Multi-continuous timeslot transmission

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to a device, a method and a computer readable storage medium for multi-continuous time slot transmission (MCSt). The apparatus obtains at least one set of single slot candidate resources available for sidelink transmissions. The apparatus determines a first set of multi-contiguous slot transmission candidate resources from at least one set of single slot candidate resources based on a first number of slots for multi-contiguous slot transmission, the multi-contiguous slot transmission candidate resources comprising the first number of contiguous slots. If the first set of multi-contiguous slot transmission candidate resources satisfy at least one multi-contiguous slot transmission candidate resource condition, the apparatus selects a target resource for transmitting a multi-contiguous slot transmission from the first set of multi-contiguous slot transmission candidate resources. Otherwise, the apparatus determines a target resource for transmitting a multi-contiguous slot transmission based on a multi-contiguous slot transmission criterion.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and in particular, to methods, devices, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions. Background Art

[0002] Multiple consecutive slot transmission, also known as MCSt, has been supported for Mode 1 and Mode 2 resource allocation in Sidelink Unlicensed (SL-U) communications. Multiple consecutive slot transmission can help reduce the need or frequency for the UE to perform listen before talk (LBT) to access the channel after acquiring the channel occupancy time (COT), and reserve the COT as much and as quickly as possible to transmit the UE's data.

[0003] From the UE's perspective, a higher layer (e.g., MAC layer) may trigger Layer 1 (L1) to report candidate resources for one or more transport blocks (TBs). Candidate resources are typically single-slot resources. Since resource selection at higher layers is performed randomly, it may not be easy to select a set of resources that are contiguous in time and meet a specific multi-contiguous slot transmission length. Summary of the invention

[0004] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a device is provided. The device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the device to at least: obtain at least one set of single-time slot candidate resources that can be used for sidelink transmission; determine a first set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources from at least one set of single-time slot candidate resources based on a first number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission, the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources including a first number of continuous time slots; determine that the first set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources meet at least one multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource condition; select a target resource for transmitting the multi-continuous time slot transmission from the first set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources; and transmit the multi-continuous time slot transmission on the target resource.

[0005] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: obtaining at least one set of single-time slot candidate resources that can be used for sidelink transmission at a device; determining a first set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources from at least one set of single-time slot candidate resources based on a first number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission, the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources including a first number of continuous time slots; determining that the first set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources meet at least one multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource condition; selecting a target resource for transmitting the multi-continuous time slot transmission from the first set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources; and transmitting the multi-continuous time slot transmission on the target resource.

[0006] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a device is provided. The equipment includes: a component for acquiring at least one group of single-time slot candidate resource groups that can be used for sidelink transmission; a component for determining a first set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources from at least one group of single-time slot candidate resources based on a first number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission, the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources including a first number of continuous time slots; a component for selecting a target resource for transmitting multi-continuous time slot transmission from the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set according to determining that the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set meet at least one multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource condition; a component for determining a target resource standard for transmitting multi-continuous time slot transmission based on a multi-continuous time slot transmission standard that changes the set size and / or the first number of time slots according to determining that the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set do not meet the at least one multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource condition; and a component for transmitting multi-continuous time slot transmission on the target resource.

[0007] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon, and the instructions may be used to cause a device to at least execute the method according to the third aspect.

[0008] It should be understood that the invention summary is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used 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

[0009] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0010] Figure 1 An example communication environment is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0011] Figure 2 A flowchart of a method implemented at a device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0012] Figure 3 A flowchart of a method implemented at a device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0013] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing an example resource selection of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources;

[0014] Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing an example resource selection of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources;

[0015] Figure 6 A flowchart of a method implemented at a device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0016] Figure 7 A schematic diagram showing an example resource selection of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources for transmission of multiple TBs;

[0017] Figure 8 A schematic diagram showing an example resource for selecting multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources from multiple RB sets;

[0018] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram showing an example resource for selecting multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources from multiple RB sets;

[0019] Fig.10 shows a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0020] Fig.11 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium is shown according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for illustrative purposes and to help those skilled in the art understand and implement the present disclosure without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. In addition to the manner described below, the embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways.

[0023] 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.

[0024] 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. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0025] It should be understood that although the terms "first", "second", etc., preceding nouns, 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, and they do not limit the order of the nouns. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more listed terms.

[0026] As used herein, “at least one of: ,” “at least one of ,” and similar descriptions, where a list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or,” means at least any one element, or at least any two or more elements, or at least all the elements.

[0027] As used herein, unless explicitly stated, performing a step “in response to A” does not mean that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs, but may include one or more intermediate steps.

[0028] The terms used herein are used only to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that when used herein, the terms "comprise", "comprising", "having", "having", "includes", and / or "including", when used herein, specify the presence of the described features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0029] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) only hardware circuit implementations (such as only analog implementations and / or digital circuits) and (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, for example (where applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware; and (ii) any portion of a hardware processor and 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) Hardware circuits and / or processors, such as a microprocessor or portion of a microprocessor, that require software (eg, firmware) to operate, but which may not be present when not required for operation.

