Method and apparatus for SBFD operation

Abstract

The present application discloses a method and an apparatus for a sub-band full duplex (SBFD) operation, and a method and an apparatus for a sub-band full duplex (SBFD) operation. A method (300) performed by a base station (20) includes the base station (20) performing an SBFD operation by a configuration of the SBFD operation or an indication to a user equipment (UE) (10), where the configuration of the SBFD operation includes an uplink, UL sub-band in a downlink, DL, or a flexible time slot / symbol, or a DL sub-band in the UL, or a flexible time slot / symbol, and configurable parameters of the UL / DL sub-band, and / or management (310) of coexistence of a UE with SBFD functionality with a legacy UE.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of wireless communication systems, and more specifically to methods and apparatus for sub-band full duplex (SBFD) operation, such as SBFD operation in a 5G new radio (NR) communication system. More specifically, the present application discusses the necessary requirements and characteristics of sub-bands, methods for configuring / indicating sub-bands to UEs, and methods for handling the coexistence of legacy UEs and UEs with SBFD capabilities within a cell. Background Art

[0002] In a traditional time division duplex (TDD) system, time domain resources are allocated between downlink (DL) symbols, uplink (UL) symbols, and flexible symbols, where flexible symbols can be used as protection periods for DL, UL, or DL-UL switching. In a traditional TDD system, allocating a limited time period for the uplink results in reduced coverage, increased latency, and reduced capacity.

[0003] Most companies support full-duplex operation with non-overlapping subbands. In addition, there are many proposals to support how to perform UL transmissions in DL time slots or DL ​​transmissions in UL time slots. However, there is no clear proposal to explain how to design and allocate physical layer resources for subbands, and how to indicate subbands to UEs. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present application is to propose a method and apparatus for sub-band full duplex (SBFD) operation.

[0005] In a first aspect of the present application, a sub-band full duplex (SBFD) operation method is performed by a base station, comprising the base station performing the SBFD operation by using a configuration of the SBFD operation or an indication to a user equipment (UE), wherein the configuration of the SBFD operation includes an uplink (UL) subband in a downlink (DL), a flexible time slot / symbol or a DL subband in a UL, or configurable parameters of flexible time slots / symbols and UL / DL subbands, and / or management of coexistence of UEs with SBFD functionality and legacy UEs.

[0006] In a second aspect of the present application, a base station includes a memory, a transceiver, and a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver. The processor is configured to execute the above method.

[0007] In a third aspect of the present application, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium stores instructions thereon, and when a computer executes the instructions, the instructions cause the computer to execute the above method.

[0008] In a fourth aspect of the present application, a chip includes a processor configured to call and run a computer program stored in a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes the above method.

[0009] In a fifth aspect of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, wherein the computer program enables a computer to execute the above method.

[0010] In a sixth aspect of the present application, a computer program product comprises a computer program, wherein the computer program enables a computer to execute the above method.

[0011] In a seventh aspect of the present application, a computer program is provided, wherein the computer program enables a computer to execute the above method. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or related technologies, the following briefly introduces the drawings to be described in the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings are only some embodiments of the present application, and ordinary technicians in this field can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without paying any price.

[0013] Figure 1 It is a block diagram showing one or more user equipment (UE) and a base station (such as a gNB) in a communication network system according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0014] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating a sub-band full duplex (SBFD) operation method performed by a base station according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0015] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a UL subband in an inner RB in a DL slot / symbol according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0016] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an edge resource block or a UL subband on a high frequency carrier in a DL slot / symbol according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0017] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an edge resource block or a UL subband on a low frequency carrier in a DL slot / symbol according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0018] Figure 6is a schematic diagram showing an example of a dual subband configuration with a UL subband on a high frequency carrier according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0019] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a dual subband configuration with a UL subband on a low frequency carrier according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0020] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of DL subbands in inner resource blocks in a UL slot / symbol according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0021] Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an edge resource block or a DL subband on a low frequency carrier in a UL time slot / symbol according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0022] Fig.10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an edge resource block or a DL subband on a high frequency carrier in a UL time slot / symbol according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0023] Fig.11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a dual subband configuration with a DL subband on a low frequency carrier according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0024] Fig.12 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a dual subband configuration with a DL subband on a high frequency carrier according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0025] Fig.13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of SFI transmission in the nth DL slot / symbol according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0026] Fig.14 It is a schematic diagram showing an example of UL and DL subband resource allocation on the gNB side according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0027] Fig.15 is a schematic diagram showing an example of visibility of UL-DL sub-band frequency resources by a UE with SBFD function according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0028] Fig.16 is a schematic diagram showing an example of UL-DL time slot visibility of a UE with SBFD function according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0029] Fig.17 is a schematic diagram showing an example of visibility of a conventional UE to UL-DL sub-band frequency resources according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0030] Fig.18 is a schematic diagram showing an example of UL-DL time slot visibility of a conventional UE according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0031] Fig.19 is a block diagram of a system for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The technical content, structural features, objectives and effects of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Specifically, the terms in the embodiments of the present application are only used to describe the purpose of specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present application.

