Slot format configuration for smart nodes

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to slot format configuration for a smart node, comprising receiving, by a network node from a wireless communication node, configuration information indicating a type of a plurality of first symbols in a slot, the type comprising at least one of a downlink symbol, an uplink symbol, or a special symbol.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media for time slot format configuration for intelligent nodes. Background Art

[0002] Coverage is a fundamental aspect of cellular network deployment. Mobile operators rely on comprehensive coverage to provide reliable cellular network deployment. Therefore, new network nodes are needed to increase the flexibility of mobile operators' network deployment. Summary of the invention

[0003] An example arrangement relates to a slot format configuration of an intelligent node. A wireless communication method may include receiving, by a network node, configuration information from a wireless communication node, the configuration information indicating a type of a plurality of first symbols in a slot, wherein the type comprises at least one of: a downlink symbol, an uplink symbol, or a special symbol.

[0004] The special symbol may cause the network node to perform one or more of the following: optionally forwarding based on the special symbol, sensing based on the special symbol, switching between DL and UL based on the special symbol, beam switching based on the special symbol, switching between ON state and OFF state based on the special symbol, and being turned off based on the special symbol.

[0005] The method may include receiving, by a network node, configuration information from a wireless communication node via signaling, wherein the signaling includes at least one of: system information, radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control element (MAC CE) signaling, or downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

[0006] For example, the configuration information does not indicate the type of the plurality of second symbols in the time slot as downlink symbols or uplink symbols.

[0007] The method may include determining, by the network node, the type of the second symbol as a special symbol. The method may include determining, by the network node, the type of the second symbol as a flexible symbol.

[0008] For example, the type of some or all of the second symbols in the second symbol is configured as a special symbol. For example, the type of all the second symbols in the second symbol is a special symbol. For example, the type of some of the second symbols in the second symbol is configured as a special symbol, and the type of some of the second symbols in the second symbol is configured as one of a downlink symbol, an uplink symbol, an ON state, or an OFF state. For example, the type of some of the second symbols in the second symbol is configured as a special symbol, and the type of one or more remaining second symbols in the second symbol is a downlink symbol or an uplink symbol by default. For example, the configuration information indicates the type of each symbol in the time slot as one of a downlink symbol, an uplink symbol, or a special symbol. For example, the configuration information does not indicate the type of multiple second symbols in the time slot as a downlink symbol, an uplink symbol, or a special symbol.

[0009] The method may include determining, by the network node, the type of the second symbol as a flexible symbol.The method may include determining, by the network node, the type of the second symbol as a downlink symbol or an uplink symbol.

[0010] For example, the configuration information indicates the type of the first symbol in the time slot as a special symbol and indicates that the second symbol is before the first symbol, and the method may include determining, by the network node, the type of the second symbol as a downlink symbol. For example, the configuration information indicates the type of the first symbol in the time slot as a special symbol and indicates that the second symbol is after the first symbol, and the method may include determining, by the network node, the type of the second symbol as an uplink symbol. For example, the configuration information indicates the type of the first symbol in the time slot as a special symbol and indicates that the second symbol is before the first symbol, and the method may include determining, by the network node, the type of the second symbol as an uplink symbol. For example, the configuration information indicates the type of the first symbol in the time slot as a special symbol and indicates that the second symbol is after the first symbol, and the method may include determining, by the network node, the type of the second symbol as a downlink symbol. For example, the configuration information indicates the type of the first symbol in the time slot as a special symbol and indicates that the second symbol is before the first symbol, and the method may include determining, by the network node, the type of the second symbol as the same type as the first symbol that is closest to the second symbol in the first symbol. For example, the configuration information indicates the type of the first symbol in the time slot as a special symbol and indicates that the second symbol is after the first symbol, and the method may include determining, by the network node, the type of the second symbol to be the same type as the first symbol closest to the second symbol in the first symbol.

[0011] The method may include determining, by the network node, in the second symbol, that the network node is switched off, a forwarding unit of the network node is switched off, or a forwarding link is switched off.

[0012] The method may include receiving a message by a network node via signaling from a wireless communication node, the message indicating the type of the second symbol as a downlink symbol, an uplink symbol, or an ON / OFF state, wherein the signaling includes at least one of the following: system information, radio resource control (RRC) signaling, media access control control element (MAC CE) signaling, or downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

[0013] The method may include receiving a first configuration by a network node via a first signaling from a wireless communication node, the first configuration indicating the type of a first symbol as a downlink symbol, an uplink symbol, or a flexible symbol; and receiving a second configuration by the network node via a second signaling from the wireless communication node, the second configuration reconfiguring the type of the first symbol to a special symbol, wherein the first signaling includes at least one of the following: system information, radio resource control (RRC) signaling, media access control control element (MAC CE) signaling, or downlink control information (DCI) signaling, and wherein the second signaling includes at least one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) signaling, media access control control element (MACCE) signaling, or downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

[0014] For example, the second configuration configures at least one of the following information: an index of a time slot, a period, a reference subcarrier spacing, an indication of the type of all symbols in the time slot as a special symbol, an index of a starting first symbol in the first symbols, a length of the first symbol, a bitmap, an index corresponding to a time slot format that may include the first symbol, or a function of the first symbol.

