Saving power for user equipment through sidelink scheduling offloading

Abstract

A user equipment (UE) is configured to transmit a scheduling request (SR) to a second UE, the SR causing the second UE to determine a set of sidelink transmission resources for use by the UE. The UE may then receive information about the determined set of sidelink transmission resources from the second UE and then transmit sidelink communications using at least a subset of the determined set of sidelink transmission resources. The determined set of sidelink transmission resources may be recommended resources as well as reserved resources or non-reserved resources. The UE may transmit configuration information about the transmission resources to be used when transmitting the SR to the second UE. The second UE may monitor the channel for arrival of the resources. The SR may be encoded as a cyclic shift of the SR corresponding to an ACK sequence only, an ACK / NACK sequence, or a specific sequence of the SR based on a configuration index.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to wireless devices, and more particularly to apparatus, systems, and methods for scheduling and allocating sidelink resources for wireless devices with varying power capabilities in order to reduce latency and power consumption and enhance reliability. Background Art

[0002] The use of wireless communication systems is rapidly growing. One proposed use of wireless communication is in vehicular applications, particularly in V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) systems. V2X systems allow for communication between vehicles (e.g., via communication devices housed in or otherwise carried by the vehicle), pedestrian UEs (including UEs carried by other persons such as cyclists), and other wireless communication devices for various purposes, such as coordinating traffic movements, facilitating autonomous driving, and performing collision avoidance.

[0003] The increased communication requirements of some V2X systems may strain the power and resource capabilities of portable, battery-powered UE devices. Furthermore, some UEs are more power-constrained than others, and host communications with the UE may suffer from reduced battery life, increased latency, and communication degradation. Therefore, improvements in this area are desirable. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Presented herein are embodiments of apparatuses, systems, and methods for a wireless device to offload scheduling and allocation of sidelink resources to another higher-power wireless device in order to reduce latency and power consumption and enhance reliability.

[0005] Some embodiments relate to a user equipment (UE) comprising at least one antenna, a radio component operably coupled to the at least one antenna, and a processor operably coupled to the radio component. The UE (first UE) may be configured to transmit a scheduling request to a second UE, the scheduling request causing the second UE to determine a set of sidelink transmission resources for use by the first UE. In other words, the first UE may offload the task of determining its available sidelink resources to the second UE, which may have a higher power capability than the first UE. In response to this scheduling request, the second UE may determine a set of sidelink resources available to the first UE, for example by sensing traffic on the sidelink channel. The second UE may then provide these determined sidelink resources to the first UE. In some aspects, the second UE may monitor the channel for the arrival of the resources. Thus, the first UE may receive information about the determined set of sidelink transmission resources from the second UE, where the set of sidelink resources is determined by the second UE based on the transmitted scheduling request. Finally, the first UE may then transmit sidelink communications using at least a subset of the determined set of sidelink transmission resources indicated by the second UE.

[0006] In some aspects, the determined set of sidelink transmission resources may be recommended resources (non-reserved) resources. Conversely, in other aspects, the determined set of sidelink transmission resources may be reserved by the second UE for use by the first UE.

[0007] In addition, one or both of the first UE and the second UE may be further configured to exchange configuration information with the other, wherein the configuration information configures transmission resources used when transmitting the scheduling request.

[0008] The sidelink scheduling request (S-SR) may be encoded as a cyclic shift of the S-SR corresponding to an ACK-only sequence or an ACK / NACK sequence. In some embodiments, the scheduling request may be encoded as a configuration index indicating a specific sequence of the S-SR.

[0009] Some embodiments may involve a user equipment (UE) device having at least one antenna, a radio, and a processing element coupled to the radio for performing wireless communications. The UE may perform at least some of the methods described herein.

[0010] Some embodiments relate to a baseband processor having processing circuitry configured to perform at least some or all of the above operations.

[0011] This summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the subject matter described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above-described features are merely examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following detailed description, accompanying drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] A better understanding of the present subject matter may be obtained when the following detailed description of various embodiments is considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0013] Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication system according to some embodiments;

[0014] Figure 2 shows a base station in communication with a user equipment (UE) device according to some embodiments;

[0015] Figure 3 is an exemplary block diagram of a UE according to some embodiments;

[0016] Figure 4 is an exemplary block diagram of a base station according to some embodiments;

[0017] Figure 5 shows an example of a vehicle-to-everything network according to some embodiments;

[0018] Figure 6 An exemplary procedure for data transmission from a UE according to some embodiments is shown;

[0019] Figure 7 An exemplary procedure for primary UE data transmission according to some embodiments is shown;

[0020] Figure 8 shows an exemplary structure of a sidelink scheduling request (S-SR) signal according to some embodiments;

[0021] Figure 9 shows frequency and code resources for a sidelink scheduling request (S-SR) signal according to some embodiments;

[0022] Figure 10 An example is shown in which a master UE provides recommended resources to a slave UE instead of reserving resources according to some embodiments;

[0023] Figure 11 An example is shown in which a master UE provides recommended resources and reserved resources for a slave UE according to some embodiments;

[0024] While the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to limit this disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] the term

[0026] Various acronyms are used throughout this disclosure. The definitions of the most prominent acronyms used that may appear throughout this disclosure are as follows:

[0027] UE: User Equipment

[0028] RF: Radio Frequency

[0029] BS: Base Station

[0030] GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications

[0031] UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

[0032] LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0033] NR: New Radio

[0034] NR-U: NR unlicensed

[0035] TX: Transmit

[0036] RX: Receive

[0037] RAT: Radio Access Technology

[0038] TRP: Transmission Reception Point

[0039] DCI: Downlink Control Information

[0040] V2X: Vehicle to Everything

[0041] PSCCH: Physical Sidelink Control Channel

[0042] PSSCH: Physical side link shared channel

[0043] PUCCH: Physical Uplink Control Channel

[0044] S-SR: Sidelink Scheduling Request

[0045] PUE: Pedestrian User Equipment

[0046] VUE: Vehicle User Equipment

[0047] SL: Sidelink

[0048] MCS: Modulation and Coding Scheme

[0049] DMRS: Demodulation Reference Signal

[0050] RORO: Resource Occupancy

[0051] RSU: Roadside Unit

[0052] SPS: Semi-persistent scheduling

[0053] QoS: Quality of Service

[0054] The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

[0055] Storage media—Any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include installation media, such as CD-ROMs, floppy disks, or tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media, for example, hard drives or optical storage devices; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may also include other types of non-transitory memory or a combination thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in the first computer system that executes the program, or may be located in a different second computer system that is connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term "memory medium" may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations in different computer systems connected, for example, via a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., expressed as a computer program) that may be executed by one or more processors.

