Time Gap Offset for Non-Terrestrial Networks

Abstract

The present invention describes a base station that determines time slots for uplink reception of a non-terrestrial network link between the base station and user equipment. In an exemplary embodiment, the base station determines a timing advance based on at least random access preamble reception and determines an uplink offset based on the timing advance. The base station may also determine candidate time slots for uplink reception based on at least the offset. Additionally, the base station may determine whether the candidate time slots are available for the uplink reception. The base station may use the candidate time slots for the uplink reception when the candidate uplink time slots are available and may use the next available time slot for the uplink reception when the candidate uplink time slots are not available.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to wireless technology, and more particularly to applying timing enhancements to links in a non-terrestrial network. Background Art

[0002] In 5G New Radio (NR), there are several different timing relationships defined for terrestrial networks (TN). For example, K 0 is the time gap between downlink control information (DCI) and the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). Additionally, K 1 is the time gap between PDSCH reception and physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission, and K 2 is the time gap between DCI and the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). In NR Rel 16, for non-terrestrial networks (NTN), since its wireless link traverses from a terrestrial user equipment (UE) to a satellite and back to the terrestrial network, resulting in a relatively large communication distance involved in the NTN (and vice versa), these timing relationships may change. The challenge lies in determining how these timing relationships change for NTN. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The present invention describes a user equipment (UE) that includes a processor configured to perform operations for determining an uplink (UL) time slot. In an exemplary embodiment, the UE receives a scaling factor from a base station via a first radio resource control (RRC) signal. The UE may also determine an offset via a second RRC signal. Additionally, the UE may receive downlink control information (DCI) from the base station that includes an indication of an initial time gap. Furthermore, the UE may calculate a new time gap by at least applying the scaling factor to the initial time gap, and determine a time slot for uplink transmission based on at least the new time gap and the offset. The scaling factor depends on at least one of cell size, beam size, and user equipment capabilities. For a UE with higher capabilities, the scaling factor is 1, and for a UE with lower capabilities, the scaling factor is greater than 1. Additionally, the scaling factor is in the range of 1 to 16.

[0004] Additionally, the initial time gap is a plurality of time gaps including K 1 and K 2 where K 1 represents the time gap between physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception and physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission, and K 2Indicates the time gap between the reception of the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) and the transmission of the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). Additionally, different scaling factors may exist for different values of K or different UEs. Further, the same scaling factor may exist for different values of K. The initial time gap includes K 4 , where this K 4 indicates the time gap between the reception of the Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH) and the transmission of the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH).

[0005] In another embodiment, a UE is described that includes a processor configured to perform operations to determine an uplink (UL) time slot using a set of scaling factors. In one embodiment, the UE receives a set of scaling factors from a base station via a first Radio Resource Control (RRC) signal. The UE may also determine an offset via a second RRC signal. Additionally, the UE may receive Downlink Control Information (DCI) from the base station, the DCI including an indication of an initial time gap and an indication of one of the scaling factors selected from the set of scaling factors. The UE may also calculate a new time gap by at least applying the selected scaling factor to the initial time gap, and determine the time slot for uplink transmission based on at least the new time gap and the offset. The scaling factor may depend on at least one of cell size, beam size, and user equipment capabilities.

[0006] Additionally, the initial time gap is a plurality of time gaps including K 1 and K 2 , where K 1 indicates the time gap between the reception of the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) and the transmission of the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), and K 2 indicates the time gap between the reception of the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) and the transmission of the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). Additionally, different scaling factors may exist for different values of K or different UEs. Further, the same scaling factor may exist for different values of K. The initial time gap includes K 4 , where this K 4 indicates the time gap between the reception of the Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH) and the transmission of the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH).

[0007] In another embodiment, a baseband processor is described that is configured to perform an operation of determining an uplink (UL) time slot. In an exemplary embodiment, the baseband processor receives a scaling factor from a base station via a first radio resource control (RRC) signal. The baseband processor may also determine an offset via a second RRC signal. Additionally, the baseband processor may receive downlink control information (DCI) from the base station that includes an indication of an initial time gap. Further, the baseband processor may calculate a new time gap by at least applying the scaling factor to the initial time gap, and determine a time slot for uplink transmission based on at least the new time gap and the offset.

[0008] In another embodiment, a baseband processor is described that is configured to perform an operation of determining an uplink (UL) time slot using a set of scaling factors. In one embodiment, the baseband processor receives a set of scaling factors from a base station via a first radio resource control (RRC) signal. The baseband processor may also determine an offset via a second RRC signal. Additionally, the baseband processor may receive downlink control information (DCI) from the base station that includes an indication of an initial time gap and an indication of a scaling factor selected from the set of scaling factors. The baseband processor may also calculate a new time gap by at least applying the selected scaling factor to the initial time gap, and determine a time slot for uplink transmission based on at least the new time gap and the offset.

[0009] The present invention describes a method and apparatus for a base station that includes a processor configured to perform an operation of determining a time slot for uplink reception of a non-terrestrial network link between the base station and a user equipment. In an exemplary embodiment, the base station determines a timing advance based on at least a random access preamble reception, and determines an uplink offset based on the timing advance. The base station may also determine a candidate time slot for uplink reception based on at least the offset. Additionally, the base station may determine whether the candidate time slot is available for the uplink reception. The base station may use the candidate time slot for the uplink reception when the candidate uplink time slot is available, and may use the next available time slot for the uplink reception when the candidate uplink time slot is not available.

[0010] In addition, the uplink reception includes a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), a Random Access Response (RAR) scheduled by the PUSCH, a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), or an aperiodic SRS. The base station may also determine whether the candidate time slot is an uplink time slot, a downlink time slot, a hybrid time slot, or a flexible time slot based on at least the Time Division Duplex (TDD) configuration of the candidate time slot format, where the candidate time slot is available when the candidate time slot is an uplink time slot or the candidate time slot is a hybrid time slot and the uplink reception corresponds to the uplink symbol in the hybrid time slot, and the candidate time slot is unavailable when the candidate time slot is a downlink time slot, the candidate time slot is a hybrid time slot but the uplink reception does not correspond to the uplink symbol in the hybrid time slot, or the candidate time slot is a flexible time slot.

[0011] Furthermore, the uplink offset is a measure of the latency of the non-terrestrial network link. The base station may also calculate the uplink offset based on at least the timing advance of one or more satellite links in the non-terrestrial network. Additionally, the uplink offset is set to be equal to the sum of the serving link timing advance and the feeder link timing advance divided by the time slot duration. The base station may also use at least the uplink offset to calculate the Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) action timing. The base station may also use the sidelink offset to calculate the time gap between the reception of the previous Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH) and the transmission of the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), where the sidelink offset may have a value different from that of the uplink offset. The base station may also use at least the uplink offset to calculate the time domain offset for the grant configuration of Type 1 configuration.

[0012] In another embodiment, a User Equipment (UE) is described, which includes a processor configured to perform operations for determining a time slot for a Channel State Information (CSI) reference resource. In one embodiment, the UE receives timing advance information from the base station. The UE may also determine an offset based on the timing advance information. The UE further determines a candidate time slot for the Channel State Information (CSI) reference resource based on at least the offset. Additionally, the UE may determine whether the candidate time slot is available for the CSI reference resource. Furthermore, the UE may use the candidate time slot for the CSI reference resource when the candidate time slot is available, and may use another time slot for the CSI reference resource when the candidate time slot is unavailable. Additionally, another available CSI reference resource may be the time slot preceding or following the candidate time slot.

[0013] The UE may also determine whether the candidate time slot is an uplink time slot, a downlink time slot, a hybrid time slot, or a flexible time slot based on at least a time division duplex (TDD) configuration of the candidate time slot format, wherein if the candidate time slot is an uplink time slot, a downlink time slot, a hybrid time slot, or a flexible time slot based on at least the TDD configuration of the candidate time slot format, then the candidate time slot is available, wherein if the candidate time slot is a downlink time slot or the candidate time slot is a hybrid time slot and downlink reception corresponds to the downlink symbols in the hybrid time slot, then the candidate time slot is available, and if the candidate time slot is an uplink time slot, the candidate time slot is a hybrid time slot but downlink reception does not correspond to the downlink symbols in the hybrid time slot, or the candidate time slot is a flexible time slot, then the candidate time slot is not available.