[0030] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the 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 a 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, 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, if applicable to the particular claim element.

[0031] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that follows any suitable communication standard, such as 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 equipment and the network equipment in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocols, 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 protocols and / or any other protocols 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 will certainly be communication technologies and systems that can embody future types of the present disclosure. It should not be considered that the scope of the present disclosure is limited to the aforementioned system.

[0032] 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 Node B (Node B or NB), an evolved NodeB (e Node B or eNB), a NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low-power node (such as a femto), a micro, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or a non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite), an aircraft network device, etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied. In some example embodiments, a radio access network (RAN) split architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node includes a mobile terminal (IAB-MT) portion similar to a UE toward a parent node, and a DU portion of an IAB node is similar to a base station toward a next-hop IAB node.

[0033] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, a 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 ring 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 device, 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 customer premises 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 the context of an industrial and / or automated processing chain), consumer electronic devices, equipment operating on a commercial and / or industrial wireless network, etc. The terminal device may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) part of the IAB node (eg, relay node). In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0034] As used herein, the term "resource", "transmission resource", "resource block", "physical resource block" (PRB), "uplink resource" or "downlink resource" may refer to any resource used to perform communication, such as communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as a resource in the time domain, a resource in the frequency domain, a resource in the spatial domain, a resource in the code domain, or any other resource supporting communication. In the following, unless explicitly stated, resources in the frequency domain and the time domain will be used as examples of transmission resources for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the example embodiments of the present disclosure are also applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0035] In the traditional behavior of the UE (e.g., in Rel-16 or Rel-17), upon receiving a set of candidate resources from the PHY, the MAC may randomly select from the set of candidate resources for its SL transmission. Random selection, rather than selecting the first resource available in time, helps ensure that multiple transmissions from different UEs are distributed in the time and frequency domains, thereby avoiding congestion due to the intentional selection of the earliest available resource by all UEs.

[0036] However, as mentioned above, random selection may not be applicable to multiple consecutive time slot transmission because the candidate resources should meet a specific length, ie, the number of time slots used for multiple consecutive time slot transmission.

[0037] One possible reasonable way to achieve multiple consecutive time slot transmission is to apply some criteria, such as the consecutive time slot criteria. On the other hand, applying the consecutive time slot criteria in resource selection can significantly reduce the number of candidate resources and thus also reduce the randomness in resource selection, which in turn will lead to congestion of the SL channel again.

[0038] Therefore, implementations of the continuous slot standard should take this into account, i.e., the resource selection algorithm applying the standard should ensure that candidate resources are selected so that multiple multi-continuous slot transmissions from a single UE are distributed in time when viewed from the group, rather than all piled up in the time and frequency domains, especially from the perspective of an external observer. In view of this, multi-continuous slot transmissions in SL need to be improved, at least in terms of resource selection.

[0039] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0040] Figure 1 1 shows an example communication environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The communication environment 100 may support SL communication between terminal devices. Figure 1 As shown, the communication environment 100 may include a plurality of terminal devices 110 and 112 (eg, UEs).

[0041] Terminal devices 110 and 112 can communicate with each other via SL communication. Figure 1 In the example of , terminal devices 110 and 112 may select resources for their SL transmissions from a preconfigured or predetermined set of candidate resources (also referred to as resource pool 120). In some example embodiments, resource pool 120 may span multiple LBT channels (e.g., 20 MHz), and thus multiple resource block (RB) sets may be configured.

[0042] Taking the terminal device 110 as an example, its higher layer (e.g., MAC layer) triggers L1 (e.g., PHY layer) to select resources for one or more TBs to be transmitted. In response, L1 can report a candidate resource set that can be used for one or more TBs. The candidate resource set can be a single time slot resource.

[0043] In some example embodiments, one or more TBs may be transmitted in multiple consecutive time slots in the time domain, also referred to as multiple consecutive time slot transmissions. Accordingly, a higher layer selects a target resource from a candidate resource set based on at least one multiple consecutive time slot transmission condition and / or criterion. At least one multiple consecutive time slot transmission condition and / or criterion may ensure that the selected resource has a specific length in a time slot and conforms to an expected distribution in the time domain and / or frequency domain, which will be discussed in detail later.

[0044] In the context of embodiments of the present disclosure, terminal device 112 may or may not use the same multiple consecutive time slot transmission conditions and / or standards as terminal device 110. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0045] It should be noted that in some example embodiments, the operations described in conjunction with the terminal device may be implemented at a network device or other device, and the operations described in conjunction with the network device may be implemented at a terminal device or other device.

[0046] It should be understood that Figure 1 The number of devices and their connections shown in the figure are for illustration purposes only and do not imply any limitation. The communication network 100 may include any suitable number of devices configured to implement the example embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown, it should be understood that one or more additional devices and connections may be deployed in the communication network 100.