[0056] Programmable hardware components — Includes various hardware devices that include multiple programmable function blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), PLDs (programmable logic devices), FPOAs (field programmable object arrays), and CPLDs (complex PLDs). Programmable function blocks can vary from fine-grained (combinatorial logic elements or lookup tables) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "configurable logic elements."

[0057] Computer system Any of various types of computing or processing systems, including personal computer systems (PCs), mainframe computer systems, workstations, network appliances, Internet appliances, personal digital assistants (PDAs), television systems, grid computing systems, or other devices or combinations of devices. In general, the term "computer system" can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0058] User Equipment —As used herein, the term “mobile” may generally refer in the context of a V2X system to devices associated with movable participants or traffic participants in the V2X system, i.e., movable (capable of moving) communication devices such as vehicles and pedestrian user equipment (PUE) devices, rather than infrastructure equipment such as base stations, roadside units (RSUs), and servers.

[0059] Infrastructure equipmentAs used herein, the term "infrastructure equipment" generally refers to certain devices in a V2X system that are not user equipment (UE) and are not carried by traffic participants (i.e., pedestrians, vehicles, or other mobile users) but facilitate UE participation in the V2X network. Infrastructure equipment includes base stations and roadside units (RSUs).

[0060] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE device") Any of various types of computer system devices that are mobile or portable and perform wireless communication. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone TM , based on Android TM phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM PlayStation Portable TM 、Gameboy Advance TM , iPhone TM ), laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices or other handheld devices, etc. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to cover any electronic device, computing device and / or telecommunication device (or combination of devices) that can be easily transported by a user and capable of wireless communication.

[0061] Pedestrian User Equipment (PUE) User Equipment (UE) devices, which can be worn or carried by various persons, including not only pedestrians who are strictly speaking walking near roads, but also certain other peripheral or secondary participants or potential participants in the traffic environment. These include stationary persons, persons who are not in vehicles and may not necessarily be near traffic or roads, persons who are jogging, running, skating, etc., or persons in vehicles (such as bicycles, scooters, or certain motor vehicles) that may not substantially support the power capabilities of UEs. Examples of pedestrian UEs include smartphones, wearable UEs, PDAs, etc.

[0062] base station - The term "base station" has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0063] Processing elements "Processing elements" refer to various elements or combinations of elements. A processing element includes, for example, circuits such as ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits), portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, individual processors, programmable hardware devices such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and / or a larger portion of a system including multiple processors.

[0064] Channel —A medium used to transmit information from a sender (transmitter) to a receiver. It should be noted that since the characteristics of the term "channel" may vary according to different wireless protocols, the term "channel" as used in the present invention may be considered to be used in a manner that is consistent with the standard of the type of device to which the term is used. In some standards, the channel width may be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, frequency band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths of 1.4MHz to 20MHz. In contrast, a WLAN channel may be 22MHz wide, while a Bluetooth channel may be 1Mhz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. In addition, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, such as different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different purposes such as data, control information, etc.

[0065] Figure 1 -V2X communication system

[0066] Figure 1 An exemplary vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication system is shown in accordance with some embodiments. Note that Figure 1 The system is only one example of a possible system, and features of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of systems as desired.

[0067] A vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication system can be characterized as a network in which vehicles, UEs, and / or other devices and network entities exchange communications to coordinate traffic activities and other possible purposes. V2X communications include communications transmitted between vehicles (e.g., wireless devices or communication devices that form part of, are contained in, or are otherwise carried by a vehicle) and various other devices. V2X communications include vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communications, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications, vehicle-to-network (V2N) communications, and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, as well as communications between vehicles and other possible network entities or devices. V2X communications can also refer to communications between other non-vehicle devices participating in the V2X network to share V2X-related information.

[0068] V2X communications may, for example, follow the 3GPP Cellular V2X (C-V2X) specification, or one or more other or subsequent standards, whereby vehicles and other devices and network entities may communicate. V2X communications may utilize both long-range (e.g., cellular) communications and short- to medium-range (e.g., non-cellular) communications. V2X communications with cellular capabilities may be referred to as cellular V2X (C-V2X) communications. C-V2X systems may use various cellular radio access technologies (RATs), such as 4G LTE or 5G NRRAT. Certain LTE standards that may be used in V2X systems may be referred to as LTE-Vehicle (LTE-V) standards.

[0069] As shown, the exemplary V2X system includes multiple user devices. As used herein in the context of a V2X system, and as defined above, the term "user device" may generally refer to devices associated with mobile participants or traffic participants in the V2X system, i.e., movable (mobile) communication devices such as vehicles and pedestrian user equipment (PUE) devices. User devices in the exemplary V2X system include PUEs 104A and 104B and vehicles 106A and 106B.

[0070] The vehicle 106 may constitute various types of vehicles. For example, the vehicle 106A may be a road vehicle or automobile, a public transportation vehicle, or another type of vehicle. The vehicle 106 may perform wireless communications in various ways. For example, the vehicle 106A may include a communications device that is part of or housed in the vehicle, or may perform communications via wireless communications devices currently contained within or otherwise carried by the vehicle, such as user equipment (UE) devices (e.g., smartphones or similar devices) carried or worn by the driver, passengers, or other persons on the vehicle, among other possibilities. For simplicity, the term "vehicle," as used herein, may include wireless communications equipment that represents the vehicle and performs its communications. Thus, for example, when the vehicle 106A is referred to as performing wireless communications, it should be understood that, more specifically, certain wireless communications equipment associated with and carried by the vehicle 106A is performing wireless communications.

[0071] Pedestrian UEs (PUEs) 104 may constitute various types of user equipment (UE) devices, i.e., portable devices capable of wireless communication, such as smartphones, smartwatches, etc., and may be associated with various types of users. Thus, PUEs 104 are UEs and may be referred to as UEs or UE devices. Note that while UEs 104 may be referred to as PUEs (pedestrian UEs), they may not necessarily be carried by people actively walking near roads or streets. PUEs may refer to UEs participating in a V2X system that are carried by a stationary person, by a person walking or running, or by a person in a vehicle that may not substantially support the power capabilities of the device, such as a bicycle, scooter, or certain motor vehicles. Note also that not necessarily all UEs participating in a V2X system are PUEs.