[0014] In another embodiment, a baseband processor is described that determines a time slot for a channel state information (CSI) reference resource. In one embodiment, the baseband processor receives timing advance information from a base station. The baseband processor may also determine an offset based on the timing advance information. The baseband processor also determines a candidate time slot for the CSI reference resource based on at least the offset. Additionally, the baseband processor may determine whether the candidate time slot is available for the CSI reference resource. Further, the baseband processor may use the candidate time slot for the CSI reference resource when the candidate time slot is available, and may use another time slot for the CSI reference resource when the candidate time slot is not available. Additionally, another available CSI reference resource may be the time slot preceding or following the candidate time slot. Additionally, the offset is a measure of the delay of the non-terrestrial network link.

[0015] In another embodiment, a non-transitory machine-readable medium is described that has executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processing units, will perform a method of determining a time slot for uplink reception of a non-terrestrial network link between a base station and a user equipment. In one embodiment, the method determines a timing advance based on at least random access preamble reception and determines an uplink offset based on the timing advance. The method may also determine a candidate time slot for uplink reception based on at least the offset. Additionally, the method may determine whether the candidate time slot is available for the uplink reception. The method may use the candidate time slot for the uplink reception when the candidate uplink time slot is available, and may use the next available time slot for the uplink reception when the candidate uplink time slot is not available.

[0016] In another embodiment, a non-transitory machine-readable medium is described that has executable instructions which, when executed by one or more processing units, will perform a method for determining a time slot for a channel state information (CSI) reference resource. In one embodiment, the method receives timing advance information from a base station. The method may also determine an offset based on the timing advance information. The method further determines candidate time slots for the CSI reference resource based on at least the offset. Additionally, the method may determine whether the candidate time slots are available for the CSI reference resource. Furthermore, the method may use the candidate time slots for the CSI reference resource when the candidate time slots are available, and may use another time slot for the CSI reference resource when the candidate time slots are not available.

[0017] Other methods and apparatuses are also described. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The present invention is illustrated by way of example and is not limited to the figures of the various drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate like elements.

[0019] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication system is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0020] Figure 2A and Figure 2B A base station (BS) communicating with a user equipment (UE) device via a non-terrestrial network (NTN) is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0021] Figure 3 An exemplary block diagram of a UE is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0022] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a BS is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0023] Figure 5 An exemplary block diagram of a cellular communication circuit is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0024] Figure 6 is an illustration of some embodiments of receive timing and transmit timing.

[0025] Figure 7 is an illustration of some embodiments of NTN timing relationships.

[0026] Figure 8A and Figure 8B is a flowchart of some embodiments of a process for determining K offset and using K offset to determine different timings.

[0027] Figures 9A to 9DFlowcharts of some embodiments of a process for extending one or more time gaps between a downlink (DL) and an uplink (UL).

[0028] Figure 10 Exemplary block diagrams showing timing relationships of sidelinks in NTN according to some embodiments.

[0029] Figure 11A and Figure 11B Exemplary block diagrams showing timing relationships of authorization configurations for type 1 configurations in NTN.

[0030] Figure 12 is a process for determining K 4 and applying scaling to it. Flowcharts of some embodiments of the process. Detailed Description

[0031] The present invention describes a method and apparatus for a device that extends the time between downlink transmission and uplink transmission for non-terrestrial network links between a base station and a user equipment. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough explanation of embodiments of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known components, structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail so as not to obscure the understanding of this description.

[0032] Reference to "some embodiments" or "embodiments" in this specification means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. The phrase "in some embodiments" appearing in various places in this specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.

[0033] In the following description and claims, the terms "coupled" and "connected" and their derivatives may be used. It should be understood that these terms are not intended to be synonymous with each other. "Coupled" is used to indicate that two or more elements, which may or may not be in direct physical or electrical contact with each other, cooperate or interact with each other. "Connected" is used to indicate the establishment of communication between two or more elements that are coupled to each other.

[0034] The processes shown in the following figures are executed by processing logic that includes hardware (e.g., circuits, dedicated logic, etc.), software (such as software running on a general-purpose computer system or a dedicated machine), or a combination of both. Although the processes are described below in accordance with certain orders of operations, it should be understood that some of the operations may be performed in different orders. Additionally, some operations may be performed in parallel rather than sequentially.

[0035] The terms "server", "client", and "device" are intended to generally refer to a data processing system, rather than specifically referring to a particular form factor of a server, client, and / or device.

[0036] The present invention describes a method and apparatus for a device that extends the time between downlink transmission and uplink transmission for non-terrestrial network links between a base station and a user equipment. In some embodiments, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) is a type of wireless communication system that utilizes a satellite system as part of the wireless communication system between a user equipment (UE) and a base station (BS). For timing in NTN systems, the timing relationship is different because transmitting data across a satellite system involves a long delay. In some embodiments, in the NR Rel 16 NTN study, the timing relationship is achieved by introducing an offset K offset where the PUSCH timing is Here, K 2 is indicated by DCI, and μ PUSCH and μ PDCCH are the subcarrier spacings of PUSCH and PDCCH, respectively. In some embodiments, K offset is used to count the large propagation delay from the satellite, where K offset is in units of time slots. However, the challenge may lie in determining the time relationship based on timing advance (TA). For example, in some embodiments, it is necessary to calculate K offset and also ensure the correct UL time slot after an additional time slot offset. Additionally, for NTN systems including UEs with a low ability to derive accurate differential TA, there are challenges in ensuring that PUCCH / PUSCH scheduled via K 1 and K 2 can be received at the correct timing on the next-generation node B (gNB). In this embodiment, the existing range of K 1 and K 2 values may be small, and the smaller K 1 and K 2 values may not be applicable to UEs with a low ability to obtain accurate differential TA. With the introduction of UE-specific time offsets, within the existing range of K 1 and K 2 , it cannot be guaranteed that the time slots for uplink transmission of PUSCH or PUCCH are uplink time slots. Therefore, it is preferable to extend the range of K 1 and K 2 for NTN.

[0037] In some embodiments, a time offset K offsetand add this time offset immediately after the existing timing of the UE transmission type (e.g., DCI-scheduled PUSCH, RAR-scheduled PUSCH, PUCCH, MAC CE action timing, aperiodic SRS, and CRI-RS reference resources). For example, in some embodiments, the time offset K is calculated based on the sum of the service link full TA and the feeder link TA for a transparent satellite offset . Also, in some embodiments, In another embodiment, for different satellite systems, K can be calculated in different ways offset , for example, based on the service link full TA for a regenerative satellite

[0038] In some embodiments, the existing K 1 value can be in the range of 0 to 15 time slots, and the existing K 2 value can be in the range of 0 to 32 time slots. For example, in some embodiments, NTN can have a larger cell size and / or a larger differential TA value. In this example, an inaccurate differential TA value can be attributed to the UE's capabilities. In some embodiments, a scaling factor can be applied to K 1 , K 2 values, where each UE has a single scaling factor value, and different scaling factors can exist for K 1 and K 2 . Additionally, the selected scaling factor can depend on the UE capabilities. For example, in some embodiments, for a UE with higher capabilities, no scaling configuration is required, or the configured scaling factor can be 1. Alternatively, for a UE with lower capabilities, the configuration can include a single scaling factor greater than 1. In another embodiment, a scaling factor can be applied to K 4 .

[0039] Figure 1 FIG. shows a simplified exemplary wireless communication system according to some embodiments. Note that Figure 1 the system is only one example of possible systems, and the features of the present disclosure can be implemented in any of the various systems as needed

[0040] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102A that communicates with one or more user devices 106A, user devices 106B through user devices 106N, etc. via a transmission medium. Each user device among the user devices can be referred to as a "user equipment" (UE) herein. Thus, the user device 106 is referred to as a UE or a UE device

[0041] The base station (BS) 102A can be a transceiver base station (BTS) or a cell site (“cellular base station”), and may include hardware enabling wireless communication with UEs 106A to 106N.