[0033] The diverse use cases and exponential growth in the number of UEs in next-generation wireless communication systems have led to an explosive increase in data traffic, which has put forward higher requirements for spectrum efficiency. In order to meet the demand for high spectrum efficiency, time division duplex (TDD) systems are widely used in commercial NR deployments. Compared with frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, TDD systems use a single spectrum (frequency band) for downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) communications in different time slots, thereby making more efficient use of the available spectrum.

[0034] To improve upon the limitations of legacy TDD operation, the 3GPP RAN working group approved a study item in Rel-18 [1] that focuses on studying the feasibility of simultaneous DL and UL operation, i.e., full-duplex, or more specifically, sub-band non-overlapping full-duplex operation within the legacy TDD band. In SBFD operation, the gNB operates in full-duplex mode, i.e., DL and UL transmissions are performed simultaneously on the gNB side, while the UE operates in half-duplex mode. The study item defines the following RAN1 objectives related to sub-band non-overlapping full-duplex and dynamic / flexible TDD operation: Study the feasibility of sub-band non-overlapping full-duplex and potential enhancements for dynamic / flexible TDD (RAN1, RAN4). In the duplex evolution of Rel-18 SID, it is mentioned that sub-band non-overlapping full-duplex operation needs to be studied and possible schemes identified to evaluate its feasibility and performance. In addition, the following consensus was reached in the 3GPP RAN1#109-e meeting to further study the enhancements of subband resource allocation on the gNB side and its indication to the UE for SBFD operation in the legacy TDD band: 1. Study the impact / potential enhancement of resource allocation in the subband symbols used by the gNB in ​​SBFD operation. 2. Study whether and how to notify the UE of the time and / or frequency location of the subbands used by the gNB in ​​SBFD operation.

[0035] Compared with the traditional TDD operation, the key goal of sub-band full-duplex (SBFD) is to allow simultaneous transmission of DL and UL in the TDD carrier. However, the detailed design of sub-bands and their specific application for full-duplex operation is still under discussion, and there is no comprehensive proposal that can clearly clarify the detailed design of sub-bands for full-duplex operation. In addition, there is also discussion about the important characteristics of SBFD, such as the number of sub-bands in the traditional TDD band, the granularity of sub-bands, and the time / frequency resources allocated to the sub-bands. For these reasons, the present application further studies the detailed design of sub-bands in the traditional TDD band, focusing on the necessary requirements or characteristics of sub-bands (i.e., granularity, number of sub-bands, bandwidth, etc.), time / frequency resource allocation, the way to configure / indicate sub-bands to UEs, and the coexistence of UEs with SBFD capabilities and traditional UEs in the cell.

[0036] Subband non-overlapping full-duplex can improve UL coverage, reduce latency, and increase capacity. However, as a new feature defined in Rel-18, SBFD operation faces the following challenges in its physical layer design: 1. How to allocate physical resources to subbands, such as which time / frequency resources in the traditional TDD band can be allocated to subbands. 2. Within the TDD band, how should the granularity and bandwidth of the time / frequency position of the subband be determined. 3. How to configure / indicate the time / frequency resources of the subband to the UE. 4. How to manage the coexistence of UEs with SBFD function and traditional UEs in the cell.

[0037] Some embodiments of the present application propose basic requirements and characteristics of subbands and their configurable parameters to fully utilize the flexibility of SBFD operation, thereby improving UL coverage, reducing transmission delay and increasing system capacity. To achieve these goals, the proposed solutions are summarized as follows: 1. Multiple configurable parameters of subbands are defined, such as configurable granularity, bandwidth, time / frequency resource allocation, etc. 2. Both semi-static and dynamic configurations of SBFD are considered to explicitly indicate the physical resources of the subband to the UE. 3. An option is proposed for multiple UEs with SBFD functions and traditional UEs to coexist in a cell.

[0038] Some embodiments of the present application propose multiple configurable parameters of subbands and have the following advantages: 1. Some embodiments of the present application support full-duplex operation on the gNB side (i.e., simultaneous UL / DL transmission) to enhance UL coverage, reduce transmission latency, and improve system capacity. 2. The proposed solution provides configurable parameters for subbands to fully utilize the flexibility of subband full-duplex operation and define subbands according to UL / DL traffic requirements. 3. The proposed solution takes into account the coexistence of legacy UEs and UEs with SBFD capabilities, thereby improving backward compatibility.