[0015] A wireless communication device may include at least one processor and a memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to read a code from the memory and implement a method. A computer program product may include a computer readable program medium code stored thereon, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to implement a method.

[0016] The above and other aspects and arrangements thereof are described in more detail in the drawings, the description and the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Various example arrangements of the present solution are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings or figures. The drawings are provided for illustrative purposes only and depict only example arrangements of the present solution to facilitate the reader's understanding of the present solution. Therefore, the drawings should not be considered as limiting the breadth, scope or applicability of the present solution. It should be noted that for clarity and ease of description, these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0018] Figure 1Illustrated are example wireless communication networks and / or systems in which the techniques disclosed herein may be implemented according to some arrangements.

[0019] Figure 2 Illustrated is a block diagram of an example wireless communication system for sending and receiving wireless communication signals according to some arrangements.

[0020] Figure 3 A block diagram of an example smart node architecture according to some arrangements is illustrated.

[0021] Figure 4 Illustrated is a block diagram of an example time division duplex (TDD) configuration in accordance with some arrangements.

[0022] Figure 5 Illustrated is a block diagram of an example TDD configuration according to some arrangements.

[0023] Figure 6 Illustrated is a block diagram of an example TDD configuration according to some arrangements.

[0024] Figure 7 Illustrated is a block diagram of an example TDD configuration according to some arrangements.

[0025] Figure 8 Illustrated is a block diagram of an example TDD configuration according to some arrangements.

[0026] Fig. 9 Illustrated is a block diagram of an example TDD configuration according to some arrangements.

[0027] Fig.10 Illustrated is a block diagram of an example TDD configuration according to some arrangements.

[0028] Fig.11 is a diagram illustrating an example method for time slot format configuration for an intelligent node according to some arrangements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Various example arrangements of the present solution are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings so that a person of ordinary skill in the art can make and use the present solution. As is clear to a person of ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, various changes or modifications may be made to the examples described herein without departing from the scope of the present solution. Therefore, the present solution is not limited to the example arrangements and applications described and illustrated herein. In addition, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein are merely example methods. Based on design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps of the disclosed methods or processes may be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the present solution. Therefore, a person of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or actions in an example order, and unless otherwise expressly stated, the present solution is not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

[0030] For example, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) may involve network nodes that do not require wired backhaul. Another type of network node is an RF repeater, which simply amplifies and retransmits any signal it receives. RF repeaters may include widespread deployments of 2G, 3G, and 4G to supplement the coverage provided by conventional full-stack cells. RF repeaters only have radio units.

[0031] Network-controlled repeaters can enhance the ability of RF repeaters to receive and process side control information from the network. Side control information can enable network-controlled repeaters to perform their amplification and forwarding operations in a more efficient manner. Potential benefits include reduced unnecessary noise amplification, transmission and reception with better spatial directivity, and simplified network integration. Network-controlled repeaters can be viewed as a stepping stone to reconfigurable smart surfaces (RIS), where RIS nodes can adjust the phase and amplitude of received signals to improve coverage.

[0032] Figure 1 An example wireless communication network and / or system 100 in which the techniques disclosed herein may be implemented in an arrangement according to the present disclosure is illustrated. In the following discussion, the wireless communication network 100 may be any wireless network, such as a cellular network or a narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) network, and is referred to herein as "network 100." Such an example network 100 includes a base station 102 (also referred to as a wireless communication node) and a UE device 104 (hereinafter also referred to as "UE 104"; also referred to as a wireless communication device) that may communicate with each other via a communication link 110 (e.g., a wireless communication channel), and a cluster of cells 126, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, and 140 covering a geographic area 101. Figure 11 , base station 102 and UE 104 are contained within the respective geographic boundaries of cell 126. Each of the other cells 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, and 140 may include at least one base station operating within its allocated bandwidth to provide adequate radio coverage to its intended users.

[0033] For example, the base station 102 may operate with the allocated channel transmission bandwidth to provide sufficient coverage to the UE 104. The base station 102 and the UE 104 may communicate via a downlink radio frame 118 and an uplink radio frame 124, respectively. Each radio frame 118 / 124 may be further divided into subframes 120 / 127, which may include data symbols 122 / 128. In the present disclosure, the base station 102 and the UE 104 are described herein as non-limiting examples of "communication nodes", which may generally practice the methods disclosed herein. According to various arrangements of the present solution, such communication nodes may be capable of wireless and / or wired communication.

