Method, communication device and infrastructure equipment

Abstract

A method of operating a communication device for transmitting uplink information is provided. The method includes preparing uplink information for transmission via a plurality of communication resource elements of a wireless access interface that are allocated for transmission of uplink information. The wireless access interface includes a plurality of communication resource elements that are arranged in time and frequency according to a structure in which some of the communication resource elements are designated for uplink transmission and some of the communication resource elements are designated for downlink transmission. The uplink information is prepared for uplink transmission to infrastructure equipment of a wireless communication network via a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for the uplink information. The method includes determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information will be muted and not used for transmission of uplink information. Determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information will be muted includes determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmitting uplink information is satisfied. The method includes transmitting uplink information using a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information other than the one or more muted communication resource elements.

Description

Background Art Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to communication devices, infrastructure equipment, and methods of operating communication devices and infrastructure equipment in a wireless communication network.

[0002] This application claims the Paris Convention priority of European Patent Application No. EP22189114.6, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0003] Description of Related Art

[0004] The "background technology" description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the present disclosure. The work of the presently named inventors, within the scope described in this background technology section and in aspects that may not be described as prior art at the time of filing, is neither explicitly nor implicitly admitted to be prior art with respect to the present invention.

[0005] Previous generation mobile telecommunication systems (such as those based on the UMTS and Long Term Evolution (LTE) architectures defined by 3GPP) are able to support a wider range of services than the simple voice and messaging services provided by previous generations of mobile telecommunication systems. For example, with the improved radio interface and enhanced data rates provided by LTE systems, users are able to enjoy high data rate applications such as mobile video streaming and mobile video conferencing that were previously available only via fixed line data connections. Therefore, the demand for deploying such networks is strong, and the coverage areas of these networks (i.e., the geographic locations where the networks can be accessed) are expected to continue to grow rapidly.

[0006] Current and future wireless communication networks are expected to routinely and efficiently support communications with an ever-increasing range of devices associated with a wider range of data traffic profiles and types than existing systems are optimized to support. For example, it is expected that future wireless communication networks will be expected to efficiently support communications with devices including reduced complexity devices, machine type communication (MTC) devices, high-resolution video displays, virtual reality helmets, extended reality (XR), etc. Some of these different types of devices may be deployed in very large numbers, such as low-complexity devices used to support the "Internet of Things", and may generally be associated with the transmission of relatively small amounts of data with relatively high latency tolerance. Other types of devices, such as those supporting high-definition video streaming, may be associated with the transmission of relatively large amounts of data with relatively low latency tolerance. Other types of devices, such as those used for autonomous vehicle communications and for other critical applications, may be characterized in that data should be transmitted over a network with low latency and high reliability. A single device type may also be associated with different traffic profiles / characteristics depending on the application it is running. For example, different considerations may be made for efficiently supporting data exchange with a smartphone when the smartphone is running a video streaming application (high downlink data) as compared to when the smartphone is running an Internet browsing application (sporadic uplink and downlink data) or being used by emergency responders for voice communications in an emergency scenario (data subject to strict reliability and latency requirements).

[0007] In view of this, it is expected that current wireless communication networks (such as those that may be referred to as 5G or New Radio (NR) systems / new radio access technology (RAT) systems or indeed future 6G wireless communications) will need to efficiently support connections for a wide range of devices associated with different applications and different characteristic data service profiles and requirements.

[0008] 5G NR is constantly evolving and the current work plan includes 5G-NR-advanced, where several further enhancements are expected, in particular to support new use cases / scenarios with higher requirements. The desire to support these new use cases and scenarios brings new challenges to be addressed for efficient handling of communications in wireless communication systems. Summary of the invention

[0009] The present disclosure may help solve or alleviate at least some of the problems discussed above.

[0010] Embodiments of the present technology may provide a method for operating a communication device for transmitting uplink information. The method includes preparing uplink information for transmission via a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information via a wireless access interface. The wireless access interface includes a plurality of communication resource elements, which are arranged in time and frequency according to a structure in which some of the communication resource elements are designated for uplink transmission and some of the communication resource elements are designated for downlink transmission. The uplink information is prepared for uplink transmission to an infrastructure device of a wireless communication network via a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for the uplink information. The method includes determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information will be muted and not used for transmission of uplink information. Determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information will be muted includes: determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmitting uplink information is satisfied. The method includes transmitting uplink information using a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information other than one or more muted communication resource elements.

[0011] Other example embodiments may provide a method of operating an infrastructure device for transmitting downlink information that forms part of a wireless communication network. The method includes preparing downlink information for transmission via a plurality of communication resource elements of a wireless access interface that are allocated for transmission of downlink information. The wireless access interface includes a plurality of communication resource elements that are arranged in time and frequency according to a structure in which some of the communication resource elements are designated for uplink transmission and some of the communication resource elements are designated for downlink transmission. The downlink information is prepared for downlink transmission to a communication device via a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for the downlink information. The method includes determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of downlink information will be muted and not used for transmission of downlink information. Determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of downlink information will be muted includes determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmitting downlink information is satisfied. The method includes transmitting downlink information using a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of downlink information other than the one or more muted communication resource elements.

[0012] As will be appreciated from an understanding of the detailed description below, example embodiments may provide a method for a communication device or infrastructure equipment to determine that a muting condition is satisfied. By imposing a condition on the muting of resource elements, the number of instances of resource element muting may be reduced, thereby providing improved communication resource efficiency. For example, the condition may take into account interference expected to be caused by uplink or downlink transmissions at the infrastructure equipment. Thus, the muting condition may be configured such that only resource elements of uplink or downlink transmissions that are expected to cause significant interference are muted.

[0013] Embodiments of the present technology, in addition to methods for operating communication devices, also relate to methods for operating infrastructure equipment, communication devices and infrastructure equipment, circuit systems for communication devices and infrastructure equipment, computer programs, and computer-readable storage media, which can allow more efficient use of radio resources by communication devices operating in a wireless communication network.

[0014] Accordingly aspects and features of the disclosure are defined in the appended claims.

[0015] It should be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and not restrictive of the present technology.The described embodiments, together with further advantages, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] A more complete understanding of the present disclosure and many of its attendant advantages will be readily appreciated as they become better appreciated by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals refer to identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which:

[0017] Figure 1 schematically represents some aspects of an LTE-type wireless telecommunications system that may be configured to operate in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 2 schematically represents some aspects of a new radio access technology (RAT) wireless telecommunications system that may be configured to operate in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram of exemplary infrastructure equipment and communications devices that may be configured to operate in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 4 schematically illustrates an example of inter-cell cross-link interference;

[0021] Figure 5 An example method for accounting for inter-cell cross-link interference is shown;

[0022] Figure 6 Schematically illustrating an example of intra-cell cross-link interference;

[0023] Figure 7 An example partitioning of the system bandwidth into dedicated uplink and downlink subbands is shown;

[0024] Figure 8 An example of transmission power leakage is shown;

[0025] Fig. 9 An example of receiver power selectivity is shown;

[0026] Fig.10 An example of inter-subband interference is shown;

[0027] Fig.11 An example of intra-subband interference is shown;

[0028] Fig.12 A method of operating a communication device according to an example embodiment is shown;

[0029] Fig.13 schematically illustrates an example of muting resource elements for uplink transmission according to an example embodiment;

[0030] Fig.14 A method of operating infrastructure equipment according to an example embodiment is shown;

[0031] Fig.15 schematically illustrates an example of muting resource elements for downlink transmission according to an example embodiment;

[0032] Fig.16 schematically illustrates an example of muting protected resource elements for downlink transmission according to an example embodiment;

[0033] Fig.17 A plurality of resource element muting patterns with which a UE may be configured according to example embodiments are schematically illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Long Term Evolution Advanced Radio Access Technology (4G)

[0035] Figure 1 A schematic diagram is provided showing some basic functions of a mobile telecommunication network / system 6 which typically operates according to LTE principles, but which may also support other radio access technologies, and which may be suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure as described herein. Figure 1Certain aspects of the various elements of the telecommunications network and their corresponding modes of operation are well known and defined in relevant standards managed by the 3GPP (RTM) body and are also described in a number of books on the subject (e.g., Holma H. ​​and Toskala A [1]). It will be appreciated that operational aspects of the telecommunications network discussed herein that are not specifically described (e.g., with respect to specific communication protocols and physical channels used for communication between the different elements) may be implemented in accordance with any known techniques (e.g., in accordance with relevant standards and known proposed modifications and additions to relevant standards).

[0036] The network 6 comprises a plurality of base stations 1 connected to a core network 2. Each base station provides a coverage area 3 (ie a cell) within which data can be communicated to and from a communication device 4. Figure 1 Each base station 1 is shown as a single entity in the figure, but those skilled in the art will understand that some functions of a base station may be performed by different interconnected elements, such as an antenna (or multiple antennas), a remote radio head, amplifiers, etc. One or more base stations may together form a radio access network.

[0037] Data is transmitted from the base station 1 to a communication device 4 within the corresponding coverage area 3 of the base station via a radio downlink. Data is transmitted from the communication device 4 to the base station 1 via a radio uplink. The core network 2 routes data to and from the communication device 4 via the corresponding base station 1, and provides functions such as authentication, mobility management, billing, etc. The terminal device may also be referred to as a mobile station, user equipment (UE), user terminal, mobile radio, communication device, etc. The services provided by the core network 2 may include a connection to the Internet or to an external telephone service. The core network 2 may also track the location of the communication device 4 so that it can efficiently contact (i.e., page) the communication device 4 to transmit downlink data to the communication device 4.

[0038] Base stations, as examples of network infrastructure equipment, may also be referred to as transceiver stations, Node Bs, eNode Bs, eNBs, gNode Bs, gNBs, etc. In this regard, different terms are often associated with different generations of wireless telecommunication systems for elements that provide broadly comparable functionality. However, certain embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented equally in different generations of wireless telecommunication systems, and for simplicity, certain terms may be used regardless of the underlying network architecture. That is, the use of a particular term with respect to certain exemplary implementations is not intended to indicate that such implementations are limited to only a certain generation of networks that may be most associated with that particular term.

[0039] New Radio Access Technology (5G)

[0040] Systems incorporating NR technology are expected to support different services (or service types), which may be characterized by different requirements for latency, data rate, and / or reliability. For example, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services are characterized by high capacity, requiring support for up to 20 Gb / s. Ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC) services require a single transmission of a 32-byte packet from a radio protocol layer 2 / 3 SDU entry point to a radio protocol layer 2 / 3 SDU exit point of the radio interface within 1 ms, with a reliability of 1-10. -5 (99.999%) or higher (99.9999%)[2].

[0041] Massive machine type communication (mMTC) is another example of a service that can be supported by NR-based communication networks. In addition, the system is expected to support further enhancements related to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to support services with new requirements for high availability, high reliability, low latency, and in some cases high precision positioning.

[0042] Figure 2 An exemplary configuration of a wireless communication network using some terminology proposed for and used in NR and 5G is shown. Figure 2 In the figure, a plurality of transmission and reception points (TRPs) 10 are connected to distributed control units (DUs) 41, 42 via connection interfaces represented by lines 16. Each of the TRPs 10 is arranged to send and receive signals via a wireless access interface within the radio frequency bandwidth available to the wireless communication network. Therefore, within the range for performing radio communications via the wireless access interface, each of the TRPs 10 forms a cell of the wireless communication network as represented by circle 12. Therefore, a wireless communication device 14 within the radio communication range provided by the cell 12 can send signals to and receive signals from the TRP 10 via the wireless access interface. Each of the distributed units 41, 42 is connected to a central unit (CU) 40 (which can be referred to as a control node) via an interface 46. The central unit 40 is then connected to a core network 20, which can contain all other functions required for transmitting data transmitted to and from the wireless communication devices, and the core network 20 can be connected to other networks 30.