[0039] Figure 1It is illustrated that in some embodiments, the communication network system 40 includes one or more user equipment (UE) 10 and a base station (e.g., gNB) 20. In an embodiment of the present application, the communication network system 40 includes one or more UEs 10 and a base station 20 (e.g., a first base station or a second base station). One or more UEs 10 may include a memory 12, a transceiver 13, and a processor 11 coupled to the memory 12 and the transceiver 13. The base station 20 may include a memory 22, a transceiver 23, and a processor 21 coupled to the memory 22 and the transceiver 23. The processor 11 or 21 may be configured to implement the functions, procedures, and / or methods proposed in this description. The various layers of the wireless interface protocol may be implemented in the processor 11 or 21. The memory 12 or 22 is operatively coupled to the processor 11 or 21 to store various information required to operate the processor 11 or 21. The transceiver 13 or 23 is operatively coupled to the processor 11 or 21, and the transceiver 13 or 23 is used to send and / or receive wireless signals.

[0040] The processor 11 or 21 may include an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), other chipsets, logic circuits and / or data processing devices. The memory 12 or 22 may include a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a memory card, a storage medium and / or other storage devices. The transceiver 13 or 23 may include a baseband circuit for processing radio frequency signals. When these embodiments are implemented in software form, the techniques described in this application may be implemented by modules (such as programs, functions, etc.) to perform the functions described herein. The modules may be stored in the memory 12 or 22 and executed by the processor 11 or 21. The memory 12 or 22 may be integrated inside the processor 11 or 21, or may be implemented outside the processor 11 or 21, in which case it may be connected to the processor 11 or 21 by various known communication methods.

[0041] In some embodiments, the processor 21 is configured to perform SBFD operations by configuring SBFD operations or indicating to a user equipment (UE), wherein the configuration of the SBFD operations includes uplink (UL) subbands in a downlink (DL), or flexible time slots / symbols, or DL ​​subbands in the UL, or flexible time slots / symbols and configurable parameters of UL / DL subbands, and / or management of coexistence of UEs with SBFD functionality and legacy UEs.

[0042] Figure 2The flowchart of the sub-band full duplex (SBFD) operation method performed by the base station according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. In some embodiments, the method 300 for multi-transmission access point transmission performed by the base station includes the following steps: Step 310, the base station performs the SBFD operation by configuring the SBFD operation or indicating to the user equipment (UE), wherein the configuration of the SBFD operation includes the uplink (UL) subband in the downlink (DL), or the flexible time slot / symbol, or the DL subband in the UL, or the configurable parameters of the flexible time slot / symbol and the UL / DL subband, and / or the management of the coexistence of the UE with SBFD function and the traditional UE.

[0043] In some embodiments, the configurable parameters of the UL / DL subband include subband characteristics and / or time / frequency resources allocated to the UL / DL subband. In some embodiments, the subband characteristics include the granularity of the subband, the bandwidth of the subband, and / or the number of subbands in a time division duplex (TDD) band. In some embodiments, the granularity of the subband is based on a granularity of a resource block (RB). In some embodiments, the number of RBs of the subband depends on the subcarrier spacing of different numerical systems, and / or the number of RBs of the subband is configurable, wherein the number of RBs of the subband is adjusted according to the bandwidth requirement of the subband. In some embodiments, the bandwidth of the subband is a configurable subband bandwidth, and the function for calculating the subband bandwidth is as follows: Wherein: TDD Channel BW represents the channel bandwidth of the New Radio (NR) TDD band with configured subbands, K represents the number of guard bands, GB (bandwidth) represents the guard band bandwidth defined for the subband, n represents the total number of subbands in the traditional TDD band, and the value range of n is {2, 3, 4}.

[0044] In some embodiments, among the number of subbands in the TDD frequency band, the minimum number of subbands in the TDD frequency band is 2, and / or the maximum number of subbands in the TDD frequency band is 3 or 4. In some embodiments, the time / frequency resources allocated to the UL / DL subbands include the time / frequency position of the UL subband in the DL slot / symbol, and / or the time / frequency position of the DL subband in the UL slot / symbol. In some embodiments, for the time / frequency position of the UL subband in the DL slot / symbol, the UL subband is allocated starting from DL slot (n+1), wherein the base station is allowed to use the nth slot for dynamic change of control-related functions, which is implemented by the slot format indication (SFI) carried by downlink control information (DCI) format 2_0, and the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) is scrambled by the SFI-radio network temporary identifier (SFI-RNTI). In some embodiments, the frequency location of the UL sub-band in the DL slot / symbol is allocated in the inner portion of the carrier or in an inner RB between two DL sub-bands.

