Processing of continuous fast convolution based on symbol synchronization

Abstract

According to one aspect, an apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising means for performing the following. The apparatus receives a stream of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols and associated cyclic prefixes generated by at least one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing modulator of a radio transmitter or transceiver. The apparatus divides the stream into a plurality of overlapping processing blocks of a first length. At least one of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks includes a non-overlapping portion having a value corresponding to a segment of the stream. The dividing includes adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion based at least on whether the cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment and, if so, on the length of the cyclic prefix. The apparatus filters the plurality of overlapping processing blocks using a fast convolution process, and splices the filtered processing blocks to form an output signal for transmission using a radio transmitter or transceiver.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments relate to wireless communications. Background Art

[0002] Fifth generation (5G) cellular systems aim to increase throughput by a huge factor (even up to 1000 or more), which brings a lot of challenges, especially considering the scarcity of low-band spectrum and the need to support a very diverse set of use cases. To achieve this goal, it is important to utilize higher frequencies such as millimeter wave frequencies in addition to the more conventional lower frequencies. To meet the needs of 5G systems, a new globally standardized radio access technology called New Radio (NR) has been proposed. Due to the different service requirements imposed by NR, a high level of spectral inclusion is needed in transmitters and receivers to isolate transmissions with different numerologies (so-called mixed numerologies scenarios) or asynchronous services. This in turn requires new types of waveform processing solutions to achieve sufficiently high performance. Summary of the invention

[0003] According to one aspect, the subject matter of the independent claims is provided. Embodiments are defined in the dependent claims.

[0004] One or more examples of implementations are set forth in more detail in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Other features will be apparent from the description, drawings, and claims.

[0005] Some embodiments provide an apparatus, method, and computer-readable medium for processing based on symbol-synchronized continuous fast convolution. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] Hereinafter, some example embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

[0007] Figure 1 An example of a communication system in which embodiments may be applied is shown;

[0008] Figure 2 The fast Fourier transform based orthogonal frequency division multiplexing signal generation according to the prior art is shown;

[0009] Figure 3A and Figure 3B Simplified Fast Fourier Transform-based OFDM transmitter and receiver architectures are shown, respectively;

[0010] Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 and Figure 7 An exemplary process according to an embodiment is shown;

[0011] Fig. 8A , Figure 8B and Figure 8C shows exemplary OFDM symbols and prefix streams and processing blocks according to an embodiment; and

[0012] Fig. 9 An exemplary apparatus according to an embodiment is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] The following embodiments are exemplary. Although the specification may refer to "one", "an" or "some" embodiments in multiple places, this does not necessarily mean that each such reference refers to the same embodiment or that the feature applies to only a single embodiment. Individual features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments.

[0014] In the following, different exemplary embodiments will be described using a radio access architecture based on Advanced Long Term Evolution (Advanced LTE (LTE-A)) or New Radio (NR, 5G) as an example of an access architecture to which the embodiments can be applied, without limiting the embodiments to such architectures. It is clear to a person skilled in the art that the embodiments can also be applied to other kinds of communication networks with suitable modules by appropriately adjusting the parameters and processes. Some examples of other options suitable for the system are Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Radio Access Network (UTRAN or E-UTRAN), Long Term Evolution (LTE, same as E-UTRA), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN or WiFi), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Personal Communications Service (PCS), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), systems using Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology, sensor networks, Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs), and Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or any combination thereof.

[0015] Figure 1 An example of a simplified system architecture is depicted showing some elements and functional entities, which are all logical units, the implementation of which may differ from what is shown. Figure 1 The connections shown are logical connections; the actual physical connections may be different. It is clear to those skilled in the art that the system typically also includes Figure 1 Other functions and structures than those shown.

[0016] However, the embodiments are not limited to the systems given as examples, but a person skilled in the art may apply the solution to other communication systems having the necessary characteristics.

[0017] Figure 1 The example of FIG. 1 shows a portion of an exemplary radio access network. Figure 1 Shown is a user equipment 100 and 102 configured to be in a wireless connection state with an access node (such as (e / g) NodeB) 104 providing a cell on one or more communication channels in a cell. The physical link from the user equipment to the (e / g) NodeB is called an uplink or reverse link, and the physical link from the (e / g) NodeB to the user equipment is called a downlink or forward link. It should be understood that the (e / g) NodeB or its functions can be implemented by using any node, host, server or access point entity suitable for such a purpose.

[0018] The communication system usually includes more than one (e / g)NodeB, in which case the (e / g)NodeB may also be configured to communicate with each other via wired or wireless links designed for this purpose. These links may be used for signaling purposes. (e / g)NodeB is a computing device configured to control the radio resources of the communication system to which it is coupled. NodeB may also be referred to as a base station, an access point, an access node, or any other type of interface device including a relay station capable of operating in a wireless environment. (e / g)NodeB includes or is coupled to a transceiver. From the transceiver of the (e / g)NodeB, a connection is provided to an antenna unit, which establishes a bidirectional radio link to a user device. The antenna unit may include multiple antennas or antenna elements. (e / g)NodeB is further connected to a core network 110 (CN or next generation core NGC). Depending on the system, the other party on the CN side may be a service gateway (S-GW, routing and forwarding user data packets), a packet data network gateway (P-GW, for providing a connection between a user equipment (UE) and an external packet data network), or a mobile management entity (MME), etc.

[0019] User equipment (UE) (also referred to as UE, user equipment, user terminal, terminal device, etc.) shows a type of equipment to which resources on the air interface are allocated and assigned, and therefore any features of the user equipment described herein can be implemented with a corresponding device (such as a relay node). An example of such a relay node is a layer 3 relay (self-backhaul relay) toward a base station.

[0020] A user device generally refers to a portable computing device, which includes a wireless mobile communication device operating with or without a subscriber identity module (SIM), including but not limited to the following types of devices: mobile stations (mobile phones), smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handsets, devices using wireless modems (alarm or measurement devices, etc.), portable computers and / or touch screen computers, tablet computers, game consoles, laptops, and multimedia devices. It should be understood that a user device can also be an almost exclusive uplink-only device, an example of which is a camera or video camera that loads images or video clips to a network. A user device can also be a device with the ability to operate in an Internet of Things (IoT) network, in which objects are provided with the ability to transmit data over a network without human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. A user device can also utilize the cloud. In some applications, a user device may include a small portable device with a radio component (such as a watch, headphones, or glasses), and the calculation is performed in the cloud. A user device (or in some embodiments, a layer 3 relay node) is configured to perform one or more of the user device functions. A user device may also be called a subscriber unit, a mobile station, a remote terminal, an access terminal, a user terminal, or User Equipment (UE), to mention just a few names or devices.

[0021] The various techniques described in this article can also be applied to cyber-physical systems (CPS) (systems of computing elements that collaborate to control physical entities). CPS can implement and utilize a large number of interconnected ICT (Information and Communication Technology) devices (sensors, actuators, processors microcontrollers, etc.) embedded in different locations in physical objects. Mobile cyber-physical systems, in which the physical systems in question have inherent mobility, are a subcategory of cyber-physical systems. Examples of mobile physical systems include mobile robots and electronic devices transported by humans or animals.

[0022] Additionally, although the apparatus is depicted as a single entity, different units, processors and / or memory units may be implemented. Figure 1 Not all are shown).

[0023] 5G is capable of using multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, many more base stations or nodes than LTE (the so-called small cell concept), including macro sites that collaborate with smaller base stations and adopt multiple radio technologies, depending on service requirements, use cases and / or available spectrum. 5G mobile communications support a variety of use cases and related applications (such as (massive) machine type communications (mMTC)), including video streaming, augmented reality, different data sharing methods and various forms of machine type applications, including vehicle safety, different sensors and real-time control. 5G is expected to have multiple radio interfaces, i.e., below 6GHz, cmWave and mmWave, and be integrable with existing conventional radio access technologies such as LTE. Integration with LTE can be implemented, at least in the early stages, as a system in which macro coverage is provided by LTE and 5G radio interface access comes from small cells by aggregation to LTE. In other words, 5G is planned to support both inter-RAT operability (such as LTE-5G) and inter-RI operability (inter-radio interface operability, such as cmWave below 6GHz, mmWave above 6GHz). One of the concepts considered for use in 5G networks is network slicing, in which multiple independent and dedicated virtual subnets (network instances) can be created in the same infrastructure to run services with different requirements for latency, reliability, throughput and mobility.

