Resource allocation for wireless communication and sensing

Abstract

A terminal communicating with other terminals may be configured to perform one or more joint communication and sensing (JCAS) transmissions. These transmissions may be used by the terminal to exchange communication data and simultaneously perform sampling on the sensors. The one or more JCAS transmissions may be transmissions following a protocol in which the terminal follows a resource allocation pattern to simultaneously allocate communication resources and sensing resources. The terminal may use the JCAS transmission to allocate communication resources and sensing resources in one or more transmission bands (e.g., bandwidth portions, frequency ranges, subcarriers). The terminal may implement the JCAS transmission in coordination with a base station and / or other terminals to prevent conflicts of any transmitted data. The terminal may use the resource allocation pattern to coordinate the JCAS transmissions with devices connected over multiple radio access technologies (RATs).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to wireless devices and wireless networks, including devices, circuits and methods for implementing resource allocation schemes for joint wireless communication and sensing. Background Art

[0002] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In recent years, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computers have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting phone calls, many mobile devices now also provide access to the Internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using the Global Positioning System (GPS), and are capable of operating sophisticated applications that utilize these functions. In addition, there are many different wireless communication technologies and wireless communication standards. Some examples of wireless communication standards include GSM, UMTS (e.g., associated with WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), IEEE 802.11 (WLAN or Wi-Fi), and Bluetooth. TM etc.

[0003] The introduction of an ever-increasing number of features and functionalities in wireless communication devices has also created a continuing need for improved wireless communications and improved wireless communication devices. In order to increase coverage and better serve the increased demand and scope of intended uses of wireless communications, in addition to the above-mentioned communication standards, there are also wireless communication technologies under development, including the fifth generation (5G) standard and the new radio (NR) communication technology. Therefore, there is a need to improve the field of supporting such development and design. Summary of the invention

[0004] In one or more embodiments, a first terminal includes a processor configured to determine a resource allocation pattern to be used in a joint transmission to a second terminal. The resource allocation pattern is determined based on a terminal capability of the first terminal. The first terminal includes a transmitter that sends a first signal to the second terminal, the first signal indicating the resource allocation pattern to be used in the joint transmission. The resource allocation pattern includes a first resource set allocated for communication and a second resource set allocated for sensing.

[0005] The techniques described herein may be implemented in and / or used with a plurality of different types of devices, including, but not limited to, any of cellular telephones, wireless devices, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portable media players, and a variety of other computing devices.

[0006] This summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the topics described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are only examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or essence of the topics described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the topics described herein will become apparent through the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] A better understanding of the present subject matter may be gained when the following detailed description of the various aspects is considered in conjunction with the following drawings:

[0008] Figure 1

[0013] An example wireless communication system in accordance with some aspects is illustrated.

[0009] Figure 2

[0013] A base station (BS) in communication with a user equipment (UE) device according to some aspects is illustrated.

[0010] Figure 3 An exemplary block diagram of a UE according to some aspects is illustrated.

[0011] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a BS in accordance with some aspects is illustrated.

[0012] Figure 5 An exemplary block diagram of cellular communication circuitry in accordance with some aspects is illustrated.

[0013] Figure 6 An exemplary block diagram of a network element according to some aspects is illustrated.

[0014] Fig. 7A and Figure 7B is a diagram illustrating an example beam management process according to some aspects.

[0015] Fig. 8A and Figure 8B is a diagram illustrating an example of a beam management process for wireless communications and sensing in accordance with some aspects.

[0016] 9A to 9D is a diagram illustrating an exemplary slot structure of a radio frame according to some aspects.

[0017] Fig.10 is a flow chart detailing a method of performing a conflict control process according to some aspects.

[0018] Although the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific aspects thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to be limited to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] There is a need to study and evaluate resource allocation patterns for transmissions configured with both communication and sensing resources in 5G / New Radio (NR). In order to provide interleaved communication and sensing resources in a single transmission, various solutions for arranging resources in various resource allocation patterns are disclosed herein, including: 1) mapping resources in frequency bands without frequency hopping; 2) mapping resources in frequency bands with frequency hopping; and 3) mapping resources in multiple frequency bands.

[0020] According to one or more embodiments, a user equipment (UE) device or terminal communicating with other terminals may simultaneously perform radio transmissions including communication information and sensing information. In some embodiments, the UE device may be configured to jointly transmit communication information and sensing information. In some embodiments, the UE device may use these transmissions to exchange communication data and simultaneously perform sampling for sensors. The UE device may be configured to perform these transmissions as one or more JCAS transmissions. One or more JCAS transmissions may be transmissions that follow a protocol in which the UE device simultaneously allocates communication resources and sensing resources. In some embodiments, the UE device uses JCAS transmissions to allocate communication resources and sensing resources in one or more transmission bands (e.g., bandwidth parts, frequency ranges, subcarriers). The UE device may coordinate with base stations and / or other terminals to implement JCAS transmissions to prevent conflicts in any transmitted data. The UE device may coordinate these JCAS transmissions with devices connected via multiple radio access technologies (RATs) (i.e., LTE-A, 5G NR, and upcoming 6G).

[0021] In some embodiments, the UE device is configured to perform JCAS transmission without negatively affecting the user's experience. To achieve this, the UE device allocates sensing resources without compromising data integrity from the communication resources allocated in the same transmission. The successful allocation of communication resources and sensing resources in JCAS transmission can prevent data rate reduction, increased delay or jitter. In some embodiments, the UE device uses resource allocation in JCAS transmission to reduce and / or eliminate gaps in data communication without compromising sensing accuracy or system responsiveness (i.e., sensing latency) and without increasing hardware components and costs. The UE device can coordinate resource allocation between communication operations and sensing operations to optimize communication performance or sensing performance, respectively. In some embodiments, the UE device may partially or entirely allocate the same time-frequency resources (e.g., resource elements (REs)) for data communication and sensing (i.e., the same resource elements can be used to convey data and perform sensing). In some embodiments, the UE device may allocate separate and coordinated time-frequency resources for data communication and sensing (i.e., multiplexing reduces time and / or frequency).

[0022] In one or more embodiments, the UE device is a base station that coordinates JCAS transmissions with multiple cells including multiple UE devices and wireless terminals. The UE device can be configured to implement multiple resource allocation strategies for JCAS. The resource allocation strategy can include protocols for performing conflict control and avoidance. The resource allocation strategy can include multiple options for mapping communication and sensing signals to time-frequency resource elements.

[0023] In some embodiments, options for mapping communication and sensing signals may use non-contiguous radio frequency (RF) spectrum, where different frequency ranges may be used simultaneously or sequentially to achieve high detection rates and good accuracy of resources allocated in JCAS transmissions. Mapping communication and sensing signals may include resources allocated for sensing purposes at a sensing instance, which may or may not be contiguous in frequency range.

[0024] For example, sensing resources may be allocated at separate locations along the frequency domain of the RF spectrum. Each location may have a different air time. In this example, and as will be described in detail below, the allocated sensing resources may be interspersed with resources allocated for data communication. In some embodiments, the allocated sensing resources may be included in the frequency domain by a bandwidth part (BWP) applicable at the sensing time and frequency range. In addition, the allocated sensing resources may be included by a predefined system bandwidth of the sensing frequency range or a predefined capability of a UE device that may not be limited by any particular configuration / applicable communication bandwidth.

