Resource selection for sidelink communication

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to resource selection for sidelink communication. According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a first transmitting device determines information of a first resource to be used by a receiving device to transmit a first feedback to the first transmitting device, and transmits the information of the first resource to a second transmitting device. In this manner, resource selection for sidelink communications with sidelink beam management may be enhanced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments relate to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly, to methods, devices, apparatus, and computer-readable storage media for resource selection for sidelink communications. Background Art

[0002] As is well known, a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) for sidelink communications is designated to carry hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback from a device that is an intended recipient of a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) / physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) transmission (also referred to herein as a receiving device) to a device that performs a PSCCH / PSSCH transmission (also referred to herein as a transmitting device) via a sidelink. However, in some cases, two transmitting devices perform sidelink communications with the same receiving device, and problems may arise when feedback from a receiving device is transmitted to a corresponding transmitting device using directional transmission. Therefore, there is a need to develop enhanced resource selection for sidelink communications with sidelink beam management. Summary of the invention

[0003] In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for resource selection for sidelink communications with sidelink beam management.

[0004] In a first aspect, a first transmitting device is provided. The first transmitting device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first transmitting device to at least: determine information of a first resource, which first resource will be used by a receiving device to transmit a first feedback to the first transmitting device, the first feedback being for a first data transmission from the first transmitting device to the receiving device; and transmit the information of the first resource to a second transmitting device.

[0005] In a second aspect, a second transmitting device is provided. The second transmitting device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second transmitting device to at least: receive information of a first resource, which is to be used by a receiving device to transmit a first feedback to the first transmitting device, the first feedback being for a first data transmission from the first transmitting device to the receiving device; and determine a third resource, which is reserved for a second data transmission from the second transmitting device to the receiving device, so that a fourth resource associated with the third resource does not conflict with the first resource, the fourth resource being used by the receiving device to transmit a second feedback to the second transmitting device, the second feedback being for a second data transmission.

[0006] In a third aspect, a method for communication is provided, comprising: determining, at a first transmitting device, information of a first resource to be used by a receiving device to transmit first feedback to the first transmitting device, the first feedback being for a first data transmission from the first transmitting device to the receiving device; and transmitting the information of the first resource to a second transmitting device.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, a method for communication is provided. The method includes: receiving information of a first resource at a second transmitting device, the first resource to be used by the receiving device to transmit a first feedback to the first transmitting device, the first feedback being for a first data transmission from the first transmitting device to the receiving device; and determining a third resource, the third resource being reserved for a second data transmission from the second transmitting device to the receiving device, so that a fourth resource associated with the third resource does not conflict with the first resource, the fourth resource being used by the receiving device to transmit a second feedback to the second transmitting device, the second feedback being for a second data transmission.

[0008] In a fifth aspect, an apparatus for communication is provided. The apparatus includes: a component for determining, at a first transmitting device, information of a first resource to be used by a receiving device to transmit a first feedback to the first transmitting device, the first feedback being for a first data transmission from the first transmitting device to the receiving device; and a component for transmitting the information of the first resource to a second transmitting device.

[0009] In a sixth aspect, an apparatus for communication is provided. The apparatus includes: a component for receiving information of a first resource at a second transmitting device, the first resource to be used by the receiving device to transmit a first feedback to the first transmitting device, the first feedback being for a first data transmission from the first transmitting device to the receiving device; and a component for determining a third resource, the third resource being reserved for a second data transmission from the second transmitting device to the receiving device, so that a fourth resource associated with the third resource does not conflict with the first resource, the fourth resource being used by the receiving device to transmit a second feedback to the second transmitting device, the second feedback being for a second data transmission.

[0010] In a seventh aspect, a non-transitory computer readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least perform the method according to the third or fourth aspect.

[0011] In an eighth aspect, a computer program is provided, the computer program comprising a plurality of instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least perform the method according to the third or fourth aspect.

[0012] It should be understood that the invention summary is not intended to identify the key features or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0014] Figure 1 An example communication environment is shown in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0015] Figure 2 A diagram illustrating an example side link timeslot configuration in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0016] Figure 3A A diagram showing an example Uu initial beam alignment process;

[0017] Figure 3B A diagram illustrating an example sidelink initial beam alignment process;

[0018] Figure 4A A diagram illustrating an example scenario in sidelink transmission;

[0019] Figure 4B A diagram showing an example of resource collision due to directional PSFCH transmission;

[0020] Figure 5 A flow chart illustrating a resource selection process for sidelink communications with sidelink beam management according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0021] Fig. 6A A diagram illustrating resource selection for sidelink communications according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 6B A diagram illustrating resource reselection for sidelink communications according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 7 A flowchart illustrating an example method implemented at a first sending device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0024] Figure 8 A flowchart showing an example method implemented at a second sending device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0025] Fig. 9 shows a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0026] Fig.10A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium is shown in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0027] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The principle of the present invention will now be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration, and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without implying any limitation to the scope of the present disclosure. In addition to the following description, the disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways.

[0029] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0030] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc., indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is considered to be within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments (whether or not explicitly described).

[0031] It should be understood that although the terms "first", "second", etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0032] The terms used herein are only used for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit exemplary embodiments. As used herein, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to also include plural forms. It will be further understood that when used herein, the terms "comprises", "comprising", "has", "having", "includes" and / or "including" specify the presence of features, elements and / or parts, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, parts and / or their combinations. As used herein, "at least one of the following: <list of two or more elements>" and "at least one of <list of two or more elements>" and similar wording, wherein the list of two or more elements is connected by "and" or "or", meaning at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all elements.

[0033] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation in analog and / or digital circuits only), and (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (where applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware, and (ii) any portion of a hardware processor with software (including a digital signal processor, software and memory that work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions); and (c) A hardware circuit and / or processor that requires software (eg, firmware) for operation, such as a microprocessor or portion of a microprocessor, but the software may not be present when not required for operation.

