Methods for user equipment configuration and scheduling in sub-band full duplex network

Abstract

Techniques related to user equipment (UE) configuration and scheduling in a sub-band full duplex (SBFD) network are described. A user equipment (UE) receives a configuration in a sub-band full duplex (SBFD) radio access network (RAN). A User Equipment, UE, then applies the configuration. In an event, if the configuration includes a downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) cluster configuration, a user equipment (UE) applies the DL or UL cluster configuration to a set of resource blocks (RBs).

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application is part of a non-provisional application, which claims priority to U.S. patent application No. 63 / 338,909, filed on May 6, 2022, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present invention generally relates to mobile communications, and more particularly to techniques for user equipment (UE) configuration and scheduling in a sub-band full-duplex (SBFD) network. Background Art

[0004] Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section do not constitute prior art to the claims listed below and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

[0005] In wireless communications, such as mobile communications under the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specifications, for a single component carrier (CC) of the fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) in a licensed frequency band, a user equipment (UE) can be configured with a single contiguous range of channel resource blocks (CRBs) for downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) transmissions. The mapping of CRBs to physical resource blocks (PRBs) is determined by the channel bandwidth and bandwidth part (BWP) configuration of the UE. According to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project technical specification Release 18 (R18) on non-overlapping subband full-duplex studies, a base station (e.g., gNB) can transmit and receive on non-overlapping frequency subbands in a given time slot. The subband configuration applied in a radio frame within the network / gNB is called subband layout. At the base station (BS) side, transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) subband selectivity can reduce DL-UL BS self-interference as well as BS-BW cross-link interference. Nevertheless, how to enhance configuration and signaling with minimal UE complexity cost to allow flexible scheduling of SBFD-aware UEs remains a technical challenge. Therefore, a technical solution for UE configuration and scheduling in SBFD networks is needed. Summary of the invention

[0006] The following summary is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. That is, the following summary is intended to introduce the concepts, highlights, advantages, and benefits of the novel and non-obvious techniques described herein. Selective embodiments are further described in the detailed description below. Therefore, the following summary is not intended to identify essential features of the subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to determine the scope of the subject matter.

[0007] An object of the present disclosure is to propose a solution or solution to the problems described herein. More specifically, the various schemes proposed in the present disclosure are believed to provide technical solutions related to user equipment UE configuration and scheduling in a sub-band full-duplex SBFD network.

[0008] In one aspect, a method may involve a UE receiving a configuration in a sub-band full-duplex (SBFD) radio access network (RAN). The method may also involve the UE applying the configuration. In the event that the configuration includes a downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) cluster configuration, applying the configuration includes applying the DL or UL cluster configuration to a group of resource blocks (RBs).

[0009] On the other hand, an apparatus that can be implemented in an application server-side network may include a transceiver and a processor connected to the transceiver. The transceiver may be configured for wireless communication. The processor may receive a configuration in a sub-band full-duplex SBFDRAN through the transceiver. The processor may also apply the configuration. In the event that the configuration includes a downlink DL or uplink UL cluster configuration, the processor may apply the DL or UL cluster configuration to a group of resource blocks RBs.

[0010] It is worth noting that although the description provided herein may be in the context of certain wireless access technologies, networks and network topologies such as 5G / NR mobile communications, the proposed concepts, schemes and any variants / derivatives thereof may be implemented in, used for and implemented by other types of wireless access technologies, networks and network topologies, such as and not limited to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, LTE-Advanced Professional, Internet of Things (IoT), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Industrial Internet (IIoT), Vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and Non-terrestrial Network (NTN) communications. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the examples described herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure and constitute a part of the present disclosure. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, are used to explain the principles of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, as some components may be shown out of proportion to the size in actual implementation in order to clearly illustrate the concepts of the present disclosure.

[0012] Figure 1 is a diagram of an example network environment in which various aspects proposed by the present disclosure may be implemented.

[0013] Figure 2 It is an example scene diagram under the solution proposed according to the contents of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 3It is an example scene diagram under the solution proposed according to the contents of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 4 It is an example scene diagram under the solution proposed according to the contents of the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 6 is an example process flow diagram according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] Detailed embodiments and implementations of the claimed subject matter are disclosed herein. However, it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments and implementations are merely exemplary manifestations of the claimed subject matter, which may be implemented in a variety of forms. The present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be limited to the exemplary embodiments and implementations set forth herein. Instead, these exemplary embodiments and implementations are provided to make the description of the present disclosure comprehensive and complete and to fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. In the following description, details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the presented embodiments and implementations.

[0019] Overview

[0020] Implementations according to the present disclosure involve various technologies, methods, schemes and / or solutions, all of which are related to the technology of configuring and scheduling user equipment UE in a sub-band full-duplex SBFD network. According to the present disclosure, multiple solutions may be implemented, which may be implemented separately or in combination. That is, although these possible solutions may be described separately, two or more possible solutions may be implemented in some combination.