[0043] Figure 2 The elements of the radio access network shown in FIG. 1 may be used in the same manner as described with respect to FIG. Figure 1 The corresponding elements of the LTE network described in the examples operate in a similar manner. It will be appreciated that Figure 2The operational aspects of the telecommunications network shown in and operational aspects of other networks not specifically described herein discussed in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure (e.g., with respect to specific communication protocols and physical channels used for communication between different elements) may be implemented in accordance with any known technology (e.g., in accordance with currently used methods for implementing such operational aspects of wireless telecommunications systems, e.g., in accordance with relevant standards).

[0044] Figure 2 The TRP 10 of the new RAT network may have, in part, functionality corresponding to a base station or eNode B of an LTE network. Similarly, the communication device 14 may have functionality corresponding to a UE device 4 known for operating with an LTE network. It will therefore be understood that operational aspects of the new RAT network (e.g., with respect to specific communication protocols and physical channels used for communication between different elements) may differ from those operational aspects known from LTE or other known mobile telecommunication standards. However, it will also be understood that each of the core network components, base stations, and communication devices of the new RAT network will be functionally similar to the core network components, base stations, and communication devices of the LTE wireless communication network, respectively.

[0045] In terms of broad top-level functions, connections to Figure 2 The core network 20 of the new RAT telecommunication system shown can be broadly considered to be similar to Figure 1 The core network 2 shown corresponds to the core network 2, and the corresponding central unit 40 and its associated distributed unit / TRP 10 can be broadly considered to provide Figure 1 The term network infrastructure equipment / access node may be used to encompass these elements and more conventional base station type elements of wireless telecommunication systems. Depending on the application at hand, the responsibility for scheduling transmissions scheduled over the radio interface between the corresponding distributed units and the communication device may lie with the control node / central unit and / or the distributed unit / TRP. The communication device 14 is Figure 2 1 is represented as being located within the coverage area of ​​the first communication cell 12. The communication device 14 can therefore exchange signaling with the first central unit 40 in the first communication cell 12 via one of the distributed units / TRPs 10 associated with the first communication cell 12.

[0046] You will also understand that Figure 2 It only represents one example of the proposed architecture for a telecommunication system based on a new RAT, in which the method according to the principles described herein may be employed, and in terms of wireless telecommunication systems having a different architecture, the functionalities disclosed herein may also be applied.

[0047] Thus, certain embodiments of the present disclosure as discussed herein may be implemented according to a variety of different architectures, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2) is implemented in a wireless telecommunications system / network. It will therefore be appreciated that the particular wireless telecommunications architecture in any given implementation is not particularly important to the principles described herein. In this regard, certain embodiments of the present disclosure may generally be described in the context of communications between network infrastructure equipment / access nodes and communication devices, wherein the particular nature of the network infrastructure equipment / access nodes and communication devices will depend on the network infrastructure used for the implementation at hand. For example, in some scenarios, the network infrastructure equipment / access nodes may include a base station (such as, for example, Figure 1 The LTE type base station 1 shown in FIG. 1 is suitable for providing the functions according to the principles described herein, while in other examples, the network infrastructure equipment may include Figure 2 A control unit / control node 40 and / or TRP 10 of the type shown in FIG. 1 is adapted to provide functionality according to the principles described herein.

[0048] Figure 3 Provided Figure 2 A more detailed schematic diagram of some of the components of the network shown in . Figure 3 As a simplified representation, Figure 2 The TRP 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a wireless transmitter 30, a wireless receiver 32, and a controller or control processor 34 that is operable to control the transmitter 30 and the wireless receiver 32 to send and receive radio signals to one or more UEs 14 within a cell 12 formed by the TRP 10. Figure 3 As shown, the exemplary UE 14 is shown to include a corresponding transmitter 49, a receiver 48 and a controller 44, which is configured to control the transmitter 49 and the receiver 48 to transmit signals representing uplink data to the wireless communication network via the wireless access interface formed by the TRP 10, and to receive downlink data as signals sent by the transmitter 30 and received by the receiver 48 according to normal operation.

[0049] The transmitters 30, 49 and the receivers 32, 48 (as well as other transmitters, receivers, and transceivers described with respect to the examples and embodiments of the present disclosure) may include radio frequency filters and amplifiers as well as signal processing components and devices to send and receive radio signals in accordance with, for example, the 5G / NR standard. The controllers 34, 44 (as well as other controllers described with respect to the examples and embodiments of the present disclosure) may be, for example, a microprocessor, a CPU, or a dedicated chipset configured to execute instructions stored on a computer-readable medium such as a non-volatile memory. The processing steps described herein may be performed, for example, by a microprocessor in combination with a random access memory, the microprocessor operating in accordance with instructions stored on a computer-readable medium. For ease of presentation, in Figure 3The transmitter, receiver and controller are schematically shown as separate elements in the Figure. However, it will be understood that the functionality of these elements may be provided in a variety of different ways, such as using one or more appropriately programmed programmable computers, or one or more appropriately configured application specific integrated circuits / circuitry / chips / chip sets. It will be understood that the infrastructure equipment / TRP / base station and UE / communication device will typically include various other elements associated with their operating functions.

[0050] like Figure 3 As shown, the TRP 10 also includes a network interface 50 that is connected to the DU 42 via the physical interface 16. Thus, the network interface 50 provides a communication link for data and signaling traffic from the TRP 10 via the DU 42 and the CU 40 to the core network 20.

[0051] The interface 46 between the DU 42 and the CU 40 is referred to as the F1 interface, which can be a physical interface or a logical interface. The F1 interface 46 between the CU and the DU can operate according to the specifications 3GPP TS 38.470 and 3GPP TS 38.473, and can be formed by optical fiber or other wired or wireless high-bandwidth connections. In one example, the connection 16 from the TRP 10 to the DU 42 is via optical fiber. The connection between the TRP 10 and the core network 20 can generally be referred to as a backhaul, which includes the interface 16 from the network interface 50 of the TRP 10 to the DU 42 and the F1 interface 46 from the DU 42 to the CU 40.

[0052] Full-duplex time division duplex (FD-TDD)

[0053] NR / 5G networks can operate using time division duplex (TDD), in which the entire frequency band or carrier is switched to downlink or uplink transmission in one time period and can be switched to the other of the downlink or uplink transmission in a later time period. Currently, TDD operates in half-duplex mode (HD-TDD), in which the gNB or UE can send or receive packets at a given time, but not at the same time. As wireless networks transition from NR to 5G-Advanced networks, the proposed new features of such networks are to enhance the full-duplex operation of TDD by implementing full-duplex operation in TDD (FD-TDD) [3], [4].

[0054] In FD-TDD, the gNB can send and receive data to and from the UE simultaneously on the same frequency band. In addition, the UE can operate in HD-TDD or FD-TDD mode depending on its capabilities. For example, when the UE is only capable of supporting HD-TDD, FD-TDD is implemented at the gNB by scheduling DL transmissions to a first UE and scheduling UL transmissions from a second UE within the same orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol (i.e., simultaneously). Conversely, when the UE is capable of supporting FD-TDD, FD-TDD is implemented at both the gNB and the UE, in which case the gNB can schedule the UE simultaneously with DL and UL transmissions within the same OFDM symbol by scheduling DL and UL transmissions at different frequencies (e.g., physical resource blocks (PRBs)) of the system bandwidth. A UE supporting FD-TDD requires more complex hardware than a UE supporting only HD-TDD. Current development of 5G networks focuses primarily on enabling FD-TDD at the gNB when the UE operates in HD-TDD mode.

[0055] Motivations for enhancing duplex operation of TDD include improvements in system capacity, reduced latency, and improved uplink coverage. For example, in current HD-TDD systems, OFDM symbols are allocated in a semi-static manner for only DL or UL directions. Therefore, if one direction experiences less or no data, the idle resources cannot be used in the other direction, or are at best underutilized. However, if resources can be used for both DL and UL data (as in FD-TDD), resource utilization in the system can be improved. In addition, in current HD-TDD systems, UEs can receive DL data but cannot send UL data at the same time, which causes latency. If the gNB or UE is allowed to send and receive data simultaneously (as with FD-TDD), traffic latency will be improved. In addition, when located near the cell edge, the UE is typically limited in UL transmission. Although UE coverage at the cell edge can be improved if more time domain resources are assigned to UL transmission (e.g., repetition), if the UL direction is assigned more time resources, fewer time resources can be assigned to the DL direction, which may cause system imbalance. Enabling FD-TDD will help allow the UE to be assigned more UL time resources when needed without sacrificing DL time resources.

[0056] Cross-link Interference (CLI)

[0057] In NR systems, the slot format (i.e., the allocation of DL and UL OFDM symbols in a slot) can be configured semi-statically or dynamically, in which case each OFDM symbol (OS) in a slot can be configured as downlink (DL), uplink (UL), or flexible (F). OFDM symbols that are semi-statically configured as flexible can be dynamically indicated as DL, UL, or remain flexible (Flexible) by a dynamic slot format indicator (SFI), which is transmitted in a group common (GC) DCI using DCI format 2_0, in which case the CRC of the GC-DCI is masked with the SFI-RNTI. Flexible OFDM symbols that remain flexible after instructions from the SFI can be changed to DL symbols or UL symbols by DL grants or UL grants, respectively. That is, a DL grant for scheduling a PDSCH that overlaps with a flexible OFDM symbol will convert these flexible OFDM symbols to DL, and similarly, a UL grant for scheduling a PUSCH that overlaps with a flexible OFDM symbol will convert these flexible OFDM symbols to UL.

[0058] Since each gNB in ​​the network can independently change the configuration of each OFDM symbol semi-statically or dynamically, it is possible that in a particular OFDM symbol, one gNB is configured for UL and a neighboring gNB is configured for DL. This causes inter-cell cross-link interference (CLI) between conflicting gNBs (due to UL / DL symbol collisions for one or more symbols). Inter-cell CLI occurs when a UE's UL transmission interferes with DL reception by another UE in another cell, or when a gNB's DL transmission interferes with UL reception by another gNB. That is, inter-cell CLI is caused by non-aligned (colliding) slot formats between neighboring cells. Figure 4 An example is shown in which gNB1 411 and gNB2 412 have synchronized timeslots. In a given timeslot, gNB1's 411 timeslot format = {D,D,D,D,D,D,D,D,D,D,U,U,U,U} and gNB2's 412 timeslot format = {D,D,D,D,D,D,D,D,D,D,D,U,U,U}, where "D" indicates DL and "U" indicates UL. Inter-cell CLI occurs during the 11th OFDM symbol of the timeslot, where gNB1 411 is performing UL and gNB2 412 is performing DL. Specifically, inter-cell CLI 441 occurs between gNB1 411 and gNB2 412, where gNB2's 412 DL transmission 431 interferes with gNB1's 411 UL reception 432. CLI 442 also occurs between UE1 421 and UE2 422 , where UE1 421 UL transmission 432 interferes with UE2 422 DL reception 431 .

[0059] Some legacy implementations attempt to reduce inter-cell CLI in TDD networks caused by flexible and dynamic slot format configurations. The two CLI measurement reports used to manage and coordinate scheduling between neighboring gNBs include: Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), and CLI Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI). In SRS-RSRP, the linear average of the power contribution of the SRS transmitted by the UE is measured by the UEs in the neighboring cells. This is measured on the configured resource elements within the considered measurement frequency bandwidth, in the time resources in the configured measurement occasions. In CLI-RSSI, the linear average of the observed total received power is measured on the configured resource elements for measurement by the UE, at only certain OFDM symbols of the measurement time resources in the measurement bandwidth.

