Buffer status reporting

Abstract

Some techniques described herein provide for a buffer status report (BSR) medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) associated with communications between a user equipment (UE) and one or more devices associated with the UE, such as one or more zero power communication devices. At least one of a logical channel group field (if present in the MAC-CE) or a buffer size field (if present in the MAC-CE) of the MAC-CE may be associated based on communications between the MAC-CE and the UE and the one or more devices. By providing the BSR MAC-CE, the UE may report parameters about the one or more devices associated with the UE, such as a number of the one or more devices, a device type of the one or more devices, a buffer size, etc. The parameters may help determine a resource allocation based on the BSR MAC-CE.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications, and to techniques and apparatus for buffer status reporting. Background Art

[0002] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide a variety of telecommunication services, such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasting. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies that can support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, and long term evolution (LTE). LTE / LTE-Advanced is a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0003] A wireless network may include one or more network nodes that support communications for wireless communication devices, such as user equipment (UE) or multiple UEs. A UE may communicate with a network node via downlink communications and uplink communications. A "downlink" (or "DL") refers to a communication link from a network node to a UE, and an "uplink" (or "UL") refers to a communication link from a UE to a network node. Some wireless networks may support device-to-device communications, such as via a local link (e.g., a side link (SL), a wireless local area network (WLAN) link, and / or a wireless personal area network (WPAN) link, etc.).

[0004] The above-mentioned multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different UEs to communicate at a city, country, region and / or global level. 5G (which may be referred to as New Radio (NR)) is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by 3GPP. 5G is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) (CP-OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP) on the downlink, using CP-OFDM and / or single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) (also known as discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM)) on the uplink, and supporting beamforming, multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna technology and carrier aggregation to improve spectrum efficiency, reduce costs, improve services, utilize new spectrum, and better integrate with other open standards. As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, further improvements in 4G, 5G and other radio access technologies remain useful. Summary of the invention

[0005] A user equipment (UE) may communicate with one or more devices, such as a passive Internet of Things (IoT) device or a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, etc. One or more devices may not have sufficient power to communicate directly with the network. The UE may request resources for communication by sending a buffer status report (BSR) medium access control-control element (MAC-CE). The UE may communicate with one or more devices using resources granted by a network node. However, a traditional BSR, such as a traditional BSR associated with Uu communication (e.g., communication between a UE and a radio access network), may not be configured to convey information about one or more devices. Without information about one or more devices associated with the UE, resource scheduling for the UE may be sub-optimal and may negatively impact the operation of devices such as passive communication devices.

[0006] Some techniques described herein provide a MAC-CE associated with communication between a UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, such as one or more passive communication devices. At least one of the logical channel group field (if present in the MAC-CE) or the buffer size field (if present in the MAC-CE) of the MAC-CE can be associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE. For ease of reference, the MAC-CE associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices is referred to as a zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE, but it should be understood that the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE can convey information about non-passive communication devices. By providing a zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE, the UE can convey information about one or more devices associated with the UE, such as the number of one or more devices, the device type of one or more devices, etc. Therefore, resource scheduling for UEs associated with passive communication devices is improved, and the operation of passive communication devices (such as communication and energy harvesting) is improved.

[0007] Some aspects described herein relate to a method of wireless communication performed by a UE. The method may include sending a MAC-CE associated with communication between the UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of a logical channel group (LCG) field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE. The method may include communicating based at least in part on the MAC-CE.

[0008] Some aspects described herein relate to a method of wireless communication performed by a network node. The method may include obtaining a MAC-CE associated with communication between a UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of an LCG field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE. The method may include outputting one or more grants based at least in part on the MAC-CE.

[0009] Some aspects described herein relate to a UE for wireless communication. The UE may include a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory. The one or more processors may be configured to send a MAC-CE associated with communication between the UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of an LCG field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE. The one or more processors may be configured to communicate based at least in part on the MAC-CE.

[0010] Some aspects described herein relate to a network node for wireless communication. The network node may include a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory. The one or more processors may be configured to obtain a MAC-CE associated with communication between a UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of an LCG field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE. The one or more processors may be configured to output one or more grants based at least in part on the MAC-CE.

[0011] Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication by a UE. The instruction set, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to send a MAC-CE associated with communication between the UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of an LCG field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE. The instruction set, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to communicate based at least in part on the MAC-CE.

[0012] Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication by a network node. The instruction set, when executed by one or more processors of the network node, can cause the network node to obtain a MAC-CE associated with communication between a UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of an LCG field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE. The instruction set, when executed by one or more processors of the network node, can cause the network node to output one or more grants based at least in part on the MAC-CE.

[0013] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include means for sending a MAC-CE associated with communication between the UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of an LCG field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE. The apparatus may include means for communicating based at least in part on the MAC-CE.

[0014] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include means for obtaining a MAC-CE associated with communication between a UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of an LCG field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE. The apparatus may include means for outputting one or more grants based at least in part on the MAC-CE.

[0015] Aspects generally include methods, apparatus, systems, computer program products, non-transitory computer readable media, user equipment, base stations, wireless communication devices, network entities, network nodes and / or processing systems as fully described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

[0016] The features and technical advantages of examples according to the present disclosure have been outlined quite extensively above so that the following specific embodiments may be better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described below. The disclosed concepts and specific examples may be easily used as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for the same purpose of achieving the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. When considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the characteristics of the concepts disclosed herein (both their organization and methods of operation) and the associated advantages will be better understood according to the following description. Each of the figures in the accompanying drawings is provided for the purpose of illustration and description, and not as a definition of limitations to the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network according to the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of communication between a network node and a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network according to the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example decomposed base station architecture according to the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of power consumption associated with a passive communication device according to the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of resource allocation for a passive communication device according to the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of signaling associated with a passive communications buffer status report medium access control-control element according to the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 7 is a flow chart of an example method of wireless communication according to the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 8 is a flow chart of an example method of wireless communication according to the present disclosure.

[0025] Fig. 9 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communications according to the present disclosure.

[0026] Fig.10 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communications according to the present disclosure.

[0027] Fig.11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus employing a processing system according to the present disclosure.

[0028] Fig.12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus employing a processing system according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The specific embodiments described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings are intended as descriptions of various configurations and are not intended to represent configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. For the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the various concepts, the specific embodiments include specific details. However, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, in order to avoid obscuring such concepts, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form.

[0030] Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methods will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether these elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0031] By way of example, a "processing system" that can include one or more processors implements an element, or any part of an element, or any combination of elements. Examples of processors include microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gated logic components, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform various functionalities described throughout the present disclosure. One or more processors in a processing system can execute software. Software should be broadly interpreted as meaning instructions, instruction sets, codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subroutines, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether it is mentioned by software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or other names.

[0032] Therefore, in one or more example embodiments, the described functions can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented with software, the functions can be stored or decoded on a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Computer-readable media include computer storage media. Storage media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), compact disk ROM (CD-ROM), or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, a combination of computer-readable media of the above types, or any other medium that can be used to store computer executable code in the form of instructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer.

[0033] Although various aspects may be described herein using terms generally associated with 5G or new radio (NR) radio access technology (RAT), various aspects of the present disclosure may be applied to other RATs, such as 3G RAT, 4G RAT, and / or post-5G RATs (e.g., 6G).

[0034] Figure 1 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network 100. The wireless network 100 may be a 5G (e.g., NR) network or a 4G (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE)) network, or may include elements of a 5G (e.g., NR) network or elements of a 4G (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE)) network, etc. The wireless network 100 may include one or more network nodes 110 (shown as network node 110a, network node 110b, network node 110c, and network node 110d), user equipment (UE) 120 or multiple UEs 120 (shown as UE 120a, UE 120b, UE 120c, UE 120d, and UE 120e), or other entities. The network node 110 is an example of a network node that communicates with the UE 120. As shown, the network node 110 may include one or more network nodes. For example, the network node 110 may be a converged network node, which means that the converged network node is configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node (e.g., within a single device or unit). For another example, the network node 110 may be a decomposed network node (sometimes referred to as a decomposed base station), which means that the network node 110 is configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed between two or more nodes (such as one or more central units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs)).

[0035] In some examples, the network node 110 is or includes a network node (such as an RU) that communicates with the UE 120 via a radio access link. In some examples, the network node 110 is or includes a network node (such as a DU) that communicates with other network nodes 110 via a fronthaul link or a midhaul link. In some examples, the network node 110 is or includes a network node (such as a CU) that communicates with other network nodes 110 via a midhaul link or communicates with the core network via a backhaul link. In some examples, the network node 110 (such as an aggregated network node 110 or a decomposed network node 110) may include multiple network nodes, such as one or more RUs, one or more CUs, and / or one or more DUs. For example, the network node 110 may include an NR base station, an LTE base station, a Node B, an eNB (e.g., in 4G), a gNB (e.g., in 5G), an access point, a transmit receive point (TRP), a DU, a RU, a CU, a mobility element of a network, a core network node, a network element, a network equipment, a RAN node, or a combination thereof. In some examples, network nodes 110 may be interconnected to each other or to one or more other network nodes 110 in wireless network 100 via various types of fronthaul, midhaul, and / or backhaul interfaces (such as direct physical connections, air interfaces, or virtual networks) using any suitable transport network.

