Iab soft resource availability indication with m-trp framework

Abstract

According to example embodiments of the present disclosure, there are at least a method and apparatus for performing the following operations: receiving, by a network device of a communication network, information from a network node, the information comprising a configuration for monitoring an indication of soft symbol availability from the communication network, the communication network supporting the network device using at least one parent node; based on the configuration, determining, by the network device, to monitor the indication of soft symbol availability from the at least one parent node, wherein the determination is based on the indication of the soft symbol availability being from one parent node or more than one parent node of the at least one parent node; and based on the determination, performing, by the network device, a measure prior to applying an indicated change for use of soft symbols at the network device. Further, there are for performing the following operations: determining, by a network node of a communication network, information for a network device, the information comprising a configuration for monitoring an indication of soft symbol availability from the communication network, the communication network supporting the network device using at least one parent node; and based on the determination, sending, to the network device, the information, wherein the information causes the network device to perform measures comprising monitoring the indication of soft symbol availability from the at least one parent node and, based on the indication of the soft symbol availability being from one parent node or more than one parent node, applying an indicated change for use of soft symbols.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The teachings of exemplary embodiments of this disclosure generally relate to a novel method for operating an IAB-MT in a multi-DCI-based multi-TRP operation, and more specifically, to a novel method for operating an IAB-MT in a multi-DCI-based multi-TRP operation, such as applying a soft resource availability indication at an IAB DU based on the novel method. Background Technology

[0002] This section is intended to provide background or context for the disclosure described in the claims. The description herein may include sought concepts, but they are not necessarily previously conceived or sought concepts. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the content described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims of this application, and is not considered prior art by virtue of its inclusion in this section.

[0003] Some abbreviations that may be found in the description and / or figures are defined herein as follows:

[0004] AI Availability Indicator

[0005] CORESET Control Resource Set

[0006] D Downlink

[0007] DCI Downlink Control Information

[0008] DL downlink

[0009] DU Distributed Unit

[0010] F Flexible

[0011] H Hard

[0012] IAB Integration Access and Backhaul

[0013] IAB-MT Integrated Access and Backhaul Mobile Termination

[0014] Multi-TRP has more than one transmit and receive point.

[0015] MT mobile terminator

[0016] NA is unavailable

[0017] RNTI (Radio Network Temporary Identifier)

[0018] S soft

[0019] TRP Send / Receive Point

[0020] U uplink

[0021] UE User Equipment

[0022] The Media Access Control (MAC) data communication protocol sublayer (also known as Media Access Control) is a sublayer of the data link layer specified in the seven-layer OSI model (layer 2) and the four-layer TCP / IP model (layer 1). It provides addressing and channel access control mechanisms that enable multiple terminals or network nodes to communicate within a multiple access network containing a shared medium (e.g., Ethernet). The hardware that implements MAC is called a Media Access Controller.

[0023] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed and provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, and broadcasting. Such wireless communication systems can support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). A wireless communication system may include multiple base stations or network access nodes, each supporting communication from multiple communication devices simultaneously; these communication devices may also be referred to as user equipment (UE).

[0024] To support this communication, these wireless communication systems can communicate with the UE using a single TRP corresponding to the same base station or multiple TRPs corresponding to multiple base stations. When the network uses multiple TRPs to communicate with the UE, the network can use multiple different multi-TRP configurations for communication with the UE, whether at the same base station or at different base stations.

[0025] The exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are intended to improve at least these operations. Summary of the Invention

[0026] In one example aspect of this disclosure, there is an apparatus, such as a network device or a user-side device, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, together with the at least one processor, to enable the apparatus to at least: receive information from a network node by the network device of a communication network, the information including a configuration for monitoring the availability of soft symbols from the communication network, the communication network supporting the network device using at least one parent node; based on the configuration, determine by the network device the indication for monitoring the availability of soft symbols from the at least one parent node, wherein the determination is based on the indication of the availability of soft symbols coming from one or more of the at least one parent node; and based on the determination, perform measures by the network device before applying the indicated changes for the use of soft symbols at the network device.

[0027] In another example aspect of this disclosure, there is a method comprising: receiving information from a network node by a network device of a communication network, the information including a configuration for monitoring the availability of soft symbols from the communication network, the communication network supporting the network device using at least one parent node; determining, based on the configuration, an indication for monitoring the availability of soft symbols from at least one parent node, wherein the determination is based on the indication of the availability of soft symbols coming from one or more of the at least one parent node; and, based on the determination, performing measures by the network device before applying the indicated changes for the use of soft symbols at the network device.

[0028] A further example embodiment is a method and apparatus that includes the methods and apparatus described in the preceding paragraphs, wherein, when soft symbol availability is based on different soft symbol availability indications of more than one parent node in at least one parent node, these measures include conflict resolution measures, wherein a configuration for monitoring the indications of soft symbol availability is linked to a search space indicated by the downlink control information format for soft symbol availability, wherein, based on the network node's ability to perform conflict resolution measures, the network device does not expect to receive any conflicting soft symbol availability indications in the same time slot as the downlink control information format, wherein the more than one parent node includes more than one transmit / receive point having more than one set of control resources, and between the different transmit / receive points... The control resource set is partitioned using a control resource set pool index value, wherein the information includes indications of soft symbol availability from different send / receive points among more than one send / receive point, wherein the indications of soft symbol availability from different send / receive points are dynamically coordinated to be the same, wherein the soft symbol availability is indicated independently by each of the different send / receive points, wherein the indication of soft symbol availability indicated using the downlink control information format includes one of the same indication or different indications received via different send / receive points, wherein when different indications are received, the conflict resolution mechanism considers the following rule: only when both parent nodes provide soft symbol availability that allows the use of soft symbols at the network device. A soft resource type is available only when an availability indicator is received. This given resource type includes at least one of downlink resources, uplink resources, or flexible resources at the distributed unit of the network device. The availability of soft resources for each resource type follows the same principle. When different indicators are received, conflict resolution considers the following rule: a given resource type is available if at least one parent node provides an availability indicator, while different resource types are unavailable unless both parent nodes provide availability indicators. In the case where the indicator for soft symbol availability comes from only one sender / receiver point: the network device determines that the soft symbol availability is not used for applications targeting a given resource type or all resource types. Network devices dynamically pre-configure indications of soft symbol availability from different sender / receiver points, wherein the partitioning includes a search space for downlink control information format indications of soft symbol availability associated with more than one sender / receiver point, wherein measures for soft symbol availability indications for a parent node include: using a predefined time offset before applying a soft symbol availability indication based on the soft symbol availability indication of that parent node, wherein the predefined time offset is received via different sender / receiver points, wherein based on the downlink control information format received from a first sender / receiver point, the method includes: during the predefined time offset, the network device only needs to send uplink transmissions to a second sender / receiver point, wherein...A predefined time offset is defined for the indication of the downlink control information format, wherein the predefined time offset time period has one of the following: indicating to the network device by using a first set of time slots, indicating unavailability with a value of 0, or being defined as an indication value for the downlink control format; wherein if a value of 7 indicates that all resources are available, the predefined time offset time period can be X time slots; or wherein if a value of 0 indicates that no resources are available, a smaller offset or 0 time slots can be defined; wherein if all resources are indicated as available, the predefined time period includes X time slots, where X is an integer. Wherein, if zero resources are indicated as available, a smaller offset of 0 time slots is defined, wherein the configuration for monitoring the indication of soft symbol availability is linked to the search space associated with a transmit / receive point by the downlink control information for soft symbol availability, and wherein the indication of soft symbol availability is determined from one or more parent nodes based on the search space association for at least one control resource set and the usage at each parent node of that at least one control resource set, wherein the indication of soft symbol availability is applicable to any combination of downlink resource availability, uplink resource availability, and flexible soft resource availability.