[0034] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to a particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0035] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, for example, New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocol, including but not limited to the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G), sixth generation (6G) communication protocol and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there are of course future types of communication technologies and systems that can implement the present disclosure. It should not be considered that the scope of the present disclosure is limited to the above-mentioned system.

[0036] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from it. A network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a NodeB (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a NR next generation NodeB (also known as gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a repeater, a low power node (such as a femto, pico, etc.), depending on the terminology and technology applied. The RAN split architecture includes a gNB-CU (centralized unit, hosting RRC, SDAP, and PDCP) that controls multiple gNB-DUs (distributed units, hosting RLC, MAC, and PHY).

[0037] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, the terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS) or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device such as a digital camera, a game terminal device, a music storage and playback facility, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop mounted device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless user equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automatic processing chain environments), consumer electronic devices, equipment operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0038] Although the functionality described herein in various example embodiments may be performed in fixed and / or wireless network nodes, in other example embodiments, the functionality may be implemented in a user equipment device (such as a cellular phone, or a tablet computer, or a laptop computer, or a desktop computer, or a mobile IoT device, or a fixed IoT device). Depending on the circumstances, the user equipment device may, for example, be equipped with corresponding capabilities as described in conjunction with fixed and / or wireless network nodes. The user equipment device may be a user device and / or a control device, such as a chipset or a processor, which is configured to control the user device when installed therein. Examples of such functionality include boot server functions and / or home subscriber servers, which may be implemented in the user equipment device by providing software for the user equipment device, the software being configured to cause the user equipment device to execute from the perspective of these functions / nodes.

[0039] The study and specification of enhanced sidelink operation on frequency range 2 (FR2) licensed spectrum has been proposed in the following aspects: updating the evaluation method for commercial deployment scenarios; limiting the work to the support of sidelink beam management (including initial beam pairing, beam maintenance, and beam failure recovery, etc.) by reusing the existing sidelink channel state information (CSI) framework and reusing the Uu beam management concept when possible. Beam management in FR2 licensed spectrum only considers sidelink unicast communication.

[0040] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for resource selection of sidelink communication with sidelink beam management. In this solution, a transmitting device determines information about a resource (also referred to herein as a first resource for convenience) that will be used by a receiving device to transmit feedback to the transmitting device, and sends the information about the first resource to another transmitting device. Based on the information about the first resource, the other transmitting device performs resource selection or reselection so that the resource (also referred to herein as a fourth resource for convenience) that will be used by the receiving device to transmit feedback to the other transmitting device does not conflict with the first resource.

[0041] This solution is beneficial whenever feedback is transmitted directionally by a terminal device which cannot transmit on multiple antenna panels or beams simultaneously. By selecting resources for PSCCH / PSSCH transmissions in a way that avoids simultaneous PSFCH transmissions on multiple antenna panels or beams, fewer PSFCH transmissions may need to be discarded. As a result, link-level and system-level performance may be enhanced.

[0042] The principles and implementations of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0043] Figure 1 1 is a schematic diagram of an example communication environment 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. Figure 1 As shown, communication environment 100 may involve multiple devices, such as devices 110 , 120 , and 130 .

[0044] In this example, devices 110, 120, and 130 are shown as vehicles. It should be noted that any of devices 110, 120, and 130 may be any other suitable type of terminal device or network device, such as a mobile phone, a sensor, etc. In addition, it should be understood that the number of devices is only for illustrative purposes and does not imply any limitation. Communication environment 100 may include any suitable number or type of devices suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0045] In addition, the communication environment 100 may also include one or more devices (not shown) that serve one or more of the devices 110, 120, and 130. For example, one or more devices may communicate with any of the devices 110, 120, and 130 via an air interface such as a Uu interface.

[0046] Communications in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G) or future sixth generation (6G) wireless local area network communication protocols (such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, etc.), and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. In addition, communications may use any suitable wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technology currently known or developed in the future.

[0047] Any two of devices 110, 120, and 130 may communicate with each other via a sidelink interface. For example, any two of devices 110, 120, and 130 may communicate with each other via a sidelink data channel such as PSSCH, a sidelink control channel such as PSCCH or PSFCH, or any other existing or future sidelink channel.

[0048] In some scenarios, device 110 may send a data transmission (e.g., a PSCCH / PSSCH transmission) to device 130, and device 130 may send HARQ feedback for the data transmission (e.g., a PSFCH transmission) to device 110. Device 120 may send another data transmission (e.g., another PSCCH / PSSCH transmission) to device 130, and device 130 may send HARQ feedback for the another data transmission (e.g., another PSFCH transmission) to device 110.

[0049] Figure 2 Diagram 200 shows an example side link timeslot configuration in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. Figure 2 The time slot formats of PSCCH, PSSCH and PSFCH are provided in Figure 2 As shown, the PSFCH can transmit a sequence in one physical resource block (PRB) that is repeated over two OFDM symbols 210 and 220 near the end of a slot. OFDM symbol 210 (i.e., the first of the two OFDM symbols) can be used for automatic gain control (AGC). The sequence can be configured or pre-configured for each sidelink resource pool.

[0050] In some embodiments, the resources for PSFCH may be configured or preconfigured to occur once in every 1, 2, or 4 slots.The resource location for HARQ feedback (PSFCH) may be derived from the resource location of the PSCCH / PSSCH transmission.

[0051] Figure 3A A diagram of an example Uu initial beam alignment process 300A is shown. The process 300A may include three stages as follows. Phase #1 (P1): When the gNB is performing synchronization signal (SS) bursts, the UE uses a wide receive (Rx) beam where the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel blocks (SSB) are scanned and transmitted in different angular directions covering the cell. The UE measures the reference signal received power (RSRP) for all SSB beams on all UE panels and sends a physical random access channel (PRACH) on the random access channel (RACH) opportunity associated with the best SSB beam to connect to the network using the reciprocal transmit (Tx) beam of the best SSB beam. Phase #2 (P2): The UE receives the gNB refined downlink (DL) channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) beam using a wide Rx beam that is scanned within the connected SSB beam. The UE measures the RSRP for all CSI-RS beams and reports one or more identities (IDs) of the best beam back to the gNB, still using a reciprocal wide Tx beam. Phase #3 (P3): The gNB transmits repeated CSI-RS using the selected beam based on UE report in Phase #2, and the UE scans the refined Rx beam settings to identify its best narrow Rx beam.