[0045] In some embodiments, the frequency position of the UL subband in the DL slot / symbol is allocated on an edge RB or an external carrier of the TDD frequency band. In some embodiments, for the time position of the DL subband in the UL slot, the DL subband is allocated in the UL slot / symbol starting from the nth UL slot. In some embodiments, the frequency position of the DL subband in the UL slot / symbol is allocated in an inner part of a carrier or an inner RB between two UL subbands. In some embodiments, the frequency position of the DL subband in the UL slot / symbol is allocated on an edge RB or an external carrier of the TDD frequency band. In some embodiments, the SBFD configuration and indication to the UE includes semi-static and dynamic configuration / indication of the subband to achieve simultaneous uplink and downlink transmission of the base station, and half-duplex operation of the UE. In some embodiments, for the semi-static configuration / indication of the SBFD operation, the UL subband in the DL slot / symbol or the DL subband in the UL slot / symbol is configured using semi-statically configured RRC signaling.

[0046] In some embodiments, the semi-statically configured RRC signaling includes TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon or TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated, wherein TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon determines the cell-specific UL / DL TDD configuration, and TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated determines the UE-specific UL / DL TDD configuration. In some embodiments, the information element (IE) for the UL subband in the DL slot / symbol is used to indicate the explicit configuration of the SCS, the DL slot / symbol of the frequency resources allocated to the UL subband in the DL slot / symbol, the RB of the guard band, and / or the number and starting position of the UL RB. In some embodiments, the information element (IE) for the DL subband in the UL slot / symbol is used to indicate the explicit configuration of the SCS, the UL slot / symbol of the frequency resources allocated to the DL subband in the UL slot / symbol, the RB of the guard band, and / or the number and starting position of the DL RB.

[0047] In some embodiments, for the dynamic configuration / indication of the SBFD operation, the SFI of the UL subband in the DL slot includes the following fields: the number of DL slots, the number of DL symbols, the starting position of the DL slot, the starting position of the UL PRB, the number of UL PRBs, and the guard band. In some embodiments, for the dynamic configuration / indication of the SBFD operation, the SFI of the DL subband in the UL slot includes the following fields: the number of UL slots, the number of UL symbols, the starting position of the UL slot, the starting position of the DLPRB, the number of DL PRBs, and the guard band. In some embodiments, for the dynamic indication of the UL subband in the DL slot / symbol, the SFI is transmitted in the nth DL slot / symbol, where slots n, n+1, and n+2 are configured as DL slots. In some embodiments, the base station performs management of coexistence of the UE with SBFD function and the traditional UE in the cell, including: configuring / indicating SBFD operation to the UE with SBFD function through cell-specific configuration / indication, and configuring / indicating conventional TDD operation including TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon, UE-specific configuration including TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated, or configuration / indication based on dynamic SFI to the traditional UE in the cell.

[0048] In some embodiments, the method further includes configuring / indicating the legacy UE and the SBFD-capable UE through TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon, wherein the SBFDIE of the UL / DL subband is included in the DL / UL slot / symbol, and the SBFD IE of the UL / DL subband is not visible to the legacy UE. In some embodiments, the method further includes configuring / indicating the legacy UE through TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon, and configuring / indicating the SBFD-capable UE through TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated, wherein the SBFDIE of the UL / DL subband is included in the DL / UL slot / symbol. In some embodiments, the method further includes configuring / indicating the legacy UE through TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon, and configuring / indicating the SBFD-capable UE through dynamic SFI. In some embodiments, the method further includes configuring / indicating the legacy UE through TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon, and configuring / indicating the SBFD-capable UE through dynamic SFI.

[0049] Some embodiments of the present application consider subband full duplex on the gNB side and discuss its detailed design, physical layer resource allocation, and configuration of SBFD operation. Some embodiments explore the requirements of subbands, such as granularity, bandwidth, number of subbands, and time / frequency resources allocated to subbands. Some embodiments discuss semi-static and dynamic configuration of subbands. Some embodiments explore the coexistence of UEs with SBFD capabilities and legacy UEs.

[0050] A subband is a group of contiguous resource blocks (RBs) in the resource grid of a traditional TDD band for the same transmission direction (i.e., UL or DL ​​direction), as discussed in the 3GPP RAN1#109-e meeting. Some embodiments of the present application explore basic parameters or characteristics of subbands, including the granularity of subbands, bandwidth, number of subbands in a TDD band, etc., as described below.

[0051] Granularity: Granularity is a key characteristic in defining a subband, which further clarifies the frequency resources allocated to the subband. The frequency domain physical resources defined in the current specification include resource elements (RE), resource blocks (RB), and bandwidth parts (BWP). However, some embodiments of the present application use RB as the granularity of the subband. RB-based granularity has the following advantages: multiple RB sets can be configured for the UE based on the bandwidth requirements of the UL / DL subband, thereby improving the flexibility of gNB scheduling. In addition, the number of RBs in a subband depends on the subcarrier spacing of different numerical systems (as described in [38.211]), and the number of RBs in a subband can be regarded as a configurable parameter that can be adjusted based on the actual bandwidth requirements of the subband.