[0025] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure:

[0026] Memory medium – Any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term “memory medium” is intended to include installation media (e.g., CD-ROM, floppy disk, or tape device; computer system memory or random access memory, such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM), non-volatile memory such as Flash, magnetic media (e.g., hard drive or optical storage device; register or other similar type of memory element). Memory media may also include other types of non-transitory memory or a combination thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in a first computer system executing a program, or may be located in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter example, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term “memory medium” may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations (e.g., in different computer systems connected via a network). The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., expressed as a computer program) that may be executed by one or more processors.

[0027] Carrier Medium—storage media as described above, and physical transmission media such as a bus, network, and / or other physical transmission media that convey signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals.

[0028] Programmable hardware element - includes various hardware devices that include multiple programmable function blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGA (field programmable gate array), PLD (programmable logic device), FPOA (field programmable object array), and CPLD (complex PLD). Programmable function blocks can range from fine-grained (combinatorial logic or lookup table) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic unit or processor core). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "configurable logic units".

[0029] Computer System—Any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), a mainframe computer system, a workstation, a network appliance, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a television system, a grid computing system, or other devices or combinations of devices. In general, the term "computer system" may be broadly defined as any device (or combination of devices) that includes at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0030] User Equipment (UE) (also referred to as "user device", "UE device" or "terminal") - any of various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and that perform wireless communications. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone TM, based on Android TM phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM , PlayStation Portable TM 、Gameboy Advance TM , iPhone TM ), laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), PDAs, portable internet devices, music players, data storage devices, other handheld devices, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), in-car entertainment (ICE) devices, instrument clusters, heads-up display (HUD) devices, on-board diagnostic (OBD) devices, dashboard mobile equipment (DME), mobile data terminals (MDT), electronic engine management systems (EEMS), electronic / engine control units (ECU), electronic / engine control modules (ECM), embedded systems, microcontrollers, control modules, engine management systems (EMS), networked or "smart" appliances, machine type communication (MTC) devices, machine interaction (M2M), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, etc. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" or "terminal" or "user equipment" can be broadly defined to cover any electronic, computing and / or telecommunication device (or combination of devices) that is easily transportable by a user (or vehicle) and capable of wireless communication.

[0031] Wireless Device—Any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communications. A wireless device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed at a certain location. A UE is an example of a wireless device.

[0032] Communication device – Any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communication, where the communication may be wired or wireless. A communication device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed at a location. A wireless device is an example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device.

[0033] Base Station – The term “base station”, “wireless base station” or “wireless station” has the full scope of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system. For example, if a base station is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternatively be referred to as an “eNodeB” or “eNB”. If a base station is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternatively be referred to as a “gNodeB” or “gNB”. Although certain aspects are described in the context of LTE or 5G NR, references to “eNB”, “gNB”, “nodeB”, “base station”, “NB”, etc. may also refer to one or more wireless nodes that serve a cell to provide wireless connectivity between a user device and a generally wider network, and the concepts discussed are not limited to any particular wireless technology. Although certain aspects are described in the context of LTE or 5G NR, references to “eNB”, “gNB”, “nodeB”, “base station”, “NB”, etc. are not intended to limit the concepts discussed herein to any particular wireless technology, and the concepts discussed may be applied to any wireless system.

[0034] Node - The term "node" or "wireless node" as used herein may refer to one or more devices associated with a cell that provides wireless connectivity between user equipment and a typically wired network.

[0035] Processing element (or processor) – refers to various elements or combinations of elements that are capable of performing functions in a device, such as user equipment or a cellular network device. A processing element may include, for example, a processor and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, separate processors, processor arrays, circuits such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable hardware elements such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and any of the above combinations.

[0036] Channel - a medium used to transmit information from a transmitter (sender) to a receiver. It should be noted that, since the characteristics of the term "channel" may vary according to different wireless protocols, the term "channel" as used herein may be considered to be used in a manner that conforms to the standards of the type of device to which the term is used. In some standards, the channel width may be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, frequency band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths of 1.4MHz to 20MHz. A WLAN channel may be 22MHz wide, while a Bluetooth channel may be 1Mhz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. In addition, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels (e.g., different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different purposes such as data, control information, etc.).

[0037] Frequency band - The term "frequency band" has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a segment of the spectrum (eg, radio frequency spectrum) in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose.

[0038] Concurrency - refers to parallel execution or implementation, where tasks, processes, or programs are executed in an at least partially overlapping manner. For example, concurrency can be achieved using "strong" or strict parallelism, where tasks are executed (at least partially) in parallel on respective computing elements, or using "weak parallelism," where tasks are executed in an interleaved manner (e.g., by time multiplexing of execution threads).

[0039] Configured to - Various components may be described as being "configured to" perform one or more tasks. In such environments, "configured to" is a broad statement that generally means "having a structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component can be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently performing the task (e.g., a set of electrical conductors can be configured to electrically connect a module to another module even when the two modules are not connected). In some environments, "configured to" can be a broad statement that generally means "having a structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, the component can be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently turned on. Typically, the circuitry that forms the structure corresponding to "configured to" may include hardware circuitry.

[0040] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to". The statement that a component is configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke 35 U.S.C. §112(f) interpretation of that component.

[0041] Exemplary Wireless Communication System

[0042] Now go to Figure 1 , illustrates a simplified example of a wireless communication system according to some aspects. Note that Figure 1 The system is only one non-limiting example of possible systems, and features of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of systems as desired.

[0043] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102A, which communicates with one or more user equipment 106A and user equipment 106B to user equipment 106Z via a transmission medium. Each user equipment in the user equipment may be referred to as a "user equipment" (UE) herein. Therefore, user equipment 106 is referred to as a UE or UE device.

[0044] The base station (BS) 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site (eg, a "cellular base station") and may include hardware that enables wireless communications with the UEs 106A-106Z.

[0045] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a "cell". The base station 102A and the UE 106 may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs), which are also referred to as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, 5GNR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000. Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of LTE, the base station may alternatively be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of 5G NR, the base station may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB".

[0046] In some aspects, UE 106 may be an IoT UE that may include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications that utilize short-term UE connections. The IoT UE may utilize technologies such as M2M or MTC to exchange data with an MTC server or device via a public land mobile network (PLMN), a short-range service (ProSe), or a device-to-device (D2D) communication, a sensor network, or an IoT network. M2M or MTC data exchange may be a machine-initiated data exchange. The IoT network describes interconnected IoT UEs that may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) with short-lived connections. As an example, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) may utilize ProSe features using a PC5 interface to communicate directly between devices. The IoT UE may also execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity to the IoT network.

[0047] As shown, UE 106 (such as UE 106A and UE 106B) can directly exchange communication data via PC5 interface 108. For example, PC5 interface 108 may include one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), and a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH).

[0048] In a V2X scenario, one or more of the base stations 102 may be a roadside unit (RSU) or act as an RSU. The term RSU may refer to any transportation infrastructure entity used for V2X communication. The RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable wireless node or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE, wherein an RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referred to as a "UE-type RSU", an RSU implemented in or by an eNB may be referred to as an "eNB-type RSU", an RSU implemented in or by a gNB may be referred to as a "gNB-type RSU", and so on. In one example, the RSU is a computing device coupled to a radio frequency circuit located on the roadside that provides connectivity support to a passing vehicle UE (vUE). The RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry for storing intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, and applications / software for sensing and controlling ongoing vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may operate on the 5.9 GHz Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) band to provide extremely low latency communications required for high-speed events, such as collision avoidance, traffic warnings, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may operate on the cellular V2X band to provide the aforementioned low latency communications as well as other cellular communication services. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may operate as a Wi-Fi hotspot (2.4 GHz band) and / or provide connectivity to one or more cellular networks to provide uplink and downlink communications. Some or all of the computing device and the RF circuitry of the RSU may be packaged in a weather-resistant enclosure suitable for outdoor installation, and may include a network interface controller to provide a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controller and / or a backhaul network.