[0047] In some example embodiments, a link from a terminal device (e.g., terminal device 110 or 112) to a network device (not shown) is referred to as a downlink (UL), and a link from a network device to a terminal device is referred to as an uplink (DL). In DL, the network device is a transmitting (TX) device (or transmitter) and the terminal device is a receiving (RX) device (or receiver). In UL, the terminal device is a TX device (or transmitter) and the network device is an RX device (or receiver). In SL, the terminal device may be an RX device and a TX device. For example, if terminal device 110 transmits an SL transmission to terminal device 112, terminal device 110 is a TX device and terminal device 112 is an RX device. Conversely, if terminal device 112 transmits an SL transmission to terminal device 110, terminal device 112 is a TX device and terminal device 110 is an RX device.

[0048] The communication in the communication environment 100 can be implemented according to any appropriate communication protocol, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), the fifth generation (5G), the sixth generation (6G), etc., wireless local area network communication protocols such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. In addition, the communication can utilize any appropriate 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.

[0049] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a solution for resource selection for multiple consecutive time slot transmission is provided. In particular, the MAC layer adopts certain consecutive time slot standards and / or conditions to determine which candidate resources are used for multiple consecutive time slot transmission.

[0050] Using the continuous time slot standard, the MAC layer can identify a multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource set, which consists of one or more combinations of single-slot candidate resources that are continuous in the time domain and meet the target number of time slots. The MAC layer then evaluates whether the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource set meets a certain condition. If so, the MAC layer can randomly select one from the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource set for multi-continuous time slot transmission. Otherwise, the MAC layer can change the target number of time slots and re-identify the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources until the result meets a certain condition. In this way, resource selection for multi-continuous time slot transmission can be efficiently implemented without introducing congestion between multiple UEs.

[0051] Reference now Figure 2 , which shows a flow chart of a method 200 implemented at a device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 2 As shown, the method 200 involves at least the terminal device 110. For the purpose of discussion, reference is made to Figure 1 Method 200 is described.

[0052] Before any SL transmission is performed in the SL channel, the terminal device 110 needs to select resources from the configured resource pool 120. The resource pool 120 can be shared with other terminal devices (such as the terminal device 112). In method 200, the side link transmission can be in the form of multi-continuous time slot transmission, that is, transmission on two or more consecutive time slots in the time domain, and the subchannel allocation in each time slot may be different. For the case of a single TB, the number of subchannels in each single-slot candidate resource is the same, but this may appear on different subchannels. For the case of multiple TBs, the number of subchannels may vary from TB to TB, and they may appear on different subchannels.

[0053] At block 210 , the terminal device 110 acquires at least one set of single-slot candidate resources that may be used for SL transmission.

[0054] As mentioned above, the MAC layer of the terminal device 110 can trigger L1 resource selection for SL transmission, which can correspond to one or more TBs. Resource selection for each TB can be triggered separately. Therefore, L1 can report at least one set of candidate resources that can be used for SL transmission. In the case of multiple TBs, there may be multiple sets of candidate resources. The candidate resources reported by L1 are single-slot resources. Therefore, the MAC layer can obtain single-slot candidate resources from L1.

[0055] At block 220, the terminal device 110 selects a first number of time slots (denoted by N) for transmission of multiple consecutive time slots. slotMCSt_1 denoted), determining a first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources from at least one group of single time slot candidate resources. The multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources may include a first number of consecutive time slots.

[0056] In this way, the MAC layer of the terminal device 110 identifies all possible combinations of single-slot candidate resources that are continuous in the time domain and have the first number of slots N. slotMCCSt 1. In the context of the embodiment, the first number of time slots N slotMCSt_1 It may refer to the initial value of the target number of time slots when starting resource selection. slotMCSt_1 Whether the generated multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resource set meets certain conditions and / or standards, the value of the target number of time slots may be changed.

[0057] In some example embodiments, for a single TB, the MAC layer may identify all possible combinations of single-slot candidate resources occupying a target number of consecutive time slots from at least one set of single-slot candidate resources provided by L1 for the TB.

[0058] Optionally, for multiple TBs, the MAC layer may identify all possible combinations occupying a target number of consecutive time slots across multiple groups of single time slot candidate resources provided by L1 for each of the multiple TBs.

[0059] At block 230 , the terminal device 110 determines whether the first set of multi-contiguous time slot transmission candidate resources satisfies at least one multi-contiguous time slot transmission candidate resource condition.

[0060] For example, at least one of the multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resource conditions includes at least one of the following: The size of the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources is higher than the threshold size, The multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set are evenly distributed within the selection window in the time domain and / or frequency domain, At least a portion of the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources and any other multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources (eg, HARQ retransmissions for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions) in the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources meet a preconfigured interval in the time domain.

[0061] In some example embodiments, the threshold size may be preconfigured.Alternatively, in some other embodiments, the threshold size may be determined based on a ratio of resources in the resource selection window, for example, the minimum size is Y% of the number of single-slot candidate resources in the resource selection window.

[0062] In some example embodiments, terminal device 110 may average the time and frequency indexes of all multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources and then determine whether the delta between this value and the time and frequency index of the middle time slot of the selection window is within a preconfigured range.