[0024] The current architecture in LTE networks is completely distributed in the radio and completely centralized in the core network. Low-latency applications and services in 5G require content to be close to the radio, leading to local bursting and multi-access edge computing (MEC). 5G enables analysis and knowledge generation to be performed at the data source. This approach requires the use of resources that may not be continuously connected to the network, such as laptops, smartphones, tablets, and sensors. MEC provides a distributed computing environment for application and service hosting. It also has the ability to store and process content close to cellular subscribers to speed up response time. Edge computing covers a wide range of technologies such as wireless sensor networks, mobile data collection, mobile signature analysis, collaborative distributed peer-to-peer self-organizing networks and processing (also categorized as local cloud / fog computing and grid / mesh computing), dew computing, mobile edge computing, cloudlet, distributed data storage and retrieval, autonomous self-healing networks, remote cloud services, augmented and virtual reality, data caching, Internet of Things (massive connectivity and / or latency critical), critical communications (autonomous vehicles, traffic safety, real-time analysis, time-critical control, healthcare applications).

[0025] The communication system may also be capable of communicating with other networks, such as the public switched telephone network or the Internet 112, or utilizing services provided by them. The communication system may also be capable of supporting the use of cloud services, for example, at least a portion of the core network operations may be provided as a cloud service (this is in the Figure 1 The communication system may also include a central control entity that provides facilities for networks of different operators to cooperate, for example in spectrum sharing.

[0026] Edge cloud can be introduced into the radio access network (RAN) by utilizing network function virtualization (NVF) and software defined networking (SDN). Using edge cloud can mean that access node operations will be performed at least partially in a server, host or node that is operatively coupled to a remote radio head or base station including the radio part. Node operations can also be distributed among multiple servers, nodes or hosts. The application of cloudRAN architecture enables RAN real-time functions to be performed on the RAN side (in the distributed unit DU 104) and non-real-time functions to be performed in a centralized manner (in the centralized unit CU 108).

[0027] It should also be understood that the work distribution between core network operations and base station operations may be different from that of LTE, or even non-existent. Some other technological advances that may be used are big data and all-IP, which may change the way networks are built and managed. 5G (or New Radio NR) networks are designed to support multiple hierarchical structures, where MEC servers can be placed between the core and the base station or nodeB (gNB). It should be understood that MEC can also be applied to 4G networks.

[0028] 5G can also make use of satellite communications to enhance or supplement the coverage of 5G services, for example by providing backhaul. Possible use cases are to provide service continuity for machine-to-machine (M2M) or Internet of Things (IoT) devices or for passengers on board, or to ensure service availability for critical communications and future rail / maritime / aeronautical communications. Satellite communications can make use of geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite systems, as well as low earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems, in particular mega-constellations (systems in which hundreds of (nano) satellites are deployed). Each satellite 106 in a mega-constellation can cover several satellite-enabled network entities that create a ground cell. A ground cell can be created by a ground relay node 104 or a gNB located on the ground or in a satellite.

[0029] It is clear to a person skilled in the art that the depicted system is only an example of a part of a radio access system, and in practice the system may include multiple (e / g)NodeBs, a user equipment may access multiple radio cells, and the system may also include other devices, such as physical layer relay nodes or other network elements. At least one of the (e / g)NodeBs may be a home (e / g)NodeB. In addition, in a geographical area of ​​the radio communication system, a plurality of different kinds of radio cells and a plurality of radio cells may be provided. The radio cells may be macro cells (or umbrella cells), which are large cells with a diameter typically up to tens of kilometers, or smaller cells such as micro, femto or pico cells. Figure 1 An (e / g)NodeB can provide any of these cells. A cellular radio system can be implemented as a multi-layer network comprising several cells. Typically, in a multi-layer network, one access node provides one or more cells of one type, and thus multiple (e / g)NodeBs are required to provide such a network structure.

[0030] In order to meet the needs of improving the deployment and performance of communication systems, the concept of "plug and play" (e / g) NodeB is introduced. Usually, in addition to the home (e / g) NodeB (H(e / g)nodeB), the network that can use "plug and play" (e / g) NodeB also includes the home nodeB gateway or HNB-GW ( Figure 1 (not shown). An HNB gateway (HNB-GW) installed in a network of an operator's network can aggregate services from a large number of HNBs back to the core network.

[0031] Realize 5G communication system (such as Figure 1 A key element required for the high-throughput broadband communications envisioned by 5G is orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). Broadly defined, OFDM is a method of encoding digital data on multiple carrier (or subcarrier) frequencies. More specifically, multiple closely spaced orthogonal subcarrier signals with overlapping frequency spectra are used to carry data. While OFDM is already used in 4G communication systems, the more stringent requirements for 5G communication systems require improvements to established methods.

[0032] In order to provide background for the embodiments to be discussed later, Figure 2 The conventional OFDM scheme is briefly discussed. Figure 2 A general system for generating an OFDM signal in a transmitter using an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) is shown.

[0033] refer to Figure 2 , serial format L act Data symbol S 0 , S1 , S 2 ,……,S Lact-1 201 is provided to be transmitted by a radio transmitter. Each data symbol 201 corresponds to a complex number that conforms to a modulation scheme, such as QPSK (quadrature phase shift keying) or 16-QAM (16-quadrature amplitude modulation). From the perspective of IFFT processing, each data symbol 201 in the sequence corresponds to a specific carrier frequency. The above-mentioned serially connected data symbols 201 are provided as input to a serial-to-parallel converter 210. The serial-to-parallel converter separates the data symbols 201 into L act parallel data streams 202. Figure 2 In the example, the number of data symbols L act is not equal to the number L of inputs to the IFFT processing block 220 OFDM (ie, the length of the IFFT). Therefore, the input to the IFFT processing block 220 is padded with zeros 203, 204. The IFFT processing block 220 modulates the input data symbols 202, 203, 204 (corresponding to the values ​​assigned to the frequency bins) and provides L OFDM A parallel output signal x 0 , χ 1 , χ 2 ,……,χ LOFDM-1 205 (time domain signal). Due to the inherent characteristics of IFFT (or Fourier transform in general), the generated carrier signals are always orthogonal. The parallel output signal 205 is provided as the input of the parallel-to-serial converter 230, which forms a L OFDM The output signal χ of one OFDM symbol is out The output signal can be further fed to a digital-to-analog converter and subsequently to the antenna of the corresponding radio transmitter. The main advantages of OFDM are flexibility and high efficiency in allocating spectrum resources to different users, simple and robust channel equalization methods, and simplicity in combining multiple antenna schemes with core physical layer processing. OFDM or in particular FFT-based OFDM further enables the definition of signals in the frequency domain (in software) and enables the use of computationally efficient, low-complexity IFFT to generate signals. In a receiver receiving OFDM signals, the same needs to be performed Figure 2 The process shown is the reverse of the process.

[0034] In order to prevent degradation of the performance of the radio link due to multipath delay spread (i.e., due to different multipath components of the transmitted signal arriving at the receiver at different times), a so-called cyclic prefix (CP) may be introduced to each OFDM symbol. This function may be performed by element 230. A cyclic prefix is ​​a prefix that is added to the L of the symbol by CPThe symbol is extended by inserting a copy of the last sample into the beginning of the above symbol. The above process produces an extended but still continuous OFDM symbol (or CP-OFDM symbol). The signal generated by the above process is called a CP-OFDM signal. By selecting the cyclic prefix to be longer than the delay spread, the adverse effects of delay spread (for example, the loss of orthogonality leads to inter-symbol interference ISI) can be avoided. Obviously, due to the increase in symbol time, the maximum achievable bit rate of transmission is reduced. In the receiver, the inverse process needs to be performed to remove the cyclic prefix. In addition to protecting the transmission symbol from inter-symbol interference, the change in the length (number of samples) of the cyclic prefix can also be used to align the duration of a preset set of CP-OFDM symbols with the desired length. For example, in the LTE system, when using a normal cyclic prefix, the length of the cyclic prefix of the first OFDM symbol of the time slot is always longer than the cyclic prefix of the subsequent OFDM symbol to align the duration of the CP-OFDM symbol with the duration of half a subframe (i.e., with 0.5ms).

[0035] Although CP-OFDM signals provide a sufficiently efficient solution for many current generation system requirements, it has several disadvantages that need to be overcome to meet the higher requirements of proposed future communication systems. CP-OFDM signals have relatively high side lobes in the spectrum, which causes power leakage into adjacent channels and requires the use of larger guard bands, which in turn reduces spectral efficiency. In addition, the use of power amplifiers (PAs) may further increase the above power leakage.