[0042] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station can be referred to as a “cell”. The base station 102A and the UE 106 can be configured to communicate via a transmission medium using any one of various radio access technologies (RATs), which are also referred to as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, advanced LTE (LTE-A), 5G New Radio (5G-NR), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), and so on. 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 5G NR, it may alternatively be referred to as a “gNodeB” or “gNB”.

[0043] As shown in the figure, the base station 102A can also be equipped to communicate with the network 100 (e.g., in various possibilities, the core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunication network such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and / or the Internet). Thus, the base station 102A can facilitate communication between user devices and / or between user devices and the network 100. In particular, the cellular base station 102A can provide the UE 106 with various communication capabilities such as voice, SMS, and / or data services.

[0044] Base stations 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations 102B...102N) operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards can thus provide a network of cells that can provide continuous or approximately continuous overlapping services to UEs 106A to 106N and similar devices over a geographical area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0045] Thus, although the base station 102A can act as Figure 1the "serving cell" of UEs 106A through 106N as shown, but each UE 106 may also be capable of receiving signals (and potentially be within its communication range) from one or more other cells (which may be provided by base stations 102B-N and / or any other base stations), and such one or more other cells may be referred to as "neighboring cells". Such cells may also be capable of facilitating communication between user equipment and / or between user equipment and network 100. Such cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pico" cells, and / or any of a variety of other granularities of cells providing service area sizes. For example, in Figure 1 base stations 102A through 102B as shown may be macro cells, while base station 102N may be a micro cell. Other configurations are possible.

[0046] In some embodiments, base station 102A may be a next-generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station or "gNB". In some embodiments, the gNB may be connected to a legacy Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network and / or connected to an NR Core (NRC) network. Additionally, a gNB cell may include one or more Transmission and Reception Points (TRPs). Further, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0047] Note that UE 106 is capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, e.g., WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.), UE 106 may 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). If desired, UE 106 may also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H or DVB-H), and / or any other wireless communication protocol. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are possible.

[0048] Figure 2A and Figure 2B illustrates a base station (BS) communicating with a user equipment (UE) device via a non-terrestrial network (NTN) according to some embodiments. Figure 2AShown is a user equipment (UE) 206A that can communicate with a 5G core network 210A or communicate directly with another UE 206B (also referred to as device - to - device or sidelink). In some embodiments, UE 206A can communicate with a satellite 202 via a service link 204A, where the satellite 202 communicates with the 5G core network 210A via a feeder link 208A and a next - generation node B (gNB) 212A.

[0049] In some embodiments, sidelink communication can utilize dedicated sidelink channels and sidelink protocols to facilitate communication directly between devices. For example, the Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH) can be used for actual data transmission between devices, the Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) can be used to carry sidelink control information (SCI), the Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH) can be used for HARQ feedback information, and the Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH) can be used for synchronization.

[0050] In another embodiment, Figure 2B Shown is a UE 206C that can communicate with a 5G core network 210B or communicate directly with another UE 206D. In some embodiments, UE 206C can communicate with a satellite that is a gNB 212B via a service link 204B, where the gNB 212B communicates with the 5G core network 210B via a feeder link 208B.

[0051] Additionally, sidelink communication can be used for communication between vehicle - to - vehicle (V2V), vehicle - to - infrastructure (V2I), vehicle - to - person (V2P), vehicle - to - network (V2N), and other types of direct communication.

[0052] Return Figure 1 , according to some embodiments, any one of UEs 106A to 106N can also communicate with a base station 102A via uplink and downlink communication. The UEs can each be a device with cellular communication capabilities, such as a mobile phone, a handheld device, a computer, or a tablet computer or virtually any type of wireless device. UEs 106A to 106N can include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. UEs 106A to 106N can perform any of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively, or in addition, UEs 106A to 106N can include programmable hardware elements, such as an FPGA (Field - Programmable Gate Array) configured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein or any part of any of the method embodiments described herein.

[0053] UEs 106A through 106N may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, UEs 106A through 106N may be configured to communicate using, for example, CDMA2000 (1xRTT / 1xEV-DO / HRPD / eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio component and / or GSM or LTE using a single shared radio component. The shared radio may be coupled to a single antenna or may be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communication. Generally, the radio component 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 component may implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains using the foregoing hardware. For example, UEs 106A-B may share one or more portions of a receive and / or transmit chain among multiple wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0054] In some embodiments, UEs 106A through 106N may include separate transmit and / or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol for which they are configured to communicate. As another possibility, UEs 106A through 106N may include one or more radio components shared among multiple wireless communication protocols and one or more radio components used by only a single wireless communication protocol. For example, UEs 106A through 106N may include a shared radio component for communicating using either LTE or 5G NR (or LTE or 1xRTT, or LTE or GSM) and separate radio components for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are possible.

[0055] Figure 3 —Block diagram of the UE

[0056] Figure 3 An exemplary simplified block diagram of communication device 106 is shown in accordance with some embodiments. Note that Figure 3The block diagram of the communication device is merely an example of a possible communication device. According to an embodiment, in addition to other devices, the communication device 106 can be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop computer, notebook or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of devices. As shown, the communication device 106 can include a set of components 300 configured to perform core functions. For example, the set of components can be implemented as a system on a chip (SOC), which can include portions for various purposes. Alternatively, the set of components 300 can be implemented as separate components or groups of components for various purposes. This set of components 300 can be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to various other circuits of the communication device 106.

[0057] For example, the communication device 106 can include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash 310), input / output interfaces such as connector I / F 320 (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; docking station; charging station; input devices such as a microphone, camera, keyboard; output devices such as a speaker; etc.), a display 360 that can be integrated with or external to the communication device 106, and cellular communication circuitry 330 such as for 5G NR, LTE, GSM, etc., as well as short-range to mid-range wireless communication circuitry 329 (e.g., Bluetooth TM and WLAN circuitry). In some embodiments, the communication device 106 can include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as a network interface card for Ethernet, for example.

[0058] The cellular communication circuitry 330 can be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as the antennas 335 and 336 shown. The short-range to mid-range wireless communication circuitry 329 can also be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as the antennas 337 and 338 shown. Alternatively, the short-range to mid-range wireless communication circuitry 329, in addition to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) being coupled to the antennas 337 and 338 or as an alternative, can be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to the antennas 335 and 336. The short-range to mid-range wireless communication circuitry 329 and / or the cellular communication circuitry 330 can include multiple receive chains and / or multiple transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration.

[0059] In some embodiments, as further described below, the cellular communication circuitry 330 may include dedicated receive chains for multiple RATs (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components) (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G-NR). Additionally, in some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 330 may include a single transmit chain that may switch between radio components dedicated to a particular RAT. For example, a first radio component may be dedicated to a first RAT, such as LTE, and may communicate with the dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with an additional radio component, such as a second radio component that may be dedicated to a second RAT (e.g., 5G NR) and may communicate with the dedicated receive chain and the shared transmit chain.

[0060] The communication device 106 may also include one or more user interface elements and / or be configured to work with one or more user interface elements. The user interface elements may include various elements such as a display 360 (which may be a touchscreen display), a keyboard (which may be a discrete keyboard or may be implemented as part of a touchscreen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or a speaker, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of a variety of other elements capable of providing information to the user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0061] The communication device 106 may also include one or more smart cards 345 having SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC cards (Universal Integrated Circuit Cards) 345.

[0062] As shown, the SOC 300 may include a processor 302 and a display circuit 304. The processor may execute program instructions for the communication device 106, and the display circuit may perform graphics processing and provide a display signal to the display 360. The processor 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340 (the MMU 340 may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 302 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310)) and / or be coupled to other circuits or devices (such as the display circuit 304, short-range wireless communication circuitry 229, cellular communication circuitry 330, connector I / F 320, and / or the 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.