[0072] The user equipment is capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-V, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000, 5G NR, etc.), the UE 104A can be configured to communicate using wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.). If desired, the UE 104A can also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS, such as GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H or DVB-H), and / or any other wireless communication protocols. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0073] As shown in the figure, some user devices may be able to communicate directly with each other, that is, without intermediate infrastructure equipment such as base station 102A or RSU 110A. As shown in the figure, vehicle 106A can directly conduct V2X-related communications with vehicle 106B. Similarly, vehicle 106B can directly conduct V2X-related communications with PUE 104B. In the case of some LTE and / or 5G NR implementations, such peer-to-peer communications can utilize a "sidelink" interface such as the PC5 interface. In some implementations, the PC5 interface supports direct cellular communication between user devices (e.g., between vehicles 106), while the Uu interface supports cellular communication with infrastructure equipment such as base stations. The PC5 / Uu interface is used only as an example, and as used herein, PC5 can represent various other possible wireless communication technologies that allow direct sidelink communication between user devices, while Uu can represent cellular communication between user devices and infrastructure equipment such as base stations. Some user devices in the V2X system (e.g., PUE 104A) may not be able to perform sidelink communication, for example, because they lack certain hardware required to perform such communication.

[0074] As shown, the exemplary V2X system includes multiple infrastructure devices in addition to the aforementioned user devices. As used herein, "infrastructure devices" in the context of a V2X system refer to certain devices in the V2X system that are not user devices and are not carried by traffic participants (i.e., pedestrians, vehicles, or other mobile users), but that facilitate user devices' participation in the V2X network. The infrastructure devices in the exemplary V2X system include a base station 102A and a roadside unit (RSU) 110A.

[0075] Base station (BS) 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site ("cellular base station") and may include hardware capable of wirelessly communicating with user equipment (eg, with user equipment 104A and 106A).

[0076] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a "cell" or "coverage area". The base station 102A and user equipment such as PUE 104A may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs), also known as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS, LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), LTE-Vehicle (LTE-V), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000, 5G NR, etc. It should be noted that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternatively be referred to as an "eNodeB" or eNB, and if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or gNB.

[0077] As shown, base station 102A may also be configured to communicate with network 100 (e.g., a V2X network, as well as a cellular service provider's core network, a telecommunications network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, among other possibilities). Thus, base station 102A may facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. Cellular base station 102A may provide user devices such as UE 104A with various communication capabilities, such as voice, SMS, and / or data services. Specifically, base station 102A may provide connected user devices, such as UE 104A and vehicle 106A, with access to the V2X network.

[0078] Thus, while base station 102A may serve as a "serving cell" for user equipment 104A and 106A, Figure 1102A. The user devices shown, i.e., user devices 104A, 104B, 106A, and 106B, may also be able to receive signals from (and may be within communication range of) one or more other cells (which may be provided by base stations 102B-N and / or any other base stations), such cells may be referred to as "neighboring cells." Such cells may also be able to facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. Such cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pico" cells, and / or cells of any other variety of granularity of service area size. For example, in Figure 1 The base stations 102A-102B shown in FIG may be macro cells, while the base station 102N may be a micro cell. Of course, other configurations are possible.

[0079] A roadside unit (RSU) 110A constitutes another infrastructure device that may be used to provide certain user devices with access to the V2X network. The RSU 110A may be one of various types of devices, such as a base station, e.g., a transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site ("cell base station"), or another type of device that includes hardware capable of wirelessly communicating with user devices and facilitating their participation in the V2X network.

[0080] The RSU 110A may be configured to communicate using one or more wireless networking communication protocols (e.g., Wi-Fi), cellular communication protocols (e.g., LTE, LTE-V, 5G NR, etc.), and / or other wireless communication protocols. In some embodiments, the RSU 110A may be capable of communicating with devices using a "sidelink" technology such as PC5.

[0081] The RSU 110A may communicate directly with user devices, such as vehicles 106A and 106B, as shown. The RSU 110A may also communicate with the base station 102A. In some cases, the RSU 110A may provide certain user devices (e.g., vehicle 106B) with access to the base station 102A. Although the RSU 110A is shown as communicating with the vehicle 106, it may also (or otherwise) be able to communicate with the PUE 104. Similarly, the RSU 110A may not necessarily forward user device communications to the base station 102A. In some embodiments, the RSU 110A may constitute the base station itself and / or may forward communications to the server 120.

[0082] As shown, server 120 constitutes a network entity of the V2X system and may be referred to as a cloud server. Base station 102A and / or RSU 110A may relay certain V2X-related communications between user devices 104 and 106 and server 120. Server 120 may be configured to process certain information collected from multiple user devices and may manage V2X communications to the user devices to coordinate traffic activities. In various other embodiments of the V2X system, various functions of cloud server 120 may be performed by infrastructure equipment such as base station 102A or RSU 110A, by one or more user devices, or / and not at all.

[0083] Figure 2 – Communication between UE and base station

[0084] Figure 2 102 (e.g., Figure 1 A user equipment (UE) device 104 (e.g., a base station 102A in FIG. Figure 1 UE 104 may be a device with cellular communication capabilities, such as a mobile phone, handheld device, computer or tablet computer, or virtually any type of portable wireless device.

[0085] The UE 104 may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. The UE 104 may perform any of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, the UE 104 may include a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) configured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein or any portion of any of the method embodiments described herein.

[0086] UE 104 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, UE 104 may be configured to communicate using, for example, CDMA2000 (1xRTT / 1xEV-DO / HRPD / eHRPD), LTE, and / or 5G NR using a single shared radio, and / or 5G NR or LTE using a single shared radio. The shared radio may be coupled to a single antenna, or may be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communications. Typically, the radio may include any combination of a baseband processor, analog radio frequency (RF) signal processing circuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.), or digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio may implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains using the aforementioned hardware. For example, UE 104 may share one or more portions of a receive chain and / or transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0087] In some embodiments, the UE 104 may include a separate transmit chain and / or receive chain (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol with which it is configured to communicate. As another possibility, the UE 104 may include one or more radio components shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radio components used uniquely by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, the UE 104 may include a shared radio component for communicating using any of 5G NR, LTE, and / or 1xRTT (or LTE or GSM), and a separate radio component for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

[0088] Figure 3 —UE block diagram

[0089] Figure 3An exemplary block diagram of a UE 104 according to some embodiments is shown. As shown, the UE 104 may include a system on a chip (SOC) 300, which may include components for various purposes. For example, as shown, the SOC 300 may include a processor 302 that may execute program instructions for the UE 104, and a display circuit 304 that may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to a display 360. One or more processors 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340 (which may be configured to receive addresses from the one or more processors 302 and convert those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310)), and / or to other circuits or devices (such as the display circuit 304, wireless communication circuitry 330, connector I / F 320, and / or display 360). The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the processor 302.