[0036] It should be understood that Figure 2 The block diagram shown is a simplified representation of a CP-OFDM scheme.The CP-OFDM scheme may also include performing, for example, mapping of signal bits to complex numbers and / or insertion of pilot sequences (unmodulated data for synchronization and channel estimation).

[0037] Figure 3A and Figure 3B Two solutions to overcome the above problems with the CP-OFDM scheme are shown, namely, one solution implemented in the transmitter (Tx) and one solution implemented in the receiver side (Rx). Figure 3A In the OFDM modulators 301, 302, 303, each of them may include Figure 2 At least some of the elements shown. Each OFDM modulator 301, 302, 303 may be configured to provide OFDM modulation for a particular sub-band of the frequency band of interest. Figure 3AIn the scheme shown, the CP-OFDM signal generated by the OFDM modulators 301 to 303 is further filtered using a filtering element 304 (or filtering engine) to improve spectral suppression. In other words, channel filtering is applied on top of the CP-OFDM technology. Such a scheme is generally referred to as filtered CP-OFDM (referred to as filtered OFDM). Specifically, the filtering element 304 can perform sub-band filtering on the CP-OFDM signal of the radio channel, that is, first filtering one or more OFDM input signals composed of one or more sub-bands separately to eliminate (or at least reduce) any unwanted side lobes, then modulating the filtered sub-bands to their desired positions, and finally combining the filtered signal and the modulated signal to form a high-rate output signal. After the filtering stage 304, the resulting signal can be coupled to the antenna 306 of the transmitter via a digital-to-analog converter (not shown in Figure 3) and an amplifier 305 for transmission. Figure 3A The filtering element 304 may be referred to as a synthesis filter bank.

[0038] and Figure 3A Compared with the transmitter in Figure 3B The receiver shown is configured to perform the reverse process. That is, the received signal is first amplified by the amplifier 311 and then fed to the filter element 312, which is configured to filter the above-mentioned received amplifier signal and divide it into sub-band signals. The sub-band signals are then fed to the OFDM demodulators 313, 314, 315, which demodulate the provided OFDM signals, i.e., extract the transmitted data symbols from these signals. Although Figure 3B Three OFDM demodulators 313, 314, 315 are depicted in FIG, but some receivers may include only one OFDM demodulator (eg, a UE device) and thus be configured to detect only one subband.

[0039] Figure 3B The filter element 312 in may be referred to as an analysis filter bank.

[0040] To improve spectral suppression, the filtering element 304 can be specifically configured to use a fast convolution (FC) based method. In the FC based method used at the transmitter side, filtering is performed by converting each subband CP-OFDM signal to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT) (or other orthogonal transform), applying a frequency domain window to each frequency domain subband of the CP-OFDM signal (i.e., multiplying each signal by the frequency domain window point by point), and converting the above signals back to the time domain using an IFFT (or other inverse orthogonal transform). The FC based method effectively implements a time domain convolution between the input signal and the frequency domain window converted to the time domain based on the convolution theorem. This can be performed at the receiver. Figure 3B The reverse FC-based process is implemented in the filtering element 312 to improve spectral suppression.

[0041] FC-based filtered OFDM (FC-F-OFDM) schemes typically apply filtering in a continuous manner over frames of CP-OFDM (or zero-prefix OFDM) symbols. In continuous FC Tx processing, such as implemented in filtering element 304, a continuous stream of CP-OFDM symbols is divided into overlapping FC processing blocks (i.e., signal blocks or segments) of equal size, where the overlap between adjacent FC blocks is fixed (typically 50%). Since the CP length is typically (e.g., in 5G NR) non-zero (and the FC processing block length is typically a power of two), when continuous FC Tx processing is employed, the FC processing blocks are typically not time-synchronized with the CP-OFDM symbols. The data of each FC processing block is circularly convolved with a finite length impulse response, and the resulting output segments are spliced ​​by preserving the non-overlapping portions.

[0042] One disadvantage of the continuous FC Tx processing scheme is that when the digital basis configuration, bandwidth or center frequency of the BWP changes in the middle of the FC processing block, the filtering performance will be degraded because each FC processing block can only be optimally configured for one digital basis configuration, bandwidth or center frequency at a time. If necessary, this degradation can be avoided by dividing the BWP into two parallel processing streams, one processing stream for each digital basis configuration, bandwidth or center frequency. However, this approach greatly increases the required resources, i.e., memory and required Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) processing units, and may cause some latency issues. Now, if the bandwidth or center frequency needs to be adjusted at the symbol boundary, the filter performance will be significantly degraded. These problematic scenarios also include the situation where an ongoing slot-based transmission is preempted by a low-latency ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) transmission that requires a sudden change in the filter configuration.

[0043] The embodiments to be discussed below may be specifically directed to improvements in filter elements or engines 304, 312 that provide high spectral rejection using a continuous FC-F-OFDM scheme. More specifically, the embodiments focus on providing improved flexibility in multiplexing multiple sub-bands or bandwidth parts (BWPs) by (dynamically) adjusting the overlap between consecutive FC processing blocks. Compared to conventional FC processing schemes, this approach enables symbol-synchronous configuration of the parameters (bandwidth and center frequency) of the filter engine, thereby relaxing the memory and latency requirements of the processing.

[0044] Figure 4 A process for performing continuous FC processing in a symbol-synchronous manner according to an embodiment is shown. Specifically, Figure 41 shows a flow chart of a process according to an embodiment. For example, the process may be performed by a waveform processing device such as a digital filtering element or engine or a digital filter bank. For example, the process shown may be performed by Figure 3A The filtering element 304 is used to perform the above process. The device for performing the above process may be included in a radio transmitter or transceiver. The above radio transmitter or transceiver may then be included in an access node or terminal device, such as Figure 1 The terminal device 100, 102 or Figure 1 Any one of the access nodes 104. Hereinafter, the device that performs the process is simply referred to as an apparatus.

[0045] refer to Figure 4 In block 401, the apparatus initially receives a stream of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols and associated cyclic prefixes (ie, prefixes of the OFDM symbols) generated by at least one OFDM modulator of a radio transmitter or transceiver.

[0046] The above-mentioned stream may include multiple different digital basic configurations. The above-mentioned multiple different digital basic configurations of the above-mentioned stream may correspond to a long-term evolution (LTE) and / or 5G new radio (5G NR) physical layer (OFDM) digital basic configuration and / or other (OFDM) digital basic configurations, in which all supported subcarrier spacings are aligned in time at predetermined intervals, such as once every half subframe (i.e., at least once every 0.5ms in LTE and 5G NR). A digital basic configuration can generally be defined as a configuration of waveform parameters. An OFDM digital basic configuration can be defined as an OFDM configuration related to, for example, a subcarrier spacing (SCS), an OFDM symbol duration, a cyclic prefix length, and / or a resource block size. A digital basic configuration is sometimes represented by the symbol μ.

[0047] For example, the above-mentioned multiple different digital basic configurations may include one or more digital basic configurations defined as follows:

[0048] Digital basic configuration 0 (μ = 0), SCS is 15kHz,

[0049] Digital basic configuration 1 (μ = 1), SCS is 30kHz,

[0050] Digital basic configuration 2 (μ = 2), SCS is 60kHz,

[0051] Digital basic configuration 3 (μ=3), SCS is 120kHz, and

[0052] Digital basic configuration 4 (μ=4), SCS is 240kHz.

[0053] In addition, the characteristics shown in the following table may be defined for digital basic configurations 0-4.

[0054] Parameters / Digital Techniques (μ) 0 1 2 3 4 SCS(kHz) 15 30 60 120 240 OFDM symbol duration (μs) 66.67 33.33 16.67 8.33 4.17 Cyclic prefix duration (μs) 4.69 2.34 1.17 0.57 0.29 OFDM symbol including CP (μs) 71.35 35.68 17.84 8.92 4.46

[0055] Note that all digital base configurations 0-4 are synchronized within half a subframe (0.5ms). The length of the OFDM symbol and the cyclic prefix in number of samples depends on the nominal channel bandwidth used.

[0056] The above-mentioned stream of OFDM symbols and associated prefixes may be specifically associated with a first subband or bandwidth part (BWP). A bandwidth part may generally be defined as a continuous set of physical resource blocks (PRBs) on a given carrier. A BWP may include one or more subbands using the same digital basic configuration. PRBs may be selected from a continuous subset of common resource blocks for a given digital basic configuration. The BWP defined for a digital basic configuration may include at least the following three different parameters: subcarrier spacing, symbol duration, and cyclic prefix length. The above-mentioned first subband or BWP may be defined, for example, within 5G NR frequency range 1 (FR1).