[0063] As described above, the communication device 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuitry. The communication device 106 may also be configured to determine physical downlink shared channel scheduling resources for a user equipment device and a base station. Additionally, the communication device 106 may be configured to select and group component carriers (CCs) from a wireless link and to determine a virtual CC from the selected CC group. The wireless device may also be configured to perform physical downlink resource mapping based on an aggregated resource matching pattern of the CC group.

[0064] As described herein, the communication device 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing the above-described features for determining physical downlink shared channel scheduling resources for the communication device 106 and a base station. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processor 302 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described in the present invention. Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 300, 304, 306, 310, 320, 329, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, the processor 302 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described in the present invention.

[0065] Furthermore, as described in the present invention, the processor 302 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, the processor 302 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processor 302. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the processor 302.

[0066] Additionally, as described herein, both the cellular communication circuitry 330 and the short-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in the cellular communication circuitry 330 and, similarly, one or more processing elements may be included in the short-range wireless communication circuitry 329. Thus, the cellular communication circuitry 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuitry 330. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuitry 230. Similarly, the short-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may include one or more ICs configured to perform the functions of the short-range wireless communication circuitry 32. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the short-range wireless communication circuitry 329.

[0067] Figure 4 —Block diagram of the base station

[0068] Figure 4 Shows an exemplary block diagram of base station 102 according to some embodiments. Note that Figure 4 the base station is only one example of possible base stations. As shown, base station 102 may include a processor 404 that can execute program instructions for base station 102. The processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 or other circuits or devices, and the MMU may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 404 and translate these addresses into locations in a memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450).

[0069] 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 a plurality of devices such as UE device 106 to the telephone network as described above in Figure 1 and Figures 2A - 2B .

[0070] The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also be configured or alternatively configured to couple to a cellular network, such as the core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to a plurality of devices such as UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may be coupled to the telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide the telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0071] In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next-generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or a "gNB". In such embodiments, base station 102 may be connected to a traditional Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network and / or connected to an NR Core (NRC) network. Additionally, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more Transmission and Reception Points (TRPs). Additionally, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0072] Base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas. The at least one antenna 434 may be configured to act as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with UE device 106 via radio component 430. The antenna 434 communicates with the radio component 430 via communication link 432. The communication link 432 may be a receive link, a transmit link, or both. The radio component 430 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

[0073] Base station 102 may be configured to perform wireless communication using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, base station 102 may include multiple radios that may 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 component for performing communication according to LTE and a 5G NR radio component for performing communication according to 5G NR. In this case, base station 102 may be capable of operating as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility, base station 102 may include a multi-mode radio component capable of performing communication according to any one of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0074] As further described subsequently herein, BS102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting the specific implementation of the features described herein. The processor 404 of base station 102 may be configured to implement or support the specific implementation 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, 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 other components 430, component 432, component 434, component 440, component 450, component 460, component 470, the processor 404 of BS102 may be configured to implement or support the implementation of part or all of the features described herein.

[0075] In addition, as described herein, processor 404 may be composed of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in processor 404. Therefore, processor 404 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 404. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 404.

[0076] Additionally, as described herein, radio component 430 may be composed of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in radio component 430. Therefore, radio component 430 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of radio component 430. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio component 430.

[0077] Figure 5 : Block diagram of a cellular communication circuit

[0078] Figure 5 shows an exemplary simplified block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments. Note that Figure 5 the block diagram of the cellular communication circuit is merely an example of a possible cellular communication circuit. According to an embodiment, the cellular communication circuit 330 may be included in a communication device such as the communication device 106 described above. As described above, in addition to other devices, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop computer, notebook or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of devices.

[0079] The cellular communication circuit 330 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as the antennas 335a-b and 336 shown ([ Figure 3 in). In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include dedicated receive chains for multiple RATs (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components) (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G-NR). For example, as Figure 5 shown, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include a modem 510 and a modem 520. The modem 510 may be configured for communication according to a first RAT (e.g., such as LTE or LTE-A), and the modem 520 may be configured for communication according to a second RAT (e.g., such as 5G NR).

[0080] As shown, the modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory 516 that communicates with the processors 512. The modem 510 may communicate with a radio frequency (RF) front end 530. The RF front end 530 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 530 may include a receive circuit (RX) 532 and a transmit circuit (TX) 534. In some embodiments, the receive circuit 532 may communicate with a downlink (DL) front end 550, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via the antenna 335a.

[0081] Similarly, the modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory 526 that communicates with the processors 522. The modem 520 may communicate with an RF front end 540. The RF front end 540 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 540 may include a receive circuit 542 and a transmit circuit 544. In some embodiments, the receive circuit 542 may communicate with a DL front end 560, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via an antenna 335b.

[0082] In some embodiments, a switch 570 may couple the transmit circuit 534 to an uplink (UL) front end 572. Additionally, the switch 570 may couple the transmit circuit 544 to the UL front end 572. The UL front end 572 may include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via an antenna 336. Thus, when the cellular communication circuit 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a first RAT (e.g., supported via the modem 510), the switch 570 may be switched to a first state that allows the modem 510 to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain that includes the transmit circuit 534 and the UL front end 572). Similarly, when the cellular communication circuit 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a second RAT (e.g., supported via the modem 520), the switch 570 may be switched to a second state that allows the modem 520 to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain that includes the transmit circuit 544 and the UL front end 572).

[0083] As described herein, the modem 510 may include hardware and software components for implementing the above-described features or for selecting periodic resource portions for a user equipment device and a base station and for various other techniques described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processor 512 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein. Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 512 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 530, 532, 534, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, the processor 512 may be configured to implement some or all of the feature portions described herein.

[0084] Furthermore, as described herein, the processor 512 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, the processor 512 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processor 512. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the processor 512.

[0085] As described herein, the modem 520 may include hardware and software components for implementing the above-described features or for selecting periodic resource portions on a wireless link between a UE and a base station and for various other techniques described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processor 522 may be configured to implement some or all of the feature portions described herein. Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 522 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 additionally), in combination with one or more of the other components 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, the processor 522 may be configured to implement some or all of the feature portions described herein.

[0086] In addition, as described herein, the processor 522 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, the processor 522 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processor 522. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the processor 522.

[0087] Timing relationship in NTN

[0088] In a terrestrial network (TN), timing may be different compared to NTN. For example, for TN, in the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception timing, the downlink control information (DCI) indicates a slot offset K 0 , where the slot allocated to the PDSCH is . Additionally, for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission timing scheduled by DCI, the DCI indicates a slot offset K 2 , and the slot allocated to the PUSCH is . In some embodiments, K 0 and K 2 do not require further offsets in NTN.

[0089] In addition, for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission timing scheduled by a random access response (RAR) grant (e.g., Msg3), the RAR message ends in slot n, which is the slot allocated to the PUSCH, at n + K 2 + Δ, where the value of Δ may depend on μ PUSCH (see Table 1 below).

[0090] <![CDATA[μ PUSCH > Δ 0 2 1 3 2 4 3 6

[0091] Table 1: Δ mapped to μ PUSCH .

[0092] In addition, in the PUCCH transmission timing scheduled by DCI, DCI indicates the slot offset K 1 . Therefore, for PDSCH reception at slot n, the slot allocated to the PUCCH is n + K 1 . Figure 6 is an illustration of some embodiments of reception timing and transmission timing. In Figure 6 , the PDSCH reception timing 600 shows K 0 608 is the time gap between DCI 602 and PDSCH 604, and K 1 610 is the time gap between PDSCH 604 reception and PUCCH 606 transmission. In addition, the PUSCH transmission timing 614 shows K 2 is the time gap between DCI 602 and PUSCH 616.

[0093] In addition, in the TN system, for the Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) action timing, the HARQ-ACK corresponding to the PDSCH carrying the MAC-CE command is sent in slot n. The corresponding action time is where is the number of slots per subframe. Similar timing is also used for the transmission timing of the aperiodic Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) and the CSI reference resource timing.