[0060] Both SRS-RSRP and CLI-RSSI are RRC measurements and are performed by the UE to mitigate UE-to-UE inter-cell CLI. For SRS-RSRP, an aggressor UE (i.e., a UE whose UL transmission causes interference at another UE in a neighboring cell) will transmit an SRS in the uplink, and a victim UE in a neighboring cell (i.e., a UE experiencing interference due to UL transmissions from a UE in a neighboring cell) will be configured with a measurement configuration including the SRS parameters of the aggressor UE to allow measurement of interference from the aggressor UE. Figure 5 An example is shown in which at a particular timeslot, the 11th OS (OFDM symbol) of gNB1 511 and gNB2 512 causes an inter-cell CLI. Here, gNB1 511 has configured UE1 521 (aggressor UE) to transmit SRS 540, and gNB2 512 has configured UE2 522 (victim UE) to measure the SRS 540. UE2 522 is provided with UE1's 521 SRS configuration parameters, such as the RS sequence used, frequency resources, frequency transmission comb structure, and time resources, so that UE2 522 can measure SRS 540. Typically, a UE can be configured to monitor 32 different SRSs at a maximum rate of 8 SRSs per timeslot.

[0061] For CLI-RSSI measurements, the UE measures the total received power, i.e., signal and interference, per configured periodicity, start and end OFDM symbols of a time slot, and set of frequency resource blocks (RBs). Since SRS-RSRP measures transmissions made by a specific UE, the network can target specific aggressor UEs to reduce their transmit power and, in some cases, not schedule an aggressor UE at the same time as a victim UE reporting a high SRS-RSRP measurement. In contrast, CLI-RSSI cannot be used to identify a specific aggressor UE's transmissions, but CLI-RSSI does provide an overall estimate of the inter-cell CLI experienced by the victim UE.

[0062] Intra-cell cross-link interference (CLI) and sub-band full-duplex (SBFD)

[0063] In addition to inter-cell CLI, FD-TDD also suffers from intra-cell CLI at the gNB and UE. Figure 6 622, the intra-cell CLI 632 is caused by an aggressor UE (e.g., UE1 621) transmitting in the UL 631 while a victim UE (e.g., UE2 622) is receiving the DL signal 642.

[0064] Intra-cell CLI at the gNB due to self-interference can be significant since DL transmissions can in some cases be more than 100 dB stronger than UL reception. Therefore, sophisticated RF hardware and interference cancellation are required to isolate this self-interference. To reduce self-interference at the gNB, one possibility considered in [3], [4] is sub-band full-duplex (SBFD). In SBFD, the frequency resources of the TDD system bandwidth or bandwidth part (BWP) (i.e., at the UE / gNB) are divided into two or more non-overlapping subbands, each of which can be either DL or UL[5]. Figure 7 An example is shown in which simultaneous DL and UL transmissions occur in different non-overlapping subbands 701 to 704, i.e., in different sets of frequency resource blocks (RBs): subband #1 701, subband #2 702, subband #3 703 and subband #4 704, such that subband #1 701 and subband #3 703 are used for DL ​​transmission, while subband #2 702 and subband #4 704 are used for UL transmission.

[0065] Although Figure 7The system bandwidth is shown to be divided into four subbands, but essentially any number of subbands may be used. For example, the system bandwidth may be divided into three subbands, which may include two downlink subbands 701, 703 and one uplink subband 702, but other subband arrangements may be envisioned. In order to reduce leakage from one subband 701 to 704 to another subband, a guard subband 710 may be configured between the UL and DL subbands 701 to 704. The guard subband 710 is configured between UL subband #4 704 and DL subband #3 703, between DL subband #3 703 and UL subband #2 702, and between UL subband #2 702 and DL subband #1 701. Figure 7 The arrangement of sub-bands 701 to 704 shown in is only one possible arrangement of sub-bands, and other arrangements are possible, and guard bands may be used in substantially any sub-band arrangement.

[0066] Inter-subband interference

[0067] In addition to inter-cell cross-link interference, SBFD also suffers from inter-subband (and intra-subband) interference, which is caused by transmission leakage and receiver selectivity. Although transmissions are usually scheduled within a specific frequency channel (or subband) (i.e., a specific set of RBs), the transmission power may leak into other channels. This happens because the channel filter is not perfect, so the roll-off of the filter will cause power to leak into channels adjacent to the intended specific frequency channel. Although the following discussion uses the term "channel", the term "subband" may be used alternatively, such as Figure 7 The subbands shown in .

[0068] Figure 8 An example of a transmission that produces adjacent channel leakage is shown in FIG. Here, the desired transmit (Tx) power is the transmit power in the selected frequency band (i.e., the assigned channel 810). Due to the roll-off of the transmit filter and nonlinearities in the components of the transmitter, some of the transmit power leaks into adjacent channels (including adjacent channel 820), such as Figure 8 The ratio of the power within the allocated frequency channel 810 to the power in the adjacent channel 820 is the adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR). The leakage power 850 will cause interference at a receiver that is receiving the signal in the adjacent channel 820.

[0069] Similarly, the receiver's filter is not perfect and will pick up unwanted power from adjacent channels due to its own filter roll-off. Fig. 9An example of filter roll-off at a receiver is shown in . Here, the receiver is configured to receive transmissions in the assigned channel 910. However, the imperfect nature of the receiver filter means that some transmission power 950 may be received in the adjacent channel 920. Therefore, if a signal 930 is transmitted on the adjacent channel 920, the receiver will, to some extent, inadvertently receive the adjacent signal 930 in the adjacent channel 920. The ratio of the received power in the assigned frequency channel 910 to the received power 950 in the adjacent channel 920 is the adjacent channel selectivity (ACS).

[0070] The combination of the ACL from the transmitter and the ACS at the receiver will result in adjacent channel interference (ACI), otherwise known as inter-sub-band interference, at the receiver. Fig.10 An example is shown in FIG. 10 where the attacker transmits a signal 1010 in an adjacent channel at a lower frequency than the victim's receive 1020 channel. The interference 1050 caused by the attacker's transmission includes the ACL 1051 of the attacker's transmit filter and the ACS 1052 of the victim's receive filter. In other words, the receiver will experience Fig.10 Interference 1050 in the ACI frequency range is shown in .

[0071] Therefore, due to adjacent channel interference (ACI), although different subbands 701 to 704 are used for DL ​​and UL transmission in the FD-TDD cell, cross link interference (CLI) will still occur, such as Figure 7 The proposed SRS-RSRP and CLI-RSSI measurements for inter-cell CLI specification assume that the aggressor and victim transmit and receive in the same frequency channel. That is, the measurements of SRS-RSRP and CLI-RSSI at the victim UE are performed in the same frequency channel as that of the aggressor. Therefore, these methods do not consider ACI and the use of subbands 701 to 704 to provide information to the scheduler to mitigate intra-cell CLI.

[0072] Intra-subband interference

[0073] Intra-subband interference may occur when the subband configurations between gNBs are not aligned in the frequency domain. Here, CLI may occur in the overlapping frequencies of inter-cell subbands. Fig.11 An example is shown in FIG. 1 , where the 1111 system bandwidth of gNB1 is divided into two occupied 0 to f 1 UL sub-band UL-SB#1 1152 and occupies f 2 to f 3 The DL subband DL-SB#1 1151 of gNB2 is divided into 1112 occupied subbands. 0 to f 1UL sub-band UL-SB#2 1154 and occupies f 1 to f 3 The misaligned subband configuration 1150 causes UL-SB#1 1152 to overlap with DL-SB#2 1153, thereby causing the overlapping frequency f 1 to f 2 In this example, due to the f in DL-SB#2 1153 1 to f 2 The DL transmission 1132 of gNB2 in 1112 interferes with f in UL-SB#11152 1 to f 2 Intra-subband CLI 1141 occurs at gNB1 1111 due to UL reception 1131 of gNB1 1111 from UE1 1121. In addition, due to f in UL-SB#1 1152 1 to f 2 1121UL transmission 1131 of UE1 in the interference DL-SB#2 1153 f 1 to f 2 DL reception 1132 of UE2 1122 within the sub-band, so intra-sub-band CLI 1142 occurs at UE2 1122.

[0074] One of the approaches being considered for managing CLI is to introduce gNB-gNB Reference Signals (RS), where a gNB transmits an RS and another gNB measures the power level of the RS to determine potential CLI that may be caused by the gNB transmitting the RS. The RS can be used by an advanced receiver at the gNB for CLI cancellation. The gNB-gNB RS can also be used for inter-gNB over-the-air signaling (OTA). For example, it has been proposed to use the gNB-gNB RS to signal the timeslot and subband format of the gNB [6].

[0075] Recognizing the importance of gNB-gNB RS, it has been proposed to mute the resource elements (REs) occupied by the gNB-gNB RS at the receiving gNB so that the RS is received with a high SNR [7], [8]. However, muting the REs means that fewer resources are available for traffic and / or scheduled PDSCH / PUSCH transmissions where REs are frequently punctured. In addition, it is expected that the gNB may receive RS from multiple gNBs, which will result in more RE muting. In addition, there may be situations where the resource elements of an uplink / downlink transmission are muted even if the uplink / downlink transmission would cause negligible CLI at the gNB. Therefore, according to conventional methods, the resource elements of the uplink / downlink transmission may be muted unnecessarily. In some cases, the uplink / downlink transmission with muted resource elements may have to be retransmitted because they were not successfully decoded by the receiver due to the muting.

[0076] Therefore, there is a need for methods, communication devices, and infrastructure equipment for improving communication efficiency.

[0077] Silence resource elements used for uplink transmission

[0078] In view of the above technical challenges, a method for operating a communication device for transmitting uplink information is provided. The method includes preparing uplink information for transmission via a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information via a wireless access interface. The wireless access interface includes a plurality of communication resource elements, which are arranged in time and frequency according to a structure in which some of the communication resource elements are designated for uplink transmission and some of the communication resource elements are designated for downlink transmission. The uplink information is prepared for uplink transmission to an infrastructure device of a wireless communication network via a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for the uplink information. The method includes determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information will be muted and not used for transmission of uplink information. Determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information will be muted includes: determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmitting uplink information is satisfied. The method includes transmitting uplink information using a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information other than one or more muted communication resource elements.

[0079] refer to Fig.12 A method of operating a communication device for transmitting uplink information according to example embodiments is described.

[0080] The method starts in step S1.

[0081] In step S2, the method includes preparing uplink information for transmission via a plurality of communication resource elements of a wireless access interface that are allocated for transmission of uplink information. The wireless access interface includes a plurality of communication resource elements, which are arranged in time and frequency according to a structure in which some of the communication resource elements are designated for uplink transmission and some of the communication resource elements are designated for downlink transmission. For example, the structure may be a time division duplex structure or a sub-band full-duplex structure. In some examples, the wireless access interface may be divided into an uplink sub-band and a downlink sub-band. The uplink information is prepared for uplink transmission to an infrastructure device of a wireless communication network via a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for the uplink information. For example, the uplink transmission may be scheduled by the infrastructure device in an uplink grant.