[0090] As shown, SOC 300 may be coupled to various other circuits of UE 104. For example, UE 104 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), a connector interface 320 (e.g., for coupling to a computer system, a docking station, a charging station, etc.), a display 360, and wireless communication circuitry 330 (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, LTE-V, 5GNR, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, etc.). The UE may also include at least one SIM device, and may include two SIM devices, each providing a respective International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and associated functionality.

[0091] As shown, the UE device 104 may include at least one antenna (and, in various possibilities, multiple antennas, e.g., for MIMO and / or for implementing different wireless communication technologies) for performing wireless communications with base stations, access points, and / or other devices. For example, the UE device 104 may use antenna 335 to perform wireless communications.

[0092] The UE 104 may also include and / or be configured for use with one or more user interface elements. The user interface elements may include various elements such as a display 360 (which may be a touch screen display), a keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or may be implemented as part of the touch screen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or speakers, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of a variety of other elements capable of providing information to a user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0093] As described herein, the UE 104 may include hardware components and software components for implementing features such as those described herein for performing more efficient vehicle-related communications. The processor 302 of the UE device 104 may be configured to implement part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). In other embodiments, the processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 300, 304, 306, 310, 320, 330, 335, 340, 350, 360, the processor 302 of the UE device 104 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein, such as the features described herein.

[0094] Figure 4 -Base station block diagram

[0095] Figure 4 A base station 102 (e.g., Figure 1 102A). Figure 4 The base station 102 is only one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include a processor 404 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 or other circuit or device that may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 404 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450).

[0096] The base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. The network port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to the telephone network for a plurality of devices, such as the UE device 104.

[0097] The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, such as a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as the UE device 104. In some cases, the network port 470 may couple to a telephony network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide a telephony network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0098] In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next-generation base station, such as a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or "gNB." In such embodiments, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) network. Furthermore, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). Furthermore, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may connect to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0099] Base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas. The at least one antenna 434 may be configured to function as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with UE device 104 via radio 430. Antenna 434 communicates with radio 430 via communication chain 432. Communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both. Radio 430 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to LTE, LTE-A, LTE-V, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, 5G NR, Wi-Fi, and the like.

[0100] Base station 102 may be configured to communicate wirelessly using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, base station 102 may include multiple radios that enable base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, base station 102 may include an LTE radio component for communicating according to LTE and a 5G NR radio component for communicating according to 5G NR. In this case, base station 102 may be capable of operating as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another example, base station 102 may include a 5G NR radio component for communicating according to 5G NR and a Wi-Fi radio component for communicating according to Wi-Fi. In such a case, base station 102 may be capable of operating as both a 5G NR base station and a Wi-Fi access point. As another possibility, base station 102 may include a multimode radio component capable of communicating according to any of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0101] As further described later herein, BS 102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting a specific implementation of the features described herein. The processor 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support a specific implementation of part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit), or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, and 470, the processor 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support a specific implementation of part or all of the features described herein.

[0102] Figure 5 -Sidelink resource management

[0103] As shown above, some user equipment (or UE devices) may be able to communicate directly with each other, i.e., without intervening infrastructure equipment such as base station 102A or RSU 110A. Such direct communication between two wireless devices (such as between two vehicles or between a vehicle UE and a pedestrian UE) is referred to as sidelink communication. In other words, two UE devices performing peer-to-peer (direct) communication with each other may each utilize a "sidelink" interface and may be said to be communicating on a sidelink channel.

[0104] In some existing implementations, a listen-before-talk (LBT) mechanism can be used to access a shared medium (e.g., an unlicensed band such as that commonly used for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other short- to medium-range communications (e.g., non-3GGP access)) during sidelink communications to avoid conflicts (e.g., transmissions from two or more wireless devices attempting to access the shared medium) and improve medium utilization efficiency. However, the LBT mechanism is not collision-free. In other words, the LBT mechanism cannot guarantee conflict-free transmissions.

[0105] For example, in the case of unicast transmissions, a transmitter can easily detect transmission collisions based on receiver acknowledgement / negative acknowledgement (ACK / NACK) feedback. However, in the case of multicast (or groupcast) transmissions, a transmitter may not easily detect collisions based on receiver ACK / NACKs. This is due, at least in part, to the heavy traffic associated with ACK / NACKs from multiple receivers and the transmitter's inability to distinguish (or isolate) transmission collisions from channel quality issues based on received ACK / NACKs. In other words, because receivers in a multicast transmission may be located in different locations with different channel qualities, the transmitter cannot determine the cause of a NACK (e.g., transmission collision vs. poor channel quality). Furthermore, in the case of broadcast transmissions, known feedback from receivers is not feasible, and therefore, in such scenarios, the transmitter is unaware of collisions. Furthermore, in some implementations, the transmitter may reserve periodic time slots for communication within a reserved period. In such implementations, if a collision occurs, the collision may persist for at least a portion of the reserved period (and, in the worst case, the duration of the reserved period) if the transmitter does not detect (or is unable to detect) the collision.

[0106] As an example, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication network (e.g., as specified in 3GPP TS 22.185 V 14.3.0) allows a vehicle (e.g., a mobile unit within a vehicle, such as a wireless device contained or currently contained within the vehicle and / or another transmitter contained or included in the vehicle) to communicate with various wireless devices. Figure 5 As shown, a vehicle, such as vehicle 502a, can communicate with various devices (e.g., devices 502b-502f), such as roadside units (RSUs), infrastructure (V2I), networks (V2N), pedestrians (V2P), and / or other vehicles (V2V). Furthermore, as shown, various devices within the V2X framework can communicate with other devices. V2X communications can utilize long-range (e.g., cellular) communications as well as short- to medium-range communications (e.g., non-cellular). In some contemplated implementations, non-cellular communications can utilize unlicensed frequency bands as well as the dedicated 5.9 GHz spectrum. Furthermore, V2X communications can include unicast, multicast, groupcast, and / or broadcast communications. Each type of communication can utilize LBT mechanisms. Furthermore, according to the V2X communication protocol, a transmitter can reserve periodic time slots within a reserved period. Therefore, as described above, in various circumstances, in some cases, a transmitter utilizing V2X communications may be unable to detect a collision after utilizing the LBT mechanism.

[0107] To help prevent collisions on shared sidelink channels, various UEs in a network (e.g., a V2X network) may perform sidelink resource management for both network-assisted and autonomous (e.g., non-network-assisted) resource management. In other words, various UE devices may operate to determine or schedule the use of sidelink resources for transmissions to other UEs. In some embodiments, a UE (such as UE 106) may initiate semi-persistent sidelink scheduling for resources. The UE may periodically broadcast a resource occupation message (RO message). The RO message may include the resource blocks (RBs) and / or subframes to be used (scheduled), the periodicity of resource occupation (e.g., reservation), and / or the remaining time for resource occupation (e.g., reservation). In addition, in some embodiments, a maximum allowed channel occupation time (T_max_COT) may be defined. In such embodiments, the initial remaining time for resource occupation may not exceed the maximum allowed channel occupation time. In other words, resource occupation may only last for a time less than the maximum allowed channel occupation time.

