User equipment relay using micro-slot

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communications. In some aspects, a relay user equipment (UE) may receive a packet from a source node. The UE may identify a selected micro-slot or a selected sub-band for transmitting the packet based at least in part on a reference signal measurement indicated by a micro-slot of the plurality of micro-slots or by a sub-band of the plurality of sub-bands. The UE may send the packet to the destination node using the selected micro-slot or the selected subband. Numerous other aspects are described.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 933,545, filed on September 20, 2022, entitled “USER EQUIPMENT RELAYING USING MINI-SLOTS” and assigned to the assignee of this application. The disclosure of the prior application is considered a part of this patent application and is incorporated by reference into this patent application. Technical Field

[0003] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications, and to techniques and apparatus for user equipment relaying using mini-slots. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide a variety of telecommunication services, such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasting. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies that can support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, and long term evolution (LTE). LTE / LTE-Advanced is a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0005] A wireless network may include one or more network nodes that support communications for wireless communication devices, such as user equipment (UE) or multiple UEs. A UE may communicate with a network node via downlink communications and uplink communications. A "downlink" (or "DL") refers to a communication link from a network node to a UE, and an "uplink" (or "UL") refers to a communication link from a UE to a network node. Some wireless networks may support device-to-device communications, such as via a local link (e.g., a side link (SL), a wireless local area network (WLAN) link, and / or a wireless personal area network (WPAN) link, etc.).

[0006] The above-mentioned multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different UEs to communicate at a city, country, region and / or global level. New Radio (NR) (which may be referred to as 5G) is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by: improving spectrum efficiency; reducing costs; improving services; utilizing new spectrum; and using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) (CP-OFDM) with cyclic prefix (CP) on the downlink, CP-OFDM and / or single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) (also known as discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM)) on the uplink to better integrate with other open standards; and supporting beamforming, multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna technology and carrier aggregation. As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, further improvements in LTE, NR and other radio access technologies remain useful. Summary of the invention

[0007] Some aspects described herein relate to a method of wireless communication performed by a first relay user equipment (UE). The method may include receiving a packet from a source node. The method may include identifying a selected mini-slot or a selected sub-band for sending the packet based at least in part on a reference signal measurement, the reference signal measurement being indicated by a mini-slot in a plurality of mini-slots or by a sub-band in a plurality of sub-bands. The method may include using the selected mini-slot or the selected sub-band to send the packet to a destination node.

[0008] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication performed by a relay UE. The apparatus may include a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory. The one or more processors may be configured to receive a packet from a source node. The one or more processors may be configured to identify a selected micro-time slot or a selected sub-band for sending the packet based at least in part on a reference signal measurement, the reference signal measurement being indicated by a micro-time slot in a plurality of micro-time slots or by a sub-band in a plurality of sub-bands. The one or more processors may be configured to use the selected micro-time slot or the selected sub-band to send the packet to a destination node.

[0009] Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication by a relay UE. The instruction set, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to receive a packet from a source node. The instruction set, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to identify a selected mini-slot or a selected sub-band for sending the packet based at least in part on a reference signal measurement, the reference signal measurement being indicated by a mini-slot in a plurality of mini-slots or by a sub-band in a plurality of sub-bands. The instruction set, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to send the packet to a destination node using the selected mini-slot or the selected sub-band.

[0010] Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include components for receiving a packet from a source node. The apparatus may include components for identifying a selected mini-slot or a selected sub-band for sending the packet based at least in part on a reference signal measurement, the reference signal measurement being indicated by a mini-slot in a plurality of mini-slots or by a sub-band in a plurality of sub-bands. The apparatus may include components for sending the packet to a destination node using the selected mini-slot or the selected sub-band.

[0011] Aspects collectively include methods, apparatus, systems, computer program products, non-transitory computer-readable media, user equipment, base stations, network entities, network nodes, wireless communication devices and / or processing systems as fully described herein with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

[0012] The features and technical advantages of examples according to the present disclosure have been outlined quite extensively above so that the following specific embodiments may be better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described below. The disclosed concepts and specific examples may be easily used as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for achieving the same purpose of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. The characteristics of the concepts disclosed herein, both in terms of their organization and method of operation, and the associated advantages will be better understood by considering the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Each of the figures in the accompanying drawings is provided for the purpose of illustration and description, and not as a definition of the limitations of the claims.

[0013] Although various aspects are described in the present disclosure by illustrating some examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that such aspects can be implemented in many different arrangements and scenarios. The technology described herein can be implemented using different platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes and / or packaging arrangements. For example, some aspects can be implemented via integrated chip implementations or other devices based on non-module components (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication equipment, computing equipment, industrial equipment, retail / shopping equipment, medical equipment and / or artificial intelligence devices). Various aspects can be implemented in chip-level components, modular components, non-modular components, non-chip-level components, device-level components and / or system-level components. The equipment incorporating the various aspects and features described may include additional components and features for implementing and practicing the various aspects claimed and described. For example, the transmission and reception of wireless signals may include one or more components for analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware components, including antennas, radio frequency (RF) chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, processors, interleavers, adders and / or summers). The various aspects described herein are intended to be practiced in various devices, components, systems, distributed arrangements and / or end-user devices of various sizes, shapes and configurations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] In order to be able to understand the above-mentioned features of the present disclosure in detail, a more specific description briefly summarized above may be obtained by reference to various aspects (some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings). However, it should be noted that the accompanying drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of the present disclosure and are therefore not to be considered as limiting the scope thereof, as the specification may admit of other equally effective aspects. The same reference numerals in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

[0015] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network according to the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of communication between a network node and a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network according to the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example decomposed base station architecture according to the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of side link communication according to the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of side link communication and access link communication according to the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a coverage scenario and a mini-slot structure according to the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of UE relay using mini-slots according to the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a comb structure according to the present disclosure.

[0023] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data grid according to the present disclosure.

[0024] Fig.10 is a diagram illustrating an example of time domain and frequency domain allocation according to the present disclosure.

[0025] Fig.11 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, for example, by a relay UE according to the present disclosure.

[0026] Fig.12 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communications according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The various aspects of the present disclosure are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure can be embodied in many different forms, and should not be construed as being limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout the present disclosure. Instead, these aspects are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and the scope of the present disclosure will be fully conveyed to those skilled in the art. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein, whether it is independently or in combination with any other aspect of the disclosure. For example, any number of aspects set forth herein may be used to implement a device or practice method. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover such a device or method practiced using other structures, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to or different from the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of the present invention.

[0028] Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various devices and techniques. These devices and techniques will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements may be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0029] Although various aspects may be described herein using terms generally associated with 5G or new radio (NR) radio access technology (RAT), various aspects of the present disclosure may be applicable to other RATs, such as 3G RAT, 4G RAT and / or RATs beyond 5G (e.g., 6G).

[0030] Figure 1 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network 100 according to the present disclosure. The wireless network 100 may be a 5G (e.g., NR) network and / or a 4G (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE)) network, or may include elements of a 5G (e.g., NR) network and / or elements of a 4G (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE)) network, etc. The wireless network 100 may include one or more network nodes 110 (shown as network node 110a, network node 110b, network node 110c, and network node 110d), user equipment (UE) 120 or multiple UEs 120 (shown as UE 120a, UE 120b, UE 120c, UE 120d, and UE 120e), and / or other entities. The network node 110 is a network node that communicates with the UE 120. As shown in the figure, the network node 110 may include one or more network nodes. For example, the network node 110 may be a converged network node, which means that the converged network node is configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single radio access network (RAN) node (e.g., within a single device or unit). As another example, the network node 110 may be a decomposed network node (sometimes referred to as a decomposed base station), which means that the network node 110 is configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed between two or more nodes (such as one or more central units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs)).

[0031] In some examples, the network node 110 is or includes a network node that communicates with the UE 120 via a radio access link, such as an RU. In some examples, the network node 110 is or includes a network node that communicates with other network nodes 110 via a fronthaul link or a midhaul link, such as a DU. In some examples, the network node 110 is or includes a network node that communicates with other network nodes 110 via a midhaul link or communicates with the core network via a backhaul link, such as a CU. In some examples, the network node 110 (such as an aggregated network node 110 or a decomposed network node 110) may include multiple network nodes, such as one or more RUs, one or more CUs, and / or one or more DUs. The network node 110 may include, for example, an NR base station, an LTE base station, a Node B, an eNB (e.g., in 4G), a gNB (e.g., in 5G), an access point, a transmit receive point (TRP), a DU, a RU, a CU, a mobility element of a network, a core network node, a network element, a network equipment, a RAN node, or a combination thereof. In some examples, network nodes 110 may be interconnected to each other or to one or more other network nodes 110 in wireless network 100 via various types of fronthaul, midhaul, and / or backhaul interfaces, such as direct physical connections, air interfaces, or virtual networks, using any suitable transport network.

[0032] In some examples, the network node 110 may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the term "cell" may refer to the coverage area of ​​the network node 110 and / or the network node subsystem serving the coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. The network node 110 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and / or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access by a UE 120 with a service subscription. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by a UE 120 with a service subscription. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access by a UE 120 associated with the femto cell (e.g., a UE 120 in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). A network node 110 for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro network node. A network node 110 for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico network node. The network node 110 for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto network node or a home network node. Figure 1In the example shown in , network node 110a may be a macro network node for macro cell 102a, network node 110b may be a pico network node for pico cell 102b, and network node 110c may be a femto network node for femto cell 102c. A network node may support one or more (e.g., three) cells. In some examples, a cell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of ​​a cell may move depending on the location of a mobile network node 110 (e.g., a mobile network node).

[0033] In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to a converged base station, a decomposed base station, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, or one or more components thereof. For example, in some aspects, a "base station" or "network node" may refer to a CU, a DU, a RU, a near real-time (near RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC), or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to a device configured to perform one or more functions (such as those described herein in conjunction with network node 110). In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to multiple devices configured to perform one or more functions. For example, in some distributed systems, each of a number of different devices (which may be located in the same geographic location or in different geographic locations) may be configured to perform at least a portion of a function, or to repeat the execution of at least a portion of the function, and the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to any one or more of these different devices. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to one or more virtual base stations or one or more virtual base station functions. For example, in some aspects, two or more base station functions may be instantiated on a single device. In some aspects, the term "base station" or "network node" may refer to one of the base station functions but not the other. In this way, a single device may include more than one base station.