[0029] A type of storage containing program code ( Figure 2 Non-transitory computer-readable media (PROG 10C) Figure 2 The MEM12B), the program code is generated by at least one processor ( Figure 2 The DP 10A) is executed to perform the operations as described at least in the paragraphs above.

[0030] According to an example embodiment of the present disclosure as described above, there is an apparatus comprising: components for receiving information from a network node by a network device of a communication network, wherein the information includes a configuration for monitoring indications of soft symbol availability from the communication network, the communication network using at least one parent node to support the network device; components for determining, based on the configuration, the indications of soft symbol availability monitored from at least one parent node, wherein the determination is based on the indications of soft symbol availability being from one or more of the at least one parent node; and components for performing measures by the network device based on the determination before applying the indicated changes for the use of soft symbols at the network device.

[0031] In an example aspect of this disclosure according to the preceding paragraph, wherein at least the components for receiving, determining and executing include one or more transceivers [TRANS 10D] and a non-transitory computer-readable medium [MEM 10B] encoding a computer program [PROG 10C] executable by at least one processor [DP 10A and / or 10F].

[0032] In one example aspect of this disclosure, there is an apparatus, such as a network node or base station apparatus, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, together with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least: determine information for a network device by a network node of a communication network, the information including a configuration for monitoring indications of soft symbol availability from the communication network, the communication network supporting the network device using at least one parent node; and based on the determination, send the information to the network device, wherein the information causes the network device to perform measures including: monitoring indications of soft symbol availability from at least one parent node, and applying indicated changes for the use of soft symbols based on the indications of soft symbol availability from one or more parent nodes.

[0033] In another example aspect of this disclosure, there is a method comprising: determining, by a network node of a communication network, information for a network device, the information including a configuration for monitoring indications of soft symbol availability from the communication network, the communication network supporting the network device using at least one parent node; and, based on the determination, sending the information to the network device, wherein the information causes the network device to perform measures including: monitoring indications of soft symbol availability from at least one parent node, and, based on the soft symbol availability indications from one or more parent nodes, applying indicated changes for the use of soft symbols.

[0034] A further example embodiment is a method and apparatus that includes the methods and apparatus described in the preceding paragraphs, wherein, when soft symbol availability is based on different soft symbol availability indications of more than one parent node, these measures include conflict resolution measures, wherein the conflict resolution measures include: when soft symbol availability is based on different soft symbol availability indications of more than one parent node, the transmitting and receiving points of at least one parent node are dynamically coordinated to perform conflict resolution measures, wherein the conflict resolution measures include: after one transmitting and receiving point provides a downlink control information format and the network node performs conflict resolution: sending an identifier of the other transmitting and receiving point's downlink to the network device. The control information format includes an indication of whether a future transmission has been canceled or rescheduled, indicating whether the second transmitting / receiving point is providing downlink control information in a format that enables network devices to use these soft resources. Based on the network node's ability to perform conflict resolution, the network device does not expect to receive any conflicting soft symbol availability indications in the same time slot as the downlink control information format. The configuration for monitoring soft symbol availability is linked to the search space of the downlink control information indicating soft symbol availability. More than one... A parent node comprises more than one transmit / receive point having more than one control resource set. The control resource set is partitioned among different transmit / receive points using a control resource set pool index value. This partitioning includes associating a search space for downlink control information format indicators of soft resource availability with the more than one transmit / receive point. The measures for indicating soft symbol availability for a parent node include applying a predefined time offset at the network device before applying the soft symbol availability indication based on the soft symbol availability indication of that parent node. This indication information includes an identifier of the second transmit / receive point indicating whether future transmissions using conflicting resources have been canceled or rescheduled. The indication, wherein a predefined time offset is based on an estimate of backhaul delay and coordination delay, wherein the indication of the second sender / receiver point is given after the downlink control information format is sent so that the second sender / receiver point can identify services canceled or rescheduled to network devices, wherein the configuration of the indication for monitoring soft symbol availability is linked to the search space associated with a sender / receiver point indicated by the downlink control information for soft symbol availability, and wherein the indication for soft symbol availability is determined to originate from one or more parent nodes based on the search space association for at least one control resource set and the usage at each parent node of the at least one control resource set.

[0035] One or more transceivers Figure 2 TRANS 12D), which stores program code ( Figure 2Non-transitory computer-readable media (PROG 12C) Figure 2 The MEM 12B), the program code is generated by at least one processor ( Figure 2 The DP 12A) is executed to perform the operations as described at least in the paragraphs above.

[0036] According to an example embodiment of the present disclosure as described above, there is an apparatus comprising: components for determining information for a network device by a network node of a communication network, wherein the information includes a configuration for monitoring indications of soft symbol availability from the communication network, the communication network supporting the network device using at least one parent node; and components for sending the information to the network device based on the determination, wherein the information causes the network device to perform measures including: monitoring indications of soft symbol availability from at least one parent node, and applying indicated changes for the use of soft symbols based on the indications of soft symbol availability from one or more parent nodes.

[0037] In the example aspect of this disclosure according to the foregoing paragraph, wherein at least the components for determining and transmitting include one or more transceivers (TRANS 12D), and are encoded with at least one processor (such as... Figure 2 DP 12A) executable computer programs (such as Figure 2 Non-transitory computer-readable media (such as PROG 12C) Figure 2 (MEM 12B in the middle). Attached Figure Description

[0038] The above and other aspects, features, and benefits of various embodiments of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to designate like or equivalent elements. The drawings are shown to facilitate a better understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure and are not drawn to scale, wherein:

[0039] Figure 1A This illustrates a multi-TRP operation based on multiple connections for IAB-MT using a multi-DCI approach;

[0040] Figure 1B This illustrates a multi-TRP operation based on multiple connections for IAB-MT using a single DCI method;

[0041] Figure 2 A high-level block diagram is shown of the various devices used in carrying out various aspects of this disclosure;

[0042] Figure 3 A graph showing the availability of soft resources when different combinations of DCI 2-5 are received at IAB-MT;

[0043] Figure 4 This illustrates the mapping between different values ​​of the resourceAvailability element and the type of soft symbol availability in the time slot;

[0044] Figure 5A and Figure 5B A method executable by an apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure; and

[0045] Figure 6 The example embodiment of this disclosure illustrates IABMT behavior for processing DCI formats 2-5 using a multi-TRP framework. Detailed Implementation

[0046] In this disclosure, a novel method for IAB-MT operating in multi-DCI-based multi-TRP operations is proposed, wherein a soft resource availability indication at the IAB DU is applied based on the novel method.

[0047] When IAB MT supports multiple TRP operations, IAB MT can be scheduled by two different TRPs, and the multi-TRP framework defined in Rel-16 considers both single-DCI-based and multi-DCI-based multi-TRP operations. The single-DCI multi-TRP scheme is primarily used where coordination between TRPs is ideal (or near-ideal), while multi-DCI-based multi-TRP operations are defined to also address non-ideal coordination scenarios (though there are no restrictions on their use in ideal scenarios). However, the multiple TRPs involved here are considered to be within the same DU; for example, they can be considered to have a single D / U / F and H / NA / S resource at two different TRPs. Figure 1A and Figure 1B Each illustrates a possible connection to IAB-MT via a multi-TRP framework. For a single resource, D indicates a downlink, U indicates an uplink, F indicates a flexible resource, H indicates a hard resource, NA indicates an unavailable resource, and S indicates a soft resource.

[0048] Figure 1A This illustrates a multi-TRP operation based on multiple connections for IAB-MT using a multi-DCI approach. For example... Figure 1A As shown, there are multiple connections operating via multiple DCI and multiple TRP. Figure 1A As shown, the same DU resource configuration at each TRP CORESET is divided among TRPs and the scheduling is performed independently by each TRP.