[0082] In step S3, the method includes determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for the transmission of uplink information will be silenced and not used to transmit uplink information. The one or more communication resource elements to be silenced may overlap in time and frequency with one or more communication resource elements of the wireless access interface allocated for the reception of one or more reference signals by the infrastructure equipment of the wireless communication network. The one or more reference signals to be received may come from another infrastructure equipment of the wireless communication network. In some examples, the infrastructure equipment may transmit an indication of the communication resource elements designated for silence to the communication device, and the communication device may determine that the communication resource elements to be silenced are those communication resource elements that overlap in time and frequency with the communication resource elements designated for silence. The communication resource elements designated for silence may include communication resource elements allocated for the reception of one or more reference signals. In some examples, the resource elements to be silenced include one or more communication resource elements adjacent or neighboring to the communication resource elements allocated for the reception of one or more reference signals.

[0083] Determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information are to be muted includes determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters used to transmit the uplink information is satisfied. The communication parameters may include, for example, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used for transmission of the uplink information, an estimated path loss for transmission of the uplink information to the infrastructure device, an estimated received power for transmission of the uplink information at the infrastructure device, a maximum allowed number of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information that can be muted, whether the transmission of the uplink information is a retransmission, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process identifier (PID) used for transmission of the uplink information, a priority for transmission of the uplink information, or a waveform applied to transmission of the uplink information.

[0084] In step S4, the method includes transmitting uplink information using a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information in addition to the one or more silent communication resource elements. For example, the transmission may include rate matching the transmission of uplink information around the one or more silent communication resource elements or puncturing the one or more silent communication resource elements.

[0085] In step S5, the method ends.

[0086] Those skilled in the art will understand that Fig.12 The method shown can be modified according to the implementation of the present technology. For example, other intermediate steps can be included in the method, or the steps can be performed in any logical order.

[0087] As described above, example embodiments provide a method in which a communications device determines that a muting condition is satisfied based on one or more communications parameters. By imposing a condition on the muting of resource elements, the number of instances in which resource elements are muted may be reduced, thereby providing improved communications resource efficiency. Since the condition is based on the communications parameters of the uplink transmission, it may take into account, for example, interference expected to be caused by the uplink transmission at the gNB. Thus, the muting condition may be configured such that only resource elements of the uplink transmission that are expected to cause significant interference are muted.

[0088] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, muting the transmitted resource elements includes puncturing the transmitted resource elements or rate matching around the transmitted resource elements.

[0089] In rate matching, after taking out muted resource elements, the transmission channel processing adapts to the number of resource elements in the transmission. Resource element mapping maps the coded symbols to avoid muted resource elements of the transmission.

[0090] In puncturing, the physical channel processing is adapted to avoid silent resource elements by puncturing the modulation symbols mapped to silent resource elements. For example, 100 information bits are scheduled to occupy 150 resource elements. The MCS used here is QPSK and a 1 / 3 code rate is applied. If there is no silence (i.e., all 150 resource elements are used), the transport channel processing will produce 300 coded bits, which are then modulated to 150 QPSK symbols and mapped to 150 resource elements. If 50 resource elements are silent (i.e., 100 of the 150 resource elements are available), then:

[0091] In rate matching, the transport channel processing will produce 200 coded bits, which are then QPSK modulated into 100 symbols. These symbols are then mapped to 100 available resource elements.

[0092] In puncturing, the transmission channel processing still produces 300 coded bits, which are modulated into 150 QPSK symbols and mapped to 150 resource elements. The silent resource elements are then punctured (ie, removed), resulting in a transmission of 100 resource elements.

[0093] refer to Fig.13 Methods of performing resource element muting for uplink transmissions such as PUSCH or PUCCH are described. Fig.13 In the example shown, the uplink transmission overlaps with one or more resource elements designated for muting to reduce CLI for reference signal reception at the gNB.

[0094] Fig.13 Schematically illustrated are uplink time slot n 1451 for gNB1 1411, downlink time slot n 1461 for gNB2 1412, and uplink time slot n 1471 for UE1 1421. As shown in time slot n 1461 for gNB2 1412, a reference signal configuration including a resource element set 1453 is allocated for transmission 1441 of one or more reference signals from gNB2 1412 to gNB1 1411. As shown in time slot n 1451 for gNB1 1411, a PUSCH 1455 is allocated for reception 1432 by gNB1 1411 from UE1 1421. PUSCH 1455 overlaps with resource element set 1453 allocated for transmission 1441 of one or more reference signals. Although Fig.13 1421 is known to the UE1 1421. For example, gNB1 1411 may transmit an indication of the resource elements designated for muting. In other examples, UE1 1421 is preconfigured to know the location of the resource elements designated for muting. Fig.13In the example shown, the resource elements designated for muting are a set of resource elements 1453 allocated for transmission 1441 of one or more reference signals. However, in other examples, the resource elements designated for muting include other resource elements instead of or in addition to the set of resource elements 1453 allocated for transmission 1441 of one or more reference signals. Therefore, UE11421 determines a plurality of resource elements 1473 of PUSCH 1455 that overlap with the resource elements 1453 designated for muting. UE11421 mutes the overlapping resource elements 1473 of PUSCH 1455. The muted resource elements 1473 are not transmitted to gNB11411. Physical channel processing may be adapted to puncture the muted resource elements 1473, or transport channel processing may be adapted to rate match with other resource elements of PUSCH 1455 that are not muted and adapt the physical channel processing by not mapping to the muted resource elements 1473.

[0095] By muting resource elements 1473 of PUSCH 1473 as described above, gNB1 1411 can receive one or more reference signals from gNB2 1412 with a higher signal quality than when resource elements 1473 of PUSCH 1455 are not muted. This is because PUSCH 1455 with muted resource elements 1473 causes less interference or no interference to one or more reference signals. However, as described above, if muting is performed whenever a reference signal configuration overlaps with an uplink transmission, communication resource efficiency is reduced because fewer resources are available for uplink traffic or uplink traffic will be frequently received with muted resource elements. However, it is recognized herein that communication efficiency can be improved by imposing conditions on the muting of resource elements allocated for uplink transmission based on one or more communication parameters used for uplink transmission.

[0096] Thus, according to an example embodiment, the UE determines to mute resource elements of an uplink transmission based on a muting condition. The muting condition is based on one or more communication parameters for the uplink transmission. If the muting condition is met, the UE performs resource element muting on the uplink transmission. In other words, the UE mutes resource elements of the uplink transmission that overlap in time and frequency with resource elements designated for muting.

[0097] In some embodiments, the muting condition is based on the modulation and coding scheme MCS of the uplink transmission. For example, if the MCS of the uplink transmission is above the MCS threshold T MCS, then the UE performs resource element muting for the uplink transmission. Otherwise, the UE does not perform resource element muting for the uplink transmission. Such embodiments recognize that a lower MCS is more robust than a higher MCS and, in general, a lower MCS requires less transmit power or is received at a lower power at the gNB. Therefore, interference caused by the uplink transmission will be tolerable. In such embodiments, a gNB receiving an uplink transmission knows whether the UE has applied resource element muting because the gNB schedules the MCS for the uplink transmission.

[0098] In certain embodiments, the muting condition is based on an estimated path loss between the UE and the gNB. If the estimated path loss is below a path loss threshold (e.g., because the UE is located near the gNB), the UE performs resource element muting for uplink transmissions. Such embodiments recognize that if the UE-gNB path loss is high, the uplink transmission is unlikely to cause significant interference to the reception of one or more reference signals at the gNB. The UE may estimate the path loss based on one or more downlink signals received from the gNB. Alternatively, the gNB may estimate the path loss and transmit an indication of the path loss to the UE. In embodiments where the gNB transmits an indication of the estimated path loss to the UE, the gNB may be made aware of whether the UE will apply resource element muting for uplink transmissions. For example, the gNB may determine whether the estimated path loss is above a path loss threshold. This simplifies the processing load at the gNB because the gNB does not have to blindly decode received uplink transmissions.

[0099] In some embodiments, the muting condition is based on an estimated received power of uplink transmissions at the gNB. The UE may estimate the gNB received power by estimating the path loss between the gNB and the UE and the UE's transmit power. If the estimated received power is less than a threshold value T RxPwr , then the UE does not perform resource element muting on the uplink transmission. Otherwise, the UE performs resource element muting on the uplink transmission. Such an embodiment recognizes that if the received power at the gNB is low, it is less likely to cause significant interference to one or more reference signals received by the gNB than if the received power of the uplink transmission is high at the gNB. In such an embodiment, the gNB may not know whether the UE has performed resource element muting on the uplink transmission. This is because the gNB may not be aware of the transmit power of the uplink transmission applied by the UE, or the gNB may not be aware of the most recent path loss measurement performed by the UE. Therefore, the gNB may perform blind decoding on the uplink transmission.

[0100] In some embodiments, a maximum number of resource element muting allowed is defined for uplink transmissions: UL-Mute-MaxFor example, if the UE determines to perform resource element muting for uplink transmission, it shall perform resource element muting for the maximum number of M UL-Mute-Max Resource elements are silenced. UL-Mute-Max It can be the percentage of resource elements for uplink transmission. Therefore, M can be selected UL-Mute-Max To ensure that uplink transmissions can be decoded by the gNB despite silence. UL-Mute-Max is based on the coding rate of the uplink transmission.

[0101] MCS threshold T MCS , receiving power threshold T RxPwr and the maximum number of resource elements silenced M UL-Mute-Max It can be semi-statically configured by the network, dynamically indicated (e.g. in DCI), or fixed in the specification.

[0102] In embodiments where the UE autonomously performs resource element muting on uplink transmissions (e.g., when the muting condition is based on estimated received power or estimated path loss at the gNB), the gNB may not know whether resource element muting has been performed on the uplink transmission. In such embodiments, the gNB may blindly decode the uplink transmission based on the following two assumptions: (1) the UE has not applied resource element muting and (2) the UE has applied resource element muting.

[0103] In some embodiments, the muting condition is based on whether the uplink transmission from the UE is an initial transmission or a retransmission (e.g., a hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ retransmission). If the uplink transmission is a retransmission, the UE may not perform resource element muting for the uplink transmission because retransmissions are typically only transmitted when the received signal level of the initial transmission at the gNB is low, resulting in a decoding failure for the initial transmission. If the received signal level is low, the retransmission is less likely to cause interference to one or more reference signals received by the gNB.

[0104] In certain embodiments, the muting condition is based on the HARQ process ID (PID) applied for uplink transmissions. The gNB may configure a set of HARQ PIDs to which resource element muting is not applied. For example, the gNB may configure the UE to perform resource element muting for PUSCH with HARQ PID = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4}, and thus, if the UE is scheduled with PUSCH with HARQ PID = 0 for an uplink transmission, resource element muting is performed on that uplink transmission. For other HARQ PIDs that are not in the HARQ PID set, resource element muting is not performed on the uplink transmission. It should be understood that other HARQ process ID sets may be configured for resource element muting, for example, the UE performs resource element muting only when the HARQ PID is even. In addition, by basing the muting condition on the HARQ PID, the gNB may implicitly control whether resource element muting is performed for uplink transmissions. In the same example, if the gNB desires to perform resource element muting for uplink transmissions, the gNB may schedule uplink transmissions using a HARQ PID within the HARQ PID set {0,1,2,3,4}.

[0105] In some embodiments, the silence condition is based on the priority of the uplink transmission. For example, if the uplink transmission carries URLLC business, the uplink transmission can be regarded as a high priority. For high priority uplink transmission (for example, uplink transmission carrying URLLC business), resource element silence is not applied to uplink transmission, because uplink transmission requires high reliability, which means that uplink transmission requires more resource elements. For low priority uplink transmission (for example, uplink transmission carrying business other than URLLC), resource element silence is applied to uplink transmission. In some embodiments, the priority index is used to indicate whether the uplink transmission is a high priority transmission or a low priority transmission. The priority index can be indicated to the UE in the downlink control information (DCI) for dynamic authorization UL or in the RRC configuration for the authorized UL configured.