[0049] As shown, the base station 102A may also be configured to communicate with a network 100 (e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunications network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN) and / or the Internet, among other possibilities). Thus, the base station 102A may facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and the network 100. Specifically, the cellular base station 102A may provide the UE 106 with various communication capabilities such as voice, SMS, and / or data services.

[0050] Base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations 102B to 102N) operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards can therefore be provided as a network of cells that can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UEs 106A to 106Z and similar devices over a geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0051] Thus, although base station 102A may function as Figure 1106A to 106Z, each UE 106 may also be able to receive signals from (and possibly be within communication range of) one or more other cells (which may be provided by base stations 102B to 102Z and / or any other base stations), which may be referred to as "neighboring cells." Such cells may also be able to facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. Such cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pico" cells, and / or any other variety of other granularity of cell sizes that provide a service area. For example, in Figure 1 The base stations 102A and 102B illustrated in FIG. 1 may be macro cells, while the base station 102Z may be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible.

[0052] In some aspects, base station 102A may be a next generation base station (e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station or "gNB"). In some aspects, the gNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) / 5G core (5GC) network. In addition, a gNB cell may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). In addition, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5GNR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs. For example, base station 102A and one or more other base stations 102 may support joint transmissions such that UE 106 may be able to receive transmissions from multiple base stations (and / or multiple TRPs provided by the same base station). For example, as Figure 1 As illustrated, base station 102A and base station 102C are both shown serving UE 106A.

[0053] It should be noted that UE 106 is capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, in addition to at least one of the cellular communication protocols discussed in the above definition, UE 106 can also be configured to communicate using wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.). If desired, UE 106 may additionally or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) (e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H), and / or any other wireless communication protocol. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0054] Exemplary User Equipment (UE)

[0055] Figure 2A user equipment 106 (e.g., one of devices 106A through 106Z) is illustrated in accordance with some aspects in communication with a base station 102. A UE 106 may be a device with cellular communication capabilities, such as a mobile phone, handheld device, computer, laptop, tablet, smart watch or other wearable device, or indeed any type of wireless device.

[0056] UE 106 may include a processor (processing element) configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. UE 106 may perform any of the method aspects described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, UE 106 may include a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), an integrated circuit, and / or any of a variety of other possible hardware components configured to perform (e.g., individually or in combination) any of the method aspects described herein or any portion of any of the method aspects described herein.

[0057] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some aspects, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, for example, NR or LTE using at least some shared radio components. As an additional possibility, the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using CDMA2000 (1xRTT / 1xEV-DO / HRPD / eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio component and / or GSM or LTE using a single shared radio component. The shared radio component may be coupled to a single antenna, or may be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., for a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) configuration) for performing wireless communications. Typically, the radio component may include any combination of a baseband processor, an analog RF signal processing circuit (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.), or a digital processing circuit (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio component may use the aforementioned hardware to implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains. For example, the UE 106 may share one or more portions of the receive chain and / or the transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0058] In some aspects, the UE 106 may include a separate transmit chain and / or receive chain (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol with which it is configured to communicate. As another possibility, the UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radio components used uniquely by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, the UE 106 may include a shared radio component for communicating using either LTE or 5G NR (or, in various possibilities, either LTE or 1xRTT, or either LTE or GSM), and an independent radio component for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

[0059] In some aspects, a downlink resource grid may be used for downlink transmissions from any of the base stations 102 to the UE 106, while uplink transmissions may utilize similar techniques. The grid may be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or a time-frequency resource grid, which is a physical resource in the downlink in each time slot. For OFDM systems, such time-frequency plane representation is a common practice, which makes radio resource allocation intuitive. Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds to an OFDM symbol and an OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to a time slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid is represented as a resource element. Each resource grid may include multiple resource blocks, which describe the mapping of specific physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block includes a collection of resource elements. Such resource blocks are used to transmit several different physical downlink channels.

[0060] The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) may carry user data and higher layer signaling to the UE 106. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) may carry information about the transmission format and resource allocation related to the PDSCH channel, among other things. It may also inform the UE 106 of the transmission format, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (allocation of control and shared channel resource blocks to the UE 102 within the cell) may be performed at any of the base stations 102 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs 106. Downlink resource allocation information may be sent on the PDCCH for (e.g., allocated to) each of the UEs.

[0061] PDCCH can use control channel elements (CCE) to transmit control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, PDCCH complex-valued symbols can first be organized into quadruplets, which can then be arranged using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. One or more of these CCEs can be used to send each PDCCH, where each CCE can correspond to four sets of nine physical resource elements, called resource element groups (REGs). Four quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) symbols can be mapped to each REG. Depending on the size of the downlink control information (DCI) and channel conditions, one or more CCEs can be used to send PDCCH. There may be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation levels, L=1, 2, 4, or 8).

[0062] Exemplary Communication Devices

[0063] Figure 3 1 illustrates an exemplary simplified block diagram of a communication device 106 according to some aspects. Note that Figure 3 The block diagram of the communication device is only an example of a possible communication device. According to various aspects, in addition to other devices, the communication device 106 can be a UE device or terminal, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, a notebook or a portable computing device), a tablet computer and / or a combination of devices. As shown, the communication device 106 may include a group of components 300 configured to perform core functions. For example, the group of components may be implemented as a system on a chip (SOC), which may include parts for various purposes. Alternatively, the group of components 300 may be implemented as separate components or groups of components for various purposes. The group of components 300 may be coupled to various other circuits of the communication device 106 (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly).

[0064] For example, the communication device 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), input / output interfaces such as connector I / F 320 (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; a docking station; a charging station; input devices such as a microphone, camera, keyboard; output devices such as speakers; etc.), a display 360 that may be integrated with the communication device 106 or external to it, and wireless communication circuitry 330 (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, NR, UMTS, GSM, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS, etc.). In some aspects, the communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as a network interface card (e.g., for Ethernet connection).

[0065] Wireless communication circuitry 330 may be coupled (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antenna 335 as shown. Wireless communication circuitry 330 may include cellular communication circuitry and / or short- to medium-range wireless communication circuitry, and may include multiple receive chains and / or multiple transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a MIMO configuration.

[0066] In some aspects, as further described below, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include one or more receive chains (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components) for multiple radio access technologies (RATs) (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). In addition, in some aspects, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include a single transmit chain that can switch between radio components dedicated to specific RATs. For example, a first radio component may be dedicated to a first RAT (e.g., LTE) and may communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with a second radio component. A second radio component may be dedicated to a second RAT (e.g., 5G NR) and may communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a shared transmit chain. In some aspects, the second RAT is capable of operating at millimeter wave frequencies. Because the operating frequency of millimeter wave systems is higher than the typical frequency in LTE systems, signals in the millimeter wave frequency range are severely attenuated due to environmental factors. To help address this attenuation problem, millimeter wave systems typically utilize beamforming and include more antennas than LTE systems. These antennas can be organized into antenna arrays or panels consisting of individual antenna elements. These antenna arrays can be coupled to a radio link.