[0052] Subband bandwidth: The bandwidth of a subband depends on multiple physical resource parameters in the current NR specification, such as the TDD band channel bandwidth corresponding to each subcarrier spacing (SCS) defining the subband, the number of subbands in the TDD band, the bandwidth of the guard band defined for the subband, and the number of guard bands. This application defines the configurable bandwidth of a subband and provides a function for calculating the subband bandwidth as follows: Where: TDD Channel BW represents the channel bandwidth of the New Radio (NR) TDD band with the configured subband, K represents the number of guard bands, GB (bandwidth) represents the guard band bandwidth defined for the subband, n represents the total number of subbands in the traditional TDD band, and the value range of n is {2,3,4}. In other words, the bandwidth of the subband is configurable, and its calculation function depends on the following factors: the channel bandwidth of the NR TDD band with the configured subband, the number of guard bands, the guard band bandwidth defined for the subband, and the total number of subbands in the traditional TDD band (in the range of {2,3,4}).

[0053] Number of subbands in a TDD band: A subband can be allocated as a UL subband in a DL or flexible time slot, or a DL subband in a UL or flexible time slot. In order to define the number of configurable subbands in a TDD band, it is necessary to consider the minimum and maximum range of the number of subbands. For the minimum number of subbands, it is generally believed that at least 2 subbands need to be defined, where one subband can be used for opposite transmission directions in DL, UL or flexible time slots. For the maximum number of subbands, some embodiments of the present application suggest limiting the maximum number of subbands to 3 or 4 subbands in the TDD band.

[0054] Some embodiments of the present application discuss the time / frequency position of the UL subband in the DL or flexible time slot / symbol: the time position of the UL subband in the DL time slot / symbol, and the present application proposes to allocate the UL subband starting from the DL time slot (n+1). This allocation method allows the gNB to use the nth time slot to perform control-related functions for dynamic changes in subband allocation, which is specifically implemented by the slot format indication (SFI) carried by DCI format 2_0, and the CRC is scrambled by SFI-RNTI. There are two options for the frequency position of the subband in the traditional TDD band:

[0055] Option 1: In a DL slot / symbol, the frequency position of the UL subband can be allocated in the inner part of the carrier or in the inner RB between two DL subbands. For example, consider three subbands in a traditional TDD band, where subband #2 can be used as a UL subband between subband #1 and subband #3, such as Figure 3 The advantage of Option 1 is that it can avoid cross-link interference (CLI) from neighboring gNBs using the same TDD frequency band but in different directions. However, in Option 1, at least three subbands and two guard bands need to be defined to allocate the inner subbands to the UL direction and avoid the transmit / receive (Tx / Rx) power leakage from the subbands in the opposite direction, respectively, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 Therefore, option 1 increases configuration overhead and wastes frequency resources.

[0056] Option 2: In a DL slot / symbol, the frequency position of the UL subband can be allocated on the edge RB or outer carrier of the TDD band. For example, considering three subbands in a conventional TDD band, subband #1 or subband #3 can be allocated as the UL subband in a DL slot, such as Figure 4 and Figure 5 Similarly, in Option 2, only two subbands in the TDD band may be considered. For example, subband #1 or subband #2 may be allocated as the UL subband starting from the n+1th DL slot / symbol in the DL slot / symbol, as shown in FIG. Figure 6 and Figure 7 The advantages of Option 2 include: it allows the gNB to flexibly define the number of subbands, i.e., two or three subbands. In Option 2, only one guard band is required to separate the UL subband from the DL subband, so that frequency resources can be used more efficiently.

[0057] Some embodiments of the present application discuss the time / frequency position of the DL subband in the UL or flexible time slot / symbol, as described in the above embodiments. The time position of the DL subband in the UL time slot, some embodiments of the present application suggest allocating the DL subband in the UL time slot / symbol starting from the nth UL time slot, such as Figure 8The frequency position of the sub-band in the conventional TDD frequency band is similar to the above embodiment, and the frequency position has the following two options.

[0058] Option 1: The frequency position of the DL subband in the UL slot / symbol can be allocated in the inner part of the carrier or in the inner RB between two UL subbands. For example, consider three subbands in a conventional TDD band, where subband #2 can be used as a DL subband between subband #1 and subband #3, as Figure 8 shown.

