and a number of symbols L, wherein one or both of the starting symbol and the number of symbols L are scaled by a scaling coefficient.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise: configuring, via higher layer signaling and based on a traffic type of the PDSCH transmission, a value of the scaling factor to be used by the UE.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein for ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) traffic, the number of symbols L is scaled by the scaling factor and the starting symbol is not scaled by the scaling factor.

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