[0034] The wireless network 100 may include one or more relay stations. A relay station is a network node that can receive transmissions of data from an upstream node (e.g., a network node 110 or a UE 120) and transmit transmissions of data to a downstream node (e.g., a UE 120 or a network node 110). A relay station may be a UE 120 that is capable of relaying transmissions for other UEs 120. Figure 1 In the example shown in , a network node 110d (e.g., a relay network node) may communicate with a network node 110a (e.g., a macro network node) and a UE 120d to facilitate communication between the network node 110a and the UE 120d. A network node 110 that relays communications may be referred to as a relay station, a relay base station, a relay network node, a relay node, a relay, etc.

[0035] The wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network that includes different types of network nodes 110, such as macro network nodes, pico network nodes, femto network nodes, relay network nodes, etc. These different types of network nodes 110 may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and / or different impacts on interference in the wireless network 100. For example, a macro network node may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 5 watts to 40 watts), while a pico network node, a femto network node, and a relay network node may have a lower transmit power level (e.g., 0.1 watt to 2 watts).

[0036] The network controller 130 may be coupled to or in communication with a set of network nodes 110 and may provide coordination and control for the network nodes 110. The network controller 130 may communicate with the network nodes 110 via a backhaul communication link or a midhaul communication link. The network nodes 110 may also communicate directly with each other or indirectly via a wireless or wired backhaul communication link. In some aspects, the network controller 130 may be, or may include, a CU or a core network device.

[0037] UE 120 may be dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE 120 may be stationary or mobile. UE 120 may include, for example, an access terminal, a terminal, a mobile station, and / or a subscriber unit. UE 120 may be a cellular phone (e.g., a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet computer, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a medical device, a biometric device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., a smart ring or a smart bracelet)), an entertainment device (e.g., a music device, a video device, and / or a satellite radio), a vehicle component or sensor, a smart meter / sensor, an industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, a UE function of a network node, and / or any other suitable device configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium.

[0038] Some UEs 120 may be considered as machine type communication (MTC) or evolved or enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) UEs. MTC UEs and / or eMTC UEs may include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, and / or location tags that may communicate with a network node, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. Some UEs 120 may be considered as Internet of Things (IoT) devices and / or may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband IoT) devices. Some UEs 120 may be considered as customer premises equipment. UE 120 may be included inside a housing that houses components of UE 120, such as a processor component and / or a memory component. In some examples, the processor component and the memory component may be coupled together. For example, a processor component (e.g., one or more processors) and a memory component (e.g., a memory) may be operably coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, and / or electrically coupled.

[0039] In general, any number of wireless networks 100 may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network 100 may support a specific RAT and may operate on one or more frequencies. RAT may be referred to as a radio technology, air interface, etc. Frequency may be referred to as a carrier, frequency channel, etc. Each frequency may support a single RAT in a given geographic area to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RAT networks may be deployed.

[0040] In some examples, two or more UEs 120 (e.g., shown as UE 120a and UE 120e) may communicate directly using one or more sidelink channels (e.g., without using network node 110 as an intermediary to communicate with each other). For example, UE 120 may communicate using peer-to-peer (P2P) communication, device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocols (e.g., which may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocols, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocols, or vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) protocols), and / or mesh networks. In such examples, UE 120 may perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and / or other operations described elsewhere herein as being performed by network node 110.

[0041] The devices of the wireless network 100 may communicate using an electromagnetic spectrum that may be subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc., based on frequency or wavelength. For example, the devices of the wireless network 100 may communicate using one or more operating bands. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency ranges designated FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz). It should be understood that, although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “below 6 GHz” band in various documents and articles. A similar naming issue sometimes occurs with respect to FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, although different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz–300 GHz) identified as the “millimeter wave” band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0042] Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has identified the operating bands for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz–24.25 GHz). The bands falling within FR3 can inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics, and thus can effectively extend the features of FR1 and / or FR2 to mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operations to more than 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz-71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz-114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz-300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0043] Considering the above examples, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if the term "below 6 GHz" or the like is used herein, the term may broadly refer to frequencies that may be lower than 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if the term "millimeter wave" or the like is used herein, the term may broadly refer to frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1, and / or FR5, or may be within the EHF band. It is contemplated that the frequencies included in these operating bands (e.g., FR1, FR2, FR3, FR4, FR4-a, FR4-1, and / or FR5) may be modified, and the techniques described herein are applicable to those modified frequency ranges.

[0044] In some aspects, UE 120 may include a communication manager 140. As described in greater detail elsewhere herein, communication manager 140 may receive a packet from a source node; identify a selected mini-slot or a selected sub-band for sending the packet based at least in part on a reference signal measurement, the reference signal measurement being indicated by a mini-slot in a plurality of mini-slots or by a sub-band in a plurality of sub-bands; and send the packet to a destination node using the selected mini-slot or the selected sub-band. Additionally or alternatively, communication manager 140 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

[0045] As indicated above, Figure 1 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 1 The examples described are different.

[0046] Figure 2 2 is a diagram illustrating an example 200 of a network node 110 communicating with a UE 120 in a wireless network 100 according to the present disclosure. The network node 110 may be equipped with a set of antennas 234a to 234t, such as T antennas (T≥1). The UE 120 may be equipped with a set of antennas 252a to 252r, such as R antennas (R≥1). The network node 110 of example 200 includes one or more radio frequency components, such as an antenna 234 and a modem 254. In some examples, the network node 110 may include an interface, a communication component, or another component that facilitates communication with the UE 120 or another network node. Some network nodes 110 may not include a radio frequency component that facilitates direct communication with the UE 120, such as one or more CUs or one or more DUs.

[0047] At the network node 110, the transmit processor 220 may receive data intended for the UE 120 (or a set of UEs 120) from the data source 212. The transmit processor 220 may select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCS) for the UE 120 based at least in part on one or more channel quality indicators (CQI) received from the UE 120. The network node 110 may process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for the UE 120 based at least in part on the MCS selected for the UE 120, and may provide data symbols for the UE 120. The transmit processor 220 may process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource allocation information (SRPI)) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, and / or upper layer signaling), and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. The transmit processor 220 may generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRS) or demodulation reference signals (DMRS)) and synchronization signals (e.g., primary synchronization signals (PSS) or secondary synchronization signals (SSS)). The transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., pre-coding) on ​​data symbols, control symbols, overhead symbols, and / or reference symbols, where applicable, and may provide a set of output symbol streams (e.g., T output symbol streams) to a corresponding set of modems 232 (e.g., T modems) (shown as modems 232a to 232t). For example, each output symbol stream may be provided to a modulator component (shown as MOD) of the modem 232. Each modem 232 may process a corresponding output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM) using a corresponding modulator component to obtain an output sample stream. Each modem 232 may also process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and / or up-convert) the output sample stream using a corresponding modulator component to obtain a downlink signal. The modems 232a to 232t may transmit a set of downlink signals (e.g., T downlink signals) via a corresponding set of antennas 234 (e.g., T antennas) (shown as antennas 234a to 234t).

[0048] At the UE 120, a set of antennas 252 (shown as antennas 252a to 252r) may receive downlink signals from the network node 110 and / or other network nodes 110 and may provide a set of received signals (e.g., R received signals) to a set of modems 254 (e.g., R modems) (shown as modems 254a to 254r). For example, each received signal may be provided to a demodulator component (shown as DEMOD) of the modem 254. Each modem 254 may use a corresponding demodulator component to condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and / or digitize) the received signal to obtain input samples. Each modem 254 may use a demodulator component to further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from the modem 254, may perform MIMO detection on the received symbols where applicable, and may provide detected symbols. The receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, may provide decoded data for the UE 120 to the data sink 260, and may provide decoded control information and system information to the controller / processor 280. The term "controller / processor" may refer to one or more controllers, one or more processors, or a combination thereof. The channel processor may determine a reference signal received power (RSRP) parameter, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) parameter, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) parameter, and / or a CQI parameter, among other things. In some examples, one or more components of the UE 120 may be included in the housing 284.

[0049] The network controller 130 may include a communication unit 294, a controller / processor 290, and a memory 292. The network controller 130 may include, for example, one or more devices in a core network. The network controller 130 may communicate with the network node 110 via the communication unit 294.

[0050] One or more antennas (e.g., antennas 234a to 234t and / or antennas 252a to 252r) may include or be included within one or more antenna panels, one or more antenna groups, one or more sets of antenna elements, and / or one or more antenna arrays, etc. Antenna panels, antenna groups, sets of antenna elements, and / or antenna arrays may include one or more antenna elements (in a single housing or multiple housings), sets of coplanar antenna elements, sets of non-coplanar antenna elements, and / or may be coupled to one or more transmit and / or receive components (such as, Figure 2 One or more antenna elements of one or more components in.

[0051] On the uplink, at the UE 120, the transmit processor 264 may receive and process data from the data source 262 and control information from the controller / processor 280 (e.g., for reports including RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, and / or CQI). The transmit processor 264 may generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be pre-decoded by the TX MIMO processor 266, where applicable, further processed by the modem 254 (e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM or CP-OFDM), and sent to the network node 110. In some examples, the modem 254 of the UE 120 may include a modulator and a demodulator. In some examples, the UE 120 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of an antenna 252, a modem 254, a MIMO detector 256, a receive processor 258, a transmit processor 264, and / or a TX MIMO processor 266. The transceiver may be used by a processor (eg, controller / processor 280) and memory 282 to perform the functions described herein (eg, with reference to Figures 7 to 12 ) any aspects of any of the methods described herein.

[0052] At the network node 110, uplink signals from the UE 120 and / or other UEs may be received by the antenna 234, processed by the modem 232 (e.g., a demodulator component (shown as DEMOD) of the modem 232), detected by the MIMO detector 236 (where applicable), and further processed by the receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information transmitted by the UE 120. The receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to the data sink 239 and the decoded control information to the controller / processor 240. The network node 110 may include a communication unit 244 and may communicate with the network controller 130 via the communication unit 244. The network node 110 may include a scheduler 246 to schedule one or more UEs 120 for downlink communication and / or uplink communication. In some examples, the modem 232 of the network node 110 may include a modulator and a demodulator. In some examples, the network node 110 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of antenna 234, modem 232, MIMO detector 236, receive processor 238, transmit processor 220, and / or TX MIMO processor 230. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., controller / processor 240) and memory 242 to perform operations described herein (e.g., with reference to Figures 7 to 12 ) any aspects of any of the methods described herein.

