Method, communication device and network infrastructure equipment

Abstract

Methods, communication devices, infrastructure equipment, and circuitry for resolving collisions between uplink and downlink transmissions located in different frequency sub-bands (e.g., in SBFD slots). Certain transmissions are prioritized based on whether uplink and downlink transmissions are dynamic scheduling transmissions or configuration transmissions. Generally, dynamic scheduling transmissions are prioritized over configuration transmissions, but other factors, such as the associated L1 priority, may provide alternative prioritization.

Description

[0001] This application claims the Paris Convention priority of European patent application EP22198464.4 filed on September 28, 2022, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a communication device, a network infrastructure equipment, and a method of operating a communication device to receive data from a wireless communication network. Background Art

[0003] The "background" description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the present disclosure. The work of the presently named inventors, to the extent described in this background section and in aspects of the description that may not have been prior art at the time of filing, is neither explicitly nor implicitly admitted to be prior art with respect to the present invention.

[0004] Modern mobile telecommunication systems, such as those based on the UMTS and Long Term Evolution (LTE) architectures defined by 3GPP, are capable of supporting a wider range of services than the simple voice and messaging services provided by previous generations of mobile telecommunication systems. For example, utilizing 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. As a result, there is a strong demand to deploy such networks, and it is expected that the coverage areas of these networks (i.e., the geographic locations where the networks can be accessed) will continue to grow rapidly.

[0005] Wireless communication networks are expected to routinely and efficiently support communications with an ever-increasing range of devices, the range of which is associated with a wide range of data traffic profiles and types. For example, wireless communication networks are expected to efficiently support communications with devices including reduced complexity devices, machine type communication (MTC) devices, high-resolution video displays, virtual reality headsets, etc. Some of these different types of devices can be deployed in very large numbers, such as low-complexity devices used to support the "Internet of Things", and can 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, can 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, can be characterized in that data should be transmitted over a network with low latency and high reliability. A single device type can 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 is being used by emergency responders for voice communications in an emergency scenario (data subject to strict reliability and latency requirements).

[0006] In view of this, current generations of wireless communication networks (e.g., those referred to as 5G or New Radio (NR) systems / New Radio Access Technology (RAT) systems) as well as future iterations / versions of existing systems are expected to efficiently support connections for a wide range of devices associated with different applications and different characteristic data traffic profiles and requirements.

[0007] One example of a new service is called an ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) service, which, as its name indicates, requires data units or packets to be transmitted with high reliability and low communication delay. Another example of a new service is an enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) service, which is characterized by high capacity and requires support of up to 20Gb / s. Therefore, URLLC and eMBB type services are challenging examples for both LTE type communication systems and 5G / NR communication systems.

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

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

[0010] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a method for a communication device is provided, which is configured to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from infrastructure equipment of a wireless communication network via a wireless radio interface provided by the wireless communication network, the method comprising: identifying a conflict between a first uplink transmission and a second downlink transmission, the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission being located in different frequency sub-bands; determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions; and prioritizing the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission as priority transmission based on determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions.

[0011] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a method for operating infrastructure equipment is provided, wherein the infrastructure equipment is configured to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from a plurality of communication devices via a wireless access interface provided by a wireless communication network, the method comprising: identifying a conflict between a first uplink transmission and a second downlink transmission, the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission being located in different frequency sub-bands; determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions; and prioritizing the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission as a priority transmission based on determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions.

[0012] Accordingly aspects and features of the disclosure are defined in the appended claims.

[0013] 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

[0014] 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:

[0015] 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;

[0016] 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;

[0017] Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram of example infrastructure equipment and communications devices that may be configured to operate in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 4 An example of inter-cell cross-link interference is schematically illustrated.

[0019] Figure 5 An example of intra-cell cross-link interference is schematically illustrated.

[0020] Figure 6 An example partition of the system bandwidth into dedicated uplink and downlink subbands is illustrated.

[0021] Figure 7 An example of transmission power leakage is illustrated.

[0022] Figure 8 An example of receiver power selectivity is illustrated.

[0023] Fig. 9 An example of inter-subband interference is illustrated.

[0024] Fig.10 An example of intra-sub-band interference is illustrated.

[0025] Fig.11 An example of a collision between uplink and downlink transmissions is illustrated.

[0026] Fig.12 A method for resolving conflicts between uplink transmissions and downlink transmissions, where both transmissions are dynamically scheduled transmissions, according to examples of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0027] Fig.13 A method for resolving conflicts between uplink transmissions and downlink transmissions, where both transmissions are dynamically scheduled transmissions, according to examples of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0028] Fig.14 A method for resolving conflicts between uplink and downlink transmissions according to examples of the present disclosure is illustrated, wherein one transmission is a dynamically scheduled transmission and the other transmission is a configuration transmission.

[0029] Fig.15 A method for resolving a conflict between an uplink transmission and a downlink transmission, where both transmissions are configuration transmissions, according to an example of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0030] Fig.16 A method for resolving conflicts between uplink transmissions and downlink transmissions according to examples of the present disclosure is illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Long Term Evolution Advanced Radio Access Technology (4G)

[0032] Figure 1 A schematic diagram is provided illustrating certain basic functionality 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 adapted to implement embodiments of the present disclosure as described herein. Figure 1 Certain aspects of the various elements and their respective 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 the relevant standards and known proposed modifications and additions to the relevant standards).

[0033] 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.

[0034] Data is transmitted from the base station 1 to a communication device or mobile terminal (MT) 4 within its corresponding coverage area 3 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 communication or terminal device 4 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 toward the communication device 4.

[0035] A base station, as an example of a network infrastructure device, may also be referred to as a transceiver station, nodeB, e-nodeB, eNB, g-nodeB, gNB, 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, a certain term 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 these implementations are limited to only a certain generation of networks that may be most associated with the particular term.

[0036] New Radio Access Technology (5G(NR))

[0037] Figure 2 An example configuration of a wireless communication network using some terminology proposed for and used in NR and 5G is shown in FIG. 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 transmit 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. In this way, a wireless communication device 14 within the radio communication range provided by the cell 12 can transmit 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 to send data for transmission to and from the wireless communication device, and the core network 20 can be connected to other networks 30.

[0038] Figure 2 The elements of the wireless access network shown may be similar to those described in relation to Figure 1 The corresponding elements of the LTE network described in the examples operate in a similar manner. It will be appreciated that Figure 2 Operational aspects of the telecommunications network shown, as well as operational aspects of other networks not specifically described and discussed herein 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 techniques (e.g., in accordance with currently used methods for implementing such operational aspects of wireless telecommunications systems, e.g., in accordance with relevant standards).

[0039] Figure 2The TRP 10 may partially have functionality corresponding to a base station or eNodeB 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.