[0052] At the end of P3, alignment between the gNB Tx beam and the UE Rx beam is achieved for maximized directional gain.

[0053] Therefore, the sidelink operation in FR2 will be a CSI-RS based procedure and try to reuse the Uu beam alignment procedure as much as possible. Figure 3B A diagram of an example sidelink initial beam alignment procedure 300B is shown. The procedure 300B is inspired from the Uu initial beam alignment procedure 300A.

[0054] like Figure 3B As shown, at step 310, the discovery process may be performed, for example, after approaching the service (Prose) and discovering model A or B. For the case of V2x, the discovery process occurs at the V2x layer and is enabled by the exchange of cooperative awareness messages (CAMs) in the 5.9 GHz Intelligent Transport System (ITS) band.

[0055] The discovery process can occur in either FR1 or FR2. However, the benefit of doing this in FR1 is that there is no need to perform beam-based discovery. If applied at FR2, the discovery process will need to be performed with only wide beams, so the discovery process may be limited in coverage and take longer for devices that can only transmit from a single panel at the time.

[0056] At step 320, the primary UE (P-UE) and the secondary UE (S-UE) establish a unicast link via PC5 connection establishment. This can be performed at FR1 or FR2.

[0057] At step 330, the P-UE or S-UE triggers initial beam alignment. This trigger may occur at FR1 or FR2 and may indicate configuration details about the beam alignment (e.g., the sidelink beam management reference signal (SL-BMRS) format to be used, the number of beam scans desired, the time period for which the beam scan is desired, etc.).

[0058] At step 340, the P-UE performs wide SL-BMRS beam scanning. This step is specific to FR2. The slot format used to transmit these SL-BMRS for beam scanning purposes remains open. However, for this solution, we can assume that each individual SL-BMRS is transmitted in a single SL slot. Therefore, if four wide beam scans are required, the P-UE will have to transmit 4 different SL slots, each applying a different beam.

[0059] At step 350, the S-UE reports to the P-UE what is the best wide SL-BMRS beam (e.g., the index or time slot of the SL-BMRS beam received with the highest power). This report can be transmitted in FR1 or FR2. This corresponds to the completion of P1.

[0060] At step 360, the P-UE performs narrow SL-BMRS beam scanning. This step is specific to FR2. As in step 340, it is assumed here that the scanning will utilize a single SL slot per beam scanning.

[0061] At step 370, the S-UE reports to the P-UE what is the best narrow SL-BMRS beam. This report can be transmitted in FR1 or FR2. This corresponds to the completion of P2.

[0062] At step 380, the P-UE performs m repetitions of the SL-BMRS while applying the selected narrow Tx beam. The S-UE performs narrow Rx beam scanning with the goal of identifying the best narrow Rx beam. This corresponds to the completion of P3.

[0063] So far, alignment between the P-UE Tx beam and the S-UE Rx beam can be obtained for maximized directional gain.

[0064] In some scenarios, two transmitting devices may be communicating sidelink with the same receiving device. In this case, problems may arise when using directional transmission (i.e., non-omnidirectional) to send feedback from a receiving device to a corresponding transmitting device. Figure 4A and Figure 4B This is described in detail.

[0065] Figure 4A Figure 400A shows an example scenario in a sidelink transmission. As shown, a receiving device (UE A) can send a PSFCH (carrying HARQ feedback) on a first antenna panel or beam (b1) to a first transmitting device (UE B1) and send another PSFCH (carrying HARQ feedback) on a second antenna panel or beam (b2) to a second transmitting device (UE B2).

[0066] In some scenarios, both transmitting devices UE B1 and UE B2 select resources for transmission to the same receiving device UE A in such a way that the PSFCH timing of transmitting feedback by receiving device UE A to each of transmitting devices UE B1 and UE B2 is the same. Figure 4B FIG. 400B shows an example of resource collision due to directional PSFCH transmission. Figure 4A This is described in the example of .

[0067] like Figure 4B As shown, the transmitting device UE B1 can select resource 410 for PSCCH / PSSCH transmission to the receiving device UE A. Then, resource 411 associated with resource 410 can be determined for transmitting feedback from the receiving device UE A to the transmitting device UE B1. The transmitting device UE B2 can select resource 420 for PSCCH / PSSCH transmission to the receiving device UE A. Then, resource 421 associated with resource 420 can be determined for transmitting feedback from the receiving device UE A to the transmitting device UE B2. It can be seen that resources 411 and 421 correspond to the same PSFCH opportunity P, but correspond to different frequencies (e.g., different PRBs) and different beams / panels. In fact, all resources within range 430 can be resources associated with the same PSFCH opportunity P.

[0068] However, if the receiving device UE A adopts analog beamforming to directionally transmit the PSFCH, UE A can transmit on only one beam at a time and cannot transmit on multiple antenna panels or beams (b1, b2) simultaneously.

[0069] Conventionally, a straightforward but compromised approach to solving the above problem is to discard some PSFCH transmissions with conflicting antenna panels or beams. In this example, the receiving device UE A may need to discard one of the PSFCH transmissions (e.g., a transmission with a lower priority). This may degrade system performance, for example, by reducing resource efficiency by introducing unnecessary HARQ retransmissions due to lost HARQ feedback, and increasing latency in data transmission.

[0070] In view of this, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a solution for resource selection for sidelink communication using sidelink beam management to overcome the above problems and other potential problems. In the above solution, information about resources for feedback transmission is sent from a transmitting device to another transmitting device, and the other transmitting device selects or reselects resources based on the resource information, thereby avoiding resource conflicts for feedback transmission. Figure 5 Describe in more detail.