[0067] The communication device 106 may also include and / or be configured for use with one or more user interface elements. The user interface elements may include various elements such as a display 360 (which may be a touch screen display), a keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or may be implemented as part of a touch screen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or a speaker, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of a variety of other elements capable of providing information to a user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0068] The communication device 106 may also include one or more smart cards 345 that include subscriber identity module (SIM) functionality, such as one or more universal integrated circuit cards (UICC) 345 .

[0069] As shown, SOC 300 may include a processor 302 that may execute program instructions for communication device 106 and a display circuit 304 that may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to display 360. Processor 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340 (which may be configured to receive addresses from processor 302 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310)), and / or to other circuits or devices such as display circuit 304, wireless communication circuit 330, connector I / F 320, and / or display 360. MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some aspects, MMU 340 may be included as part of processor 302.

[0070] As described above, the communication device 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuits. As described herein, the communication device 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described herein. The processor 302 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein (e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more components in other components 300, 304, 306, 310, 320, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, the processor 302 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

[0071] Furthermore, as described herein, processor 302 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 302 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 302. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 302.

[0072] In addition, as described herein, wireless communication circuit 330 may include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in wireless communication circuit 330. Therefore, wireless communication circuit 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of wireless communication circuit 330. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of wireless communication circuit 330.

[0073] Exemplary Base Station

[0074] Figure 4 1 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a base station 102 according to some aspects. Note that Figure 4 The base station shown is only one non-limiting example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include a processor 404 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 404 and convert these addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450) or to other circuits or devices.

[0075] Base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Network port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to the telephone network described above. Figure 1 and Figure 2 Multiple devices of the telephone network described in, such as UE device 106.

[0076] The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, such as a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to a plurality of devices, such as the UE devices 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may be coupled to a telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide the telephone network (e.g., in addition to other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0077] In some aspects, base station 102 may be a next generation base station (e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station or "gNB"). In such aspects, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) / 5G core (5GC) network. Furthermore, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). Furthermore, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0078] The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas. The at least one antenna 434 may be configured to function as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with the UE device 106 via the radio component 430. The antenna 434 communicates with the radio component 430 via a communication chain 432. The communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both. The radio component 430 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including 5GNR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

[0079] Base station 102 may be configured to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards. In some examples, base station 102 may include multiple radio components that enable base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, base station 102 may include an LTE radio component for performing communications according to LTE and a 5G NR radio component for performing communications according to 5G NR. In this case, base station 102 may be able to operate as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. When base station 102 supports millimeter waves, the 5G NR radio component may be coupled to one or more millimeter wave antenna arrays or panels. As another possibility, base station 102 may include a multimode radio component that can perform communications according to any one of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and LTE, 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0080] In addition, BS 102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting specific implementations of the features described herein. The processor 404 of base station 102 may be configured to implement or support specific implementations of part or all of the methods described herein (e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium). Alternatively, processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element (such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA)), or as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, 470, the processor 404 of BS 102 may be configured to implement or support specific implementations of part or all of the features described herein.

[0081] Furthermore, as described herein, processor 404 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 404 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 404. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 404.

[0082] Additionally, as described herein, radio 430 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, radio 430 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of radio 430. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio 430.

[0083] Exemplary Cellular Communications Circuitry

[0084] Figure 5 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some aspects is illustrated. Note that Figure 5 The block diagram of the cellular communication circuitry of is only one example of possible cellular communication circuitry; other circuitry, such as circuitry that includes or is coupled to sufficient antennas for different RATs to perform uplink activities using separate antennas, or circuitry that includes or is coupled to fewer antennas (e.g., that can be shared between multiple RATs) is also possible. According to some aspects, the cellular communication circuitry 330 may be included in a communication device such as the communication device 106 described above. As described above, the communication device 106 may be a UE device, a mobile device or station, a wireless device or station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet, and / or a combination of devices, among other devices.

[0085] The cellular communication circuitry 330 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 335a, 335b, and 336 as shown. In some aspects, the cellular communication circuitry 330 may include dedicated receive chains (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). For example, Figure 5 As shown, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include a first modem 510 and a second modem 520. The first modem 510 may be configured to communicate according to a first RAT (e.g., such as LTE or LTE-A), and the second modem 520 may be configured to communicate according to a second RAT (e.g., such as 5G NR).

[0086] As shown, the first modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory 516 in communication with the processor 512. The modem 510 may communicate with a radio frequency (RF) front end 530. The RF front end 530 may include circuits for sending and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 530 may include a receiving circuit (RX) 532 and a transmitting circuit (TX) 534. In some aspects, the receiving circuit 532 may communicate with a downlink (DL) front end 550, which may include circuits for receiving radio signals via an antenna 335a.

[0087] Similarly, the second modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory 526 in communication with the processor 522. The modem 520 may communicate with the RF front end 540. The RF front end 540 may include circuits for sending and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 540 may include a receiving circuit 542 and a transmitting circuit 544. In some aspects, the receiving circuit 542 may communicate with the DL front end 560, which may include circuits for receiving radio signals via the antenna 335b.

[0088] In some aspects, the switch 570 may couple the transmit circuit 534 to an uplink (UL) front end 572. In addition, the switch 570 may couple the transmit circuit 544 to the UL front end 572. The UL front end 572 may include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via the antenna 336. Thus, when the cellular communication circuit 330 receives an instruction to transmit in accordance with a first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 534 and the UL front end 572) supported by the first modem 510, the switch 570 may be switched to a first state that allows the first modem 510 to transmit signals in accordance with the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 534 and the UL front end 572). Similarly, when the cellular communication circuit 330 receives an instruction to transmit in accordance with a second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 544 and the UL front end 572) supported by the second modem 520, the switch 570 may be switched to a second state that allows the second modem 520 to transmit signals in accordance with the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 544 and the UL front end 572).

[0089] As described herein, the first modem 510 and / or the second modem 520 may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processors 512, 522 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein. Alternatively (or in addition), the processors 512, 522 may be configured as programmable hardware elements, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 530, 532, 534, 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, the processors 512, 522 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

[0090] In addition, as described herein, the processors 512, 522 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, the processors 512, 522 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processors 512, 522. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., first circuits, second circuits, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the processors 512, 522.

[0091] In some aspects, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include only one transmit / receive chain. For example, the cellular communication circuit 330 may not include the modem 520, the RF front end 540, the DL front end 560, and / or the antenna 335b. As another example, the cellular communication circuit 330 may not include the modem 510, the RF front end 530, the DL front end 550, and / or the antenna 335a. In some aspects, the cellular communication circuit 330 may also not include the switch 570, and the RF front end 530 or the RF front end 540 may communicate with the UL front end 572, for example, directly.

[0092] Exemplary Network Elements

[0093] Figure 6 An exemplary block diagram of a network element 600 according to some aspects is illustrated. According to some aspects, the network element 600 may implement one or more logical functions / entities of a cellular core network, such as a mobility management entity (MME), a serving gateway (S-GW), an access and management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a network slice quota management (NSQM) function, etc. Note that, Figure 6 The network element 600 is only one non-limiting example of a possible network element 600. As shown, the core network element 600 may include a processor 604 that may execute program instructions of the core network element 600. The processor 604 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 640 (which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 604 and translate these addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 660 and read-only memory (ROM) 650)), or to other circuits or devices.

[0094] The network element 600 may include at least one network port 670. The network port 670 may be configured to couple to one or more base stations and / or other cellular network entities and / or devices. The network element 600 may communicate with a base station (e.g., eNB / gNB) and / or other network entities / devices by means of any of a variety of communication protocols and / or interfaces.