[0108] In some embodiments, when a UE enters a new system (e.g., a new group of UEs and / or a new location), the UE may sense (listen) the channel to collect existing UE RO messages to determine available resources in the new system. In other words, before transmitting an RO message when entering a new group of UEs / area (e.g., a group of UEs in close proximity to sidelink communications), the UE may determine available resources by receiving RO messages from neighboring UEs. In some embodiments, when resource occupancy expires, the UE may determine available resources by receiving RO messages from neighboring UEs before transmitting a new RO message.

[0109] Power savings for user equipment through sidelink scheduling requests and resource allocation

[0110] In some existing implementations, 5G NR V2X may include various scheduling modes. For example, 5G NR V2X Mode 2 may be designed for UE self-determination of sidelink transmission resources. 5G NR V2X Mode 2 includes various sub-modes, including:

[0111] Mode 2(a), where the user equipment device (UE) autonomously selects sidelink resources for transmission;

[0112] Mode 2(b), where UEs assist other UEs in sidelink resource selection;

[0113] Mode 2(c), where the UE is configured with an NR configured grant (e.g., a network-defined semi-persistent grant) for sidelink transmission; and

[0114] Mode 2(d), where a UE schedules sidelink transmissions of other UEs.

[0115] Additionally, due to the periodic nature of V2X messaging, existing V2X implementations may support semi-persistent scheduling (SPS), such as configuration grants. For example, semi-persistent resources in SPS may represent timely repeating resources across a set of discontinuous subframes with a specific repetition periodicity. Semi-persistent resources may be scheduled across a set of discontinuous subframes with a subframe repetition period. Furthermore, existing SPS implementations (e.g., LTE V2X) and their corresponding resource allocation designs are optimized for broadcast services. However, 5G NR V2X Mode 2 additionally supports both unicast and multicast services. Therefore, there is a strong need for enhanced methods that facilitate semi-persistent resource allocation for both unicast and multicast services in 5G NR V2X Mode 2.

[0116] In NR V2X Release 16, both Mode 1 and Mode 2 resource allocation schemes may be supported. The Mode 2 resource allocation scheme may involve the transmitting UE selecting sidelink transmission resources based on its own sensing and resource selection procedures. In the Rel-17 sidelink enhancement, the goal is to specify resource allocation by introducing the principles of Rel-14 LTE sidelink random resource selection and partial sensing to Rel-16 NR sidelink resource allocation Mode 2.

[0117] As described above, when using Mode 2, some UEs may need to periodically perform sensing operations on the sidelink channel at a relatively high frequency in order to identify and utilize potential resources of other UEs for sidelink communication. Such active sensing can consume device resources, such as power, at a relatively high rate. However, options that reduce sensing operations to a partial sensing state (such as where the UE only monitors a subset of the subframes it is receiving) still consume energy. Furthermore, options that do not perform sensing (e.g., random resource selection) may have a high probability of resource conflicts.

[0118] This potentially high resource usage and potentially high power consumption rates may significantly impact certain devices participating in a V2X system. This high resource usage may be less of a concern for infrastructure equipment such as base stations and roadside units (RSUs), which may have a wide range of resources and power capabilities, e.g., which are not battery powered. Likewise, it may be less of a concern for certain vehicle equipment, which may also utilize a wide range of power capabilities. However, the potential high power consumption involved in sensing sidelink channels for available sidelink resources and other V2X communications may overburden certain handheld or portable battery-powered devices (i.e., certain user equipment (UE) devices) participating in a V2X network. As discussed above, a UE in a V2X system may be a UE carried or worn by a pedestrian or other person, where the term pedestrian UE (PUE) includes a UE carried by a person who may be stationary, walking, running, cycling, etc.

[0119] Therefore, for V2X systems involving UEs (which are typically resource-constrained (battery-powered and therefore power-constrained), especially PUEs), improved power conservation and communication techniques may be needed. This is especially true for more power-constrained devices such as wearable UEs, e.g., smartwatches or smartglasses.

[0120] In some embodiments, a first UE (referred to as a "slave UE") may request that the task of determining available sidelink resources be offloaded to a second UE (referred to as a "master UE"). The request made by the first UE may be in the form of a scheduling request. In other words, the first UE may be power-constrained and seek to reduce power consumption by offloading some communication or sensing responsibilities to the less power-constrained master UE. To offload this responsibility, the first UE transmits a sidelink scheduling request to the master UE. More specifically, establishing the sidelink scheduling request allows inter-UE coordination between the master and slave UEs, enabling the master UE to communicate with and instruct the first UE regarding resource allocation and sensing protocols. An example of inter-UE coordination may be the master UE (UE-B) determining a set of resources. This set of resources is then sent to the first UE (UE-A) (operating in Mode 2), and UE-A then considers this received set of resources in resource selection for its own transmissions. The effect of this inter-UE coordination is intended to result in reduced power consumption and latency for the first UE, in addition to enhanced reliability through shared or directed responsibilities related to resource allocation and sensing.

[0121] In some embodiments, the slave UE may be power-constrained and attempt to connect to the master UE in order to receive scheduling information, i.e., offload the task of determining its scheduling information. The master UE may have more available power than the slave UE and may therefore provide scheduling information to the slave UE to reduce the power utilization of the slave UE. As an example, the master UE may not be power-constrained, for example, the master UE may be a vehicle UE or an RSU. Alternatively, the master UE may also be power-constrained, but may have a more relaxed power constraint. For example, the slave UE may be a wearable device such as a smartwatch, and the master UE may be a smartphone. In addition, the master-slave relationship previously described should not be limited to the above examples with reference to a wearable device slave UE (such as a smartwatch) and a smartphone master UE or a smartphone slave UE and a master VUE. In addition, the connection between the slave UE and the master UE does not have to be one-to-one. In some aspects, multiple slave UEs may be connected to a single master UE, and in other embodiments, multiple master UEs may be connected to a single slave UE.

[0122] Figure 6 -Data transmission from UE

[0123] Figure 6 An exemplary procedure for data transmission from a UE according to some embodiments is shown.