[0036] In some examples, the network node 110 may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the term "cell" may refer to the coverage area of ​​the network node 110 or a network node subsystem serving the coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. The network node 110 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several thousand meters) and may allow unrestricted access by a UE 120 with a service subscription. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by a UE 120 with a service subscription. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a residence) and may allow restricted access by a UE 120 associated with the femto cell (e.g., a UE 120 in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). A network node 110 for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro network node. A network node 110 for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico network node. The network node 110 for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto network node or a home network node. Figure 1In the example shown, network node 110a may be a macro network node for macro cell 102a, network node 110b may be a pico network node for pico cell 102b, and network node 110c may be a femto network node for femto cell 102c. The network node may support one or more (e.g., three) cells. In some examples, the cells may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of ​​the cells may move depending on the location of the mobile network node 110 (e.g., a mobile network node).

[0037] In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to a converged base station, a decomposed base station, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, or one or more components thereof. For example, in some aspects, a "base station" or "network node" may refer to a CU, a DU, a RU, a near real-time (near RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC), or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to a device configured to perform one or more functions (such as those described herein in conjunction with the network node 110). In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to a plurality of devices configured to perform one or more functions. For example, in some distributed systems, each of a number of different devices (which may be located in the same geographic location or in different geographic locations) may be configured to perform at least a portion of a function, or to repeat the execution of at least a portion of the function, and the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to any one or more of these different devices. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to one or more virtual base stations or one or more virtual base station functions. For example, in some aspects, two or more base station functions may be instantiated on a single device. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to one of the base station functions but not another base station function. In this way, a single device may include more than one base station.

[0038] The wireless network 100 may include one or more relay stations. A relay station is a network node that receives transmissions of data from an upstream node (e.g., a network node 110 or a UE 120) and transmits transmissions of data to a downstream node (e.g., a UE 120 or a network node 110). A relay station may be a UE 120 that is capable of relaying transmissions for other UEs 120. Figure 1 In the example shown, a network node 110d (e.g., a relay network node) may communicate with a network node 110a (e.g., a macro network node) and a UE 120d to facilitate communications between the network node 110a and the UE 120d. A network node 110 that relays communications may be referred to as a relay station, a relay base station, a relay network node, a relay node, or a relay, among others.

[0039] The wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network that includes different types of network nodes 110, such as macro network nodes, pico network nodes, femto network nodes, or relay network nodes. These different types of network nodes 110 may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, or different effects on interference in the wireless network 100. For example, a macro network node may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 5 watts to 40 watts), while a pico network node, a femto network node, and a relay network node may have a lower transmit power level (e.g., 0.1 watt to 2 watts).

[0040] The network controller 130 may be coupled to or in communication with a set of network nodes 110 and may provide coordination and control for the network nodes 110. The network controller 130 may communicate with the network nodes 110 via a backhaul communication link or a midhaul communication link. The network nodes 110 may also communicate directly with each other or indirectly via a wireless backhaul communication link or a wired backhaul communication link. In some aspects, the network controller 130 may be or may include a CU or a core network device.

[0041] UE 120 can be distributed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE 120 can be stationary or mobile. UE 120 can include, for example, an access terminal, a terminal, a mobile station, or a subscriber unit. UE 120 can be a cellular phone (e.g., a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet device, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a medical device, a biometric device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., a smart ring or a smart bracelet)), an entertainment device (e.g., a music device, a video device, or a satellite radio), a vehicle-mounted component or sensor, a smart meter / sensor, an industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, a UE function of a network node, or any other suitable device configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium.

[0042] Some UEs 120 may be considered as machine type communication (MTC) or evolved or enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) UEs. MTC UEs or eMTC UEs may include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, or location tags, which may communicate with a network node, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. Some UEs 120 may be considered as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, or may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband IoT) devices. Some UEs 120 may be considered as customer premises equipment. UE 120 may be included inside a housing 284, which houses components of UE 120, such as a processor component or a memory component. In some examples, the processor component and the memory component may be coupled together. For example, a processor component (e.g., one or more processors) and a memory component (e.g., a memory) may be operably coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, or electrically coupled.

[0043] In general, any number of wireless networks 100 may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network 100 may support a specific RAT and may operate on one or more frequencies. RAT may also be referred to as a radio technology or air interface. Frequency may also be referred to as a carrier or frequency channel. Each frequency may support a single RAT in a given geographic area to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RAT networks may be deployed.

[0044] In some examples, two or more UEs 120 (e.g., shown as UE 120a and UE 120e) can communicate directly using one or more side link channels (e.g., without using network node 110 as an intermediary to communicate with each other). For example, UE 120 can communicate using peer-to-peer (P2P) communication, device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocols (e.g., which may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocols, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocols, or vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) protocols), or mesh networks. In such examples, UE 120 can perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, or other operations described elsewhere herein as being performed by network node 110.

[0045] Devices of the wireless network 100 may communicate using an electromagnetic spectrum, which may be subdivided into various categories, bands, or channels by frequency or wavelength. For example, devices of the wireless network 100 may communicate using one or more operating bands. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz). Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “below 6 GHz” band in various documents and articles. Similar naming issues sometimes occur with respect to FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, although different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz-300 GHz) identified as the “millimeter wave” band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0046] Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has identified the operating bands for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125GHz-24.25GHz). The bands falling within FR3 can inherit FR1 characteristics or FR2 characteristics, and thus the features of FR1 or FR2 can be effectively extended to mid-band frequencies. In addition, currently exploring higher frequency bands to extend 5G NR operation to more than 52.6GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6GHz-71GHz), FR4 (52.6GHz-114.25GHz) and FR5 (114.25GHz-300GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0047] With these examples in mind, unless otherwise specifically stated, if the term "sub-6 GHz" is used herein, it may broadly refer to frequencies that may be less than 6 GHz, frequencies that may be within FR1, or frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies. Additionally, unless otherwise specifically stated, if the term "millimeter wave" is used herein, it may broadly refer to frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, frequencies that may be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a, FR4-1, or FR5, or frequencies that may be within the EHF band. It is contemplated that the frequencies included in these operating bands (e.g., FR1, FR2, FR3, FR4, FR4-a, FR4-1, or FR5) may be modified, and the techniques described herein are applicable to those modified frequency ranges.

[0048] In some aspects, the UE 120 may include a communication manager 140. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 140 may perform operations such as sending a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) associated with communication between the UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of a logical channel group (LCG) field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE; and communicating based at least in part on the MAC-CE. Additionally or alternatively, the communication manager 140 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

[0049] In some aspects, the network node may include a communication manager 150. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 150 may perform operations such as obtaining a MAC-CE associated with communications between a UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of an LCG field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communications between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE; and outputting one or more grants based at least in part on the MAC-CE. Additionally or alternatively, the communication manager 150 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

[0050] As indicated above, Figure 1 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 1 The examples described are different.

[0051] Figure 2 2 is a diagram illustrating an example 200 in which a network node 110 communicates with a UE 120 in a wireless network 100. The network node 110 may be equipped with a set of antennas 234a to 234t, such as T antennas (T≥1). The UE 120 may be equipped with a set of antennas 252a to 252r, such as R antennas (R≥1). The network node 110 of example 200 includes one or more radio frequency components, such as an antenna 234 and a modem 254. In some examples, the network node 110 may include an interface, a communication component, or another component that facilitates communication with the UE 120 or another network node. Some network nodes 110 may not include a radio frequency component that facilitates direct communication with the UE 120, such as one or more CUs or one or more DUs.

[0052] At the network node 110, the transmit processor 220 may receive data intended for the UE 120 (or a set of UEs 120) from the data source 212. The transmit processor 220 may use one or more channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from the UE 120 to select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCSs) for the UE 120. The network node 110 may process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for the UE 120 using the MCS selected for the UE 120 and may provide data symbols to the UE 120. The transmit processor 220 may process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI)) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, or upper layer signaling) and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. The transmit processor 220 may generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRS) or demodulation reference signals (DMRS)) and synchronization signals (e.g., primary synchronization signals (PSS) or secondary synchronization signals (SSS)). The transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., pre-coding) on ​​data symbols, control symbols, overhead symbols, or reference symbols, where applicable, and may provide a set of output symbol streams (e.g., T output symbol streams) to a corresponding set of modems 232 (e.g., T modems) (shown as modems 232a to 232t). For example, each output symbol stream may be provided to a modulator component (shown as MOD) of the modem 232. Each modem 232 may process a corresponding output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM) using a corresponding modulator component to obtain an output sample stream. Each modem 232 may also process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, or up-convert) the output sample stream using a corresponding modulator component to obtain a downlink signal. The modems 232a to 232t may transmit a set of downlink signals (e.g., T downlink signals) via a corresponding set of antennas 234 (e.g., T antennas) (shown as antennas 234a to 234t).

[0053] At the UE 120, a set of antennas 252 (shown as antennas 252a to 252r) may receive downlink signals from the network node 110 or other network nodes 110, and may provide a set of received signals (e.g., R received signals) to a set of modems 254 (e.g., R modems) (shown as modems 254a to 254r). For example, each received signal may be provided to a demodulator component (shown as DEMOD) of the modem 254. Each modem 254 may use a corresponding demodulator component to condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, or digitize) the received signal to obtain input samples. Each modem 254 may use a demodulator component to further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from the modem 254, may perform MIMO detection on the received symbols where applicable, and may provide detected symbols. The receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, may provide decoded data for the UE 120 to the data sink 260, and may provide decoded control information and system information to the controller / processor 280. The term "controller / processor" may refer to one or more controllers, one or more processors, or a combination thereof. The channel processor may determine a reference signal received power (RSRP) parameter, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) parameter, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) parameter, or a CQI parameter, among other things. In some examples, one or more components of the UE 120 may be included in a housing.