[0063] Additionally or optionally, in some example embodiments, if each portion of the selection window contains a minimum portion of the generated multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources, for example, every 1 / 4 of the selection window contains at least 1 / 5 of the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources, then the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources can be considered to be evenly distributed within the selection window.

[0064] Additionally or alternatively, in some other embodiments, the multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources may be considered to be uniformly distributed within the selection window, for example based on a frequency test of uniformity (such as a chi-square test or a Kolmogoov-Smirnov test).

[0065] If the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources satisfies at least one multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resource condition, at block 240 , the terminal device 110 selects a target resource for multiple consecutive time slot transmission from the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources.

[0066] Otherwise, if the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set do not satisfy at least one multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource condition, at box 250, the terminal device 110 determines the target resource for transmitting the multi-continuous time slot transmission based on the multi-continuous time slot transmission criteria regarding the change of the set size and / or the first number of time slots.

[0067] At block 260, the terminal device 110 may then transmit a multi-continuous time slot transmission on a target resource comprising a first number of consecutive time slots. Where the sidelink transmission comprises a single TB, the first set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources are determined from a set of single time slot candidate resources, and the TB may be repeated in each of the first number of consecutive time slots. Alternatively, the TB may be distributed across the first number of consecutive time slots.

[0068] In the case where the sidelink transmission includes multiple TBs, the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources can be determined from multiple groups of single time slot candidate resources, and each TB in the multiple TBs can be repeated in different consecutive time slots in the first number of consecutive time slots. Optionally, each TB in the multiple TBs can be distributed across the first number of consecutive time slots.

[0069] There may be a lower target number of time slots indicating a minimum number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions, and a required or higher target number of time slots indicating a maximum number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions.

[0070] To determine the desired target number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions, different implementations may be considered. In some example embodiments, the desired target number of time slots may be determined based on the expected duration of the COT corresponding to the channel access priority class (CAPC) associated with the sidelink transmission.

[0071] In some other embodiments, the target number of time slots required may be determined based on a periodicity of a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) associated with the sidelink transmission.

[0072] In another embodiment, the target number of time slots required may be determined based on a congestion metric of a channel busy rate (CBR) associated with the sidelink transmission. For example, if the CBR is above a CBR threshold, the length of the target number of time slots required may be lower than a predetermined value. In another embodiment, the target number of time slots required may be determined based on the amount of data in the buffer of the terminal device 110, which may require a certain number of time slots to transmit the data.

[0073] Depending on whether to start with a lower target number of time slots or a higher target number of time slots, the sub-steps in method 200 may differ, which will be combined with Figures 3 to 6 Have a discussion.

[0074] Reference now Figure 3 , which shows a flow chart of a method 300 for resource selection starting from a minimum number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions. The method 300 may be implemented at an apparatus (eg, terminal device 110). For discussion purposes, reference is made to Figure 1 Method 300 is described.

[0075] The operations at blocks 310 and 320 are similar to Figure 2 The operations at blocks 210 and 220 in the method 300 are not repeated here. In the method 300, a first number of time slots N for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions is slotMCSt_1 is a lower target number of time slots. The terminal device 110 may attempt to increase the lower target number of time slots to the required number of time slots for multi-contiguous time slot transmission. This may be achieved through a series of iterative steps for determining a feasible set of multi-contiguous time slot candidate resource sets.

[0076] As an example, the first number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmission may be 2, ie, N slotMCSt_1 = 2. Accordingly, the terminal device 110 identifies all possible combinations of 2 consecutive time slots from the reported single-time slot candidate resources, which constitute a first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources.

[0077] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing an example resource selection 400 for multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources, where N slotMCSt_1 =2. Figure 4 As shown, the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources includes multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources 401 to 406.

[0078] Similar to block 230, the terminal device 110 may then determine whether the first set of multi-contiguous time slot transmission candidate resources satisfies at least one multi-contiguous time slot transmission candidate resource condition.

[0079] In some example embodiments, at least one of the multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resource conditions may include that the size of the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources is above a threshold size. If so, the method 300 may proceed to block 340, i.e., the terminal device 110 may randomly select a target resource from the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources that are above the threshold size.

[0080] In some example embodiments, at least one of the multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resource conditions may include that the size of the multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set is equal to a threshold size. Accordingly, at block 330, the terminal device 110 determines whether the size of the multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set is equal to a threshold size.

[0081] If the size of the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources is equal to the threshold size, as indicated in block 340, the method 300 may proceed to select a target resource from the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources.

[0082] Otherwise, further evaluation may be necessary. For example, Figure 4 The size of the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources is shown to be 6. When the threshold size is set to 4, the size of the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources is not equal to the threshold size.

[0083] At block 350, the terminal device 110 determines whether the size of the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources is below a threshold size. If so, the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources does not meet the size condition, which may increase the probability of selecting the same resource as other terminal devices.