[0057] The CP length of each initial OFDM symbol (or at least some of them) in the half subframe in the above stream can be extended (or amplified, extended, increased or enhanced) compared to the CP length of any other OFDM symbol with the same digital basic configuration in the same half subframe. For example, for a nominal channel bandwidth of 10 MHz, for digital basic configurations 0, 1 and 2, the extended and non-extended (i.e., default) CP lengths can be 80 samples and 72 samples, 44 samples and 36 samples, and 26 samples and 18 samples, respectively. In some other embodiments, the above extension can occur for some other predetermined intervals (e.g., every frame or every quarter frame).

[0058] In block 402, the apparatus divides the stream into a plurality of overlapping processing blocks of a first length. The first length may equivalently be referred to as a FC processing transform size, as it corresponds to the size or length of an (inverse) orthogonal transform (e.g., an (inverse) fast Fourier transform) performed as part of the FC processing (discussed in detail below in conjunction with block 403). At least one of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks (optionally, each overlapping processing block) comprises a non-overlapping portion having a value corresponding to a segment of the stream. Specifically, the division in block 402 may include (dynamically) adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion based at least on whether a cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment of the stream and, if the cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment, based on the length of the cyclic prefix. When evaluating the length of the cyclic prefix, the adjustment may also take into account the digital basis configuration of the OFDM symbol associated with the segment of the stream, as the length of the cyclic prefix generally also depends on the digital basis configuration used (i.e., different digital basis configurations allow for different predetermined lengths of cyclic prefixes). Furthermore, the length of the non-overlapping portion may depend on the OFDM processing sampling rate f of the at least one of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks. S (and / or with OFDM processing sampling rate f S Bonded nominal channel bandwidth f BW ) and / or the first length (ie, FC processing transform size).

[0059] In addition to the non-overlapping portion, at least one of the at least one overlapping processing blocks in the plurality of overlapping processing blocks (optionally, each overlapping processing block) may also include a first overlapping portion before the non-overlapping portion and a second overlapping portion after the non-overlapping portion. The first overlapping portion may have a value taken from the previous segment of the above-mentioned stream to the above-mentioned segment (or may be a zero value, for example, when there is no subsequent segment), and / or the second overlapping portion may include a value taken from the subsequent segment of the above-mentioned stream to the above-mentioned segment (or may be a negative value, for example, when there is no previous segment). In other embodiments, one or both of the first overlapping portion and the second overlapping portion may be defined as always having a zero value.

[0060] In some embodiments, the adjustment of the length of the non-overlapping portion performed as part of the partitioning process in block 402 is performed as follows. For each processing block including a cyclic prefix (e.g., 0.5 ms) of the initial symbol of half a subframe (or, in general, the initial symbol of some predetermined interval), the apparatus uses a sampling rate that depends at least on a first length L (given in number of samples) and an OFDM processing sampling rate f S The device calculates the length of the non-overlapping part of the processing block using a first equation. For other processing blocks, the device calculates the length of the non-overlapping part of the processing block using a second equation that depends at least on the first length L.

[0061] The first and second equations can be defined as

[0062]

[0063] L S =(A+B)×2 β ,

[0064] in and L S represents the length of the overlapping portion of the processing block calculated using the first equation and the second equation respectively, and α is defined as α=mod(0.5×10 -3 f S , A+B), f S is the OFDM processing sampling rate defined by the digital basic configuration, β is defined as β=L / (2B), where L is the first length, and A and B are integer parameters with predetermined values. It is worth noting that parameter α specifically defines how many samples the non-overlapping part of the processing block should be extended. A and B can be defined, for example, based on the allowed values ​​of the cyclic prefix length for a given OFDM symbol length in a given wireless standard, or specifically based on the minimum OFDM symbol length (definition B), where the non-extended cyclic prefix length is still an integer (definition A).

[0065] Parameters A and B can be specifically defined as follows. In LTE and 5G NR, the length of the cyclic prefix is ​​proportional to the OFDM symbol length. The OFDM symbol length of 128 (=B) is the minimum size for which the non-extended cyclic prefix length is still an integer, namely 9 (=A). Non-integer cyclic prefix lengths can typically be handled by FC processing, but in practice, these are typically avoided due to increased system and implementation complexity. Therefore, in some embodiments, the value of A can be 9 and the value of B can be 128, as these values ​​are particularly suitable for use with LTE and 5G NR networks. By using these definitions for the number of non-overlapping samples in FC processing, all digital base configurations can be fully synchronized with FC processing.

[0066] For example, for some nominal channel bandwidths f in 5G NR frequency range 1 (FR1) BW , OFDM processing sampling rate f S and the parameter α can have any of the values ​​listed in the following table.

[0067] <![CDATA[f BW (MHz)]]> 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 40.0 <![CDATA[f S (MHz)]]> 7.68 15.36 23.04 30.72 30.72 46.08 61.44 α(number of samples) 4 8 12 16 16 24 32

[0068] <![CDATA[f BW (MHz)]]> 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0 <![CDATA[f S (MHz)]]> 61.44 92.16 92.16 122.88 122.88 122.88 α(number of samples) 32 48 48 64 64 64

[0069] For example, if the nominal channel bandwidth f BW is 10MHz, then the OFDM processing sampling rate f SThis means that, assuming that the SCS is 15kHz, the FC processing transform size is 15.36MHz / 15kHz=1024=B×2 β , where B = 128 and β = 3. Therefore, the normal non-extended cyclic prefix is ​​A×2 β =72, where A = 9. Therefore, all CP-OFDM symbol lengths can use the form (A+B)×2 β Write. The parameter α corresponds to the number of samples that are "left over" once half a subframe (ie, 0.5 ms) is filled with an integer number of samples. In this example, the value of the parameter α is 8.

[0070] In block 403, the apparatus filters the plurality of overlapping processing blocks using fast convolution (FC) processing. The filtering using FC processing can be performed using any known FC processing technique. Similar to as described above, filtering the processing blocks in the plurality of overlapping processing blocks using fast convolution processing in block 403 may include applying at least an orthogonal transform, a transform plane window function, and an inverse transform of the orthogonal transform to the processing blocks in sequence. Here, the orthogonal transform is one of a fast Fourier transform, a discrete Fourier transform, a Hartley transform, and a number theory transform.

[0071] In some embodiments, a multi-window FC processing technique may be used in box 403. Therefore, filtering the processing blocks in a plurality of overlapping processing blocks using fast convolution processing in box 403 may include sequentially applying at least a first time window function, an orthogonal transform, a transform plane window function, an inverse transform of the orthogonal transform, and a second time window function. The orthogonal transform may be defined as described above. Here, the transform plane window function and the second time window function may be specifically optimized using simultaneous multi-window optimization of the first time window function, the transform plane window function, and the second time window function.

[0072] In box 404, the device splices the filtered processing blocks to form an output signal for transmission via at least one antenna of a radio transmitter or transceiver. The overlapping parts of the filtered processing blocks can be removed or added together when forming the output signal. One or more additional digital and / or analog processing stages can be arranged between the device and the above-mentioned at least one antenna. Before being transmitted via the above-mentioned at least one antenna, the output signal 410 can be converted to an analog signal at least using a digital-to-analog converter. Typically, in addition to the antenna, the output signal can also be transmitted via one or more processing stages of a radio transmitter or transceiver. The above-mentioned processing stage can implement, for example, baseband processing, digital-to-analog conversion, mixing, intermediate frequency processing and / or radio transmission (i.e., processed by the RF front end during transmission).

[0073] In some embodiments, an overlap and save (OLS) and / or overlap and add (OLA) process may be employed in the partitioning and / or concatenation in blocks 403, 404. The execution of the overlap and save process may include overlapping adjacent processing blocks (as described above) in the partitioning in block 402, and removing overlapping portions of adjacent filtered signals in the concatenation in block 404. The execution of the overlap and add process may include symmetrically adding samples having zero values ​​to each side of each processing block to form overlapping portions (or substantially symmetrically adding when the number of samples dedicated to the two overlapping portions is an odd number) in the partitioning in block 402, and adding overlapping portions of adjacent processing blocks in the filtered processing blocks to each other in the concatenation in block 404. In some embodiments, a combination of OLS and OLA methods may be employed (e.g., applying OLS between FC processing blocks having samples from the same CP-OFDM symbol in the non-overlapping portion, and applying OLA between FC blocks having samples of different CP-OFDM symbols in the non-overlapping portion).