[0054] The network controller 130 may include a communication unit 294, a controller / processor 290, and a memory 292. The network controller 130 may include, for example, one or more devices in a core network. The network controller 130 may communicate with the network node 110 via the communication unit 294.

[0055] One or more antennas (e.g., antennas 234a to 234t or antennas 252a to 252r) may include or may be included in one or more antenna panels, one or more antenna groups, one or more sets of antenna elements, or one or more antenna arrays, etc. An antenna panel, set of antennas, set of antenna elements, or antenna array may include one or more antenna elements (in a single housing or multiple housings), a set of coplanar antenna elements, a set of non-coplanar antenna elements, or a plurality of antenna elements coupled to one or more transmit or receive components (such as antennas). Figure 2 One or more antenna elements of one or more components).

[0056] On the uplink, at the UE 120, the transmit processor 264 may receive and process data from the data source 262 and control information from the controller / processor 280 (e.g., for reports including RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, or CQI). The transmit processor 264 may generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be pre-decoded by the TX MIMO processor 266, where applicable, further processed by the modem 254 (e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM or CP-OFDM), and sent to the network node 110. In some examples, the modem 254 of the UE 120 may include a modulator and a demodulator. In some examples, the UE 120 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of an antenna 252, a modem 254, a MIMO detector 256, a receive processor 258, a transmit processor 264, or a TX MIMO processor 266. The transceiver may be used by a processor (eg, controller / processor 280) and memory 282 to perform aspects of any of the processes described herein.

[0057] At the network node 110, uplink signals from the UE 120 or other UEs may be received by the antenna 234, processed by the modem 232 (e.g., a demodulator component of the modem 232, shown as DEMOD), detected by the MIMO detector 236 where applicable, and further processed by the receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information transmitted via the UE 120. The receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to the data sink 239 and provide the decoded control information to the controller / processor 240. The network node 110 may include a communication unit 244 and may communicate with the network controller 130 via the communication unit 244. The network node 110 may include a scheduler 246 to schedule one or more UEs 120 for downlink or uplink communication. In some examples, the modem 232 of the network node 110 may include a modulator and a demodulator. In some examples, the network node 110 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of an antenna 234, a modem 232, a MIMO detector 236, a receive processor 238, a transmit processor 220, or a TX MIMO processor 230. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., controller / processor 240) and memory 242 to perform aspects of any of the processes described herein.

[0058] The controller / processor 240 of the network node 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, and / or Figure 2Any other component in the controller / processor 240 of the network node 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, and / or Figure 2 Any other component of the Figure 7 Method 700, Figure 8 Operations of method 800 and / or other processes as described herein. Memory 242 and memory 282 may store data and program codes for network node 110 and UE 120, respectively. In some examples, memory 242 and / or memory 282 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions (e.g., code and / or program code) for wireless communication. For example, the one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors of network node 110 and / or UE 120 (e.g., directly, or after compilation, conversion and / or interpretation), may cause the one or more processors, UE 120 and / or network node 110 to perform or direct, for example Figure 7 Method 700, Figure 8 The method 800 and / or operations of other processes as described herein. In some examples, executing instructions may include running instructions, converting instructions, compiling instructions, and / or interpreting instructions, etc.

[0059] Although Figure 2 The blocks in the 2000 and 2010 are illustrated as distinct components, but the functionality described above for these blocks may be implemented in a single hardware, software, or combined component or in various combinations of components. For example, the functionality described for the transmit processor 264, the receive processor 258, and / or the TX MIMO processor 266 may be performed by or under the control of the controller / processor 280.

[0060] As indicated above, Figure 2 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 2 The examples described are different.

[0061] The deployment of a communication system (such as a 5G NR system) can be arranged with various components or components in a variety of ways. In a 5G NR system or network, a network node, a network entity, a mobility element of a network, a RAN node, a core network node, a network element, a base station or network equipment can be implemented in an aggregated or decomposed architecture. For example, a base station (such as a node B (NB), an evolved NB (eNB), an NR base station (BS), a 5G NB, an access point (AP), a TRP or a cell, etc.) or one or more units (or one or more components) performing base station functionality can be implemented as an aggregated base station (also called an independent base station or a monolithic base station) or a decomposed base station. A "network entity" or a "network node" may refer to a decomposed base station or one or more units of a decomposed base station (such as one or more CUs, one or more DUs, one or more RUs, or a combination thereof).

[0062] An aggregated base station (e.g., an aggregated network node) may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node (e.g., within a single device or unit). A decomposed base station (e.g., a decomposed network node) may be configured to utilize a protocol stack physically or logically distributed between two or more units (such as one or more CUs, one or more DUs, or one or more RUs). In some examples, a CU may be implemented within a network node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed across one or more other network nodes. A DU may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of a CU, a DU, and a RU may also be implemented as a virtual unit, such as a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU), and the like.

[0063] Base station type operations or network designs may take into account the aggregated nature of base station functionality. For example, a decomposed base station may be utilized in an IAB network, an open radio access network (O-RAN (such as a network configuration initiated by the O-RAN Alliance)), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)) to facilitate the scaling of a communication system by separating base station functionality into one or more units that can be deployed separately. A decomposed base station may include functionality implemented across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as functionality implemented virtually for at least one unit, which may enable flexibility in network design. Individual units of a decomposed base station may be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit of the decomposed base station.

[0064] Figure 33 is a diagram illustrating an example decomposed base station architecture 300 according to the present disclosure. The decomposed base station architecture 300 may include a CU 310, which may communicate directly with a core network 320 via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 320 through one or more decomposed control units (such as a near-RT RIC 325 via an E2 link, or a non-RT RIC 315 associated with a service management and orchestration (SMO) framework 305, or both). The CU 310 may communicate with one or more DUs 330 via respective midhaul links, such as via an F1 interface. Each of the DUs 330 may communicate with one or more RUs 340 via respective fronthaul links. Each of the RUs 340 may communicate with one or more UEs 120 via respective radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, a UE 120 may be served simultaneously by multiple RUs 340.

[0065] Each of the units (including CU 310, DU 330, RU 340) and the near-RT RIC 325, non-RT RIC 315, and SMO framework 305 may include or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively referred to as signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the units or an associated processor or controller that provides instructions to one or more communication interfaces of the corresponding unit may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via a transmission medium. In some examples, each of the units may include a wired interface and a wireless interface, the wired interface being configured to receive signals or transmit signals to one or more of the other units via a wired transmission medium, and the wireless interface being configured to receive signals or transmit signals to one or more of the other units via a wireless transmission medium, or both.

[0066] In some aspects, CU 310 may host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions may include radio resource control (RRC) functions, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) functions, or service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) functions, etc. Each control function may be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by CU 310. CU 310 may be configured to handle user plane functionality (e.g., central unit-user plane (CU-UP) functionality), control plane functionality (e.g., central unit-control plane (CU-CP) functionality), or a combination thereof. In some specific implementations, CU 310 may be logically divided into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP unit may communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP unit via an interface (such as an E1 interface). As needed, CU 310 may be implemented to communicate with DU 330 for network control and signaling.

[0067] Each DU 330 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RUs 340. In some aspects, the DU 330 may host one or more of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a MAC layer, and one or more high physical (PHY) layers, at least in part, according to a functional partitioning (such as that defined by 3GPP). In some aspects, one or more high PHY layers may be implemented by one or more modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc. In some aspects, the DU 330 may also host one or more low PHY layers, such as one or more modules for fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming or physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc. Each layer (which may also be referred to as a module) may be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 330 or with control functions hosted by the CU 310.

[0068] Each RU 340 may implement lower layer functionality. In some deployments, the RU 340 controlled by the DU 330 may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions, or low PHY layer functions (such as performing FFT, performing iFFT, digital beamforming, or PRACH extraction and filtering, etc.) based on functional splitting (e.g., functional splitting defined by 3GPP). In this architecture, each RU 340 may be operated to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs 120. In some specific implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control plane communications and user plane communications with the RU 340 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 330. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable each DU 330 and CU 310 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture such as a vRAN architecture.

[0069] The SMO framework 305 may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized network elements and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 305 may be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which may be managed via an operation and maintenance interface (such as an O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 305 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) platform 390) to perform network element lifecycle management (such as instantiating virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as an O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements may include, but are not limited to, CU 310, DU 330, RU 340, non-RT RIC 315, and near-RT RIC 325. In some specific implementations, the SMO framework 305 may communicate with hardware aspects of the 4G RAN (such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 311) via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, the SMO framework 305 can communicate directly with each of the one or more RUs 340 via a corresponding O1 interface. The SMO framework 305 can also include a non-RT RIC 315 configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 305.

[0070] The non-RT RIC 315 may be configured to include logic functions that enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updating, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the near-RT RIC 325. The non-RT RIC 315 may be coupled to or in communication with the near-RT RIC 325 (such as via an A1 interface). The near-RT RIC 325 may be configured to include logic functions that enable near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions through an interface (such as via an E2 interface) that connects one or more CUs 310, one or more DUs 330, or both, and the O-eNB with the near-RT RIC 325.