[0084] In this case, the method 300 proceeds to block 355. At block 355, the terminal device 110 may obtain the previously allocated time slots based on the second number of time slots (ie, N) for transmission of multiple consecutive time slots. slotMCSt_2 The second number of time slots used for multiple consecutive time slot transmission may be smaller than the first number of time slots N used for multiple consecutive time slot transmission. slotMCSt_1 For example, N slotMCSt_2 =1, in which case the second set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources corresponds to at least one set of single time slot candidate resources reported by L1. At block 360, the terminal device 110 may randomly select a target resource for transmitting multiple consecutive time slot transmission from the second set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources.

[0085] If the size of the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources is higher than the threshold size, the terminal device 110 may change the number of time slots used for multiple consecutive time slot transmission. As a result, the set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources may be recalculated until a specific condition is met.

[0086] For example, Figure 4 As shown, the size of the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources is 6, which is higher than the threshold size of 4. In this case, the method 300 may proceed to block 370.

[0087] At block 370, the terminal device 110 may determine a third number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions by increasing the first number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions by a predetermined number, ie, N slotMCSt_3 For example, a first number of time slots N for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions slotMCSt_1 can be increased by 1, which results in a third number of time slots NslotMCSt_3 =3.

[0088] The terminal device 110 may then compare the increased number of time slots to the desired number of time slots (eg, a higher target number of time slots). Accordingly, at block 375, the terminal device 110 may determine a third number of time slots N for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions. slotMCSt_3 Is it higher than the target number of slots for multiple consecutive slot transmissions.

[0089] If yes, this means that the requirement for multiple consecutive time slot transmission has been exceeded. In this case, the method 300 may return to block 340 and the terminal device 110 may select a target resource from the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources.

[0090] Otherwise, if the third number of time slots N for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions slotMCSt_3 is not higher than the target number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions, the terminal device 110 can use the third number of time slots N slotMCSt_3 The determination operation is performed iteratively at block 320. In this case, the terminal device 110 may determine the time slot N based on the third number of time slots. slotMCSt_3 , determining a third set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources from at least one group of single time slot candidate resources. Each of the third set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources may include a third number of consecutive time slots.

[0091] Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing an example resource selection 500 for multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources, where N slotMCSt_3 =3. Figure 5 As shown, the third set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources includes multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources 501 and 502. slotMCSt_1 =2, the terminal device 110 may then evaluate the third set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources based on the threshold size. If the size of the third set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources is equal to the threshold size, the terminal device 110 may select the target resource from the third set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources. If the size of the third set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources is lower than the threshold size, the terminal device 110 may randomly select the target resource from the previous set (i.e., the first set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources). If the size of the third set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources is higher than the threshold size, the third number of time slots used for multi-continuous time slot transmission may be changed by increasing the predetermined number, which results in a fourth number of time slots N. slotMCCSt_4 .

[0092] If the fourth number of time slots N slotMCSt_4If the fourth number of time slots N is not higher than the target number of time slots, a new iteration is triggered. slotMCSt_4 If the number of time slots is higher than the target number, the terminal device 110 may randomly select a target resource from the current set (ie, the third set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources).

[0093] It should be understood that all multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resource sets generated in different iterations may be stored in the terminal device 110 .

[0094] Reference now Figure 6 , which shows a flow chart of a method 600 for resource selection starting from a target number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions. The method 600 may be implemented at an apparatus, such as the terminal device 110. For discussion purposes, reference is made to Figure 1 Method 600 is described below.

[0095] The operations at blocks 610 and 620 are similar to Figure 2 The operations at blocks 210 and 220 in the method 600 are not repeated here. In the method 600, a first number of time slots N for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions is used. slotMCSt_1 is the required number of time slots, ie, the higher target number of time slots. The higher target number of time slots may be reduced until it can be used to generate a feasible multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resource set that meets certain conditions (eg, a minimum target size).

[0096] In method 600, a first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources is generated based on a higher target number of time slots. The terminal device 110 may then evaluate the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources based on at least one multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resource condition.

[0097] At box 630, the terminal device 110 can determine whether the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set are above a threshold size, for example, the size of the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set is greater than or equal to the minimum size of the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource set.

[0098] If so, the method 600 may proceed to block 640 where the terminal device 110 may select a target resource from the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources.

[0099] Otherwise, method 600 may proceed to block 650. In this case, terminal device 110 may change the first number of time slots used for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions. At block 650, terminal device 110 may change the first number of time slots N used for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions. slotMCSt_1 The predetermined number is reduced to determine a fourth number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions, namely N slotMCSt_4For example, a first number of time slots N for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions slotMCSt_1 Can be reduced by 1, that is, N slotMCSt_4 =N slotMCSt_1 -1.

[0100] Terminal device 110 may then compare the reduced number of time slots to a threshold number, for example, if N slotMCSt_4 >0. Therefore, at block 655, the terminal device 110 may determine a fourth number of time slots N for transmission of multiple consecutive time slots. slotMCSt_4 Is it higher than the threshold number?

[0101] If yes, the terminal device 110 may utilize the fourth number of time slots N slotMCSt_4 The determination operation is iteratively performed at block 620. In this case, the terminal device 110 may determine the time slots N based on the fourth number of time slots N. slotMCSt_4 , determining a fourth set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources from at least one group of single time slot candidate resources. Each of the fourth set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources may include a fourth number of consecutive time slots.