[0106] In some embodiments, the muting condition is based on a waveform applied to the uplink transmission. For example, if orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is applied to the uplink transmission, resource element muting is performed on the uplink transmission. On the other hand, if discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), which is a waveform with single carrier characteristics, is applied to the uplink transmission, resource element muting is not performed on the uplink transmission because it is difficult to perform muting at the resource element level for a single carrier type waveform.

[0107] It should be appreciated that the quieting condition may be based on one or more of the above-mentioned communication parameters of the uplink transmission.

[0108] Silence resource elements used for downlink transmission

[0109] In view of the above technical challenges, a method for operating infrastructure equipment for transmitting downlink information that forms part of a wireless communication network is also provided. The method includes preparing downlink information for transmission via a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of downlink information via a wireless access interface. The wireless access interface includes a plurality of communication resource elements, which are arranged in time and frequency according to a structure in which some of the communication resource elements are designated for downlink transmission and some of the communication resource elements are designated for uplink transmission. The downlink information is prepared for downlink transmission to a communication device via a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for the downlink information. The method includes determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of downlink information will be muted and not used for transmission of downlink information. Determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of downlink information will be muted includes: determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmitting downlink information is satisfied. The method includes transmitting downlink information using a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of downlink information other than one or more muted communication resource elements.

[0110] refer to Fig.14 A method of operating infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communication network for transmitting downlink information according to example embodiments is described.

[0111] In step S10 , the method starts.

[0112] In step S20, the method includes preparing downlink information for transmission via a plurality of communication resource elements of a wireless access interface that are allocated for transmission of downlink information. The wireless access interface includes a plurality of communication resource elements that are arranged in time and frequency according to a structure in which some of the communication resource elements are designated for uplink transmission and some of the communication resource elements are designated for downlink transmission. For example, the structure may be a time division duplex structure or a sub-band full-duplex structure. In some examples, the wireless access interface may be divided into an uplink sub-band and a downlink sub-band. The downlink information is prepared for downlink transmission to a communication device via a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for the downlink information.

[0113] In step S30, the method includes determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of downlink information are to be silenced and not used for transmission of downlink information. The one or more communication resource elements to be silenced may overlap in time and frequency with one or more communication resource elements of the wireless access interface allocated for reception of one or more reference signals by the infrastructure device. In some examples, the one or more reference signals are received from another infrastructure device of the wireless communication network. In some examples, the resource elements to be silenced include one or more communication resource elements adjacent or neighboring to the communication resource elements allocated for reception of the one or more reference signals.

[0114] Determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of downlink information are to be silenced includes determining that a silencing condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmitting the downlink information is satisfied. The communication parameters may include, for example, one or more of the number of communication elements to be silenced and / or a maximum allowed number of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of downlink information that can be silenced.

[0115] In step S40, the method includes transmitting downlink information using a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of downlink information in addition to the one or more silent communication resource elements. For example, the transmission may include rate matching the transmission of downlink information around the one or more silent communication resource elements or puncturing the one or more silent communication resource elements.

[0116] In step S50 , the method ends.

[0117] Those skilled in the art will understand that Fig.14 The method shown can be modified according to the implementation of the present technology. For example, other intermediate steps can be included in the method, or the steps can be performed in any logical order.

[0118] As described above, example embodiments provide a method in which an infrastructure device determines that a muting condition is satisfied. By imposing a condition on the muting of resource elements, the number of instances in which resource elements are muted may be reduced, thereby providing improved communication resource efficiency. For example, the condition may take into account interference expected to be caused by downlink transmissions at the gNB. Thus, the muting condition may be configured such that only resource elements of downlink transmissions that are expected to cause significant interference are muted.

[0119] refer to Fig.15 Methods of performing resource element muting for downlink transmissions such as PDSCH are described. Fig.15In the example shown, the PDSCH overlaps with one or more resource elements designated for muting to reduce CLI for reference signal reception at the gNB.

[0120] Fig.15 Schematically illustrated are downlink time slot n 1551 for gNB1 1511, downlink time slot n 1561 for gNB2 1512, and downlink time slot n 1571 for UE1 1521. As shown in time slot n 1561 for gNB2 1512, a reference signal configuration including a set of resource elements 1553 is allocated for transmission 1541 of one or more reference signals from gNB2 1512 to gNB1 1511. As shown in time slot n 1551 for gNB1 1511, a PDSCH 1555 is allocated for transmission 1532 by gNB1 1511 to UE1 1521. The PDSCH 1555 overlaps with the set of resource elements 1553 allocated for transmission 1541 of one or more reference signals. The gNB1 1511 determines a plurality of resource elements 1573 of the PDSCH 1555 that overlap with a set of resource elements 1553 allocated for transmission 1541 of one or more reference signals. The gNB1 1511 mutes the overlapping resource elements 1573 of the PDSCH 1555. In some examples, as will be explained in more detail below, the gNB1 may determine to mute other resource elements in addition to the overlapping resource elements 1573. The muted resource elements 1573 are not transmitted to the UE1 1521. The physical channel processing may be adapted to puncture the muted resource elements 1573, or the transport channel processing may be adapted to rate match other resource elements of the PDSCH 1555 that are not muted and adapt the physical channel processing by not mapping to the muted resource elements 1573. If puncturing is used, the UE1 1521 may or may not need to be aware of the punctured resource elements 1573.

[0121] Therefore, according to the example embodiment, gNB1 1511 determines whether to silence resource elements 1573 of PDSCH 1555 that overlap with resource element set 1553 for one or more reference signals based on the muting condition.

[0122] In some embodiments, the gNB mutes one or more additional resource elements in addition to the resource elements occupied by one or more reference signals from another gNB. Such embodiments recognize that the resource elements occupied by one or more reference signals may be close enough in time / frequency to a downlink transmission that power leakage from the downlink transmission causes interference to the one or more reference signals. In other words, the additional muted resource elements are used as guard resource elements around the one or more reference signals. Fig.16 An example is shown in .

[0123] Fig.16 A downlink time slot 1671 for a gNB is shown. As shown in time slot 1671, a reference signal configuration including a resource element set 1653 is allocated for transmission of one or more reference signals from another gNB to the gNB. As shown in time slot 1671, a PDCCH 1655 is allocated for transmission by the gNB to a UE. The PDSCH 1655 overlaps with the resource element set 1653 allocated for transmission of one or more reference signals. The gNB determines a number of resource elements 1673 of the PDSCH 1655 that overlap with the resource element set 1653 allocated for transmission of one or more reference signals. The gNB mutes the overlapping resource elements of the PDSCH 1665. According to an example embodiment, the gNB also mutes one or more additional resource elements 1681 of the PDSCH 1655. As shown in Fig.16 As shown in , one or more additional silent resource elements 1681 are adjacent (or neighboring) to silent resource element 1673 in frequency. Fig.16 In the example shown, one resource element on either side of one of the muted resource elements 1673 is muted. The one or more additional muted resource elements 1681 act as guard resource elements to reduce power leakage from other resource elements of the PDSCH 1655 transmission that are not muted.

[0124] The physical channel processing may be adapted to puncture the silent resource elements 1673 and the additional resource elements 1681. Alternatively, the transport channel processing may be adapted to rate match with other resource elements of the PDSCH 1655 that are not silent, and the physical channel processing is adapted by not mapping to the silent resource elements 1673 and the additional resource elements 1681. If puncturing is used, the UE may or may not need to be aware of the silent resource elements 1673 and the additional silent resource elements 1681.

[0125] According to an example embodiment, the gNB determines whether to mute resource elements of a downlink transmission based on a muting condition.

[0126] In some embodiments, the muting condition is based on the number of resource elements in the downlink transmission to be muted. For example, if the number of resource elements in the downlink transmission that overlap with resource elements of one or more reference signals is above a threshold T DL-RE , the gNB does not perform resource element muting on the overlapping resource elements. Otherwise, the gNB performs resource element muting on the overlapping resource elements. Such embodiments recognize that if the number of muted resource elements in a downlink transmission is too high, a UE receiving the downlink transmission may not be able to decode the downlink transmission because there are too few coded bits.

[0127] In some embodiments, a maximum allowed number of silent resource elements M is defined for downlink transmissions. DL-Mute-Max In such embodiments, once M has been reached DL-Mute-Max , the gNB shall not mute any further resource elements for downlink transmissions. DL-Mute-Max is the proportion (such as a percentage) of the total number of resource elements allocated for downlink transmission.Such implementations may increase the likelihood that a downlink transmission can be successfully decoded by a UE.

[0128] Resource element silence threshold T DL-RE and the maximum number of silent resource elements M DL-Mute-Max Parameters are either configurable or fixed in the specification.

[0129] It should be appreciated that the quieting condition may be based on one or more of the above-mentioned communication parameters for downlink transmissions.

[0130] Configuration of resource element silent mode

[0131] In some embodiments, the gNB receives multiple reference signal configurations from corresponding multiple other gNBs. For example, the gNB may receive the multiple reference signal configurations via operations, administration, and management (OAM). Each reference signal configuration indicates a set of one or more resource elements of a radio access interface that are allocated for transmission of one or more reference signals to one of the other gNBs, or for reception from one of the other gNBs. For example, each reference signal configuration may indicate sequence, time, and frequency resources for one or more reference signals in the reference signal configuration. In some embodiments, the gNB may select a subset of the received multiple reference signal configurations for monitoring. In some embodiments, the gNB may monitor the selected subset of reference signal configurations more frequently than other reference signal configurations. For example, the reference signal configuration subset may be a reference signal configuration received from a gNB that is closer to the gNB and therefore more likely to cause CLI. In some embodiments, the gNB may monitor the selected subset of reference signal configurations only for overlap. Thus, transmitted resource elements that overlap with resource elements for other received reference signal configurations will not be muted.

[0132] In some embodiments, the gNB configures one or more resource element muting patterns for the UE, each resource element muting pattern comprising an indication of one or more resource elements of the radio access interface that are designated for muting. Each pattern of resource elements designated for muting may correspond to a different reference signal configuration. In response, the UE determines whether it has uplink or downlink transmissions that overlap with the resource elements designated for muting indicated in the muting pattern. The UE mutes the resource elements that overlap with the resource elements designated for muting of the uplink or downlink transmission (e.g., by puncturing or rate matching the overlapping resource elements of the uplink or downlink transmission).

[0133] In some embodiments, the resource element muting pattern indicates a repetitive pattern of resource elements designated for muting. The resource element muting pattern may indicate a pattern of resource elements designated for muting in one of a plurality of resource sets into which the wireless access interface is divided. For example, the resource element muting pattern may indicate the location in time and frequency of resource elements designated for muting in one of a plurality of resource sets. The resource element muting pattern may indicate the periodicity (P) of the pattern in the plurality of resource sets. RS ). For example, a periodicity of "1" may indicate that the pattern repeats in each of the plurality of resource sets, a periodicity of "2" may indicate that the pattern repeats in every other resource set in the plurality of resource sets, and so on. The resource element silent pattern may indicate a time offset for the pattern. The time offset may be a time offset relative to other patterns. For example, as shown below Fig.17 As shown, mode 4 is offset from the other modes by one time slot.

[0134] exist Fig.17 An example is shown in FIG. Fig.17 As shown in Figure 1, the gNB configures four resource muting modes for the UE.