[0071] In some implementations, in order to generate an AI / ML model to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 325, the non-RT RIC 315 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. Such information may be utilized by the near-RT RIC 325 and may be received from a non-network data source or from a network function at the SMO framework 305 or the non-RT RIC 315. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 315 or the near-RT RIC 325 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 315 may monitor long-term trends and patterns of performance and employ AI / ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMO framework 305 (such as via reconfiguration of the O1 interface) or via the creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 interface policies).

[0072] As indicated above, Figure 3 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 3 The examples described are different.

[0073] Figure 44 is a diagram illustrating an example 400 of power consumption associated with a zero-power communication device according to the present disclosure. Example 400 illustrates power consumption associated with a zero-power communication device (such as a passive communication device or a semi-passive communication device). As used herein, a "zero-power communication device" may refer to a completely passive communication device, a semi-passive communication device, or an active communication device. A zero-power communication device may obtain and store energy for transmission by performing energy harvesting and storage. For example, a zero-power communication device may use a storage module (such as a capacitor) to store the harvested energy (e.g., harvested using wind energy harvesting, solar energy harvesting, radio wave excitation, etc.). In some aspects, the storage module of a zero-power communication device may be non-removable, compared to a removable energy storage device such as a button battery. A passive communication device (e.g., a completely passive communication device) may communicate using, for example, backscatter communication without performing energy harvesting or storage. A semi-passive communication device may communicate using, for example, backscatter communication, and may perform energy harvesting and storage. Active communication devices may communicate using active (e.g., self-powered) transmissions, and in some aspects may perform energy harvesting and storage. Zero-power communication devices may communicate as passive communication devices (e.g., using backscatter communication), active communication devices (e.g., using transmissions powered by energy harvesting), or both. In some aspects, the zero-power communication devices described herein may perform envelope decoding or detection for reception. An envelope detector (sometimes referred to as a peak detector) is an electronic circuit that takes a (relatively) high frequency amplitude modulated signal as input and provides an output that is a demodulated envelope of the original signal. For example, a zero-power communication device may perform envelope detection using an envelope detector. Semi-passive communication devices may also be referred to as hybrid communication devices. Passive communication devices, semi-passive communication devices, hybrid communication devices, active communication devices, or zero-power communication devices may be referred to herein as devices.

[0074] In some examples, a zero-power communication device may include a passive IoT device. A zero-power communication device may use passive communication techniques (such as backscatter communication), which reduces power consumption and cost. An example of a zero-power communication device is an ultra-high frequency radio frequency identification (UHF RFID) tag that can utilize backscatter communication. A zero-power communication device may not have sufficient transmit power or receive capability to communicate directly with a network node. For example, a zero-power communication device may communicate with a UE, and the UE may facilitate the operation of the zero-power communication device. In some aspects, a zero-power communication device may include a tag, such as an RFID tag.

[0075] As shown in reference numeral 410, in some examples, the UE and the zero-power communication device may communicate in an uplink timeslot. For example, the UE may send a communication (which may be carried on a carrier (CW)) to a passive communication device in one or more uplink timeslots, or the zero-power communication device may send a communication to the UE. In some examples, the carrier may power up the zero-power communication device. In some examples, the UE and the zero-power communication device may communicate in a timeslot outside the uplink timeslot, such as a timeslot designated for zero-power device communication, a sidelink timeslot, etc. In some examples, the carrier is an unmodulated wave, such as a single-tone unmodulated wave. In some aspects, the carrier is a modulated wave.

[0076] The voltage of the zero-power communication device of example 400 is shown by reference numeral 415. In some aspects, the voltage can be an integrated circuit (IC) voltage. The passive communication device can be associated with a voltage threshold shown by reference numeral 425. If (e.g., when) the voltage of the zero-power communication device meets the voltage threshold, the zero-power communication device can be able to communicate. The voltage threshold is illustrated as a "turn-on voltage" (e.g., a voltage at which the zero-power communication device turns on or switches on one or more components to communicate).

[0077] In example 400, the voltage of the zero power communication device increases during a first time period, as indicated by reference numeral 435, such as due to harvesting energy or being powered for backscatter communication. The voltage of the zero power communication device increases to meet the voltage threshold for a time period, and then drops below the voltage threshold, as indicated by reference numeral 440, such as due to ceasing energy harvesting or ceasing powering up for backscatter communication. As indicated by reference numeral 445, the voltage of the zero power communication device increases again to meet the voltage threshold.

[0078] Communications performed by zero-power communication devices (as in example 400) may benefit from continuous time resource allocation (e.g., resource allocation that occupies continuous time resources) because the time window in which the zero-power communication device meets the voltage threshold may be unpredictable due to the passive nature of the communication of the zero-power communication device. Additionally or alternatively, the network node may schedule the communication of the zero-power communication device to include a time window for powering on the passive communication device. Communications of semi-passive communication devices may use discontinuous time resource allocation because the energy harvesting nature of the semi-passive communication device can provide some stability regarding the time when the voltage of the semi-passive communication device meets the voltage threshold. In some aspects, as described elsewhere herein, the UE may report the number of zero-power communication devices associated with the UE so that the network node can allocate appropriate resources accordingly. In some aspects, the number of zero-power communication devices may be implicitly indicated by unicast, multicast, or broadcast signaling. In some aspects, as described elsewhere herein, the UE may report the device type of one or more zero-power communication devices associated with the UE.

[0079] As indicated above, Figure 4 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 4 The examples described are different.

[0080] Figure 5 1 is a diagram illustrating an example 500 of resource allocation for zero-power communication devices according to the present disclosure. Example 500 includes a UE (e.g., UE 120) and one or more zero-power communication devices (in Figure 5 500). In some aspects, the UE is capable of full-duplex (FD) communication. Transmissions from the UE to the zero-power communication device may be referred to as occurring on a forward link (FL), and transmissions from the zero-power communication device to the UE may be referred to as occurring on a reverse link (BL). In example 500, the horizontal axis represents time. Reference numeral 510 illustrates a continuous resource allocation. Reference numerals 520 and 530 illustrate a discontinuous resource allocation. For example, as in conjunction with Figure 4 As described, the continuous resource allocation shown by reference numeral 510 may be useful for completely passive communication devices. Figure 4 As described, the discontinuous resource allocation shown by reference numeral 520 may be useful for a fully passive communication device and may include a time window during which the fully passive communication device may be powered on. For example, the discontinuous resource allocation shown by reference numeral 530 may be useful for a semi-passive communication device or an active communication device.

[0081] A network node may allocate resources, such as resources for communications associated with a zero-power communication device, based at least in part on a buffer status report (BSR). A BSR is a set of information (such as a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE)) indicating a buffer status associated with a UE. In some examples, the BSR indicates the amount of uplink data that the UE is ready to send. For example, the BSR may include a value indicating the amount of uplink data (such as a value indicating an index to a table that identifies the amount of uplink data). The UE may use the BSR to request resource allocation for communications associated with the UE. A BSR for such purposes may be referred to as a scheduling request BSR. The network node may provide a grant indicating a resource allocation based at least in part on the BSR. In some aspects, the UE may use the granted resources to communicate with one or more passive communication devices. For example, the BSR may be based at least in part on a request from an associated UE to communicate with the UE. Figure 4 and Figure 5 The resources shown by reference numerals 410, 510, 520 and / or 530 are granted by a BSR of a UE associated with a passive communication device.

[0082] A legacy BSR, such as may be used for Uu communications, may include multiple fields, such as one or more logical channel group (LCG) identifier fields and one or more buffer size fields. For example, the buffer size field may use 5 bits in a short BSR, or 8 bits in a long BSR (or multiple fields with 8 bits). The LCG identifier field may use 3 bits in a short BSR, or 8 bits in a long BSR (each bit corresponding to a different LCG).

[0083] It may be beneficial for a network node to have information about one or more devices associated with a UE (such as one or more zero-power communication devices) in order to determine a grant for the UE. For example, the network node may use information about the number of devices and / or the device type of one or more devices to determine a grant for the UE. For example, the network node may provide a grant of a larger resource allocation for a larger number of devices. As another example, the network node may provide continuous resource allocation or discontinuous resource allocation with a power-up time for a completely passive communication device, or may provide discontinuous resource allocation for a semi-passive communication device or an active communication device. However, the old BSR may not be able to convey information about one or more devices associated with the UE, such as due to overhead constraints and / or incompatibility with other UEs. In the absence of information about one or more devices associated with the UE, resource scheduling for the UE may be sub-optimal and may have a negative impact on the operation of devices such as zero-power communication devices.

[0084] Some techniques described herein provide a MAC-CE associated with communication between a UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, such as one or more zero-power communication devices. At least one of the LCG field (if present in the MAC-CE) or the buffer size field (if present in the MAC-CE) of the MAC-CE can be associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE. For the sake of brevity, the MAC-CE associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices is referred to as a zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE, but it should be understood that the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE can convey information about non-passive communication devices. By providing a zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE, the UE can convey information about one or more devices associated with the UE, such as the number of one or more devices, the device type of one or more devices, etc. Therefore, resource scheduling for UEs associated with passive communication devices is improved, and the operation of passive communication devices (such as communication and energy harvesting) is improved.

[0085] As indicated above, Figure 5 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 5 The examples described are different.

[0086] Figure 6 600 is a diagram illustrating an example of signaling associated with a zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE according to the present disclosure. As shown, the example 600 includes a UE (e.g., UE 120), one or more devices (e.g., as described with respect to Figure 4 and Figure 5 The one or more UEs 120, one or more zero-power communication devices) and a network node (e.g., network node 110) described herein. The network node may include a CU, a DU, a RU, or a combination thereof. For example, Figure 6 The network node illustrated in 600 may include multiple network nodes, which may or may not be co-located. The functionality of the network node of example 600 may be implemented according to one of various functional splits, as described elsewhere herein.