[0102] Otherwise, if the fourth number of time slots N for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions slotMCSt_4 If the number of consecutive time slots is not higher than the threshold number, the method 600 may return to block 640, and the terminal device 110 may select a target resource from the multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources in the current set (ie, the first set).

[0103] In some example embodiments, the generation of all possible sets of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources may be achieved by single time slot candidate reuse. This may be configured or preconfigured. For example, when searching for two consecutive time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources, i.e., N slotMCSt =2, and when three consecutive time slot candidate resources have been identified, the terminal device 110 may generate only one multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate therefrom if the parameter is enabled. Otherwise, the terminal device 110 may generate 2 multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidates (omitting the frequency domain aspect).

[0104] In some example embodiments, if more than one single-slot candidate resource sets are combined into a superset prior to calculating the multi-contiguous slot candidate resource set, a scaling of the number of sub-channels may be calculated for the total number of sub-channels.

[0105] In some example embodiments, as an alternative to the operations at boxes 330 and 370 and boxes 630 and 650, the search can also be based on a binary search, i.e., increasing / decreasing the number of remaining resources between the multi-continuous time slot candidate resources of the preferred set and the multi-continuous time slot candidate resources of the current set by half.

[0106] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of example resource selection 700 of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources for transmission of multiple TBs. Figure 7 As shown, multiple consecutive time slot candidate resources 701 to 705 are selected for TB1 and TB 2. In this case, the number of subchannels may be different from TB 1 and TB 2, and they may appear on different subchannels.

[0107] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of an example resource 800 for selecting a multiple continuous time slot transmission candidate resource from multiple RB sets is shown. For multiple RB sets, namely RB set 1 and RB set 2 (e.g., the resource pool may span multiple 20 MHz LBT channels), in an example embodiment, the number of time slots for multiple continuous time slot transmission can be combined per RB set, and the multiple continuous time slot transmission candidate resource set can include all generated combinations of all RB sets. In another example embodiment, the multiple continuous time slot transmission candidate resources can include subchannels of different RB sets, for example, multiple continuous time slot transmission candidate resources 801 to 803, and the number of time slots for multiple continuous time slot transmission can be combined across RB sets.

[0108] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of an example resource 900 for selecting a multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resource from multiple RB sets is shown. In an example embodiment, the combination of the number of time slots used for multiple consecutive time slot transmission may consider that at least the first single-slot resource combined should have a subchannel from each RB set used during the multiple consecutive time slot transmission, for example, multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources 901 to 903, while the multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resource 904 uses only RB set 2.

[0109] In some example embodiments, a device capable of performing any of the operations of method 200 (e.g., Figure 1 The terminal device 110 in the embodiment may include a component for performing each operation of the method 200. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component is implemented in the form of a circuit or a software module. The first device may be implemented as Figure 1 The terminal device 110 or the terminal device 110 included in Figure 1 In the terminal device 110.

[0110] In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes: a component for acquiring at least one group of single-slot candidate resource groups that can be used for sidelink transmission; a component for determining a first set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources from at least one group of single-slot candidate resources based on a first number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission, the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources including a first number of continuous time slots; a component for selecting a target resource for transmitting multi-continuous time slot transmission from the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set based on a determination that the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set satisfy at least one multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource condition; a component for determining a target resource standard for transmitting multi-continuous time slot transmission based on a multi-continuous time slot transmission standard that changes the set size and / or the first number of time slots based on a determination that the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set do not satisfy the at least one multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource condition; and a component for transmitting multi-continuous time slot transmission on the target resource.

[0111] In some example embodiments, the sidelink transmission comprises a single transmission block TB, a first set of multi-contiguous time slot transmission candidate resources are determined from a set of single time slot candidate resources, and the TB is repeated in each time slot of a first number of consecutive time slots, or the TB is distributed across the first number of consecutive time slots.

[0112] In some example embodiments, the sidelink transmission includes multiple TBs, a first set of multi-contiguous time slot transmission candidate resources are determined from multiple groups of single time slot candidate resources, and each TB in the multiple TBs is repeated in different consecutive time slots in the first number of consecutive time slots, or each TB in the multiple TBs is distributed across the first number of consecutive time slots.

[0113] In some example embodiments, at least one set of single-slot candidate resources corresponds to multiple resource block (RB) sets, and the first set of multiple consecutive slot transmission candidate resources is determined on a per RB set basis or across multiple consecutive or non-consecutive RB sets.

[0114] In some example embodiments, at least one set of single-slot candidate resources corresponds to a plurality of resource block (RB) sets, and the first set of multiple consecutive slot transmission candidate resources comprises a first multiple consecutive slot transmission candidate resource determined across a plurality of consecutive or non-consecutive RB sets.

[0115] In some example embodiments, at least one multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource condition includes at least one of the following: a size of the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set is higher than a threshold size, the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set are uniformly distributed within a selection window in the time domain and / or frequency domain, or at least a portion of the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set meet a pre-configured interval in the time domain with any other multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources in the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set.