[0095] As further described later herein, network element 600 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting specific implementations of the features described herein. Processor 604 of core network element 600 may be configured to implement or support specific implementations of part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, processor 604 may be configured as a programmable hardware element (such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA)), or as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a combination thereof.

[0096] Exemplary Beam Management

[0097] Beamforming can be used to help reduce interference and help support a large number of wireless devices. Beamforming effectively allows a transmitter to send a dynamic directional wireless signal towards a wireless device, rather than sending a cell or cell sector wide wireless signal. These directional wireless signals may be referred to as beams. When the beam is directed towards a relatively small area compared to a cell wide signal, the wireless node needs to know where the wireless device is located relative to the wireless node to allow the wireless node to direct the beam towards the wireless device. Fig. 7A and Figure 7B is a diagram illustrating a beam management process according to aspects of the present disclosure. Fig. 7A 700 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an exemplary beam scanning procedure according to various aspects of the present disclosure. In some wireless systems, a wireless node 702 may be configured with beamforming to transmit wireless signals as relatively narrow beams. In order to help a wireless device 704 initially connect to a wireless node 702 when the wireless device 704 enters an area served by the wireless node 702 (e.g., moves into the area, turns on within the area, leaves flight mode within the area, etc.), the wireless node 702 may scan the served area using multiple wide transmit beams 706A...706Z (collectively referred to as 706). Each beam in the multiple wide transmit beams 706 may be transmitted in a predefined direction, with different azimuths and altitudes, and the beams in the multiple wide transmit beams 706 may be periodically transmitted in a predefined order in the time domain. For example, the wireless node 702 may first transmit wide transmit beam A 706A at a certain time, then transmit wide transmit beam B 706B 20 ms later, then transmit wide transmit beam C 706C after another 20 ms, then transmit beam D 706D after another 20 ms, and so on until wide transmit beam Z 706Z is transmitted, and then repeat.

[0098] Transmit beam 706 and transmit wide beam 710 may be used for JCAS transmission. Transmit beam 706 may be transmitted with a narrower bandwidth and a longer distance than transmit wide beam 710. Transmit beam 706 and transmit wide beam 710 may be configured to perform JCAS transmission at a predetermined frequency. JCAS transmission may be transmitted over a bandwidth portion of a predetermined frequency. In some embodiments, transmit beam 706 may be a narrow beam that performs JCAS transmission in a low-frequency bandwidth portion. Transmit beam 706 may include JCAS transmission configured to perform long-range sensing operations. In some embodiments, transmit wide beam 710 may be a wide beam that performs JCAS transmission in a high-frequency bandwidth portion. Transmit wide beam 710 may include JCAS transmission configured to perform short-range sensing operations.

[0099] According to the relationship between frequency and wavelength in applications involving signal propagation, the higher the frequency of the bandwidth portion, the shorter the sampling distance, and vice versa. This relationship is described as λ=c / f, where λ is the wavelength of the signal in meters (m), c is the speed of light in meters / second (m / s), and f is the signal frequency in Hertz (Hz). In the above relationship, the propagation wavelength is inversely proportional to the frequency of the propagation signal.

[0100] The high frequency and low frequency may be related to the RAT of operation of the wireless device 704 and the wireless node 702. In some RATs, the high frequency may include a frequency range at the top of the spectrum that the terminal may be configured to process. In addition, the low frequency may include a frequency range at the bottom of the same spectrum that the terminal may be configured to process. For example, in 5G NR, the high frequency bandwidth portion may be in a frequency range between 24.25 GHz and 52.6 GHz (including 24.25 GHz and 52.6 GHz). In addition, the low frequency bandwidth portion may be in a frequency range between 450 MHz and 6 GHz (including 450 MHz and 6 GHz).

[0101] According to various aspects of the present disclosure, the wireless device 704 performs receive beamforming to conceptually generate corresponding receive beams. The receiving device may perform beamforming by using multiple antennas and applying different antenna amplification weights to the signals received by the multiple antennas to focus on the signals received from a certain direction. The wireless device 704 may generate a set of receive beams and scan the area for which a synchronization signal (SS) burst is received from the wireless node 702. In this example, the wireless device 704 may attempt to receive the SS burst via receive beams 708A, 708B ... 708Z (collectively referred to as 708). The wireless device 704 may also periodically scan the area around the wireless device 704 (e.g., direct the receive beam to the area) to receive the SS burst. It is understood that although three receive beams are shown in this example, other specific implementations may include any number of receive beams. Similarly, the receive beam 708 may have different shapes and sizes.

[0102] The wireless device 704 can measure the reference signal received power (RSRP) signals of multiple pairs of wide transmit beams 706 and receive beams 708 to select a pair of wide transmit beams and receive beams associated with the best RSRP value. The selected wide transmit beam can be reported to the wireless node 702.

[0103] After a pair of wide transmit and receive beams has been selected, the wide transmit beam may be refined. Figure 7B 750 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an exemplary transmit beam refinement procedure according to various aspects of the present disclosure. As shown, the wireless node 752 may scan a portion of the area using a narrow transmit beam based on the selected wide transmit beam, where the narrow transmit beam is narrow transmit beam 756A...756Z (collectively referred to as 756). The narrow transmit beam 756 may have a reduced angular domain compared to the wide transmit beam 706 or the transmit wide beam 760. One or more of the narrow transmit beams 756 may be received by the wireless device 754. The wireless device 754 uses the selected receive beam (here, receive beam B 708B) to receive one or more of the narrow transmit beams 756, and measures a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) to estimate the channel of each of the received narrow transmit beams 756. The wireless device 754 may then select the narrow transmit beam associated with the best CSI among the received narrow transmit beams 756 and send an indication of the selected narrow transmit beam and a CSI report to the wireless node 752. The CSI report includes CSI information and may be sent to a wireless node to report the CSI information.

[0104] In some embodiments, CSI-RS measurements provide better estimates of channel quality and channel capacity (e.g., spectral efficiency) than power measurements provided by RSRP. In some cases, CSI-RS measurements can be used to estimate the downlink channel and may indicate channel capacity, frequency / time tracking, rank, demodulation, precoding information, etc. in addition to RSRP information. In some cases, the beam associated with the best RSRP measurement may not be the same beam as the best CSI-RS measurement. As indicated above, receive beam 708 may be selected based on RSRP measurements, and it may be advantageous to evaluate multiple receive beams based on CSI-RS measurements.

[0105] According to aspects of the present disclosure, a wireless device may be configured to evaluate different receive beams without initiating a beam refinement procedure by a wireless node. In situations where the wireless device experiences a relatively stable connection (i.e., relatively static, stable environmental conditions, etc.), the wireless device may tune away from a currently selected receive beam to another receive beam to perform CSI-RS measurements of the other receive beam. If the CSI measurement of the other receive beam indicates that the receive beam is better than the currently selected receive beam, the wireless device may select the other receive beam for transmission from the wireless node.

[0106] After the transmit beam and receive beam have been selected, the wireless node may configure the wireless device to perform CSI measurements to help manage the beams. In some cases, the wireless node may configure the wireless device for aperiodic CSI reporting. When configured for aperiodic CSI, the wireless device performs CSI reporting when instructed by the wireless node, for example, based on a higher-level DCI message. In some cases, the DCI message may be received via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

[0107] Fig. 8A and Figure 8B Schematic diagrams 800A and 800B are shown, respectively, illustrating examples of beam management processes for wireless communications and sensing in accordance with one or more aspects. Fig. 8A and Figure 8B A radio element with multi-cell interference equipped with array antennas and capable of beamforming is shown. The arrays in these radio elements can be used for sensing and high-rate, low-latency communication of multiple users.