[0087] In some aspects, the UE may identify one or more devices. For example, the UE may establish a connection with one or more devices. For another example, the UE may discover (e.g., detect) one or more devices. For another example, the UE may be configured with information identifying one or more devices.

[0088] As shown by reference numeral 610, the UE may generate a zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE. For example, the MAC layer of the UE may generate a zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE. In some aspects, the UE may generate a zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE based at least in part on communication with one or more devices. For example, the UE may identify one or more parameters, such as a buffer size for communication, a communication type for communication (e.g., unicast communication, broadcast communication, or multicast communication), the number of communications with one or more devices, and the like. The UE may generate a zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE based at least in part on the one or more parameters. For example, the UE may generate a zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE comprising one or more values ​​indicating one or more parameters, as described below. As shown by reference numeral 620, the UE may send a zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE. For example, the UE may send a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) carrying a zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE. A network node (e.g., an RU of the network node or an RU associated with the network node) may receive a PUSCH carrying a zero power communication BSR MAC-CE. A network node (e.g., a MAC layer of the network node, which may be located at an RU of the network node, a DU of the network node, or a CU of the network node) may obtain the zero power communication BSR MAC-CE.

[0089] The zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE may be associated with communication between the UE and one or more devices. For example, the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE may include a header or another field indicating that the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE is associated with communication between the UE and one or more devices. As another example, one or more fields of the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE may be sized and / or configured based on the size or configuration of the BSR MAC-CE for indicating one or more parameters associated with one or more devices. Therefore, the network node may determine that the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE is used for communication with one or more devices (such as passive IoT communication), rather than Uu communication with the network node or another network node.

[0090] The zero power communication BSR MAC-CE may include a buffer size field. The buffer size field may be based at least in part on a zero power communication BSR MAC-CE associated with communication between the UE and one or more devices. For example, the size of the buffer size field (e.g., the number of bits of the buffer size field) may be based at least in part on a zero power communication BSR MAC-CE associated with communication between the UE and one or more devices. In this example, the buffer size field may have a first number of bits, and the buffer size field associated with the Uu communication of the UE (e.g., uplink communication with a network node) may have a second number of bits. The first number of bits may be less than the second number of bits. For example, the buffer size field of the zero power communication BSR MAC-CE may include 4 bits. Therefore, the buffer size field may be smaller than the buffer size field used for Uu communication (such as OFDM-Uu communication), which reduces overhead relative to the buffer size field used for Uu communication. Furthermore, communications with a zero power communication device may typically be small in size (e.g., typically in the range of a few hundred bytes, compared to Uu communications which may include tens or hundreds of kilobytes), and storage at the zero power communication device may typically be limited (e.g., on the order of a few kilobytes (kB)), and thus a smaller buffer size field may provide sufficient addressable buffer size while reducing overhead.

[0091] The buffer size field of the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE may indicate the buffer size. In some aspects, the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE may indicate the buffer size by reference to a table. In some aspects, the table may be specific to the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE. For example, the BSR MAC-CE for Uu communication may use a first table, and the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE may use a second table different from the first table. In some aspects, the table may include a portion of the table of the BSR MAC-CE for Uu communication. As just one example, the BSR MAC-CE for Uu communication may use Table 1, and the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE (using a 4-bit buffer size field) may use Table 2, as shown below:

[0092] index BS value index BS value index BS value index BS value 0 0 8 ≤102 16 ≤1446 24 ≤20516 1 ≤10 9 ≤142 17 ≤2014 25 ≤28581 2 ≤14 10 ≤198 18 ≤2806 26 ≤39818 3 ≤20 11 ≤276 19 ≤3909 27 ≤55474 4 ≤28 12 ≤384 20 ≤5446 28 ≤77284 5 ≤38 13 ≤535 21 ≤7587 29 ≤107669 6 ≤53 14 ≤745 22 ≤10570 30 ≤150000 7 ≤74 15 ≤1038 23 ≤14726 31 >150000

[0093] Table 1: Buffer size levels (in bytes) for the 5-bit buffer size field .

[0094] index BS value index BS value 0 0 8 ≤102 1 ≤10 9 ≤142 2 ≤14 10 ≤198 3 ≤20 11 ≤276 4 ≤28 12 ≤384 5 ≤38 13 ≤535 6 ≤53 14 ≤745 7 ≤74 15 ≤1038

[0095] Table 2: Buffer size levels (in bytes) for a 4-bit buffer size field .

[0096] As shown, Table 2 provides an indication of a subset of buffer sizes compared to Table 1. Thus, the buffer size field of the zero power communication BSR MAC-CE may indicate up to a first buffer size (in Table 2, 1038 bytes), and the buffer size field associated with the Uu communication of the UE may indicate a second buffer size (in Table 1, greater than 150,000 bytes or 150,000 bytes). It should be noted that Table 2 is provided as an example, and one or more buffer sizes of Table 2 or the number of entries and indexes included in Table 2 may vary. For example, the buffer size field of the zero power communication BSR MAC-CE may include less than 4 bits.

[0097] In some aspects, the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE may omit the buffer size field. In some aspects, the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE may indicate a command associated with communication between the UE and one or more devices, such as a read command to read data from the device, a write command to write data to the device, a start command for communication, an end command for communication, or a query about the status of the device. Additionally or alternatively, the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE may indicate the type of information associated with the communication. For example, the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE may indicate the type of information in the UE's buffer, the type of information to be communicated between the UE and the device, etc. The network node may determine a grant (such as a resource allocation) based at least in part on a command (e.g., a size associated with the command) or an information type (e.g., a size associated with communication using the information type).

[0098] In some aspects, the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE may indicate the number of devices of one or more devices. For example, the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE (in some examples, the buffer size field of the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE) may include a field indicating the number of devices. In some aspects, the field may explicitly indicate the number of devices. In some aspects, the field may indicate a digital range. The digital range may include the number of devices. For example, if there are 50 devices, the field may indicate an index corresponding to a digital range (e.g., 25-75, 1-100, or another range) selected from a plurality of digital ranges including the number of devices (e.g., 50). Therefore, relative to explicitly indicating the number of devices, the overhead of the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE can be reduced.

[0099] In some aspects, the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE may have a first field indicating a device type (e.g., passive, semi-passive, a combination of passive and semi-passive), a second field indicating a buffer size (e.g., including three bits), and a third field indicating the number of devices. For example, a first value of the third field may indicate zero devices (e.g., no device requires a response from the UE), a second value of the third field may indicate one device (e.g., for unicast communication), a third value of the third field may indicate a first range of numbers (e.g., 1 to 10 devices), a fourth value of the third field may indicate a second range of numbers (e.g., 11 to 100 devices), and / or a fifth value of the third field may indicate an unknown number of devices.

[0100] In some aspects, the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE may include an LCG field. LCG is a group of logical channels. A BSR (e.g., a BSR associated with Uu communication) may indicate a buffer size associated with a particular LCG. A particular LCG may be identified by the LCG field of the BSR. In some aspects, the LCG field of the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE may be smaller than the LCG field of the BSR MAC-CE associated with Uu communication. For example, the LCG field of the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE may have a first number of bits, and the LCG field associated with the Uu communication of the UE (e.g., the LCG field of the BSR MAC-CE associated with Uu communication) may have a second number of bits, wherein the first number of bits is less than the second number of bits. In one example, the first number of bits may be 1 bit, which means that the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE may indicate 2 LCGs. In some aspects, the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE may omit the LCG field. For example, the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE may not include the LCG field.

[0101] As shown in reference numeral 630, a network node (e.g., an RU of the network node or an RU associated with the network node) may send a grant. For example, the network node may output (e.g., send or provide for sending) one or more grants. The grant may indicate a resource allocation. For example, the network node (e.g., a DU of the network node) may determine the grant and / or resource allocation based at least in part on the zero power communication BSR MAC-CE. In some aspects, the number and / or arrangement of resources allocated by the resource may be based at least in part on the buffer size indicated by the zero power communication BSR MAC-CE. In some aspects, the number and / or arrangement of resources allocated by the resource may be based at least in part on the LCG indicated by the zero power communication BSR MAC-CE. In some aspects, the number and / or arrangement of resources allocated by the resource may be based at least in part on the device type of one or more devices. For example, a network node may provide continuous resources for a completely passive communication device, or may provide discontinuous resources for a semi-passive communication device or an active communication device. In some aspects, the number of resources allocated by the resource may be based at least in part on the number of devices of one or more devices. For example, the network node may provide a larger resource allocation for a larger number of devices and may provide a smaller resource allocation for a smaller number of devices. In some aspects, the number and / or arrangement of resources of the resource allocation may be based at least in part on the type of information or command indicated by the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE. For example, the network node may determine the number of resources of the resource allocation based at least in part on a size associated with the type of information or command.

[0102] As shown in reference numeral 640, the UE may communicate at least in part based on a zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE. For example, the UE may receive a grant sent by a network node. The UE may communicate with one or more devices at least in part based on a zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE. For example, the UE may use the resources indicated by the grant to send communications to the device. As another example, the UE may receive communications from the device using the resources indicated by the grant. Therefore, the UE may communicate with one or more devices using one or more grants output by the network node. In this way, the UE may report one or more parameters associated with one or more devices to the zero-power communication BSR MAC-CE. The network node may use the one or more parameters to determine and / or output a grant for the UE. The grant may indicate resources for communication between the UE and one or more devices. Therefore, the operation and efficiency of one or more devices are improved, and the overhead associated with BSR transmission is reduced.