[0040] In terms of broad top-level functionality, connecting 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 central unit 40 and its associated distributed units / TRP 10, and can be broadly considered to provide the same 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.

[0041] 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.

[0042] 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 2The exemplary architecture shown in the figure is implemented in a wireless telecommunication system / network. It will therefore be appreciated that the particular wireless telecommunication 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 specific nature of the network infrastructure equipment / access nodes and the 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 Figure 1 The LTE type base station 1 shown is suitable for providing the functions according to the principles described herein, and in other examples, the network infrastructure equipment may include Figure 2 A control unit / control node 40 and / or a TRP 10 of the kind shown is adapted to provide functionality according to the principles described herein.

[0043] Figure 3 Provided Figure 2 A more detailed schematic diagram of some of the components of the network is shown. Figure 3 As a simplified representation, Figure 2 The illustrated TRP 10 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 transmit and receive radio signals to one or more UEs 14 within the cell 12 formed by the TRP 10. Figure 3 As shown, the example UE 14 is shown to include corresponding transmitter circuitry 49, receiver circuitry 48 and controller circuitry 44, the controller circuitry being configured to control the transmitter circuitry 49 and the receiver circuitry 48 to transmit signals representing uplink data to a wireless communication network via a wireless access interface formed by the TRP 10, and to receive downlink data as signals transmitted by the transmitter circuitry 30 and received by the receiver circuitry 48 in accordance with conventional operation.

[0044] The transmitter circuits 30, 49 and the receiver circuits 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 transmit and receive radio signals in accordance with, for example, the 5G / NR standard. The controller circuits 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 implement instructions stored on a computer-readable medium (such as a non-volatile memory). The processing steps described herein may be implemented, 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 representation, in Figure 3The transmitter, receiver and controller are schematically shown as separate elements in the Figure. However, it will be appreciated 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. As will be appreciated, the infrastructure equipment / TRP / base station and UE / communication device will typically include various other elements associated with their operating functionality.

[0045] 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.

[0046] 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.

[0047] Full-duplex time division duplex (FD-TDD)

[0048] NR / 5G networks can operate using time division duplex (TDD), in which the entire frequency band or carrier is switched to downlink transmission or uplink transmission in one time period, and can be switched to the other of downlink transmission or uplink transmission in a later time period. Currently, TDD operates in half-duplex mode (HD-TDD), in which the gNB or UE can transmit or receive packets at a given time, but not at the same time. As wireless networks transition from NR to 5G-Advanced networks, a proposed new feature of such networks is to enhance the duplex operation of TDD by enabling full-duplex operation in time division duplex TDD (FD-TDD) [2]. In FD-TDD, the gNB can transmit and receive data to and from the UE simultaneously on the same frequency band or carrier. In addition, the UE can operate in HD-TDD or FD-TDD mode depending on its capabilities. For example, when a UE is capable of supporting only HD-TDD, FD-TDD is implemented at the gNB by scheduling downlink (DL) transmissions to a first UE and scheduling uplink (UL) transmissions from a second UE within the same orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol (i.e., simultaneously). Conversely, when a UE is capable of supporting FD-TDD, FD-TDD is implemented at both the gNB and the UE, in which case the gNB can simultaneously schedule the UE 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)) in the system bandwidth. A UE supporting FD-TDD requires more complex hardware than a UE supporting only HD-TDD. Current development of 5G networks is primarily focused on enabling FD-TDD at the gNB when the UE is operating in HD-TDD mode.

[0049] Motivations for enhancing synchronous 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 data 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 delays. If the gNB or UE is allowed to transmit and receive data simultaneously (as with FD-TDD), traffic latency will be improved. In addition, when located near the edge of a cell, the UE is typically limited in UL transmission. Although UE coverage at the edge of the cell can be improved if more time domain resources are allocated to UL transmission (e.g., repetition), if the UL direction is allocated more time resources, fewer time resources can be allocated to the DL direction, which can cause system imbalance. Enabling FD-TDD will help allow the UE to be allocated more UL time resources when needed without sacrificing DL time resources.

[0050] Cross-link interference (CLI)

[0051] In NR systems, the slot format (i.e., the allocation of DL and UL OFDM symbols in a slot) can be semi-statically or dynamically configured, where each OFDM symbol (OS) in a slot can be configured as downlink (DL), uplink (UL), or flexible (F). OFDM symbols 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 sent in a group common (GC) DCI using DCI format 2_0, where 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.

[0052] 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. 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. At a given timeslot, the timeslot format of gNB1 411 = {D,D,D,D,D,D,D,D,D,U,U,U,U} and the timeslot format of gNB2 412 = {D,D,D,D,D,D,D,D,D,D,U,U,U}, where “D” indicates DL and “U” indicates UL. The inter-cell CLI occurs during the 11th OFDM symbol of the timeslot, during which gNB1 411 is performing UL and gNB2 412 is performing DL. Specifically, the inter-cell CLI 441 occurs between gNB1 411 and gNB2 412, in which the DL transmission 431 of gNB2 412 interferes with the UL reception 432 of gNB1 411. A CLI 442 also occurs between UE1 421 and UE2 422 , in which UL transmission 432 of UE1 421 interferes with DL reception 431 of UE2 422 .

[0053] Some traditional implementations attempt to reduce inter-cell CLI in TDD networks caused by flexible and dynamic timeslot 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 UE in the neighboring cell. 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 only at certain OFDM symbols of the measurement time resources in the measurement bandwidth, on the configured resource elements for measurement by the UE.

[0054] Cross-link interference (CLI)

[0055] In addition to inter-cell CLI and long-range interference, FD-TDD also suffers from intra-cell CLI at the gNB and UE. Figure 5 5, where a gNB 510 is capable of FD-TDD and is simultaneously receiving an UL transmission 531 from UE1 521 and transmitting a DL transmission 542 to UE2 522. At the gNB 510, the intra-cell CLI is caused by self-interference 541 of the DL transmission 542 at the gNB's transmitter with the gNB's own receiver which is attempting to decode the UL signal 531. At UE2 522, the intra-cell CLI 532 is caused by an aggressor UE (e.g., UE1 521) transmitting in the UL 531 while a victim UE (e.g., UE2 522) is receiving the DL signal 542.

[0056] Intra-cell CLI at the gNB due to self-interference can be significant, as 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 is to Figure 6 As shown, the system (i.e., UE / gNB) bandwidth is divided into non-overlapping subbands 601 to 604 assigned to UL or DL, where simultaneous DL transmission and UL transmission can occur in different subbands 601 to 604, i.e., in different groups of frequency resource blocks (RBs). This can be referred to as sub-band full duplex (SBFD). Although Figure 6 The system bandwidth is shown to be divided into four subbands, but substantially any number of subbands may be used. For example, the system bandwidth may be divided into three subbands, which may include two downlink subbands 601, 603 and one uplink subband 602, but other subband arrangements are contemplated.