[0108] exist Fig. 8A 800A, base station 102 uses JCAS transmissions coordinated with UE 706A and UE 706B to coordinate sensing of target 860. As described above, JCAS transmissions can be coordinated to include both communication resources and sensing resources. In this case, base station 102 may include wide beams A 810A...810Z (collectively 810) configured to identify targets at a short distance from base station 102. In addition, base station 102 may include beams A 820A...820Z (collectively 820), which are configured to identify targets at a longer distance from base station 102.

[0109] In some embodiments, target 860 may include an object or a human or animal subject whose presence is expected to be detected in a specific environment (e.g., a physical location such as a park or a coffee shop). Target 860 may be an object or subject with a predetermined feedback signal or transmitter that can react to JCAS transmission from a terminal. In one or more embodiments, a terminal may request permission to transmit a JCAS transmission. The permission may be confirmed by higher layer signaling. In this case, authority may be required to confirm that a resource allocation pattern is coordinated between multiple JCAS transmissions. For example, in order to send a JCAS transmission in a licensed band, a terminal may need to confirm with a base station connected to a network that a licensed band has space for performing a JCAS transmission using the requested resource allocation pattern. Similarly, in order to send a JCAS transmission in a licensed band, a terminal may need to confirm with a base station connected to a network that the power level of the JCAS transmission is equal to or lower than the allowed safety / interference threshold.

[0110] In some embodiments, base station 102 may selectively use certain beams for receiving or transmitting JCAS transmissions. Fig. 8A In the example shown, the base station 102 may use transmit beam A 820A and transmit beam Z 820Z for transmitting a JCAS transmission. In addition, the base station 102 may use receive beam N 820N, receive beam M 820M, and receive beam Y 820Y to receive the JCAS transmission. The base station 102 may use wide beams in a similar manner. For example, the base station 102 may use transmit wide beam A 810A and transmit wide beam Z 810Z to transmit a JCAS transmission. In addition, the base station 102 may use receive wide beam M 810M to receive the JCAS transmission.

[0111] The base station 102 may establish communication link A 830A and communication link B 830B with the UE 706A and UE 706B, respectively. These communication links may be used by the base station 102 to provide instructions to the UE 706A and UE 706B for sensing the target 860A. In each communication link, the UE 706A and UE 706B may provide information about sensing feedback to the base station 102. In this regard, the UE 706A uses transmit beam A 840A to provide JCAS transmission to the base station 102, while the UE 706A uses transmit beam G 840G and transmit beam Z 840Z to sense the position of the target 860A relative to the base station 102. In addition, UE 706B uses transmit beam A 850A to provide JCAS transmission to base station 102, while UE 706B uses transmit beam M 850M and transmit beam Z 850Z to confirm the position of target 860A relative to base station 102.

[0112] exist Figure 8BIn the diagram 800B of , UE 706C uses JCAS transmissions coordinated with UE 706A and UE 706B to coordinate sensing of target 860A and target 860B. As described above, JCAS transmissions can be coordinated to include both communication resources and sensing resources. In this case, UE 706C may include a wide beam A 870A configured to identify targets at a shorter distance from UE 706C. In addition, UE 706C may include beams N 880N...880Y (collectively referred to as 880), which are configured to identify targets at a longer distance from UE 706C.

[0113] exist Figure 8B In the example shown in , UE 706C may selectively use certain beams to receive or send JCAS transmissions. In this example, UE 706C may use transmit wide beam A 870A to send JCAS transmissions. In addition, UE 706C may use receive beam N 880N, receive beam M 880M, and receive beam Y 880Y to receive JCAS transmissions. UE 706C may use wide beams in a similar manner. For example, UE 706C may use transmit wide beam A 870A to send JCAS transmissions. In addition, UE 706C may use receive wide beam M 870M to receive JCAS transmissions.

[0114] UE 706C may establish communication link A 890A and communication link B 890B with UE 706A and UE 706B, respectively. These communication links may be used by UE 706C to provide instructions for sensing target 860B to UE 706A and UE 706B. In each communication link, UE 706A and UE 706B may provide information about sensing feedback to UE 706C. In this regard, UE 706A uses transmit beam A 840A to provide JCAS transmission to UE 706C, while UE 706A uses transmit beam G 840G and transmit beam Z 840Z to sense the position of target 860B relative to UE 706C. In addition, UE 706B uses transmit beam A 850A to provide JCAS transmission to UE 706C, while UE 706B uses transmit beam M 850M and transmit beam Z 850Z to confirm the position of target 860B relative to UE 706C.

[0115] In some embodiments, a terminal (e.g., referring to Fig. 8A and Figure 8BThe base station 102 or UE 706C) may be configured to jointly allocate communication resources and sensing resources. The terminal may allocate resources for JCAS transmission based on terminal capabilities pre-configured in UE 706C (i.e., parameters such as UE capabilities) and / or based on terminal capabilities provided by higher layer signaling obtained from a device directly connected to the network (i.e., a network gateway or base station, if the terminal is a UE device). In some embodiments, the terminal confirms the resource allocation mode with another terminal that is expected to receive the JCAS transmission before performing the transmission. The terminal capabilities may indicate resource allocation support information for the terminal.

[0116] In one or more embodiments, a terminal performs JCAS transmission to perform a contention control process in a communication network by assigning allocations of communication resources and sensing resources to other terminals for performing one or more communication operations and / or sensing operations.

[0117] In some embodiments, the terminal may use JCAS to send to identify or request movement information from the target device. The movement information may include an ordered series of points. The information may be obtained by the target device using one or more motion sensors located in the target device. In the series of points, the target device may indicate any sensor mode supported by the target device. The series of points may be represented by a bit string, where a value of 1 at the bit position means that a particular sensor mode is supported; a value of 0 means that it is not supported.

[0118] In one or more embodiments, two UE devices communicating with each other may use a sidelink (SL) communication link to exchange JCAS transmissions. A sidelink communication link is a special type of communication mechanism between UE devices that does not require passing through a base station. In some embodiments, sidelinks and related messages are defined in section 6.3.8 TS 36.331 of the 3GPP standard.

[0119] 9A to 9D Diagrams 900A to 900D illustrate a slot structure of a radio frame in a JCAS transmission (eg, joint transmission) from a terminal according to various aspects of the present disclosure. 9A to 9DIn the example of , time slots 940A, 940B and 940C are shown as a resource grid, which includes a vertical axis 930 corresponding to different frequencies / subcarriers and a horizontal axis 950 corresponding to the time domain. Each column in the resource grid represents an OFDM symbol 910. In these examples, periodic JCAS transmissions 900A to 900D can be scheduled for each time slot according to a predefined pattern. Each JCAS transmission may include multiple sensing resources 960, multiple communication resources 970, and multiple unallocated resources 980. The sensing resources 960 and the communication resources 970 together cover the range 920 of the allocated resources. In addition, each mode can be configured according to the terminal capabilities pre-configured in the terminal or the terminal capabilities provided by higher layer signaling.

[0120] exist 9A to 9D In the example shown, multiple resource allocation modes are shown for any given JCAS transmission. Fig. 9A , mode 900A includes sensing resources 960 and communication resources 970 that are allocated separately from each other in the time domain. In this mode, unallocated resources 980 implement a gap of one or more OFDM symbols within the range 920 of the allocated resources, which may require the receiving terminal (i.e., UE device or base station) to consider the first sensing sequence and the second communication sequence.