[0034] Figure 2 A block diagram of an example wireless communication system 200 for sending and receiving wireless communication signals (e.g., OFDM / OFDMA signals) according to some arrangements of the present disclosure is illustrated. The system 200 may include components and elements configured to support known or conventional operating features that need not be described in detail herein. In one illustrative arrangement, the system 200 may be used in applications such as Figure 1 The data symbols are communicated (eg, sent and received) in a wireless communication environment such as the wireless communication environment 100 of FIG. 1 , as described above.

[0035] System 200 generally includes a base station 202 (hereinafter referred to as "BS 202") and a user equipment device 204 (hereinafter referred to as "UE 204"). BS 202 includes a BS (base station) transceiver module 210, a BS antenna 212, a BS processor module 214, a BS memory module 216, and a network communication module 218, each of which is coupled to and interconnected with each other via a data communication bus 220 as needed. UE 204 includes a UE (user equipment) transceiver module 230, a UE antenna 232, a UE memory module 234, and a UE processor module 236, each of which is coupled to and interconnected with each other via a data communication bus 240 as needed. BS 202 communicates with UE 204 via a communication channel 250, which can be any wireless channel or other medium suitable for data transmission as described herein.

[0036] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the system 200 may also include Figure 2Any number of other modules outside the modules shown. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the various illustrative blocks, modules, circuits, and processing logic described in conjunction with the arrangements disclosed herein can be implemented in hardware, computer-readable software, firmware, or any actual combination thereof. In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability and compatibility of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are generally described according to their functions. Whether such functions are implemented as hardware, firmware, or software can depend on specific applications and the design constraints imposed on the entire system. People familiar with the concepts described herein can implement such functions in a suitable manner for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present disclosure.

[0037] According to some arrangements, the UE transceiver 230 may be referred to herein as an "uplink" transceiver 230, which includes a radio frequency (RF) transmitter and an RF receiver, each of which includes circuitry coupled to an antenna 232. A duplex switch (not shown) may alternatively couple the uplink transmitter or receiver to the uplink antenna in a time duplex manner. Similarly, according to some arrangements, the BS transceiver 210 may be referred to herein as a "downlink" transceiver 210, which includes an RF transmitter and an RF receiver, each of which includes circuitry coupled to an antenna 212. The downlink duplex switch may alternatively couple the downlink transmitter or receiver to the downlink antenna 212 in a time duplex manner. The operation of the two transceiver modules 210 and 230 may be coordinated in time such that the uplink receiver circuitry is coupled to the uplink antenna 232 for reception of transmissions made over the wireless transmission link 250 when the downlink transmitter is coupled to the downlink antenna 212. Instead, the operation of the two transceivers 210 and 230 may be coordinated in time such that the downlink receiver is coupled to the downlink antenna 212 for reception of transmissions made over the wireless transmission link 250 when the uplink transmitter is coupled to the uplink antenna 232. In some arrangements, there is tight time synchronization with minimal guard times between changes in duplex direction.

[0038] The UE transceiver 230 and the base station transceiver 210 are configured to communicate via a wireless data communication link 250 and cooperate with an appropriately configured RF antenna arrangement 212 / 232 capable of supporting a specific wireless communication protocol and modulation scheme. In some illustrative arrangements, the UE transceiver 210 and the base station transceiver 210 are configured to support industry standards such as long-term evolution (LTE) and emerging 5G standards. However, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to application to specific standards and related protocols. Instead, the UE transceiver 230 and the base station transceiver 210 can be configured to support alternative or additional wireless data communication protocols, including future standards or variants thereof.

[0039] According to various arrangements, for example, BS 202 may be an evolved Node B (eNB), a gNB, a serving eNB, a target eNB, a femtocell or a microcell. In some arrangements, UE 204 may be embodied in various types of user equipment, such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet, a laptop computer, a wearable computing device, etc. Processor modules 214 and 236 may be implemented or implemented with a general purpose processor, a content addressable memory, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, any suitable programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. In this manner, the processor may be implemented as a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a state machine, etc. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in combination with a digital signal processor core, or any other such configuration.

[0040] In addition, the steps of the methods or algorithms described in conjunction with the arrangements disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in firmware, in software modules executed by the processor modules 214 and 236, respectively, or in any practical combination thereof. The memory modules 216 and 234 may be implemented as RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. In this regard, the memory modules 216 and 234 may be coupled to the processor modules 210 and 230, respectively, so that the processor modules 210 and 230 may read information from and write information to the memory modules 216 and 234, respectively. The memory modules 216 and 234 may also be integrated into their respective processor modules 210 and 230. In some arrangements, the memory modules 216 and 234 may each include a cache memory for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during the execution of instructions to be executed by the processor modules 210 and 230, respectively. Memory modules 216 and 234 may also each include non-volatile memory for storing instructions to be executed by processor modules 210 and 230, respectively.