[0135] Mode 1 includes two repeated sub-patterns. To indicate the first of the sub-patterns to the UE, the gNB indicates the location in time and frequency of the resource elements used for the reference signal in slot n, and indicates that the first sub-pattern has P RS =2 slots to indicate that the first sub-pattern is repeated in every other slot after slot n (i.e., slot n+2, slot n+4, etc.). In addition, to indicate the second sub-pattern to the UE, the gNB indicates the position in time and frequency of the resource elements designated for muting in slot n+1, and indicates that the second sub-pattern has P RS = a periodicity of 2 time slots to indicate that the second sub-pattern is repeated in every other time slot after time slot n+1 (ie n+3, n+5, etc.).

[0136] To indicate Mode 2 to the UE, the gNB indicates the location in time and frequency of the resource elements designated for muting in slot n, and indicates that Mode 2 has P RS = a periodicity of 1 slot to indicate that Pattern 2 is repeated in each subsequent slot after slot n (ie, slot n+1, slot n+2, etc.).

[0137] To indicate Mode 3 to the UE, the gNB indicates the location in time and frequency of the resource elements designated for muting in slot n, and indicates that Mode 3 has P RS = a periodicity of 4 slots to indicate that pattern 3 is repeated in every fourth slot after slot n (ie, slot n+4, slot n+8, etc.).

[0138] To indicate Mode 4 to the UE, the gNB indicates the location in time and frequency of the resource elements designated for muting in slot n+1 and indicates that Mode 4 has P RS = a periodicity of 2 slots to indicate that pattern 4 is repeated in every other slot after slot n+1 (ie, slot n+3, slot n+5, etc.).

[0139] It should be understood that the UE may be configured with other modes and the modes may have the same Fig.17 The examples shown in the figure have different periodicities.

[0140] In certain embodiments, the gNB indicates to the UE whether to perform resource element muting for downlink or uplink transmissions. For example, the gNB may transmit a 1-bit indicator to the UE in an uplink grant allocating an uplink transmission or in a downlink grant allocating a downlink transmission, and the 1-bit indicator indicates to the UE whether it should perform resource element muting.

[0141] In certain embodiments, the gNB semi-statically configures one or more resource element muting patterns for the UE. In such embodiments, the gNB may dynamically indicate (e.g., using downlink control information, DCI) one of the semi-statically configured resource element muting patterns for the UE to apply. In other words, the UE will determine whether its uplink transmission or downlink reception overlaps with the indicated resource element pattern, and if so, the UE will mute the resource elements of the uplink transmission or downlink transmission that coincide with the resource elements designated for muting in the resource element pattern. As will be appreciated, such embodiments increase flexibility because the gNB can decide which resource element muting pattern it wants the UE to use. For Fig.17 As an example in , the gNB may include 2 bits in an uplink grant or a downlink grant to indicate which of the four RE muting patterns the UE should apply on its uplink transmission or downlink reception.

[0142] In some embodiments, one of the resource element muting patterns does not indicate any resource elements designated for muting. In other words, the resource element muting pattern is empty. This indicates to the UE that resource element muting should not be applied to its transmissions. For example, the gNB may configure 8 resource element muting patterns for the UE. The gNB may indicate mode 1 in a DCI that does not indicate any resource elements designated for muting. Thus, the UE determines that it does not need to apply muting (such as rate matching or puncturing) to its uplink transmission or downlink reception.

[0143] The following numbered paragraphs provide additional exemplary aspects and features of the present technology:

[0144] Paragraph 1. A method of operating a communication device for transmitting uplink information, the method comprising:

[0145] preparing uplink information for transmission via a plurality of communication resource elements of a wireless access interface allocated for transmission of the uplink information, the wireless access interface comprising a plurality of communication resource elements arranged in time and frequency according to a structure in which some of the communication resource elements are designated for uplink transmission and some of the communication resource elements are designated for downlink transmission, the uplink information being prepared for uplink transmission to infrastructure equipment of a wireless communication network via the plurality of communication resource elements allocated for the uplink information,

[0146] determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information are to be muted and not used for transmission of the uplink information, wherein determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information are to be muted comprises: determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmission of the uplink information is satisfied, and

[0147] The uplink information is transmitted using a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information in addition to the one or more silent communication resource elements.

[0148] Paragraph 2. A method according to paragraph 1, wherein the one or more communication resource elements to be silenced coincide in time and frequency with one or more communication resource elements of the wireless access interface allocated for reception of one or more reference signals by infrastructure equipment of the wireless communication network.

[0149] Paragraph 3. A method according to paragraph 1 or paragraph 2, wherein determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information are to be muted comprises:

[0150] receiving, from an infrastructure device, an indication of one or more communication resource elements designated for silencing,

[0151] The one or more communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information determined to be silenced coincide in time and frequency with one or more of the communication resource elements designated for silence.

[0152] Paragraph 4. A method according to paragraph 3, wherein the indication of one or more communication resource elements designated for silencing comprises:

[0153] An indication of a pattern of communication resource elements designated for silence in a plurality of sets of communication resource elements into which a wireless access interface is divided, the indication of the pattern comprising:

[0154] an indication of communication resource elements designated for silence in a first set of communication resource elements of a plurality of sets of communication resource elements into which the wireless access interface is divided, the indication of the pattern indicating the position in time and frequency of the communication resource elements designated for silence in the first set, and

[0155] An indication of a periodicity of a pattern of communication resource elements in a plurality of sets of communication resource elements that are designated for muting.

[0156] Paragraph 5. The method according to paragraph 4, comprising:

[0157] receiving an indication of one or more other patterns of communication resource elements designated for silencing in a plurality of sets of communication resource elements into which a wireless access interface is divided,

[0158] Receiving, from the infrastructure equipment, an indication of a selected one of the patterns, wherein determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information are to be silenced comprises:

[0159] The one or more communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information that are determined to be silenced coincide in time and frequency with one or more of the communication resource elements designated for silence in the selected pattern.

[0160] Paragraph 6. A method according to paragraph 5, wherein the indication of the pattern comprises an indication of a time offset of the pattern.

[0161] Paragraph 7. A method according to any of paragraphs 1 to 6, wherein determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmitting uplink information is satisfied comprises:

[0162] determining a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) to be used for transmitting uplink information, and

[0163] It is determined that an MCS used to transmit uplink information is above a predefined MCS threshold.

[0164] Paragraph 8. The method of paragraph 7, wherein determining that the MCS used to transmit the uplink information is above a predefined MCS threshold comprises:

[0165] An indication of a predefined MCS threshold is received from the infrastructure equipment.

[0166] Paragraph 9. A method according to any of paragraphs 1 to 8, wherein determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmitting uplink information is satisfied comprises:

[0167] A determination is made that a quieting condition is satisfied based on an estimated path loss between the communication device and the infrastructure equipment.

[0168] Paragraph 10. The method of paragraph 9, wherein determining that the silence condition is satisfied based on an estimated path loss between the communication device and the infrastructure equipment comprises:

[0169] receiving one or more downlink signals from an infrastructure device,

[0170] A path loss between the communication device and the infrastructure equipment is estimated based on the received one or more downlink transmissions.

[0171] Paragraph 11. The method of paragraph 9, wherein determining that the silence condition is satisfied based on an estimated path loss between the communication device and the infrastructure equipment comprises:

[0172] An indication of an estimated path loss is received from an infrastructure device.

[0173] Paragraph 12. A method according to any of paragraphs 9 to 11, wherein determining that the silence condition is satisfied based on an estimated path loss between the communication device and the infrastructure equipment comprises:

[0174] It is determined that the estimated path loss is below a predefined path loss threshold.

[0175] Paragraph 13. The method of paragraph 12, wherein determining that the estimated path loss is below a predefined path loss threshold comprises:

[0176] An indication of a predefined path loss threshold is received from an infrastructure device.

[0177] Paragraph 14. A method according to any of paragraphs 9 to 11, wherein determining that the silence condition is satisfied based on an estimated path loss between the communication device and the infrastructure equipment comprises:

[0178] estimating a received power of a transmission of uplink information at the infrastructure device based on the estimated path loss and the transmission power used to transmit the uplink information, and

[0179] It is determined that an estimated received power of a transmission of uplink information at the infrastructure equipment is above a predefined power threshold.

[0180] Paragraph 15. A method according to paragraph 14, wherein determining that an estimated received power of a transmission of uplink information at the infrastructure equipment is above a predefined power threshold comprises:

[0181] An indication of a predefined power threshold is received from an infrastructure device.

[0182] Paragraph 16. A method according to any of paragraphs 1 to 15, wherein determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information are to be muted and not used for transmission of the uplink information comprises:

[0183] A maximum allowed number of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information that can be silenced is determined, wherein a number of one or more communication resource elements to be silenced is less than or equal to the maximum allowed number.

[0184] Paragraph 17. A method according to paragraph 16, wherein determining a maximum allowed number of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information that can be silenced comprises:

[0185] An indication of a maximum allowed number of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information that can be silenced is received from the infrastructure equipment.

[0186] Paragraph 18. A method according to paragraph 16 or paragraph 17, wherein determining a maximum allowed number of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information that can be silenced comprises:

[0187] determining a coding rate for transmitting uplink information,

[0188] Based on a coding rate used to transmit the uplink information, a maximum allowed number of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information that can be silenced is determined.

[0189] Paragraph 19. A method according to any of paragraphs 16 to 18, wherein determining a maximum allowed number of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information that can be silenced comprises:

[0190] determining an allowed proportion of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information that can be silenced,

[0191] Based on the allowed proportion of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information that can be muted, a maximum allowed number of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information that can be muted is determined.

[0192] Paragraph 20. A method according to any of paragraphs 1 to 19, wherein determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmitting uplink information is satisfied comprises:

[0193] Determine that the transmission of uplink information is not a retransmission.

[0194] Paragraph 21. A method according to any of paragraphs 1 to 20, wherein determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmitting uplink information is satisfied comprises:

[0195] Determine a hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ process identifier PID for transmission of uplink information, and

[0196] It is determined that the muting condition is satisfied based on the HARQ PID used for the transmission of the uplink information.

[0197] Paragraph 22. A method according to any of paragraphs 1 to 21, wherein determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmitting uplink information is satisfied comprises:

[0198] Prioritizing the transmission of uplink information, and

[0199] Satisfying the muting condition is determined based on a priority of transmission of uplink information.

[0200] Paragraph 23. A method according to any of paragraphs 1 to 22, wherein determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmitting uplink information is satisfied comprises:

[0201] determining a waveform to be applied to the transmission of uplink information, and

[0202] Satisfaction of the muting condition is determined based on a waveform to be applied to the transmission of the uplink information.

[0203] Paragraph 24. A method according to any of paragraphs 1 to 23, wherein transmitting the uplink information using a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information other than the one or more silent communication resource elements comprises:

[0204] Transmissions are rate matched around one or more silent communication resource elements.

[0205] Paragraph 25. A method according to any of paragraphs 1 to 24, wherein transmitting the uplink information using a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information other than the one or more silent communication resource elements comprises:

[0206] One or more silent communication resource elements are punctured.

[0207] Paragraph 26. A method of operating infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communication network for transmitting downlink information, the method comprising:

[0208] preparing downlink information for transmission via a plurality of communication resource elements of a wireless access interface allocated for transmission of the downlink information, the wireless access interface comprising a plurality of communication resource elements arranged in time and frequency according to a structure in which some of the communication resource elements are designated for uplink transmission and some of the communication resource elements are designated for downlink transmission, the downlink information being prepared for downlink transmission to a communication device via the plurality of communication resource elements allocated for the downlink information,

[0209] determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of downlink information are to be muted and not used for transmission of the downlink information, wherein determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the downlink information are to be muted comprises: determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmission of the downlink information is satisfied, and

[0210] The downlink information is transmitted using a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the downlink information in addition to the one or more silent communication resource elements.