[0121] exist Fig. 9B , pattern 900B includes sensing resources 960 and communication resources 970 that partially overlap in the time domain. In this pattern, the allocated resources overlap in at least a portion of the range 920 of allocated resources (e.g., the same OFDM symbol assigned for both communication and sensing). In a JCAS transmission following this pattern, the communication operation may completely ignore the sensing operation. Therefore, the communication operation may have resources allocated to most OFDM symbols. Once communication resources are allocated, the sensing operation may have resources allocated to cover / replace specific communication resources allocated to specific OFDM symbols.

[0122] exist Fig. 9C 900C includes sensing resources 960 "hopping" around communication resources 970 in the same frequency band, e.g., where the sensing resources 960 change frequency ranges for each successive time occasion of communication sensing. In this pattern, the allocated resources overlap in at least a portion of the range 920 of allocated resources. In a JCAS transmission following this pattern, communication resources for communication operations may be allocated before the sensing resources. Thus, when allocating sensing resources, the sensing resources may cover / replace communication resources while being allocated.

[0123] exist Fig.9D9, mode 900D includes sensing resources 960 that hop around communication resources 970 in at least two separate frequency bands. In this mode, the allocated resources may follow a procedure similar to that followed in mode 900C. The difference in mode 900D is an unused frequency band 990 that serves as isolation between frequency band A 935A and frequency band B 935B. As described above, the allocated sensing resources do not have to be contiguous in the frequency domain. Thus, sensing resources may be allocated simultaneously or sequentially using different frequency bands. In one aspect, the sensing resources may refer to Fig. 7A and Figure 7B The approach discussed uses low and high frequencies.

[0124] Exemplary method for performing a conflict control process

[0125] Steering Fig.10 , a flow chart 1000 is shown, which details a method for performing a conflict control process in a communication network. In this example, the method comprises communicating with each other via a communication link (e.g., similar to reference Fig. 8A and Figure 8B The communication link 830A, 830B, 890A or 890B) described above is performed by the terminal and the base station to exchange information in preparation for JCAS transmission. At 1010, the flowchart begins with the terminal sending the terminal capabilities indicating resource allocation support information to the base station. The terminal capabilities may be parameters pre-configured in the terminal via higher layer signaling. The terminal capabilities may indicate the resource allocation support information in the form of acceptable resource allocation modes. The acceptable resource allocation mode may be any resource allocation mode that the terminal is pre-configured to handle. The acceptable resource allocation mode may be a reference to 9A to 9D One or more resource allocation modes among the resource allocation modes.

[0126] At 1020, the flow chart continues with the base station determining a resource allocation mode for a JCAS transmission to be performed by the terminal based on the resource allocation support information. The JCAS transmission may include a first resource set allocated for communication and a second resource set allocated for sensing. The first resource set allocated for communication includes a plurality of communication instances, and the second resource set allocated for sensing includes a plurality of sensing instances. The resources allocated for sensing and the resources allocated for communication may be sensing resources 960 and communication resources 970, respectively. These resources refer to 9A to 9D Give a description.

[0127] In some embodiments, in the resource allocation pattern, at least a portion of the second set of resources allocated for sensing may overlap with the first set of resources allocated for communication. In other embodiments, in the resource allocation pattern, the entirety of the second set of resources allocated for sensing may overlap with the first set of resources allocated for communication. In other embodiments, in the resource allocation pattern, none of the resources in the second set of resources allocated for sensing overlap with the first set of resources allocated for communication.

[0128] At 1030, the flow chart continues with the base station sending a signal indicating a resource allocation mode to the terminal. 9A to 9D As described in the example of , in some embodiments, the resource allocation pattern may indicate that during each sensing moment in the resource allocation pattern, the second set of resources allocated for sensing is fixed in the frequency domain. In other embodiments, during each sensing moment in the resource allocation pattern, the second set of resources allocated for sensing may be fixed in the frequency domain. In other embodiments, the second set of resources allocated for sensing is allocated in two or more frequency bands in the resource allocation pattern.

[0129] The flow chart ends at 1040, where the terminal implements the resource allocation mode in the JCAS transmission. When the terminal implements the resource allocation mode, the terminal jointly implements communication and sensing by generating a JCAS transmission.

[0130] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0131] Aspects of the present disclosure can be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some aspects can be implemented as computer-implemented methods, computer-readable storage media, or computer systems. Other aspects can be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other aspects can be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0132] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured such that it stores program instructions and / or data, wherein if the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system is caused to perform a method (e.g., any of the method aspects described herein, or any combination of the method aspects described herein, or any subset of any method aspects described herein, or any combination of such subsets).

[0133] In some aspects, a device (e.g., UE 106, BS 102, network element 600) may be configured to include a processor (or a group of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, wherein the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method aspects described herein (or any combination of the method aspects described herein, or any subset of any method aspect of the method aspects described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of a variety of forms.

[0134] Although the above aspects have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to include all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A first terminal, comprising: a processor configured to determine a resource allocation pattern to be used in a joint transmission to a second terminal, the resource allocation pattern being determined based on a terminal capability of the first terminal; and A transmitter transmits a first signal to the second terminal, wherein the first signal indicates the resource allocation pattern to be used in the joint transmission, the resource allocation pattern comprising a first resource set allocated for communication and a second resource set allocated for sensing.

2. The first terminal according to claim 1, wherein: The second terminal is a base station, The transmitter further transmits the terminal capability indicating resource allocation support information to the base station before determining the resource allocation mode, and The receiver also receives signaling from the base station suggesting the resource allocation pattern to be used in the joint transmission, the resource allocation pattern being determined by the base station based on the terminal capability of the first terminal. 3 . The first terminal according to claim 2 , wherein the joint transmission is a Joint Communication and Sensing (JCAS) transmission configured to perform a contention control procedure in a communication network including the terminal and the base station.

4. The first terminal according to claim 2, wherein: The transmitter further transmits a sensing request to the base station, in which the terminal requests permission to perform a sensing process using the joint transmission, and The receiver also receives a request grant from the base station in which the base station indicates a transmission time for sending the joint transmission.

5. The first terminal according to claim 2, wherein: The processor is further configured to determine a bandwidth portion for sending the joint transmission, and When the second set of resources allocated for sensing is configured to perform a short-range sensing operation, the bandwidth portion is a high-frequency bandwidth portion.

6. The first terminal according to claim 2, wherein: The processor is further configured to determine a bandwidth portion for sending the joint transmission, and When the second set of resources allocated for sensing is configured to perform a long range sensing operation, the bandwidth portion is a low frequency bandwidth portion.

7. The first terminal of claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a bandwidth portion for transmitting the joint transmission, the bandwidth portion comprising subcarriers configured to perform a presence detection operation. 8 . The first terminal of claim 1 , wherein in the resource allocation pattern, at least a portion of the second set of resources allocated for sensing overlaps with the first set of resources allocated for communication. 9 . The first terminal according to claim 1 , wherein in the resource allocation pattern, all of the second set of resources allocated for sensing overlaps with the first set of resources allocated for communication.

10. The first terminal of claim 1, wherein in the resource allocation pattern, no resources in the second set of resources allocated for sensing overlap with the first set of resources allocated for communication.