[0094] In another embodiment, K 0 and K 1 are retrieved in DCI format 1_0, 1_1, or 1_2, where K 0 is the time gap between DCI and PDSCH, and K 1 is the time gap between PDSCH reception and PUCCH transmission. In some embodiments, in DCI format 1_0, K 1 is between 1 and 8 slots, in DCI format 1_1, K 1 is one of the values between 0 and 15 slots in the PUCCH SCS (“dl-DataToUL-ACK” IE), and in DCI format 1_2, K 1 is one of the values between 0 and 15 slots in the PUCCH SCS (“dl-DataToUL-ACK-ForDCIFormat1_2” IE). In addition, the maximum gap between PDSCH reception and PUCCH transmission is 15 slots. In another embodiment, K 2 is retrieved in DCI format 0_0, 0_1, or 0_2, K2 is the time gap between DCI and PUSCH. In some embodiments, under DCI formats 0_0, 0_1, and 0_2, K 2 is one of the values between 0 and 32 time slots in the PUCCH SCS (“PUSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocation” or “PUSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocationNew” IE).

[0095] For timing in the NTN system, since transmitting data across the satellite system involves a long delay, the timing relationship is different. In some embodiments, in the NR Rel 16 NTN study, by introducing an offset K offset to implement the timing relationship, where the PUSCH timing is Here, K 2 is indicated by DCI, and μ PUSCH and μ PDCCH are the subcarrier spacings of PUSCH and PDCCH respectively. In some embodiments, K offset is used to count the large propagation delay from the satellite, and K offset is in units of time slots. In this embodiment, K offset is the round-trip measurement result of the propagation delay. In another embodiment, a similar offset is applied to the PUSCH, PUCCH, and SRS transmissions of the RAR grant scheduling. For example, in some embodiments, for the CSI reference resource timing, the CSI reference resource for channel state information (CSI) reporting in the uplink time slot n’ is given by a single downlink time slot where μ DL and μ UL are the subcarrier spacing configurations for DL and UL respectively, and depends on the type of CSI report. Additionally, the MAC CE action timing is where n is the HARQ-ACK time of the PDSCH for carrying the MAC CE command, and is the number of time slots per subframe of the subcarrier spacing μ. In some embodiments, although the MAC CE action timing for TN is 3 microseconds, this time can be longer in NTN.

[0096] In some embodiments, in the NTN system, the challenge may lie in determining the time relationship based on the timing advance (TA). In some embodiments, the timing advance means that in the uplink transmission, the UE sends data earlier to compensate for the propagation delay, so that the gNB can receive the uplink data on time. For example, in some embodiments, it is necessary to calculate Koffset And it is also necessary to ensure the correct UL resources after the additional time slot offset. Additionally, for an NTN system including UEs with a lower ability to derive an accurate differential TA, there are challenges in ensuring that the PUCCH / PUSCH scheduled via K can be received at the correct timing on the next-generation Node B (gNB). 1 and K 2 There are challenges in scheduling PUCCH / PUSCH. In some embodiments, UEs with higher capabilities can derive accurate differential TAs, while UEs with lower capabilities cannot. In this embodiment, the existing range of K 1 and K 2 values may be small, and the smaller K 1 and K 2 values may not be applicable to UEs with a lower ability to obtain accurate differential TAs. With the introduction of UE-specific time offsets, within the existing range of K 1 and K 2 , it cannot be guaranteed that the time slots for uplink transmission of PUSCH or PUCCH are uplink time slots. Therefore, in some embodiments, the UE can extend the range of K 1 and K 2 for NTN. Additionally, it may be useful to expand the range of K 1 and K 2 values without increasing the DCI signaling overhead. Additionally, in NTN, the system can apply K offset to sidelink transmission and configure parameters for NTN with configured grant type 1.

[0097] In another embodiment, a scaling factor (S) for K 4 can be applied. In some embodiments, the possible scaling factors can be one or different values from {1, 2, 4, 8, 16}. Similar to the scaling factor for K 1 or K 2 or K 4 , the value of the scaling factor can depend on the cell / beam size and / or on the UE's capabilities. In some embodiments, the network configures and / or selects a single scaling factor value for each UE. In another embodiment, the network (e.g., the base station) signals the scaling factor to the UE. For example, in some embodiments, the signaling can be dedicated RRC signaling, such as "SL-ConfigDedicatedNR-r16". In another embodiment, the actual time gap between PDSCH reception and PUCCH transmission can be S·K 1 time slots.

[0098] Figure 7 is an illustration of some embodiments of the NTN timing relationship 700. In Figure 7Among them, the timing relationships include slot timings 702A to 702D. In some embodiments, gNB DL 702A includes a PUSCH 704 scheduled for TN, and the scheduled PUSCH is switched to the PUSCH 706 scheduled for NTN through K offset 708. Additionally, UL DL 702B starts after TA 710. At slot 0 of UE DL 702B, DCI is received, and the scheduled PUSCH starts from K 2 after a delay of 2 slots. UE UL 702C has a propagation delay of four slots from slot 10 to slot 13. In addition, due to the large propagation delay 716, gNB UL 702D is a PUSCH received at slot 10.

[0099] In some embodiments, an additional time offset K offset is introduced for NTN, where this time offset is in units of slots. Additionally, this time offset follows the existing timing of the UE transmission type (e.g., DCI-scheduled PUSCH, RAR-scheduled PUSCH, PUCCH, MAC CE action timing, aperiodic SRS, and CRI-RS reference resources). Figure 8A and Figure 8B are flowcharts of some embodiments of the process of determining K offset and using K offset to determine different timings for UL and DL.

[0100] In some embodiments, the base station executes the process 800 as shown in Figure 8A . In Figure 8A , the process 800 determines the timing advance based on the received random access preamble at block 802. In one embodiment, the process 800 collects information for calculating K offset . In this embodiment, K offset is derived from the timing advance (TA). The base station can calculate TA from the received PRACH. At block 804, the process 800 determines Ko ffset。 based on the determined TA. offset In some embodiments, the determination of K offset is based on the type of NTN architecture. In some embodiments, the time offset K is calculated based on the sum of the full TA of the service link and the feeder link TA for a transparent satellite, where the gNB is on the ground. For example, in some embodiments, when the gNB is on the ground, servicelink where TA is the full TA which is the sum of the common TA and the differential TA. Also, when the gNB is on a satellite, the time offset is servicelinkIt is a full-service link TA. In another embodiment, for different satellite systems, K can be calculated in different ways offset .

[0101] Procedure 800 determines candidate time slots for UL reception at block 806 based on K offset . In some embodiments, the candidate time slots for UL reception are based on the PUSCH timing calculated using the following equation: Additionally or alternatively, at block 806, in some embodiments, procedure 800 may use K offset to determine PUCCH or SRS timing. In this embodiment, procedure 800 applies K offset to PUCCH and / or SRS timing (e.g., adding K offset to the TN calculation for PUCCH and / or SRS timing values). At block 808, procedure 800 determines whether there are available candidate time slots. In some embodiments, procedure 800 determines that a candidate time slot is available based on the time-division duplex (TDD) configuration of the candidate time slot format. For example, in one embodiment, procedure 800 determines whether the candidate time slot is an uplink time slot, a downlink time slot, a hybrid time slot, or a flexible time slot based on at least the TDD configuration of the candidate time slot format. If the candidate time slot is an uplink time slot or the candidate time slot is a hybrid time slot and the uplink reception corresponds to the uplink symbol in the hybrid time slot, the candidate time slot is available. Alternatively, when the candidate time slot is a downlink time slot, the candidate time slot is a hybrid time slot but the uplink reception does not correspond to the uplink symbol in the hybrid time slot, or the candidate time slot is a flexible time slot, the candidate time slot is not available. If the candidate time slot is available, proceed to block 812 below, where procedure 800 selects the initially determined candidate time slot as the UL time slot and proceeds to block 814. If there are no available candidate time slots, proceed to block 810, where the procedure selects the next available candidate time slot as the UL time slot. In some embodiments, due to additional time offsets, the corresponding candidate time slots may not be available. In this embodiment, procedure 800 selects the first available time slot after the indicated UL time slot (including the time offset) for UL transmission. In some embodiments, UL transmission can be performed for PUSCH scheduled by DCI, PUSCH scheduled by RAR, PUCCH, or non-periodic SRS, where the MAC CE action timing is not affected. Proceed to block 814 below.