[0021] In the present disclosure, the term "subband" or "cluster" may refer to a set of consecutive resource blocks (RBs) sharing the same link direction. A "resource block group" or "RB set" may refer to a set of consecutive RBs within a carrier and should be distinguished from the existing "RB set" concept in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 3GPP specification Release 17 (R17) for the New Radio Unlicensed Band NR-U, which is used in wideband operation on shared spectrum. Based on the listen-before-talk principle in R17, the concept of cluster availability is established, while in R18, the availability of a cluster for transmission or reception is based on a periodic subband layout pattern. In R17, all UEs use the same cluster availability, while in R18, the cluster configuration may vary from UE to UE. In addition, non-continuous cluster operation is not allowed in R17, while in R18, non-continuous cluster operation needs to be supported. In addition, in R18, it is assumed that there is coexistence of legacy UEs (time division duplex TDD) and enhanced UEs (SBFD-aware). The term “CLI” may refer to cross-link interference (e.g., UE / UL to UE / DL, gNB / DL to gNB / UL). The term “SIC” may refer to self-interference cancellation on the gNB side. The term “CC” may refer to component carriers in carrier aggregation CA or multi-carrier duplexing. The term “RateMatchPattern” may refer to a concept used by the 3GPP standard to define a frequency-time region and its repetition on network resources (called a pattern) that are excluded from those downlink transmissions planned in the overlapping region. In order to send the same payload on fewer resources, matching coding rates is required.

[0022] Figure 1 An example network environment 100 is shown in which various solutions and schemes according to the present disclosure may be implemented. Figures 2 to 6 Examples of implementing various proposed solutions in the network environment 100 according to the present disclosure are shown. The following descriptions of various proposed solutions refer to Figures 1 to 6 .

[0023] refer to Figure 1, the network environment 100 may involve wireless communication between a UE 110 and a RAN 120 (e.g., a 5G NR mobile network or other types of networks, such as NTN). The UE 110 may wirelessly communicate with the RAN 120 via a base station or network node 125 (e.g., an eNB, a gNB, or a transmission reception point TRP). The RAN 120 may be part of a network 130. In the network environment 100, the UE 110 and the network 130 (via the network node 125 of the RAN 120) may implement various schemes related to UE configuration and scheduling techniques in a sub-band full-duplex SBFD network, as described below. It is worth noting that although various proposed schemes, options, and methods may be described separately, in actual applications, these proposed schemes, options, and methods may be implemented separately or in combination. That is, in some cases, each of one or more proposed schemes, options, and methods may be implemented separately or separately. In other cases, some or all of the proposed schemes, options, and methods may be implemented in combination.

[0024] Figure 2 An example scenario 200 under the proposed scheme according to the present disclosure is shown. The scenario 200 may involve sub-band layout. Figure 2 Part (A) of shows an example of an invariant partition with two subbands. Figure 2 Part (B) shows an example of two subbands with enabled mode. Figure 2 Part (C) of shows an example of only two sub-bands with sub-band level dynamic time division duplexing (DTDD). Figure 2 Part (D) of 200 shows an example of three subbands with an enabled pattern. In scenario 200, an enhanced UE (e.g., UE 110) may be aware of the downlink subbands and uplink subbands, while a legacy UE may not be aware of the subbands. In addition, in scenario 200, a BWP pair may have the same center frequency. In scenario 200, some requirements regarding frequency partition configuration may include reasonable restrictions. In addition, the time pattern configuration regarding partition enablement or disablement may involve semi-static vs. dynamic signaling and broadcast vs. unicast vs. multicast (group sharing) transmission.

[0025] Figure 3 An example scenario 300 according to the solution proposed in the present disclosure is shown. The scenario 300 may involve two examples of sub-band layout. Figure 3 Parts (A) to (F) of show corresponding aspects of two examples (Example 1 and Example 2). Figure 3 Part (A) shows the UL-DL subband layout pattern that repeats periodically in the time slot. Specifically, Figure 3Part (A) shows a two-dimensional (2D) frequency-time pattern, and it shows non-overlapping concurrent transmission and reception at the base station side in each time slot. In addition, guard bands may be required at least for base station SIC and CLI mitigation. In the partitioned time slots, a specific UE may perform UL or DL ​​transmission based on a semi-static or dynamic time division duplex (TDD) configuration. Figure 3 Part (B) of FIG. 4 shows individual clusters. In part (B), “C” represents a cluster, which is a set of consecutive resource blocks RBs that share the same link direction. It is worth noting that the cluster number is not an indicator of a UD pair. Figure 3 Part (C) of FIG. 1 shows the “partitioning” or “subband layout” of each time slot and each symbol. More specifically, part (C) shows that UL and DL partitions with the same index form a pair. In part (C), “P” represents partitioning. Figure 3 Part (D) of shows an example of a solution based on RateMatchPattern. In particular, part (D) shows an example of BWP and RateMatchPattern configuration for a UE with wide UL and DL transmission bandwidth partial BWP configuration. The BWP may be represented by a straight line and a dashed box. The UL / DL BWP does not switch, only the RateMatchPattern (bold line) area changes from time slot to time slot in DL. In UL, unused areas cannot be indicated to the UE, but are represented by light shading. Figure 3 Part (E) of shows an example of a solution based on BWP-cluster. In part (E), p1 can be exactly as used in part (A). Here, the index may identify the UL-DL pair, and the BWP switches between the partitions p1 and p2 pairs and the p3 pair. In the example shown, p1rD=p3D. Here, the bandwidth of p1U is the same as p1U, while the bandwidth of p3U is smaller than p3D. Figure 3 Part (F) shows an example of a CC cluster and BWP partition. Figure 3 Part (F) of shows an example of a CC cluster and BWP partition. In part (F), three cells are configured as follows: pD1 is supported by CC#1, pD2 is supported by the combination of CC#2-#3, and CC#1 and CC#2 share the same cell that defines the SSB. For legacy UEs, CC#3 needs to be configured with non-cell defined synchronization signal blocks NCD-SSB (e.g., period = 160ms). For legacy UEs, CC#3 needs to be configured with NCD-SSB (e.g., period = 160ms). Each partition belongs to a separate BWP, and one BWP is allocated per time slot.