[0049] Figure 1B This illustrates a multi-TRP operation based on multiple connections for IAB-MT using a single DCI method. For example... Figure 1BAs shown, there are multiple connections operating via a single DCI and multiple TRPs. Figure 1A As shown, the TRP uses the same DU resource configuration and the same CORESET at each TRP, and scheduling is performed jointly by the TRPs.

[0050] Dynamic coordination in a multi-TRP based on a single DCI can be compatible with the Rel-16 IAB availability indication mechanism, primarily because a single DCI schedules transmissions from two TRPs. However, problems arise when indicating the availability of IAB-DU soft resources in a multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation. The multi-DCI framework allows each TRP to send the DCI and child nodes (IAB nodes in Figure 1a) independently. In one example, if DCI 2_5 is sent by TRP1 and IAB_DU responds accordingly, but another TRP (TRP2) still schedules the same resource to IAB-MT, causing a conflict in the use of soft resources at IAB-DU, the IAB node will be in trouble. The example embodiments of this disclosure address such problems when the IAB MT operates in a multi-DCI based multi-TRP operation.

[0051] Example embodiments of this disclosure relate to IAB-MT operating in multi-DCI-based multi-TRP operations, applying soft resource availability indications at IAB DUs based on the following method.

[0052] Before describing the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure in detail, refer to Figure 2 It is used to illustrate simplified block diagrams applicable to various electronic devices used in exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0053] Figure 2 A block diagram of one possible, non-limiting, exemplary system in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be practiced is shown. Figure 2 In this configuration, a network node (NN) 10 (which can be any device such as a user equipment or UE) wirelessly communicates with a wireless network 1. The UE is wireless and is typically a mobile device capable of accessing the wireless network. For example, a UE can be a mobile phone (or what is called a "cellular" phone) and / or a computer with mobile terminal capabilities. Alternatively, a UE or mobile terminal can also be a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-embedded, or vehicle-mounted mobile device, and performs voice signaling and / or data exchange with the RAN.

[0054] NN 10 includes one or more processors DP 10A, one or more memories MEM 10B, and one or more transceivers TRANS 10D interconnected via one or more buses. Each of the one or more transceivers TRANS 10D includes a receiver and a transmitter. The one or more buses may be address, data, or control buses and may include any interconnecting mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optic cable, or other optical communication device. The one or more transceivers TRANS 10D are connected to one or more antennas for communication 11 and 14 to NN 12 and NN 13, respectively. The one or more memories MEM 10B include computer program code PROG 10C. NN 10 communicates with NN 12 and / or NN 13 via wireless link 11 or wireless link 15, respectively.

[0055] NN 12 (NR / 5G node B, evolved NB or LTE equipment) is related to, for example Figure 2 Network nodes such as NN 13 and NN 10 communicate with each other, such as primary or secondary node base stations (e.g., for NR or LTE Long Term Evolution). NN 12 provides access to Radio Network 1 to wireless devices such as NN 10. NN 12 includes one or more processors DP 12A, one or more memories MEM 12C, and one or more transceivers TRANS 12D interconnected via one or more buses. According to an example embodiment, these TRANS 12Ds may include X2 and / or Xn interfaces for performing example embodiments of this disclosure. Each of the one or more transceivers TRANS 12Ds includes a receiver and a transmitter. The one or more transceivers TRANS 12Ds are connected to one or more antennas for communicating with NN 10 at least on link 11. One or more memories MEM 12B and computer program code PROG 12C are configured, together with one or more processors DP 12A, to cause NN 12 to perform one or more operations as described herein. NN 12 can communicate with another gNB or eNB or a device such as NN 13. Furthermore, Link 11 and / or any other link can be wired, wireless, or both, and can implement, for example, an X2 or Xn interface. Additionally, Link 11 can be connected to other network devices, such as, but not limited to, NCE / SGW / AMF / UPF devices, such as... Figure 2 The NCE / MME / SGW / UDM / PCF / AMM / SMF 14. NN 12 can perform the functions of MME (Mobility Management Entity) or SGW (Serving Gateway) (such as user plane functions) and / or access management functions for LTE and similar functions for 5G.

[0056] NN 13 may be associated with mobility function devices such as AMF or SMF. Furthermore, NN 13 may include NR / 5G Node B or potentially evolved NB base stations, such as primary or secondary node base stations communicating with devices and / or Radio Network 1, such as NN 12 and / or NN 10 (e.g., for NR or LTE Long Term Evolution). NN 13 includes one or more processors DP 13A, one or more memories MEM 13B, one or more network interfaces, and one or more transceivers TRANS 12D interconnected via one or more buses. According to an example embodiment, these network interfaces of NN 13 may include X2 and / or Xn interfaces for performing example embodiments of this disclosure. Each of the one or more transceivers TRANS 13D includes a receiver and a transmitter connected to one or more antennas. The one or more memories MEM 13B include computer program code PROG 13C. For example, the one or more memories MEM 13B and computer program code PROG 13C are configured, together with the one or more processors DP 13A, to cause NN 13 to perform one or more operations as described herein. NN 13 can communicate with another mobility function device and / or eNB (such as, for example, NN 12) via link 14. NN 13 can communicate with NN 10 via, for example, link 15 or another link. As mentioned above, NN 12 can communicate with NN 10 via link 11, or vice versa. Note that any disclosure of specific applications of these links 11, 14, or 15 in this application is not limiting, and any of these links can be considered interconnected or use the same medium. Furthermore, these links can be wired or wireless, or both, and can implement, for example, X2 or Xn interfaces. Additionally, as mentioned above, links 11, 14, and / or 15 can be connected via other network devices, such as, but not limited to, NCE / MME / SGW devices, such as... Figure 2 NCE / MME / SGW / UDM / PCF / AMM / SMF 14.

[0057] Figure 2 One or more buses of the device can be address, data, or control buses, and can include any interconnecting mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optic or other optical communication devices, wireless channels, etc. For example, one or more transceivers TRANS 12D, TRANS 13D, and / or TRANS 10D can be implemented as a remote radio head (RRH), wherein other components of NN 12 are physically located separately from the RRH, and Figure 2 One or more buses of the device can be partially implemented as optical cables to connect other components of NN 12 to RRH.

[0058] Note that, although Figure 2 Network nodes such as NN 12 and / or NN 13 are shown, but any of these nodes may contain or be contained in eNodeBs or eNBs or gNBs for LTE and NR, and will still be configurable to perform the example embodiments of this disclosure.

[0059] It should also be noted that the description herein indicates that a “cell” performs functions, but it should be clear that the gNB and / or user equipment and / or mobility management function equipment that form the cell will perform these functions. Furthermore, a cell constitutes part of a gNB, and multiple cells may exist per gNB.

[0060] Wireless network 1 may include NCE / MME / SGW / UDM / PCF / AMM / SMF 14, which may include (NCE) network control element functions, MME (Mobility Management Entity) / SGW (Serving Gateway) functions, and / or Serving Gateway (SGW), and / or MME (Mobility Management Entity) and / or SGW (Serving Gateway) functions, and / or User Data Management (UDM) functions, and / or PCF (Policy Control) functions, and / or Access and Mobility Management (AMM) functions, and / or Session Management (SMF) functions, and / or Authentication Server (AUSF) functions, which provide connectivity to another network (such as a telephone network and / or a data communication network (e.g., the Internet)), and is configured to perform any 5G and / or NR operations in addition to or in lieu of other standard operations at the time of this application. NCE / MME / SGW / UDM / PCF / AMM / SMF 14 can be configured to perform operations according to exemplary embodiments of this disclosure using any of LTE, NR, 5G, and / or any standards-based communication technologies performed or discussed at the time of this application. Furthermore, note that operations according to exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, such as those performed by NN 12 and / or NN 13, can also be performed at NCE / MME / SGW / UDM / PCF / AMM / SMF 14.