[0211] Paragraph 27. A method according to paragraph 26, wherein the one or more communication resource elements to be silenced coincide in time and frequency with one or more communication resource elements of the wireless access interface allocated for reception of one or more reference signals by the infrastructure equipment.

[0212] Paragraph 28. A method according to paragraph 27, wherein determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of downlink information are to be muted comprises:

[0213] One or more communications resource elements to be silenced are determined from a pattern of the reference signal, the pattern of the reference signal identifying communications resource elements of the wireless access interface to be used by the infrastructure equipment for receiving the reference signal.

[0214] Paragraph 29. A method according to paragraph 28, wherein the one or more communication resource elements to be muted include one or more communication resource elements adjacent to one or more of the communication resource elements identified by the pattern of the reference signal.

[0215] Paragraph 30. A method according to any of paragraphs 27 to 29, wherein determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmitting downlink information is satisfied comprises:

[0216] identifying communication resource elements that should be muted based on the pattern of the reference signal to reduce interference to the reference signal,

[0217] determining a total number of identified communication resource elements that should be silenced, and

[0218] If the determined number of identified resource elements that should be muted exceeds a predetermined threshold T DL-RE ,

[0219] not muting one or more of the identified communication resource elements that should be muted and using these communication resource elements to transmit downlink information, or

[0220] If the determined number of identified resource elements that should be muted is lower than a predetermined threshold T DL-RE ,

[0221] Those of the identified communication resource elements that are below a predetermined threshold are silenced.

[0222] Paragraph 31. A method according to any of paragraphs 26 to 29, wherein determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmitting downlink information is satisfied comprises:

[0223] identifying a communication resource element for transmitting downlink information,

[0224] determining a maximum number of identified communication resource elements that can be silenced based on the number of communication resource elements used to transmit downlink information,

[0225] determining a total number of identified communication resource elements that should be silenced, and

[0226] If the determined number of identified communication resource elements that should be silenced exceeds the maximum number of identified communication resource elements that can be silenced,

[0227] muting the identified communication resource elements up to and including a maximum number of those communication resource elements that can be muted, and

[0228] One or more of the identified communication resource elements that should be silenced are not silenced after the maximum number.

[0229] Paragraph 32. A communication device for transmitting uplink information, the communication device comprising:

[0230] A transmitter, configured to transmit a signal,

[0231] a receiver configured to receive a signal, and

[0232] The controller, in combination with the transmitter and receiver, is configured to:

[0233] preparing uplink information for transmission via a plurality of communication resource elements of a wireless access interface allocated for transmission of the uplink information, the wireless access interface comprising a plurality of communication resource elements, the plurality of communication resource elements being arranged in time and frequency according to a structure in which some of the communication resource elements are designated for uplink transmission and some of the communication resource elements are designated for downlink transmission, a controller configured in combination with a transmitter and a receiver to prepare the uplink information for uplink transmission to infrastructure equipment of a wireless communication network via the plurality of communication resource elements allocated for the uplink information,

[0234] determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information are to be muted and not used for transmission of the uplink information, wherein the controller is configured in combination with the transmitter and the receiver to determine that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information are to be muted by determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmission of the uplink information is satisfied, and

[0235] The uplink information is transmitted using a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information in addition to the one or more silent communication resource elements.

[0236] Paragraph 33. A communication device according to paragraph 32, wherein the one or more communication resource elements to be silenced coincide in time and frequency with one or more communication resource elements of the wireless access interface allocated for reception of one or more reference signals by infrastructure equipment of the wireless communication network.

[0237] Paragraph 34. An infrastructure device for transmitting downlink information forming part of a wireless communication network, the infrastructure device comprising:

[0238] A transmitter, configured to transmit a signal,

[0239] a receiver configured to receive a signal, and

[0240] The controller, in combination with the transmitter and receiver, is configured to:

[0241] preparing downlink information for transmission via a plurality of communication resource elements of a wireless access interface allocated for transmission of the downlink information, the wireless access interface comprising a plurality of communication resource elements arranged in time and frequency according to a structure in which some of the communication resource elements are designated for uplink transmission and some of the communication resource elements are designated for downlink transmission, wherein a controller is configured in combination with a transmitter and a receiver to prepare the downlink information for downlink transmission to a communication device via the plurality of communication resource elements allocated for the downlink information,

[0242] determining that one or more communication resource elements allocated for downlink information are to be muted and not used for transmitting the downlink information, wherein the controller is configured in combination with the transmitter and the receiver to determine that one or more communication resource elements allocated for the downlink information are to be muted by determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmitting the downlink information is satisfied, and

[0243] The downlink information is transmitted using a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the downlink information in addition to the one or more silent communication resource elements.

[0244] Paragraph 35. Infrastructure equipment according to paragraph 34, wherein the one or more communication resource elements to be silenced coincide in time and frequency with one or more communication resource elements of the wireless access interface allocated for reception of one or more reference signals by the infrastructure equipment.

[0245] Paragraph 36. A circuit system of a communication device for transmitting uplink information, the circuit system comprising:

[0246] A transmitter circuit system configured to transmit a signal,

[0247] a receiver circuit system configured to receive a signal, and

[0248] A controller circuit system is configured in combination with a transmitter and a receiver to:

[0249] preparing uplink information for transmission via a plurality of communication resource elements of a wireless access interface allocated for transmission of the uplink information, the wireless access interface comprising a plurality of communication resource elements arranged in time and frequency according to a structure in which some of the communication resource elements are designated for uplink transmission and some of the communication resource elements are designated for downlink transmission, the controller circuitry being configured in combination with the transmitter circuitry and the receiver circuitry to prepare the uplink information for uplink transmission to infrastructure equipment of a wireless communication network via the plurality of communication resource elements allocated for the uplink information,

[0250] determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of uplink information are to be muted and not used for transmission of the uplink information, wherein the controller circuitry is configured in combination with the transmitter circuitry and the receiver circuitry to determine that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information are to be muted by determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmission of the uplink information is satisfied, and

[0251] The uplink information is transmitted using a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information in addition to the one or more silent communication resource elements.

[0252] Paragraph 37. A circuit system for infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communication network for transmitting downlink information, the circuit system comprising:

[0253] A transmitter circuit system configured to transmit a signal,

[0254] a receiver circuit system configured to receive a signal, and

[0255] A controller circuit system is configured in combination with a transmitter and a receiver to:

[0256] preparing downlink information for transmission via a plurality of communication resource elements of a wireless access interface allocated for transmission of the downlink information, the wireless access interface comprising a plurality of communication resource elements arranged in time and frequency according to a structure in which some of the communication resource elements are designated for uplink transmission and some of the communication resource elements are designated for downlink transmission, wherein the controller circuitry is configured in combination with the transmitter circuitry and the receiver circuitry to prepare the downlink information for downlink transmission to the communication device via the plurality of communication resource elements allocated for the downlink information,

[0257] determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of downlink information are to be muted and not used for transmission of the downlink information, wherein the controller circuitry is configured in combination with the transmitter circuitry and the receiver circuitry to determine that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the downlink information are to be muted by determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmission of the downlink information is satisfied comprises, and

[0258] The downlink information is transmitted using a plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the downlink information in addition to the one or more silent communication resource elements.

[0259] Paragraph 38. A wireless communication system comprising a communication device according to Paragraph 32 and an infrastructure device according to Paragraph 34.

[0260] Paragraph 39. A computer program comprising instructions which, when loaded onto a computer, cause the computer to perform a method according to any one of paragraphs 1 to 31.

[0261] Paragraph 40. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program according to Paragraph 39.

[0262] It will be appreciated that for clarity, the above description has described embodiments with reference to different functional units, circuit systems and / or processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, circuit systems and / or processors may be used without departing from the embodiments.

[0263] The described embodiments can be implemented in any suitable form, including hardware, software, firmware or any combination of these. The described embodiments can be optionally implemented at least in part as computer software running on one or more data processors and / or digital signal processors. The elements and components of any embodiment can be implemented physically, functionally and logically in any suitable manner. In fact, the function can be implemented in a single unit, in multiple units or as a part of other functional units. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments can be implemented in a single unit, or can be physically and functionally distributed between different units, circuit systems and / or processors.

[0264] Although the present disclosure has been described in conjunction with some embodiments, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the specific form set forth herein. In addition, although features may appear to be described in conjunction with specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the various features of the described embodiments may be combined in any manner suitable for implementing the present technology.

[0265] References

[0266] [1]Holma H. ​​and Toskala A, "LTE for UMTS OFDMA and SC-FDMA based radioaccess", John Wiley and Sons, 2009.

[0267] [2]TR 38.913,“Study on Scenarios and Requirements for Next GenerationAccess Technologies(Release 14)”,3rd Generation Partnership Project,v14.3.0,August 2017.

[0268] [3]RP-213591,“New SI:Study on evolution of NR duplex operation,”CMCC,RAN#94e,December 2021.

[0269] [4]RP-220633,“Revised SID:Study on evolution of NR duplexoperation,”CMCC,RAN#95e,March 2022.

[0270] [5]European Patent No.3545716.

[0271] [6]European Patent Application No.EP22184813.8.

[0272] [7]R1-2204305,“Discussion on potential enhancements onflexible / dynamic TDD,”CMCC,RAN1#109e

[0273] [8]R1-2204503,“Potential enhancements on dynamic / flexible TDD,”Lenovo,RAN1#109e。

Claims

1. A method of operating a communication device for transmitting uplink information, the method comprising: preparing uplink information for transmission via a plurality of communication resource elements of a wireless access interface allocated for transmission of the uplink information, the wireless access interface comprising a plurality of communication resource elements, wherein the plurality of communication resource elements are arranged in time and frequency according to a structure in which some of the communication resource elements are designated for uplink transmission and some of the communication resource elements are designated for downlink transmission, the uplink information being prepared for uplink transmission to infrastructure equipment of the wireless communication network via the plurality of communication resource elements allocated for the uplink information, determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information are to be muted and not used for transmission of the uplink information, wherein determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information are to be muted comprises: determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmission of the uplink information is satisfied, and The uplink information is transmitted using the plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information except for the one or more communication resource elements that are silenced.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The one or more communication resource elements to be silenced coincide in time and frequency with one or more communication resource elements of the wireless access interface allocated for reception of one or more reference signals by the infrastructure equipment of the wireless communication network.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information are to be muted comprises receiving, from the infrastructure equipment, an indication of one or more communication resource elements designated for silencing, The one or more communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information determined to be silenced coincide in time and frequency with one or more of the communication resource elements designated for silence.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The indication of the one or more communication resource elements designated for silencing comprises: An indication of a pattern of the communication resource elements designated for silence in the plurality of communication resource element sets into which the wireless access interface is divided, the indication of the pattern comprising: an indication of the communication resource elements designated for silence in a first set of the plurality of sets of communication resource elements into which the wireless access interface is divided, the indication of a pattern indicating a position in time and frequency of the communication resource elements designated for silence in the first set, and An indication of a periodicity of a pattern of the communication resource elements in the plurality of sets of communication resource elements that are designated for silencing.