[0026] According to the first scheme proposed in the present disclosure, the UL and / or DL ​​cluster configuration can be specified by a group of resource blocks RBs. Under the proposed scheme, RBs can be allocated only in the bandwidth of the active UL / DL bandwidth part BWP. In some implementations, the radio resource control RRC information element IE can define a set of clusters as a set of RBs sets (for example, by reusing the IE from NR-U). In other implementations, a new RRC IE can be used to define a set of clusters. For example, the UL and DL clusters of a DL-UL BWP pair can be configured based on a common RBs group for DL / UL, with an attribute indicating the link direction. Alternatively, the UL and DL configurations can be separate, as is currently the case for RBs sets.

[0027] In some implementations, the default (DL or UL) cluster configuration may be a single cluster with a set of RBs spanning the entire RBs allocated to the (DL or UL) BWP. The default cluster may overlap with other clusters defined as part of the same BWP. In some implementations, further (DL or UL) clusters may be configured via system information blocks SIBs and semi-static RRC signaling, each cluster spanning one subband of the (DL or UL) BWP. In some implementations, the configuration may be for a group of UEs or all UEs of a cell. In one option, subbands for the same UE BWP may not overlap with each other, except for the default cluster. In another option, subbands for the same UE BWP may overlap with each other.

[0028] In some implementations, the guard band size may be allowed to be zero. Alternatively, the guard band size may be non-zero. In some implementations, the SIB may be used to configure the cluster with a set of RBs applicable to all enhancement UEs. In other implementations, the SIB may be received with a RateMatchPattern configuration cluster applicable to all UEs using PDSCH-ConfigCommon. For example, the enhancement UE front end configuration may adapt to the rate matching mode by one of the following methods: (1) a flag enables adaptation to all rate matching modes; (2) a series of flags enable adaptation to each rate matching mode separately; and (3) the UE front end configuration is performed by independent means, separate from the rate matching mode, which still controls resource element (RE) selection and received rate matching. In some implementations, enhancement UEs may be configured with an UL rate matching mode (e.g., PUSCH-ConfigCommon contains RateMatchPattern). In some implementations, all properties and allocations of the BWP apply to all BWP PRBs by default ("inherited"), but specific properties or allocations, such as PUCCH-Config, PUSCH-Config, PDSCH-Config, etc., may override them. In one option, the attributes and assignments may apply to each partition (eg, a combination of clusters). In another option, the attributes and assignments may apply to each cluster.

[0029] According to a second proposed scheme disclosed in the prior art, a combination of one or more restrictions from a restriction list may be applied, each restriction may be predefined or reported as a UE capability. In the proposed scheme, the restriction list may include the following: (a) restrictions on the number of configured DL clusters, (b) restrictions on the number of DL clusters enabled in the same time slot, (c) restrictions on the number of configured UL clusters, (d) restrictions on the number of UL clusters enabled in the same time slot, (e) restrictions on the number of configured DL and UL cluster combinations, (f) restrictions on the number of configured non-overlapping DL and UL cluster combinations, (g) restrictions on the number of DL and UL cluster combinations enabled in any time slot within a cluster combination in a periodic pattern, (h) restrictions on the number of DL and UL cluster combinations enabled in the same time slot, (i) restrictions on the number of time patterns configured to the UE, (j) restrictions on the number of guard bands configured in a bandwidth part BWP, and (k) restrictions on the number of guard bands enabled in the same time slot. In the proposed scheme, DL and UL subband configurations may be restricted to frequency-symmetric layouts. For example, the resource blocks RBs groups for DL ​​and UL may be symmetric in frequency with respect to a center frequency (eg, the center frequency of a carrier or BWP).

[0030] According to the third proposed scheme disclosed in the prior art, the UE 110 may configure the subband layout pattern according to one of the following conditions: (1) the subband division is constant in all time slots; and (2) the subband division may change periodically according to the configured pattern. In the first option (Option-1), the UE 110 may be configured with a (limited) number of cluster combinations and a pattern that is applied periodically in multiple time slots. In some implementations, the pattern may consist of a series of indices pointing to cluster combinations. The cluster combinations and their sequences may be configured via semi-static radio resource control RRC configuration per cell (e.g., via system information block SIB) or per group of UEs (e.g., via slot format indication radio network temporary identifier (SFI-RNTI)). For example, the subsequence of cluster combinations may remain "flexible" and selected via dynamic signaling, which may include a downlink control information (DCI) field carrying an index to select a pattern from a predefined or semi-statically preconfigured table. In some implementations, the SFI signaling and table configuration may be reused. Some entries in the table may describe combinations of TDD modes (as described in the current standard), while other entries may describe combinations of cluster modes. In other implementations, the SFI signaling may be reused with the System Information Radio Network Temporary Identifier (SI-RNTI) (or a new RNTI) to look up the pattern for the "flexible" subsequence.