[0116] In some example embodiments, the first number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission includes a minimum number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission. At least one multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource condition includes that the size of the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set is equal to a threshold size. Based on determining that the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set do not satisfy at least one multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource condition, the device also includes a component for the following operations: determining whether the size of the first set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources is lower than the threshold size; based on determining that the size of the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set is lower than the threshold size, obtaining a second set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources previously determined based on a second number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission, the second number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission being less than the first number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission; selecting a target resource for transmitting the multi-continuous time slot transmission from the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the second set; based on determining that the size of the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set is not lower than the threshold size, A number of time slots is increased by a predetermined number to determine a third number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission; based on the determination that the third number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission is higher than the target number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission, a target resource is selected from the first set of candidate resources for multi-continuous time slot transmission; based on the determination that the third number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission is not higher than the target number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission, a third set of candidate resources for multi-continuous time slot transmission is determined from at least one group of single time slot candidate resources based on the third number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission, the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources including the third number of continuous time slots; based on at least one multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource condition, it is determined whether to select the target resource for transmitting multi-continuous time slot transmission from the third set of candidate resources for multi-continuous time slot transmission.

[0117] In some example embodiments, the first number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission includes a target number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission, and at least one multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource condition includes a size of the first set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources being above a threshold size. Based on determining that the first set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources do not satisfy at least one multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource condition, the device also includes a component for: determining a fourth number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission by reducing the first number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission by a predetermined number; based on determining that the fourth number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission is higher than a threshold number, determining a fourth set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources from at least one group of single time slot candidate resources based on the fourth number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission, the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources including the fourth number of continuous time slots; and based on at least one multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource condition, determining whether to select a target resource for transmitting multi-continuous time slot transmission from the fourth set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources; and based on determining that the fourth number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission is not higher than the threshold number, selecting a target resource from the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set.

[0118] In some example embodiments, the first number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmission is preconfigured or determined based on a ratio of at least one set of single time slot candidate resources in a resource selection window.

[0119] In some example embodiments, the target number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission is determined based on at least one of: the duration of a channel occupancy time COT corresponding to a channel access priority category CAPC associated with the sidelink transmission, a period of a physical sidelink feedback channel PSFCH associated with the sidelink transmission, a congestion measure of a channel busy rate CBR associated with the sidelink transmission, or an amount of data in a buffer of the device.

[0120] In some example embodiments, the predetermined number is one.

[0121] In some example embodiments, the predetermined number is determined by halving a difference between a target number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions and a first number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions.

[0122] Fig.10 A simplified block diagram of a device 1000 suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The device 1000 is provided for implementing a communication device, such as Figure 1The terminal device 110 is shown. As shown in the figure, the device 1000 includes one or more processors 1010, one or more memories 1020 coupled to the processors 1010, and one or more communication modules 1040 coupled to the processors 1010.

[0123] The communication module 1040 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 1040 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary to communicate with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 1040 may include at least one antenna.

[0124] As non-limiting examples, processor 1010 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 1000 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are time slaved to a clock of a synchronized main processor.

[0125] The memory 1020 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) 1024, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), optical disk, laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 1022 and other volatile memories that will not last for the duration of a power outage.

[0126] The computer program 1030 includes computer executable instructions executed by the associated processor 1010. The instructions of the program 1030 may include instructions for performing the operations / actions of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 1030 may be stored in a memory, such as ROM 1024. The processor 1010 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading the program 1030 into the RAM 1022.

[0127] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 1030, so that the device 1000 may execute the Figures 2 to 9 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0128] In some example embodiments, the program 1030 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 1000 (such as in the memory 1020) or in other storage devices accessible to the device 1000. The device 1000 may load the program 1030 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 1022 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable medium may include any type of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. The term "non-transitory" as used herein is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal), not a limitation on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM versus ROM).

[0129] Fig.11 A block diagram of an example computer readable medium 1000 is shown. The readable medium may be in the form of a CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 1100 has a program 1030 stored thereon.

[0130] Generally, 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, and other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are shown 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-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0131] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium (such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium). The computer program product includes computer executable instructions, such as those included in a program module executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor to perform any method as described above. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functions of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed. Machine executable instructions for program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0132] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code 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 the program code enables the functions / operations specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram to be implemented when executed by the processor or controller. The program code can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0133] 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 various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0134] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor systems, devices or apparatuses, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer readable storage media would include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0135] In addition, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in sequence, or performing all of the operations shown to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may 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 as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular 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.