[0071] Figure 5 FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a process 500 for resource selection for sidelink communications using sidelink beam management according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, reference will be made to Figure 1 Describe process 500. Process 500 may involve Figure 1 Assume that devices 110 and 120 are transmitting devices, and device 130 is a receiving device. For convenience, devices 110 and 120 may also be referred to as transmitting devices 110 and 120, and device 130 may also be referred to as receiving device 130. It should be appreciated that although Figure 1 The process 500 is described in the communication environment 100 of FIG. 1 , but the process can also be applied to other communication scenarios.

[0072] like Figure 5 As shown, the transmitting device 110 may determine 510 information of resources (ie, first resources) to be used by the receiving device 130 to transmit feedback (also referred to herein as first feedback for convenience) to the transmitting device 110 .

[0073] In some embodiments, when the sending device 110 is to perform data transmission (also referred to herein as first data transmission for convenience) to the receiving device 130, the sending device 110 may perform resource selection to determine resources for data transmission (also referred to herein as second resources for convenience). It should be noted that resource selection may be performed in any suitable manner that is currently available or will be developed in the future, and the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0074] In some embodiments, the first data transmission may be a PSSCH transmission. In some embodiments, the first data transmission may be a PSCCH / PSSCH transmission. In some embodiments, the first feedback may include a positive acknowledgement (ACK) for the first data transmission. In some embodiments, the first feedback may include a negative acknowledgement (NACK) for the first data transmission.

[0075] Based on the determined second resource for the first data transmission, the transmitting device 110 can derive a first resource (e.g., a PSFCH resource) to be used by the receiving device 130 to transmit the first feedback to the transmitting device 110. The first resource is associated with the second resource. In some embodiments, the first resource may be separated from the second resource by a predetermined number of time slots. In some embodiments, the first resource may be later than the second resource by a predetermined number of time slots. It should be understood that any other suitable association between the first resource and the second resource is also feasible, and the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0076] Then, the transmitting device 110 may determine the information of the first resource. In some embodiments, the information of the first resource may include time domain information. For example, the time domain information may include time domain information of the PSFCH, such as an index of a time slot. In some embodiments, the information of the first resource may include frequency domain information. For example, the frequency domain information may include frequency domain information of the PSFCH, such as a PRB index.

[0077] In some embodiments, the information of the first resource may include spatial domain information. For example, the spatial domain information may include information of a beam used for transmission of the first feedback. In another example, the spatial domain information may include information of an antenna panel or panels used for transmission of the first feedback.

[0078] In some embodiments, the spatial domain information may be determined based on process 300B or any other suitable manner. In some embodiments, receiving device 130 may need to perform Tx beam scanning to find the best beam (e.g., the first antenna panel or beam (b1)) for PSFCH transmission toward transmitting device 110. Transmitting device 110 may assume that receiving device 130 will use the best beam reported by transmitting device 110 when transmitting PSFCH. If both transmitting device 110 and transmitting device 120 undergo the same Tx beam scanning process as receiving device 130, both transmitting device 110 and transmitting device 120 have the same understanding of the beam.

[0079] In some embodiments, for scenarios with bidirectional data traffic, the receiving device 130 typically needs to broadcast information about its Tx beam in the form of absolute beam direction and beam bandwidth to the transmitting device 110 in the sidelink control information (SCI) to assist in resource selection at other third-party devices. The same Tx beam is also used for PSFCH transmission toward the transmitting device 110.

[0080] It should be understood that the information of the first resource may include any combination of the above information and any other suitable information.

[0081] Continue to refer Figure 5 , after determining the information of the first resource, the transmitting device 110 sends 520 the information of the first resource to the transmitting device 120. In some embodiments, the transmitting device 110 may send the information of the first resource in a sidelink control information (SCI), which indicates the second resource reserved for data transmission. For example, the transmitting device 110 may send an indication of the second resource reserved for data transmission in the first stage of the SCI, and send the information of the first resource in the second stage of the SCI. It should be understood that the information of the first resource and the second resource may also be indicated by the SCI together.

[0082] Alternatively, the transmitting device 110 may send 520 to the transmitting device 120 information of a panel or beam used by the receiving device 130 to receive the first data transmission from the transmitting device 110, and an indication of channel reciprocity. In some embodiments, the transmitting device 110 may send information of a receiving panel or beam and an indication of channel reciprocity in an SCI indicating a second resource reserved for data transmission. Based on the channel reciprocity, the receiving panel or beam may indicate a spatial domain of the first resource, i.e., the same panel or beam as the receiving panel or beam will be used by the receiving device 130 to transmit the first feedback to the transmitting device 110.

[0083] refer to Figure 5After receiving the information of the first resource, the transmitting device 120 determines 530 the resources (also referred to herein as third resources for convenience) reserved for data transmission (also referred to herein as second data transmission for convenience) from the transmitting device 120 to the receiving device 130, so that the resources associated with the third resources (also referred to herein as fourth resources for convenience) do not conflict with the first resources. The fourth resource (e.g., PFSCH resource) is used by the receiving device 130 to transmit feedback (also referred to herein as second feedback for convenience) to the transmitting device 120.

[0084] In some embodiments, the second data transmission may be a PSSCH transmission. In some embodiments, the second data transmission may be a PSCCH / PSSCH transmission. In some embodiments, the second feedback may include an ACK for the second data transmission. In some embodiments, the second feedback may include a NACK for the second data transmission.

[0085] In some embodiments, the transmitting device 120 may determine the third resource by performing resource selection. In some embodiments, the transmitting device 120 may determine the third resource by performing resource reselection. A detailed description will be given below.

[0086] In some embodiments, when the transmitting device 120 receives the SCI including information of the first resource, the transmitting device 120 may not have yet determined the third resource reserved for the second data transmission. In this case, the transmitting device 120 may perform resource selection to determine the third resource.