[0103] As indicated above, Figure 6 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 6 The examples described are different.

[0104] Figure 7 7 is a flow chart of an example method 700 of wireless communication. The method 700 may be performed by, for example, a UE (eg, UE 120).

[0105] At 710, the UE may generate a MAC-CE associated with communications between the UE and one or more devices associated with the UE. For example, the UE (eg, using the communications manager 140, Fig. 9 In some aspects, the one or more devices include at least one zero-power communication device. For example, the one or more devices may be one or more zero-power communication devices.

[0106] At 720, the UE may send a MAC-CE associated with communication between the UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of an LCG field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE. Fig. 9 The communication manager 140 and / or the sending component 904 depicted in FIG. 1 may send a MAC-CE associated with communication between the UE and one or more devices associated with the UE. At least one of the LCG field (if present) or the buffer size field (if present) of the MAC-CE is associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE, as described above in conjunction with, for example, Figure 6 and as described at 610 and 620. In some aspects, the MAC-CE indicates a device type of one or more devices.

[0107] In some aspects, the buffer size field has a first number of bits and the buffer size field associated with Uu communications of the UE has a second number of bits, wherein the first number of bits is less than the second number of bits. In some aspects, the buffer size field may indicate up to a first buffer size and the buffer size field associated with Uu communications of the UE may indicate up to a second buffer size, wherein the first buffer size is less than the second buffer size.

[0108] In some aspects, the buffer size field indicates a command associated with the communication. In some aspects, the buffer size field indicates an information type associated with the communication, wherein the information type includes at least one of a read information type, a write information type, an information type indicating the start of the communication, or an information type indicating the end of the communication. In some aspects, the buffer size field includes a field indicating a device number of one or more devices. In some aspects, the field indicates a numeric range selected from a plurality of numeric ranges including the number of devices.

[0109] In some aspects, the LCG field has a first number of bits and the LCG field associated with Uu communications of the UE has a second number of bits, wherein the first number of bits is less than the second number of bits. In some other aspects, the MAC-CE omits the LCG field based at least in part on the MAC-CE being associated with communications between the UE and one or more devices.

[0110] At 730, the UE may communicate based at least in part on the MAC-CE. For example, the UE (e.g., using Fig. 9 The communication manager 140 and / or the sending component 904 depicted in FIG. 1 may communicate based at least in part on MAC-CE, as described above in conjunction with, for example, Figure 6 and as described at 640. In some aspects, the UE may send communications to one or more devices. In some aspects, the UE may send a carrier to one or more devices. In some aspects, the UE may receive communications from one or more devices. In some aspects, the communications based at least in part on the MAC-CE also include performing communications with the one or more devices. In some aspects, the communications use one or more grants associated with the MAC-CE.

[0111] although Figure 7 An example block diagram of method 700 is shown, but in some aspects, method 700 may include Figure 7 The blocks depicted in the method 700 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or blocks arranged in a different manner than those depicted in the method 700. Additionally or alternatively, two or more of the blocks in the method 700 may be executed in parallel.

[0112] Figure 8 8 is a flow diagram of an example method 800 of wireless communication. The method 800 may be performed by, for example, a network node or a group of network nodes (eg, network node 110).

[0113] At 810, the network node may obtain a MAC-CE associated with communication between a UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of an LCG field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE. Fig.10 The communication manager 150 and / or receiving component 1002 depicted in the figure may obtain a MAC-CE associated with communication between a UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of an LCG field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE, as described above in conjunction with, for example Figure 6 and as described at 620. In some aspects, the MAC-CE indicates a device type of one or more devices.

[0114] In some aspects, the buffer size field has a first number of bits and the buffer size field associated with Uu communications of the UE has a second number of bits, wherein the first number of bits is less than the second number of bits. In some aspects, the buffer size field may indicate up to a first buffer size and the buffer size field associated with Uu communications of the UE may indicate up to a second buffer size, wherein the first buffer size is less than the second buffer size.

[0115] In some aspects, the LCG field has a first number of bits and the LCG field associated with Uu communications of the UE has a second number of bits, wherein the first number of bits is less than the second number of bits. In some aspects, the MAC-CE omits the LCG field based at least in part on the MAC-CE being associated with communications between the UE and one or more devices.

[0116] In some aspects, the one or more devices include at least one zero-power communication device.

[0117] In some aspects, the buffer size field indicates a command associated with the communication. In some aspects, the buffer size field indicates an information type associated with the communication, wherein the information type includes at least one of a read information type, a write information type, an information type indicating the start of the communication, or an information type indicating the end of the communication. In some aspects, the buffer size field includes a field indicating a device number of one or more devices. In some aspects, the field indicates a numeric range selected from a plurality of numeric ranges including the number of devices.

[0118] At 820, the network node may generate one or more grants based at least in part on the MAC-CE. For example, the network node (e.g., using Fig.10The communication manager 150 and / or the scheduling component 1008 depicted in FIG. 1004 may generate one or more grants. The one or more grants and / or one or more resource allocations of the one or more grants may be based at least in part on the MAC-CE, such as in conjunction with Figure 6 As described at 630 .

[0119] At 830, the network node may output one or more grants based at least in part on the MAC-CE. Fig.10 The communication manager 150 and / or the sending component 1004 depicted in FIG. 1004 may output (eg, send or provide for sending) one or more grants based at least in part on the MAC-CE, as described above in conjunction with, for example, Figure 6 And as described at 630 .

[0120] although Figure 8 An example block diagram of method 800 is shown, but in some aspects, method 800 may include Figure 8 The blocks depicted in the method 800 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or blocks arranged in a different manner than those depicted in the method 800. Additionally or alternatively, two or more of the blocks in the method 800 may be executed in parallel.

[0121] Fig. 9 is a diagram of an example apparatus 900 for wireless communication according to the present disclosure. Apparatus 900 may be a UE, or a UE may include apparatus 900. In some aspects, apparatus 900 includes a receiving component 902 and a transmitting component 904 that may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses and / or one or more other components). As shown, apparatus 900 may use receiving component 902 and transmitting component 904 to communicate with another apparatus 906 (such as a UE, a base station, a zero-power communication device, or another wireless communication device). As further shown, apparatus 900 may include a communication manager 140. Communication manager 140 may include a reporting component 908, among other things.

[0122] In some aspects, the apparatus 900 may be configured to perform Figures 3 to 6 Additionally or alternatively, the apparatus 900 may be configured to perform one or more of the processes described herein (such as Figure 7 In some aspects, the apparatus 900 and / or Fig. 9 One or more of the components shown may include a combination of Figure 2 Additionally or alternatively, Fig. 9 One or more of the components shown may be combined with Figure 2Additionally or alternatively, one or more components in the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and may be executed by a controller or processor to perform the function or operation of the component.

[0123] The receiving component 902 may receive communications from the device 906, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof. The receiving component 902 may provide the received communications to one or more other components of the device 900. In some aspects, the receiving component 902 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, demapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, etc.) on the received communications and may provide the processed signals to one or more other components of the device 900. In some aspects, the receiving component 902 may include combining Figure 2 One or more antennas, modems, demodulators, MIMO detectors, receive processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the described UE.

[0124] The transmitting component 904 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof, to the device 906. In some aspects, one or more other components of the device 900 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmitting component 904 for transmission to the device 906. In some aspects, the transmitting component 904 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, etc.) on the generated communications and may transmit the processed signals to the device 906. In some aspects, the transmitting component 904 may include combining Figure 2 One or more antennas, modems, modulators, transmit MIMO processors, transmit processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the described UE. In some aspects, the transmit component 904 can be co-located with the receive component 902 in a transceiver.

[0125] The sending component 904 or the reporting component 908 can send a MAC-CE associated with communication between the UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of an LCG field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE. The sending component 904 can communicate based at least in part on the MAC-CE.

[0126] Fig. 9 The number and arrangement of components shown are provided as examples. In practice, there may be Fig. 9Additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged in a different manner than those shown. Fig. 9 Two or more components shown may be implemented in a single component, or Fig. 9 The single component shown may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, Fig. 9 The component set (one or more components) shown may be described as being executable by Fig. 9 Another component shown may be a collection of components that perform one or more functions.

[0127] Fig.10 1 is a diagram of an example apparatus 1000 for wireless communication according to the present disclosure. Apparatus 1000 may be a network node, or a network node may include apparatus 1000. In some aspects, apparatus 1000 includes a receiving component 1002 and a sending component 1004 that may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses and / or one or more other components). As shown, apparatus 1000 may communicate with another apparatus 1006 (such as a UE, a network node, or a wireless communication device) using receiving component 1002 and sending component 1004. As further shown, apparatus 1000 may include a communication manager 150. Communication manager 150 may include a scheduling component 1008, etc.

[0128] In some aspects, the apparatus 1000 may be configured to perform Figures 3 to 6 Additionally or alternatively, the apparatus 1000 may be configured to perform one or more of the processes described herein (such as Figure 8 In some aspects, Fig.10 The device 1000 and / or one or more components shown may include a combination of Figure 2 Additionally or alternatively, Fig.10 One or more of the components shown may be combined with Figure 2 Additionally or alternatively, one or more components in the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and may be executed by a controller or processor to perform the function or operation of the component.