[0057] In order to reduce leakage from one subband 601 to 604 to another subband, a guard subband 610 may be configured between the UL and DL subbands 601 to 604. Figure 6 60, in which the TDD system bandwidth is divided into 4 subbands 601, 602, 603, 604: subband #1 601, subband #2 602, subband #3 603 and subband #4 604 such that subband #1 601 and subband #3 603 are used for DL ​​transmission, and subband #2 602 and subband #4 604 are used for UL transmission. A guard subband 610 is configured between UL subband #4 604 and DL subband #3 603, between DL subband #3 603 and UL subband #2 602, and between UL subband #2 602 and DL subband #1 601. Figure 6 The arrangement of sub-bands 601 to 604 shown 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.

[0058] Inter-subband interference

[0059] 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 occurs 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 instead, such as Figure 6 Subbands shown.

[0060] Figure 7 An example of a transmission that produces adjacent channel leakage is shown in . Here, the desired transmit (Tx) power is the transmit power in the selected frequency band (i.e., the assigned channel 710). 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 720), such as Figure 7 The ratio of the power within the allocated frequency channel 710 to the power in the adjacent channel 720 is the adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR). The leakage power 750 will cause interference at a receiver that is receiving the signal in the adjacent channel 720.

[0061] Similarly, the receiver's filter is not perfect and will pick up unwanted power from adjacent channels due to its own filter roll-off. Figure 8 An example of filter roll-off at a receiver is shown in . Here, the receiver is configured to receive transmissions in the assigned channel 810, but the imperfect nature of the receiver filter means that some transmission power 850 may be received in the adjacent channel 820. Therefore, if a signal 830 is transmitted on the adjacent channel 820, the receiver will, to some extent, inadvertently receive the adjacent signal 830 in the adjacent channel 820. The ratio of the received power in the assigned frequency channel 810 to the received power 850 in the adjacent channel 820 is the adjacent channel selectivity (ACS).

[0062] The combination of the ACL from the transmitter and the ACS at the receiver will cause adjacent channel interference (ACI), otherwise known as inter-sub-band interference, at the receiver. Fig. 9 An example is shown in FIG. 9 in which an attacker transmits a signal 910 in an adjacent channel at a lower frequency than a victim's receive channel 920. The interference 950 caused by the attacker's transmission includes the ACL of the attacker's transmit filter and the ACS of the victim's receive filter. In other words, the receiver will experience Fig. 9 Interference 950 in the ACI frequency range is shown.

[0063] As such, due to adjacent channel interference (ACI), although different subbands 601 to 604 are used for DL ​​transmission and UL transmission in the FD-TDD cell, cross link interference (CLI) will still occur.

[0064] Intra-subband interference

[0065] Intra-subband interference can occur when the subband configurations between gNBs are not aligned in the frequency domain. Here, CLI can occur in the overlapping frequencies of inter-cell subbands. Fig.10 An example is shown in which the gNB1 1011 system bandwidth is divided into 0 to f 2 UL sub-band UL-SB#11052 and occupied f 2 to f 3 The DL subband DL-SB#1 1051 of gNB2 1012 is divided into DL subbands DL-SB#1 1051 and the system bandwidth of gNB2 1012 is divided into DL subbands DL-SB#1 1051 and ... 0 to f 1 UL sub-band UL-SB#2 1054 and occupies f 1 to f 3 The misaligned subband configuration 1050 causes UL-SB#1 1052 to overlap with DL-SB#2 1053, thereby causing the overlapping frequency f 1 to f 2 In this example, due to the f in DL-SB#2 1053 1 to f 2 The DL transmission 1032 of gNB2 1012 in the UL-SB#1 1052 interferes with the f 1 to f 2 Intra-subband CLI 1041 occurs at gNB1 1011 due to UL reception 1031 of gNB1 1011 from UE1 1021. In addition, due to f in UL-SB#1 1052 1 to f 2 The UL transmission 1031 of UE1 1021 in the DL-SB #2 1053 interferes with the UL transmission 1031 of UE1 1021 in the DL-SB #2 1053. 1 to f 2 DL reception 1032 of UE2 1022 within the sub-band, and intra-sub-band CLI 1042 occurs at UE2 1022.

[0066] Uplink L1 priority

[0067] In conventional wireless communication networks (e.g. 3GPP Release-15), there are no priority levels in the physical layer. That is, there are priority levels for the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, of which there are 16 priority levels, but not for the physical layer. Therefore, when two uplink transmissions collide, their information is multiplexed and transmitted using a single channel. Possible conflicts are Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) with another PUCCH and PUCCH with Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).

[0068] As discussed above, the UE can be configured to provide eMBB and URLLC services. Since eMBB and URLLC have different latency requirements, their uplink transmissions may conflict. For example, after the eMBB uplink transmission is scheduled, an urgent URLLC packet that needs to be scheduled immediately may arrive, so its transmission may conflict with the eMBB transmission. In order to handle such intra-UE conflicts with different latency and reliability requirements, two priority levels (referred to as L1 priority) at the physical layer have recently been introduced for uplink transmissions (i.e., PUCCH transmissions or PUSCH transmissions) (e.g., 3GPP version-16). In such an arrangement, intra-UE prioritization is used. That is, when two UL transmissions with different physical layer priority levels (L1 priority) conflict, the UE will discard the lower priority transmission. If the two uplink transmissions have the same L1 priority, the UE can reuse the traditional process.

[0069] In some cases, the L1 priority level may be indicated by the gNB to the UE in a 1-bit priority indicator field of a downlink control information (DCI) message. In such an example, "0" indicates a low L1 priority and "1" indicates a high L1 priority. The L1 priority of the PUSCH is indicated in the UL grant carried by DCI formats 0_1 and 0_2. The L1 priority of the PUCCH carrying the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback for the PDSCH is indicated in the D grant that schedules the PDSCH and is carried by DCI formats 1_1 and 1_2.

[0070] Uplink and downlink conflicts in SBFD time slots

[0071] In a conventional TDD system, it is not expected that a UE will simultaneously receive DL or transmit UL messages. However, using SBFD time slots (such as those described above and in Figure 6The PDCCH may be a set of physical resources, such as a control resource set (CORESET) that a UE periodically monitors in order to blindly decode a potential PDCCH. Such a PDCCH may carry DCI and / or other information for scheduling, such as a slot format indicator (SFI), an UL cancellation indicator, a transmission power control (TPC), and / or a downlink preemption indicator.