[0041] The network communication module 218 generally represents the hardware, software, firmware, processing logic and / or other components of the base station 202 for enabling bidirectional communication between the base station transceiver 210 and other network components and communication nodes configured to communicate with the network base station 202. For example, the network communication module 218 can be configured to support Internet or WiMAX services. In a typical deployment, without limitation, the network communication module 218 provides an 802.3 Ethernet interface so that the base station transceiver 210 can communicate with a conventional Ethernet-based computer network. In this way, the network communication module 218 can include a physical interface for connection to a computer network (e.g., a mobile switching center (MSC)). The terms "configured for", "configured to" and their variations as used herein with respect to the specified operation or function refer to devices, components, circuits, structures, machines, signals, etc. that are physically constructed, programmed, formatted and / or arranged to perform the specified operation or function.

[0042] Figure 3 A block diagram of an example smart node architecture according to some arrangements is illustrated. Figure 3As shown by way of example in FIG. 1 , an example smart node architecture 300 may include a base station 102, a user equipment 104, and a smart node control unit (SN CU) 310, a smart node forwarding unit (SN FU) 320. The SN CU 310 may receive a control signal 312 from the BS 102, and may send a control signal 314 to the BS 102. The SN FU 320 may receive a forwarding signal 322 from the BS 102, and may send a forwarding signal 324 to the BS 102. The SN FU 320 may send a forwarding signal 326 to the UE 104, and may receive a forwarding signal 328 to the BS 102.

[0043] For example, a SN may include two units for supporting different functions: a first unit and a second unit. The first unit acts like a UE, receiving and decoding side control information from a BS. The first unit may correspond to a control unit or communication unit (CU), a mobile terminal (MT), a part of a UE, a third-party IoT device, etc. The second unit performs intelligent amplification and forwarding operations using the side control information received by the first unit of the SN. Therefore, it may also be referred to as a forwarding unit (FU), a radio unit (RU), a RIS, etc. For example, CU and FU may refer to the first unit and the second unit of the SN, respectively.

[0044] The control link may include a signal from one side that will be detected and decoded by the other side so that the state of the forwarding link can be controlled using the information sent in the control link. The forwarding link may include a signal from the BS or UE that is unknown to the SN FU. The SN FU may amplify and forward the signal without decoding it. Forwarding links 322 and 326 may include a complete DL forwarding link from the BS to the UE, where forwarding link 326 is an SN FU DL forwarding link. Forwarding links 324 and 328 may include a complete UL forwarding link from the UE to the BS, where forwarding link 324 is an SN FU UL forwarding link. Forwarding links 322 and 324 may be backhaul links, and forwarding links 326 and 328 may be access links.

[0045] Figure 4 1 illustrates a block diagram of an example time division duplex (TDD) configuration according to some arrangements. Figure 4 As shown by way of example in FIG. 4 , example TDD configuration 400 may include downlink time slots 410, 412, and 414, time slot 420, and uplink time slot 430. Time slot 420 may include downlink symbol 422, special symbol 424, and uplink symbol 426.

[0046] The type or direction of a symbol or time slot can be configured as downlink (DL), uplink (UL) or flexible (DL or UL) via semi-static or dynamic TDD UL / DL configuration. Flexible symbols can be symbols other than uplink symbols or downlink symbols that are explicitly configured via the above configuration. However, for the SN, flexible symbols may cause uncertainty in the behavior of the SN. If the direction or behavior of the flexible symbol is not further clarified, the SN does not know whether it should forward the uplink transmission to the BS, forward the downlink transmission to the UE, or shut down the SN FU. The SN may even think that this is an error condition.

[0047] Some arrangements are for new types of symbols in the time slot format. To resolve ambiguity, some arrangements include other new types of symbols in addition to DL / UL / flexible in the time slot format as "special symbols". If all symbols in a time slot are of this special symbol type, the time slot can be a "special time slot". The configuration method of the "special symbol" given in the present disclosure can also be applied to the "special time slot". Special symbols may include symbols in which the SN does not need to forward. That is, the SN does not need to forward the transmission from the base station / UE to the UE / base station in the special symbol. For example, the SN does not execute link 322 or link 324, or the SN does not execute link 326 or link 328. That is, the SN does not execute a backhaul link or an access link.

[0048] In a special symbol, the SN may perform at least one of various operations. In a special symbol, SN forwarding may be optional or non-existent. For example, the SN does not need to amplify and / or forward transmissions from the base station / UE to the UE / base station in a special symbol. The SN may be turned off in a special symbol. For example, one or more SN FU forwarding links 322, 324, 326, and 328, a backhaul link, and / or an access link may be turned off in a special symbol. The SN may perform switching between DL and UL. The SN may perform beam switching. The SN may perform switching between ON and OFF. The SN (e.g., SN CU) may perform sensing in a special symbol. Sensing may include at least one of the following operations: energy sensing, signal detection, LBT, or measurement.

