Wireless communication device and wireless communication method for sbfd operation

Abstract

A wireless communication method for sub-band full-duplex (SBFD) operation is disclosed, which is performed by a base station and includes: the base station configuring time / frequency location and bandwidth of a sub-band pool for user equipment (UE) in a cell through radio resource control (RRC) static configuration; and the base station indicating and activating / deactivating downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) sub-band of one or more UEs in the cell through physical layer signaling including downlink control information (DCI) or medium access control (MAC) layer signaling including MAC control element (CE).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of wireless communication systems, and in particular to wireless communication devices and methods for sub-band full-duplex (SBFD) operation in 5G NR (New Radio) communication systems. More specifically, this application discusses an SBFD configuration method in which a gNB (Next Generation Base Station) can statically configure sub-band pools for user equipment (UE) in a cell via radio resource control (RRC), and perform dynamic indication and activation / deactivation operations on downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) sub-bands of one or more UEs. Background Technology

[0002] SBFD operation is a new feature defined in Release 18. Currently, how to notify the UE of the time and / or frequency location of the subband to be used for SBFD operation by the gNB is not yet defined. Reusing existing methods of legacy TDD configuration for SBFD configuration / instruction of the UE may introduce the following challenges: 1. Increased higher-layer signaling overhead, as higher-layer signaling may need to be configured for each subband. Furthermore, if the time and frequency location of the DL or UL subband changes, higher-layer signaling may need to be reconfigured. 2. Reduced subband flexibility, as subband configuration may fix the subband for use only in the DL or UL direction within a specific time slot / symbol. 3. Potential coexistence issues between legacy operation and SBFD operation, as legacy UEs using legacy TDD configuration exist in the cell. 4. Increased complexity for the gNB, such as handling transmission conflicts between SSB (DL direction) and UL subbands in the same time slot / symbol, or transmission conflicts between PRACH opportunities (UL direction) and DL subbands in the same time slot / symbol.

[0003] In existing technologies, proposals submitted to the 3GPP RAN1#109-e meeting regarding the configuration of SBFD time / frequency resources and their instruction to the UE mainly focus on configuring DL and UL subbands by reusing existing TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon or TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated. However, none of these proposals focus on how to reduce higher-layer signaling configuration overhead or how to simplify the configuration process.

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to define the configuration, indication, and activation / deactivation of wireless communication devices and methods for one or more UEs in a cell used for SBFD operation. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this application is to propose a wireless communication device and method for sub-band full-duplex (SBFD) operation, which can solve the problems in the prior art, define a method for configuring, indicating, and activating / deactivating SBFD for one or more UEs in a cell, simplify the configuration process, reduce higher-layer signaling overhead, make sub-band operation more flexible, simplify the conflict handling process between SSB and UL sub-band transmission or PRACH opportunity and DL sub-band transmission, and / or provide good communication performance.

[0006] In a first aspect of this application, a wireless communication method for a base station to operate in sub-band full-duplex (SBFD) mode includes: the base station configuring the time / frequency location and bandwidth of a sub-band pool for user equipment (UE) in a cell through radio resource control (RRC) static configuration; and the base station indicating and activating / deactivating downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) sub-bands of one or more UEs in the cell through physical layer signaling including downlink control information (DCI) or MAC layer signaling including medium access control (MAC) control elements (CE).

[0007] In a second aspect of this application, a base station includes a memory, a transceiver, and a processor connected to the memory and the transceiver. The processor is configured to configure the time / frequency location and bandwidth of subband pools for user equipment (UE) in a cell via radio resource control (RRC) static configuration; and the processor is configured to indicate and activate / deactivate downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) subbands of one or more UEs in the cell via physical layer signaling including downlink control information (DCI) or MAC layer signaling including a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0008] In a third aspect of this application, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium stores instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the above-described method.

[0009] In a fourth aspect of this application, a chip includes a processor configured to invoke and run a computer program stored in a memory, causing a device on which the chip is installed to perform the methods described above.

[0010] In a fifth aspect of this application, a computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program that causes a computer to perform the methods described above.

[0011] In a sixth aspect of this application, a computer program product includes a computer program that causes a computer to perform the methods described above.

[0012] In a seventh aspect of this application, a computer program causes a computer to perform the above-described method. Attached Figure Description

[0013] To more clearly illustrate the embodiments or related technologies of this application, the accompanying drawings described in the embodiments are briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings are merely some embodiments of this application, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without incurring any cost.

[0014] Figure 1 This is a block diagram of a base station (e.g., gNB) in a communication network system according to an embodiment of this application.

[0015] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of a wireless communication method performed by a base station according to an embodiment of this application for configuring, indicating, and activating / deactivating DL or UL subbands of one or more UEs in a cell.

[0016] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of an example scenario of sub-band indication and activation / deactivation according to an embodiment of this application.

[0017] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the cascaded sub-band indicator field and activation / deactivation according to an embodiment of this application.

[0018] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the DCI alternation bit for DL / UL sub-band indication and activation / deactivation according to an embodiment of this application.