[0129] The receiving component 1002 may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof, from the device 1006. The receiving component 1002 may provide the received communications to one or more other components of the device 1000. In some aspects, the receiving component 1002 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, demapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, etc.) on the received communications and may provide the processed signals to one or more other components of the device 1000. In some aspects, the receiving component 1002 may include combining Figure 2 One or more antennas, modems, demodulators, MIMO detectors, receive processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof, of the described network nodes.

[0130] The transmitting component 1004 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof, to the device 1006. In some aspects, one or more other components of the device 1000 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmitting component 1004 for transmission to the device 1006. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1004 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, etc.) on the generated communications and may transmit the processed signals to the device 1006. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1004 may include combining Figure 2 One or more antennas, modems, modulators, transmit MIMO processors, transmit processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the described network nodes. In some aspects, the transmit component 1004 may be co-located with the receive component 1002 in a transceiver. In some aspects, the receive component 1002 and / or the transmit component 1004 may communicate via a transceiver (e.g., transceiver 1230). Additionally or alternatively, the receive component 1002 and / or the transmit component 1004 may communicate via a network interface (e.g., network interface 1240).

[0131] The receiving component 1002 can obtain a MAC-CE associated with communication between a UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of an LCG field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE. The scheduling component 1008 can generate one or more grants. The sending component 1004 can output one or more grants based at least in part on the MAC-CE.

[0132] Fig.10 The number and arrangement of components shown are provided as examples. In practice, there may be Fig.10Additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged in a different manner than those shown. Fig.10 Two or more components shown may be implemented in a single component, or Fig.10 The single component shown may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, Fig.10 The component set (one or more components) shown may be described as being executable by Fig.10 Another component shown may be a collection of components that perform one or more functions.

[0133] Fig.11 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example 1100 of a hardware implementation of an apparatus 1105 employing a processing system 1110 according to the present disclosure. The apparatus 1105 may be a UE.

[0134] The processing system 1110 may be implemented using a bus architecture, generally represented by bus 1115. Bus 1115 may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges, depending on the specific application of the processing system 1110 and the overall design constraints. Bus 1115 links together various circuits including one or more processors and / or hardware components (represented by processor 1120, illustrated components, and computer readable media / memory 1125). Bus 1115 may also link various other circuits, such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and / or power management circuits.

[0135] The processing system 1110 may be coupled to a transceiver 1130. The transceiver 1130 is coupled to one or more antennas 1135. The transceiver 1130 provides a means for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium. The transceiver 1130 receives signals from the one or more antennas 1135, extracts information from the received signals, and provides the extracted information to the processing system 1110, specifically the receiving component 902. In addition, the transceiver 1130 receives information from the processing system 1110 (specifically the transmitting component 904) and generates a signal to be applied to the one or more antennas 1135 based at least in part on the received information.

[0136] The processing system 1110 includes a processor 1120 coupled to a computer-readable medium / memory 1125. The processor 1120 is responsible for general processing, including executing software stored on the computer-readable medium / memory 1125. The software, when executed by the processor 1120, causes the processing system 1110 to perform various functions described herein for any particular device. The computer-readable medium / memory 1125 may also be used to store data manipulated by the processor 1120 when executing the software. The processing system also includes at least one of the illustrated components. A component may be: a software module running in the processor 1120, resident / stored in the computer-readable medium / memory 1125, one or more hardware modules coupled to the processor 1120, or some combination thereof.

[0137] In some aspects, the processing system 1110 may be a component of the UE 120 and may include the memory 282, and / or at least one of the TX MIMO processor 266, the RX processor 258, and / or the controller / processor 280. In some aspects, the apparatus 1105 for wireless communication includes: a means for sending a MAC-CE associated with communication between the UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of the LCG field or the buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE; and / or a means for communicating based at least in part on the MAC-CE. The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned components of the processing system 1110 of the apparatus 900 and / or the apparatus 1105 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. As described elsewhere herein, the processing system 1110 may include the TX MIMO processor 266, the RX processor 258, and / or the controller / processor 280. In one configuration, the aforementioned means may be the TX MIMO processor 266, the RX processor 258, and / or the controller / processor 280 configured to perform the functions and / or operations stated herein.

[0138] Fig.11 are provided as examples. Other examples can be combined with Fig.11 The examples described are different.

[0139] Fig.12 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example 1200 of a hardware implementation for an apparatus 1205 employing a processing system 1210 according to the present disclosure. The apparatus 1205 may be a network node or a group of network nodes.

[0140] The processing system 1210 may be implemented using a bus architecture, generally represented by bus 1215. Bus 1215 may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges, depending on the specific application of the processing system 1210 and the overall design constraints. Bus 1215 links together various circuits including one or more processors and / or hardware components (represented by processor 1220, illustrated components, and computer readable media / memory 1225). Bus 1215 may also link various other circuits, such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and / or power management circuits.

[0141] In some examples, the processing system 1210 may be coupled to a transceiver 1230. The transceiver 1230 is coupled to one or more antennas 1235. The transceiver 1230 provides a means for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium. The transceiver 1230 receives signals from the one or more antennas 1235, extracts information from the received signals, and provides the extracted information to the processing system 1210, specifically the receiving component 1002. In addition, the transceiver 1230 receives information from the processing system 1210 (specifically the transmitting component 1004) and generates a signal to be applied to the one or more antennas 1235 based at least in part on the received information. In some examples, the processing system 1210 may be coupled to a network interface 1240. The network interface 1240 is configured to communicate with the processing system 1210 via a communication link (such as described herein such as with respect to Figure 3 The described backhaul link, midhaul link, and / or fronthaul link) obtains and transmits signals for the device 1205. The network interface 1240 provides a means for communicating (eg, outputting and / or obtaining information) with various other devices through one or more communication links.

[0142] The processing system 1210 includes a processor 1220 coupled to a computer-readable medium / memory 1225. The processor 1220 is responsible for general processing, including executing software stored on the computer-readable medium / memory 1225. The software, when executed by the processor 1220, causes the processing system 1210 to perform various functions described herein for any particular device. The computer-readable medium / memory 1225 may also be used to store data manipulated by the processor 1220 when executing the software. The processing system also includes at least one of the illustrated components. A component may be: a software module running in the processor 1220, resident / stored in the computer-readable medium / memory 1225, one or more hardware modules coupled to the processor 1220, or some combination thereof.

[0143] In some aspects, the processing system 1210 may be a component of the network node 110 and may include the memory 242 and / or at least one of the TX MIMO processor 230, the RX processor 238, and / or the controller / processor 240. In some aspects, the apparatus 1205 for wireless communication includes: a means for obtaining a MAC-CE associated with communication between a UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of an LCG field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE; and / or a means for outputting one or more grants based at least in part on the MAC-CE. The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned components of the processing system 1210 of the apparatus 1000 and / or the apparatus 1205 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. As described elsewhere herein, the processing system 1210 may include the TX MIMO processor 230, the receive processor 238, and / or the controller / processor 240. In one configuration, the aforementioned means may be the TX MIMO processor 230, the receive processor 238, and / or the controller / processor 240 configured to perform the functions and / or operations stated herein.

[0144] Fig.12 are provided as examples. Other examples can be combined with Fig.12 The examples described are different.

[0145] The following provides an overview of some aspects of the disclosure:

[0146] Aspect 1: A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: sending a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) associated with communication between the UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of a logical channel group (LCG) field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE; and communicating based at least in part on the MAC-CE.

[0147] Aspect 2: The method according to aspect 1, wherein the buffer size field has a first number of bits and the buffer size field associated with the Uu communication of the UE has a second number of bits, wherein the first number of bits is less than the second number of bits.

[0148] Aspect 3: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 2, wherein the buffer size field may indicate up to a first buffer size, and the buffer size field associated with the Uu communication of the UE may indicate up to a second buffer size, wherein the first buffer size is smaller than the second buffer size.

[0149] Aspect 4: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 3, wherein the LCG field has a first number of bits and the LCG field associated with the Uu communication of the UE has a second number of bits, wherein the first number of bits is less than the second number of bits.

[0150] Aspect 5: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 4, wherein the MAC-CE omits the LCG field based at least in part on the MAC-CE being associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices.

[0151] Aspect 6: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 5, wherein the one or more devices include at least one of the following: one or more passive communication devices, one or more semi-passive communication devices, or one or more zero power tags.

[0152] Aspect 7: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 6, wherein the buffer size field indicates a command associated with the communication.

[0153] Aspect 8: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 7, wherein the buffer size field indicates an information type associated with the communication, wherein the information type includes at least one of the following: a read information type, a write information type, an information type indicating the start of the communication, or an information type indicating the end of the communication.

[0154] Aspect 9: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 8, wherein the buffer size field includes a field indicating the number of devices of the one or more devices.

[0155] Aspect 10: The method according to aspect 9, wherein the field indicates a numeric range selected from a plurality of numeric ranges including the number of devices.

[0156] Aspect 11: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 10, wherein the communication based at least in part on the MAC-CE further includes performing the communication with the one or more devices.

[0157] Aspect 12: The method according to aspect 11, wherein the communicating uses one or more grants associated with the MAC-CE.

[0158] Aspect 13: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 12, wherein the MAC-CE indicates a device type of the one or more devices.