[0124] First, in step 602, the slave UE may transmit sidelink scheduling configuration information to the master UE to configure the master / slave communication between them. For example, the sidelink scheduling configuration information may be included in the sidelink control information (SCI) and may describe in detail the resource block assignment, modulation and coding scheme, group destination ID (for sidelink communication), and ProSe per-packet priority (PPP, for V2X sidelink communication). In addition, the configuration of the sidelink scheduling request (S-SR) may involve a pair of UEs needing to configure specific S-SR resources, i.e., resources for future transmission of scheduling requests (offloading requests), which may include time resources, frequency resources, or coding information.

[0125] The S-SR resource configuration may also include information related to the time slot offset value to be configured, the periodicity of the S-SR, the QoS, the specific PRB of the S-SR, or the cyclic shift of the S-SR sequence. In addition, the configuration of the S-SR between a pair of UEs may also include sidelink data transmission parameters such as the recommended resource size (e.g., the number of subchannels), the number of blind retransmissions, the data QoS, the MCS table, the DMRS port, the power control parameters (e.g., the nominal power (P o,SL ) or SL path loss scaling factor (α SL )).

[0126] In step 604, the slave UE may enter a reduced sensing mode (i.e., sleep mode) and, therefore, may not perform full sensing as it normally would. In the case of partial sensing, the slave UE may monitor only a subset of available subframes. The slave UE may enter a reduced power mode to reduce power consumption and extend battery life. As briefly discussed above, the slave UE may be power-constrained and, as further described below, may seek to reduce power consumption by offloading communication or sensing responsibilities to a less power-constrained master UE.

[0127] Next, the slave UE may accumulate sidelink data (e.g., from a VUE, PUE, or other UE) that should be redirected to the master UE or other UEs in step 606. This sidelink data may include information about different UEs in the network, such as movement information (e.g., speed, acceleration, and / or braking status), positioning or location information (e.g., latitude and longitude, altitude, etc.), and other details.

[0128] In step 608, the slave UE may transmit a sidelink scheduling request (S-SR) to the master UE to transmit sidelink data. More specifically, the slave UE may transmit the sidelink scheduling request to offload the task of determining scheduling resources that can be used by the slave UE to another device (e.g., the master device). Therefore, the sidelink scheduling request (S-SR) may also be referred to as an offload request, or may be more appropriately characterized as a "sidelink resource determination offload request."

[0129] like Figure 7 As discussed in

[15] , in response to receiving an S-SR from a slave UE, the master UE can determine a set of sidelink transmission resources for use by the second UE on the sidelink channel. The set of sidelink transmission resources can be a set of time, frequency, and / or code corresponding to a time slot or physical resource block (PRB). Using this determined resource information, the master UE can communicate to the slave UE which resources it has recommended and whether to reserve these resources.

[0130] Furthermore, after the slave UE sends an S-SR to the master UE, the slave UE may monitor the channel to receive recommended resources from the master UE. This monitoring window may be pre-configured, per resource pool, or configured by PC5-RRC. Furthermore, the monitoring window size may depend on the S-SR periodicity, and in some embodiments, the monitoring window may be equal to the S-SR periodicity. Furthermore, if the slave UE does not receive a transmission regarding recommended resources from the master UE after the monitoring window, the slave UE may send another S-SR.

[0131] In step 610, the slave UE receives recommended resources from the master UE. The recommended resources received by the slave UE are a response to the scheduling request sent in 608. The master UE may use the SCI phase 2 format to indicate the source ID and destination ID of the recommended resources, including the number of recommended resources, the time gap between the current time slot and the first recommended time slot, and the subchannel index and subchannel number of the first recommended time slot. Using this information, the slave UE is able to more efficiently communicate with the master UE or other UEs regarding the sidelink data it is attempting to send to the master UE or other UEs. In addition, the master UE's recommendation may have taken into account the possibility of transmission / reception symbol collisions and the recommended resources to avoid the collisions. This results in more efficient communication between the master UE and the slave UE. Importantly, the slave UE is able to receive and use these recommended resources without having to expend its own power or resources to sense / determine these available resources.

[0132] In addition, further selection among the recommended resources is also possible. For example, the slave UE may directly use all the resources recommended by the master UE. In other aspects, the master UE may recommend N resource units, and the slave UE may randomly select M resource units, where M is less than or equal to N. Furthermore, in another aspect, the slave UE may select M resource units from the N recommended resources based on all or part of its sensing. Additionally, in other aspects, the slave UE may not measure the sidelink channel during the monitoring window. In this example, if the slave UE does receive a transmission regarding the recommended resources from the master UE within the monitoring window, the slave UE will use the recommended resources from the master UE to send subsequent sidelink data.

[0133] Finally, the slave UE sends sidelink data to the master UE based on or using the recommended resources in step 612. As discussed above, the sidelink data may include information about different UEs in the network, such as movement information (e.g., speed, acceleration, and / or braking status), positioning or location information (e.g., latitude and longitude, altitude, etc.), and other details.

[0134] Figure 7 -Master UE data transmission

[0135] Figure 7 An exemplary procedure for primary UE data transmission according to some embodiments is shown. More specifically, Figure 7 Operation of the master UE in response to receiving a scheduling request from the first UE (ie, in response to the scheduling request (offload request) transmitted in 608) is shown.

[0136] First, in step 702, the master UE may configure a sidelink scheduling request with the slave UE to establish master / slave communication therebetween, as described above in step 602. Therefore, the master UE operation in step 702 involves configuration of S-SR resources and is performed in conjunction with the slave UE operation in step 602.

[0137] In addition, the configuration of S-SR between a pair of UEs may also include sidelink data transmission parameter configuration, such as recommended resource size (e.g., number of subchannels), number of blind retransmissions, data QoS, MCS table, DMRS port, power control parameters (e.g., nominal power (P o,SL ) or SL path loss scaling factor (α SL )).

[0138] As described herein, a slave UE may be power-constrained and seek to reduce power consumption by offloading communication or sensing responsibilities to a less power-constrained master UE. More specifically, establishing resources for sidelink scheduling requests allows inter-UE coordination between the master UE and the slave UEs to communicate and provide instructions regarding resource allocation and sensing protocols. More specifically, establishing resources for sidelink scheduling requests allows a first UE (slave UE) to request the master UE to perform sidelink resource determination on its behalf.

[0139] Next, in step 704, the master UE may perform sensing (or partial sensing) to detect and identify nearby UEs and their corresponding available or unavailable resources. In the case of partial sensing, the UE may monitor only a subset of subframes. By performing the sensing tasks typically associated with the slave UE, the master UE is able to relieve the sensing responsibilities of the slave UE. This not only allows the slave UE to save power more efficiently, but also provides other improvements in terms of enhanced communication reliability and reduced latency. Specifically, the master UE may be able to perform more comprehensive sensing than is possible with the first UE, and therefore may be able to generate a more reliable set or list of available (candidate) resources because the master UE is not power constrained (or has fewer power constraints) than the first UE.