[0061] NCE / MME / SGW / UDM / PCF / AMM / SMF 14 includes one or more processors DP 14A, one or more memories MEM 14B, and one or more network interfaces (N / WI / F) interconnected via one or more buses of data paths 13 that can be coupled to links 11 and / or 14 and / or 15. According to an example embodiment, these network interfaces may include X2 and / or Xn interfaces for performing example embodiments of this disclosure. One or more memories MEM 14B include computer program code PROG 14C. The one or more memories MEM 14B and computer program code PROG 14C are configured, together with the one or more processors DP 14A, to cause NCE / MME / SGW / UDM / PCF / AMM / SMF 14 to perform one or more operations that may be required to support the operation of example embodiments of this disclosure.

[0062] Wireless Network 1 can implement network virtualization, which is the process of combining hardware and software network resources and network functions into a single software-based managed entity (virtual network). Network virtualization involves platform virtualization, often combined with resource virtualization. Network virtualization is classified as external or internal; external virtualization combines many networks or parts of networks into virtual units, while internal virtualization provides network-like functionality to software containers on a single system. Note that at some levels, hardware such as processors DP 10A, DP 12A, DP 13A, and / or DP 14A and memory MEM 10B, MEM12B, MEM 13B, and / or MEM 14B are still used to implement the virtualized entities generated by network virtualization, and these virtualized entities also produce technical effects.

[0063] Computer-readable storage devices MEM 12B, MEM 13B, and MEM 14B can be of any type suitable for the local technical environment and can be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based storage devices, flash memory, magnetic storage devices and systems, optical storage devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. Computer-readable storage devices MEM 12B, MEM 13B, and MEM 14B can be components used to perform storage functions. Processors DP 10A, DP 12A, DP 13A, and DP 14A can be of any type suitable for the local technical environment and, as a non-limiting example, can include one or more of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Processors DP 10A, DP 12A, DP 13A, and DP 14A can be components used to perform functions such as controlling NN10, NN 12, NN 13, and other functions as described herein.

[0064] Similarly, as described above, exemplary embodiments of this disclosure relate to IAB-MT operating in multi-DCI-based multi-TRP operations, applying a soft resource availability indication at the IAB DU based at least on the following methods according to exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

[0065] Method 1

[0066] 1. Here, the search space for monitoring DCI format 2-5 is allowed to be associated with CORESET (which is linked to the first and second TRPs). In other words, DCI format 2_5 can be sent to IAB-MT using a CORESET with a first CORESETPoolIndex value and a CORESET with a second CORESETPoolIndex value.

[0067] 2. IAB MT can anticipate DCI formats 2-5 from two TRPs, and variations regarding conflict indications can be as follows:

[0068] a. In one variant, the soft resource availability indicated from different TRPs (for upcoming time slots) will be identical. In other words, the TRP dynamically coordinates before sending DCI formats 2-5 and ensures that the availability indications are the same.

[0069] b. In another variant, conflict availability indications may exist from each TRP. Here, each TRP focuses solely on releasing / acquiring resources about its own links toward the IAB-MT.

[0070] 3. For Project 2b), it is important to discuss how to handle conflicts (rules) arising from different DCIs 2-5 from multiple TRPs. Here, the conflict handling at IAB MT described below will be applied.

[0071] 4. IAB MT does not expect to receive any conflicting resource availability indications in the same time slot as CORESET (which is associated with the same CORESETPoolIndex (the same TRP)). Here, the Rel-16 IAB principle is used, only it is applied within CORESETPoolIndex.

[0072] Handling conflicts at IAB MT

[0073] When an availability indication for a soft resource is received, the IAB DU will consider DCI 2-5 received from two different TRPs.

[0074] Figure 3A graph showing the availability of soft resources when different combinations of DCI 2-5 are received at the IAB-MT is presented. Overall, the IAB DU utilizes the effects obtained from each indication.

[0075] against Figure 3 The descriptions of the charts include:

[0076] No indication - There is no indication of availability for soft symbols;

[0077] XS: This indicates that the -X soft sign is available. Here, X can be DL, UL, or F; and

[0078] XS: No - There is no indication of availability for the X soft symbol. Here, X can be DL, UL, or F.

[0079] Figure 4 This illustrates the mapping between different values ​​of the resourceAvailability element and the type of soft symbol availability in the time slot.

[0080] like Figure 4 As shown, there is a mapping between resourceAvailability values ​​0-7 and indicators.

[0081] Method 2

[0082] 1. When the search space allowed for monitoring DCI format 2-5 is associated only with a CORESET (which is linked to the first TRP). In other words, DCI 2-5 can be sent using only the CORESET with the first CORESETPoolIndex. The CORESET associated with the second TRP (second CORESETPoolIndex) may not have any search space allowed for monitoring DCI format 2-5;

[0083] 2. When the first TRP sends DCI format 2-5 indicating the availability of soft resources for IAB DU, the IAB MT does not expect any conflicting transmissions from the second TRP.

[0084] In other words, before sending DCI formats 2-5 via the first TRP, multiple TRPs dynamically coordinate resource usage; and

[0085] 3. When there is a non-ideal BH between TRPs, a predefined time offset can be applied from the time slot where DCI 2-5 is detected by IAB-MT to the earliest time slot where IAB DU will apply the availability instruction. This predefined time offset can be fixed by the specification or configured for IAB MT so that IAB DU waits a certain number of symbols / time slots after receiving DCI format 2-5 before applying the indicated availability instruction.

[0086] • This time offset can be correlated with the BH delay experienced by the coordinated TRP;

[0087] • Time offset can be defined in terms of time slots and / or symbols;

[0088] In another variant, the first TRP can send DCI 2-5 in time slot n+x, where coordination between TRPs may have already begun in time slot n. Here, the first TRP can predict its resource usage in time slot n+x (and beyond), where x can be a predefined time offset, but it is not configured for the IAB node.

[0089] In another variant, the value of DCI 2-5 can be used to indicate a predefined time offset, where the first TRP can send DCI 2-5 in slot n, with x upcoming slots (and / or symbols). If only a value indicating that a specific resource type is unavailable is used, the time offset in symbolic form is applied. For example, indicating that DL is unavailable, but other resources are available in the slots, is indicated as unavailable. Figure 4 The value in the value is 0). Furthermore, the IAB node implicitly understands this predefined time offset and begins using soft resources based on the availability indication from time slot n+x;

[0090] In another variant, the IAB node can be configured with more than one predefined time offset, where different resource types can have different predefined time offsets applied. In one example, if DCI 2-5 indicates two predefined time offsets, a smaller predefined time offset can be configured for the availability of DL soft resources, while a larger predefined time offset can be configured for the availability of UL soft resources. In another example, if DCI 2-5 indicates that no resource is indicated as available (value 0), a predefined time offset equal to zero can be applied compared to cases where DCI 2-5 indicates other values.

[0091] Figure 6 An example embodiment of the present disclosure illustrates IABMT behavior for processing DCI formats 2-5 using a multi-TRP framework. Figure 6The document provides a summary of the steps for both Method 1 and Method 2 of IAB-MT capture. The details of each step will be discussed below.

[0092] like Figure 6 As shown in step 605, the IAB-MT receives the CORESET / search space / DCI format 2-5 configuration and the association of each / CORESET according to the CORESETPoolIndex(TRP). Furthermore, as... Figure 6 As shown in step 610, IAB-MT determines whether DCI format 2-5 will be received by two TRPs or a single TRP. For the case where DCI format 2-5 is received by a single TRP, then as follows... Figure 6 As shown in step 615, the IAB MT monitors DCI formats 2-5 from a single TRP. Furthermore, as... Figure 6 As shown in step 620, it is determined whether an additional predefined time offset has been configured by the UE. Furthermore, if "yes" is specified in an alternative, then... Figure 6 As shown in step 621, the IAB MT monitors DCI formats 2-5 from the first TRP and applies the availability of soft resources after a predefined time offset. Alternatively, if "No", then as... Figure 6 As shown in step 622, the IAB MT monitors DCI formats 2-5 from the first TRP and applies the availability of soft resources based on standard Rel-16. For the case where DCI formats 2-5 are received by two TRPs, then... Figure 6 As shown in step 625, the IAB MT monitors DCI formats 2-5 from both TRPs. Furthermore, as... Figure 6 As shown in step 630, it is determined whether there is a conflict between the received DCIs 2-5. If "yes", then as shown in step 632, the IAB node applies predefined rules to resolve the conflict so that it obtains the resulting availability indications for both TRPs. If "no", then as shown in step 632... Figure 6 As shown in step 622, the IAB MT monitors DCI formats 2-5 from the first TRP and applies availability indicators based on standard Rel-16.