[0053] The controller / processor 240 of the network node 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, and / or Figure 2 Any other components of the network node 110 may perform one or more techniques associated with UE relay using mini-time slots, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, the controller / processor 240 of the network node 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, and / or Figure 2 Any other component of the Fig.11 1100 and / or operations of other processes as described herein. Memory 242 and memory 282 may store data and program codes for network node 110 and UE 120, respectively. In some examples, memory 242 and / or memory 282 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions (e.g., code and / or program code) for wireless communication. For example, the one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors of network node 110 and / or UE 120 (e.g., directly executed, or executed after compilation, conversion, and / or interpretation), may cause the one or more processors, UE 120, and / or network node 110 to perform or direct, for example, Fig.11 The process 1100 and / or operations of other processes as described herein. In some examples, executing instructions may include running instructions, converting instructions, compiling instructions, and / or interpreting instructions, etc.

[0054] In some aspects, a relay UE (e.g., UE 120) includes a component for receiving a packet from a source node; a component for identifying a selected mini-slot or a selected sub-band for sending a packet based at least in part on a reference signal measurement, the reference signal measurement being indicated by a mini-slot in a plurality of mini-slots or by a sub-band in a plurality of sub-bands; and / or a component for sending a packet to a destination node using the selected mini-slot or the selected sub-band. The components for the first relay UE to perform the operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of the communication manager 140, the antenna 252, the modem 254, the MIMO detector 256, the receive processor 258, the transmit processor 264, the TX MIMO processor 266, the controller / processor 280, or the memory 282.

[0055] Although Figure 2 The blocks in the 2000 and 2010 are illustrated as distinct components, but the functionality described above for these blocks may be implemented in a single hardware, software, or combined component or in various combinations of components. For example, the functionality described for the transmit processor 264, the receive processor 258, and / or the TX MIMO processor 266 may be performed by or under the control of the controller / processor 280.

[0056] As indicated above, Figure 2are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 2 The examples described are different.

[0057] The deployment of a communication system (such as a 5G NR system) can be arranged with various components or components in a variety of ways. In a 5G NR system or network, a network node, a network entity, a mobility element of a network, a RAN node, a core network node, a network element, a base station or network equipment can be implemented in an aggregated or decomposed architecture. For example, a base station (such as a node B (NB), an evolved NB (eNB), an NR BS, a 5G NB, an access point (AP), a TRP or a cell, etc.) or one or more units (or one or more components) that perform base station functionality can be implemented as an aggregated base station (also referred to as an independent base station or a monolithic base station) or a decomposed base station. "Network entity" or "network node" may refer to a decomposed base station or one or more units of a decomposed base station (such as one or more CUs, one or more DUs, one or more RUs, or a combination thereof).

[0058] An aggregated base station (e.g., an aggregated network node) may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node (e.g., within a single device or unit). A decomposed base station (e.g., a decomposed network node) may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed between two or more units (such as one or more CUs, one or more DUs, or one or more RUs). In some examples, a CU may be implemented within a network node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed across one or more other network nodes. A DU may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU may also be implemented as a virtual unit, such as a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU), and the like.

[0059] Base station type operations or network designs may take into account the aggregated nature of base station functionality. For example, a decomposed base station may be utilized in an IAB network, an open radio access network (O-RAN (such as a network configuration initiated by the O-RAN Alliance)), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)) to facilitate the scaling of a communication system by separating base station functionality into one or more units that can be deployed separately. A decomposed base station may include functionality implemented across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as functionality implemented virtually for at least one unit, which may enable flexibility in network design. Individual units of a decomposed base station may be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit of the decomposed base station.

[0060] Figure 33 is a diagram illustrating an example disaggregated base station architecture 300 according to the present disclosure. The disaggregated base station architecture 300 may include a CU 310 that may communicate directly with a core network 320 via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 320 through one or more disaggregated control units, such as a near-RT RIC 325 via an E2 link, or a non-RTRIC 315 associated with a service management and orchestration (SMO) framework 305, or both. The CU 310 may communicate with one or more DUs 330 via respective midhaul links, such as via an F1 interface. Each of the DUs 330 may communicate with one or more RUs 340 via respective fronthaul links. Each of the RUs 340 may communicate with one or more UEs 120 via respective radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, a UE 120 may be served simultaneously by multiple RUs 340.

[0061] Each of the units (including CU 310, DU 330, RU 340) and the near-RT RIC 325, non-RT RIC 315, and SMO framework 305 may include or be coupled to one or more interfaces, the one or more interfaces being configured to receive or send signals, data, or information (collectively referred to as signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the units or an associated processor or controller that provides instructions to one or more communication interfaces of the corresponding unit may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via a transmission medium. In some examples, each of the units may include a wired interface and a wireless interface, the wired interface being configured to receive signals or send signals to one or more of the other units via a wired transmission medium, the wireless interface being configured to receive signals or send signals to one or more of the other units via a wired transmission medium, or both.

[0062] In some aspects, the CU 310 may host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions may include radio resource control (RRC) functions, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) functions, or service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) functions, etc. Each control function may be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by the CU 310. The CU 310 may be configured to handle user plane functionality (e.g., central unit-user plane (CU-UP) functionality), control plane functionality (e.g., central unit-control plane (CU-CP) functionality), or a combination thereof. In some specific implementations, the CU 310 may be logically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP unit may communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP unit via an interface (such as an E1 interface). As needed, the CU 310 may be implemented to communicate with the DU 330 for network control and signaling.

[0063] Each DU 330 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RUs 340. In some aspects, the DU 330 may host one or more of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a MAC layer, and one or more high physical (PHY) layers, at least in part, according to a functional partition such as that defined by 3GPP. In some aspects, one or more high PHY layers may be implemented by one or more modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc. In some aspects, the DU 330 may further host one or more low PHY layers, such as one or more modules for fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming or physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc. Each layer (which may also be referred to as a module) may be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 330 or with control functions hosted by the CU 310.

[0064] Each RU 340 may implement lower layer functionality. In some deployments, the RU 340 controlled by the DU 330 may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions or low PHY layer functions based on functional split (e.g., functional split defined by 3GPP) (such as lower layer functional split), such as performing FFT, performing iFFT, digital beamforming, or PRACH extraction and filtering, etc. In this architecture, each RU 340 may be operated to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs 120. In some specific implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control plane and user plane communications with the RU 340 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 330. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable each DU 330 and CU 310 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture (such as a vRAN architecture).

[0065] The SMO framework 305 may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized network elements and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 305 may be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which may be managed via an operation and maintenance interface (such as an O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 305 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) platform 390) to perform network element lifecycle management (such as instantiating virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as an O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements may include, but are not limited to, CU 310, DU 330, RU 340, non-RT RIC 315, and near-RTRIC 325. In some specific implementations, the SMO framework 305 may communicate with hardware aspects of the 4G RAN (such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 311) via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, the SMO framework 305 can communicate directly with each of the one or more RUs 340 via a corresponding O1 interface. The SMO framework 305 can also include a non-RT RIC 315 configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 305.

[0066] The non-RT RIC 315 may be configured to include logic functions that enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updating, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the near-RT RIC 325. The non-RT RIC 315 may be coupled to or communicate with the near-RT RIC 325 (such as via an A1 interface). The near-RT RIC 325 may be configured to include logic functions that enable near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions through an interface (such as via an E2 interface) that connects one or more CUs 310, one or more DUs 330, or both, and the O-eNB with the near-RT RIC 325.

[0067] In some implementations, in order to generate an AI / ML model to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 325, the non-RT RIC 315 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. Such information may be utilized by the near-RT RIC 325 and may be received from a non-network data source or from a network function at the SMO framework 305 or the non-RT RIC 315. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 315 or the near-RT RIC 325 may be configured to regulate RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 315 may monitor long-term trends and patterns of performance and employ AI / ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMO framework 305 (such as via reconfiguration of the O1 interface) or via the creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 interface policies).

[0068] As indicated above, Figure 3 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in the Figure 3 The examples described are different.

[0069] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an example 400 of sidelink communications according to the present disclosure.

[0070] like Figure 4As shown, the first UE 405-1 can communicate with the second UE 405-2 (and one or more other UEs 405) via one or more side link channels 410. UEs 405-1 and 405-2 can communicate using one or more side link channels 410 for P2P communication, D2D communication, V2X communication (e.g., which may include V2V communication, V2I communication and / or V2P communication) and / or mesh networks. In some aspects, UE 405 (e.g., UE 405-1 and / or UE 405-2) may correspond to one or more other UEs described elsewhere herein, such as UE 120. In some aspects, one or more side link channels 410 may use a PC5 interface and / or may operate in a high frequency band (e.g., a 5.9 GHz band). Additionally or alternatively, UE 405 may use global navigation satellite system (GNSS) timing to synchronize the timing of a transmit time interval (TTI) (e.g., a frame, subframe, time slot, or symbol).

[0071] like Figure 4 As further shown, the one or more sidelink channels 410 may include a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) 415, a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) 420, and / or a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) 425. The PSCCH 415 may be used to communicate control information, similar to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and / or a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) used for cellular communication with the network node 110 via an access link or access channel. The PSSCH 420 may be used to communicate data, similar to a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and / or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) used for cellular communication with the network node 110 via an access link or access channel. For example, the PSCCH 415 may carry sidelink control information (SCI) 430, which may indicate various control information for sidelink communication, such as one or more resources (e.g., time resources, frequency resources, and / or space resources), wherein a transport block (TB) 435 may be carried on the PSSCH 420. The TB 435 may include data. The PSFCH 425 may be used to communicate sidelink feedback 440, such as hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback (eg, acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement (ACK / NACK) information), transmit power control (TPC), and / or scheduling request (SR).

[0072] Although shown on PSCCH 415, in some aspects, SCI 430 may include multiple communications in different levels, such as a first level SCI (SCI-1) and a second level SCI (SCI-2). SCI-1 may be sent on PSCCH 415. SCI-2 may be sent on PSSCH 420. SCI-1 may include, for example, an indication of one or more resources (e.g., time resources, frequency resources, and / or space resources) on PSSCH 420, information for decoding sidelink communications on PSSCH, quality of service (QoS) priority value, resource reservation period, PSSCH DMRS mode, SCI format for SCI-2, beta offset for SCI-2, number of PSSCH DMRS ports, and / or MCS. SCI-2 may include information associated with data transmission on PSSCH 420, such as a HARQ process ID, a new data indicator (NDI), a source identifier, a destination identifier, and / or a channel state information (CSI) report trigger.