[0031] In the second option (Option-2), each cluster configured to the UE 110 may be a DL cluster or a UL cluster. Each cluster may have a flag sequence of equal length to the periodicity of the periodic pattern. The flag may indicate when the cluster is enabled or disabled. In addition, only clusters with non-overlapping resource blocks RBs groups may be enabled in each time slot. In addition, the enabling flag may be configured via a semi-static RRC configuration (SIB) per cell or RRC configuration (via RNTI) per group of UEs, or dynamically as described in Option-1.

[0032] In the third option (Option-3), a pool of clusters shared for UL and DL may be configured, and the direction of each cluster may be selected individually. Each cluster may have a flag sequence of equal length to the periodicity of the periodic pattern. The flag may indicate when the cluster is enabled or disabled, and its link direction if enabled. Only clusters with non-overlapping groups of resource blocks RBs may be enabled in each time slot. These flags may be configured via semi-static RRC configuration (SIB) per cell or RRC configuration (via RNTI) per group of UEs, or dynamically as described in Option-1. In some implementations, the direction flag may take the value of DL or UL. For example, the value may be {DL,UL,Flexible}.

[0033] According to the fourth proposed scheme disclosed in the prior art, the dynamic time division duplex (DTDD) feature may select the DL and UL bandwidth parts (BWP) in specific time slots and / or symbols. That is, if DL or UL is configured, this (DL or UL transmission) determines the link direction in which the UE 110 can be scheduled. In some implementations, the SFI signaling and table configuration may be reused. Some entries in the table may describe a combination of TDD modes (as described in the current standard), while other entries may describe a combination of cluster modes. In other implementations, the SFI signaling may be reused with the system information radio network temporary identifier (SI-RNTI) (or a new RNTI) to find the pattern of the "flexible" subsequence.

[0034] According to a fifth proposed scheme disclosed in the prior art, the static time division duplex (TDD) characteristic may be adapted to select the DL and UL directions of each cluster. For example, each cluster may have a flag sequence, and each flag may indicate "D" for downlink, "U" for uplink, "F" for flexible direction, or "X" for disabled.

[0035] According to the sixth proposed solution disclosed in the prior art, the dynamic time division duplex (TDD) feature can also be adapted to select the DL and UL directions of each cluster. For example, the SFI signaling can be reused with the system information radio network temporary identifier (SI-RNTI) or a new RNTI, and the second SFI table can be used to look up the pattern of the "flexible" subsequence.

[0036] According to the seventh proposal disclosed in the prior art, a subband layout pattern may be configured over a series of time slots according to a set consisting of one or more UL bandwidth part BWPs and one or more DL bandwidth part BWPs. It is noteworthy that this seventh proposal is an alternative to the first and second proposals described above. In the proposed scheme, each element of the pattern may select and enable a single UL BWP and a single DL BWP in the corresponding time slot / symbol in turn. BWPs belonging to the same set may have the same cyclic prefix (CP) and numerical science and timing advance group (TAG) configuration. Unpaired UL or DL ​​bandwidth part BWPs may also be part of the active bandwidth part BWP set. In addition, each bandwidth part BWP may be configured with a single cluster combination (e.g., one UL cluster combination for each UL bandwidth part BWP and one DL cluster combination for each DL bandwidth part BWP). In some implementations, the UL configuration may be further restricted to contain only a single cluster (as opposed to multiple cluster combinations in DL). The subband layout and bandwidth part BWP set for each time slot may be configured through SIB and using semi-static RRC configuration. In some implementations, multiple bandwidth portion BWP sets may be configured and a single bandwidth portion BWP set may be activated by semi-static RRC configuration. In some implementations, multiple bandwidth portion BWP sets may be configured and a single bandwidth portion BWP set may be activated by dynamic signaling. Switching to a fallback configuration after a timeout may be supported similarly to the bandwidth portion BWP switching mechanism. The UE 110 may be configured with a series of UL-DL bandwidth portion BWP combinations as a pattern that is periodically repeated in subsequent time slots.

[0037] In the proposed scheme, a subsequence of the patterns may be reserved as "flexible" and a pattern of matching length may be selected by dynamic signaling. A DCI signal may carry a row index to the selected pattern in a semi-statically preconfigured lookup table describing multiple patterns. Each element in the lookup table may be a DL-UL BWP combination belonging to the set of active BWPs. In some implementations, the signaling may use SFI-RNTI. The integer carried by the group common signaling may be a vector of two indices, namely: one vector pointing to a row in the original SFI table for DTDD and the other vector pointing to a row in a second SFI table for subband layout. In other implementations, the existing SFI signaling method may be reused with SI-RNTI and the decoded index may be used in the second SFI table to decode the layout. In other implementations, a new RNTI may be introduced for signaling and the decoded index may be used in the second SFI table to decode the layout. The restrictions described in the second proposed scheme may apply. A one-to-one mapping between cluster combinations and BWPs may be assumed. In TDD, UE 110 may be configured with a DL-UL BWP pair with different center frequencies. In some implementations, a new DCI field may be used to select the BWP.