[0093] Figure 5A This illustrates what can be achieved by network devices (e.g., but not limited to) Figure 2 The operations performed by the network node NN10 (or network device) in the network. Figure 5A As shown in step 510, a network device in a communication network receives information from a network node, including a configuration for monitoring the availability of soft symbols from the communication network, which supports the network device using at least one parent node. Figure 5AAs shown in step 520, based on this configuration, the network device determines an indication of monitoring soft symbol availability from at least one parent node, wherein the determination is based on the indication of soft symbol availability coming from one or more parent nodes. Furthermore, as... Figure 5A As shown in step 530, based on this determination, the network device performs measures before applying the indicated changes for the use of soft symbols at the network device.

[0094] According to the example embodiments described in the paragraphs above, these measures include conflict resolution measures when the availability of soft symbols is based on different soft symbol availability indications of more than one parent node in at least one parent node.

[0095] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, the configuration of the indication for monitoring soft symbol availability is linked to the search space indicated by the downlink control information format for soft symbol availability.

[0096] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, where network nodes are capable of performing conflict resolution measures, network devices do not expect to receive any conflicted soft symbol availability indications in the same time slot as the downlink control information format.

[0097] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, more than one parent node includes more than one transmit / receive point having more than one control resource set, and the more than one control resource set is partitioned among different transmit / receive points using a control resource set pool index value.

[0098] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, the information includes an indication of the availability of soft symbols from different transmit / receive points among more than one transmit / receive point.

[0099] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, the indications of soft symbol availability from different sending and receiving points are dynamically coordinated to be the same.

[0100] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, the availability of soft symbols is indicated independently by each of the different transmit / receive points.

[0101] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, the indication of soft symbol availability indicated by the downlink control information format includes either the same indication received via different transmit / receive points or one of different indications.

[0102] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, when different indications are received, the conflict resolution measures consider the following rule: a given resource type is available only if both parent nodes provide a soft symbol availability indication that allows the use of soft symbols at the network device.

[0103] According to the example embodiments described in the paragraphs above, a given resource type includes at least one of downlink resources, uplink resources, or flexible resources at the distributed unit of a network device, and the availability of soft resources for each resource type follows the same principle.

[0104] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, when different indications are received, the conflict resolution measures consider the following rule: if at least one parent node provides an availability indicator, then a given resource type is available, while different resource types are not available, unless both parent nodes provide availability indicators.

[0105] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, where the indication of soft symbol availability comes from only one sender / receiver point: the network device determines that the soft symbol availability is not used for an application targeting a given resource type or all resource types.

[0106] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, the availability of soft symbols from different sender and receiver points is dynamically pre-configured for the network device.

[0107] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, the partitioning includes a search space for downlink control information format indicators of soft resource availability associated with more than one transmit / receive point.

[0108] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, the measures for a soft symbol availability indication for a parent node include: using a predefined time offset before applying the soft symbol availability indication based on the soft symbol availability indication of the parent node.

[0109] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, a predefined time offset is received via different transmit and receive points.

[0110] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, based on the downlink control information format received from the first transmitting and receiving point: during a predefined time offset, the network device only needs to send uplink transmissions to the second transmitting and receiving point.

[0111] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, a predefined time offset is defined for the indication of the downlink control information format, wherein the predefined time offset time period has one of the following: indicating to the network device by using a first set of time slots, indicating unavailability with a value of 0, or being defined as an indication value for the downlink control format, and wherein the predefined time offset time period can be X time slots if a value of 7 indicates that all resources are available, or wherein a smaller offset or 0 time slots can be defined if a value of 0 indicates that no resources are available.

[0112] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, if all resources are indicated to be available, the predefined time period includes X time slots, where X is an integer.

[0113] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, a smaller offset of 0 time slots is defined if zero resources are indicated as available.

[0114] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, the configuration for the indication of monitoring soft symbol availability is linked to the search space associated with a transmit / receive point indicated by the downlink control information format for soft symbol availability.

[0115] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, the indication of soft symbol availability is determined from one or more parent nodes based on the search space association for at least one control resource set (CORESET) and the use at each parent node of the at least one control resource set.

[0116] According to the example embodiments described in the paragraphs above, the indication of soft symbol availability applies to any combination of downlink resource availability, uplink resource availability, and flexible soft resource availability.

[0117] A type of storage containing program code ( Figure 2 Non-transitory computer-readable media (PROG 10C) Figure 2 The MEM12B), the program code is generated by at least one processor ( Figure 2 The DP 10A and / or DP 10F) are executed to perform the operations as described at least in the paragraphs above.

[0118] According to an example embodiment of this disclosure as described above, there exists an apparatus comprising: for communication networks (such as...) Figure 2 Network devices in network 1) (such as Figure 2 NN 10) from network nodes (such as Figure 2 NN 12 in the middle receives ( Figure 2The component containing TRANS 10D, DP 10A, DP 10F, PROG 10C, and / or MEM 10B information, including information used for monitoring ( Figure 2 The configuration of TRANS 10D, DP 10A, DP 10F, PROG 10C, and / or MEM 10B) indicates the availability of soft symbols from a communication network that supports the network device using at least one parent node; the configuration is used by the network device to determine ( Figure 2 The components of TRANS 10D, DP 10A, DP 10F, PROG 10C, and / or MEM 10B) monitor indications of soft symbol availability from at least one parent node, wherein the determination is based on the soft symbol availability indication coming from one or more parent nodes; and the components for performing (based on the determination, the network device performs the following actions before applying the indicated changes for the use of soft symbols at the network device) Figure 2 Components of TRANS10D, DP 10A, DP 10F, PROG 10C, and / or MEM 10B measures.

[0119] In an example aspect of this disclosure according to the preceding paragraph, wherein at least the components for receiving, determining and executing include one or more transceivers [TRANS 10D] and a non-transitory computer-readable medium [MEM 10B] encoding a computer program [PROG 10C] executable by at least one processor [DP 10A and / or 10F].

[0120] Figure 5B This illustrates what can be achieved by network devices (e.g., but not limited to) Figure 2 The operations performed by the network node NN12 (or eNB) in the network. For example... Figure 5A As shown in step 550, information for the network device is determined by a network node of the communication network, including a configuration for monitoring the availability of soft symbols from the communication network, which supports the network device using at least one parent node. Furthermore, as... Figure 5B As shown in step 560, based on the determination, the information is sent to the network device, wherein the information causes the network device to perform measures including: monitoring indications of soft symbol availability from at least one parent node, and applying indicated changes for the use of soft symbols based on the indications of soft symbol availability from one or more parent nodes.

[0121] According to the example embodiments described in the paragraphs above, these measures include conflict resolution measures when the availability of soft symbols is based on different soft symbol availability indications of more than one parent node in at least one parent node.

[0122] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, the conflict resolution measures include: when the availability of soft symbols is based on different soft symbol availability indications of more than one parent node, the send and receive points of at least one parent node are dynamically coordinated to perform the conflict resolution measures.

[0123] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, the conflict resolution measures include: after a downlink control information format is provided at a transmitting / receiving point and the network node performs conflict resolution, sending to the network device an indication message identifying the downlink control information format of another transmitting / receiving point.