[0159] Aspect 14: A method of wireless communication performed by a network node, the method comprising: obtaining a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) associated with communication between a user equipment (UE) and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of a logical channel group (LCG) field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE; and outputting one or more grants based at least in part on the MAC-CE.

[0160] Aspect 15: A method according to aspect 14, wherein the buffer size field has a first number of bits and the buffer size field associated with the Uu communication of the UE has a second number of bits, wherein the first number of bits is less than the second number of bits.

[0161] Aspect 16: A method according to any one of Aspects 14 to 15, wherein the buffer size field may indicate up to a first buffer size, and the buffer size field associated with the Uu communication of the UE may indicate up to a second buffer size, wherein the first buffer size is smaller than the second buffer size.

[0162] Aspect 17: A method according to any one of Aspects 14 to 16, wherein the LCG field has a first number of bits and the LCG field associated with the Uu communication of the UE has a second number of bits, wherein the first number of bits is less than the second number of bits.

[0163] Aspect 18: The method according to any one of aspects 14 to 17, wherein the MAC-CE omits the LCG field based at least in part on the MAC-CE being associated with communication between the UE and the one or more devices.

[0164] Aspect 19: The method according to any one of aspects 14 to 18, wherein the one or more devices include at least one of the following: one or more passive communication devices, one or more semi-passive communication devices, or one or more zero power tags.

[0165] Aspect 20: The method according to any one of aspects 14 to 19, wherein the buffer size field indicates a command associated with the communication.

[0166] Aspect 21: A method according to any one of Aspects 14 to 20, wherein the buffer size field indicates an information type associated with the communication, wherein the information type includes at least one of the following: a read information type, a write information type, an information type indicating the start of the communication, or an information type indicating the end of the communication.

[0167] Aspect 22: The method according to any one of aspects 14 to 21, wherein the buffer size field includes a field indicating the number of devices of the one or more devices.

[0168] Aspect 23: The method according to aspect 22, wherein the field indicates a numeric range selected from a plurality of numeric ranges including the number of devices.

[0169] Aspect 24: The method according to any one of aspects 14 to 23, wherein the MAC-CE indicates a device type of the one or more devices.

[0170] Aspect 25: An apparatus for performing wireless communications at a device, the apparatus comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform one or more of the methods described in Aspects 1 to 24.

[0171] Aspect 26: A device for wireless communication, the device comprising a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors configured to perform the method according to one or more of aspects 1 to 24.

[0172] Aspect 27: An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising at least one means for performing the method according to one or more of aspects 1 to 24.

[0173] Aspect 28: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method according to one or more of aspects 1 to 24.

[0174] Aspect 29: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication, the instruction set comprising one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform one or more of the methods described in aspects 1 to 24.

[0175] The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the foregoing disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the various aspects.

[0176] As used herein, the term "component" is intended to be broadly interpreted as hardware, and / or a combination of hardware and software. Whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language or other names, "software" should be broadly interpreted as meaning instructions, instruction sets, codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subroutines, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, execution threads, procedures and / or functions, etc. As used herein, "processor" is implemented by a combination of hardware and / or hardware and software. It will be apparent that the systems and / or methods described herein can be implemented by a combination of hardware and / or hardware and software in different forms. The actual dedicated control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods does not limit various aspects. Therefore, the operation and behavior of the system and / or method are not described herein with reference to specific software codes, because it will be understood by those skilled in the art that software and hardware can be designed to implement the system and / or method at least in part based on the description herein.

[0177] As used herein, "satisfying a threshold" may refer to a value being greater than a threshold, greater than or equal to a threshold, less than a threshold, less than or equal to a threshold, equal to a threshold, not equal to a threshold, etc., depending on the context.

[0178] Although the specific combination of features is stated in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of various aspects. Many of these features can be combined in a manner not specifically stated in the claims and / or not disclosed in the specification. The disclosure of various aspects includes each dependent claim combined with each other claim in the claim set. As used herein, the phrase "at least one of" the list of items refers to any combination of these items (it includes a single member). As an example, "at least one of a, b or c" is intended to cover a, b, c, a+b, a+c, b+c and a+b+c, and any combination with multiple identical elements (for example, a+a, a+a+a, a+a+b, a+a+c, a+b+b, a+c+c, b+b, b+b+b, b+b+c, c+c and c+c+c, or any other sorting of a, b and c).

[0179] Any element, action or instruction used herein should not be interpreted as key or necessary, unless clearly stated. In addition, as used herein, the article "one" is intended to include one or more items, and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". In addition, as used herein, the article "said" is intended to include one or more items connected with the article "said", and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". In addition, as used herein, the terms "set" and "group" are intended to include one or more items, and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". If only want to refer to a project, the phrase "only one" or similar terms will be used. In addition, as used herein, the terms "have", "have", "have" etc. are intended to be open terms, which do not limit the elements they modify (for example, "an element with" A can also have B). In addition, the phrase "based on" is intended to represent "based at least in part on", unless explicitly stated otherwise. Furthermore, as used herein, the term "or" when used in a series is intended to be open-ended and can be used interchangeably with "and / or" unless expressly stated otherwise (eg, if used in conjunction with "either" or "only one of").

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, the user equipment (UE) comprising: Memory; and one or more processors coupled to the memory and configured to: sending a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) associated with communications between the UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of a logical channel group (LCG) field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communications between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE; as well as Communicating is performed based at least in part on the MAC-CE.

2. The UE of claim 1, wherein the buffer size field has a first number of bits and a buffer size field associated with Uu communications of the UE has a second number of bits, wherein the first number of bits is less than the second number of bits.

3. The UE of claim 1 , wherein the buffer size field may indicate up to a first buffer size, and a buffer size field associated with Uu communications of the UE may indicate up to a second buffer size, wherein the first buffer size is smaller than the second buffer size.

4. The UE of claim 1, wherein the LCG field has a first number of bits and an LCG field associated with Uu communications of the UE has a second number of bits, wherein the first number of bits is less than the second number of bits.

5. The UE of claim 1, wherein the MAC-CE omits the LCG field based at least in part on the MAC-CE being associated with communications between the UE and the one or more devices. The UE of claim 1 , wherein the one or more devices include at least one zero-power communication device.

7. The UE of claim 1, wherein the buffer size field indicates a command associated with the communication.

8. The UE of claim 1, wherein the buffer size field indicates a type of information associated with the communication. 9 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the buffer size field comprises a field indicating a number of devices of the one or more devices. 10 . The UE according to claim 9 , wherein the field indicates a numeric range selected from a plurality of numeric ranges including the number of devices.

11. The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors that communicate based at least in part on the MAC-CE are configured to perform the communication with the one or more devices.

12. The UE of claim 1, wherein the communicating uses one or more grants associated with the MAC-CE.

13. The UE of claim 1, wherein the MAC-CE indicates a device type of the one or more devices.

14. A network node for wireless communication, the network node comprising: Memory; and one or more processors coupled to the memory and configured to: obtaining a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) associated with communications between a user equipment (UE) and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of a logical channel group (LCG) field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communications between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE; as well as One or more grants are output based at least in part on the MAC-CE.

15. The network node of claim 14, wherein the buffer size field has a first number of bits and a buffer size field associated with Uu communications of the UE has a second number of bits, wherein the first number of bits is less than the second number of bits.

16. The network node of claim 14, wherein the buffer size field may indicate up to a first buffer size and a buffer size field associated with Uu communications of the UE may indicate up to a second buffer size, wherein the first buffer size is smaller than the second buffer size.

17. The network node of claim 14, wherein the LCG field has a first number of bits and an LCG field associated with Uu communications of the UE has a second number of bits, wherein the first number of bits is less than the second number of bits.

18. The network node of claim 14, wherein the MAC-CE omits the LCG field based at least in part on the MAC-CE being associated with communications between the UE and the one or more devices.

19. The network node of claim 14, wherein the one or more devices include at least one zero-power communication device.

20. The network node of claim 14, wherein the buffer size field indicates a command associated with the communication.

21. The network node of claim 14, wherein the buffer size field indicates a type of information associated with the communication.

22. The network node of claim 14, wherein the buffer size field comprises a field indicating a number of devices of the one or more devices.

23. The network node of claim 22, wherein the field indicates a numeric range selected from a plurality of numeric ranges including the number of devices.

24. The network node of claim 14, wherein the MAC-CE indicates a device type of the one or more devices.

25. A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: sending a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) associated with communications between the UE and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of a logical channel group (LCG) field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communications between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE; as well as Communicating is performed based at least in part on the MAC-CE.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the buffer size field has a first number of bits and a buffer size field associated with Uu communications of the UE has a second number of bits, wherein the first number of bits is less than the second number of bits.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the buffer size field may indicate up to a first buffer size and a buffer size field associated with Uu communications of the UE may indicate up to a second buffer size, wherein the first buffer size is smaller than the second buffer size.

28. A method of wireless communication performed by a network node, the method comprising: obtaining a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) associated with communications between a user equipment (UE) and one or more devices associated with the UE, wherein at least one of a logical channel group (LCG) field or a buffer size field of the MAC-CE is associated with communications between the UE and the one or more devices based at least in part on the MAC-CE; as well as One or more grants are output based at least in part on the MAC-CE.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the buffer size field has a first number of bits and a buffer size field associated with Uu communications of the UE has a second number of bits, wherein the first number of bits is less than the second number of bits.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein the buffer size field may indicate up to a first buffer size and a buffer size field associated with Uu communications of the UE may indicate up to a second buffer size, wherein the first buffer size is less than the second buffer size.

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