[0074] In some embodiments, for multiple streams of OFDM symbols and associated cyclic prefixes generated by multiple OFDM modulators of a radio transmitter or transceiver, the receiving in block 401, the partitioning in block 402, the filtering in block 403, and the concatenation in block 404 may be performed in parallel. Here, the multiple streams may be specifically associated with different subbands and / or bandwidth portions.

[0075] Figure 5 10 MHz channel for a particular OFDM symbol stream corresponding to a 5G NR 10 MHz channel. Figure 4 An exemplary implementation of the process of Figure 5 In the example of , the continuous stream 501 of OFDM symbols and associated cyclic prefixes includes three OFDM symbols 503, 505, 507 and three cyclic prefixes 502, 504 and 506 of the above three OFDM symbols 503, 505 and 507. Specifically, the first OFDM symbol 503 and the first cyclic prefix 502 correspond to a digital basic configuration 0 (μ=0) with an SCS of 15kHz, an OFDM symbol length of 1024 samples and a cyclic prefix length of 80 samples, and the second OFDM symbol 505 and the third OFDM symbol 507 and the second cyclic prefix 504 and the third cyclic prefix 506 correspond to a digital basic configuration 1 (μ=1) with an SCS of 30kHz, an OFDM symbol length of 512 samples and a cyclic prefix length of 36 samples. The continuous stream 501 corresponds to the example of the stream received in block 401 (or a portion thereof).

[0076] Here, the start of the continuous stream 501 shown corresponds to the start of a half subframe (length 0.5 ms), i.e., the first OFDM symbol 503 is the first (i.e., initial) OFDM symbol of the half subframe. In this particular example, it is also assumed that the start of the continuous stream 501 shown is usually the start of data transmission. The CP length ( Figure 5 Compared with the 40kHz SCS (not shown in FIG. 1 ), the CP length of the first OFDM symbol 503 is extended here. Specifically, the CP length of the first OFDM symbol 503 is 80 samples, while the CP length of any other OFDM symbol with the same digital basic configuration in the half subframe is 72 samples. The corresponding CP length values ​​for 30kHz SCS (i.e., digital basic configuration 1) are 44 samples and 36 samples.

[0077] exist Figure 5 , the continuous stream 501 is divided into four overlapping processing blocks 508, 512, 516, 520 of a first length L. The first length (i.e., the FC processing transform size equal to the FC processing block length) is specifically 1024 samples here. Each of the four overlapping processing blocks 508, 512, 516, 520 includes a non-overlapping part 509, 513, 517, 521, a first overlapping part 510, 514, 522 and a second overlapping part 511, 515, 523.

[0078] The FC processing of a subframe begins with The first overlapped portion 510 of the first overlapped processing block 508 is then filled with zeros from the first OFDM symbol 503 with 15kHz SCS and its cyclic prefix 502. samples fill the non-overlapping portion 509 of the first overlap processing block 508 and replace it with the The second overlap portion 511 is filled with the (subsequent) samples. Obviously, if the first OFDM symbol is preceded by another ("zeroth") OFDM symbol, the first overlap portion 510 of the first overlap processing block 508 can be filled with 234 samples taken from the preceding OFDM symbol.

[0079] The first overlap portion 514 of the second overlap processing block 512 includes (LL S ) / 2=238 samples, the non-overlapping portion 513 of the second overlap processing block 512 includes L corresponding to the last sample of the first OFDM symbol 503 S =548 samples, and the second overlap portion 515 of the second overlap processing block 512 includes (LL) from the second OFDM symbol 505 with 30kHz SCS and its prefix 504 S) / 2=238 samples.

[0080] In a similar manner, the first overlap portion 518 of the third overlap processing block 516 includes (LL S ) / 2=238 samples, the non-overlapping portion 517 of the third overlap processing block 516 includes L corresponding to the samples of the second OFDM symbol 505 and its prefix 504 S =548 samples, and the second overlap portion 519 of the third overlap processing block 516 includes (LL) from the third OFDM symbol 507 with 30kHz SCS and its prefix 506 S ) / 2=238 samples.

[0081] Finally, the first overlap portion 522 of the fourth overlap processing block 520 includes the (LL S ) / 2=238 samples, the non-overlapping portion 521 of the fourth overlap processing block 520 includes L corresponding to the samples of the third OFDM symbol 507 and its prefix 506 S =548 samples, and the second overlap portion 523 of the fourth overlap processing block 520 includes (LL S ) / 2 = 238 samples, or (LL S ) / 2 = 238 zeros. It should be noted that for both digital base configurations used (and indeed for all LTE / 5GNR digital base configurations), the payload data of the overlap processing blocks 508, 512, 516, 520 are time synchronized with the OFDM symbols.

[0082] Then, we can use the fast convolution process ( Figure 5 (not shown) filtering the overlapping processing blocks, such as combining Figure 4 After filtering, the filtered overlapping processing blocks are concatenated to form an output signal 524 for transmission. The output signal includes four signal blocks 525 to 528 corresponding to the non-overlapping portions of the filtered overlapping processing blocks. Figure 4 As described above, when forming the output signal 524, the overlapping portions of the filtered overlapping processing blocks may be discarded or added together, depending on whether OLS processing or OLA processing is applied between the FC processing blocks, respectively.

[0083] In the 14 overlapping processing blocks that constitute a complete frame (the first four overlapping processing blocks are as follows Figure 5 After the 7th OFDM symbol and its prefix are processed, the process starts from the beginning for the new frame. The beginning of the fifteenth overlap processing block is filled with samples instead of zeros. This process continues as Fig. 8A shown.

[0084] Figure 6 Another process for performing continuous FC processing in a symbol-synchronous manner according to an embodiment is shown. Specifically, Figure 6 1 shows a flow chart of a process according to an embodiment. For example, the process may be performed by a waveform processing device such as a digital filtering element or engine or a digital filter bank. For example, the process shown may be performed by Figure 3A The device performing the above process may be included in a radio transmitter or transceiver. The above radio transmitter or transceiver may then be included in an access node or terminal device, such as Figure 1 The terminal device 100, 102 or Figure 1 Any one of the access nodes 104. Hereinafter, the device that performs the process is simply referred to as an apparatus.

[0085] refer to Figure 6 , the process shown is largely consistent with Figure 4 That is to say, Figure 6 Boxes 601 to 603, 605 may completely correspond to Figure 4 401 to 404 of the present invention, and therefore, for the sake of brevity, they are not discussed here.

[0086] Figure 6 The process and Figure 4 The process of is different in that after filtering the multiple processing blocks using fast convolution processing in box 603, the device adjusts the phases of the multiple filtered processing blocks (or at least one of them) in box 604 to provide phase continuity between adjacent filtered processing blocks. Such phase adjustment may be required because the overlap between processing blocks may be different from 50% (or other predetermined constant overlap value defined for a given communication system) compared to conventional non-symbol synchronous continuous FC processing schemes. Specifically, the phases of the multiple filtered processing blocks can be adjusted according to the following formula

[0087]

[0088] where φ k is the phase rotation of the kth filtered overlapping processing block in the plurality of filtered processing blocks given in radians, b 0 is the center interval of the subband or bandwidth portion, L k is the starting index of the kth non-overlapping part in the output signal, and L is the first length (in number of samples). Here, k is a positive integer.

[0089] It should be emphasized that the phase adjustment described in conjunction with block 604 may not require certain parameterizations (e.g., if b 0 =0). In other embodiments, the phase adjustment may be performed by a separate device or unit of the radio transmitter or transceiver.

[0090] Although in Figure 6 In the embodiment shown, phase adjustment (block 604) is performed after filtering (block 603), but in other embodiments, phase adjustment of the overlap processing block may be performed before filtering. In yet another embodiment, phase adjustment may form an (inherent) part of the filtering process.

[0091] Figure 7 A process for performing continuous FC processing in a symbol-synchronous manner according to an embodiment is shown. Specifically, Figure 7 1 shows a flow chart of a process according to an embodiment. For example, the process may be performed by a waveform processing device such as a digital filtering element or engine or a digital filter bank. For example, the process shown may be performed by Figure 3B The filtering element 304 is used to perform the above process. The device for performing the above process may be included in a radio receiver or a transceiver. Hereinafter, the device for performing the process is simply referred to as a device.

[0092] Figure 7 The process is largely related to Figure 4 Unless otherwise explicitly stated, the Figure 4 and / or Figure 5 and Figure 6 Any of the definitions in this section shall apply mutatis mutandis to any Figure 7 process.