[0072] Fig.11 An example of such a conflict between uplink transmission and downlink transmission is shown. Fig.11 In the example of , time slot n and time slot n+4 are DL time slot and UL time slot, respectively, and time slots n+1, n+2 and n+3 are SBFD time slots, which are configured such that they have one DL subband and one UL subband. Fig.11 In the example, the arrows between transmissions indicate the scheduling or HARQ-ACK relationship between the transmissions. For example, the arrow between DCI#1 and PUSCH#1 indicates that PUSCH#1 is scheduled by DCI#1. A similar relationship is indicated by the arrow between DCI#2 and PDSCH#1. In addition, the arrow between PDSCH#1 and PUCCH#1 indicates that PUCCH#1 carries the HARQ-ACK for PDSCH#1. Figures 12 to 15 The arrows in show similar relationships.

[0073] exist Fig.11 In this example, the gNB configures a CORESET containing a PDCCH SS in the first two OFDM symbols of each slot with DL resources (i.e., in slots n, n+1, n+2, and n+3). In slot n, the UE detects the PDCCH carrying DCI #1 in the PDCCH SS that schedules PUSCH #1 for transmission in slot n+1. In slot n+1, the UE must monitor the PDCCH in the PDCCH SS and also at time t 2 and t 3 Another collision is shown in time slot n+3, where PUCCH#1 carries HARQ-ACK for PDSCH#1, which is at time t 7 and t 8Therefore, it is necessary to resolve such a conflict between DL and UL in the SBFD time slot.

[0074] According to the example teachings of the present disclosure, the conflict between DL and UL in the SBFD time slot can be resolved by prioritizing DL or UL based at least in part on whether the UL and DL are dynamically scheduled transmissions or non-dynamically scheduled transmissions. Dynamically scheduled transmissions are transmissions scheduled by DL grants or UL grants, such as PDSCH, PUSCH, and PUCCH. Non-dynamically scheduled transmissions can be configured transmissions that can occur periodically, such as configured grant PUSCH (CG-PUSCH), semi-static scheduling (SPS) PDSCH, and PDCCH SS.

[0075] According to the example teachings of the present disclosure, conflicts between two or more dynamically scheduled transmissions (i.e., DL transmissions scheduled and UL transmissions scheduled in SBFD time slots) can be resolved. In one example, if a UE is scheduled for DL ​​transmissions and UL transmissions that conflict in a SBFD time slot, the UE can ignore the earlier scheduled transmission and receive / transmit the later scheduled transmission. This example enables the gNB to overwrite a previous scheduling decision with a later scheduled transmission. Therefore, the decision whether the previous scheduling decision should be overwritten can be made by the gNB, which will be aware of the conflict. In this way, the UE can effectively assume that the gNB has determined that the later scheduled transmission should be prioritized. Therefore, conflicts between transmissions can be resolved while allowing the gNB to dynamically change its scheduling decisions, thereby providing scheduling flexibility.

[0076] Fig.12 An example of this is shown in FIG. 1 , in which a collision occurs between PUCCH#1 scheduled by DCI#1 (to carry HARQ-ACK for PDSCH#1) and PDSCH#2 scheduled by DCI#2 in time slot n+3. Since DCI#2 occurs after DCI#1, PDSCH#2 is a later scheduled transmission (i.e., the scheduling of PDSCH#2 occurs later than the scheduling of PUCCH#1 (t 0 ) later time (t 4 )), so PUCCH#1 is the earlier scheduled transmission. Therefore, according to this example, the UE discards / ignores PUCCH#1 (i.e., the earlier scheduled transmission) and decodes PDSCH#2 (i.e., the later scheduled transmission).

[0077] The UE may resolve the conflict by discarding or ignoring the non-priority transmission. This may include discarding or ignoring the entirety of the non-priority transmission or only a portion of the non-priority transmission. For example, the UE may discard or ignore only the portion (i.e., OFDM symbols) of the non-priority transmission that conflicts with the priority transmission. For example, in Fig.12In the example, the UE can only 8 and t 9 The OFDM symbols of PUCCH#1 are discarded.

[0078] In some examples, the UE may resolve such conflicts based on an associated L1 priority. Since the L1 priority is defined only for UL transmissions (such as PUSCH and PUCCH), for DL ​​transmissions (such as PDSCH), the associated L1 priority is the priority of the corresponding PUCCH carrying its HARQ-ACK. For UL transmissions, the associated L1 priority in this example is the L1 priority indicated in the UL grant of the PUSCH or the DL grant of the PUCCH. The UE may check the associated priorities of the UL transmission and the DL transmission and use the priorities to determine which transmission to prioritize. For example, the UE may determine that the DL has a higher associated priority than the UL and therefore the DL should be prioritized (e.g., by ignoring the UL).

[0079] exist Fig.13 An example is shown in which in time slot n+3, PUSCH#1 scheduled by UL grant DCI#1 collides with PDSCH#2 scheduled by DL grant DCI#2. PUSCH#1 is indicated as low L1 priority (LP) in DCI#1, while DCI#2 indicates PUCCH#2 as high L1 priority (HP), and since PUCCH#2 is the corresponding PUCCH carrying HARQ-ACK for PDSCH#2, PDSCH#2 has an associated high L1 priority. According to this example, the UE can discard PUSCH#1 (i.e., with a lower L1 priority) or discard the OFDM symbol that collides with PDSCH#2, and decode PDSCH#2 (i.e., with an associated higher L1 priority).

[0080] In some examples, the UE may consider both the priorities of the UL transmission and the DL transmission and the scheduling time of the DL and UL. For example, the UE may first consider the L1 priority of the UL transmission and the associated L1 priority of the DL transmission, and if both have the same L1 priority (or, for example, one or both transmissions have no associated priority), the UE then considers the scheduling time of the transmissions so that it can ignore the earlier scheduled transmission. In addition, in some examples, the UE may treat a conflict between two scheduled transmissions as an error. Therefore, the UE may decide at its own discretion (e.g., based on additional criteria or randomly) to discard or ignore one of the transmissions, or to discard or ignore both transmissions.

[0081] According to the example teachings of the present disclosure, conflicts between scheduled transmissions and unscheduled transmissions (i.e., configuration transmissions or control channels) can be resolved. In a configuration transmission, the UE can be configured with periodically occurring resources, where at each opportunity, there may or may not be a transmission in the configured resources. The configuration transmission may include a CG-PUSCH, an SPS PDSCH, or a PUCCH carrying a HARQ-ACK for the SPS PDSCH. In a conflict between a scheduled transmission and a configuration transmission, the UE can generally prioritize the scheduled transmission over the unscheduled transmission. This identifies that the gNB is aware of the conflict, and if the gNB intentionally schedules a transmission to conflict with a control channel, the gNB will likely unintentionally use a control channel or configuration transmission. In this way, deliberate scheduling decisions made by the gNB can be prioritized.