11. The first terminal according to claim 1, wherein: The first set of resources allocated for communication includes a plurality of communication instances, and the second set of resources allocated for sensing includes a plurality of sensing instances. 12 . The first terminal of claim 1 , wherein during each sensing instance in the resource allocation pattern, the second set of resources allocated for sensing is fixed in the frequency domain. 13 . The first terminal of claim 1 , wherein during each sensing instance in the resource allocation pattern, the second set of resources allocated for sensing hops in the frequency domain. 14 . The first terminal according to claim 1 , wherein in the resource allocation pattern, the second resource set allocated for sensing is allocated in two or more frequency bands.

15. The first terminal of claim 1, wherein the first signal and the second signal are exchanged using a sidelink communication link.

16. A base station, comprising: a receiver, the receiver receiving terminal capabilities indicating resource allocation support information from a terminal; a processor configured to determine, based on the resource allocation support information, a resource allocation pattern for joint transmission to be performed by the terminal, the resource allocation pattern comprising a first set of resources allocated for communication and a second set of resources allocated for sensing; and A transmitter sends a signaling indicating the resource allocation mode to the terminal. 17 . The base station of claim 16 , wherein the joint transmission is a Joint Communication and Sensing (JCAS) transmission configured to perform a contention control procedure in a communication network including the terminal and the base station.

18. The base station according to claim 16, wherein: The receiver also receives a sensing request from the terminal, in which the terminal requests permission to perform a sensing process using the joint transmission, and The transmitter also sends a request approval to the terminal, in which the base station indicates a transmission time for sending the joint transmission.

19. The base station according to claim 16, wherein: The bandwidth portion used for sending the joint transmission is a high-frequency bandwidth portion or a low-frequency bandwidth portion, When the second set of resources allocated for sensing is configured to perform a short-range sensing operation, the bandwidth portion is a high-frequency bandwidth portion, and When the second set of resources allocated for sensing is configured to perform a long range sensing operation, the bandwidth portion is a low frequency bandwidth portion.

20. The base station of claim 16, wherein in the resource allocation pattern, at least a portion of the second set of resources allocated for sensing overlaps with the first set of resources allocated for communication.

21. The base station of claim 16, wherein in the resource allocation pattern, all of the second set of resources allocated for sensing overlaps with the first set of resources allocated for communication.

22. The base station of claim 16, wherein in the resource allocation pattern, no resources in the second set of resources allocated for sensing overlap with the first set of resources allocated for communication.

23. The base station of claim 16, wherein during each sensing instant in the resource allocation pattern, the second set of resources allocated for sensing is fixed in the frequency domain.

24. The base station of claim 16, wherein during each sensing instant in the resource allocation pattern, the second set of resources allocated for sensing hops in the frequency domain. 25 . The base station of claim 16 , wherein in the resource allocation pattern, the second resource set allocated for sensing is allocated in two or more frequency bands.

26. A computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one computer processor, cause the at least one computer processor to: determining a resource allocation pattern to be used in a joint transmission to a second terminal, the resource allocation pattern being determined based on a terminal capability of the first terminal; and The transmitter is configured to transmit a first signal indicating the resource allocation pattern to be used in the joint transmission to the second terminal, the resource allocation pattern comprising a first set of resources allocated for communication and a second set of resources allocated for sensing.

27. The computer readable medium of claim 26, wherein: The second terminal is a base station, and The instructions further cause the at least one computer processor to: The transmitter is further configured to transmit the terminal capability indicating resource allocation support information to the base station before determining the resource allocation mode, and Signaling suggesting the resource allocation pattern to be used in the joint transmission is obtained from the base station, the resource allocation pattern being determined by the base station based on the terminal capability of the first terminal.

28. The computer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein the joint transmission is a Joint Communication and Sensing (JCAS) transmission configured to perform a contention control procedure in a communication network including the terminal and the base station.

29. The computer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein the instructions further cause the at least one computer processor to: The transmitter is also configured to send a sensing request to the base station, in which the terminal requests permission to perform a sensing process using the joint transmission, and obtain a request approval from the base station, in which the base station indicates a transmission time for sending the joint transmission.

30. The computer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein: The instructions further cause the at least one computer processor to determine a portion of a bandwidth for transmitting the joint transmission, and When the second set of resources allocated for sensing is configured to perform a short-range sensing operation, the bandwidth portion is a high-frequency bandwidth portion.

31. The computer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein: The instructions further cause the at least one computer processor to determine a portion of a bandwidth for transmitting the joint transmission, and When the second set of resources allocated for sensing is configured to perform a long range sensing operation, the bandwidth portion is a low frequency bandwidth portion.

32. The computer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein the instructions further cause the at least one computer processor to determine a bandwidth portion for transmitting the joint transmission, the bandwidth portion comprising subcarriers configured to perform presence detection operations.

33. The computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein in the resource allocation pattern, at least a portion of the second set of resources allocated for sensing overlaps with the first set of resources allocated for communication.

34. The computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein in the resource allocation pattern, all of the second set of resources allocated for sensing overlap with the first set of resources allocated for communication.

35. The computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein in the resource allocation pattern, no resources in the second set of resources allocated for sensing overlap with the first set of resources allocated for communication.

36. The computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein: The first set of resources allocated for communication includes a plurality of communication instances, and the second set of resources allocated for sensing includes a plurality of sensing instances.

37. The computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein during each sensing instance in the resource allocation pattern, the second set of resources allocated for sensing is fixed in the frequency domain.

38. The computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein during each sensing instance in the resource allocation pattern, the second set of resources allocated for sensing hops in the frequency domain.

39. The computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein in the resource allocation pattern, the second set of resources allocated for sensing are allocated in two or more frequency bands.

40. The computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the first signal and the second signal are exchanged using a sidelink communication link.

41. A method for performing a conflict control procedure in a communication network, comprising: The terminal capability of sending information indicating resource allocation support to the base station by the terminal; determining, by the base station and based on the resource allocation support information, a resource allocation pattern for joint transmission to be performed by the terminal, the resource allocation pattern comprising a first set of resources allocated for communication and a second set of resources allocated for sensing; Sending, by the base station, a signaling indicating the resource allocation mode to the terminal; as well as The resource allocation mode in the joint transmission is implemented by the terminal.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the joint transmission is a Joint Communication and Sensing (JCAS) transmission configured to perform a contention control procedure in the communication network.

43. The method of claim 41, wherein: The bandwidth portion used for sending the joint transmission is a high-frequency bandwidth portion or a low-frequency bandwidth portion, When the second set of resources allocated for sensing is configured to perform a short-range sensing operation, the bandwidth portion is a high-frequency bandwidth portion, and When the second set of resources allocated for sensing is configured to perform a long range sensing operation, the bandwidth portion is a low frequency bandwidth portion.

44. The method of claim 41, wherein in the resource allocation pattern, at least a portion of the second set of resources allocated for sensing overlaps with the first set of resources allocated for communication.

45. The method of claim 41, wherein in the resource allocation pattern, all of the second set of resources allocated for sensing overlaps with the first set of resources allocated for communication.

46. ​​The method of claim 41, wherein in the resource allocation pattern, no resources in the second set of resources allocated for sensing overlap with the first set of resources allocated for communication.

47. The method of claim 41, wherein during each sensing instant in the resource allocation pattern, the second set of resources allocated for sensing is fixed in the frequency domain.

48. The method of claim 41, wherein during each sensing instant in the resource allocation pattern, the second set of resources allocated for sensing hops in the frequency domain.

49. The method of claim 41, wherein in the resource allocation pattern, the second set of resources allocated for sensing is allocated in two or more frequency bands.

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