[0093] refer to Figure 7In box 701, the device receives a stream of OFDM symbols and associated cyclic prefixes via an antenna of a radio receiver or transceiver. In addition to the antenna, the above stream can also be received by one or more processing stages of the radio receiver or transceiver. The above processing stages can implement, for example, radio reception (i.e., processing by an RF front end in reception), mixing, intermediate frequency processing, analog-to-digital conversion and / or baseband processing. The device divides the above stream into multiple overlapping processing blocks of a first length. At least one overlapping processing block of the multiple overlapping processing blocks includes a non-overlapping portion having a value corresponding to a segment of the above stream. The division includes (dynamically) adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion based on at least whether the cyclic prefix is ​​included in the above segment of the above stream and based on the length of the above cyclic prefix if the cyclic prefix is ​​included in the above segment. Then, in box 703, the device filters the multiple overlapping processing blocks using fast convolution processing. Finally, in box 704, the device splices the multiple filtered overlapping processing blocks to form an output signal to be fed to at least one OFDM demodulator of the radio receiver or transceiver. Optionally, as combined Figure 6 As described above, prior to the splicing in block 704, the apparatus may adjust the phase of at least one of the plurality of filtered overlapping processing blocks to provide phase continuity between adjacent filtered processing blocks.

[0094] Fig. 8A , Figure 8B and Figure 8C Three examples of the proposed FC processing scheme according to the embodiment are shown, where the FC processing transform sizes are L=1024, L=512 and L=256 respectively. Specifically, Fig. 8A , Figure 8B and Figure 8C Corresponding to the nominal bandwidth f BW =10MHz, the FC processing interval spacing is 15kHz, 30kHz and 60kHz respectively. The FC processing interval spacing Δf is calculated by the equation Δf=f S / L and OFDM processing sampling rate f S Related to the FC processing transformation size L. Fig. 8A , Figure 8B and Figure 8C Each of FIG. 1 shows OFDM symbols and prefix streams for digital base configurations 0, 1, and 2 (corresponding to SCSs of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, and 60 kHz) and corresponding overlapping processing blocks. Fig. 8A , Figure 8B and Figure 8C Different digital basic configurations are shown as different streams, as described in conjunction with the above embodiments and Figure 5 As shown, the embodiments may also be applied to mixed digital base configuration streams (ie, streams combining OFDM symbols and prefixes of different digital base configurations).

[0095] exist Fig. 8A , a symbol-synchronous continuous FC process with L=1024 and 15kHz FC process interval spacing is shown. Here, the non-overlapping portion of the overlapped processing block is L S =548 samples, the value is L S =556 samples except every 14th processing block.

[0096] exist Figure 8B , a symbol-synchronous continuous FC process with L=512 and 30kHz FC process interval spacing is shown. Here, the non-overlapping portion of the overlapped processing block is L S = 274 samples, the value is L S =282 samples except every 28th overlapping processing block.

[0097] exist Figure 8C , a symbol-synchronous continuous FC process with L=256 and 60kHz FC process interval spacing is shown. Here, the non-overlapping portion of the overlapped processing block is L S = 137 samples, the value is L S =145 samples except for every 56th overlapping processing block.

[0098] The above embodiment of the continuous symbol synchronization processing provides at least the following advantages:

[0099] Processing can be optimized for Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 5G NR physical layer digital base profiles, where all supported subcarrier spacings are aligned in time with a time resolution of every 0.5 ms.

[0100] In the hybrid digital base profile implementation of 5G NR, the FC processing block is aligned with OFDM symbols of all different subcarrier spacings.

[0101] The FC processing blocks are also aligned between LTE and all digital base configurations with 5G NR to allow for smooth carrier combining processing in Tx and corresponding carrier separation Rx processing in the base station. In addition, due to the alignment between LTE and 5G NR, embodiments provide improved support for (enhanced) dynamic spectrum access mechanisms that enable time multiplexing of LTE and 5G NR within the same frequency band.

[0102] • Within a 0.5ms time window, only one FC processing block has a different overlap, all other FC processing blocks have a common overlap.

[0103] • Processing can be performed using overlap and save or overlap and add, or even a combination of these methods, providing additional flexibility for implementation.

[0104] By using a 60kHz FC processing interval spacing (e.g., at an OFDM processing sampling rate f corresponding to a 10MHz channel bandwidth S =15.36 MHz (i.e., 256×60 kHz) and FC processing transform size L=256), which can support dynamic changes of filter parameterization with a time resolution corresponding to 60 kHz subcarrier spacing.

[0105] Furthermore, at least some embodiments may be optimized for LTE and 5G NR physical layers, enabling efficient implementations that allow for minimization of latency and buffering requirements, and / or allowing for simple and deterministic control of FC processing blocks. However, it should be emphasized that while some embodiments are specifically optimized for LTE and 5G NR, embodiments may also be used to filter other signals, such as 2G (GSM) and / or 3G (UMTS) signals.

[0106] Fig. 9 is shown configured to perform at least the above combination Figures 4 to 7 , Fig. 8A , Figure 8B and Figure 8C In some embodiments, the apparatus 901 may be configured to perform the functions described above in conjunction with at least some of the processes shown in any one of the embodiments. Figure 3A The filter element 304 or Figure 3B The device may be an electronic device including an electronic circuit system. The device may be a single entity or multiple single entities. The device may include a control circuit 910 system such as at least one processor, and at least one memory 930 including computer program code (software) 931, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code (software) are configured to enable the device to perform any one of the embodiments of the waveform processing device described above together with the at least one processor.

[0107] The memory 930 may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. The memory may include a database 932, which may be or include a database as described with respect to the previous embodiments. The memory 930 may be connected to the control circuit system 920 via an interface.

[0108] The device may also include an interface 910, which includes hardware and / or software for implementing a connection according to one or more communication protocols. For example, the interface 910 may include an interface for implementing a connection between the device 901 and other devices, such as Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3A and Figure 3B In some embodiments, for example, the interface 910 may provide the apparatus with communication capabilities for communicating in a cellular communication system and enable communication with network nodes and terminal devices. The interface 910 may include standard well-known components such as amplifiers, filters, frequency converters, (de) modulators, encoder / decoder circuitry, and one or more antennas.

[0109] refer to Fig. 9 , the control circuit system 920 may include a circuit configured to execute according to Figures 4 to 6 Waveform processing circuitry 921 for waveform processing of any of the embodiments shown.

[0110] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one, more, or all of the following:

[0111] (a) hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation only in analog and / or digital circuitry), and

[0112] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (where applicable):

[0113] (i) analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware, and

[0114] (ii) any portion of a hardware processor(s) with software, including digital signal processor(s), software and memory(s), which work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions, and

[0115] (c) Hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portion(s) of microprocessor(s), that require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but which software may not be present when not required for operation.

[0116] This circuitry definition applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, if applicable to a particular claim element, the term "circuitry" also covers a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0117] In one embodiment, in combination Figures 4 to 7 , Fig. 8A , Figure 8B and Figure 8C At least some of the processes described may be performed by an apparatus including corresponding components for performing at least some of the above processes. Some example components for performing the above processes may include at least one of the following: a detector, a processor (including dual-core and multi-core processors), a digital signal processor, a controller, a receiver, a transmitter, an encoder, a decoder, a memory, a RAM, a ROM, software, firmware, a display, a user interface, a display circuit system, a user interface circuit system, a user interface software, a display software, a circuit, an antenna, an antenna circuit system, and a circuit system. In one embodiment, at least one processor, a memory, and a computer program code form a processing component, or include a computer program code for performing the processing according to the present invention. Figures 4 to 7 , Fig. 8A , Figure 8B and Figure 8C One or more computer program code portions or operations thereof of one or more operations of any one of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0118] According to one embodiment, there is provided an apparatus (e.g., a waveform processing device for a radio transmitter or transceiver), the apparatus comprising:

[0119] means for receiving a stream of OFDM symbols and associated cyclic prefixes produced by at least one OFDM modulator of a radio transmitter or transceiver;

[0120] means for dividing the stream into a plurality of overlapping processing blocks of a first length, wherein at least one of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks comprises a non-overlapping portion having a value corresponding to a segment of the stream, the dividing comprising adjusting a length of the non-overlapping portion based at least on whether a cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment of the stream and, if the cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment, based on a length of the cyclic prefix;

[0121] means for filtering a plurality of overlapping processing blocks using a fast convolution process; and

[0122] Means for concatenating a plurality of filtered processing blocks to form an output signal for transmission via at least one antenna of a radio transmitter or transceiver.