5. The method according to claim 4, comprising: receiving an indication of one or more other patterns of the communication resource elements designated for silencing in the plurality of sets of communication resource elements into which the wireless access interface is divided, Receiving an indication of a selected one of the patterns from the infrastructure equipment, wherein determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information are to be silenced comprises: The one or more communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information determined to be silenced coincide in time and frequency with one or more of the communication resource elements designated for silence in the selected pattern.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The indication of the pattern includes an indication of a time offset of the pattern.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining that a silence condition based on one or more communication parameters used to transmit the uplink information is satisfied includes: A modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for transmitting the uplink information is determined, and the MCS for transmitting the uplink information is determined to be above a predefined MCS threshold.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: Determining that the MCS used to transmit the uplink information is higher than a predefined MCS threshold includes: An indication of the predefined MCS threshold is received from the infrastructure equipment.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining that a silence condition based on one or more communication parameters used to transmit the uplink information is satisfied includes: Satisfaction of the quieting condition is determined based on an estimated path loss between the communication device and the infrastructure equipment.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: Determining that the silence condition is satisfied based on an estimated path loss between the communication device and the infrastructure equipment includes: receiving one or more downlink signals from the infrastructure equipment, A path loss between the communication device and the infrastructure equipment is estimated based on the received one or more downlink transmissions.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein: Determining that the silence condition is satisfied based on an estimated path loss between the communication device and the infrastructure equipment includes: An indication of the estimated path loss is received from the infrastructure equipment.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein: Determining that the silence condition is satisfied based on an estimated path loss between the communication device and the infrastructure equipment includes: It is determined that the estimated path loss is below a predefined path loss threshold.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein: Determining that the estimated path loss is lower than a predefined path loss threshold includes: An indication of the predefined path loss threshold is received from the infrastructure equipment.

14. The method according to claim 9, wherein: Determining that the silence condition is satisfied based on an estimated path loss between the communication device and the infrastructure equipment includes: estimating a received power of a transmission of the uplink information at the infrastructure device based on the estimated path loss and a transmission power used to transmit the uplink information, and A determination is made that the estimated received power of the transmission of the uplink information at the infrastructure equipment is above a predefined power threshold.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein: Determining that the estimated received power of the transmission of the uplink information at the infrastructure equipment is above a predefined power threshold comprises: An indication of the predefined power threshold is received from the infrastructure equipment.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information are to be muted and not used for transmission of the uplink information comprises: A maximum allowed number of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information that can be silenced is determined, wherein a number of the one or more communication resource elements to be silenced is less than or equal to the maximum allowed number.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein: Determining a maximum allowed number of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information that can be silenced comprises: An indication of a maximum allowed number of communications resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information that can be silenced is received from the infrastructure equipment.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein: Determining a maximum allowed number of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information that can be silenced comprises: determining a coding rate for transmitting the uplink information, Based on the coding rate used to transmit the uplink information, a maximum allowed number of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information that can be silenced is determined.

19. The method according to claim 16, wherein: Determining a maximum allowed number of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information that can be silenced comprises: determining an allowed proportion of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of said uplink information that can be silenced, The maximum allowed number of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information that can be muted is determined based on the allowed proportion of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information that can be muted.

20. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining that a silence condition based on one or more communication parameters used to transmit the uplink information is satisfied includes: Determining that the transmission of the uplink information is not a retransmission.

21. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining that a silence condition based on one or more communication parameters used to transmit the uplink information is satisfied includes: determining a hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ process identifier PID for transmission of the uplink information, and It is determined that the muting condition is satisfied based on a HARQ PID used for transmission of the uplink information.

22. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining that a silence condition based on one or more communication parameters used to transmit the uplink information is satisfied includes: determining a priority for transmission of the uplink information, and Satisfying the muting condition is determined based on the priority of transmission of the uplink information.

23. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining that a silence condition based on one or more communication parameters used to transmit the uplink information is satisfied includes: determining a waveform to be applied to transmission of said uplink information, and Satisfaction of the muting condition is determined based on the waveform to be applied to transmission of the uplink information.

24. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Transmitting the uplink information using the plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information other than the muted one or more communication resource elements comprises: Transmissions are rate matched around the one or more communication resource elements that are silenced.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein: Transmitting the uplink information using the plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information other than the muted one or more communication resource elements comprises: The one or more communication resource elements that are silenced are punctured.

26. A method of operating infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communication network for transmitting downlink information, the method comprising: preparing downlink information for transmission via a plurality of communication resource elements of a wireless access interface allocated for transmission of the downlink information, the wireless access interface comprising a plurality of communication resource elements, wherein the plurality of communication resource elements are arranged in time and frequency according to a structure in which some of the communication resource elements are designated for uplink transmission and some of the communication resource elements are designated for downlink transmission, the downlink information being prepared for downlink transmission to a communication device via the plurality of communication resource elements allocated for the downlink information, determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the downlink information are to be muted and not used for transmission of the downlink information, wherein determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the downlink information are to be muted comprises: determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters for transmission of the downlink information is satisfied, and The downlink information is transmitted using the plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the downlink information except for the muted one or more communication resource elements.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein: The one or more communication resource elements to be silenced coincide in time and frequency with one or more communication resource elements of the wireless access interface allocated for reception of one or more reference signals by the infrastructure equipment.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein: Determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the downlink information are to be muted comprises The one or more communications resource elements to be silenced are determined from a pattern of the reference signal, the pattern of the reference signal identifying the communications resource elements of the wireless access interface to be used by the infrastructure equipment for receiving the reference signal.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein: The one or more communication resource elements to be muted include one or more communication resource elements that are adjacent / neighboring to one or more of the communication resource elements identified by the pattern of the reference signal.

30. The method of claim 27, wherein: Determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters used to transmit the downlink information is satisfied includes: identifying communication resource elements that should be muted based on a pattern of a reference signal to reduce interference to the reference signal, Determine the total number of identified communication resource elements that should be silenced, and if the determined number of identified resource elements that should be silenced exceeds a predetermined threshold T DL-RE , then not muting one or more of the identified communication resource elements that should be muted and using these communication resource elements to transmit the downlink information, or If the determined number of identified resource elements that should be muted is lower than the predetermined threshold T DL-RE , Those of the identified communication resource elements that are below the predetermined threshold are then silenced.

31. The method of claim 26, wherein: Determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters used to transmit the downlink information is satisfied includes: identifying a communication resource element for transmitting the downlink information, determining a maximum number of identified communication resource elements that can be muted based on the number of communication resource elements used to transmit the downlink information, determining a total number of identified communication resource elements that should be silenced, and if the determined number of identified communication resource elements that should be silenced exceeds said maximum number of identified communication resource elements that can be silenced, then muting those of the identified communication resource elements up to and including said maximum number that can be muted, and One or more of the identified communication resource elements that should be silenced are not silenced after the maximum number.

32. A communication device for transmitting uplink information, the communication device comprising: A transmitter, configured to transmit a signal, a receiver configured to receive a signal, and A controller configured in combination with the transmitter and the receiver to: preparing uplink information for transmission via a plurality of communication resource elements of a wireless access interface allocated for transmission of the uplink information, the wireless access interface comprising a plurality of communication resource elements, wherein the plurality of communication resource elements are arranged in time and frequency according to a structure in which some of the communication resource elements are designated for uplink transmission and some of the communication resource elements are designated for downlink transmission, the controller being configured in combination with the transmitter and the receiver to prepare the uplink information for uplink transmission to infrastructure equipment of the wireless communication network via the plurality of communication resource elements allocated for the uplink information, determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information are to be muted and not used for transmission of the uplink information, wherein the controller is configured, in combination with the transmitter and the receiver, to determine that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information are to be muted by determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters used for transmission of the uplink information is satisfied, and The uplink information is transmitted using the plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information except for the one or more communication resource elements that are silenced.

33. The communication device according to claim 32, wherein: The one or more communication resource elements to be silenced coincide in time and frequency with one or more communication resource elements of the wireless access interface allocated for reception of one or more reference signals by the infrastructure equipment of the wireless communication network.

34. Infrastructure equipment for transmitting downlink information forming part of a wireless communication network, the infrastructure equipment comprising: A transmitter, configured to transmit a signal, a receiver configured to receive a signal, and A controller, configured in combination with the transmitter and the receiver, to: preparing downlink information for transmission via a plurality of communication resource elements of a wireless access interface allocated for transmission of the downlink information, the wireless access interface comprising a plurality of communication resource elements, wherein the plurality of communication resource elements are arranged in time and frequency according to a structure in which some of the communication resource elements are designated for uplink transmission and some of the communication resource elements are designated for downlink transmission, wherein the controller is configured in combination with the transmitter and the receiver to prepare the downlink information for downlink transmission to a communication device via the plurality of communication resource elements allocated for the downlink information, determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the downlink information are to be muted and not used for transmission of the downlink information, wherein the controller is configured in combination with the transmitter and the receiver to determine that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the downlink information are to be muted by determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters used for transmission of the downlink information is satisfied, and The downlink information is transmitted using the plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the downlink information except for the muted one or more communication resource elements.

35. The infrastructure equipment of claim 34, wherein: The one or more communication resource elements to be silenced coincide in time and frequency with one or more communication resource elements of the wireless access interface allocated for reception of one or more reference signals by the infrastructure equipment.

36. A circuit of a communication device for transmitting uplink information, the circuit comprising: A transmitter circuit is configured to transmit a signal, a receiver circuit configured to receive a signal, and a controller circuit configured in combination with the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit to: preparing uplink information for transmission via a plurality of communication resource elements of a wireless access interface allocated for transmission of the uplink information, the wireless access interface comprising a plurality of communication resource elements, wherein the plurality of communication resource elements are arranged in time and frequency according to a structure in which some of the communication resource elements are designated for uplink transmission and some of the communication resource elements are designated for downlink transmission, the controller circuit being configured in combination with the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit to prepare the uplink information for uplink transmission to infrastructure equipment of the wireless communication network via the plurality of communication resource elements allocated for the uplink information, determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information are to be muted and not used for transmission of the uplink information, wherein the controller circuit is configured, in combination with the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit, to determine that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information are to be muted by determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters used for transmission of the uplink information is satisfied, and The uplink information is transmitted using the plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the uplink information except for the one or more communication resource elements that are silenced.

37. A circuit for infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communication network for transmitting downlink information, the circuit comprising: A transmitter circuit is configured to transmit a signal, a receiver circuit configured to receive a signal, and a controller circuit configured in combination with the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit to: preparing downlink information for transmission via a plurality of communication resource elements of a wireless access interface allocated for transmission of the downlink information, the wireless access interface comprising a plurality of communication resource elements, wherein the plurality of communication resource elements are arranged in time and frequency according to a structure in which some of the communication resource elements are designated for uplink transmission and some of the communication resource elements are designated for downlink transmission, wherein the controller circuit is configured in combination with the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit to prepare the downlink information for downlink transmission to a communication device via the plurality of communication resource elements allocated for the downlink information, determining that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the downlink information are to be muted and not used for transmission of the downlink information, wherein the controller circuit is configured in combination with the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit to determine that one or more of the communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the downlink information are to be muted by determining that a muting condition based on one or more communication parameters used for transmission of the downlink information is satisfied, and The downlink information is transmitted using the plurality of communication resource elements allocated for transmission of the downlink information except for the muted one or more communication resource elements.

38. A wireless communication system comprising the communication apparatus according to claim 32 and the infrastructure equipment according to claim 34.

39. A computer program comprising instructions which, when loaded onto a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to claim 1.

40. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing the computer program according to claim 39.

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