[0038] It is worth noting that, with respect to the reconfiguration time gap, the UL-UL bandwidth switching may introduce a transition delay in the BS receiver, which is not transparent to the UE transmitter because the (traditional) UE timing advance (TA) may take a single value. In order to avoid UL symbols being erased during the reconfiguration delay of the BS receiver, the UL repetition may be rate matched. According to the eighth scheme proposed in the present disclosure, TDD modes of the types UFU UFFU UF...FU and DFD DFFD DF...FD may be supported for symbols (and optionally for time slots). In addition, RateMatchPattern may be enabled for symbols in UL transmission. The first symbol after the bandwidth change between DL-DL time slots may not be used for reception or measurement by the enhanced UE. Alternatively, the first symbol may be configured as an 'F' symbol or 'ZP-IMR' or with RateMatchPattern. Alternatively, the last symbol before the reconfiguration, if not used by the UE, may not be used for reception or measurement by the enhanced UE. The last symbol before the bandwidth change between UL-UL time slots may not be used for reception or measurement by the Beyond 5G (B5G) UE. Alternatively, the first symbol may be configured as an 'F' symbol or 'ZP-IMR' or with RateMatchPattern. Alternatively, the first symbol before reconfiguration may not be used for reception or measurement by the enhanced UE if not used by the network. As an option, the UE may be configured to transmit a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) or perform UE-UE CLI measurements on symbols that the BS does not use for reception.

[0039] Example Implementation

[0040] Figure 5 An example communication system 500 is shown, including at least an example apparatus 510 and an example apparatus 520, according to an implementation of the present disclosure. Each of the apparatus 510 and the apparatus 520 may perform various functions to implement the techniques described herein for UE configuration and scheduling in an SBFD network, including various schemes related to various proposed designs, concepts, schemes, systems and methods described above, including the network environment 100, and the processes described below.

[0041] Each of device 510 and device 520 may be part of an electronic device, which may be a network device or UE (e.g., UE 110), such as a portable or mobile device, a wearable device, a vehicle device or vehicle, a wireless communication device, or a computing device. For example, each of device 510 and device 520 may be implemented in a smartphone, a smart watch, a personal digital assistant, an electronic control unit (ECU) in a vehicle, a digital camera, or a computing device, such as a tablet, a laptop, or a notebook computer. Each of device 510 and device 520 may also be part of a machine-type device, which may be an IoT device, such as a stationary or fixed device, a home device, a roadside unit (RSU), a wired communication device, or a computing device. For example, each of device 510 and device 520 may be implemented in a smart thermostat, a smart refrigerator, a smart door lock, a wireless speaker, or a home control center. When implemented in or as a network device, device 510 and / or device 520 may be implemented in an eNodeB in an LTE, LTE-Advanced, or LTE-Advanced Pro network, or in a gNB or TRP in a 5G network, NR network, or IoT network.

[0042] In some implementations, each of the apparatus 510 and the apparatus 520 may be implemented in the form of one or more integrated circuit (IC) chips, such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more complex instruction set computing (CISC) processors, or one or more reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors. In the above various schemes, each of the apparatus 510 and the apparatus 520 may be implemented in a network device or a UE. Each of the apparatus 510 and the apparatus 520 may include Figure 5 At least some of the components shown in the apparatus 510 and the apparatus 520, such as the processor 512 and the processor 522, respectively. Each of the apparatus 510 and the apparatus 520 may also include one or more other components that are not related to the solution proposed in the present disclosure (e.g., an internal power supply, a display device and / or a user interface device), so for the sake of brevity, these components of the apparatus 510 and the apparatus 520 are not shown in the apparatus 510 and the apparatus 520. Figure 5 It is not shown in the figure and is not described below.

[0043] In one aspect, each of processor 512 and processor 522 may be implemented in the form of one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, or one or more CISC or RISC processors. That is, even though the singular term "a processor" is used herein to refer to processor 512 and processor 522, in some implementations, each of processor 512 and processor 522 may include multiple processors, and in other implementations may include a single processor, according to the present disclosure. In another aspect, each of processor 512 and processor 522 may be implemented in the form of hardware (and, optionally, firmware), including electronic components, such as, but not limited to, one or more transistors, one or more diodes, one or more capacitors, one or more resistors, one or more inductors, one or more memory resistors and / or one or more variable capacitors, which are configured and arranged to achieve specific purposes according to the present disclosure. In other words, in at least some implementations, processor 512 and processor 522 are special-purpose machines specifically designed, arranged and configured to perform specific tasks, including those tasks related to UE configuration and scheduling techniques in SBFD networks in various implementations according to the present disclosure.

[0044] In some embodiments, the device 510 may also include a transceiver 516 connected to the processor 512. The transceiver 516 may be capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some embodiments, the transceiver 516 may be capable of wirelessly communicating with different types of wireless networks of different radio access technologies (RATs). In some embodiments, the transceiver 516 may be equipped with multiple antenna ports (not shown), for example, four antenna ports. That is, the transceiver 516 may be equipped with multiple transmit antennas and multiple receive antennas for multiple input multiple output (MIMO) wireless communications. In some embodiments, the device 520 may also include a transceiver 526 connected to the processor 522. The transceiver 526 may include a transceiver capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some embodiments, the transceiver 526 may be capable of wirelessly communicating with different types of user equipment (UEs) / wireless networks of different RATs. In some embodiments, the transceiver 526 may be equipped with multiple antenna ports (not shown), for example, four antenna ports. That is, the transceiver 526 may be equipped with multiple transmit antennas and multiple receive antennas for MIMO wireless communication.