[0049] The minimum number of special symbols may be the capability of the SN. The SN may report the minimum number of special symbols or the above-mentioned SN capability to the base station. When the base station configures special symbols for the SN, it needs to be based on the minimum number of special symbols or the SN capability. For example, the number of special symbols configured for the SN needs to be equal to or greater than the minimum number of special symbols or the SN capability.

[0050] Special symbols may also correspond to one or more of "not forwarded", "not amplified and forwarded", "not sent / received", "not relayed", "not working", "switched", "on / off", "sensing", "LBT", and "measurement" symbols, etc. Some arrangements are for the configuration of special symbols. The configuration of special symbols may include at least one of various options. For example, these options may be performed individually or in combination.

[0051] Except for the symbols configured as downlink or uplink symbols via the first TDD configuration carried by system information, RRC signaling, MAC CE and / or DCI signaling, the remaining symbols may be special symbols. The first TDD configuration may be indicated by the BS to the SN (e.g., SN CU). The configuration may indirectly configure special symbols. All symbols that are not explicitly configured as downlink or uplink symbols may be special symbols. Note that the configuration may correspond to at least a configuration parameter or a combination of multiple configuration parameters.

[0052] Figure 5 A block diagram of an example TDD configuration according to some arrangements is illustrated. Figure 5 As shown by way of example in FIG. 5 , example TDD configuration 500 may include downlink time slots 410, 412, and 414, uplink time slot 430, and time slot 510. Time slot 510 may include downlink symbol 422, uplink symbol 426, flexible downlink symbol 512, and flexible special symbol 514.

[0053] In addition to the symbols configured as downlink or uplink symbols via the first TDD configuration carried by system information, RRC signaling, MAC CE and / or DCI signaling, the remaining symbols may be flexible symbols. The first TDD configuration may be indicated by the BS to the SN (e.g., SN CU). For flexible symbols, some or all of the flexible symbols in the flexible symbols may be further configured as special symbols via the second TDD configuration, including at least one of the following options. For example, all flexible symbols in the flexible symbols are configured or defined as special symbols. For example, some flexible symbols in the flexible symbols are configured as special symbols. For example, some flexible symbols in the flexible symbols are configured as special symbols, and some flexible symbols in the flexible symbols are further configured as downlink, or uplink, or ON state, or OFF state. For example, some flexible symbols in the flexible symbols are configured as special symbols. The remaining flexible symbols are defined with a default direction (e.g., DL or UL), or the remaining flexible symbols before and after the flexible symbols are defined as downlink symbols and uplink symbols, or uplink symbols and downlink symbols, respectively, or are defined as ON / OFF states. In this case, the SN does not expect symbols that have been configured as DL or UL symbols to be reconfigured as special symbols.

[0054] In order to completely eliminate the ambiguity caused by flexible symbols, it is preferred that all flexible symbols are configured as special symbols, DL / UL symbols, or ON / OFF state symbols. As shown in the figure below, there are a total of X flexible symbols. Among them, X1 flexible symbols can be configured as DL symbols, and X2 flexible symbols can be configured as special symbols. X1+X2=X. The second TDD configuration of special symbols and / or other types of symbols can be indicated by the BS to the SN (e.g., SN CU) CU and is used to control the SNFU (or forwarding link) or perform other operations, such as sensing or switching. The second TDD configuration of the special symbol indicated by the BS can be carried by system information (e.g., in SIB1), RRC signaling (e.g., in ServingCellConfigCommon or ServingCellConfig), MAC CE and / or DCI signaling (e.g., DCI format 2_0). In addition, if indicated by DCI signaling, it can be scrambled by a new SN-specific RNTI, link-specific RNTI, service type-specific RNTI, or SN logical unit-specific RNTI.

[0055] Figure 6 A block diagram of an example TDD configuration according to some arrangements is illustrated. Figure 6 As shown by way of example in FIG. 6 , example TDD configuration 600 may include downlink time slots 410, 412, and 414, uplink time slot 430, and time slot 610. Time slot 610 may include downlink symbol 422, special symbol 424, uplink symbol 426, and flexible symbol 612.