[0082] An example of this arrangement is Fig.14 . In this example, SPS (PDSCH) with a period of 2 slots has been activated for the UE, and it occurs in slot n+1 and slot n+3, and the associated PUCCH for the SPS is transmitted in the next slot after the SPS. In slot n+2, PUCCH#1 associated with the SPS in slot n+1 collides with PDSCH#1 scheduled by DL grant DCI#1. According to this example, since PDSCH#1 is a dynamically scheduled transmission, the UE discards PUCCH#1 and decodes PDSCH#1. Similarly, in slot n+3, the SPS collides with PUSCH#1 dynamically scheduled by UL grant DCI#2, and in this example, the UE discards the SPS (i.e., does not attempt to decode the SPS) and transmits PUSCH#1.

[0083] In some examples, the decision about which transmission to prioritize can be additionally based on the associated L1 priorities of the UL transmission and the DL transmission. For example, when a scheduled transmission collides with a configuration transmission in a SBFD timeslot, if the configuration transmission has a higher associated L1 priority than the scheduled transmission, the UE discards the scheduled transmission. Otherwise, if the configuration transmission has an L1 priority equal to or lower than the scheduled transmission, the UE discards the configuration transmission and decodes / transmits the scheduled transmission.

[0084] According to the example teachings of the present disclosure, conflicts between multiple unscheduled transmissions can be resolved. For example, the UE can prioritize transmissions with higher priority levels. Thus, if the CG-PUSCH collides with the SPS PDSCH in the SBFD time slot, the UE can discard the configuration transmission with the lower associated L1 priority and transmit / decode the configuration transmission with the higher associated L1 priority.

[0085] In addition, in some examples, the UE may prioritize transmissions based on the traffic within the configured transmission. For example, if the CG-PUSCH conflicts with the SPS PDSCH in the SBFD timeslot, the UE may first determine whether there is any traffic for the CG-PUSCH, and if not, it may monitor the SPS PDSCH. If there is traffic in the CG-PUSCH, the UE may discard the SPS and transmit the CG-PUSCH. It should be noted that the resources used to configure the transmission may not necessarily be utilized, even if those resources are reserved for the transmission. This prevents unused resources from taking precedence over non-empty transmissions. This example may be utilized in conjunction with various other examples described herein. For example, the UE may first determine that two transmissions have the same priority, and then determine which transmission to prioritize based on the traffic within the configured transmission.

[0086] In some examples, the UE may prioritize transmissions based on whether the transmission carries a HARQ-ACK and based on whether the HARQ-ACK is an ACK or a NACK. For example, if a PUCCH associated with a first SPS collides with a second SPS, the UE may determine whether the HARQ-ACK carried by the PUCCH is a NACK or an ACK. This may be performed, for example, after determining that the two transmissions have the same L1 priority and / or both contain traffic (i.e., no empty / configured resources will be utilized). If the PUCCH carries an ACK, the UE may transmit the PUCCH and ignore the SPS, otherwise if the PUCCH carries a NACK, the UE may discard the PUCCH and monitor the second SPS. This identifies that the NACK may be caused by a failed decoding of the PDSCH in the SPS or if the SPS is empty. As such, if there is a failed decoding, the gNB will retransmit the PDSCH, which means that the UE will have a second chance to decode the SPS PDSCH. Additionally, if the SPS is empty, the gNB is not expected to receive a NACK, and therefore the UE can afford to discard the PUCCH carrying the NACK.

[0087] An example of this arrangement is Fig.15 As shown in FIG. 1 , in this example, the UE is configured with two SPS opportunities, namely, SPS#1 and SPS#2. The UE can be configured with up to 8 different SPSs, each of which can have different periods, resources, and TBSs. SPS#1 has a period of 5 slots, while SPS#2 has a shorter period of 2 slots. In slot n+1, as time t in slot n 1 PUCCH#1 of the associated PUCCH of SPS#1 at time t 2In this example, the UE successfully decodes the PDSCH in SPS#1, so it needs to send an ACK in PUCCH#1. Therefore, the UE can discard SPS#2 and transmit PUCCH#1.

[0088] In some examples, the UE may prioritize transmissions based on the type of transmission. For example, in the case where a CG-PUSCH collides with a PDCCH search space in a SBFD slot, the UE may ignore the CG-PUSCH and monitor the PDCCH search space for potential PDCCHs. This identifies that the gNB may have an urgent transmission and therefore needs to send a PDCCH to schedule that urgent transmission, and therefore it is better for the UE to monitor the PDCCH search space than to transmit the CG-PUSCH. Alternatively, for example, if the CG-PUSCH has a high L1 priority, the UE may transmit the CG-PUSCH and ignore the PDCCH search space. These examples effectively prevent the gNB from configuring a CG-PUSCH that overlaps with the PDCCH search space in a SBFD slot, because if the CG-PUSCH has a high L1 priority, the UE will always ignore the CG-PUSCH or ignore the PDCCH search space. However, there may be configurations where the gNB cannot avoid such conflicts, especially if the CG-PUSCH and PDCCH search spaces have different periodicities and only overlap once in a while (i.e., overlap inconsistently).

[0089] In general, the above techniques have been described primarily in terms of conflict resolution being performed by the UE. However, a base station (e.g., a gNB) may perform conflict resolution in substantially the same manner. Therefore, all techniques described herein with respect to the UE should be understood to be equally applicable to the base station.

[0090] Fig.16 A flow chart of an example method 1600 for a UE to resolve conflicts between uplink transmissions and downlink transmissions in different frequency sub-bands of a SBFD time slot is illustrated. For ease of explanation, the example method is described in the context of two conflicting transmissions, but the method may be performed for a greater number of conflicting transmissions. The method may also or alternatively be performed by a base station in a similar manner.

[0091] The method begins at step 1602, in which the UE identifies whether there is a conflict between an uplink transmission and a downlink transmission in different frequency subbands of the SBFD time slot. If there is no conflict (exit from "N" in step 1602), the method ends. If there is a conflict (exit from "Y" in step 1602), the method proceeds to step 1604, in which the UE determines whether the conflicting transmission is a dynamically scheduled transmission or a configuration transmission. It should be noted that steps 1602 and 1604 can take different forms and orders. For example, the UE can determine that a new transmission has been scheduled, and can then determine whether there is any conflict. Similarly, the UE can identify an upcoming configuration transmission and can then determine whether there is a conflict.