[0045] In some embodiments, the device 510 may further include a memory 514 connected to the processor 512 and accessible to the processor 512 and storing data therein. In some embodiments, the device 520 may further include a memory 524 connected to the processor 522 and accessible to the processor 522 and storing data therein. Each of the memory 514 and the memory 524 may include a random access memory (RAM), such as a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a thyristor RAM (T-RAM) and / or a zero capacitance RAM (Z-RAM). Alternatively, each of the memory 514 and the memory 524 may also include a read-only memory (ROM), such as a mask ROM, a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM) and / or an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM). Alternatively, each of the memory 514 and the memory 524 may also include a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), such as a flash memory, a solid-state memory, a ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), a magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) and / or a phase change memory.

[0046] Each of the apparatus 510 and the apparatus 520 may be a communication entity capable of communicating with each other using various schemes proposed according to the present disclosure. For illustrative purposes and without limitation, the following provides a description of the capabilities of the apparatus 510 as a user equipment (e.g., UE 110) and the apparatus 520 as a network node (e.g., network node 125 or another network node implementing one or more of the above network-side functions), as an application server-side network (e.g., network 130 as a 5G / NR mobile network).

[0047] Under various proposed schemes of techniques for UE configuration and scheduling in a SBFD network according to the present disclosure, a processor 512 as or implemented in a user equipment (e.g., UE 110) may receive a configuration in a SBFD RAN (e.g., in RAN 120 of network 130 via a device 520 as a network node 125) via a transceiver 516. In addition, the processor 512 may apply the configuration. In the event that the configuration includes a downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) cluster configuration, the processor 512 may apply the DL or UL cluster configuration to a group of resource blocks (RBs).

[0048] In some embodiments, when receiving the configuration, processor 512 may receive the configuration in a radio resource control (RRC) information element (IE) that defines a set of clusters.

[0049] In some embodiments, a DL or UL cluster configuration may include a single cluster having a set of RBs that spans the entire RBs allocated to a DL or UL bandwidth part (BWP).

[0050] In some embodiments, when applying the configuration, the processor 512 may apply DL or UL clusters, with each cluster spanning one subband of the DL or UL BWP.

[0051] In some embodiments, when receiving the configuration, processor 512 may receive the configuration in a system information block (SIB) or through semi-static RRC signaling. In some embodiments, the guard band (GB) size may be zero or non-zero.

[0052] In some embodiments, when applying the configuration, the processor 512 may apply a combination of one or more restrictions from a restriction list, wherein the restriction list includes one or more of the following restrictions: (a) the number of configured DL clusters; (b) the number of DL clusters enabled in the same time slot with a DL cluster; (c) the number of configured UL clusters; (d) the number of UL clusters enabled in the same time slot with a UL cluster; (e) the number of configured DL and UL cluster combinations; (f) the number of configured non-overlapping DL and UL cluster combinations; (g) the number of DL and UL cluster combinations enabled in any time slot within a cluster combination in a periodic pattern; (h) the number of DL and UL cluster combinations enabled in the same time slot with a DL and UL cluster combination; (i) the number of time patterns configured for the UE; (j) the number of GBs configured in the BWP; and (k) the number of GBs enabled in the same time slot with the GBs.

[0053] In some embodiments, upon receiving the configuration, the processor 512 may apply a subband placement pattern where: (i) the subband division is constant across all time slots; or (ii) the subband division varies periodically according to the subband placement pattern. In some embodiments, the UE may be configured with a number of cluster combinations and a subband placement pattern that are periodically applied across multiple time slots. In some embodiments, each cluster configured to the UE may be one of a DL cluster or a UL cluster, each cluster having a flag sequence of equal length to the periodicity of the subband placement pattern, such that each flag in the flag sequence may indicate when the corresponding cluster is enabled or disabled. In some embodiments, the UE may be configured with a single pool of clusters shared for UL and DL transmissions, where the direction of each cluster in the cluster pool is individually selected.

[0054] In some embodiments, when applying configuration, processor 512 may apply a dynamic time division duplex (DTDD) feature to select between the DL BWP and the UL BWP in one or more time slots or symbols.

[0055] In certain embodiments, when applying configuration, processor 512 may adapt static time division duplex (TDD) characteristics or dynamic TDD characteristics to select the DL and UL directions for each cluster.

[0056] Illustrative Process

[0057] Figure 6 An example process 600 consistent with an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Process 600 may represent one aspect of implementing the various designs, concepts, schemes, systems, and methods proposed above, whether in part or in whole, including those related to the above. More specifically, process 600 may represent one aspect of proposed concepts and schemes related to UE configuration and scheduling techniques in sub-band full-duplex SBFD networks. Process 600 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions, as shown by one or more blocks 610 and 620. Although shown as discrete blocks, the various blocks of process 600 may be divided into more blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated depending on the desired implementation. In addition, the blocks / sub-blocks of process 600 may be arranged in a manner such that: Figure 6 6. The process 600 may be performed in the order shown, or may be performed in a different order. In addition, one or more blocks / sub-blocks of process 600 may be performed iteratively. Process 600 may be implemented by apparatus 510 and apparatus 520, as well as variations thereof. For illustrative purposes only and without limiting the scope, process 600 is described below in the context of apparatus 510 as a UE (e.g., UE 110) and apparatus 520 as an application server-side network (e.g., network 130) of a communication entity such as a network node or base station (e.g., network node 125 or other network node implementing one or more network-side functions described above). Process 600 may start at block 610.