[0059] Option 2: The frequency position of the DL subband in the UL time slot / symbol can be allocated on the edge RB or outer carrier of the TDD frequency band. For example, considering three subbands in the traditional TDD frequency band, subband #1 or subband #3 can be allocated as the DL subband in the UL time slot / symbol, such as Fig. 9 and Fig.10 Similarly, in Option 2, only two subbands in the TDD band may be considered, where subband #1 or subband #2 may be allocated as a DL subband in the UL slot / symbol starting from the nth UL slot, as shown in Fig.11 and Fig.12 shown.

[0060] Some embodiments of the present application discuss methods for semi-static and dynamic configuration / indication of subbands for simultaneous UL and DL transmission on the gNB side and half-duplex operation on the UE side.

[0061] In semi-static configuration, RRC signaling can be used to configure the UL subband in the DL slot or the DL subband in the UL slot. Some embodiments of the present application define explicit configuration information elements (IEs) for UL subbands in DL slots / symbols or DL ​​subbands in UL slots / symbols. In addition, the IE defined for the subband can be included in the TDD-UL-DL configuration IE already in the current specification, such as TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon or TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated, where TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon is used to determine the cell-specific UL / DL TDD configuration, and TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated is used to determine the UE-specific UL / DL TDD configuration.

[0062] The information elements (IEs) for the UL subbands in the DL slots / symbols are as follows, which specify the explicit configuration of the subcarrier spacing (SCS), the DL slots / symbols to which the UL subband frequency resources can be allocated, the resource blocks (RBs) of the guard band, and the number and starting position of the UL resource blocks.

[0063]

[0064] The description of the semi-static configuration information element (IE) of the UL subband in the DL time slot / symbol is shown in Table 1.

[0065] Table 1:

[0066]

[0067] Similarly, the IE for the DL subband in the UL slot is as follows, which indicates the explicit configuration of the SCS, the UL slot / symbol of the DL subband in the UL slot to which the frequency resources can be allocated, the PRB of the guard band, and the number and starting position of the DL resource blocks.

[0068]

[0069] The description of the semi-static configuration IE of the DL subband in the UL time slot / symbol is shown in Table 2.

[0070] Table 2:

[0071]

[0072] For dynamic configuration / indication of SBFD, the Slot Format Indicator (SFI) in the current specification can be used, which is carried by DCI format 2_0 and the CRC is scrambled by SFI-RNTI. However, the current SFI is only used to indicate the UL or DL ​​time slot of the traditional TDD band. In order to enable the current SFI to support SBFD indication, the present disclosure defines new fields that need to be included in the SFI. For example, the SFI for the UL subband in the DL time slot may include the following fields: the number of DL time slots, the number of DL symbols, the starting position of the DL time slot, the starting position of the UL PRB, the number of UL PRBs, and the guard band. Similarly, the SFI for the DL subband in the UL time slot may include the following fields: the number of UL time slots, the number of UL symbols, the starting position of the UL time slot, the starting position of the DLPRB, the number of DL PRBs, and the guard band.

[0073] For dynamic indication of UL subbands in DL slots / symbols, SFI may be transmitted in the nth DL slot / symbol, such as Fig.13 For example, time slots n, n+1, and n+2 are configured as DL time slots. In order to consider other time slots, SFI can be transmitted in time slot n, as shown in FIG. Fig.13 As shown, the subband information is indicated to the UE.

[0074] Coexistence of SBFD-capable UEs and legacy UEs: Some embodiments of the present application discuss the coexistence of legacy UEs and SBFD-capable UEs in a cell, where the legacy UEs do not have the capability of sub-band full-duplex operation. Since legacy UEs and SBFD-capable UEs may exist in the same cell at the same time and may use SBFD configuration, some embodiments of the present application consider the following methods for handling these two types of UEs.

[0075] Configuring / indicating SBFD configuration to cell-specific UEs via TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon: In this method, the TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon in the current specification may be used to include the SBFD information element (IE), as described in the above embodiments. Since TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon is a cell-specific configuration, and legacy UEs and SBFD-capable UEs may exist simultaneously in a cell, in this method, some embodiments consider that the SBFD IE in TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon is not visible to legacy UEs, and legacy UEs do not expect operations in the opposite transmission direction, such as UL, in the frequency resources allocated to them for DL ​​transmission. From the perspective of the gNB, the gNB may not use DL subband resources to perform UL operations for legacy UEs. In this method, the visibility of time / frequency resources to the gNB, legacy UEs, and SBFD-capable UEs is different from each other. For example, the visibility of time / frequency resources allocated to legacy UEs and SBFD-capable UEs to the gNB is as follows: Fig.14 For SBFD-capable UEs, the UL subband or frequency resources in the DL time slot allocated by TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon are visible to the SBFD-capable UEs, as shown in Fig.15 The visibility of the SBFD function UE to the UL-DL time slot is as follows: Fig.16 shown.