[0073] In some aspects, one or more sidelink channels 410 may use a resource pool. For example, a scheduling assignment (e.g., included in SCI 430) may be sent in a subchannel across time using specific resource blocks (RBs). In some aspects, data transmissions associated with a scheduling assignment (e.g., on PSSCH 420) may occupy adjacent RBs in the same subframe as the scheduling assignment (e.g., using frequency division multiplexing). In some aspects, the scheduling assignment and the associated data transmission are not sent on adjacent RBs.

[0074] In some aspects, the UE 405 may operate using a sidelink transmission mode (e.g., Mode 1) in which resource selection and / or scheduling is performed by the network node 110 (e.g., a base station, CU, or DU). For example, the UE 405 may receive a grant (e.g., in downlink control information (DCI) or in an RRC message, such as for a configuration grant) from the network node 110 (e.g., directly or via one or more network nodes) for sidelink channel access and / or scheduling. In some aspects, the UE 405 may operate using a transmission mode (e.g., Mode 2) in which resource selection and / or scheduling is performed by the UE 405 (e.g., instead of the network node 110). In some aspects, the UE 405 may perform resource selection and / or scheduling by sensing channel availability for transmission. For example, UE 405 may measure RSSI parameters associated with various side link channels (e.g., sidelink-RSSI (S-RSSI) parameters), may measure RSRP parameters associated with various side link channels (e.g., PSSCH-RSRP parameters), and / or may measure RSRQ parameters associated with various side link channels (e.g., PSSCH-RSRQ parameters), and may select a channel for sending side link communications based at least in part on the measurements.

[0075] Additionally or alternatively, the UE 405 may perform resource selection and / or scheduling using the SCI 430 received in the PSCCH 415, which may indicate occupied resources and / or channel parameters. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 405 may perform resource selection and / or scheduling by determining a channel busy rate (CBR) associated with each sidelink channel, which may be used for rate control (e.g., by indicating a maximum number of resource blocks that the UE 405 may use for a particular set of subframes).

[0076] In a transmission mode in which resource selection and / or scheduling is performed by the UE 405, the UE 405 may generate a sidelink grant and may transmit the grant in the SCI 430. The sidelink grant may indicate, for example, one or more parameters (e.g., transmission parameters) to be used for an upcoming sidelink transmission, such as one or more resource blocks (e.g., for TB 435) to be used for an upcoming sidelink transmission on the PSSCH 420, one or more subframes to be used for an upcoming sidelink transmission, and / or an MCS to be used for an upcoming sidelink transmission. In some aspects, the UE 405 may generate a sidelink grant that indicates one or more parameters for semi-persistent scheduling (SPS), such as the periodicity of the sidelink transmission. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 405 may generate a sidelink grant for event-driven scheduling (such as for an on-demand sidelink message).

[0077] As indicated above, Figure 4 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in Figure 4 The examples described are different.

[0078] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example 500 of side link communications and access link communications according to the present disclosure.

[0079] like Figure 5 As shown, the transmitter (Tx) / receiver (Rx) UE 505 and the Rx / Tx UE 510 can communicate with each other via a side link, as described above in conjunction with Figure 4 As further shown, in some sidelink modes, the network node 110 may communicate with the Tx / Rx UE 505 (e.g., directly or via one or more network nodes), such as via a first access link. Additionally or alternatively, in some sidelink modes, the network node 110 may communicate with the Rx / Tx UE 510 (e.g., directly or via one or more network nodes), such as via a first access link. The Tx / Rx UE 505 and / or the Rx / Tx UE 510 may correspond to one or more UEs described elsewhere herein, such as Figure 1 120. Thus, a direct link between UEs 120 (e.g., via a PC5 interface) may be referred to as a side link, and a direct link between network node 110 and UE 120 (e.g., via a Uu interface) may be referred to as an access link. Side link communications may be sent via a side link, and access link communications may be sent via an access link. Access link communications may be downlink communications (from network node 110 to UE 120) or uplink communications (from UE 120 to network node 110).

[0080] As indicated above, Figure 5 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in Figure 5 The examples described are different.

[0081] Figure 6 600 and 605 are diagrams illustrating examples of coverage scenarios and mini-slot structures according to the present disclosure. In some cases, network node 110 may communicate with UE 120-1 and / or UE 120-2. Various coverage scenarios associated with network node 110, UE 120-1, and UE 120-2 are described below.

[0082] In a first example, network node 110, UE 120-1, and UE 120-2 may be in-coverage. In this case, UE 120-1 and UE 120-2 may communicate with network node 110 via a radio link interface (such as a Uu interface). Similarly, UE 120-1 and UE 120-2 may communicate via a side link interface (e.g., a PC5 interface). Side link authorization and deployment via the radio link interface may be necessary to support side link operation. For example, network node 110 may manage discovery and / or resource allocation for side link communication between UE 120-1 and UE 120-2.

[0083] In a second example, UE 120-1 and UE 120-2 may be out of coverage. In this case, neither UE 120-1 nor UE 120-2 may communicate with network node 110 via a radio link interface. However, UE 120-1 and UE 120-2 may communicate via a side link interface. UE 120-1 and UE 120-2 may operate without authorization and provisioning from network node 110. UE 120-1 and UE 120-2 may be configured with side link provisioning information for discovery and communication support.

[0084] In a third example, UE 120-1 may communicate with network node 110 via a radio link interface. However, UE 120-2 may not communicate with network node 110 via a radio link interface. UE 120-1 and UE 120-2 may communicate via a side link interface. In this case, UE 120-1 may relay communications between UE 120-2 and network node 110. For example, UE 120-2 may relay communications from network node 110 to UE 120-2 and / or may relay communications from UE 120-2 to network node 110. Both authorization and provisioning via a radio link interface and configured side link provisioning may be used.

[0085] In a fourth example, UE 120-1 may relay communications between UE 120-2 and network node 110, where UE 120-2 is within the coverage area of ​​network node 110. Both UE 120-1 and UE 120-2 may communicate with network node 110 via a radio link interface, and UE 120-1 and UE 120-2 may communicate separately via a side link interface. In this case, UE 120-2 may communicate directly with network node 110 via the radio link interface, or may communicate indirectly with network node 110 through a relay operation performed by UE 120-1.

[0086] In a fifth example, UE 120-1 may relay communications between UE 120-2 and network node 110, where UE 120-2 is not within the coverage area of ​​network node 110. UE 120-1 may communicate with network node 110 via a radio link interface. However, UE 120-2 may not communicate with network node 110 via a radio link interface. UE 120-1 and UE 120-2 may communicate via a side link interface. In this case, UE 120-2 may communicate with network node 110 only indirectly through a relay operation performed by UE 120-1.

[0087] In the sixth example, the network node 110 may communicate with UE 120-1, UE 120-2, and UE 120-3. UE 120-1, UE 120-2, and UE 120-3 may all be within the coverage area of ​​the network node 110. Therefore, the network node 110 may communicate with each of UE 120-1, UE 120-2, and UE 120-3 individually. Additionally, UE 120-1 may communicate with UE 120-2 and UE 120-3 via a side link interface. However, UE 120-2 and UE 120-3 may not communicate directly via the side link interface. In this case, UE 120-1 may relay the side link communication between UE 120-2 and UE 120-3. Additionally, UE 120-1 may relay the communication performed by UE 120-2 and / or UE 120-3 to the network node 110. UE 120-1 (eg, a relay UE) may be controlled by network node 110 for UE-to-UE relay routing and operations.

[0088] In the seventh example, UE 120-1, UE 120-2, and UE 120-3 may not be within the coverage area of ​​network node 110. Therefore, network node 110 may not communicate with UE 120-1, UE 120-2, or UE 120-3 individually. UE 120-1 may communicate with UE 120-2 and UE 120-3 via a side link interface. In some cases, UE 120-2 and UE 120-3 may not be able to communicate directly via the side link interface. For example, UE 120-1 may relay the side link communication between UE 120-2 and UE 120-3. In some other cases, UE 120-2 and UE 120-3 may communicate directly via the side link interface. UE 120-1 (e.g., a relay UE) may be configured to manage relay routing and operation.

[0089] In some cases, microslot (e.g., subslot) scheduling can be used to reduce the scheduling and turnaround time of sidelink communication. As shown in example 600, time slot 610 may include multiple microslots 615. Each microslot in microslot 615 may include multiple symbols, such as three symbols or four symbols. Microslots 615 within time slot 610 may be separated by gap symbols 620. In some cases, each microslot in microslot 615 may include PSSCH 625 and PSCCH 630. PSCCH 630 may be scheduled and decoded for corresponding microslots. In some cases, as the number of subslots per time slot increases (which can reduce scheduling delays and can be suitable for small packet communications), more symbols may be allocated to gap symbols 620. In some cases, for example, if a large number of UEs need to be supported, the overhead caused by this design may degrade the delay reduction gain.

[0090] In some cases, the gap symbol may only be needed for transmission or reception switching (Tx / Rx switching). As shown in example 605, the time slot 635 may be split into multiple mini-time slots 640 according to a given pattern (e.g., based at least in part on the length of each mini-time slot or the number of mini-time slots per time slot). Each mini-time slot in the mini-time slot may include a PSSCH 645. In some cases, a PSCCH 650 (or a first-level SCI (SCI-1)) may be located at the beginning of the time slot 635. The PSCCH 650 (or SCI-1) may indicate the transmission or reservation of multiple mini-time slots in the time slot 635 or in future time slots. The time slot 635 may include a gap symbol 655 at the end of the time slot 635 (e.g., after the last mini-time slot 640). In some cases, an automatic gain control (AGC) symbol may not be needed because the receiver can set the AGC based at least in part on the first symbol of the slot and use the same setting for reception of any of the PSSCH mini-slots.

[0091] A relay UE may be configured to relay communications between two other devices. In some cases, the relay UE may be an intelligent repeater. An intelligent repeater may be configured with only a portion of the digital processing capabilities of a conventional UE (such as UE 120). An intelligent repeater may be configured to perform FFT in the case of amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying, or to perform full decoding in the case of decode-and-forward (DF) relaying. In some cases, a relay UE may be configured to relay communications using mini-slots or sub-bands. However, the relay UE may not be configured with information that enables the relay UE to determine which mini-slot or which sub-band is to be used for relay communications.