[0019] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a MAC CE for instructing and activating / deactivating subbands to a UE according to an embodiment of this application.

[0020] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of an example of a MAC CE for instructing and activating or deactivating a subband to UE1 according to an embodiment of this application.

[0021] Figure 8This is a schematic diagram of an example of a MAC CE for instructing and activating / deactivating subbands to UE2 according to an embodiment of this application.

[0022] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the conflict handling between SSB and UL subband transmission according to an embodiment of this application.

[0023] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the conflict handling between PRACH opportunities and DL subband transmission according to an embodiment of this application.

[0024] Figure 11 This is a system block diagram for wireless communication according to an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The technical content, structural features, achieved objectives, and effects of this application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Specifically, the terminology used in the embodiments of this application is only used to describe the purpose of specific embodiments and is not intended to limit this application.

[0026] The diverse usage scenarios and exponential growth in the number of user equipment (UEs) in next-generation wireless communication systems have led to an explosive increase in data traffic, placing higher demands on spectrum efficiency. To meet these needs, time division duplex (TDD) systems are widely used in commercial NR deployments. TDD systems use a single spectrum (band) in different time slots for downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) communication, making more efficient use of available spectrum compared to frequency division duplex (FDD) systems.

[0027] In traditional TDD systems, time-domain resources are divided into downlink (DL), uplink (UL), and flexible symbols, which can be used as a protection period for DL, UL, or DL-UL handover. In traditional TDD, allocating limited time to the uplink leads to reduced coverage, increased latency, and decreased capacity. To address these limitations, the 3GPP RAN Working Group approved a research project in Rel-18 focusing on the feasibility of simultaneously operating DL and UL within traditional TDD bands, i.e., full-duplex operation, and more specifically, sub-band non-overlapping full duplex (SBFD) operation, as follows: The study investigates potential enhancements to sub-band non-overlapping full duplex and dynamic / flexible TDD (RAN1, RAN4).

[0028] Compared to the characteristics of traditional TDD operation, the main goal of sub-band non-overlapping fullduplex (SBFD) operation is to allow simultaneous transmission of DL and UL on a TDD carrier. However, SBFD operation is a new feature in Rel-18, and the allocation of time and frequency resources in a TDD carrier to the subband used by the gNB for SBFD operation is still under discussion, as stated in the following agreement reached at the 3GPP RAN1#109-e meeting: Study the impact / potential enhancements of resource allocation in symbols for subbands used for SBFD operation.

[0029] In addition, it is necessary to notify the UE about the time-frequency resource location of the subband that the gNB will use for SBFD operation, as described in the following agreement reached at the 3GPP RAN1#109-e meeting: investigate whether and how to notify the UE of the time and / or frequency location of the subband that the gNB will use for SBFD operation.

[0030] Regarding the time-frequency location of subbands that the gNB will use for SBFD operations, several proposals submitted to the 3GPP RAN1#109-e meeting mainly focus on reusing existing legacy TDD configurations for SBFD operations. However, reusing existing TDD configurations for SBFD operations may increase higher-layer signaling overhead and increase the complexity for the gNB when dealing with the possibility of synchronization signal block (SSB) and UL subband transmissions or physical random access channel (PRACH) conflicts with DL subband transmissions in the same time slot / symbol. Therefore, this disclosure further investigates a detailed subband configuration / indication method to reduce higher-layer signaling overhead, simplify the configuration process, and make subband usage more flexible.

[0031] Figure 1This document describes base stations (e.g., gNBs) 10 and 20 for communication in a communication network system 40, provided according to one embodiment of this application. The communication network system 40 includes base stations 10 and 20. Base station 10 may include a memory 12, a transceiver 13, and a processor 11 connected to the memory 12 and transceiver 13. Base station 20 may include a memory 22, a transceiver 23, and a processor 21 connected to the memory 22 and transceiver 23. Processor 11 or 21 may be configured to implement the functions, processes, and / or methods described herein. Layers of the wireless interface protocol may be implemented in processor 11 or 21. Memory 12 or 22 is operatively connected to processor 11 or 21 and stores various information for operation by processor 11 or 21. Transceiver 13 or 23 is operatively connected to processor 11 or 21 and is used to transmit and / or receive wireless signals.

[0032] Processor 11 or 21 may include an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), other chipsets, logic circuits, and / or data processing devices. Memory 12 or 22 may include read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, memory cards, storage media, and / or other storage devices. Transceiver 13 or 23 may include baseband circuitry for processing radio frequency signals. When these embodiments are implemented in software, the techniques described herein can be implemented by modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the described functions. Modules may be stored in memory 12 or 22 and executed by processor 11 or 21. Memory 12 or 22 may be implemented internally or externally to processor 11 or 21, in which case it may be communicatively connected to processor 11 or 21 in various ways known to the art.