[0123] According to one embodiment, there is provided an apparatus (e.g., a waveform processing device for a radio receiver or transceiver), the apparatus comprising:

[0124] means for receiving, via an antenna of a radio receiver or transceiver, a stream of orthogonal frequency division multiplexed symbols and associated cyclic prefixes;

[0125] means for dividing the stream into a plurality of overlapping processing blocks of a first length, wherein at least one of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks comprises a non-overlapping portion having a value corresponding to a segment of the stream, the dividing comprising adjusting a length of the non-overlapping portion based at least on whether a cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment of the stream and, if the cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment, based on a length of the cyclic prefix;

[0126] means for filtering a plurality of overlapping processing blocks using a fast convolution process; and

[0127] Means for splicing a plurality of filtered overlapping processing blocks to form an output signal to feed at least one OFDM demodulator of a radio receiver or transceiver.

[0128] The techniques and methods described herein can be implemented by various means. For example, these techniques can be implemented in hardware (one or more devices), firmware (one or more devices), software (one or more modules), or a combination thereof. For hardware implementation, the (multiple) devices of the embodiment can be implemented in one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof. For firmware or software, implementation can be implemented by a module (process, function, etc.) of at least one chipset that performs the functions described herein. The software code can be stored in a memory unit and executed by a processor. The memory unit can be implemented within the processor or outside the processor. In the latter case, as is known in the art, it can be communicatively coupled to the processor via various means. In addition, those skilled in the art will be able to understand that the components of the system described herein can be rearranged and / or supplemented by additional components to facilitate the implementation of the various aspects described therein, etc., and they are not limited to the precise configurations set forth in the given figures.

[0129] The described embodiments may also be implemented in the form of a computer process defined by a computer program or part thereof. Figure 4-Figure 7 , Fig. 8A , Figure 8B and Figure 8CEmbodiments of the described methods may be performed by executing at least a portion of a computer program including corresponding instructions. The computer program may be in source code form, object code form, or some intermediate form, and may be stored in some carrier, which may be any entity or device capable of carrying the program. For example, the computer program may be stored on a computer program distribution medium readable by a computer or processor. The computer program medium may be, for example, but not limited to, a recording medium, a computer memory, a read-only memory, an electrical carrier signal, a telecommunications signal, and a software distribution package. For example, the computer program medium may be a non-transient medium. The coding of the software for executing the illustrated and described embodiments is well within the scope of those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0130] According to one embodiment, a computer program is provided, the computer program comprising a method for causing an apparatus to perform a combination Figures 4 to 7 Instructions of any one of the described method embodiments.

[0131] According to one embodiment, a computer readable medium is provided, the computer readable medium comprising a device for causing an apparatus to execute a combination Figures 4 to 7 The invention further comprises program instructions for implementing any one of the method embodiments described herein.

[0132] According to one embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising a method for causing an apparatus to execute a combination of Figures 4 to 7 , Fig. 8A , Figure 8B and Figure 8C The invention further comprises program instructions for implementing any one of the method embodiments described herein.

[0133] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the examples according to the accompanying drawings, it is clear that the present invention is not limited thereto but can be modified in various ways within the scope of the appended claims. Therefore, all words and expressions should be interpreted broadly and they are intended to illustrate rather than limit the embodiments. It is clear to those skilled in the art that, with the advancement of technology, the concepts of the present invention can be implemented in various ways. In addition, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the described embodiments can, but not necessarily, be combined with other embodiments in various ways.

Claims

1. A device, include: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: receiving a stream of OFDM symbols and associated cyclic prefixes generated by at least one OFDM modulator of a radio transmitter or transceiver, wherein the stream comprises a plurality of different digital basis configurations; Dividing the stream into a plurality of overlapping processing blocks of a first length, wherein at least one of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks includes a non-overlapping portion having a value corresponding to a segment of the stream, the dividing comprising: adjusting a length of the non-overlapping portion based at least on whether a cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment of the stream, and if a cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment, adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion based on a length of the cyclic prefix, thereby enabling symbol-synchronized continuous fast convolution processing, wherein adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion of the at least one of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks comprises: If the non-overlapping portion of the overlapping processing blocks includes a cyclic prefix having a length extended compared to a default length of a cyclic prefix defined for a digital base configuration of an OFDM symbol of the non-overlapping portion, calculating the length of the non-overlapping portion of the overlapping processing blocks using a first equation that depends on at least the first length and an OFDM processing sampling rate of the overlapping processing blocks; and otherwise calculating the length of the non-overlapping portion of the overlapped processing block using a second equation that depends on at least the first length, wherein the second equation is different from the first equation; filtering the plurality of overlapping processing blocks using a fast convolution process; and A plurality of filtered processing blocks are concatenated to form an output signal for transmission via at least one antenna of the radio transmitter or transceiver.

2. A device, include: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: receiving, via an antenna of a radio receiver or transceiver, a stream of orthogonal frequency division multiplexed symbols and associated cyclic prefixes, wherein the stream comprises a plurality of different digital basis configurations; Dividing the stream into a plurality of overlapping processing blocks of a first length, wherein at least one of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks includes a non-overlapping portion having a value corresponding to a segment of the stream, the dividing comprising: adjusting a length of the non-overlapping portion based at least on whether a cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment of the stream, and if a cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment, adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion based on a length of the cyclic prefix, thereby enabling symbol-synchronized continuous fast convolution processing, wherein adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion of the at least one of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks comprises: If the non-overlapping portion of the overlapping processing blocks includes a cyclic prefix having a length extended compared to a default length of a cyclic prefix defined for a digital base configuration of an OFDM symbol of the non-overlapping portion, calculating the length of the non-overlapping portion of the overlapping processing blocks using a first equation that depends on at least the first length and an OFDM processing sampling rate of the overlapping processing blocks; and otherwise calculating the length of the non-overlapping portion of the overlapped processing block using a second equation that depends on at least the first length, wherein the second equation is different from the first equation; filtering the plurality of overlapping processing blocks using a fast convolution process; and A plurality of filtered overlapping processing blocks are spliced ​​to form an output signal for feeding to at least one OFDM demodulator of the radio receiver or transceiver.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one overlapping processing block among the plurality of overlapping processing blocks further comprises: include: A first overlapping portion before the non-overlapping portion, and a second overlapping portion after the non-overlapping portion, the first overlapping portion has a value taken from a previous segment of the segment of the stream, or a zero value, and the second overlapping portion has a value taken from a subsequent segment of the segment of the stream, or a zero value.

4. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform, before the splicing and before, or after, or as part of the filtering: A phase of at least one overlapping processing block of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks is adjusted to provide phase continuity between adjacent filtered processing blocks.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the phase of the at least one overlapping processing block in the plurality of overlapping processing blocks is adjusted according to the following formula: where φ k is the phase rotation of the kth filtered overlap processing block, b 0 is the center interval of the subband or bandwidth portion, L k is the starting index of the kth non-overlapping portion to be included in the output signal, L is the first length, and k is a positive integer.

6. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the flow include: Multiple different digital basic configurations corresponding to Long Term Evolution, and / or 5G New Radio physical layer digital basic configurations, and / or other digital basic configurations in which all supported subcarrier spacings are aligned in time every half subframe.

7. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein at least one initial orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol of at least one half subframe in the stream is preceded by a cyclic prefix having a length extended compared to a default length of a cyclic prefix defined in a digital basic configuration for the initial orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbol.

8. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the first equation and the second equation are defined as as well as L S =(A+B)×2 β in and L S represents the length of the non-overlapping portion of the overlap processing block calculated using the first equation and the second equation respectively, and α is defined as α=mod(0.5×10 -3 s*f S , A+B), where f S is the OFDM process sampling rate in Hz, β is defined as β=L / (2B), where L is the first length, and A and B are unitless integer parameters with predetermined values.

9. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the dividing and / or the splicing is performed according to an overlap and save method, an overlap and add method, or a combination of the overlap and save method and the overlap and add method.

10. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein said filtering is performed on said plurality of overlapping processing blocks using said fast convolution process. include: At least applying an orthogonal transform, a transform plane window function, and an inverse transform of the orthogonal transform in sequence, wherein the orthogonal transform is one of the following: a fast Fourier transform, a discrete Fourier transform, a Hartley transform, and a number theoretic transform; or At least a first time window function, an orthogonal transform, a transform plane window function, an inverse transform of the orthogonal transform and a second time window function are applied in sequence, wherein the orthogonal transform is one of the following: a fast Fourier transform, a discrete Fourier transform, a Hartley transform and a number theoretic transform, and the first time window function, the transform plane window function and the second time window function have been optimized using simultaneous multi-window optimization of the first time window function, the transform plane window function and the second time window function.