[0092] Techniques and apparatus for UE relay using mini-slots are described herein. In some aspects, a relay UE may receive a packet from a source node (such as a source UE or a source network node). The relay UE may identify a selected mini-slot or a selected subband for sending a packet based at least in part on a reference signal measurement, which is indicated by a mini-slot in a plurality of mini-slots or by a subband in a plurality of subbands. The reference signal may be a DMRS, and the reference signal measurement may be (or may include) an RSRP measurement, an RSRQ measurement, a CSI measurement, or channel quality information associated with a previous mini-slot transmission or a previous subband transmission. The relay UE may send a packet to a destination node (such as a destination UE or a destination network node) using the selected mini-slot or the selected subband.

[0093] As described above, a relay UE may be configured to relay communications between two other devices. In some cases, a relay UE may be configured to relay communications using a mini-slot or a sub-band. However, the relay UE may not be configured with information that enables the relay UE to determine which mini-slot or which sub-band is to be used for relay communications. Using the techniques and devices described herein, the relay UE may identify the selected mini-slot or selected sub-band for relaying packets based at least in part on reference signal measurements. The relay UE may use the selected mini-slot or selected sub-band (such as the mini-slot or sub-band associated with the highest reference signal measurement) to send a packet to a destination node.

[0094] As indicated above, Figure 6 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in Figure 6 The examples described are different.

[0095] Figure 7 700 is a diagram illustrating an example of UE relay using mini-slots according to the present disclosure. A relay UE 705 may communicate with a source node 710 and a destination node 715. The relay UE 705 may include some or all of the features of the UE 120. In some aspects, the relay UE 705 may be a relay, such as a smart relay as described herein. The source node 710 may include some or all of the features of the UE 120 and / or the network node 110. Similarly, the destination node 715 may include some or all of the features of the UE 120 and / or the network node 110.

[0096] As shown by reference numeral 720, relay UE 705 may receive packets from source node 710. The packets may be received via a mini-slot or sub-band from source node 710. As described herein, the mini-slot or sub-band used to receive packets from source node 710 may be different from the mini-slot or sub-band used to send packets to destination node 715.

[0097] As shown in reference numeral 725, the relay UE 705 may identify the selected mini-time slot or the selected sub-band for sending the packet based at least in part on the reference signal measurement. In some aspects, the reference signal may be a DMRS, and the reference signal measurement may be a DMRS measurement. In some aspects, the reference signal measurement may be (or may include) an RSRP measurement, an RSRQ measurement, a CSI measurement, or may be based at least in part on a previous measurement associated with the mini-time slot or sub-band. In some aspects, the reference signal measurement may be indicated by a mini-time slot in a plurality of mini-time slots or by a sub-band in a plurality of sub-bands. In one example, the relay UE 705 may amplify and forward on the first mini-time slot and the second mini-time slot, or decode and forward on the first mini-time slot and the second mini-time slot, based at least in part on the CSI sent from the source node 710 to the relay UE 705 and / or the CSI sent from the relay UE 705 to the destination node 715.

[0098] In some aspects, the relay UE 705 may identify another selected micro-time slot or another selected sub-band for receiving a packet based at least in part on a reference signal measurement or another reference signal measurement, and the other reference signal measurement is indicated by a micro-time slot in a plurality of micro-time slots or by a sub-band in a plurality of sub-bands. In some aspects, the selected micro-time slot is the same as another selected micro-time slot, and / or the selected sub-band is the same as another sub-band. In some aspects, the selected micro-time slot is different from another selected micro-time slot, and / or the selected sub-band is different from another selected sub-band. In some aspects, the selected micro-time slot and another selected micro-time slot occupy the same time slot, and / or the selected sub-band and another selected sub-band occupy the same sub-band. In some aspects, the selected micro-time slot and another selected micro-time slot occupy different time slots, and / or the selected sub-band and another selected sub-band occupy different sub-bands. In some aspects, the time gap between the first time slot and the second time slot can be 0, 1 or any integer.

[0099] In some aspects, the relay UE 705 may receive an indication of which mini-slot or sub-band the relay UE 705 will use to forward packets. For example, the network node may send a DCI indicating which mini-slot or sub-band to use based at least in part on a reference signal measurement associated with a source node to a relay UE link and / or a relay UE to a destination node link. In another example, the source node 710 or another UE may send a layer 1 signaling, layer 2 signaling, or layer 3 signaling indicating which mini-slot or sub-band to use based at least in part on a reference signal measurement associated with a source node to a relay UE link and / or a relay UE to a destination node link. In some aspects, each mini-slot or each sub-band may be associated (e.g., used) by different UEs or by different nodes. In this case, the relay UE 705 may receive an indication of sending a packet via a specific mini-slot or a specific sub-band. The indication may be received from the source node 710, a network node, or another UE.

[0100] In some aspects, the relay UE 705 may obtain (e.g., receive or generate) a bitmap indicating which mini-slot or which sub-band is to be used by the relay UE 705 to send a packet. For example, each bit of the bitmap may correspond to a specific mini-slot or a specific sub-band. The first state of the bit may indicate that the relay UE 705 should use the corresponding mini-slot or sub-band to send a packet, and the second state of the bit may indicate that the relay UE 705 should not use the corresponding mini-slot or sub-band to send a packet. In some aspects, the bitmap may indicate the type of relay to be used. For example, the bitmap may indicate that the relay UE 705 uses AF relay or DF relay.

[0101] In some aspects, one or more time resources and one or more frequency resources may be indicated for the relay UE 705 to send packets. For example, a bundle of time resources (e.g., one or more OFDM symbols) and frequency resources (e.g., resource elements, resource blocks, subchannels, or resource sets, etc.) may be indicated for the relay UE 705 to send packets. In some aspects, a first comb (comb A) may be defined in the time domain and a second comb (comb B) may be defined in the frequency domain. Additionally, time gaps and frequency gaps may be defined. The relay UE 705 may be configured to send data using the first comb, and another UE (e.g., another relay UE) may be configured to send data using the second comb. This may improve communication diversity and may reduce errors across consecutive resource elements. In some aspects, each UE may forward a portion of the data (e.g., a portion of a packet) during each transmission associated with the comb. In combination Figure 8 Additional details regarding these features are described.

[0102] In some aspects, the relay UE 705 may be configured to relay a portion of the data associated with the packet. For example, the relay UE 705 may receive a subband indication for transmission or reception. In some aspects, the subband indication may be based at least in part on the quality associated with a portion of the time-frequency grid (e.g., reference signal measurement). In one example, a subband may have high reception quality but poor transmission quality, while another subband may have poor reception quality but high transmission quality. In this case, the relay UE 705 (using AF relay) may receive an indication of transmitting a signal on a first data grid (data grid A) associated with a first subband (subband A) and receiving a signal on a second data grid (data grid B) associated with a second subband (subband B). For example, the relay UE 705 may receive the indication based at least in part on the reception channel quality and / or the transmission channel quality. In some aspects, the relay UE 705 may be configured to receive a packet using data grid A and may be configured to send a packet using a third data grid (data grid C). For example, relay UE 705 may receive an indication, such as from source node 710, to use data grid A to receive packets and data grid C to send packets. Fig. 9 Additional details regarding these features are described.

[0103] In some aspects, the relay UE 705 may be configured to perform repetition or encoding of a portion of the data. In some aspects, such as when DF relay is used, the relay UE 705 may receive data on subband A, and may perform repetition or encoding of the data on subband C. In some aspects, such as when AF relay is used, the relay UE 705 may repeat resource elements (or multiple resource elements) until the subband allocation is complete. In one example, if the transmit subband (the subband for relaying packets) is smaller in size than the receive subband (the subband for receiving packets), the relay UE 705 may perform a truncation operation. For example, if the receive subband is 2x3 (2 resource blocks and 3 OFDM symbols) and the transmit subband is 1x3 (1 resource block and 3 OFDM symbols), the relay UE 705 may forward or copy data on the transmit subband. In another example, if the transmit subband is larger than the receive subband, the relay UE 705 may vectorize the quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) into a symbol vector and may include the data on the receive subband. For example, the relay UE 705 may include the data on the receive subband while repeating as needed (e.g., similar to a circular buffer).

[0104] In some aspects, the relay UE 705 may be configured to allocate transmissions in the time domain, where T is the total number of symbols assigned for relaying in a time slot. The relay UE 705 may perform a first relay in a first subset of symbols and may perform a second relay in a second subset of symbols. In some aspects, the relay UE may be configured to allocate transmissions in the frequency domain, where K is the number of resource blocks assigned for relaying. The relay UE 705 may perform a first relay in a first number of symbols associated with the frequency domain and perform a second relay in a second number of symbols associated with the frequency domain. In some aspects, the time domain and / or frequency domain may have DMRS symbols or tones. For example, if AF relaying is being performed, the source node 710 may need to have DMRS configured accordingly for all (e.g., two) relays. Alternatively, if DR relaying is being performed, each relay allocation may have its own DMRS structure. Combined Fig.10 Additional details regarding these features are described.

[0105] In some aspects, the relay UE 705 may receive an SCI including at least one of a source node identifier, a final destination node identifier, a next destination node identifier, or a group identifier. In one example, the relay UE 705 may receive an SCI-1 including a source node identifier, a final destination node identifier, and at least one of a next destination node identifier or a group identifier. In another example, the relay UE 705 may receive an SCI-1 including a source node identifier and a final destination node identifier. In another example, the relay UE 705 may receive an SCI-1 including a source node identifier and at least one of a next destination node identifier or a group identifier, and may receive an SCI-2 including a final destination node identifier. In another example, the relay UE 705 may receive an SCI-1 including a source node identifier and a final destination node identifier, and may receive an SCI-2 including at least one of a next destination node identifier or a group identifier.

[0106] As shown by reference numeral 730, the relay UE 705 may use the selected mini-slot or the selected sub-band to send a packet to the destination node 715. For example, the relay UE 705 may use AF relay or DF relay, etc. to relay the packet (or a portion of the packet) from the source node 710 to the destination node 715.

[0107] As described above, the relay UE 705 may be configured to relay communications between the source node 710 and the destination node 715. In some aspects, the relay UE 705 may be configured to use a micro-time slot or a sub-band to relay communications. However, the relay UE 705 may not be configured with information that enables the relay UE 705 to determine which micro-time slot or which sub-band is to be used for relay communications. Using the techniques and devices described herein, the relay UE 705 may identify the selected micro-time slot or the selected sub-band for relaying packets based at least in part on reference signal measurements. The relay UE 705 may use the selected micro-time slot or the selected sub-band (such as the micro-time slot or sub-band associated with the highest reference signal measurement) to send packets to the destination node 715.

[0108] As indicated above, Figure 7 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in Figure 7 The examples described are different.