[0124] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, the indication information includes an indication of whether a future transmission of the second transmitting / receiving point has been canceled or rescheduled, wherein the second transmitting / receiving point provides downlink control information in a format that enables network devices to use these soft resources.

[0125] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, where network nodes are capable of performing conflict resolution measures, network devices do not expect to receive any conflicted soft symbol availability indications in the same time slot as the downlink control information format.

[0126] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, the configuration of the indication for monitoring soft symbol availability is linked to the search space indicated by the downlink control information format for soft symbol availability.

[0127] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, more than one parent node includes more than one transmit / receive point having more than one control resource set, and the more than one control resource set is partitioned among different transmit / receive points using a control resource set pool index value.

[0128] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, the partitioning includes a search space for downlink control information format indicators of soft resource availability associated with more than one transmit / receive point.

[0129] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, the measures for a soft symbol availability indication for a parent node include applying a predefined time offset at the network device before applying the soft symbol availability indication based on the soft symbol availability indication of the parent node.

[0130] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, the indication information includes an indication of whether future transmissions using conflicting resources from the second sending / receiving point have been canceled or rescheduled.

[0131] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, the predefined time offset is based on estimates of backhaul delay and coordination delay.

[0132] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, the indication of the second transmit / receive point is given after the downlink control information format is sent, so that the second transmit / receive point can identify services that have been canceled or rescheduled to the network device.

[0133] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, the configuration for the indication of monitoring soft symbol availability is linked to the search space associated with a transmit / receive point indicated by the downlink control information format for soft symbol availability.

[0134] According to the example embodiment described in the paragraph above, the indication of soft symbol availability is determined from one or more parent nodes based on the search space association for at least one control resource set (CORESET) and the use at each parent node of the at least one control resource set.

[0135] A type of storage containing program code ( Figure 2 Non-transitory computer-readable media (PROG 12C) Figure 2 The MEM12B), the program code is generated by at least one processor ( Figure 2 The DP 12A and / or DP 12F) are executed to perform the operations as described at least in the paragraphs above.

[0136] According to an example embodiment of this disclosure as described above, there exists an apparatus comprising: for communication networks (such as...) Figure 2 Network nodes in network 1) (e.g. Figure 2 NN 12) determines ( Figure 2 The TRANS 12D, DP 12A, DP12F, PROG 12C, and MEM 12B are used in network devices (such as...). Figure 2 The component containing information for monitoring (NN 10) includes information for monitoring ( Figure 2 The configuration of TRANS 12D, DP 12A, DP 12F, PROG 12C, and MEM 12B) indicating the availability of soft symbols from a communication network that supports the network device using at least one parent node; for sending (based on this determination) to the network device. Figure 2The information (TRANS 12D, DP 12A, DP 12F, PROG 12C, and MEM 12B) is a component of this information, wherein the information causes the network device to perform measures including: monitoring indications of soft symbol availability from at least one parent node, and applying indicated changes to the use of soft symbols based on the indications of soft symbol availability from one or more parent nodes.

[0137] In an example aspect of this disclosure according to the preceding paragraph, the components for determining and transmitting include at least one transceiver [TRANS 12D] and a non-transitory computer-readable medium [MEM 12B] encoding a computer program [PROG 12C] executable by at least one processor [DP 12A and / or 12F].

[0138] Note that a key advantage of the operation according to the example embodiments of this disclosure is that it uses a multi-TRP framework without adding complex rules for smoothing operations at IAB nodes.

[0139] Furthermore, according to exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, there is circuitry for performing operations according to exemplary embodiments disclosed herein. This circuitry may include any type of circuitry, including content encoding circuitry, content decoding circuitry, processing circuitry, image generation circuitry, data analysis circuitry, etc. Furthermore, this circuitry may include discrete circuitry, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and / or field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), as well as processors specifically configured by software to perform corresponding functions, or dual-core processors having software and corresponding digital signal processors, etc. Additionally, necessary inputs to and outputs from the circuitry, functions performed by the circuitry, and interconnections between the circuitry and other components (which may include other circuitry) are provided to perform exemplary embodiments of this disclosure as described herein.

[0140] According to the example embodiments of this disclosure as disclosed in this application, the provided "circuit" may include at least one or more or all of the following:

[0141] (a) Hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation of analog and / or digital circuits only);

[0142] (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (if applicable):

[0143] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry with software / firmware; and

[0144] (ii) Any part of a hardware processor having software (including a digital signal processor, software, and memory, which work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions, such as functions or operations according to exemplary embodiments of this disclosure as disclosed herein); and

[0145] (c) Hardware circuitry and / or processors, such as microprocessors or parts thereof, which require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but may be absent when operation does not require software.

[0146] According to exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, there exists suitable circuitry capable of performing at least the novel operations disclosed herein, and as may be used herein, “circuitry” may refer to at least the following:

[0147] (a) Hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation of analog and / or digital circuits only);

[0148] (b) A combination of circuitry and software (and / or firmware), such as (if applicable):

[0149] (i) combinations of processors; and

[0150] (ii) The various parts of the processor / software (including the digital signal processor, software, and memory, which work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions); and

[0151] (c) Circuits, such as microprocessors or parts thereof, that require software or firmware to operate, even if the software or firmware does not exist physically.

[0152] This definition of "circuit" applies to all uses of the term in this application, including its use in any claim. As a further example, as used herein, the term "circuit" will also cover the implementation of a single processor (or a portion thereof) and its accompanying software and / or firmware. The term "circuit" will also cover (e.g., and if applicable, baseband integrated circuits or application processor integrated circuits for mobile phones, or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices, or other network devices.

[0153] Generally, various embodiments can be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. For example, some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while others may be implemented in firmware or software, which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device; however, this disclosure is not limited thereto. Although various aspects of this disclosure may be shown and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using certain other graphical representations, it will be understood that, as non-limiting examples, these blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0154] Embodiments of this disclosure can be practiced in various components, such as integrated circuit modules. In general, the design of integrated circuits is a highly automated process. Complex and powerful software tools can be used to transform logic-level designs into semiconductor circuit designs ready to be etched and formed on semiconductor substrates.

[0155] As may be used herein, the term "exemplary" means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or superior to other embodiments. All embodiments described in the detailed description are exemplary embodiments provided to enable those skilled in the art to create or use this disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention disclosure as defined by the claims.

[0156] The foregoing description has provided a complete and informative description, by way of exemplary and non-limiting examples, of the best methods and apparatus currently conceived by the inventors for carrying out this disclosure. However, various modifications and alterations may become apparent to those skilled in the art when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and appended claims, given the foregoing description. Nevertheless, all such modifications and similar alterations to the teachings of this disclosure will still fall within the scope of this invention.

[0157] It should be noted that the terms “connection,” “coupled,” or any variation thereof mean any connection or coupling (direct or indirect) between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are “connected” or “coupled” together. The coupling or connection between elements can be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. As used herein, two elements can be considered to be “connected” or “coupled” together by means of one or more wires, cables, and / or printed electrical connections and by means of electromagnetic energy, as several non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples, such as electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency region, microwave region, and optical (both visible and invisible) region.

[0158] Furthermore, some features of the preferred embodiments of this disclosure can be used advantageously without the need for corresponding use of other features. Therefore, the foregoing description should be regarded merely as an illustration of the principles of this disclosure, and not as a limitation thereof.