11. A method, include: receiving a stream of OFDM symbols and associated cyclic prefixes generated by at least one OFDM modulator of a radio transmitter or transceiver, wherein the stream comprises a plurality of different digital basis configurations; Dividing the stream into a plurality of overlapping processing blocks of a first length, wherein at least one of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks includes a non-overlapping portion having a value corresponding to a segment of the stream, the dividing comprising: adjusting a length of the non-overlapping portion based at least on whether a cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment of the stream, and if a cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment, adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion based on a length of the cyclic prefix, thereby enabling symbol-synchronized continuous fast convolution processing, wherein adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion of the at least one of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks comprises: If the non-overlapping portion of the overlapping processing blocks includes a cyclic prefix having a length extended compared to a default length of a cyclic prefix defined for a digital base configuration of an OFDM symbol of the non-overlapping portion, calculating the length of the non-overlapping portion of the overlapping processing blocks using a first equation that depends on at least the first length and an OFDM processing sampling rate of the overlapping processing blocks; and otherwise calculating the length of the non-overlapping portion of the overlapped processing block using a second equation that depends on at least the first length, wherein the second equation is different from the first equation; filtering the plurality of overlapping processing blocks using a fast convolution process; and The filtered processing blocks are concatenated to form an output signal for transmission via at least one antenna of the radio transmitter or transceiver.

12. A computer program product comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving a stream of OFDM symbols and associated cyclic prefixes generated by at least one OFDM modulator of a radio transmitter or transceiver, wherein the stream comprises a plurality of different digital basis configurations; Dividing the stream into a plurality of overlapping processing blocks of a first length, wherein at least one of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks includes a non-overlapping portion having a value corresponding to a segment of the stream, the dividing comprising: adjusting a length of the non-overlapping portion based at least on whether a cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment of the stream, and if a cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment, adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion based on a length of the cyclic prefix, thereby enabling symbol-synchronized continuous fast convolution processing, wherein adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion of the at least one of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks comprises: If the non-overlapping portion of the overlapping processing blocks includes a cyclic prefix having a length extended compared to a default length of a cyclic prefix defined for a digital base configuration of an OFDM symbol of the non-overlapping portion, calculating the length of the non-overlapping portion of the overlapping processing blocks using a first equation that depends on at least the first length and an OFDM processing sampling rate of the overlapping processing blocks; and otherwise calculating the length of the non-overlapping portion of the overlapped processing block using a second equation that depends at least on the first length, wherein the second equation is different from the first equation; filtering the plurality of overlapping processing blocks using a fast convolution process; and The filtered processing blocks are concatenated to form an output signal for transmission via at least one antenna of the radio transmitter or transceiver.

13. A method, include: receiving, via an antenna of a radio receiver or transceiver, a stream of orthogonal frequency division multiplexed symbols and associated cyclic prefixes, wherein the stream comprises a plurality of different digital basis configurations; Dividing the stream into a plurality of overlapping processing blocks of a first length, wherein at least one of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks includes a non-overlapping portion having a value corresponding to a segment of the stream, the dividing comprising: adjusting a length of the non-overlapping portion based at least on whether a cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment of the stream, and if a cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment, adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion based on a length of the cyclic prefix, thereby enabling symbol-synchronized continuous fast convolution processing, wherein adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion of the at least one of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks comprises: If the non-overlapping portion of the overlapping processing blocks includes a cyclic prefix having a length extended compared to a default length of a cyclic prefix defined for a digital base configuration of an OFDM symbol of the non-overlapping portion, calculating the length of the non-overlapping portion of the overlapping processing blocks using a first equation that depends on at least the first length and an OFDM processing sampling rate of the overlapping processing blocks; and otherwise calculating the length of the non-overlapping portion of the overlapped processing block using a second equation that depends on at least the first length, wherein the second equation is different from the first equation; filtering the plurality of overlapping processing blocks using a fast convolution process; and A plurality of filtered overlapping processing blocks are spliced ​​to form an output signal for feeding to at least one OFDM demodulator of the radio receiver or transceiver.

14. A computer program product comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving, via an antenna of a radio receiver or transceiver, a stream of orthogonal frequency division multiplexed symbols and associated cyclic prefixes, wherein the stream comprises a plurality of different digital basis configurations; dividing the stream into a plurality of overlapping processing blocks of a first length, wherein at least one of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks comprises a non-overlapping portion having a value corresponding to a segment of the stream, the dividing include: adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion based at least on whether a cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment of the stream, and if a cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment, adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion based on the length of the cyclic prefix, thereby enabling symbol-synchronized continuous fast convolution processing, wherein adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion of the at least one overlapping processing block of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks comprises: If the non-overlapping portion of the overlapping processing blocks includes a cyclic prefix having a length extended compared to a default length of a cyclic prefix defined for a digital base configuration of an OFDM symbol of the non-overlapping portion, calculating the length of the non-overlapping portion of the overlapping processing blocks using a first equation that depends on at least the first length and an OFDM processing sampling rate of the overlapping processing blocks; and otherwise calculating the length of the non-overlapping portion of the overlapped processing block using a second equation that depends on at least the first length, wherein the second equation is different from the first equation; filtering the plurality of overlapping processing blocks using a fast convolution process; and A plurality of filtered overlapping processing blocks are spliced ​​to form an output signal for feeding to at least one OFDM demodulator of the radio receiver or transceiver.

15. A device, include: means for receiving a stream of OFDM symbols and associated cyclic prefixes produced by at least one OFDM modulator of a radio transmitter or transceiver, wherein the stream comprises a plurality of different digital basis configurations; Means for dividing the stream into a plurality of overlapping processing blocks of a first length, wherein at least one of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks includes a non-overlapping portion having a value corresponding to a segment of the stream, the dividing comprising: adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion based on at least whether a cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment of the stream, and if a cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment, adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion based on the length of the cyclic prefix, thereby enabling symbol-synchronized continuous fast convolution processing, wherein adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion of the at least one of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks comprises: If the non-overlapping portion of the overlapping processing blocks includes a cyclic prefix having a length extended compared to a default length of a cyclic prefix defined for a digital base configuration of an OFDM symbol of the non-overlapping portion, calculating the length of the non-overlapping portion of the overlapping processing blocks using a first equation that depends on at least the first length and an OFDM processing sampling rate of the overlapping processing blocks; and otherwise calculating the length of the non-overlapping portion of the overlapped processing block using a second equation that depends on at least the first length, wherein the second equation is different from the first equation; means for filtering the plurality of overlapping processing blocks using a fast convolution process; and Means for concatenating a plurality of filtered processing blocks to form an output signal for transmission via at least one antenna of said radio transmitter or transceiver.

16. A device, include: means for receiving, via an antenna of a radio receiver or transceiver, a stream of orthogonal frequency division multiplexed symbols and associated cyclic prefixes, wherein the stream comprises a plurality of different digital basis configurations; Means for dividing the stream into a plurality of overlapping processing blocks of a first length, wherein at least one of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks includes a non-overlapping portion having a value corresponding to a segment of the stream, the dividing comprising: adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion based on at least whether a cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment of the stream, and if a cyclic prefix is ​​included in the segment, adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion based on the length of the cyclic prefix, thereby enabling symbol-synchronized continuous fast convolution processing, wherein adjusting the length of the non-overlapping portion of the at least one of the plurality of overlapping processing blocks comprises: If the non-overlapping portion of the overlapping processing blocks includes a cyclic prefix having a length extended compared to a default length of a cyclic prefix defined for a digital base configuration of an OFDM symbol of the non-overlapping portion, calculating the length of the non-overlapping portion of the overlapping processing blocks using a first equation that depends on at least the first length and an OFDM processing sampling rate of the overlapping processing blocks; and otherwise calculating the length of the non-overlapping portion of the overlapped processing block using a second equation that depends on at least the first length, wherein the second equation is different from the first equation; means for filtering the plurality of overlapping processing blocks using a fast convolution process; and Means for splicing a plurality of filtered overlapping processing blocks to form an output signal for feeding to at least one OFDM demodulator of said radio receiver or transceiver.

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