[0109] Figure 8 800 is a diagram illustrating an example of a comb structure according to the present disclosure. As described herein, one or more time resources and one or more frequency resources may be indicated for a relay UE 705 to send a packet. For example, a bundle of time resources (e.g., one or more OFDM symbols) and frequency resources (e.g., resource elements, resource blocks, subchannels, or resource sets, etc.) may be indicated for a relay UE 705 to send a packet. In some aspects, a first comb 805 (comb A) may be defined in the time domain and a second comb 810 (comb B) may be defined in the frequency domain. The relay UE 705 may be configured to send data using the first comb 805, and another UE (e.g., another relay UE) may be configured to send data using the second comb 810. This may improve communication diversity and may reduce errors across consecutive resource elements.

[0110] As indicated above, Figure 8 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in Figure 8 The examples described are different.

[0111] Fig. 9900 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data grid according to the present disclosure. As described herein, a relay UE 705 may be configured to relay a portion of data associated with a packet. For example, the relay UE 705 may receive a subband indication for transmission or reception. In some aspects, the subband indication may be based at least in part on a quality associated with a portion of a time-frequency grid (e.g., a reference signal measurement). In one example, a subband may have high reception quality but poor transmission quality, while another subband may have poor reception quality but high transmission quality. In this case, the relay UE 705 (using AF relay) may receive an indication of transmitting a signal on a first data grid (data grid A 905) associated with a first subband (subband A) and receiving a signal on a second data grid (data grid B 910) associated with a second subband (subband B). For example, the relay UE 705 may receive the indication based at least in part on a reception channel quality and / or a transmission channel quality. In some aspects, the relay UE 705 may be configured to receive packets using data grid A 905 and send packets using a third data grid (data grid C 915). For example, the relay UE 705 may receive an indication of receiving packets using data grid A 905 and sending packets using data grid C 915, such as from the source node 710. In some aspects, the relay UE 705 may be configured to perform repetition or encoding of a portion of the data associated with the packet. In some aspects, such as when DF relay is used, the relay UE 705 may receive data on data grid A 905 and may perform repetition or encoding of the data on data grid C 915.

[0112] As indicated above, Fig. 9 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in Fig. 9 The examples described are different.

[0113] Fig.101000 is a diagram illustrating an example of time domain and frequency domain allocation according to the present disclosure. As described herein, the relay UE 705 may be configured to allocate transmission in a time domain, such as the time domain 1005, where T is the total number of symbols assigned for relaying in a time slot. The relay UE 705 may perform a first relay in a first subset of symbols, and may perform a second relay in a second subset of symbols. In some aspects, the relay UE may be configured to allocate transmission in a frequency domain, such as the frequency domain 1010, where K is the number of resource blocks assigned for relaying. The relay UE 705 may perform a first relay in a first number of symbols associated with the frequency domain 1010, and perform a second relay in a second number of symbols associated with the frequency domain 1010. In some aspects, the time domain 1005 and / or the frequency domain 1010 may have DMRS symbols or tones. For example, if AF relaying is being performed, the source node 710 may need to have DMRS configured accordingly for both relays. Alternatively, if DR relaying is being performed, each relay allocation may have its own DMRS structure.

[0114] As indicated above, Fig.10 are provided as examples. Other examples can be found in Fig.10 The examples described are different.

[0115] Fig.11 1 is a diagram illustrating an example process 1100 performed, for example, by a relay UE in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process 1100 is an example of a UE (eg, UE 120) performing operations associated with UE relay using mini-slots.

[0116] like Fig.11 As shown, in some aspects, process 1100 may include receiving a packet from a source node (block 1110). For example, a UE (e.g., using Fig.12 The depicted communications manager 140 and / or receiving component 1202) can receive packets from a source node, as described above.

[0117] like Fig.11 As further shown, in some aspects, process 1100 may include identifying a selected mini-slot or a selected sub-band for transmitting the packet based at least in part on a reference signal measurement, the reference signal measurement being indicated by a mini-slot in a plurality of mini-slots or by a sub-band in a plurality of sub-bands (block 1120). Fig.12 The depicted communications manager 140 and / or identification component 1208) may identify a selected mini-slot or a selected sub-band for transmitting a packet based at least in part on a reference signal measurement, the reference signal measurement being indicated by a mini-slot among a plurality of mini-slots or by a sub-band among a plurality of sub-bands, as described above.

[0118] like Fig.11As further shown, in some aspects, process 1100 may include sending a packet to a destination node using the selected mini-time slot or the selected sub-band (block 1130). For example, a UE (e.g., using Fig.12 The depicted communication manager 140 and / or transmitting component 1204) can transmit the packet to the destination node using the selected mini-slot or the selected sub-band, as described above.

[0119] Process 1100 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in conjunction with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0120] In a first aspect, the reference signal associated with the reference signal measurement is a channel state reference signal communicated by the relay UE prior to or multiplexed with an associated data or demodulation reference signal.

[0121] In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, a channel state reference signal communicated by a relay UE is received by the relay UE via a side link interface or a radio link interface, or is sent by the relay UE via a side link interface or a radio link interface.

[0122] In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, receiving a packet from a source node includes: receiving the packet via a micro-slot different from the selected micro-slot used to send the packet, or receiving the packet via a sub-band different from the selected sub-band used to send the packet.

[0123] In a fourth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to third aspects, the reference signal measurement includes a reference signal received power measurement, a reference signal received quality measurement, channel state information, or channel quality information associated with a previous mini-slot transmission or a previous subband transmission.

[0124] In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fourth aspects, the reference signal measurement is at least partially based on a reference signal communicated between a source node and a relay UE or a reference signal communicated between a relay UE and a destination node.

[0125] In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fifth aspects, sending a packet to a destination node includes performing an amplify-and-forward operation or a decode-and-forward operation.

[0126] In a seventh aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of aspects 1 to 6, process 1100 includes receiving information from a destination node indicating which of a plurality of mini-slots or which of a plurality of sub-bands is to be used for sending a packet.

[0127] In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to seventh aspects, receiving information from a destination node comprises: receiving downlink control information, a medium access control message, or a radio resource control message comprising the information.

[0128] In a ninth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of aspects one to eight, process 1100 includes receiving an indication from a relay UE that it is to use a selected mini-slot or a selected sub-band to send a packet, wherein each mini-slot of a plurality of mini-slots and each sub-band of a plurality of sub-bands are configured to be used by a selected UE among a plurality of UEs.

[0129] In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to ninth aspects, process 1100 includes obtaining a bitmap indicating that the relay UE is to use a selected mini-slot or a selected sub-band to transmit a packet.

[0130] In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to tenth aspects, a bitmap indicates a type of relay to be used by the relay UE to send a packet.

[0131] In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of aspects 1 to eleven, process 1100 includes selecting a packet to be sent in a transmission block from a plurality of packets associated with a plurality of corresponding source nodes based at least in part on a logical channel group priority, a remaining packet delay budget, or a priority indicator included in side link control information.

[0132] In a thirteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to twelfth aspects, process 1100 includes receiving side link control information instructing a relay UE to transmit a packet in a selected mini-time slot or a selected subband.

[0133] In a fourteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to thirteenth aspects, the relay UE and one or more other UEs are assigned corresponding fixed mini-slots or fixed slots for performing transmission.

[0134] In a fifteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of aspects one to fourteen, process 1100 includes receiving a wake-up signal, downlink control information, sidelink control information, a medium access control message, or a radio resource control message indicating a fixed mini-slot or a fixed time slot to be used by the relay UE to perform transmission.

[0135] In a sixteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of aspects one to fifteen, process 1100 includes receiving an indication of one or more time resources and one or more frequency resources for sending packets, and performing multiple transmissions of packets within the one or more time resources and one or more frequency resources.

[0136] In the seventeenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to sixteenth aspects, one or more time resources include one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols, and one or more frequency resources include at least one of a resource element, a resource block or a subchannel.

[0137] In the eighteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more aspects of the first to seventeenth aspects, the relay UE is configured to perform multiple transmissions of a packet using a first comb associated with one or more time resources and one or more frequency resources, and the other UE is configured to perform one or more other transmissions using a second comb associated with one or more time resources and one or more frequency resources.

[0138] In a nineteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to eighteenth aspects, identifying a selected mini-slot or a selected sub-band for transmitting a packet comprises selecting a grid or a portion of a grid to be used for transmitting a packet.

[0139] In a twentieth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to nineteenth aspects, a grid or a portion of a grid to be used for sending packets is different from a grid or a portion of a grid to be used for receiving packets.

[0140] In a twenty-first aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of aspects one to twentieth, process 1100 comprises repeating or encoding a portion of data associated with a packet within a selected mini-slot or a selected subband, wherein sending the packet comprises performing a decode-and-forward operation.

[0141] In a twenty-second aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of aspects one to twenty-first, process 1100 comprises repeating resource element transmission of a packet until subband allocation is complete, wherein transmitting the packet comprises performing an amplify-and-forward operation.

[0142] In a twenty-third aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of aspects one to twenty-second, identifying a selected mini-slot or a selected sub-band for transmitting a packet comprises selecting a mini-slot or a sub-band based at least in part on an allocated frequency domain dimension or an allocated time domain dimension.

[0143] In a twenty-fourth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to twenty-third aspects, both the allocated frequency domain dimensions and the allocated time domain dimensions include demodulation reference signal symbols or demodulation reference signal tones.

[0144] In aspect twenty-fifth, alone or in combination with one or more of aspects one to twenty-fourth, process 1100 includes receiving first level side link control information including a source node identifier, a final destination node identifier, and at least one of a next destination node identifier or a group identifier.

[0145] In a twenty-sixth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of aspects one through twenty-fifth, process 1100 comprises receiving first level sidelink control information comprising a source node identifier and a final destination node identifier.

[0146] In the twenty-seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of aspects one to twenty-six, process 1100 includes receiving first-level side link control information including a source node identifier and at least one of a next destination node identifier or a group identifier, and receiving second-level side link control information including a final destination node identifier.

[0147] In aspect twenty-eight, alone or in combination with one or more of aspects one to twenty-seven, process 1100 includes receiving first-level side link control information including a source node identifier and a final destination node identifier, and receiving second-level side link control information including at least one of a next destination node identifier or a group identifier.

[0148] In a twenty-ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to twenty-eighth aspects, the source node is a UE and the destination node is another UE.

[0149] In a thirtieth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to twenty-ninth aspects, the source node is a UE or a network node, and the destination node is another UE or the network node.