[0102] Procedure 800 further uses K offset to adjust the MAC CE action timing at block 814. In some embodiments, procedure 800 uses the following equation to calculate the MAC CE action timing: In this embodiment, X may be less than 3 according to the gNB capabilities. Alternatively, X may depend on K offset , where K offset is larger, the smaller the value of X. Additionally, may be a constant or have a constant as an upper limit. Furthermore, the value of X can be broadcast by the gNB (e.g., in the SIB).

[0103] In Figure 8B , procedure 850 is performed by the UE. Figure 8B Procedure 850 starts by receiving timing advance information from the base station at block 852. In some embodiments, the determination of K offset is based on the type of NTN architecture. In some embodiments, procedure 850 collects information for calculating K offset . In this embodiment, K is derived from the TA according to the TA command in the RAR (Random Access Response) message from the NW offset。 At block 854, procedure 850 determines K based on the determined TA offset。 In some embodiments, the time offset K is calculated based on the sum of the full TA of the service link and the feeder link TA for a transparent satellite offset， where the gNB is on the ground. For example, in some embodiments, when the gNB is on the ground where TA servicelink is the full TA as the sum of the common TA and the differential TA. Also, when the gNB is on the satellite, the time offset is where TA servicelink is the full service link TA. In another embodiment, K can be calculated in different ways for different satellite systems offset .

[0104] Procedure 850 determines candidate time slots at block 856 based on the CSI-RS reference resource timing and K offset . In some embodiments, for the CSI reference resource timing, the CSI reference resource is given in the downlink time slot as where n is the time slot of the CSI report, and Depending on the type of CSI report. At block 858, process 850 determines whether there is an available candidate time slot. In some embodiments, process 850 determines that a candidate time slot is available based on the TDD configuration of the candidate time slot format. For example, in one embodiment, process 850 determines whether the candidate time slot is an uplink time slot, a downlink time slot, a hybrid time slot, or a flexible time slot based on at least the TDD configuration of the candidate time slot format. If the candidate time slot is a downlink time slot or the candidate time slot is a hybrid time slot and downlink reception corresponds to the downlink symbols in the hybrid time slot, the candidate time slot is available. Alternatively, when the candidate time slot is an uplink time slot, the candidate time slot is a hybrid time slot but downlink reception does not correspond to the downlink symbols in the hybrid time slot, or the candidate time slot is a flexible time slot, the candidate time slot is not available. If there is an available candidate time slot, proceed to block 862 below, where process 850 uses the candidate time slot. If there is no available candidate time slot, proceed to block 860, where process 850 selects another time slot for DL. In some embodiments, due to additional time offsets, the corresponding DL time slot may not be available. In this embodiment, process 860 selects the previous available time slot before the indicated DL time slot (including the time offset) for DL transmission. Alternatively, process 850 may select the next available time slot as the DL time slot.

[0105] Figures 9A to 9D FIG. is a flowchart of some embodiments of a process that extends one or more time gaps between a downlink (DL) and an uplink (UL). Figure 9A is to use a scaling factor and K offset to determine a time slot for UL transmission. In some embodiments, the UE performs process 900. In Figure 9A process 900 starts at block 902 by receiving a scaling factor for the K value via a radio resource control (RRC) signal. In some embodiments, the scaling factor can be used for K 1 , K 2 or K 4 for one or more of them. In some embodiments, the existing K 1 , K 2 values can independently be in the range of 0 to 15 time slots (K 1 ) or 0 to 32 time slots (K 2) within the range. In some embodiments, the scaling factor is one of {1, 2, 4, 8, 16}, but the scaling factor may include different values. For example, in some embodiments, NTN may have a larger cell size and / or a larger differential TA value. In this example, the inaccurate differential TA value may be attributed to the ability of the UE to derive an accurate or inaccurate differential TA. In some embodiments, the value of the scaling factor may depend on the cell and / or beam size. For example, in some embodiments, the larger the cell size, the larger the scaling factor value. Additionally, there may be a single scaling factor value for each UE, or different scaling factors may exist for different K values. Additionally, the selected scaling factor may depend on UE capabilities. For example, in some embodiments, for a UE with higher capabilities, no scaling configuration is required, or the configured scaling factor may be 1. Alternatively, for a UE with lower capabilities, the configuration may include a single scaling factor greater than 1.

[0106] At block 904, process 900 determines K via an RRC signal offset . In some embodiments, process 900 receives K via a signaling notification sent from the network via a dedicated RRC signal offset , and this dedicated RRC signal may be the same or different from the RRC signal used to transmit the scaling factor. At block 906, process 900 receives DCI with an indication of the K value. In this embodiment, the DCI includes an indication of which of the K values (e.g., K 1 , K 2 or K 4 ) will be scaled using the scaling factor. Process 900 calculates a new K value using the scaling factor and the indicated K value at block 908. In some embodiments, process 900 calculates the new K value by multiplying the existing K value by the scaling factor S. For example, in one embodiment, if the K value is K 1 , then process 900 calculates K 1 ’ = S * K 1 . For K 2 and / or K 4 , the new K value can be calculated in a similar manner. At block 910, the process uses the new K value and K offset to determine the time slot for UL transmission.

[0107] In Figure 9A , process 900 applies the scaling factor sent using an RRC message. In an alternative embodiment, the applied scaling factor may be more dynamic, where the scaling factor is sent to the UE via DCI rather than only via an RRC signal. Figure 9B is using the scaling factor and K offsetFlowcharts of some embodiments for determining time slots for UL transmission, where the indicated scaling factors are signaled via DCI. In some embodiments, the UE performs process 920. In Figure 9B , process 920 begins at block 922 by receiving a set of scaling factors for the K value via a radio resource control (RRC) signal. In some embodiments, the set of scaling factors can be used for one or more of K 1 , K 2 or K 4 . In some embodiments, existing K 1 , K 2 values can independently range from 0 to 15 time slots (K 1 ) or from 0 to 32 time slots (K 2 ). In some embodiments, the set of scaling factors can be a group of scaling factors, such as {1, 2, 4, 8, 16}, but the set of scaling factors can include different values. At block 924, process 920 determines K offset via the RRC signal. In some embodiments, process 920 receives K offset via a signaling notification sent from the network via a dedicated RRC signal, which can be the same or different RRC signal as the RRC signal used to transmit the scaling factors.

[0108] At block 926, process 920 receives DCI indicating the K value and the scaling factor. In some embodiments, the DCI includes an indication of which of the K values (e.g., K 1 , K 2 or K 4 ) will be scaled using the scaling factor. Additionally, the DCI can include an indication of which scaling factor will be used with that K value, where the scaling factor is selected from the set of scaling factors sent to the UE as described in block 922 above. Different scaling factors can exist for different K values and / or different UEs. For example, in some embodiments, NTN can have a larger cell size and / or a larger differential TA value. In this example, inaccurate differential TA values can be attributed to the UE's ability to derive accurate or inaccurate differential TAs. In some embodiments, the values of the scaling factors in the set of scaling factors can depend on the cell and / or beam size. For example, in some embodiments, the larger the cell size, the larger the scaling factor value. Additionally, the selected scaling factor can depend on the UE capabilities. For example, in some embodiments, for a UE with higher capabilities, no scaling configuration is required, or the configured scaling factor can be 1. Alternatively, for a UE with lower capabilities, the configuration can include a single scaling factor greater than 1.

[0109] Procedure 920 calculates a new K value at block 928 using the indicated scaling factor and the indicated K value. In some embodiments, procedure 920 calculates the new K value by multiplying the existing K value by the scaling factor S. For example, in one embodiment, if the K value is K 1 , then procedure 920 calculates K 1 ’ = S * K 1 . For K 2 and / or K 4 , the new K value can be calculated in a similar manner. At block 930, the procedure uses the new K value and K offset to determine the time slot for UL transmission.