Claims

1. A method for communication, comprising: Information received by the integrated access and backhaul IAB network device of the communication network from the IAB parent network node includes a configuration for monitoring the availability of soft symbols from the communication network, which uses at least one parent node to support the IAB network device. Based on the configuration, the IAB network device determines an indication of monitoring soft symbol availability from at least one parent node, wherein the determination of the soft symbol availability indication comes from one or more of the at least one parent node; and Based on the determination, the IAB network device performs measures before applying the indicated changes regarding the use of soft symbols at the IAB network device. Wherein, when the soft symbol availability is based on different soft symbol availability indications from more than one of the at least one parent nodes, the measures include conflict resolution measures, and When different soft symbol availability indications are received, the conflict resolution measures consider the following rule: a given resource type is available only if more than one parent node provides a soft symbol availability indication that allows the use of soft symbols at the IAB network device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The configuration for the indication used to monitor the availability of the soft symbol is linked to the search space indicated by the downlink control information format for the availability of the soft symbol.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein, Based on the fact that the IAB parent network node is capable of performing conflict resolution measures, the IAB network device does not expect to receive any conflicted soft symbol availability indications in the same time slot as the downlink control information format.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein, The more than one parent node includes more than one transmit / receive point with more than one control resource set, and the more than one control resource set is divided among different transmit / receive points using the control resource set pool index value.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein, The information includes indications of the availability of soft symbols from different send / receive points among the more than one send / receive point.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, The indications of soft symbol availability from the different sending and receiving points are dynamically coordinated to be the same.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein, The availability of the soft symbol is indicated independently by each of the different send / receive points.

8. The method according to any one of claims 2 or 3, wherein, The indication of soft symbol availability using the downlink control information format includes either the same indication received via the different sender / receiver points or one of the different indications.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein, When different soft symbol availability indications are received, the conflict resolution measures consider the following rule: if one of the at least one parent node provides a soft symbol availability indication, then the given resource type is available, while the different resource types are not available, unless both parent nodes provide soft symbol availability indications.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The given resource type includes at least one of downlink resources, uplink resources, or flexible resources at the distributed unit of the IAB network device, and the availability of soft resources for each resource type follows the same principle.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein, For cases where the indication of soft symbol availability originates from only one sender / receiver point, the method includes: The IAB network device determines that the soft symbol availability is not used for applications targeting a given resource type or all resource types.

12. The method according to any one of claims 5, wherein, The IAB network device is dynamically pre-configured with indications of the availability of the soft symbols from the different transmit and receive points.

13. The method according to claim 4, wherein, The partitioning includes a search space for the availability of the soft symbol, indicated by the downlink control information format, associated with more than one transmit / receive point.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein, Measures used for soft symbol availability indication for a parent node include: A predefined time offset is used before applying the soft symbol availability indicator based on the soft symbol availability indicator of the parent node.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein, The predefined time offset is received via the different transmitting and receiving points.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein, Based on the downlink control information format received from the first transmitting and receiving point, the method includes: During the predefined time offset, the IAB network device only needs to send uplink transmissions to the second send / receive point.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein, The predefined time offset is defined in response to the indication of the downlink control information format, wherein the predefined time offset time period has one of the following: By using the first set of time slots to inform the IAB network device, a value of 0 is used to indicate unavailability, or Indication values ​​defined for the downlink control information format, and Wherein, if the value 7 is used to indicate that all resources are available, the predefined time offset time period can be X time slots, or If a value of 0 is used to indicate that no resources are available, a smaller offset or 0 slots can be defined.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein, If all resources are indicated as available, the predefined time period comprises X time slots, where X is an integer.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein, If zero resources are indicated as available, then a smaller offset of 0 time slots is defined.

20. The method according to claim 5, wherein, The configuration for the indication used to monitor the availability of the soft symbol is linked to the search space associated with a transmit / receive point in the downlink control information format for the availability of the soft symbol.

21. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein, Based on the search space association for at least one control resource set and the usage at each parent node of the at least one control resource set, the indication of the availability of the soft symbol is determined from one or more parent nodes.

22. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein, The indication of soft symbol availability applies to any combination of downlink resource availability, uplink resource availability, and flexible soft resource availability.

23. A device for communication, comprising: At least one processor; as well as The device includes at least one memory containing computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, together with the at least one processor, to cause the device to at least: Information received by the integrated access and backhaul IAB network device of the communication network from the IAB parent network node includes a configuration for monitoring the availability of soft symbols from the communication network, which uses at least one parent node to support the IAB network device. Based on the configuration, the IAB network device determines an indication of monitoring soft symbol availability from at least one parent node, wherein the determination of the soft symbol availability indication comes from one or more of the at least one parent node; and Based on the determination, the IAB network device performs measures before applying the indicated changes regarding the use of soft symbols at the IAB network device. Wherein, when the soft symbol availability is based on different soft symbol availability indications from more than one of the at least one parent node, the measures include conflict resolution measures, and wherein, when different soft symbol availability indications are received, the conflict resolution measures consider the following rule: a given resource type is available only if all of the more than one parent node provides a soft symbol availability indication that allows the use of soft symbols at the IAB network device.

24. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein, The configuration for the indication used to monitor the availability of the soft symbol is linked to the search space indicated by the downlink control information format for the availability of the soft symbol.

25. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein, Based on the fact that the IAB parent network node is capable of performing conflict resolution measures, the IAB network device does not expect to receive any conflicted soft symbol availability indications in the same time slot as the downlink control information format.

26. The apparatus according to any one of claims 23-25, wherein, The more than one parent node includes more than one transmit / receive point with more than one control resource set, and the more than one control resource set is divided among different transmit / receive points using the control resource set pool index value.

27. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein, The information includes indications of the availability of soft symbols from different send / receive points among the more than one send / receive point.

28. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein, The indications of soft symbol availability from the different sending and receiving points are dynamically coordinated to be the same.

29. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein, The availability of the soft symbol is indicated independently by each of the different send / receive points.

30. The apparatus according to any one of claims 24 or 25, wherein, The indication of soft symbol availability using the downlink control information format includes either the same indication received via the different sender / receiver points or one of the different indications.

31. The apparatus according to any one of claims 23, wherein, When different soft symbol availability indications are received, the conflict resolution measures consider the following rule: if one of the at least one parent node provides a soft symbol availability indication, then the given resource type is available, while the different resource types are not available, unless both parent nodes provide soft symbol availability indications.

32. The apparatus according to claim 31, wherein, The given resource type includes at least one of downlink resources, uplink resources, or flexible resources at the distributed unit of the IAB network device, and the availability of soft resources for each resource type follows the same principle.

33. The apparatus according to any one of claims 23-25, wherein, In the case where the indication of the availability of the soft symbol comes from only one sender / receiver point, the IAB network device determines that the soft symbol availability is not used for an application targeting a given resource type out of all resource types.

34. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein, The IAB network device is dynamically pre-configured with indications of the availability of the soft symbols from the different transmit and receive points.

35. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein, The partitioning includes a search space with a downlink control information format indicating the availability of the soft symbol, associated with more than one transmit / receive point.

36. The apparatus according to any one of claims 23-25, wherein, The measures for a soft symbol availability indication for a parent node include using a predefined time offset before applying the soft symbol availability indication based on the soft symbol availability indication of the parent node.

37. The apparatus according to claim 36, wherein, The predefined time offset is received via the different transmitting and receiving points.

38. The apparatus according to claim 36, wherein, Based on the downlink control information format received from the first transmitting and receiving point, wherein the at least one memory including the computer program code is configured, together with the at least one processor, to enable the device to: During the predefined time offset, the IAB network device only needs to send uplink transmissions to the second send / receive point.

39. The apparatus according to claim 38, wherein, The predefined time offset is defined in response to the indication of the downlink control information format, wherein the predefined time offset time period has one of the following: By using the first set of time slots to inform the IAB network device, a value of 0 is used to indicate unavailability, or Indication values ​​defined for the downlink control information format, and Wherein, if the value 7 is used to indicate that all resources are available, the predefined time offset time period can be X time slots, or If a value of 0 is used to indicate that no resources are available, a smaller offset or 0 slots can be defined.

40. The apparatus according to claim 39, wherein, If all resources are indicated as available, the predefined time period comprises X time slots, where X is an integer.