[0056] The symbols in the time slot can be configured as DL, UL or special symbols via the third TDD configuration. The third TDD configuration of DL, UL and special symbols indicated by the BS to the SN (e.g., SN CU) can be carried by system information (e.g., in SIB1), RRC signaling (e.g., in ServingCellConfigCommon or ServingCellConfig), MAC CE and / or DCI signaling (e.g., DCI format 2_0). In addition, if indicated by DCI signaling, it can be scrambled by a new SN-specific RNTI, a link-specific RNTI, a service type-specific RNTI, or an SN logical unit-specific RNTI. For example, all symbols in the third TDD configuration indicated by the BS to the SN can be configured as DL, UL or special symbols. Here, no symbol is not configured as one of the above three types. For example, the symbols in the third TDD configuration indicated by the BS to the SN are configured as DL, UL or special symbols. There are one or more remaining symbols in the configuration that are not configured as one of the above three types. For the remaining symbols that are not configured as the above three types, at least one of the various actions can be performed. For example, the remaining symbols may be flexible symbols. For example, the remaining symbols may be defined with a default direction, such as DL or UL. Figure 7 is shown as an example in .

[0057] Figure 7 A block diagram of an example TDD configuration according to some arrangements is illustrated. Figure 7 As shown by way of example in FIG. 7 , example TDD configuration 700 may include downlink time slots 410, 412, and 414, uplink time slot 430, and time slot 710. Time slot 710 may include downlink symbol 422, special symbol 424, uplink symbol 426, and symbol 712, which may include one or more of a downlink symbol and an uplink symbol.

[0058] Figure 8 A block diagram of an example TDD configuration according to some arrangements is illustrated. Figure 8As shown in the example, the example TDD configuration 800 may include downlink time slots 410, 412 and 414, uplink time slot 430, and time slot 810. Time slot 810 may include downlink symbol 422, special symbol 424, uplink symbol 426, downlink symbol 812, and uplink symbol 814. For example, the remaining symbols before and after the flexible symbol are defined by downlink and uplink or uplink and downlink, respectively. For example, in the remaining symbols, the remaining symbols before the special symbol are DL symbols, and the remaining symbols after the special symbol are UL symbols. For example, in the remaining symbols, the remaining symbols before the special symbol are UL symbols, and the remaining symbols after the special symbol are DL symbols.

[0059] Fig. 9 A block diagram of an example TDD configuration according to some arrangements is illustrated. Fig. 9 As shown by way of example in FIG. 9 , an example TDD configuration 900 may include downlink time slots 410, 412, and 414, an uplink time slot 430, symbol configuration traces 902 and 904, and time slot 910. Time slot 210 may include downlink symbol 422, special symbol 424, uplink symbol 426, configuration symbol 212, and configuration symbol 914. Configuration symbol 912 may be configured based on symbol configuration trace 902, which indicates a configuration corresponding to downlink symbol 422. Configuration symbol 914 may be configured based on symbol configuration trace 904, which indicates a configuration corresponding to uplink symbol 426.

[0060] For example, in the remaining symbols, the type (DL or UL) of the remaining symbols before the special symbol is the same as the type of the nearest symbol configured as DL / UL before the special symbol; the type (DL or UL) of the remaining symbols after the special symbol is the same as the type of the nearest symbol configured as DL / UL after the special symbol. For example, the SN can be turned off in the remaining symbols; or, the SN FU or forwarding link is turned off in the remaining symbols. For example, the type of the remaining symbols can be further indicated as DL, UL, or ON / OFF state via the fourth TDD configuration carried by RRC signaling (e.g., in ServingCellConfigCommon or ServingCellConfig), MAC CE and / or DCI signaling (e.g., DCI format 2_0). The fourth TDD configuration can be indicated by the BS to the SN (e.g., SN CU).

[0061] Fig.10 A block diagram of an example TDD configuration according to some arrangements is illustrated. Fig.10As shown by way of example in FIG. 1 , example TDD configuration 1000 may include downlink time slots 410, 412, and 414, time slot 420, uplink time slot 430, and time slot 1010. Time slot 420 may include downlink symbol 422, special symbol 424, and uplink symbol 426. Time slot 1010 may include downlink symbol 1012 and special symbol 1022.

[0062] First, the symbols in the time slot can be configured as DL, UL or flexible via the first TDD configuration carried by system information, RRC signaling, MAC CE and / or DCI signaling. The first TDD configuration is indicated by the BS to the SN (e.g., SN CU). In addition, the symbols configured via the first TDD configuration can be reconfigured as special symbols via the fifth configuration carried by RRC signaling (e.g., in ServingCellConfigCommon or ServingCellConfig), MAC CE and / or DCI signaling (e.g., DCI format 2_0), as shown in the figure below. In addition, if indicated by DCI signaling, it can be scrambled by a new SN-specific RNTI, link-specific RNTI, service type-specific RNTI, or SN logical unit-specific RNTI. The fifth TDD configuration can be indicated by the BS to the SN (e.g., SN CU).