[0058] At 610, process 600 may involve processor 512 of device 510, implemented as or as a UE (e.g., UE 110), receiving, via transceiver 516, a configuration in a sub-band full-duplex SBFD radio access network RAN ​​(e.g., RAN 120 of network 130 as network node 125 via device 520). Process 600 may proceed from 610 to 620.

[0059] At 620, process 600 may involve processor 512 applying the configuration. In the event that the configuration includes a downlink DL or uplink UL cluster configuration, process 600 may involve processor 512 applying the DL or UL cluster configuration to a set of resource blocks RBs.

[0060] In some embodiments, when receiving the configuration, process 600 may involve processor 512 receiving the configuration via a radio resource control (RRC) information element (IE) defining a set of clusters.

[0061] In some embodiments, the DL or UL cluster configuration may include a single cluster having a set of RBs spanning the entire RBs allocated to the DL or UL bandwidth part BWP.

[0062] In some embodiments, when applying configuration, process 600 may involve processor 512 applying DL or UL clusters, each cluster spanning a subband of the DL or UL bandwidth portion BWP.

[0063] In some embodiments, when receiving the configuration, the process 600 may involve the processor 512 receiving the configuration via a system information block SIB or via semi-static radio resource control RRC signaling. In some embodiments, the guard band GB size may be zero or non-zero.

[0064] In some embodiments, when applying the configuration, process 600 may involve the processor 512 applying a combination of one or more restrictions from a restriction list, wherein the restriction list includes one or more of the following restrictions: (a) the number of configured DL clusters; (b) the number of DL clusters enabled in the same time slot with a DL cluster; (c) the number of configured UL clusters; (d) the number of UL clusters enabled in the same time slot with a UL cluster; (e) the number of configured DL and UL cluster combinations; (f) the number of configured non-overlapping DL and UL cluster combinations; (g) the number of DL and UL cluster combinations enabled in any time slot within a cluster combination in a periodic pattern; (h) the number of DL and UL cluster combinations enabled in the same time slot with a DL and UL cluster combination; (i) the number of time patterns configured for the UE; (j) the number of guard bands GBs configured in the bandwidth part BWP; and (k) the number of GBs enabled in the same time slot with the GBs.

[0065] In some embodiments, upon receiving the configuration, process 600 may involve processor 512 applying a subband placement pattern, wherein: (i) the subband division is constant across all time slots; or (ii) the subband division varies periodically according to the subband placement pattern. In some embodiments, the UE may be configured with a number of cluster combinations and a subband placement pattern that are periodically applied across multiple time slots. In some embodiments, the cluster configured for the UE is one of a DL cluster and a UL cluster, wherein each cluster has a flag sequence of equal length to the periodicity of the subband placement pattern, and wherein a flag of the flag sequence indicates when the corresponding cluster is enabled or disabled. In some embodiments, the UE may be configured with a pool of clusters shared for UL and DL transmissions, and the direction of each cluster in the pool of clusters is individually selected.

[0066] In some embodiments, when applying the configuration, process 600 may involve processor 512 applying a dynamic time division duplexing (DTDD) feature that selects the DL bandwidth portion (BWP) and the UL BWP in one or more time slots or symbols.

[0067] In some embodiments, when applying configuration, process 600 may involve processor 512 adapting a static time division duplex (TDD) characteristic or a dynamic time division duplex (TDD) characteristic to select the DL and UL directions for each cluster.

[0068] Additional Notes

[0069] The subject matter described herein sometimes shows different components contained in different components or connected to different other components.It should be understood that these depicted architectures are only examples, and many other architectures can actually be implemented to achieve the same function.Conceptually, any arrangement of components is considered to be "associated" as long as it can achieve the same function, so as to achieve the desired function.Therefore, any two components combined to achieve a specific function herein can be regarded as "interrelated" to achieve the desired function, regardless of the architecture or intermediate components.Similarly, any two components associated in this way can also be regarded as "operably connected" or "operably coupled" to achieve the desired function, and any two components that can be so associated can also be regarded as "operably coupled" to achieve the desired function.Specific examples of operable coupling include but are not limited to physically compatible and / or physically interactive components and / or wirelessly interactive and / or wirelessly interactive components and / or logically interactive and / or logically interactive components.

[0070] In addition, with respect to the use of almost any plural and / or singular terms herein, those skilled in the art may translate from the plural to the singular and / or from the singular to the plural, depending on the context and / or application. For clarity, various singular / plural permutations may be explicitly listed herein.

[0071] In addition, those familiar with the art will understand that, in general, the terms used herein, particularly in the appended claims, such as the body of the claims, are generally considered to be "open" terms, for example, the word "comprising" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to", the word "having" should be interpreted as "having at least", the word "includes" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to", etc. Those familiar with the art will further understand that if a specific number in an introduced claim recitation is intended, such intent will be explicitly stated in the claim, and in the absence of such a statement, such intent is not present. For example, to aid understanding, the following appended claims may contain the use of introductory phrases such as "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be interpreted to mean that any particular claim introduced by the indefinite article "a" or "an" is limited to implementations that include one such recitation, even if the same claim includes the introductory phrases such as "one or more" or "at least one" and the indefinite article such as "a" or "an", for example, "a" and / or "an" should be interpreted as "at least one" or "one or more"; the same applies to the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. Furthermore, even if a specific number is explicitly stated in an introduced claim statement, a person skilled in the art will recognize that such statement should be interpreted as including at least the stated number, e.g., merely stating "two statements" without other modifiers means at least two statements, or two or more statements. Furthermore, where a construction similar to "at least one of A, B, and C, etc." is used, such construction is generally intended to be understood by a person skilled in the art, e.g., "a system having at least A, B, and C" would include, but is not limited to, systems having only A, only B, only C, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B, and C together, etc. Where a construction similar to "at least one of A, B, or C, etc." is used, such construction is generally intended to be understood by a person skilled in the art, e.g., "a system having at least A, B, or C" would include, but is not limited to, systems having only A, only B, only C, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B, and C together, etc. Those familiar with the art will further understand that almost any disjunctive word and / or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms in the description, claims, or drawings should be understood to contemplate the possibility of including one, either, or both terms. For example, the phrase "A or B" will be understood to include the possibility of "A" or "B" or "A and B".