[0033] In some embodiments, processor 11 or 21 is configured to configure the time / frequency location and bandwidth of subband pools for user equipment (UE) in a cell via radio resource control (RRC) static configuration; and processor 11 or 21 is configured to indicate and activate / deactivate downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) subbands of one or more UEs in a cell via physical layer signaling including downlink control information (DCI) or MAC layer signaling including medium access control (MAC) control elements (CE). This addresses the problems in the prior art, defines a method for configuring, indicating, and activating / deactivating SBFDs of one or more UEs in a cell, simplifies the configuration process, reduces higher-layer signaling overhead, makes subband operation more flexible, simplifies the conflict handling process between SSB and UL subband transmissions or PRACH opportunities and DL subband transmissions, and / or provides good communication performance.

[0034] Figure 2 A wireless communication method 200 for configuring, indicating, and activating / deactivating DL or UL subbands of one or more UEs in a cell is described, the method being performed by a base station, according to an embodiment of this disclosure. In some embodiments, method 200 includes: module 202, in which the base station configures the time / frequency location and bandwidth of subband pools for user equipment (UE) in the cell via radio resource control (RRC) static configuration; and module 204, in which the base station indicates and activates / deactivates downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) subbands of one or more UEs in the cell via physical layer signaling including downlink control information (DCI) or MAC layer signaling including medium access control (MAC) control elements (CE). This can solve the problems in the existing technology, define a method for configuring, indicating and activating / deactivating SBFD for one or more UEs in a cell, simplify the configuration process, reduce higher-layer signaling overhead, make subband operation more flexible, simplify the process of conflict handling between SSB and UL subband transmission or PRACH opportunity and DL subband transmission, and / or provide good communication performance.

[0035] In some embodiments, the RRC static configuration is used to configure SBFD time and frequency resources for the UE in the cell. In some embodiments, the subband pool is a time slot or symbol, wherein the time slot or symbol is a DL time slot or symbol, a UL time slot or symbol, or a flexible time slot or symbol. In some embodiments, the RRC static configuration includes a TDD-Subband-ConfigCommon information element (IE). In some embodiments, the DCI includes a subband indication field and / or a subband activation / deactivation field. In some embodiments, the subband indication field is used in a single UE-specific or UE-group-specific manner and contains N bits in bitmap form, where N is the number of subbands configured by the RRC static configuration, and each bit of the bitmap is associated with a subband. In some embodiments, the indication of the DL or UL subband comes from the bits of the bitmap.

[0036] In some embodiments, a first value of a bit in the bitmap indicates the DL subband to the one or more UEs in the cell, and a second value of a bit in the bitmap indicates the UL subband to the one or more UEs in the cell. In some embodiments, the subband activation / deactivation field is used in a single UE-specific manner and contains N bits in bitmap form, wherein the N bits of the subband activation / deactivation field are equal to the N bits of the subband indication field. In some embodiments, the subband activation / deactivation field provides the bitmap to a UE, and each bit of the bitmap is associated with the activation / deactivation of a subband. In some embodiments, a first value of a bit in the bitmap activates the DL or UL subband to the UE, and a second value of a bit in the bitmap deactivates the DL or UL subband to the UE. In some embodiments, the base station uses a first DCI to indicate the DL or UL subband to the one or more UEs and uses a second DCI to activate / deactivate the DL or UL subband to the one or more UEs. In some embodiments, the first DCI is UE-group-specific, indicating the DL or UL subband to a group of UEs by transmitting the subband indication field. In some embodiments, the second DCI is UE-specific, activating or deactivating the DL or UL subband to each UE by transmitting the subband activation / deactivation field. In some embodiments, the first DCI is a group-wide DCI whose cyclic redundancy check (CRC) is scrambled by a new sub-band indication-radio network temporary identifier (SBI-RNTI), and / or the second DCI is a UE-specific DCI whose CRC is scrambled by the new SBI-RNTI.

[0037] In some embodiments, the base station uses a UE-specific DCI, with CRC scrambling via a new SBI RNTI, to indicate and activate / deactivate the DL or UL subband for one or more UEs. In some embodiments, the UE-specific DCI sequentially transmits a bitmap of the subband indication field and the subband activation / deactivation field, wherein a first field of the bitmap is used to indicate the DL or UL subband to the UE, and a second field is used to activate or deactivate the DL or UL subband to the UE. In some embodiments, the base station uses alternating bits of the subband indication field and the subband activation / deactivation field of the UE-specific DCI to indicate and activate / deactivate the DL or UL subband for one or more UEs.

[0038] In some embodiments, the MAC CE includes the subband indication field and / or the subband activation / deactivation field. In some embodiments, the subband indication field of the MAC CE indicates the identifier of a subband to the one or more UEs, and the length of the subband indication field of the MAC CE is at most 4 bits, varying according to the number of subbands configured in the RRC static configuration. In some embodiments, a bit in the subband indication field of the MAC CE is set to a first value to indicate a DL subband to the UE, which maps to the position of the bit, and the bit is set to a second value to indicate a UL subband to the UE, which maps to the position of the bit. In some embodiments, the subband activation / deactivation field of the MAC CE activates / deactivates the DL or UL subband, and the length of the subband activation / deactivation field of the MAC CE depends on the length of the subband indication field of the MAC CE. In some embodiments, a bit in the subband activation / deactivation field is set to a first value to activate the DL or UL subband, and the position of the bit is mapped to the UE; the bit is set to a second value to deactivate the DL or UL subband, and the position of the bit is mapped to the UE.