41. The apparatus according to claim 39, wherein, If zero resources are indicated as available, then a smaller offset of 0 time slots is defined.

42. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein, The configuration for the indication used to monitor the availability of the soft symbol is linked to the search space associated with a transmit / receive point in the downlink control information format for the availability of the soft symbol.

43. The apparatus according to any one of claims 23-25, wherein, Based on the search space association for at least one control resource set and the usage at each parent node of the at least one control resource set, the indication of the availability of the soft symbol is determined from one or more parent nodes.

44. The apparatus according to any one of claims 23-25, wherein, The indication of soft symbol availability applies to any combination of downlink resource availability, uplink resource availability, and flexible soft resource availability.

45. A method for communication, comprising: Information for IAB network devices is determined by the integrated access and backhaul IAB parent network node of the communication network, including configuration for monitoring the availability of soft symbols from the communication network, which supports the IAB network devices using at least one parent node. as well as Based on the determination, the information is sent to the IAB network device, wherein the information causes the IAB network device to perform measures including: monitoring indications of soft symbol availability from at least one parent node, and applying indicated changes to the use of soft symbols based on the soft symbol availability indications coming from one or more parent nodes. Wherein, when the soft symbol availability is based on different soft symbol availability indications from more than one of the at least one parent node, the measures include conflict resolution measures, and wherein, when different soft symbol availability indications are received, the conflict resolution measures consider the following rule: a given resource type is available only if all of the more than one parent node provides a soft symbol availability indication that allows the use of soft symbols at the IAB network device.

46. ​​The method according to claim 45, wherein, The conflict resolution measures include: when the soft symbol availability is based on different soft symbol availability indications of more than one parent node, the send and receive points of the at least one parent node are dynamically coordinated to perform the conflict resolution measures.

47. The method according to claim 45, wherein, The conflict resolution measures include: after a downlink control information format is provided at a transmitting / receiving point and the IAB parent network node performs conflict resolution, the method includes: Send to the IAB network device an indication message identifying the downlink control information format of another transmitting / receiving point.

48. The method according to claim 47, wherein, The indication information includes an indication of whether a future transmission from the second transmitting / receiving point has been canceled or rescheduled, wherein the second transmitting / receiving point provides downlink control information in a format that enables the IAB network device to use the soft symbol.

49. The method according to claim 45, wherein, Based on the fact that the IAB parent network node is capable of performing conflict resolution measures, the IAB network device does not expect to receive any conflicted soft symbol availability indications in the same time slot as the downlink control information format.

50. The method of claim 45, wherein, The configuration for the indication used to monitor the availability of the soft symbol is linked to the search space indicated by the downlink control information format for the availability of the soft symbol.

51. The method according to any one of claims 45-50, wherein, The more than one parent node includes more than one transmit / receive point with more than one control resource set, and the more than one control resource set is divided among different transmit / receive points using the control resource set pool index value.

52. The method according to claim 51, wherein, The partitioning includes a search space for the availability of the soft symbol, indicated by the downlink control information format, associated with more than one transmit / receive point.

53. The method according to claim 45, wherein, Measures used for soft symbol availability indication for a parent node include: Before applying the soft symbol availability indication based on the soft symbol availability indication of the parent node, a predefined time offset is applied at the IAB network device.

54. The method according to claim 47, wherein, The indication information includes an identifier of the second sending and receiving point and an indication of whether future transmissions using conflicting resources have been canceled or rescheduled.

55. The method according to claim 53, wherein, The predefined time offset is based on estimates of backhaul delay and coordination delay.

56. The method according to claim 54, wherein, The indication from the second transmitting and receiving point is given after the downlink control information format is sent, so that the second transmitting and receiving point can identify services that are canceled or rescheduled to the IAB network device.

57. The method according to any one of claims 45-50, wherein, The configuration for the indication used to monitor the availability of the soft symbol is linked to the search space associated with a transmit / receive point in the downlink control information format for the availability of the soft symbol.

58. The method according to any one of claims 45-50, wherein, Based on the search space association for at least one control resource set and the usage at each parent node of the at least one control resource set, the indication of the availability of the soft symbol is determined from one or more parent nodes.

59. A communication apparatus, comprising: At least one processor; as well as The device includes at least one memory containing computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, together with the at least one processor, to cause the device to at least: Information for IAB network devices is determined by the integrated access and backhaul IAB parent network node of the communication network, including configuration for monitoring indications of soft symbol availability from the communication network, which supports the IAB network devices using at least one parent node; and Based on the determination, the information is sent to the IAB network device, wherein the information causes the IAB network device to perform measures including: monitoring indications of soft symbol availability from at least one parent node, and applying indicated changes to the use of soft symbols based on the soft symbol availability indications coming from one or more parent nodes. Wherein, when the soft symbol availability is based on different soft symbol availability indications from more than one of the at least one parent node, the measures include conflict resolution measures, and wherein, when different soft symbol availability indications are received, the conflict resolution measures consider the following rule: a given resource type is available only if all of the more than one parent node provides a soft symbol availability indication that allows the use of soft symbols at the IAB network device.

60. The apparatus according to claim 59, wherein, The conflict resolution measures include: when the soft symbol availability is based on different soft symbol availability indications of more than one parent node, the send and receive points of the at least one parent node are dynamically coordinated to perform the conflict resolution measures.

61. The apparatus according to claim 59, wherein, The conflict resolution measures include: providing downlink control information format at a transmitting / receiving point and performing conflict resolution after the IAB parent network node performs conflict resolution, wherein the at least one memory including the computer program code is configured, together with the at least one processor, to enable the device to: Send to the IAB network device an indication message identifying the downlink control information format of another transmitting / receiving point.

62. The apparatus according to claim 61, wherein, The indication information includes an indication of whether a future transmission from the second transmitting / receiving point has been canceled or rescheduled, wherein the second transmitting / receiving point provides downlink control information in a format that enables the IAB network device to use the soft symbol.

63. The apparatus according to any one of claims 61-62, wherein, Based on the fact that the IAB parent network node is capable of performing conflict resolution measures, the IAB network device does not expect to receive any conflicted soft symbol availability indications in the same time slot as the downlink control information format.

64. The apparatus according to claim 59, wherein, The configuration for the indication used to monitor the availability of the soft symbol is linked to the search space indicated by the downlink control information format for the availability of the soft symbol.

65. The apparatus according to any one of claims 59-62, wherein, The more than one parent node includes more than one transmit / receive point with more than one control resource set, and the more than one control resource set is divided among different transmit / receive points using the control resource set pool index value.

66. The apparatus according to claim 65, wherein, The partitioning includes a search space for the availability of the soft symbol, indicated by the downlink control information format, associated with more than one transmit / receive point.

67. The apparatus according to claim 59, wherein, The measures for a soft symbol availability indication for a parent node include applying a predefined time offset at the IAB network device before applying the soft symbol availability indication based on the soft symbol availability indication of the parent node.

68. The apparatus according to claim 61, wherein, The indication information includes an identifier of the second sending and receiving point and an indication of whether future transmissions using conflicting resources have been canceled or rescheduled.

69. The apparatus according to claim 67, wherein, The predefined time offset is based on estimates of backhaul delay and coordination delay.

70. The apparatus according to claim 68, wherein, The indication from the second transmitting and receiving point is given after the downlink control information format is sent, so that the second transmitting and receiving point can identify services that have been canceled or rescheduled to the IAB network device.

71. The apparatus according to any one of claims 59-62, wherein, The configuration for the indication used to monitor the availability of the soft symbol is linked to the search space associated with a transmit / receive point in the downlink control information format for the availability of the soft symbol.

72. The apparatus according to any one of claims 59-62, wherein, Based on the search space association for at least one control resource set and the usage at each parent node of the at least one control resource set, the indication of the availability of the soft symbol is determined from one or more parent nodes.

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