[0150] although Fig.11 An example block diagram of process 1100 is shown, but in some aspects, process 1100 may include Fig.11 The blocks depicted may be additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or blocks arranged in a different manner than those depicted. Additionally or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 1100 may be performed in parallel.

[0151] Fig.121 is a diagram of an example apparatus 1200 for wireless communication according to the present disclosure. Apparatus 1200 may be a relay UE, or a relay UE may include apparatus 1200. In some aspects, apparatus 1200 includes a receiving component 1202 and a sending component 1204, which may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses and / or one or more other components). As shown, apparatus 1200 may communicate with another apparatus 1206 (such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device) using receiving component 1202 and sending component 1204. As further shown, apparatus 1200 may include a communication manager 140. Communication manager 140 may include one or more of an identification component 1208, an acquisition component 1210, a selection component 1212, or a repeating component 1214, and the like.

[0152] In some aspects, the apparatus 1200 may be configured to perform Figures 7 to 10 Additionally or alternatively, the apparatus 1200 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as Fig.11 The process 1100. In some aspects, Fig.12 The device 1200 and / or one or more components shown may include a combination of Figure 2 One or more components of the relay UE. Additionally or alternatively, Fig.12 One or more of the components shown may be combined with Figure 2 Additionally or alternatively, one or more components in the component set may be implemented at least in part as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or codes stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and may be executed by a controller or processor to perform the function or operation of the component.

[0153] The receiving component 1202 may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof, from the device 1206. The receiving component 1202 may provide the received communications to one or more other components of the device 1200. In some aspects, the receiving component 1202 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, demapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, etc.) on the received communications and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the device 1200. In some aspects, the receiving component 1202 may include combining Figure 2 One or more antennas, modems, demodulators, MIMO detectors, receiving processors, controllers / processors, memories or combinations thereof of the relay UE.

[0154] The transmitting component 1204 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof, to the device 1206. In some aspects, one or more other components of the device 1200 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmitting component 1204 for transmission to the device 1206. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1204 may perform signal processing (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, etc.) on the generated communications and may transmit the processed signals to the device 1206. In some aspects, the transmitting component 1204 may include combining Figure 2 One or more antennas, modems, modulators, transmit MIMO processors, transmit processors, controllers / processors, memories, or combinations thereof of the relay UE. In some aspects, the transmit component 1204 can be co-located with the receive component 1202 in a transceiver.

[0155] The receiving component 1202 can receive a packet from a source node. The identifying component 1208 can identify a selected mini-slot or a selected sub-band for transmitting the packet based at least in part on a reference signal measurement, the reference signal measurement being indicated by a mini-slot in a plurality of mini-slots or by a sub-band in a plurality of sub-bands. The transmitting component 1204 can transmit the packet to a destination node using the selected mini-slot or the selected sub-band.

[0156] The receiving component 1202 may receive information indicating which of the multiple micro-time slots or which of the multiple sub-bands is to be used for sending a packet from a destination node. The receiving component 1202 may receive an indication that a relay UE is to use a selected micro-time slot or a selected sub-band to send a packet, wherein each of the multiple micro-time slots and each of the multiple sub-bands is configured to be used by a selected UE among multiple UEs. The obtaining component 1210 may obtain a bitmap indicating that the relay UE is to use the selected micro-time slot or the selected sub-band to send a packet. The selecting component 1212 may select a packet to be sent in a transmission block from a plurality of packets associated with a plurality of corresponding source nodes based at least in part on a logical channel group priority, a remaining packet delay budget, or a priority indicator included in the side link control information.

[0157] The receiving component 1202 may receive side link control information indicating that the relay UE is to transmit a packet in the selected micro-time slot or the selected sub-band. The receiving component 1202 may receive a wake-up signal, downlink control information, side link control information, medium access control message, or radio resource control message indicating a fixed micro-time slot or fixed time slot to be used by the relay UE to perform transmission. The receiving component 1202 may receive an indication of one or more time resources and one or more frequency resources for transmitting a packet, and perform multiple transmissions of the packet in one or more time resources and one or more frequency resources. The repeating component 1214 may repeat or encode a portion of the data associated with the packet in the selected micro-time slot or the selected sub-band, wherein the transmission of the packet includes performing a decoding and forwarding operation. The repeating component 1214 may repeat the transmission of the resource elements of the packet until the sub-band allocation is completed, wherein the transmission of the packet includes performing an amplification and forwarding operation.

[0158] The receiving component 1202 may receive first level side link control information including a source node identifier, a final destination node identifier, and at least one of a next destination node identifier or a group identifier. The receiving component 1202 may receive first level side link control information including a source node identifier and a final destination node identifier. The receiving component 1202 may: receive first level side link control information including a source node identifier and at least one of a next destination node identifier or a group identifier, and receive second level side link control information including a final destination node identifier. The receiving component 1202 may receive first level side link control information including a source node identifier and a final destination node identifier, and receive second level side link control information including at least one of a next destination node identifier or a group identifier.

[0159] Fig.12 The number and arrangement of components shown are provided as examples. In practice, there may be Fig.12 Additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged in a different manner than those shown. Fig.12 Two or more components shown may be implemented in a single component, or Fig.12 The single component shown may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, Fig.12 The assembly of (one or more) components shown may be described as being executable by Fig.12 Another collection of components shown performs one or more functions.

[0160] The following provides an overview of some aspects of the disclosure:

[0161] Aspect 1: A method of wireless communication performed by a relay user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a packet from a source node; identifying a selected mini-slot or a selected subband for sending the packet based at least in part on a reference signal measurement, the reference signal measurement being indicated by a mini-slot among multiple mini-slots or by a subband among multiple subbands; and sending the packet to a destination node using the selected mini-slot or the selected subband.

[0162] Aspect 2: A method according to Aspect 1, wherein the reference signal associated with the reference signal measurement is a channel state reference signal transmitted by the relay UE before the associated data or demodulation reference signal, or is associated with a channel state reference signal multiplexed with the associated data or the demodulation reference signal.

[0163] Aspect 3: The method according to Aspect 2, wherein the channel state reference signal communicated by the relay UE is received by the relay UE via a side link interface or a radio link interface, or is sent by the relay UE via the side link interface or the radio link interface.

[0164] Aspect 4: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 3, wherein receiving the packet from the source node includes: receiving the packet via a micro-time slot different from the selected micro-time slot used to send the packet, or receiving the packet via a sub-band different from the selected sub-band used to send the packet.

[0165] Aspect 5: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 4, wherein the reference signal measurement includes a reference signal received power measurement, a reference signal received quality measurement, channel state information or channel quality information associated with a previous mini-slot transmission or a previous sub-band transmission.

[0166] Aspect 6: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 5, wherein the reference signal measurement is based at least in part on a reference signal communicated between the source node and the relay UE or a reference signal communicated between the relay UE and the destination node.

[0167] Aspect 7: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 6, wherein sending the packet to the destination node comprises: performing an amplify-and-forward operation or a decode-and-forward operation.

[0168] Aspect 8: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 7 further includes: receiving information from the destination node indicating which mini-slot of the multiple mini-slots or which sub-band of the multiple sub-bands is to be used for sending the packet.

[0169] Aspect 9: The method according to aspect 8, wherein receiving the information from the destination node comprises: receiving downlink control information, a medium access control message, or a radio resource control message including the information.

[0170] Aspect 10: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 9 also includes: receiving an indication that the relay UE is to use the selected mini-time slot or the selected sub-band to send the packet, wherein each mini-time slot in the multiple mini-time slots and each sub-band in the multiple sub-bands are configured to be used by the selected UE among the multiple UEs.

[0171] Aspect 11: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 10 further includes: obtaining a bitmap indicating that the relay UE is to use the selected mini-slot or the selected sub-band to send the packet.

[0172] Aspect 12: The method according to aspect 11, wherein the bitmap indicates a type of relay to be used by the relay UE to send the packet.

[0173] Aspect 13: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 12 also includes: selecting a packet to be sent in a transmission block from multiple packets associated with multiple corresponding source nodes based at least in part on a logical channel group priority, a remaining packet delay budget, or a priority indicator included in the side link control information.

[0174] Aspect 14: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 13 further includes: receiving side link control information instructing the relay UE to send the packet in the selected mini-time slot or the selected subband.

[0175] Aspect 15: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 14, wherein the relay UE and one or more other UEs are assigned corresponding fixed mini-time slots or fixed time slots for performing transmission.

[0176] Aspect 16: The method according to Aspect 15 also includes: receiving a wake-up signal, downlink control information, sidelink control information, medium access control message or radio resource control message indicating a fixed mini-time slot or a fixed time slot to be used by the relay UE to perform transmission.

[0177] Aspect 17: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 16 also includes: receiving an indication of one or more time resources and one or more frequency resources for sending the packet, and performing multiple transmissions of the packet within the one or more time resources and the one or more frequency resources.

[0178] Aspect 18: The method according to aspect 17, wherein the one or more time resources include one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols, and the one or more frequency resources include at least one of resource elements, resource blocks or subchannels.

[0179] Aspect 19: A method according to Aspect 17, wherein the relay UE is configured to perform the multiple transmissions of the packet using a first comb associated with the one or more time resources and the one or more frequency resources, and the other UE is configured to perform one or more other transmissions using a second comb associated with the one or more time resources and the one or more frequency resources.

[0180] Aspect 20: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 19, wherein identifying the selected mini-slot or the selected sub-band for sending the packet includes: selecting a grid or a portion of a grid to be used for sending the packet.

[0181] Aspect 21: The method according to aspect 20, wherein the grid or the portion of the grid to be used for sending the packet is different from the grid or the portion of the grid used for receiving the packet.

[0182] Aspect 22: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 21 further includes: repeating or encoding a portion of the data associated with the packet within the selected mini-time slot or the selected subband, wherein sending the packet includes performing a decode-and-forward operation.

[0183] Aspect 23: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 22 further includes: repeating the resource element sending of the packet until the subband allocation is completed, wherein sending the packet includes performing an amplify-and-forward operation.

[0184] Aspect 24: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 23, wherein identifying the selected mini-slot or the selected sub-band for sending the packet includes: selecting the mini-slot or sub-band based at least in part on an allocated frequency domain dimension or an allocated time domain dimension.

[0185] Aspect 25: The method according to aspect 24, wherein both the allocated frequency domain dimension and the allocated time domain dimension include demodulation reference signal symbols or demodulation reference signal tones.