[0039] In some embodiments, the MAC CE includes one byte for indicating and activating / deactivating the DL or UL subband. In some embodiments, if the number of bits in the subband indication field and the subband activation / deactivation field of the MAC CE is less than one byte, the bit positions not mapped to any subband indication or activation / deactivation are left blank.

[0040] In some embodiments, the base station further utilizes the DCI or the MAC CE to handle conflicts between synchronization signal block (SSB) transmissions and UL subband transmissions in the same time slot or symbol, as well as conflicts between physical random access channel (PRACH) opportunities and DL subband transmissions in the same time slot or symbol. In some embodiments, when an SSB area is configured in a resource block (RB) of a subband, the base station uses the DCI or the MAC CE to instruct another subband to perform UL transmission. In some embodiments, when a PRACH area is configured in an RB of a subband, the base station uses the DCI or the MAC CE to instruct another subband to perform DL transmission.

[0041] Some embodiments of this application define a novel SBFD configuration method for notifying one or more UEs of the time and / or frequency locations of subbands to be used for SBFD operations by the network / gNB. In this example method, the network / gNB uses higher-layer RRC static configuration to configure the time / frequency locations and bandwidth of subband pools for all UEs participating in SBFD operations within the cell. Simultaneously, the network / gNB also uses physical layer signaling (i.e., DCI) or MAC layer signaling (i.e., MAC CE) to indicate and activate / deactivate DL / UL subbands to one or more UEs in the cell. The main objective of this novel configuration method is to simplify higher-layer configuration for SBFD operations, reduce higher-layer signaling overhead, and make SBFD configuration more flexible. Some embodiments illustrate static configuration of the time and / or frequency locations of subband pools via RRC higher-layer configuration. Some embodiments illustrate indicating and activating / deactivating DL / UL subbands via DCI or MAC CE. Some embodiments illustrate handling conflicts between SSB and UL subband transmissions within the same time slot / symbol, as well as conflicts between PRACH opportunities and DL subband transmissions.

[0042] Static configuration of SBFD time and frequency resources for the cell:

[0043] In this embodiment, a static configuration of SBFD time-frequency resource locations and subband bandwidth is defined, wherein the SBFD time-frequency resources are configured to all UEs in the cell via higher-layer RRC signaling. Furthermore, in this configuration, subband pools are defined in specific time slots or symbols, which can be UL time slots or symbols, DL time slots or symbols, or flexible time slots or symbols.

[0044] The following Information Element (IE) TDD-Subbands-ConfigCommon defines the cell-specific configuration for the subband pools of all UEs in the cell, as shown below.

[0045] TDD-Subband-ConfigCommon information element:

[0046]

[0047]

[0048]

[0049] The description of the subband pool configuration for IE is shown in Table 1.

[0050] Table 1: Description of fields occupied by sub-band pool time frequency.

[0051]

[0052] Sub-band indication and activation / deactivation:

[0053] Some embodiments of this application explain how to indicate and activate / deactivate configured DL / UL subband resources to one or more UEs using physical layer signaling (e.g., DCI) or MAC layer signaling (e.g., MAC CE). Some embodiments explain how to indicate and activate / deactivate DL / UL subbands to one or more UEs in a cell using DCI. Some embodiments explain how to indicate and activate / deactivate DL / UL subbands to one or more UEs in a cell using MAC CE.

[0054] Subband indication and activation / deactivation via DCI:

[0055] In embodiments of this application, the network / gNB can use downlink control information (DCI) to indicate the configured subband resources according to the UE's DL or UL traffic direction, and activate / deactivate the DL / UL subband to one or more UEs in the cell. Therefore, the DCI field containing indication and activation / deactivation information and its transmission process are described in detail below.

[0056] To indicate and activate / deactivate DL / UL subbands, the following information is transmitted via DCI: 1. Subband Indication Field: The subband indication field of DCI can be used for a single UE or a group of UEs and may contain N bits in bitmap form, where N is the number of subbands configured by higher layers, as described in the embodiments above. The N bits of the subband indication field of DCI provide a bitmap for one or more UEs in the cell, where each bit of the bitmap is associated with a subband. The UE can assume the following information from the bitmap of the subband indication field: Number of subbands in N bits: For example, if the number of bits in the subband indication field bitmap is 2, the UE can assume that two subbands are configured in the TDD band. Similarly, if the number of bits in the subband indication field bitmap is 3, the UE can assume that three subbands are configured in the TDD band. 2. Indicating DL or UL subbands from bits in the bitmap: Embodiments of this application propose that a value of "1" for a bit in the bitmap indicates that the subband is a DL subband of one or more UEs in the cell, and a value of "0" for a bit in the bitmap indicates that the subband is a UL subband of one or more UEs in the cell, as shown in Table 2.

[0057] Table 2: Bitmap description of DL / UL subband indicator field based on DCI.