[0087] refer to Figure 5 During resource selection, the transmitting device 120 may determine 531 a set of resources (also referred to as a conflicting resource set for convenience) associated with a set of fourth resources (e.g., PSFCH resources) from the candidate set for the third resource. The set of fourth resources conflicts with the first resource in the spatial domain (e.g., is different from the first resource) and overlaps with the first resource in the time domain (e.g., is the same as the first resource). For example, the time slot associated with each resource in the set of fourth resources is the same as the time slot associated with the first resource, and the beam or panel for each resource in the set of fourth resources is different from the beam or panel for the first resource.

[0088] In some embodiments, if the corresponding antenna panel or beam of the receiving device 130 to be used for feedback transmission to the transmitting device 120 is different from the antenna panel or beam of the receiving device 130 to be used for feedback transmission to the transmitting device 110, the transmitting device 120 may determine a fourth resource in a time slot (e.g., a PSFCH timing) associated with the first resource as conflicting with the first resource.

[0089] Then, the transmitting device 120 may determine 532 one of the candidate set as the third resource by excluding or deprioritizing the conflicting resource set from the candidate set. Therefore, the transmitting device 120 may select a resource associated with a fourth resource (used by the receiving device 130 for second feedback from the receiving device 130 to the second transmitting device 110) as the third resource used for the second data transmission from the second transmitting device 120 to the receiving device 130, wherein the fourth resource does not conflict with the first resource (used by the receiving device 130 for first feedback from the receiving device 130 to the first transmitting device 110).

[0090] In this way, simultaneous PSFCH transmissions on multiple antenna panels or beams can be avoided, and the number of PSFCH transmissions to be discarded can be reduced. Thus, link-level and system-level performance can be enhanced.

[0091] For illustration, see Fig. 6A Describes an example process for resource selection. Fig. 6A FIG600A shows resource selection for sidelink communication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Fig. 6A As shown, the transmitting device 110 may send a first data transmission on the second resource to the receiving device 130. The receiving device 130 may send a first feedback on the first resource. The transmitting device 110 may send an SCI indicating the first resource to the transmitting device 120. The transmitting device 120 may send a second data transmission on the third resource to the receiving device 130. The receiving device 130 may send a second feedback to the transmitting device 120 on the fourth resource.

[0092] In some embodiments, when the transmitting device 120 receives the SCI including the information of the first resource, the transmitting device 120 may have selected a resource for the second data transmission (also referred to herein as the sixth resource for convenience), but has not yet sent the SCI indicating the selected resource reserved for the second data transmission. Accordingly, the resource used for the transmission of the second feedback (also referred to herein as the fifth resource for convenience) has also been determined to be the fifth resource associated with the selected resource.

[0093] In this case, continue to refer to Figure 5 , the transmitting device 120 may determine 533 whether the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource. In some embodiments, the transmitting device 120 may determine whether the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource in the spatial domain and overlaps with the first resource in the time domain. If the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource in the spatial domain and overlaps with the first resource in the time domain, the transmitting device 120 may determine that the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource.

[0094] For example, if the PSFCH timing associated with the fifth resource is the same as the PSFCH timing associated with the first resource, and the beam or panel for the fifth resource is different from the beam or panel for the first resource, the transmitting device 120 may determine that the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource. That is, the transmitting device 120 may determine an expected / potential resource conflict between the PSFCH transmissions to the transmitting devices 110 and 120. This may trigger resource reselection at the transmitting device 120 to prevent the conflict.

[0095] Continue to refer Figure 5 , upon determining that the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource, the transmitting device 120 may perform 534 resource reselection to determine a third resource reserved for the second data transmission so that the resource (e.g., the fourth resource) used by the receiving device 130 for feedback transmission to the transmitting device 120 does not conflict with the first resource. During resource reselection, the transmitting device 120 may perform resource selection similar to the resource selection described in conjunction with operations 531 and 532 to determine the third resource.

[0096] If the sending device 120 determines that the fifth resource does not conflict with the first resource, the sending device 120 may determine 535 the fifth resource as the third resource.

[0097] In this way, simultaneous PSFCH transmissions on multiple antenna panels or beams can also be avoided, and the number of PSFCH transmissions to be discarded can also be reduced. The corresponding link-level and system-level performance can be enhanced.

[0098] In some embodiments, when the transmitting device 120 receives the SCI including information of the first resource, the transmitting device 120 may have selected resources for the second data transmission and has sent the SCI indicating the selected resources reserved for the second data transmission. Accordingly, the resource to be used for the transmission of the second feedback (i.e., the fifth resource) has also been determined to be the fifth resource associated with the selected resource. The transmitting device 120 may determine whether the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource. After determining that the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource and the priority of the second data transmission is lower than the priority of the first data transmission, the transmitting device 120 may perform resource reselection to determine the third resource reserved for the second data transmission, so that the resource to be used by the receiving device 130 for feedback transmission to the transmitting device 120 (e.g., the fourth resource) does not conflict with the first resource.

[0099] It should be noted that if Figure 5 The process 500 shown in FIG. 5 is merely an example and may have additional or fewer operations.

[0100] For illustration, see Figure 6BDescribes an example procedure for resource reselection. Figure 6B FIG600B shows resource reselection for sidelink communications according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 6B As shown, the transmitting device 110 may transmit a first data transmission on the second resource to the receiving device 130. The receiving device 130 may transmit a first feedback on the first resource. The transmitting device 110 may transmit an SCI indicating the first resource to the transmitting device 120.

[0101] The transmitting device 120 has planned to send a second data transmission on the sixth resource and receive the second feedback on the fifth resource. After receiving the SCI, the transmitting device 120 knows that the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource. Then, the transmitting device 120 reselects the resource (i.e., the third resource) for the second data transmission to avoid conflict with the first resource. The receiving device 130 can send the second feedback to the transmitting device 120 on the fourth resource associated with the reselected third resource.