[0110] In Figure 9A and Figure 9B , procedures 900 and 920 illustrate UE procedures for determining UL time slots based on information sent from the base station to the UE. For the base station, the corresponding procedure determines the UL time slot information for UL communication reception. Figure 9C is a flowchart of some embodiments that use a scaling factor and K offset to determine the time slot for UL transmission for the base station. In some embodiments, the base station executes procedure 940. In Figure 9C , procedure 940 starts at block 942 by determining the scaling factor and K offset for the UE. In some embodiments, procedure 940 determines the scaling factor based on the NTN characteristics and UE characteristics as described in Figure 9A above. At block 944, procedure 940 sends the scaling factor and K offset to the UE via one or more RRC signals. In some embodiments, procedure 940 may send the scaling factor and K offset using the same or different RRC signals.

[0111] Procedure 940 sends a DCI indicating the K value at block 946. In some embodiments, procedure 940 selects which K value to scale. In some embodiments, which K values are included depends on the DCI format. For example, in one embodiment, when the base station sends a DCI with a DCI format for DL scheduling, the DCI will include K 1 . For UL scheduling, the DCI format may include K 2 . In these embodiments, procedure 940 selects one or more of K 1 , K 2 or K 4 to indicate in the DCI. At block 948, procedure 940 is based on at least the scaling factor, the K value, and / or K offsetTo determine the time slot for receiving UL transmissions from the UE. In one embodiment, the determination of the UL time slot depends on the type of UL transmission (e.g., PUCCH, PUSCH, and / or another type of UL transmission). For example, in one embodiment, for PUCCH, the formula n + K 1 ’ is used to determine the UL time slot, where K 1 ′ is the scaled value of K 1 . Alternatively, for PUSCH, the formula is used to determine the UL time slot, where K 2 ′ is the scaled value of K 2 , as indicated above. Similarly, the time gap between PSFCH and PUCCH is K 4 ’ + K offset , where K 4 ’ is the scaled value of K 4 .

[0112] In the above Figure 9B , the UE receives a set of scaling factors, and which factor the UE is to use is indicated in the DCI sent from the base station. Figure 9D is a flowchart of some embodiments for determining the time slot for UL transmission for the base station using the scaling factor and K offset , where the indicated scaling factor is conveyed via DCI. In some embodiments, the base station performs process 960. In Figure 9D , process 960 starts at block 962 by determining a set of scaling factors and sending the set of scaling factors from the base station to the UE via an RRC signal. In some embodiments, the set of scaling factors can be used for one or more of K 1 , K 2 , or K 4 . In some embodiments, the existing K 1 , K 2 values can independently range from 0 to 15 time slots (K 1 ) or 0 to 32 time slots (K 2 ). In some embodiments, the set of scaling factors can be a group of scaling factors such as {1, 2, 4, 8, 16}, but the set of scaling factors can include different values.

[0113] At block 964, process 960 determines K offset and sends it to the UE via an RRC signal. In some embodiments, process 960 determines the value of K offset based on the type of NTN architecture, as described above in Figure 8A . In some embodiments, process 960 sends K offset by sending a signaling notification from the network via a dedicated RRC signal, the dedicated RRC signal can be the same or different from the RRC signal used to convey the scaling factor. Process 960 determines the scaling factor and the K value for the UL transmission of the UE at block 966. In some embodiments, process 960 selects which K value to select for scaling. Which K values are included in the DCI depends on the DCI format, as described above Figure 9A as described. In these embodiments, process 960 selects K 1 , K 2 or K 4 one or more of them to indicate in the DCI. Additionally, the scaling factor is selected from a set of scaling factors and can be customized for the determined K value and / or the receiving UE. Process 960 sends an indication of the K value and the determined scaling factor at block 968. At block 970, process 960 determines the time slot for receiving the UL transmission from the UE based on at least the scaling factor, the K value, and / or K offset . In one embodiment, the determination of the UL time slot depends on the type of UL transmission (e.g., PUCCH, PUSCH, and / or another type of UL transmission). For example, in one embodiment, for PUCCH, the formula n + K 1 ’ is used to determine the UL time slot, where K 1 ' is the scaled value of K 1 . Alternatively, for PUSCH, the formula is used to determine the UL time slot, where K 2 ' is the scaled value of K 2 , as indicated above. Similarly, the time gap between the PSFCH and the PUCCH is K 4 ’ + K offset , where K 4 ’ is the scaled value of K 4 .

[0114] In some embodiments, DCI format 3_0 includes the time gaps K 3 and K 4 , where the time gap K 3 is between the reception of the first PSCCH / PSSCH transmission and the DCI 3_0, and the time gap K 4 is between the reception of the last PSFCH and the PUCCH transmission. In NTN, there is no additional K offset immediately following K 3 , but K offset can be applied to K 4 . Figure 10 shows an exemplary block diagram of the timing relationship 1000 of the sidelink in NTN according to some embodiments. In Figure 10Among them, the timing relationship indicates the time gaps between DCI 3_01002 and PSCCH / PSSCH 1004, and between PSFCH 1006 and PUCCH 1008. In some embodiments, the time gap K 3 1010 is not adjusted for NTN because this time gap is sufficient to meet the gap between DCI 3_0 1002 and PSCCH / PSSCH 1004. Alternatively, in NTN, the time gap K 4 1012 between PSFCH 1006 and PUCCH 1008 is increased by K offset . Additionally, K offset can be the same as or different from the K offset for PUSCH transmission in NTN.

[0115] In another embodiment, the UE can use K offset in the timing relationship of the authorization configuration configured for type 1. Figure 11A And Figure 11B show exemplary block diagrams of the timing relationship of the authorization configuration configured for type 1 in NTN. In Figure 11A , the time domain offset 1104 can include K offset , where this time domain offset is the offset from the reference time 1102 (e.g., SFN = 0) to the configured authorization 1108. In some embodiments, the configured authorizations 1108 are separated by a periodic value 1106. In some embodiments, K offset is included in the configured authorization configuration. In another embodiment, a separate K offset parameter is in the configured authorization configuration. For example, in some embodiments, the following equation is used to determine the number of time slots for the configured authorization including K offset :

[0116] [(SFN × number of time slots per frame × number of symbols per time slot) + (number of time slots in the frame × number of symbols per time slot) + number of symbols in the time slot] = (time reference SFN × number of time slots per frame × number of symbols per time slot + time domain offset × number of symbols per time slot + K offset × number of symbols per time slot + S + N × periodicity) modulo (1024 × number of time slots per frame × number of symbols per time slot).

[0117] In another embodiment, the network sets K offset"TimeDomainOffset" (time domain offset) incorporated into the configured authorization configuration. For example, in some embodiments, for the "timeDomainOffset" range, the lower limit depends on the satellite type (e.g., LEO, GEO, HAPS). For example, in some embodiments, in the authorization configuration of type 1 configuration, there is a "timeDomainOffset" field to indicate the time gap between the configured authorization time and the reference time (e.g., SFN = 0). For NTN, the time gap may be larger to include K offset .

[0118] In another embodiment, the network may include K in each transmission offset . In Figure 11B , the time domain offset 1112 may include K as a separate value in each transmission offset , where the time domain offset, after being added to K offset 1120, is the offset from the reference time 1114 (e.g., SFN = 0) to the configured authorization 1118. In some embodiments, the configured authorizations 1118 are separated by periodic values 1116.

[0119] Figure 12 is a flowchart of some embodiments of a process 1300 for determining K for the authorization configuration of type 1 configuration and applying scaling to it. In some embodiments, the UE executes process 1200. In offset , process 1200 receives timing information at block 1202, where the timing information does not include K Figure 12 . In some embodiments, process 1200 receives K by signaling notification sent from the network via a dedicated RRC message offset . Process 1200 applies K offset to the authorization configuration of type 1 configuration at block 1204, as described in offset . Figure 11B as described.