[0058]

[0059] 2. Subband Activation / Deactivation Field: The subband activation / deactivation field of the DCI can be used exclusively for a single UE and may contain N bits, where the number of bits N is equal to the number of bits in the subband indicator field. In other words, the number of bits in the subband activation / deactivation field depends on the number of bits in the subband indicator field. For example, if the number of bits in the subband indicator field is 3, then the number of bits in the subband activation / deactivation field is also 3. The subband activation / deactivation field of the DCI provides a bitmap for a UE (UE-specific), where each bit of the bitmap is associated with the activation / deactivation of a subband. This embodiment of the present disclosure proposes that a value of "1" for a bit in the bitmap indicates activation of the DL or UL subband of the UE, and a value of "0" for a bit in the bitmap indicates deactivation of the DL or UL subband of the UE, as shown in Table 3 below.

[0060] Table 3: Bitmap description of DL / UL subband activation / deactivation based on DCI:

[0061]

[0062] To transmit DL / UL subband indication and activation / deactivation information to one or more UEs via DCI, some embodiments of this application propose the following two methods. Furthermore, some embodiments of this application consider reusing existing DCIs. However, to distinguish the subband indication and activation / deactivation functions from other functions performed by existing DCIs, some embodiments of this application propose using a new RNTI, such as a subband indication (SBI) RNTI.

[0063] In Method 1, the network / gNB uses two DCIs for indication and activation / deactivation purposes. The first DCI is UE-group dedicated and transmits a subband indication field to indicate the DL / UL subband to a group of UEs. The second DCI is UE-group dedicated and transmits a subband activation / deactivation field to each UE to activate or deactivate the DL / UL subband. Figure 3 As shown, this is an example scenario of subband indication and activation / deactivation in one embodiment of this disclosure. For example, consider a scenario where the network / gNB needs to indicate three DL / UL subbands to UE1 and UE2 in the cell, and activate two DL subbands for UE1 and one UL subband for UE2, as follows. Figure 3 As shown.

[0064] To indicate DL / UL subbands to UE1 and UE2, a UE-group common DCI, such as DCI format 2_0, can be used to transmit DL / UL subband indications. Since DCI format 2_0 is used for time slot format indication in the current specification, the CRC of DCI format 2_0 can be scrambled using a new SBI RNTI to distinguish subband indications from time slot format indications. In this case, the following indication fields can be used to indicate DL-UL subbands for a group of UEs (i.e., UE1 and UE2), as shown in Table 4.

[0065] Table 4: Example of subband indication to a group of UEs:

[0066]

[0067] To activate or deactivate the DL or UL subband, a UE-specific DCI scrambled with a new SBI RNTI CRC can be used to transmit the subband activation / deactivation field. In this case, the DCIs given in Tables 5 and 6 below can be used to transmit the activation / deactivation field to UE1 and UE2 respectively.

[0068] Table 5: Examples of UE1 subband activation / deactivation based on DCI:

[0069]

[0070] Table 6: Examples of UE2 subband activation / deactivation based on DCI:

[0071]

[0072] Method 1 has the advantage of reducing the overall DCI load, i.e., the number of bits in the DCI. However, in this method, the number of physical layer signaling (i.e., the number of DCI transmissions) is greater than in Method 2; for example, three DCIs need to be transmitted in the example above.

[0073] In Method 2, the network / gNB can use a UE-dedicated DCI with a CRC scrambled via the new SBI RNTI to perform DL / UL subband indication and its activation / deactivation. For this purpose, the aforementioned DCI fields (i.e., the subband indication field and the subband activation / deactivation field) can be transmitted to each UE participating in the SBFD operation via the UE-dedicated DCI. The advantage of Method 2 is a reduction in signaling compared to Method 1. However, in Method 2, the DCI payload or the number of bits in the DCI is greater than in Method 1. For Method 2, some embodiments of this application propose the following two possible options for indication and activation / deactivation via UE-dedicated DCI.

[0074] Option 1:

[0075] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the cascaded subband indicator field and the activation / deactivation field according to an embodiment of this application. In option 1 of method 2, the network / gNB can transmit in a cascaded manner using a bitmap of the DL / UL subband indicator field and the DL / UL subband activation / deactivation field, such as... Figure 4 As shown. In other words, the UE-specific DCI can sequentially transmit a bitmap of the subband indication field and the subband activation / deactivation field, where the first field is used to indicate the DL / UL subband, and the second field is used to activate or deactivate the UE's DL / UL subband, as shown. Figure 4 As shown.

[0076] For example, consider Figure 3In the scenario described, the network / gNB needs to indicate three DL / UL subbands to UE1 and UE2 in the cell, activating two DL subbands for UE1 and one UL subband for UE2. To indicate and activate / deactivate DL / UL subbands to the UEs (i.e., UE1 and UE2), a UE-specific DCI is scrambled with a CRC using a new SBI RNTI, containing subband indication and subband activation / deactivation fields, which can be transmitted separately to each UE. Since there are two UEs here, UE1 and UE2, the network / gNB can transmit two DCIs to indicate and activate / deactivate subbands for UE1 and UE2. Table 7 shows an example of indicating three DL / UL subbands to UE1 and activating two DL subbands. Table 8 shows an example of indicating three DL / UL subbands to UE2 and activating one UL subband.