[0102] Corresponding to the above process, an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a communication method. Figure 7 FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example method 700 implemented at a first transmitting device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, reference will be made to Figure 1 Method 700 is described. It is assumed that the transmitting devices 110 and 120 perform sidelink communication with the same receiving device 130. Method 600 may be performed at the transmitting device 110 or 120. For convenience, the following description is given by taking the transmitting device 110 as the first transmitting device as an example.

[0103] At block 710, transmitting device 110 determines information of a first resource to be used by receiving device 130 to transmit first feedback to transmitting device 110. The first feedback is for a first data transmission from transmitting device 110 to receiving device 130. In some embodiments, the first feedback may include an ACK or a NACK for the first data transmission. In some embodiments, the first data transmission may include a PSSCH transmission. In some embodiments, the first data transmission may include a PSCCH / PSSCH transmission.

[0104] In some embodiments, the information of the first resource may include at least one of the following: time domain information, frequency domain information, or space domain information. In some embodiments, the space domain information may include at least one of the following: information of a beam used for transmission of the first feedback, or information of a panel used for transmission of the first feedback. In this way, beam direction aware sidelink resource selection may be facilitated.

[0105] At block 720, the transmitting device 110 transmits the information of the first resource to the second transmitting device (e.g., the transmitting device 120). In some embodiments, the transmitting device 110 may transmit the information of the first resource to the transmitting device 120 in an SCI indicating the second resource reserved for the first data transmission. In this way, the signaling overhead for the transmission of the information of the first resource may be minimized.

[0106] In some embodiments, the transmitting device 110 may transmit an indication of the second resource reserved for the first data transmission in the first phase of the SCI, and transmit information of the first resource in the second phase of the SCI. In this way, the transmission of the indication of the second resource and the information of the first resource may be optimized.

[0107] Using method 700, PFSCH resource information for a transmitting device may be transmitted to another transmitting device for use in resource selection or reselection at the other transmitting device, thereby preventing conflicts in PFSCH resources.

[0108] Figure 8 FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an example method 800 implemented at a second transmitting device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, reference will be made to Figure 1 Method 800 is described. It is assumed that the transmitting devices 110 and 120 perform sidelink communication with the same receiving device 130. Method 800 may be performed at the transmitting device 110 or 120. For convenience, the following description is given by taking the transmitting device 120 as the second transmitting device as an example.

[0109] At block 810, a second transmitting device (e.g., transmitting device 120) receives information of a first resource to be used by a receiving device (e.g., receiving device 130) to transmit a first feedback to a first transmitting device (e.g., transmitting device 110). The first feedback is for a first data transmission from transmitting device 110 to receiving device 130.

[0110] In some embodiments, the first feedback may include an ACK or a NACK for the first data transmission. In some embodiments, the first data transmission may include a PSSCH transmission. In some embodiments, the first data transmission may include a PSCCH / PSSCH transmission.

[0111] In some embodiments, the information of the first resource may include at least one of the following: time domain information, frequency domain information, or space domain information. In some embodiments, the space domain information may include at least one of the following: information of a beam used for transmission of the first feedback, or information of a panel used for transmission of the first feedback. In this way, beam direction aware sidelink resource selection may be facilitated.

[0112] In some embodiments, the transmitting device 120 may receive the information of the first resource in an SCI indicating the second resource reserved for the first data transmission. In this way, the signaling overhead for the transmission of the information of the first resource may be minimized.

[0113] In some embodiments, the transmitting device 120 may receive an indication of the second resource reserved for the first data transmission in the first phase of the SCI, and receive information of the first resource in the second phase of the SCI. In this way, the transmission of the indication of the second resource and the information of the first resource may be optimized.

[0114] At block 820, transmitting device 120 determines a third resource reserved for a second data transmission from transmitting device 120 to receiving device 130 such that a fourth resource associated with the third resource does not conflict with the first resource. The fourth resource is used by receiving device 130 to transmit second feedback to transmitting device 120. The second feedback is for the second data transmission.

[0115] In some embodiments, the second feedback may include an ACK or NACK for the second data transmission. In some embodiments, the second data transmission may include a PSSCH transmission. In some embodiments, the second data transmission may include a PSCCH / PSSCH transmission.

[0116] In some embodiments, the transmitting device 120 may have determined a sixth resource for the second data transmission, and the fifth resource for the second feedback is associated with the sixth resource. After receiving the information of the first resource, the transmitting device 120 may determine whether the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource.

[0117] In some embodiments, the transmitting device 120 may determine whether the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource in the spatial domain and overlaps with the first resource in the time domain. If the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource in the spatial domain and overlaps with the first resource in the time domain, the transmitting device 120 may determine that the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource.

[0118] If the fifth resource does not conflict with the first resource, the transmitting device 120 may determine the fifth resource as the third resource. If the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource, the transmitting device 120 may reselect the resource used for the second data transmission as the third resource. In this way, beam direction aware sidelink resource reselection may be achieved.

[0119] In some embodiments, the transmitting device 120 may determine a resource set associated with a set of fourth resources from a candidate set for the third resource, the set of fourth resources conflicting with the first resource in the spatial domain and overlapping with the first resource in the time domain. The transmitting device 120 may then determine the third resource by excluding or de-prioritizing the resource set from the candidate set. In this way, beam direction aware side link resource selection may be achieved.

[0120] Using method 800, beam direction aware side link resource selection or reselection can be achieved. Therefore, simultaneous PSFCH transmissions on multiple antenna panels or beams can be avoided, and fewer PSFCH transmissions need to be discarded. Thus, link level and system level performance can be enhanced.

[0121] It should be noted that the operations of methods 700 and 800 correspond to the operations of process 500 as described above, and therefore, for the sake of brevity, further details are not repeated here.

[0122] The example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide corresponding devices. In some embodiments, a device capable of performing method 700 (e.g., sending device 110 or 120) may include components for performing the corresponding steps of method 700. The components may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

[0123] In some embodiments, the apparatus includes: a component for determining information of a first resource at a first sending device, the first resource to be used by a receiving device to transmit first feedback to the first sending device, the first feedback being for a first data transmission from the first sending device to the receiving device; and a component for sending the information of the first resource to a second sending device.