[0076] For legacy UEs, since legacy UEs do not expect to configure UL in DL slots or DL ​​in UL slots, the visibility of time / frequency resources or resource blocks (RBs) allocated to legacy UEs for DL ​​operations is as follows: Fig.17 The visibility of the traditional UE to the time slot is as follows Fig.18 shown.

[0077] Configure / indicate legacy UEs via TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon, and configure / indicate SBFD-capable UEs via TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated: In this approach, TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon in the current specification can remain as is and be used to configure legacy UEs. For SBFD-capable UEs, TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated can be used to configure SBFD operation. Since TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated is a UE-specific configuration, the configuration of UL subbands in a DL slot, or the configuration of DL subbands in a UL slot, can be easily overridden to suit the needs of a group of SBFD-capable UEs.

[0078] Configure / indicate traditional UEs through TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon, and configure / indicate SBFD-functional UEs through dynamic SFI: In this method, TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon in the current specification can remain unchanged and be used to configure traditional UEs. For SBFD-functional UEs, configuration / indication can be performed through dynamic SFI, as described in the above embodiments. In this method, since TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon may configure traditional TDD-UL-DL configurations for all UEs in the cell, for SBFD-functional UEs, SFI can be used to dynamically indicate the frequency resources of the subband.

[0079] Configure / indicate legacy UEs via TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated, and configure / indicate SBFD-capable UEs via dynamic SFI: In this method, TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated (without SBFD configuration) in the current specification can be used to configure the indication of UL-DL time slots for a group of legacy UEs. For SBFD-capable UEs, SFI can be used to dynamically indicate the time / frequency resources of the subband and include the fields discussed in the above embodiments.

[0080] In summary, some embodiments of the present application propose multiple configurable parameters for subbands and have the following advantages: 1. Some embodiments of the present application support full-duplex operation on the gNB side (i.e., simultaneous UL / DL transmission) to enhance UL coverage, reduce transmission latency, and improve system capacity. 2. The proposed solution provides configurable parameters for subbands to fully utilize the flexibility of full-duplex operation of subbands and define subbands according to UL / DL traffic requirements. 3. The proposed solution takes into account the coexistence of legacy UEs and SBFD-capable UEs to improve backward compatibility.

[0081] Fig.197 is a block diagram of an exemplary wireless communication system 700 according to an embodiment of the present application. The embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any appropriately configured hardware and / or software. Fig.19 A system 700 is shown, which includes a radio frequency (RF) circuit 710, a baseband circuit 720, an application circuit 730, a memory / storage device 740, a display 750, a camera 760, a sensor 770, and an input / output (I / O) interface 780, which are coupled to each other at least as shown. The application circuit 730 may include circuits, such as but not limited to one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors, such as a graphics processor, an application processor. The processor may be coupled to a memory / storage device and configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications and / or operating systems to run on the system.

[0082] While the present disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment, but is intended to cover various arrangements made without departing from the scope of the broadest interpretation of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A sub-band full-duplex SBFD operation method, performed by a base station, characterized in that: include: The base station performs the SBFD operation by using a configuration of the SBFD operation or an indication to a user equipment UE, wherein the configuration of the SBFD operation includes an uplink UL subband in a downlink DL, a flexible time slot / symbol or a DL subband in a UL, or configurable parameters of flexible time slots / symbols and UL / DL subbands, and / or management of coexistence of UEs with SBFD capabilities and legacy UEs.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The configurable parameters of the UL / DL subband include subband characteristics and / or time / frequency resources allocated to the UL / DL subband.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The subband characteristics include a granularity of a subband, a bandwidth of the subband, and / or a number of subbands in a time division duplex (TDD) frequency band.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The granularity of the subband is based on a granularity of a resource block (RB).

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The number of RBs of the subband depends on the subcarrier spacing of different numerical systems, and / or the number of RBs of the subband is configurable, wherein the number of RBs of the subband is adjusted according to the bandwidth requirement of the subband.

6. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that The bandwidth of the subband is a configurable bandwidth of the subband, and the function of calculating the bandwidth of the subband depends on: the new radio NR TDD band channel bandwidth in which the subband is configured, the number of guard bands, the bandwidth of the guard band defined for the subband, and the total number of subbands in a conventional TDD band, ranging from {2,3,4}.

7. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that Among the numbers of subbands in the TDD frequency band, a minimum number of the subbands in the TDD frequency band is 2, and / or a maximum number of the subbands in the TDD frequency band is 3 or 4.

8. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that The time / frequency resources allocated to the UL / DL subband include the time / frequency position of the UL subband in a DL slot / symbol and / or the time / frequency position of the DL subband in a UL slot / symbol.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that For the time / frequency position of the UL subband in the DL time slot / symbol, the UL subband is allocated starting from DL time slot (n+1), wherein the base station is allowed to use the nth time slot for dynamic change of control-related functions, which is achieved by the time slot format indication SFI carried by the downlink control information DCI format 2_0, and the cyclic redundancy check CRC is scrambled by the SFI-radio network temporary identifier SFI-RNTI.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The frequency position of the UL subband in the DL slot / symbol is allocated in the inner part of the carrier or in the inner RB between two DL subbands.

11. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The frequency position of the UL subband in the DL slot / symbol is allocated on the edge RB of the TDD frequency band or an outer carrier.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 9, characterized in that Regarding the time position of the DL subband in the UL slot, the DL subband is allocated in the UL slot / symbol starting from the nth UL slot.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The frequency position of the DL subband in the UL slot / symbol is allocated in the inner part of the carrier or in the inner RB between two UL subbands.

14. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The frequency position of the DL subband in the UL time slot / symbol is allocated on an edge RB or an outer carrier of the TDD frequency band.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that The SBFD configuration and indication to the UE includes semi-static and dynamic configuration / indication of the subband to enable simultaneous uplink and downlink transmission of the base station and half-duplex operation of the UE.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that For the semi-static configuration / indication of the SBFD operation, the UL subband in the DL slot / symbol or the DL subband in the UL slot / symbol is configured using RRC signaling of the semi-static configuration.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The semi-statically configured RRC signaling includes TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon or TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated, wherein TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon determines a cell-specific UL / DL TDD configuration, and TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated determines a UE-specific UL / DL TDD configuration.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that The information element IE for the UL subband in the DL slot / symbol is used to indicate the explicit configuration of the SCS, the DL slot / symbol to which the frequency resources of the UL subband are allocated in the DL slot / symbol, the RBs of the guard band, and / or the number and starting position of UL RBs.

19. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that The information element IE for the DL subband in the UL slot / symbol is used to indicate the explicit configuration of the SCS, the UL slot / symbol of the frequency resources of the DL subband allocated in the UL slot / symbol, the RBs of the guard band, and / or the number and starting position of DL RBs.

20. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, characterized in that For the dynamic configuration / indication of the SBFD operation, the SFI of the UL subband in the DL slot includes the following fields: the number of DL slots, the number of DL symbols, the starting position of the DL slot, the starting position of the UL PRB, the number of UL PRBs, and the guard band.

21. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 20, characterized in that For the dynamic configuration / indication of the SBFD operation, the SFI of the DL subband in the UL timeslot includes the following fields: the number of UL timeslots, the number of UL symbols, the starting position of the UL timeslot, the starting position of the DL PRB, the number of DL PRBs, and the guard band.

22. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 21, characterized in that For dynamic indication of the UL subband in the DL slot / symbol, the SFI is transmitted in the nth DL slot / symbol, where slots n, n+1 and n+2 are configured as DL slots.

23. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The base station performs management of the coexistence of the UE with SBFD function and the traditional UE in the cell, including: configuring / indicating SBFD operation to the UE with SBFD function through cell-specific configuration / indication, and configuring / indicating conventional TDD operation including TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon, UE-specific configuration including TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated, or configuration / indication based on dynamic SFI to the traditional UE in the cell.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that It also includes configuring / instructing the legacy UE and the UE with SBFD function through TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon, wherein the SBFD IE of the UL / DL subband is included in the DL / UL time slot / symbol, and the SBFD IE of the UL / DL subband is invisible to the legacy UE.

25. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that It also includes configuring / indicating the traditional UE through TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon, and configuring / indicating the UE with the SBFD function through TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated, wherein the SBFD IE of the UL / DL subband is included in the DL / UL time slot / symbol.

26. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that It also includes configuring / instructing the traditional UE through TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon, and configuring / instructing the UE with SBFD function through dynamic SFI.

27. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that It also includes configuring / instructing the traditional UE through TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon, and configuring / instructing the UE with SBFD function through dynamic SFI.

28. A base station, characterized in that: include: Memory; Transceiver; as well as a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver; Wherein, the processor is configured to execute the method of any one of claims 1 to 27.

29. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, characterized in that Instructions are stored thereon, and when a computer executes the instructions, the instructions cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 27.

30. A chip, characterized in that: include: A processor configured to call and run a computer program stored in a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes a method according to any one of claims 1 to 27.

31. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: A computer program is stored therein, wherein the computer program causes a computer to execute the method of any one of claims 1 to 27.

32. A computer program product, characterized in that Comprising a computer program, wherein the computer program causes a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 27.

33. A computer program, characterized in that The computer program causes a computer to execute the method of any one of claims 1 to 27.

Images