[0063] The fifth TDD configuration may configure one or more information parameters for the special symbol. The information parameters that may be configured by the fifth TDD configuration may include a slot index. The information parameters that may be configured by the fifth TDD configuration may include a period, including a reference subcarrier spacing. The information parameters that may be configured by the fifth TDD configuration may include an indication that all symbols in the slot are special symbols. The information parameters that may be configured by the fifth TDD configuration may include a start (e.g., a start index of a special symbol) or a length (e.g., the number of special symbols) associated with one or more symbols. The information parameters that may be configured by the fifth TDD configuration may include a bitmap, for example, bit = 1 indicates that the corresponding symbol is a special symbol, and bit = 0 indicates that the corresponding symbol is not a special symbol. The information parameters that may be configured by the fifth TDD configuration may include an index corresponding to a slot format including special symbols. The information parameters that may be configured by the fifth TDD configuration may include a function. The function may include a code point that indicates a function of the special symbol (e.g., sensing), and other (multiple) code points indicate other (multiple) functions of the special symbol (e.g., not forwarded, LBT, measurement, or switching between DL-UL or beams). According to the present implementation, one or more of the above information may also be indicated in any TDD configuration, such as the second TDD configuration or the third TDD configuration.

[0064] Fig.11 is a diagram illustrating an example method for time slot format configuration for smart nodes according to some arrangements. At least one of the example systems 100 and 200 may perform method 1100 according to the present implementation. Method 1100 may start at 1105.

[0065] At 1105, the method may send configuration information to the SN, the configuration information indicating the type of the plurality of first symbols in the time slot. The method 1100 may then proceed to one or more of 1110 and 1115. At 1110, the method may receive configuration information from the BS, the configuration information indicating the type of the plurality of first symbols in the time slot. The method 1100 may then proceed to 1120. At 1115, the type may include at least one of the following: a downlink symbol, an uplink symbol, or a special symbol. The method 1100 may end at 1115. At 1120, the type may include at least one of the following: a downlink symbol, an uplink symbol, or a special symbol. The method 1100 may then proceed to 1130. At 1130, the method may determine the type of the second symbol to be one or more of a special symbol, a flexible symbol, a downlink signal, or an uplink signal. The method 1100 may end at 1130.

[0066] It should also be understood that any reference to an element using names such as "first," "second," etc., herein generally does not limit the number or order of these elements. Instead, these names can be used herein as a convenient means of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of an element. Therefore, reference to a first element and a second element does not mean that only two elements can be used, or that the first element must precede the second element in some way.

[0067] In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different methods and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, and symbols, etc., that may be referenced in the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0068] Those of ordinary skill in the art will further understand that any of the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, processors, devices, circuits, methods, and functions described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented by electronic hardware (e.g., digital implementation, analog implementation, or a combination of the two), firmware, various forms of programs (e.g., computer program products) in conjunction with instructions, or design code (for convenience, which may be referred to herein as "software" or "software modules"), or any combination of these technologies. In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functions. Whether such functions are implemented as hardware, firmware, or software, or a combination of these technologies depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the entire system. A skilled technician may implement the described functions in various ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions will not result in a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0069] In addition, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, devices, components, and circuits described herein may be implemented or performed within an integrated circuit (IC), which may include a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof. The logic blocks, modules, and circuits may also include antennas and / or transceivers to communicate with various components within a network or within a device. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in combination with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration for performing the functions described herein.

[0070] If implemented in software, these functions can be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Therefore, the steps of the method or algorithm disclosed herein can be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that can transfer a computer program or code from one place to another. The storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access. As an example and not limitation, such a computer-readable medium may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer.

[0071] In this document, the term "module" as used herein refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements for performing the relevant functions described herein. In addition, for the purpose of discussion, various modules are described as discrete modules; however, as is clear to one of ordinary skill in the art, two or more modules can be combined to form a single module that performs associated functions arranged according to the present solution.

[0072] In addition, memory or other storage devices and communication components can be used in the arrangement of the present solution. It should be understood that, for the sake of clarity, the above description has described the arrangement of the present solution with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it is clear that any suitable functional distribution between different functional units, processing logic elements or domains can be used without departing from the present solution. For example, the functions illustrated as being performed by a separate processing logic element or controller can be performed by the same processing logic element or controller. Therefore, reference to a specific functional unit is only a reference to an appropriate manner for providing the described function, rather than representing a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

[0073] Various modifications to the arrangements described in this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other arrangements without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the arrangements shown herein, but should be consistent with the widest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein, as described in the following claims.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method, comprising: receiving, by a network node, configuration information from a wireless communication node, the configuration information indicating a type of a plurality of first symbols in a time slot; The type includes at least one of the following: a downlink symbol, an uplink symbol, or a special symbol.

2. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein the special symbol enables the network node to perform one or more of the following: optionally forwarding based on the special symbol, sensing based on the special symbol, switching between DL and UL based on the special symbol, beam switching based on the special symbol, switching between an ON state and an OFF state based on the special symbol, and being turned off based on the special symbol.

3. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, further comprising: Receiving, by the network node, the configuration information from the wireless communication node through signaling; The signaling includes at least one of the following: system information, radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control element (MAC CE) signaling, or downlink control information (DCI) signaling. 4 . The wireless communication method according to claim 1 , wherein the configuration information does not indicate a type of the plurality of second symbols in the time slot as the downlink symbol or the uplink symbol.

5. The wireless communication method according to claim 4, further comprising: The type of the second symbol is determined by the network node as the special symbol.

6. The wireless communication method according to claim 4, further comprising: The type of the second symbol is determined by the network node as a flexible symbol. 7 . The wireless communication method according to claim 6 , wherein the type of some or all of the second symbols is configured as the special symbol.

8. The wireless communication method according to claim 6, wherein the type of all of the second symbols is the special symbol.

9. The wireless communication method according to claim 6, wherein the type of some of the second symbols is configured as the special symbol, and the type of some of the second symbols is configured as one of the downlink symbol, the uplink symbol, an ON state, or an OFF state.

10. The wireless communication method according to claim 6, wherein the type of some of the second symbols is configured as the special symbol, and the type of one or more of the remaining second symbols is the downlink symbol or the uplink symbol by default.

11. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein the configuration information indicates a type of each symbol in the time slot as one of the downlink symbol, the uplink symbol, or the special symbol. 12 . The wireless communication method according to claim 1 , wherein the configuration information does not indicate the types of the plurality of second symbols in the time slot as the downlink symbol, the uplink symbol, or the special symbol.

13. The wireless communication method according to claim 12, further comprising: The type of the second symbol is determined by the network node as a flexible symbol.

14. The wireless communication method according to claim 12, further comprising: The type of the second symbol is determined by the network node as the downlink symbol or the uplink symbol.

15. The wireless communication method according to claim 12, wherein the configuration information indicates the type of the first symbol in the time slot as the special symbol and indicates that the second symbol precedes the first symbol, the method further comprising: The type of the second symbol is determined by the network node as the downlink symbol.

16. The wireless communication method according to claim 12, wherein the configuration information indicates the type of the first symbol in the time slot as the special symbol and indicates that the second symbol is after the first symbol, the method further comprising: The type of the second symbol is determined by the network node as the uplink symbol.

17. The wireless communication method according to claim 12, wherein the configuration information indicates the type of the first symbol in the time slot as the special symbol and indicates that the second symbol precedes the first symbol, the method further comprising: The type of the second symbol is determined by the network node as the uplink symbol.

18. The wireless communication method according to claim 12, wherein the configuration information indicates the type of the first symbol in the time slot as the special symbol and indicates that the second symbol is after the first symbol, the method further comprising: The type of the second symbol is determined by the network node as the downlink symbol.

19. The wireless communication method according to claim 12, wherein the configuration information indicates the type of the first symbol in the time slot as the special symbol and indicates that the second symbol precedes the first symbol, the method further comprising: The type of the second symbol is determined by the network node to be the same type as a first symbol of the first symbols that is closest to the second symbol.

20. The wireless communication method according to claim 12, wherein the configuration information indicates the type of the first symbol in the time slot as the special symbol and indicates that the second symbol is after the first symbol, the method further comprising: The type of the second symbol is determined by the network node to be the same type as a first symbol of the first symbols that is closest to the second symbol.

21. The wireless communication method according to claim 12, further comprising: The network node determines in the second symbol that the network node is switched off, a forwarding unit of the network node is switched off, or the forwarding link is switched off.

22. The wireless communication method according to claim 12, further comprising: receiving, by the network node through signaling from the wireless communication node, a message indicating the type of the second symbol as the downlink symbol, the uplink symbol, or an ON / OFF state; The signaling includes at least one of the following: system information, radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control element (MAC CE) signaling, or downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

23. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, further comprising: Receiving, by the network node through first signaling from the wireless communication node, a first configuration indicating the type of a first symbol as the downlink symbol, the uplink symbol, or a flexible symbol; as well as Receiving, by the network node through second signaling from the wireless communication node, a second configuration, wherein the second configuration configures the type of the first symbol as the special symbol; The first signaling includes at least one of the following: system information, radio resource control (RRC) signaling, media access control element (MAC CE) signaling, or downlink control information (DCI) signaling; and The second signaling includes at least one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control element (MAC CE) signaling, or downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

24. A wireless communication method according to claim 23, wherein the second configuration configures at least one of the following information: an index of the time slot, a period, a reference subcarrier spacing, the type of all symbols in the time slot as an indication of the special symbol, an index of the starting first symbol in the first symbol, a length of the first symbol, a bitmap, an index corresponding to the time slot format including the first symbol, or a function of the first symbol.

25. A wireless communication device, comprising at least one processor and a memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: read code from the memory and implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 24.

26. A computer program product comprising computer readable program medium code stored thereon, which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 24.

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