[0186] Aspect 26: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 25 also includes: receiving first-level side link control information including a source node identifier, a final destination node identifier, and at least one of a next destination node identifier or a group identifier.

[0187] Aspect 27: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 25 also includes: receiving first-level sidelink control information including a source node identifier and a final destination node identifier.

[0188] Aspect 28: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 25, further comprising: receiving first level sidelink control information including a source node identifier and at least one of a next destination node identifier or a group identifier, and receiving second level sidelink control information including a final destination node identifier;

[0189] Aspect 29: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 25 also includes: receiving first-level side link control information including a source node identifier and a final destination node identifier, and receiving second-level side link control information including at least one of a next destination node identifier or a group identifier.

[0190] Aspect 30: A method according to any one of aspects 1 to 29, wherein the source node is a UE and the destination node is another UE.

[0191] Aspect 31: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 29, wherein the source node is a UE or a network entity, and the destination node is another UE or the network entity.

[0192] Aspect 32: An apparatus for performing wireless communications at a device, comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform one or more of the methods described in Aspects 1 to 31.

[0193] Aspect 33: A device for wireless communication, comprising: a memory; and one or more processors, the one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors configured to execute the method according to one or more of aspects 1 to 31.

[0194] Aspect 34: An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: at least one component for performing the method according to one or more of aspects 1 to 31.

[0195] Aspect 35: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method according to one or more of aspects 1 to 31.

[0196] Aspect 36: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication, the instruction set comprising one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform one or more of the methods described in aspects 1 to 31.

[0197] The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the various aspects.

[0198] As used herein, the term "component" is intended to be broadly interpreted as a combination of hardware and / or hardware and software. Whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language or other names, "software" should be broadly interpreted as meaning instructions, instruction sets, codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subroutines, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures and / or functions, etc. As used herein, a "processor" is implemented in a combination of hardware and / or hardware and software. It will be apparent that the systems and / or methods described herein can be implemented by a combination of hardware and / or hardware and software in different forms. The actual dedicated control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods does not limit various aspects. Therefore, there is no reference to a specific software code herein to describe the operation and behavior of the system and / or method, because those skilled in the art will understand that software and hardware can be designed to implement the system and / or method based at least in part on the description herein.

[0199] As used herein, "satisfying a threshold" may refer to a value being greater than a threshold, greater than or equal to a threshold, less than a threshold, less than or equal to a threshold, equal to a threshold, not equal to a threshold, etc., depending on the context.

[0200] Although the specific combination of features is set forth in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of various aspects. Many of these features can be combined in a manner that is not specifically described in the claims and / or is not disclosed in the specification. The disclosure of various aspects includes each dependent claim combined with each other claim in the claim set. As used herein, the phrase "at least one of" the list of items refers to any combination of these items (it includes a single member). As an example, "at least one of a, b or c" is intended to cover a, b, c, a+b, a+c, b+c and a+b+c, and any combination with multiple identical elements (e.g., a+a, a+a+a, a+a+b, a+a+c, a+b+b, a+c+c, b+b, b+b+b, b+b+c, c+c and c+c+c, or any other ordering of a, b and c).

[0201] Any element, action or instruction used herein should not be interpreted as key or necessary unless explicitly described as such. In addition, as used herein, the article "one" is intended to include one or more items, and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". In addition, as used herein, the article "said" is intended to include one or more items mentioned in conjunction with the article "said", and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". In addition, as used herein, the terms "set" and "group" are intended to include one or more items, and can be used interchangeably with "one or more". If only one item is intended to be referred to, the phrase "only one" or similar terms will be used. In addition, as used herein, the terms "have", "have", "have" etc. are intended to be open terms, which do not limit the elements they modify (for example, "an element with" A may also have B). In addition, the phrase "based on" is intended to represent "based at least in part on", unless otherwise explicitly stated. Furthermore, as used herein, the term "or" when used in a series is intended to be open-ended and used interchangeably with "and / or" unless explicitly stated otherwise (e.g., if used in conjunction with "either" or "only one of").

Claims

1. A relay user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising: Memory; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being coupled to the memory and configured to cause the relay UE to: Receive a packet from a source node; identifying a selected mini-slot or a selected sub-band for transmitting the packet based at least in part on a reference signal measurement indicated per mini-slot in a plurality of mini-slots or per sub-band in a plurality of sub-bands; and The packet is sent to the destination node using the selected mini-slot or the selected sub-band.

2. The relay UE according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to identify another selected mini-slot or another selected subband for receiving the packet based at least in part on the reference signal measurement or another reference signal measurement, wherein the other reference signal measurement is indicated by a mini-slot among multiple mini-slots or by a subband among multiple subbands. 3 . The relay UE according to claim 2 , wherein the selected mini-slot is the same as the another selected mini-slot, or the selected subband is the same as the another subband. 4 . The relay UE according to claim 2 , wherein the selected mini-slot is different from the another selected mini-slot, or the selected subband is different from the another selected subband. 5 . The relay UE according to claim 2 , wherein the selected mini-slot and the another selected mini-slot occupy the same time slot, or the selected subband and the another selected subband occupy the same subband. 6 . The relay UE according to claim 2 , wherein the selected mini-slot and the another selected mini-slot occupy different time slots, or the selected subband and the another selected subband occupy different subbands.

7. The relay UE according to claim 1, wherein the reference signal associated with the reference signal measurement is a channel state reference signal transmitted by the relay UE before associated data or a demodulation reference signal, or is associated with a channel state reference signal multiplexed with the associated data or the demodulation reference signal.

8. The relay UE according to claim 7, wherein the channel state reference signal communicated by the relay UE is received by the relay UE via a side link interface or a radio link interface, or is sent by the relay UE via the side link interface or the radio link interface.

9. The relay UE according to claim 1, wherein, in order to receive the packet from the source node, the one or more processors are configured to receive the packet via a micro-time slot different from the selected micro-time slot used to send the packet, or to receive the packet via a sub-band different from the selected sub-band used to send the packet.

10. The relay UE of claim 1, wherein the reference signal measurement comprises a reference signal received power measurement, a reference signal received quality measurement, channel state information, or channel quality information associated with a previous mini-slot transmission or a previous sub-band transmission. 11 . The relay UE of claim 1 , wherein in order to send the packet to the destination node, the one or more processors are configured to perform an amplify-and-forward operation or a decode-and-forward operation.

12. The relay UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive information from the destination node indicating which mini-slot of the plurality of mini-slots or which sub-band of the plurality of sub-bands is to be used to send the packet.

13. The relay UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive an indication that the relay UE is to use a selected mini-time slot or a selected sub-band to send the packet, wherein each mini-time slot in a plurality of mini-time slots and each sub-band in the plurality of sub-bands are configured to be used by a selected UE among a plurality of UEs.

14. The relay UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to obtain a bitmap indicating that the relay UE is to use the selected mini-slot or the selected sub-band to send the packet. 15 . The relay UE of claim 14 , wherein the bitmap indicates a type of relay to be used by the relay UE to send the packet.

16. A relay UE according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to select a packet to be sent in a transmission block from a plurality of packets associated with a plurality of corresponding source nodes based at least in part on a logical channel group priority, a remaining packet delay budget, or a priority indicator included in the sidelink control information.

17. The relay UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive sidelink control information instructing the relay UE to send the packet in the selected mini-time slot or the selected subband.

18. The relay UE of claim 1, wherein the relay UE and one or more other UEs are assigned corresponding fixed mini-slots or fixed time slots for performing transmission.

19. The relay UE of claim 18, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive a wake-up signal, downlink control information, sidelink control information, a medium access control message, or a radio resource control message indicating a fixed micro-time slot or a fixed time slot to be used by the relay UE to perform transmission.

20. The relay UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive an indication of one or more time resources and one or more frequency resources for sending the packet, and to perform multiple transmissions of the packet within the one or more time resources and the one or more frequency resources.

21. The relay UE of claim 20, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to perform the multiple transmissions of the packet using a first comb associated with the one or more time resources and the one or more frequency resources, and the other UE is configured to perform one or more other transmissions using a second comb associated with the one or more time resources and the one or more frequency resources.

22. The relay UE of claim 1, wherein to identify the selected mini-slot or the selected subband for sending the packet, the one or more processors are configured to select a grid or a portion of a grid to be used for sending the packet.

23. The relay UE according to claim 22, wherein the grid or the part of the grid to be used for sending the packet is different from the grid or the part of the grid used for receiving the packet.

24. The relay UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to repeat or encode a portion of data associated with the packet within the selected mini-time slot or the selected subband, wherein sending the packet comprises performing a decode-and-forward operation.

25. The relay UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to repeat resource element transmission of the packet until subband allocation is completed, wherein transmitting the packet comprises performing an amplify-and-forward operation.

26. The relay UE of claim 1, wherein, in order to identify the selected mini-slot or the selected subband for sending the packet, the one or more processors are configured to select the mini-slot or subband based at least in part on an allocated frequency domain dimension or an allocated time domain dimension.

27. The relay UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receiving first level sidelink control information including a source node identifier, a final destination node identifier, and at least one of a next destination node identifier or a group identifier; receiving first level sidelink control information including a source node identifier and a final destination node identifier; receiving first level sidelink control information including a source node identifier and at least one of a next destination node identifier or a group identifier, and receiving second level sidelink control information including a final destination node identifier; or First level sidelink control information including a source node identifier and a final destination node identifier is received, and second level sidelink control information including at least one of a next destination node identifier or a group identifier is received.

28. A wireless communication method performed by a relay user equipment (UE), comprising: Receive a packet from a source node; identifying a selected mini-slot or a selected sub-band for transmitting the packet based at least in part on a reference signal measurement indicated per mini-slot in a plurality of mini-slots or per sub-band in a plurality of sub-bands; and The packet is sent to the destination node using the selected mini-slot or the selected sub-band.

29. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing an instruction set for wireless communication, the instruction set comprising: One or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a relay user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: Receive a packet from a source node; identifying a selected mini-slot or a selected sub-band for transmitting the packet based at least in part on a reference signal measurement indicated per mini-slot in a plurality of mini-slots or per sub-band in a plurality of sub-bands; and The packet is sent to the destination node using the selected mini-slot or the selected sub-band.

30. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: means for receiving a packet from a source node; means for identifying the selected mini-slot or the selected sub-band for transmitting the packet based at least in part on a reference signal measurement indicated per mini-slot in a plurality of mini-slots or per sub-band in a plurality of sub-bands; and Means for sending the packet to a destination node using the selected mini-slot or the selected sub-band.

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