[0077] Table 7: Example of indicating three DL-UL subbands to UE1 and activating two DL subbands.

[0078]

[0079] Table 8: Example of sending 3 DL-UL subband indications and 1 UL subband activation to UE2.

[0080]

[0081] The advantage of option 1 in method 2 is that it decouples the bitmaps of the two fields, simplifying the UE's decoding mechanism for indication and activation / deactivation.

[0082] Option 2:

[0083] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the indication and activation / deactivation of the DL / UL subband via alternating bits of the UE-specific DCI, according to an embodiment of this application. In option 2 of method 2, the network / gNB can use alternating bits of the DL / UL subband indication field and activation / deactivation field of the UE-specific DCI to indicate and activate / deactivate the DL / UL subband to the UE, as shown below. Figure 5 As shown.

[0084] For example, consider Figure 3In the scenario described, the network / gNB needs to indicate three DL / UL subbands to UE1 and UE2 in the cell, activating two DL subbands for UE1 and one UL subband for UE2. To indicate and activate / deactivate DL / UL subbands to the UEs (i.e., UE1 and UE2), a UE-specific DCI is scrambled with a new SBI RNTI CRC, containing alternating bits for indicating and activating / deactivating DL / UL subbands, which can be transmitted separately to each UE. Since there are two UEs here, UE1 and UE2, the network / gNB can transmit two DCIs to indicate and activate / deactivate subbands for UE1 and UE2. Table 9 shows an example of indicating three DL / UL subbands to UE1 and activating two DL subbands using alternating bits. Table 10 shows an example of indicating three DL / UL subbands to UE2 and activating one UL subband using alternating bits.

[0085] Table 9: Example of indicating three DL / UL subbands and activating two DL subbands by alternating bit directions to UE1.

[0086]

[0087]

[0088] Table 10: Example of indicating three DL / UL subbands and activating one UL subband by alternating bit directions to UE2.

[0089]

[0090] Option 2 has the advantage that each UE can obtain the required information by decoding a smaller number of bits. However, Option 2 is more complex than Option 1.

[0091] Subband indication and activation / deactivation via MAC CE:

[0092] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a MAC CE for instructing and activating / deactivating subbands to a UE, according to an embodiment of this application. In this embodiment of the application, the network / gNB uses MAC layer signaling to instruct and activate / deactivate configured DL / UL subband resources to one or more UEs in the cell by sending indication and activation / deactivation information in the MAC CE. To this end, some embodiments of this application propose a novel MAC CE consisting of an octet, such as... Figure 6 As shown.

[0093] For subband indication and activation / deactivation, the following information can be transmitted via MAC CE:

[0094] 1. Subband Indicator Field: This field indicates the identity information of the subband, such as whether it is a DL subband or a UL subband. The field length is a maximum of 4 bits and can vary depending on the number of subbands configured by the higher layer. For example, if the higher layer configures 3 subbands, the subband indicator field in the MAC CE will be 3 bits long. Furthermore, bits in the MAC CE's subband indicator field are set to "1" to indicate a DL subband, and bits are set to "0" to indicate a UL subband. For example, if a bit at a specific location is set to "1", it indicates that the subband at that location is a DL subband; if a bit at that location is set to "0", it indicates that the subband at that location is a UL subband.

[0095] 2. Sub-band activation / deactivation field:

[0096] This field is used to activate / deactivate the DL / UL subband. The length of this field depends on the length of the subband indicator field. For example, if the subband indicator field is 3 bits long, the subband activation / deactivation field can also be considered to be 3 bits long. Furthermore, subband activation and deactivation are configured via a bitmap. If a bit at a specific location is set to "1", the corresponding DL or UL subband is activated; if the bit is set to "0", the corresponding DL or UL subband is deactivated.

[0097] Some embodiments of this application consider transmitting subband indication and activation / deactivation information to one or more UEs in a cell via MAC CE. Figure 3 In the example scenario, the network / gNB needs to indicate three DL / UL subbands to UE1 and UE2 in the cell, and activate two DL subbands for UE1 and one UL subband for UE2. Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a MAC CE for instructing and activating / deactivating a subband to UE1, according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a MAC CE for indicating and activating / deactivating a subband to UE2, according to an embodiment of this application. In this case, when indicating and activating / deactivating the DL / UL subband to the UEs (i.e., UE1 and UE2), a UE-specific MAC CE containing one octet can be transmitted to UE1 and UE2, such as... Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown. As previously mentioned, the MAC CE used for DL / UL subband indication and activation / deactivation consists of one octet. If the DL / UL subband indication field and the DL / UL subband activation / deactivation field have fewer than one octet (i.e., 8 bits), the bit positions not mapped to any subband indication or activation / deactivation will remain empty. For example, in the example above, the indication field and the activation / deactivation field each have 3 bits, so the 4th bit position of each field is empty, as shown. Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown.