[0092] At step 1604, if both transmissions are dynamically scheduled transmissions (exit "2" in step 1604), the method may proceed to step 1618, in which the UE determines whether the transmissions have the same associated priority level. In some cases, this step may include determining whether one or both of the transmissions have an associated priority level. As described above, the associated priority level of the UL transmission may be the L1 priority level, and the associated priority level of the UL transmission may be the L1 priority level of the PUCCH carrying the HARQ-ACK for the DL transmission. If the transmissions have different priority levels (exit "Y" in step 1618), the method proceeds to step 1620, in which the UE prioritizes the transmission with the higher priority level. For example, if the UL has a "high" L1 priority level and the DL has a "low" associated L1 priority level, the UE prioritizes the UL. Alternatively, if the UL and DL have the same priority level (exit "N" in step 1618), the UE proceeds to step 1622 and prioritizes the later scheduled transmission (e.g., with the same priority level as above with respect to Fig.12 1604). Prioritizing a particular transmission may include discarding or ignoring a non-priority transmission. This may include discarding or ignoring the entirety of the non-priority transmission or only a portion of the non-priority transmission. In some cases, the UE may not check the priority of the UL and DL, or may determine that all or some of the UL and DL do not have an associated priority level, and may therefore exit directly from "2" in step 1604 to step 1622. If only one of the transmissions has an associated priority level, the UE may prioritize a particular transmission based on this (e.g., by prioritizing the transmission with the associated priority level, or vice versa).

[0093] Returning to step 1604, if only one of the two transmissions is a dynamically scheduled transmission (exiting from "1" in step 1604), such that there is a conflict between the dynamically scheduled transmission and the configured transmission, the UE may proceed to step 1614, in which the UE determines whether the transmissions have the same associated priority level. This step is substantially similar to step 1618 described above. If the transmissions have different priority levels (exiting from "Y" in step 1614), the method proceeds to step 1620, in which the UE prioritizes the transmission with the higher priority level. Alternatively, if the UL and DL have the same priority level (exiting from "N" in step 1614), the UE proceeds to step 1616 and prioritizes the dynamically scheduled transmission over the configured transmission (e.g., in the same manner as above with respect to Fig.14 In a similar manner as described in ). In some cases, the UE may not check the priority of UL and DL, or may determine that all or some of UL and DL do not have an associated priority level, and thus may directly exit from "1" in step 1604 to reach step 1616.

[0094] Returning to step 1604, if neither transmission is a dynamically scheduled transmission (exiting from "0" in step 1604), the method may proceed to step 1606, in which the UE determines whether the transmissions have the same associated priority level. This step is substantially similar to steps 1618 and 1614 described above. If the transmissions have different priority levels (exiting from "Y" in step 1606), the method proceeds to step 1620, in which the UE prioritizes the transmission with the higher priority level. Alternatively, if the UL and DL have the same priority level (exiting from "N" in step 1606), the method may proceed to step 1608, in which the UE determines whether there is any traffic scheduled for the UL transmission. For example, if the UL is a CG-PUSCH, the UE may determine whether there is any traffic intended to be transmitted on the CG-PUSCH. If the UL transmission does not have any desired traffic (exiting from "N" in step 1608), the method proceeds to step 1610, in which the UE prioritizes the DL transmission. Alternatively, if the UE does not indicate any transmission as no expected traffic ("N" exit from step 1608), the method can proceed to step 1612. In addition, in some examples, after determining that there is expected traffic for UL transmission, the UE can prioritize UL transmission and skip step 1612.

[0095] At step 1612, the UE determines whether the UL link carries HARQ-ACK. Step 1612 may have been practiced in some cases (e.g., at step 1604), and as such, the UE may already know whether the UL transmission carries HARQ-ACK and may therefore immediately jump to step 1628 or 1624. If the UL does not carry HARQ-ACK (exit from "N" in step 1612), the UE may identify the conflict as a scheduling error (step 1628). In this case, the UE may take a number of possible actions. For example, the UE may discard both transmissions, or may select one of the transmissions to prioritize randomly or using other criteria. Alternatively, at step 1612, if the UE determines that the UL does carry HARQ-ACK (exit from "Y" in step 1612), the UE proceeds to step 1624, in which the UE determines whether the UL carries ACK or NACK. If the UL transmission carries NACK (exit from "N" in step 1624), the method may proceed to step 1628, in which the UE may prioritize the DL transmission. Alternatively, if the UL transmission carries ACK ("Y" exit from step 1624), the UE proceeds to step 1626 and prioritizes the UL transmission.

[0096] In some examples, after determining that neither transmission is a dynamically scheduled transmission (exiting from "0" in step 1604), the UE may skip any one of steps 1606, 1608, and 1612. For example, the UE may jump from step 1604 to step 1608, or step 1612, or may jump from step 1606 to step 1612. In addition, Fig.16 Any segment of the method may include additional considerations or determinations that the UE may use to determine which transmission to prioritize. For example, the UE may also determine which transmission to prioritize based on the type of HG (e.g., the UE may prioritize PDCCH SS over CG-PUSCH, or vice versa), or may (de)prioritize only the UL carrying ACK if some other criteria is met. As another example, for the case where both conflicting transmissions are dynamically scheduled (exit from "2" in step 1604), the UE may determine which transmission to prioritize (i.e., steps 1612, 1624, 1626, and 1630) based at least in part on whether the UL carries ACK. Thus, Fig.16 The specific steps and processes shown are not intended to be limiting, and Fig.16 It should be construed as merely an example implementation of the teachings disclosed herein.

[0097] Thus, methods, communication devices, infrastructure equipment, and circuit systems for resolving conflicts between uplink transmissions and downlink transmissions located in different frequency sub-bands (e.g., in SBFD time slots) have been described. Based on whether the uplink transmission and the downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions or configured transmissions, specific transmissions are prioritized. Typically, dynamically scheduled transmissions take precedence over configured transmissions, but other factors (such as associated L1 priorities) may provide alternative prioritizations.

[0098] The following numbered clauses provide additional example aspects and features of the present technology:

[0099] 1. A method of operating a communication device, the communication device being configured to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from infrastructure equipment of a wireless communication network via a wireless radio interface provided by the wireless communication network, the method comprising:

[0100] identifying a conflict between a first uplink transmission and a second downlink transmission, the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission being in different frequency sub-bands;

[0101] determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions;

[0102] Based on determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions, the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized as a priority transmission.

[0103] 2. The method of clause 1, wherein prioritizing the priority transmission comprises discarding at least a portion of non-priority transmissions in the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission.

[0104] 3. A method according to clause 2, wherein discarding at least a portion of the non-priority transmission comprises discarding only orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols of the non-priority transmission that conflict with the priority transmission.

[0105] 4. The method of clause 2, wherein discarding at least a portion of the non-priority transmission comprises discarding all of the non-priority transmission.