[0072] As can be seen from the foregoing, various implementations of the present disclosure have been described herein for illustrative purposes, and various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Therefore, the various implementations disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, and the true scope and spirit are indicated by the following claims.

Claims

1. A method, include: Receiving, by a processor of a user equipment (UE), a configuration in a sub-band full-duplex (SBFD) radio access network (RAN); as well as The configuration is applied by the processor, Wherein, in an event that the configuration includes a downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) cluster configuration, applying the configuration includes applying the DL or UL cluster configuration to a set of resource blocks (RBs).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the configuration comprises receiving the configuration via a radio resource control (RRC) information element (IE) defining a set of clusters.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the DL or UL cluster configuration comprises a single cluster having a set of RBs spanning the entire RBs allocated to a DL or UL bandwidth part (BWP).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the configuration comprises applying DL or UL clusters, each cluster spanning a subband of a DL or UL bandwidth part (BWP).

5. The method of claim 4, wherein receiving the configuration comprises receiving the configuration via a system information block (SIB) or via semi-static radio resource control (RRC) signaling. The method of claim 4 , wherein a guard band (GB) size is zero.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein a guard band (GB) size is non-zero.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the configuration comprises applying a combination of one or more restrictions from a restriction list, wherein the restriction list comprises one or more of the following restrictions: The number of configured DL clusters; The number of DL clusters enabled in the same time slot with DL clusters; The number of configured UL clusters; The number of UL clusters enabled in the same time slot with UL clusters; The number of configured DL and UL cluster combinations; The number of configured non-overlapping DL and UL cluster combinations; The number of DL and UL cluster combinations enabled in any time slot within the cluster combination of the periodic pattern; The number of DL and UL cluster combinations enabled in the same time slot with DL and UL cluster combinations; The number of time modes configured for the UE; The number of guard bands (GBs) configured in the bandwidth part (BWP); and The number of GBs enabled in the same time slot with GBs.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the configuration comprises applying a subband layout mode, in: The subband allocation is constant across all time slots; or The subband division changes periodically according to the subband layout pattern.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the UE is configured with a number of cluster combinations and a subband layout pattern periodically applied in a plurality of time slots.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the cluster configured for the UE is one of a DL cluster and a UL cluster, wherein each cluster has a flag sequence having a length equal to the periodicity of the subband layout pattern, and wherein a flag of the flag sequence indicates when the corresponding cluster is enabled or disabled.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the UE is configured with a pool of clusters shared for UL and DL transmissions, and the direction of each cluster in the pool of clusters is selected individually.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the configuration comprises applying a dynamic time division duplex (DTDD) feature that selects between a DL bandwidth part (BWP) and a UL BWP in one or more time slots or symbols.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the configuration comprises adapting a static time division duplex (TDD) characteristic to select DL and UL directions for each cluster.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the configuration comprises adapting a dynamic time division duplex (TDD) characteristic to select DL and UL directions for each cluster.

16. A device that can be implemented in an application server network, include: a transceiver configured to communicate with one or more network nodes of the network; as well as A processor connected to the transceiver and configured to perform operations, including: receiving, by the transceiver, a configuration in a sub-band full-duplex (SBFD) radio access network (RAN); and Apply this configuration, Wherein, in an event that the configuration includes a downlink DL or uplink UL cluster configuration, applying the configuration includes applying the DL or UL cluster configuration to a set of resource blocks (RBs).

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein applying the configuration comprises applying a combination of one or more restrictions from a restriction list, and the restriction list comprises one or more of the following restrictions: The number of configured DL clusters; The number of DL clusters enabled in the same time slot with DL clusters; The number of configured UL clusters; The number of UL clusters enabled in the same time slot with UL clusters; The number of configured DL and UL cluster combinations; The number of configured non-overlapping DL and UL cluster combinations; The number of DL and UL cluster combinations enabled in any time slot within the cluster combination of the periodic pattern; The number of DL and UL cluster combinations enabled in the same time slot with DL and UL cluster combinations; The number of time modes configured for the UE; The number of guard bands (GBs) configured in the bandwidth part BWP; and The number of GBs enabled in the same time slot with GBs.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein applying the configuration comprises applying a subband layout mode, in: A subband allocation is constant in all time slots; or The subband division changes periodically according to the subband layout pattern.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein applying the configuration comprises applying a dynamic time division duplex (DTDD) feature that selects a downlink bandwidth part (BWP) and an uplink BWP in one or more time slots or symbols.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein applying the configuration comprises adapting a static time division duplex (TDD) characteristic or a dynamic TDD characteristic to select downlink and uplink directions in clusters.

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