[0136] Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A device for communication, 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 apparatus to at least: Acquire at least one set of single-slot candidate resources available for sidelink transmission; determining a first set of candidate resources for multiple consecutive time slot transmission from the at least one set of candidate resources for single time slot transmission based on a first number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmission, the candidate resources for multiple consecutive time slot transmission including the first number of consecutive time slots; Determining that the multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set satisfy at least one multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resource condition; Selecting a target resource for transmitting the multiple consecutive time slot transmissions from the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources; as well as The plurality of consecutive time slot transmissions are transmitted on the target resource.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, based on determining that the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set do not satisfy the at least one multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource condition, the apparatus is caused to determine the target resource for transmitting the multi-continuous time slot transmission based on a multi-continuous time slot transmission standard related to a change in the set size and / or the first number of time slots.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sidelink transmission comprises a single transmission block (TB), the first set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources are determined from a set of single time slot candidate resources, and the TB is repeated in each time slot of the first number of consecutive time slots, or the TB is distributed across the first number of consecutive time slots.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sidelink transmission comprises a plurality of TBs, the first set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources are determined from a plurality of groups of single time slot candidate resources, and each of the plurality of TBs is repeated in different consecutive time slots in the first number of consecutive time slots, or each of the plurality of TBs is distributed across the first number of consecutive time slots.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one set of single-slot candidate resources corresponds to multiple resource block (RB) sets, and the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources is determined on a per-RB set basis or across the multiple consecutive or non-consecutive RB sets.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one set of single-slot candidate resources corresponds to multiple resource block (RB) sets, and the first set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources includes a first multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource determined across the multiple contiguous or non-contiguous RB sets.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource condition comprises at least one of the following: The size of the multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set is higher than a threshold size, The plurality of consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set are evenly distributed within a selection window in the time domain and / or frequency domain, or At least a portion of the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources and any other multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources in the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources meet a preconfigured interval in the time domain.

8. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission comprises a minimum number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission, and the at least one multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource condition comprises a size of the first set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources being equal to a threshold size, and According to determining that the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources does not satisfy the at least one multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resource condition, the apparatus is further caused to: determining whether the size of the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources is lower than the threshold size; According to determining that the size of the plurality of consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set is lower than the threshold size, Acquire a second set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources previously determined based on a second number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmission, the second number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmission being less than the first number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmission; as well as selecting the target resource for transmitting the multiple consecutive time slot transmissions from the multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources of the second set; According to determining that the size of the multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set is not less than the threshold size, determining a third number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmission by increasing said first number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmission by a predetermined number; selecting the target resource from the first set of candidate resources for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions based on determining that the third number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions is higher than the target number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions; Based on determining that the third number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions is not higher than the target number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions, determining, based on the third number of time slots for multi-contiguous time slot transmission, a third set of multi-contiguous time slot transmission candidate resources from the at least one set of single time slot candidate resources, the multi-contiguous time slot transmission candidate resources including the third number of contiguous time slots; as well as Based on the at least one multiple-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource condition, it is determined whether to select the target resource for transmitting the multiple-continuous time slot transmission from the multiple-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the third set.

9. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission comprises a target number of time slots for multi-continuous time slot transmission, and the at least one multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource condition comprises that a size of the first set of multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources is higher than a threshold size, and According to determining that the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources does not satisfy the at least one multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resource condition, the apparatus is further caused to: determining a fourth number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions by reducing said first number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions by a predetermined number; Based on determining that the fourth number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions is higher than a threshold number, determining, based on the fourth number of time slots for multi-contiguous time slot transmission, a fourth set of multi-contiguous time slot transmission candidate resources from the at least one set of single time slot candidate resources, the multi-contiguous time slot transmission candidate resources including the fourth number of contiguous time slots; as well as determining whether to select the target resource for transmitting the multi-continuous time slot transmission from the multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resources of the fourth set based on the at least one multi-continuous time slot transmission candidate resource condition; as well as The target resource is selected from the first set of candidate resources for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions based on determining that the fourth number of time slots used for multiple consecutive time slot transmissions is not higher than the threshold number.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmission is preconfigured or determined based on a ratio of the at least one set of single time slot candidate resources in a resource selection window.

11. The apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the target number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmission is determined based on at least one of the following: the duration of a channel occupancy time COT corresponding to a channel access priority class CAPC associated with the side link transmission, a period of a Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH) associated with said sidelink transmission, a congestion metric of the channel busy rate CBR associated with the sidelink transmission, or The amount of data in the device's buffer.

12. The apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the predetermined number is 1.

13. The apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the predetermined number is determined by halving a difference between the target number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmission and the first number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmission.

14. A method for communication, comprising: At the device, obtaining at least one set of single-slot candidate resources available for sidelink transmission; determining a first set of candidate resources for multiple consecutive time slot transmission from the at least one set of candidate resources for single time slot transmission based on a first number of time slots for multiple consecutive time slot transmission, the candidate resources for multiple consecutive time slot transmission including the first number of consecutive time slots; Determining that the multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources of the first set satisfy at least one multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resource condition; Selecting a target resource for transmitting the multiple consecutive time slot transmissions from the first set of multiple consecutive time slot transmission candidate resources; as well as The plurality of consecutive time slot transmissions are transmitted on the target resource.

15. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon, the instructions being configured to cause an apparatus to at least perform the method according to claim 14.

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