[0106] 5. A method as described in any preceding clause, wherein the dynamically scheduled transmission is a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), or a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

[0107] 6. A method according to any preceding clause, wherein the transmission that is not a dynamically scheduled transmission is a configuration transmission or a control channel, wherein the configuration transmission or control channel is a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) search space, a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) PDSCH, a configured grant PUSCH (CG-PUSCH), or a PUCCH carrying HARQ-ACK in response to an SPS PDSCH.

[0108] 7. A method as described in clause 6, wherein the first downlink transmission is a PDCCH search space, wherein for the first downlink transmission the communications device is configured to monitor a set of physical resources for PDCCH.

[0109] 8. A method as described in any preceding clause, wherein only one of the uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission is a dynamically scheduled transmission.

[0110] 9. The method of clause 8, wherein prioritizing the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission comprises prioritizing a dynamically scheduled transmission as a priority transmission.

[0111] 10. A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 6, wherein both the uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions.

[0112] 11. A method as described in clause 10, wherein the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized based additionally on determining that there is a scheduling error.

[0113] 12. The method of clause 11, wherein based on determining that there is a scheduling error, the communications device discards both the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission.

[0114] 13. A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 6, wherein neither the uplink transmission nor the first downlink transmission is a dynamically scheduled transmission.

[0115] 14. A method as described in clause 13, wherein the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized based additionally on determining whether the communication device has any traffic to be included in the first uplink transmission.

[0116] 15. The method according to clause 14, further comprising:

[0117] If the communication device has traffic for the first uplink transmission, prioritizing the first uplink transmission as a priority transmission; and

[0118] If the communication device does not have traffic for the first uplink transmission, the first downlink transmission is prioritized as a priority transmission.

[0119] 16. A method as described in any of clauses 13 or 14, wherein the first uplink transmission is a CG-PUSCH and the first downlink transmission is a PDCCH search space, and wherein the communications device prioritizes the PDCCH search space as a priority transmission.

[0120] 17. A method according to clause 13 or 14, wherein the first uplink transmission is a CG-PUSCH and the first downlink transmission is a PDCCH search space, and wherein the communications device prioritises the CG-PUSCH as a priority transmission.

[0121] 18. A method according to any preceding clause, wherein the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized based additionally on the priorities determined for the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission.

[0122] 19. A method according to clause 18, wherein the priority level determined for the first uplink transmission is an L1 priority for the first uplink transmission, and wherein the priority level for the first downlink transmission is an L1 priority for a second uplink transmission, the second transmission being configured to carry a HARQ-ACK for the first downlink transmission.

[0123] 20. A method as described in any preceding clause, wherein prioritizing the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is additionally based on a priority transmission being scheduled after the non-priority transmission.

[0124] 21. A method as described in any preceding clause, wherein the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized based on whether the first uplink transmission includes a HARQ-ACK and whether the HARQ-ACK is an ACK or a NACK.

[0125] 22. The method according to clause 16, further comprising:

[0126] If the first uplink transmission includes an ACK, prioritizing the first uplink transmission as a priority transmission; and

[0127] If the first uplink transmission includes a NACK, the first downlink transmission is prioritized as a priority transmission.

[0128] 23. A communication device, the communication device comprising:

[0129] a transceiver configured to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from infrastructure equipment of a wireless communication network and / or one or more other communication devices, and

[0130] A controller, in conjunction with the transceiver, is configured to:

[0131] identifying a conflict between a first uplink transmission and a second downlink transmission, the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission being in different frequency sub-bands;

[0132] determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions;

[0133] Based on determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions, the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized as a priority transmission.

[0134] 24. A circuit system for a communication device, comprising:

[0135] transceiver circuitry configured to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from infrastructure equipment of a wireless communication network and / or one or more other communication devices, and

[0136] The controller circuit system, in combination with the transceiver, is configured as follows:

[0137] identifying a conflict between a first uplink transmission and a second downlink transmission, the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission being in different frequency sub-bands;

[0138] determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions;

[0139] Based on determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions, the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized as a priority transmission.

[0140] 25. A method of operating infrastructure equipment, the infrastructure equipment being configured to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from a plurality of communication devices via a wireless access interface provided by a wireless communication network, the method comprising:

[0141] identifying a conflict between a first uplink transmission and a second downlink transmission, the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission being in different frequency sub-bands;

[0142] determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions;

[0143] Based on determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions, the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized as a priority transmission.

[0144] 26. A method as described in clause 25, wherein prioritizing the priority transmission comprises discarding at least a portion of non-priority transmissions in the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission.

[0145] 27. A method according to clause 26, wherein discarding at least a portion of the non-priority transmission comprises discarding only orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols of the non-priority transmission that collide with the priority transmission.

[0146] 28. The method of clause 26, wherein discarding at least a portion of the non-priority transmission comprises discarding all of the non-priority transmission.

[0147] 29. A method as described in any of clauses 25 to 28, wherein the dynamically scheduled transmission is a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), or a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH).

[0148] 30. A method according to any one of clauses 25 to 29, wherein the transmission that is not a dynamically scheduled transmission is a configuration transmission or a control channel, wherein the configuration transmission or control channel is a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) search space, a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) PDSCH, a configured grant PUSCH (CG-PUSCH), or a PUCCH carrying HARQ-ACK in response to an SPS PDSCH.

[0149] 31. A method as described in any of clauses 25 to 30, wherein only one of the uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission is a dynamically scheduled transmission.

[0150] 32. The method of clause 31, wherein prioritizing the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission comprises prioritizing a dynamically scheduled transmission as a priority transmission.

[0151] 33. A method as described in any of clauses 25 to 30, wherein both the uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions.

[0152] 34. A method as described in clause 33, wherein the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized based additionally on determining that there is a scheduling error.

[0153] 35. A method as described in clause 34, wherein based on determining that there is a scheduling error, the communication device discards both the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission.

[0154] 36. A method as described in any of clauses 25 to 30, wherein neither the uplink transmission nor the first downlink transmission is a dynamically scheduled transmission.

[0155] 37. A method as described in clause 36, wherein the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized based on determining whether the infrastructure equipment has any traffic to be included in the first downlink transmission.

[0156] 38. The method according to clause 37, further comprising:

[0157] If the infrastructure device has traffic for the first downlink transmission, prioritizing the first downlink transmission as a priority transmission; and

[0158] If the infrastructure equipment does not have traffic for the first downlink transmission, the first uplink transmission is prioritized as a priority transmission.

[0159] 39. A method as described in any of clauses 36 and 37, wherein the first uplink transmission is a CG-PUSCH and the first downlink transmission is a PDCCH, and wherein the infrastructure equipment prioritizes the PDCCH as a priority transmission.

[0160] 40. A method as described in clause 36 or 37, wherein the first uplink transmission is a CG-PUSCH and the first downlink transmission is a PDCCH, and wherein the infrastructure equipment prioritizes the CG-PUSCH as a priority transmission.