[0120] Portions of the above-described subject matter can be implemented using logic circuitry such as dedicated logic circuits or using a microcontroller or other form of processing core that executes program code instructions. Thus, program code such as machine-executable instructions can be used to perform the processes taught by the above discussion, the machine-executable instructions causing the machine to execute the instructions to perform certain functions. In this context, a "machine" can be a machine that converts intermediate form (or "abstract") instructions into processor-specific instructions (e.g., an abstract execution environment such as a "virtual machine" (e.g., Java virtual machine), interpreter, common language runtime, high-level language virtual machine, etc.), and / or an electronic circuit disposed on a semiconductor chip (e.g., a "logic circuit" implemented using transistors), the electronic circuit being designed to execute instructions, the processor being such as a general-purpose processor and / or a dedicated processor. The processes taught by the above discussion can also be performed by (as an alternative to or in combination with a machine) an electronic circuit that is designed to perform the process (or a portion thereof) without executing program code.

[0121] The present invention also relates to an apparatus for performing the operations described herein. The apparatus can be specially constructed for the required purpose or can include a general-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in a computer. Such a computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as but not limited to any type of disk, including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magneto-optical disks, read-only memory (ROM), RAM, EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions, and each is coupled to the computer system bus.

[0122] Machine-readable media include any mechanism that stores or transmits information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, machine-readable media include read-only memory ("ROM"); random access memory ("RAM"); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; flash memory devices; and the like.

[0123] Articles of manufacture can be used to store program code. Articles of manufacture storing program code can be implemented as but not limited to one or more memories (e.g., one or more flash memories, random access memories (static, dynamic, or otherwise)), optical disks, CD-ROMs, DVD ROMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, or other types of machine-readable media suitable for storing electronic instructions. Program code can also be downloaded from a remote computer (e.g., a server) to a requesting computer (e.g., a client) by data signals contained in a propagated medium (e.g., via a communication link (e.g., a network connection)).

[0124] The foregoing detailed description has been presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the tools used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of operations leading to a desired result. These operations are those requiring physical manipulation of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of commonality, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, etc.

[0125] However, it should be borne in mind that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise, it will be apparent from the above discussion that, throughout the specification, discussions using terms such as "send," "receive," "detect," "determine," "transfer," "transmit," "allocate," "sort," "decrement," "select," "apply," "signal," etc., refer to the actions and processes of a computer system or similar electronic computing device that manipulates data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the registers and memories of the computer system and transforms them into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memory or registers or other such information storage, transmission, or display devices.

[0126] The processes and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general purpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatus for performing the described operations. The required structure for various such systems will be apparent from the description below. In addition, the present invention has not been described with reference to any particular programming language. It will be understood that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the present invention as described herein.

[0127] It is well known that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of inadvertent or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly explained to users.

[0128] The foregoing discussion has described only some exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize from these discussions, the drawings, and the claims that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A base station, the base station comprising a processor configured to perform operations including the following: Determine a timing advance based on at least random access preamble reception; Determine an uplink offset based on the timing advance, wherein the uplink offset is a measure of the delay of a non-terrestrial network link; Determine candidate time slots for uplink reception based at least on the uplink offset; Determine whether the candidate time slots are available for the uplink reception; When the candidate time slots are available, use the candidate time slots for the uplink reception; and When the candidate time slots are not available, use the next available time slot for the uplink reception.

2. The base station according to claim 1, wherein the uplink reception includes a physical uplink shared channel PUSCH, a random access response RAR scheduled by the PUSCH, a physical uplink control channel PUCCH, or an aperiodic SRS.

3. The base station according to claim 1, wherein determining whether the candidate time slots are available includes: Determine whether the candidate time slots are uplink time slots, downlink time slots, hybrid time slots, or flexible time slots based at least on a time division duplex TDD configuration of the candidate time slot format, wherein the candidate time slots are available when one of the following occurs: the candidate time slots are uplink time slots, or the candidate time slots are hybrid time slots and the uplink reception corresponds to the uplink symbols in the hybrid time slots, and the candidate time slots are not available when one of the following occurs: the candidate time slots are downlink time slots, the candidate time slots are hybrid time slots but the uplink reception does not correspond to the uplink symbols in the hybrid time slots, or the candidate time slots are flexible time slots.

4. The base station according to claim 1, wherein the determination of the uplink offset includes: Calculate the uplink offset based at least on the timing advances of one or more satellite links in the non-terrestrial network.

5. The base station according to claim 1, wherein the uplink offset is set to be equal to the sum of the serving link timing advance and the feeder link timing advance divided by the time slot duration.

6. The base station according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to perform the following operations: Calculate a medium access control MAC control element CE action timing using at least the uplink offset.

7. The base station according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to perform the following operations: Use a sidelink offset to calculate a time gap between the reception of the previous physical sidelink feedback channel PSFCH and the transmission of the physical uplink control channel PUCCH.

8. The base station according to claim 7, wherein the sidelink offset has a value different from that of the uplink offset.

9. The base station according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to perform the following operations: Calculate a time domain offset of an authorization configuration for a type 1 configuration using at least the uplink offset.

10. A user equipment UE, the UE comprising a processor configured to perform operations including the following: Receive timing advance information from a base station; Determine an offset based on the timing advance information, where the offset is a measure of the delay of a non-terrestrial network link; Determine candidate time slots for a channel state information CSI reference resource based at least on the offset; Determine whether the candidate time slots are available for the CSI reference resource; When the candidate time slots are available, use the candidate time slots for the CSI reference resource; And When the candidate time slots are not available, use another time slot for the CSI reference resource.

11. The UE according to claim 10, wherein the determination comprises: Determine whether the candidate time slot is an uplink time slot, a downlink time slot, a hybrid time slot, or a flexible time slot based at least on the time-division duplex TDD configuration of the candidate time slot format, wherein the candidate time slot is available if any of the following occurs: the candidate time slot is a downlink time slot, or the candidate time slot is a hybrid time slot and the downlink reception corresponds to the downlink symbols in the hybrid time slot, and the candidate time slot is not available if any of the following occurs: the candidate time slot is an uplink time slot, the candidate time slot is a hybrid time slot but the downlink reception does not correspond to the downlink symbols in the hybrid time slot, or the candidate time slot is a flexible time slot.

12. The UE according to claim 10, wherein the another time slot for the CSI reference resource is the time slot immediately preceding the candidate time slot.

13. The UE according to claim 10, wherein the another time slot for the CSI reference resource is the time slot immediately following the candidate time slot.

14. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: A baseband processor configured to perform operations including the following: Receive timing advance information from a base station; Determine an offset based on the timing advance information, where the offset is a measure of the delay of a non-terrestrial network link; Determine candidate time slots for a channel state information CSI reference resource based at least on the offset; Determine whether the candidate time slots are available; When the candidate time slots are available, use the candidate time slots for the CSI reference resource; AndWhen the candidate time slots are not available, use another time slot for the CSI reference resource.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the determination comprises: Determine whether the candidate time slot is an uplink time slot, a downlink time slot, a hybrid time slot, or a flexible time slot based at least on the time-division duplex TDD configuration of the candidate time slot format, wherein the candidate time slot is available when the candidate time slot is either an uplink time slot or a hybrid time slot, and the candidate time slot is not available when the candidate time slot is either a downlink time slot, a hybrid time slot, or a flexible time slot.

16. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processing units, perform a method, the method comprises: Determine a timing advance based at least on a random access preamble reception; Determine an uplink offset based on the timing advance, where the uplink offset is a measure of the delay of a non-terrestrial network link; ​ Determine candidate time slots for uplink reception based at least on the uplink offset; Determine whether the candidate time slots are available; When the candidate time slots are available, use the candidate time slots for the uplink reception; and When the candidate time slots are not available, use the next available time slot for the uplink reception.

17. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processing units, perform a method, the method comprising: Receive timing advance information from a base station; Determine an offset based on the timing advance information, wherein the offset is a measure of the delay of a non-terrestrial network link; Determine candidate time slots for channel state information CSI reference resources based at least on the offset; Determine whether the candidate time slots are available; When the candidate time slots are available, use the candidate time slots for the CSI reference resources; and When the candidate time slots are not available, use another time slot for the CSI reference resources.

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