[0124] In some embodiments, the information of the first resource includes at least one of the following: time domain information, frequency domain information, or space domain information. In some embodiments, the space domain information includes at least one of the following: information of a beam used for transmission of the first feedback, or information of a panel used for transmission of the first feedback.

[0125] In some embodiments, the first feedback includes a positive acknowledgement or a negative acknowledgement for the first data transmission.

[0126] In some embodiments, the means for sending information of the first resource includes means for sending the information of the first resource to the second transmitting device in a sidelink control information indicating the second resource reserved for the first data transmission.

[0127] In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of executing method 800 (e.g., transmitting device 110 or 120) may include components for executing corresponding steps of method 800. The components may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

[0128] In some embodiments, the apparatus includes: a component for receiving information of a first resource at a second sending device, the first resource to be used by the receiving device to transmit a first feedback to the first sending device, the first feedback being for a first data transmission from the first sending device to the receiving device; and a component for determining a third resource, the third resource being reserved for a second data transmission from the second sending device to the receiving device, so that a fourth resource associated with the third resource does not conflict with the first resource, the fourth resource being used by the receiving device to transmit a second feedback to the second sending device, the second feedback being for a second data transmission.

[0129] In some embodiments, the information of the first resource includes at least one of the following: time domain information, frequency domain information, or space domain information. In some embodiments, the space domain information includes at least one of the following: information of a beam used for transmission of the first feedback, or information of a panel used for transmission of the first feedback.

[0130] In some embodiments, the first feedback comprises a positive acknowledgement or a negative acknowledgement for the first data transmission and the second feedback comprises a positive acknowledgement or a negative acknowledgement for the second data transmission.

[0131] In some embodiments, means for receiving information of the first resource comprises means for receiving information of the first resource in sidelink control information indicating second resources reserved for the first data transmission.

[0132] In some embodiments, where the second sending device has determined a sixth resource for second data transmission and a fifth resource for second feedback is associated with the sixth resource, the component for determining the third resource also includes: a component for determining whether the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource based on receipt of information about the first resource; and a component for reselecting the resource for second data transmission as the third resource based on determining that the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource.

[0133] In some embodiments, the component for determining whether the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource includes: a component for determining whether the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource in the spatial domain and overlaps with the first resource in the time domain; and a component for determining that the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource based on determining that the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource in the spatial domain and overlaps with the first resource in the time domain.

[0134] In some embodiments, the component for determining a third resource includes: a component for determining a set of resources associated with a set of fourth resources from a candidate set for the third resource, wherein the fourth resource conflicts with the first resource in the spatial domain and overlaps with the first resource in the time domain; and a component for determining the third resource by excluding or deprioritizing the set of resources from the candidate set.

[0135] Fig. 9 900 is a simplified block diagram of a device 900 suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 900 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1 The transmitting device 110, the transmitting device 120 or the receiving device 130 is shown. As shown in the figure, the device 900 includes one or more processors 910, one or more memories 920 coupled to the processor 910, and one or more communication modules 940 coupled to the processor 910.

[0136] The communication module 940 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 940 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary to communicate with other network elements.

[0137] As non-limiting examples, processor 910 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network, and may include one or more of the following: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 900 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are time slaved to a clock of a synchronized main processor.

[0138] The memory 920 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 924, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 922 and other volatile memories that will not persist over the duration of a power outage.

[0139] The computer program 930 includes computer executable instructions executed by the associated processor 910. The program 930 may be stored in the ROM 920. The processor 910 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading the program 930 into the RAM 920.

[0140] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 930, so that the device 900 may execute the following steps: Figures 1 to 8The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0141] In some embodiments, the program 930 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium, which may be contained in the device 900 (e.g., in the memory 920) or in other storage devices accessible by the device 900. The device 900 may load the program 930 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 922 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile storage device, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. Fig.10 An example of a computer readable medium 1000 in the form of a CD or DVD is shown. The computer readable medium has a program 930 stored thereon.

[0142] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software, which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0143] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer executable instructions (such as those included in a program module) that are executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the above-mentioned Figure 7 and Figure 8 Described method 700 or 800.Usually, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types.The functionality of program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed in various embodiments.Machine executable instructions for program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices.In distributed devices, program modules can be located in local and remote storage media.

[0144] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device, so that these program codes can be implemented in the flow chart and / or block diagram when executed by the processor or controller. The program code can be executed completely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or completely on a remote machine or server.

[0145] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0146] Computer readable medium can be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. Computer readable medium can include but is not limited to electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, devices, or equipment, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer readable storage medium will include electrical connections with one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memories (RAM), read-only memories (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. As used herein, the term "non-transient" is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal), rather than a limitation to data storage persistence (e.g., RAM and ROM).

[0147] In addition, although the operations are depicted in a specific order, this should not be understood as requiring the specific order shown or in a sequential order to perform these operations, or to perform all described operations, to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing can be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but should be interpreted as descriptions of features that may be specific to a specific embodiment. Unless explicitly stated, certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, unless explicitly stated, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0148] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological actions, it should be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or actions described above. Rather, the specific features and actions described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first sending device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first sending device to at least: determining information of a first resource, the first resource to be used by a receiving device to transmit a first feedback to the first sending device, the first feedback being for a first data transmission from the first sending device to the receiving device; as well as The information of the first resource is sent to a second sending device.

2. The first sending device according to claim 1, wherein the information of the first resource comprises at least one of the following: Time domain information, Frequency domain information, or Spatial domain information, including at least one of the following: information of the transmitted beam used for the first feedback, or Information of the transmitted panel used for the first feedback.

3. The first sending device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first feedback comprises a positive acknowledgement or a negative acknowledgement for the first data transmission.