[0161] 41. A method according to any of clauses 25 to 40, wherein the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized additionally based on priorities determined for the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission.

[0162] 42. A method according to clause 41, wherein the priority level determined for the first uplink transmission is an L1 priority for the first uplink transmission, and wherein the priority level for the first downlink transmission is an L1 priority for a second uplink transmission, the second transmission being configured to carry a HARQ-ACK for the first downlink transmission.

[0163] 43. A method as described in any of clauses 25 to 42, wherein the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized additionally based on a priority transmission scheduled after the non-priority transmission.

[0164] 44. An infrastructure device comprising:

[0165] a transceiver configured to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from a plurality of communication devices, and

[0166] A controller, in conjunction with the transceiver, is configured to:

[0167] identifying a conflict between a first uplink transmission and a second downlink transmission, the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission being in different frequency sub-bands;

[0168] determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions;

[0169] Based on determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions, the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized as a priority transmission.

[0170] 45. A circuit system for infrastructure equipment, comprising:

[0171] transceiver circuitry configured to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from a plurality of communication devices, and

[0172] The controller circuit system, in combination with the transceiver, is configured as follows:

[0173] identifying a conflict between a first uplink transmission and a second downlink transmission, the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission being in different frequency sub-bands;

[0174] determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions;

[0175] Based on determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions, the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized as a priority transmission.

[0176] 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.

[0177] 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.

[0178] 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.

[0179] References

[0180] [1]Holma H. ​​and Toskala A, "LTE for UMTS OFDMA and SC-FDMA based radioaccess", John Wiley and Sons, 2009.

[0181] [2]RP-213591, “New SI: Study on evolution of NR duplex operation,” CMCC, RAN#94e

Claims

1. A method of operating a communication device, the communication device being configured to transmit signals to infrastructure equipment of a wireless communication network via a wireless radio interface provided by the wireless communication network, and / or to receive signals from the infrastructure equipment of the wireless communication network, the method comprising: identifying a conflict between a first uplink transmission and a second downlink transmission, the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission being in different frequency sub-bands; determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions; Based on determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions, the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized as a priority transmission.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Prioritizing the priority transmissions includes discarding at least a portion of non-priority transmissions in the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: Discarding at least a portion of the non-priority transmission includes discarding only Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols of the non-priority transmission that collide with the priority transmission.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein: Discarding at least a portion of the non-priority transmission includes discarding all of the non-priority transmission.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The dynamically scheduled transmission is the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), or the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH).

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein: A transmission that is not a dynamically scheduled transmission is a configuration transmission or a control channel, wherein the configuration transmission or the control channel is a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) search space, a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) PDSCH, a configured grant PUSCH (CG-PUSCH), or a PUCCH carrying HARQ-ACK in response to an SPS PDSCH.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein: The first downlink transmission is a PDCCH search space, wherein for the first downlink transmission, the communications apparatus is configured to monitor a set of physical resources for PDCCH.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Only one of the uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission is a dynamically scheduled transmission.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein: Prioritizing the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission includes prioritizing the dynamically scheduled transmission as the priority transmission.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Both of the uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: Additionally based on determining that a scheduling error exists, the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: Based on determining that a scheduling error exists, the communications device discards both the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: Neither the uplink transmission nor the first downlink transmission is a dynamically scheduled transmission.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is also prioritized based on determining whether the communications device has any traffic to be included in the first uplink transmission.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: prioritizing the first uplink transmission as the priority transmission if the communication device has traffic for the first uplink transmission; and If the communication device does not have traffic for the first uplink transmission, the first downlink transmission is prioritized as the priority transmission.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The first uplink transmission is a CG-PUSCH and the first downlink transmission is a PDCCH search space, and wherein the communications device prioritizes the PDCCH search space as the priority transmission.

17. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The first uplink transmission is a CG-PUSCH and the first downlink transmission is a PDCCH search space, and wherein the communications device prioritizes the CG-PUSCH as the priority transmission.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Additionally based on the priorities determined for the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission, the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein: The priority level determined for the first uplink transmission is an L1 priority for the first uplink transmission, and wherein the priority level for the first downlink transmission is an L1 priority for a second uplink transmission, the second transmission being configured to carry a HARQ-ACK for the first downlink transmission.

20. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is also prioritized based on the priority transmission being scheduled after the non-priority transmission.

21. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Additionally, based on whether the first uplink transmission includes a HARQ-ACK and whether the HARQ-ACK is an ACK or a NACK, the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized.

22. The method of claim 16, further comprising: prioritizing the first uplink transmission as the priority transmission if the first uplink transmission includes an ACK; and If the first uplink transmission includes a NACK, the first downlink transmission is prioritized as the priority transmission.

23. A communication device, comprising: a transceiver configured to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from infrastructure equipment of a wireless communication network and / or one or more other communication devices, and / or A controller, configured in conjunction with the transceiver, to: identifying a conflict between a first uplink transmission and a second downlink transmission, the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission being in different frequency sub-bands; determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions; Based on determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions, the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized as a priority transmission.

24. A circuit system for a communication device, comprising: transceiver circuitry configured to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from infrastructure equipment of a wireless communication network and / or one or more other communication devices, and a controller circuit system configured in conjunction with the transceiver to: identifying a conflict between a first uplink transmission and a second downlink transmission, the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission being in different frequency sub-bands; determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions; Based on determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions, the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized as a priority transmission.

25. A method of operating infrastructure equipment, the infrastructure equipment being configured to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from a plurality of communication devices via a wireless access interface provided by a wireless communication network, the method comprising: identifying a conflict between a first uplink transmission and a second downlink transmission, the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission being in different frequency sub-bands; determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions; Based on determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions, the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized as a priority transmission.

26. An infrastructure device comprising: a transceiver configured to transmit signals to a plurality of communication devices and / or receive signals from the plurality of communication devices, and A controller, configured in conjunction with the transceiver, to: identifying a conflict between a first uplink transmission and a second downlink transmission, the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission being in different frequency sub-bands; determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions; Based on determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions, the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized as a priority transmission.

27. A circuit system for infrastructure equipment, comprising: transceiver circuitry configured to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from a plurality of communication devices, and a controller circuit system configured in conjunction with the transceiver to: identifying a conflict between a first uplink transmission and a second downlink transmission, the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission being in different frequency sub-bands; determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions; Based on determining whether the first uplink transmission and the first downlink transmission are dynamically scheduled transmissions, the first uplink transmission or the first downlink transmission is prioritized as a priority transmission.

Images