[0140] In step 706, the master UE receives a sidelink scheduling request from the slave UE, which may be combined with an attempt to schedule and receive sidelink data from the slave UE. In response to receiving the S-SR from the slave UE, the master UE may determine a set of sidelink transmission resources for use by the second UE on the sidelink channel, for example, based on the sensing performed in 704. The set of sidelink transmission resources may be a set of time, frequency, and code corresponding to a time slot or a physical resource block (PRB).

[0141] In step 708, the master UE transmits information about the determined set of sidelink transmission resources to the slave UE. In other words, the master UE sends recommended resources to the slave UE. The master UE may provide the determined resource information to the slave UE in order to receive back the desired sidelink communication or data. In addition, the master UE may utilize the SCI Phase 2 format to indicate the source ID and destination ID of one or more recommended resources, including the number of recommended resources, the time gap between the current time slot and the first recommended time slot, and the subchannel index and subchannel number of the first recommended time slot. For example, if the master UE has specific or priority information that it is seeking to receive, the master UE may indicate to the slave UE certain preferred or recommended resources for use by the slave UE. In some aspects, the master UE may transmit a sidelink scheduling request to the slave UE in order to instruct or "wake up" the slave UE to restore it to a non-power saving mode, in which the master UE may resume more complete or partial sensing operations. In other embodiments, the determined set of sidelink transmission resources may be recommended resources rather than reserved resources. Alternatively, the determined set of sidelink transmission resources provided by the master UE to the slave UE may be recommended resources or reserved resources.

[0142] As mentioned above about Figure 6As briefly discussed, after the master UE receives an S-SR from a slave UE, the master UE can recommend resources to the slave UE. The packet delay budget (PDB) for this transmission can be pre-configured per resource pool or configured by PC5-RRC, and the resource selection window can be determined based on the PDB for this transmission. In addition, the data priority of this transmission can depend on the data priority level indicated by the S-SR, or can be pre-configured per resource pool or configured by PC5-RRC (similar to the PDB).

[0143] Furthermore, the recommended resources provided by the master UE may allow the slave UE to perform further selection among the recommended resources. For example, the master UE may recommend a certain number of resources, N, where the slave UE may directly use all of the resources recommended by the master UE. Alternatively, the slave UE may randomly select M resource units, where M is less than or equal to N, or the slave UE may select M resource units from N recommended resources based on all or part of its sensing. Furthermore, if the master UE sends a transmission regarding the recommended resources to the slave UE within the monitoring window, the slave UE may use the recommended resources from the master UE to transmit subsequent sidelink data.

[0144] Finally, the master UE receives sidelink data regarding recommended resources from the slave UE in step 710. As discussed above, the received sidelink data may include various data, such as movement or motion information of the slave UE (e.g., speed, acceleration, and / or braking status), position or location information of the slave UE (e.g., latitude and longitude, altitude, etc.), and other details.

[0145] Figure 8 -Sidelink scheduling request signal structure

[0146] Figure 8 An exemplary structure of a sidelink scheduling request (S-SR) signal according to some embodiments is shown. Specifically, Figure 8 The resources and structure of the S-SR signal system design are shown, that is, how to integrate the S-SR signal into other signaling, such as PSFCH (Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel). Regarding the resources of S-SR, the last symbol of a time slot of a particular frequency may not be reserved for PSFCH and can therefore be repurposed to transmit S_SR signals. These symbols can be frequency division multiplexed (FDM) with PSFCH resources and can have the same or different periodicity as other PSFCH sources. In addition, the transmission and reception of S-SR can consume less power than the transmission and reception of PSCCH or PSSCH signals.

[0147] In terms of structure, each S-SR signal may occupy one PRB and two symbols (similar to PSFCH). In addition, the sequence (with cyclic shift) may be selection-based (similar to NR PUCCH format 0). In addition, the S-SR signal cyclic shift may be based on code domain multiplexing. In some embodiments, the S-SR resource configuration may be encoded as a cyclic shift of the S-SR corresponding to only an ACK sequence (i.e., a single sequence with a pre-configured cyclic shift). In this example, the transmission of the sequence may indicate a positive side link SR, and the absence or lack of transmission of the sequence may indicate a negative side link SR. According to other aspects, the S-SR resource configuration may be encoded as a cyclic shift pair of S-SR for an ACK / NACK sequence (i.e., two sequences with a pair of pre-configured cyclic shifts). In this example, the transmission of a sequence with a cyclic shift may indicate a positive side link SR, while the transmission of a sequence with another cyclic shift may indicate a negative side link SR.

[0148] Further in terms of structure, the S-SR resource configuration may also be encoded as a configuration index indicating a specific sequence of the S-SR. In this example, multiple sequences may be configured with multiple cyclic shifts, and each sequence may be associated with a configuration index. In addition, a sequence or sequence pair of the S-SR may be associated with a configuration corresponding to a sidelink data transmission parameter. In addition, each configuration index may correspond to a sidelink data transmission parameter, such as resource periodicity, number of subchannels and / or number of resources. In other aspects, each configuration index may correspond to a specific data QoS or a different broadcast type. In some embodiments, the S-SR structure may also support a combination of a sequence indicated by a configuration index and a sequence with a pair of pre-configured cyclic shifts (i.e., an ACK / NACK sequence).

[0149] Figure 9 -Sidelink scheduling request signal frequency and code resources

[0150] Figure 9 1 shows the frequency and code resources of the HO Link Scheduling Request (S-SR) signal according to some embodiments. More specifically, Figure 9 It is shown that the frequency and code resources of the S-SR depend on the ID of the scheduled UE (i.e., the destination ID) and / or the ID of the scheduling UE (i.e., the source ID). In addition, when determining the S-SR resources, the first step may be to combine the source ID and the destination ID. In some aspects, this may involve concatenating the destination ID and the source ID. In other aspects, this may involve concatenating the source ID and the destination ID. In some aspects, when determining the S-SR resources, the first step may include combining the source ID and the destination ID using an exclusive OR (XOR) operation.

[0151] The second step of determining the S-SR resources may include calculating the total number of frequency domain and code domain S-SR resources. In some embodiments, this may involve frequency first, code second indexing. In other aspects, this may involve code first, frequency second indexing.

[0152] Next, the frequency-code domain S-SR resource ID may be determined by performing a modulo operation on the combination ID obtained in the first step and the total number of frequency-code domain S-SR resources.

[0153] Finally, the UE may then send or receive an S-SR on the determined S-SR resource ID.