4. The first sending device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first sending device is configured to send the information of the first resource in the following manner: The information of the first resource is sent to the second sending device in sidelink control information, the sidelink control information indicating the second resource reserved for the first data transmission.

5. A second sending device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second sending device to at least: receiving information of a first resource, the first resource to be used by a receiving device to transmit a first feedback to a first sending device, the first feedback being for a first data transmission from the first sending device to the receiving device; as well as Determine a third resource, the third resource being reserved for a second data transmission from the second transmitting device to the receiving device, such that a fourth resource associated with the third resource does not conflict with the first resource, the fourth resource being used by the receiving device to transmit a second feedback to the second transmitting device, the second feedback being for the second data transmission.

6. The second sending device according to claim 5, wherein the information of the first resource includes at least one of the following: Time domain information, Frequency domain information, or Spatial domain information, including at least one of the following: information of the transmitted beam used for the first feedback, or Information of the transmitted panel used for the first feedback.

7. The second sending device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the first feedback comprises a positive acknowledgement or a negative acknowledgement for the first data transmission, and the second feedback comprises a positive acknowledgement or a negative acknowledgement for the second data transmission.

8. The second sending device according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the second sending device is configured to receive the information of the first resource in the following manner: The information of the first resource is received in sidelink control information, the sidelink control information indicating second resources reserved for the first data transmission.

9. The second transmitting device according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein, in a case where the second transmitting device has determined a sixth resource for the second data transmission and a fifth resource for the second feedback is associated with the sixth resource, the second transmitting device is further caused to determine the third resource by: determining, based on receipt of the information of the first resource, whether the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource; and According to determining that the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource, a resource used for the second data transmission is reselected as the third resource.

10. The second sending device according to claim 9, wherein the second sending device is configured to determine whether the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource by: determining whether the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource in the spatial domain and overlaps with the first resource in the temporal domain; and The fifth resource is determined to conflict with the first resource based on determining that the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource in the spatial domain and overlaps with the first resource in the time domain.

11. The second sending device according to any one of claims 5 to 10, wherein the second sending device is configured to determine the third resource by: determining, from the candidate set for the third resource, a set of resources associated with a set of fourth resources, the set of fourth resources conflicting with the first resource in the spatial domain and overlapping with the first resource in the temporal domain; and The third resource is determined by excluding or de-prioritizing the set of resources from the candidate set.

12. A communication method, comprising: determining, at a first transmitting device, information of a first resource to be used by a receiving device to transmit first feedback to the first transmitting device, the first feedback being for a first data transmission from the first transmitting device to the receiving device; as well as The information of the first resource is sent to a second sending device.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the information of the first resource comprises at least one of the following: Time domain information, Frequency domain information, or Spatial domain information, including at least one of the following: information of the transmitted beam used for the first feedback, or Information of the transmitted panel used for the first feedback.

14. The method of claim 12 or 13, wherein the first feedback comprises a positive acknowledgement or a negative acknowledgement for the first data transmission.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein sending the information of the first resource comprises: The information of the first resource is sent to the second sending device in sidelink control information, the sidelink control information indicating the second resource reserved for the first data transmission.

16. A communication method, comprising: receiving, at a second transmitting device, information of a first resource to be used by a receiving device to transmit first feedback to the first transmitting device, the first feedback being for a first data transmission from the first transmitting device to the receiving device; as well as Determine a third resource, the third resource being reserved for a second data transmission from the second transmitting device to the receiving device, such that a fourth resource associated with the third resource does not conflict with the first resource, the fourth resource being used by the receiving device to transmit a second feedback to the second transmitting device, the second feedback being for the second data transmission.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the information of the first resource comprises at least one of the following: Time domain information, Frequency domain information, or Spatial domain information, including at least one of the following: information of the transmitted beam used for the first feedback, or Information of the transmitted panel used for the first feedback.

18. The method of claim 16 or 17, wherein the first feedback comprises a positive acknowledgement or a negative acknowledgement for the first data transmission, and the second feedback comprises a positive acknowledgement or a negative acknowledgement for the second data transmission.

19. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein receiving the information of the first resource comprises: The information of the first resource is received in sidelink control information, the sidelink control information indicating second resources reserved for the first data transmission.

20. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein, in a case where the second sending device has determined a sixth resource for the second data transmission and a fifth resource for the second feedback is associated with the sixth resource, determining the third resource comprises: determining, based on receipt of the information of the first resource, whether the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource; as well as According to determining that the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource, a resource used for the second data transmission is reselected as the third resource.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein determining whether the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource comprises: determining whether the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource in the spatial domain and overlaps with the first resource in the temporal domain; as well as The fifth resource is determined to conflict with the first resource based on determining that the fifth resource conflicts with the first resource in the spatial domain and overlaps with the first resource in the time domain.

22. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 21, wherein determining the third resource comprises: determining, from the candidate set for the third resource, a set of resources associated with a set of fourth resources, the set of fourth resources conflicting with the first resource in the spatial domain and overlapping with the first resource in the temporal domain; as well as The third resource is determined by excluding or de-prioritizing the set of resources from the candidate set.

23. A communication device, comprising: means for determining, at a first transmitting device, information of a first resource to be used by a receiving device to transmit first feedback to the first transmitting device, the first feedback being for a first data transmission from the first transmitting device to the receiving device; as well as Means for sending the information of the first resource to a second sending device.

24. A communication device, comprising: means for receiving, at a second transmitting device, information of a first resource to be used by a receiving device to transmit first feedback to the first transmitting device, the first feedback being for a first data transmission from the first transmitting device to the receiving device; as well as Means for determining a third resource reserved for a second data transmission from the second transmitting device to the receiving device, such that a fourth resource associated with the third resource does not conflict with the first resource, the fourth resource being used by the receiving device to transmit second feedback to the second transmitting device, the second feedback being for the second data transmission.

25. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions, which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least perform the method according to any one of claims 12 to 15 or any one of claims 16 to 22.

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