[0098] Conflict handling between SSB and UL subbands, and between PRACH opportunities and DL subbands:

[0099] Some embodiments of this application discuss potential enhancements to SBFD operation, wherein the network / gNB can utilize DCI-based indications or MAC CE-based DL / UL subband indications to handle conflicts between SSB transmissions and UL subband transmissions in the same time slot / symbol, as well as conflicts between PRACH opportunities and DL subband transmissions in the same time slot / symbol.

[0100] Overlap between SSB and UL transmission directions in the time domain:

[0101] In the current specification, the time-domain location of the SSB transmitted in the frame of the SS / PBCH block is indicated by system information, and the UE will not perform UL transmission. That is, if the UL transmission overlaps with the SS / PBCH block in the time domain, the UE will not transmit PUSCH, PUCCH or PRACH in these time slots / symbols (refer to Clause 11.1 of TS 38.213).

[0102] Based on this limitation, some embodiments of this application suggest that the gNB should not designate the location where the SSB and the RB of the UL sub-band overlap as a UL sub-band. Since the method proposed in the above embodiments does not limit DL and UL sub-bands to specific sub-bands, but rather defines a sub-band pool that can be designated and activated / deactivated as DL or UL sub-bands, when the SSB area is configured in the RB of a certain sub-band, the gNB can use DCI-based indication or MAC CE-based indication to designate other sub-bands as UL transmission sub-bands. Figure 9 As shown, this is an example of conflict handling between SSB and UL subband transmission in one embodiment of this application. If the SSB is configured at the RB position of subband #0, the gNB can use DCI-based indication or MAC CE-based indication to indicate subband #1 and / or subband #2 as the UE's UL subband, such as... Figure 9 As shown.

[0103] Temporal overlap between PRACH and DL directions:

[0104] In a similar or identical manner, when the PRACH area is configured in the RB of a subband, the gNB can use DCI-based indication or MAC CE-based indication to indicate other subbands as DL transmission subbands, as described in the above embodiments. Figure 10As shown, this is an example of conflict handling between PRACH opportunities and DL subband transmission in an embodiment of this application. If PRACH is configured at the RB position of subband #1, the gNB can use DCI-based indication or MAC CE-based indication to indicate subband #0 and / or subband #2 as the UE's DL subband, such as... Figure 10 As shown.

[0105] In summary, the main objectives of some embodiments of this application are to simplify the configuration process of SBFD operation, reduce higher-layer signaling overhead, and make subband operation more flexible. To achieve these objectives, the proposed solutions are summarized as follows: 1. Explicitly configure SBFD time / frequency resources for a subband pool for a UE in a cell using RRC static configuration. 2. Use physical layer signaling and MAC layer signaling to indicate and activate / deactivate DL / UL subbands for one or more UEs. Use DCI-based bitmaps to indicate and activate / deactivate DL / UL subbands for one or more UEs. Use a MAC CE-based mechanism to indicate and activate / deactivate DL / UL subbands for one or more UEs. 3. A method for handling conflicts between SSB and UL subband transmissions and between PRACH opportunities and DL subband transmissions is proposed. 4. Some embodiments of this application propose a novel SBFD configuration and its method for indicating to UEs, with the following advantages: 1. The proposed methods and solutions simplify the configuration process of SBFD operation. 2. The proposed methods and solutions reduce higher-layer configuration overhead. 3. The proposed methods and solutions make subband operation more flexible. 4. The proposed solution reduces the complexity of coexistence between traditional UEs and SBFD-enabled UEs, and handles conflicts between DL and UL transmissions more efficiently.

[0106] Figure 11 This is a block diagram of a wireless communication example system 700 according to an embodiment of this application. The embodiments described herein can be implemented into the system using any appropriately configured hardware and / or software. Figure 11 System 700 is shown, comprising radio frequency (RF) circuitry 710, baseband circuitry 720, application circuitry 730, memory / storage device 740, display 750, camera 760, sensor 770, and input / output (I / O) interface 780, which are coupled to each other at least as shown. Application circuitry 730 may include circuitry, such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include any combination of general-purpose and special-purpose processors, such as a graphics processor or application processor. The processor may be coupled to the memory / storage device and configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications and / or operating systems to run on the system.

[0107] Although the contents of this application have been described in conjunction with what are considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the contents of this application are not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but are intended to cover various arrangements made without departing from the broadest interpretation of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method for subband full-duplex SBFD operation, executed by a base station, characterized in that, include: The base station configures the time / frequency location and bandwidth of the subband pool for the user equipment (UE) in the cell through static configuration of Radio Resource Control (RRC). as well as The base station indicates and activates / deactivates downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) subbands of one or more UEs in the cell through physical layer signaling including downlink control information (DCI) or MAC layer signaling including media access control (MAC) control element (CE). The DCI includes a subband indication field and a subband activation / deactivation field. The subband activation / deactivation field is used exclusively by a single UE and contains N bits in a bitmap format. The N bits of the subband activation / deactivation field are equal to the N bits of the subband indication field. The MAC CE includes the subband indication field and the subband activation / deactivation field. The subband activation / deactivation field of the MAC CE activates / deactivates the DL or UL subband, and the length of the subband activation / deactivation field of the MAC CE depends on the length of the subband indication field of the MAC CE.

2. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The RRC static configuration is used to configure SBFD time and frequency resources for the UE in the cell.

3. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sub-band pool is a time slot or symbol, wherein the time slot or symbol is a DL time slot or symbol, a UL time slot or symbol, or a flexible time slot or symbol.

4. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The RRC static configuration includes the TDD-Subband-ConfigCommon information element IE.

5. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The subband indicator field is used in a manner that is dedicated to a single UE or a group of UEs, and contains N bits in the form of a bitmap, where N is the number of subbands configured in the RRC static configuration, and each bit in the bitmap is associated with a subband.

6. The wireless communication method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The indication of the DL or UL sub-band comes from the bit of the bitmap.

7. The wireless communication method according to claim 5, characterized in that, A first value of a bit in the bitmap indicates the DL subband to the one or more UEs in the cell, and a second value of a bit in the bitmap indicates the UL subband to the one or more UEs in the cell.

8. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The subband activation / deactivation field provides a UE with the bitmap, where each bit of the bitmap is associated with the activation / deactivation of a subband.

9. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that, A first value of a bit in the bitmap activates the DL or UL subband to the UE, and a second value of a bit in the bitmap deactivates the DL or UL subband to the UE.

10. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The base station uses a first DCI to indicate the DL or UL subband to the one or more UEs, and uses a second DCI to activate / deactivate the DL or UL subband to the one or more UEs.

11. The wireless communication method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The first DCI is dedicated to the UE group and indicates the DL or UL subband to a group of UEs by transmitting the subband indication field.

12. The wireless communication method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The second DCI is UE-specific, and activates or deactivates the DL or UL subband to each UE by transmitting the subband activation / deactivation field.

13. The wireless communication method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The first DCI is a group-general DCI, whose cyclic redundancy check (CRC) is scrambled by a new subband indicator-radio network temporary identifier (SBI-RNTI), and / or the second DCI is a UE-specific DCI, whose CRC is scrambled by the new SBI-RNTI.

14. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The base station uses a UE-specific DCI, and the CRC is scrambled by a new SBI RNTI to indicate and activate / deactivate the DL or UL subband for one or more UEs.

15. The wireless communication method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The UE-dedicated DCI sequentially transmits a bitmap of the subband indication field and the subband activation / deactivation field, wherein the first field of the bitmap is used to indicate the DL or UL subband to the UE, and the second field is used to activate or deactivate the DL or UL subband to the UE.

16. The wireless communication method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The base station uses alternating bits of the subband indication field and the subband activation / deactivation field of the UE-specific DCI to indicate and activate / deactivate the DL or UL subband for one or more UEs.

17. The wireless communication method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The subband indication field of the MAC CE indicates the identifier of the subband to the one or more UEs, and the length of the subband indication field of the MAC CE is at most 4 bits, and varies according to the number of subbands configured in the RRC static configuration.

18. The wireless communication method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The bit in the subband indication field of the MAC CE is set to a first value to indicate a DL subband to the UE, which is mapped to the position of the bit, and the bit is set to a second value to indicate a UL subband to the UE, which is mapped to the position of the bit.

19. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The bit in the subband activation / deactivation field is set to a first value to activate the DL or UL subband, and the position of the bit is mapped to the UE. The bit is set to a second value to deactivate the DL or UL subband, and the position of the bit is mapped to the UE.

20. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The MAC CE includes a byte for indicative and activation / deactivation of the DL or UL subband.

21. The wireless communication method according to claim 20, characterized in that, If the number of bits in the subband indicator field and the subband activation / deactivation field of the MAC CE is less than one byte, then the bit position not mapped to any subband indicator or activation / deactivation is left blank.

22. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The base station further utilizes the DCI or the MAC CE to handle conflicts between the synchronization signal block SSB transmission and the UL subband transmission in the same time slot or symbol, as well as conflicts between the physical random access channel PRACH opportunity and the DL subband transmission in the same time slot or symbol.

23. The wireless communication method according to claim 22, characterized in that, When an SSB area is configured in a resource block (RB) of a subband, the base station uses the DCI or the MAC CE to instruct another subband to perform UL transmission.

24. The wireless communication method according to claim 22, characterized in that, When a PRACH area is configured in an RB of a subband, the base station uses the DCI or the MAC CE to instruct another subband to perform DL transmission.

25. A base station, characterized in that, include: Memory; transceiver; as well as A processor that connects the memory and the transceiver; The processor is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 24.

26. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The system stores instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method described in any one of claims 1 to 24.

27. A chip, characterized in that, include: The processor is configured to invoke and run a computer program stored in memory to cause a device with the chip mounted to perform the method described in any one of claims 1 to 24.

28. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer program stores a computer program that causes the computer to perform the method described in any one of claims 1 to 24.

29. A computer program product, characterized in that, Includes a computer program that causes a computer to perform the method described in any one of claims 1 to 24.

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