[0154] Figure 10 - The master UE recommends non-reserved resources

[0155] Figure 10 An example is shown in which a master UE provides recommended resources to a slave UE instead of reserving resources, according to some embodiments. For example, after the master UE receives an S-SR from a slave UE, the master UE may then transmit signaling indicating the recommended resources based on the master UE's sensing operations. Additionally, to avoid half-duplex issues with PSSCH reception and transmission, the master UE may transmit signaling indicating the recommended resources based on the master UE's existing schedule. Furthermore, the recommended resources transmitted by the master UE may be encoded and delivered as PSSCH data.

[0156] For example, Figure 10 As shown, the first resource frame (top left) may contain PSCCH data, as indicated by the arrow on the left. This PSCCH data may contain resource reservation information for indicating resources of only the first resource frame. This resource reservation information will not be used to indicate the resources of the other two resource frames.

[0157] On the other hand, the SCI stage 2 on the PSSCH frame may contain resource recommendation information for indicating the other two resource frames (center and right). Figure 10 The two arrows on the right show the resource recommendation information in SCI stage 2 on the PSSCH frame. In other words, the two arrows on the right may correspond to the primary UE indicating recommended but not reserved resources via SCI stage 2 on the PSSCH. Since these recommended resources are not reserved (in the PSCCH), other UEs can try to use these resources.

[0158] In other aspects, the recommended resources transmitted by the primary UE may be delivered in an SCI Phase 2 format. Furthermore, the SCI Phase 2 format may be used to indicate the source ID and destination ID of the recommended resources. Furthermore, up to three separate resources may be indicated in the SCI Phase 2 format, including the number of recommended resources, the time gap between the current time slot and the first recommended time slot, and the subchannel index and subchannel number of the first recommended time slot. Furthermore, if the SCI Phase 2 format indicates more than one recommended resource, the remaining resources are indicated as FRIV (Frequency Resource Indicator Value) and TRIV (Time Resource Indicator Value).

[0159] In addition, other sidelink data transmission parameters may be indicated in SCI phase 2 to ease the operation of the slave UE. For example, the modulation and coding scheme (MCS), MCS table, DMRS port, and HARQ feedback may always be enabled for this type until SCI phase 2. In addition, channel busy radio (CBR) related information such as CBR level and power control information (e.g., sidelink path loss (PL)) may be indicated. SL ), side link path loss scaling factor (α SL )), or the power level can be transmitted directly.

[0160] Figure 11 -Master UE recommends reserved resources

[0161] Figure 11 An example is shown of a master UE providing recommended and reserved resources to a slave UE in addition to transferring ownership of reserved resources, according to some embodiments. For example, after the master UE receives an S-SR from a slave UE, the master UE may then transmit signaling indicating recommended resources based on the master UE's sensing operations. These recommended resources may also be reserved resources. In some embodiments, resource reservation information may be included solely in PSCCH data. In this example, the other UE will receive the PSCCH to understand which resources are reserved.

[0162] In addition, the master UE may utilize SCI phase 1 to indicate one or more reserved resources for transmission by the slave UE, as shown in step 1102. Additionally, QoS may be sent as configured sidelink data QoS, and additional bits indicating the owner of the reserved resources may also be exchanged between the master UE and the slave UE.

[0163] To transfer ownership of the reserved resources, after receiving the HARQ-ACK in step 1104, the master UE may determine that the reserved resources to be used by the slave UE are reserved resources on which the master UE can receive data. The master UE may then transfer the remaining reserved resources to the slave UE (i.e., transfer of ownership), as shown in step 1106. In doing so, the slave UE may then use the newly transferred reserved resources to transmit appropriate sidelink data. On the other hand, if a HARQ-NACK is received, the master UE may determine that the reserved resources will not be used by the slave UE. In this case, the master UE may send another transmission containing information to the slave UE, which may include more recommended resources and reserved resources. In other words, as shown in step 1108, the master UE may use the next reserved resources to send an additional transmission containing information (in which more new resources may be reserved) to the slave UE.

[0164] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments may be implemented as computer-implemented methods, computer-readable storage media, or computer systems. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0165] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured such that it stores program instructions and / or data, wherein the program instructions, if executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method, such as any one of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0166] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., UE 104) may be configured to include a processor (or a group of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, wherein the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method embodiments described herein (or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of various forms.

[0167] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to encompass all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication, comprising: The first user equips the UE: transmitting a scheduling request (SR) to a second UE, wherein the SR is configured to enable the second UE to determine a set of sidelink transmission resources for use by the first UE for sidelink communication with the second UE; receiving information about the determined set of sidelink transmission resources from the second UE, wherein the set of sidelink transmission resources is determined based on the transmitted SR, and wherein the determined set of sidelink transmission resources are recommended resources rather than reserved resources; A sidelink communication is transmitted to the second UE using at least a subset of the determined set of sidelink transmission resources.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Configuration information is transmitted to the second UE, wherein the configuration information specifies transmission resources used in transmitting the SR.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: The SR is encoded as a cyclic shift of the SR corresponding to an ACK-only sequence.

4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: The SR is encoded as a cyclic shift pair of the SR corresponding to an ACK / NACK sequence.

5. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: The SRs are encoded as a configuration index indicating a specific sequence of the SRs, wherein each sequence of the SRs is associated with a configuration.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The wireless channel is monitored for arrival of the determined set of sidelink transmission resources.

7. A method for wireless communication, comprising: The first user equips the UE: receiving a scheduling request from a second UE, wherein the scheduling request is configured to cause the first UE to determine a set of sidelink transmission resources for use by the second UE on a sidelink channel for sidelink communication with the first UE; determining, in response to the received scheduling request, a set of sidelink transmission resources for use by the second UE; Transmitting information about the determined set of sidelink transmission resources to the second UE, wherein the information about the determined set of sidelink transmission resources can be used by the second UE when transmitting to the first UE on the sidelink channel, and wherein the determined set of sidelink transmission resources are recommended resources rather than reserved resources.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: The set of sidelink transmission resources is determined by sensing communication traffic on the sidelink channel.

9. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: The set of sidelink transmission resources is determined based on an existing resource schedule maintained by the first UE.

10. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: In response to receiving a HARQ-ACK from the second UE, one or more of the reserved resources are transferred to the second UE.

11. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: In response to receiving a HARQ-NACK from the second UE, the information about the determined set of sidelink transmission resources is retransmitted to the second UE using one or more additional reserved resources.

12. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: At least one processor, the at least one processor being configured to cause a user equipment (UE) to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising: A radio is operatively coupled to the at least one processor.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable by one or more baseband processors of a user equipment (UE) to cause the UE to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

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