Coverage enhancements for physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmissions

Abstract

A mechanism is provided for a user equipment (UE) and a base station to support coverage enhancement of physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmissions through multiple repetitions to improve signal quality and reliability. A UE may be configured to determine whether the UE is in a repetitive enhancement mode to transmit PUCCH transmissions in a dedicated PUCCH resource set in a wireless system based on reference signal measurements by the UE and a predetermined threshold. In response to determining that the UE is in the repetitive enhancement mode, the UE may repeatedly transmit the PUCCH transmission in the dedicated set of resources according to a repetitive enhancement configuration, which may be determined based on system information (SI) received from the base station.

Description

Technical Field

[0001]

[0013] Various aspects are described generally relating to wireless communication systems, including coverage enhancement for Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) transmissions in wireless communication systems.

[0002] Related fields

[0003] The wireless communication system may include a fifth generation (5G) system, a new radio (NR) system, a long term evolution (LTE) system, a non-terrestrial wireless network (NTN), a combination thereof, or some other wireless system. In addition, the wireless communication system may support a wide range of use cases, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC), ultra-reliable and low latency communication (URLLC), enhanced vehicle-to-everything communication (eV2X), etc. For many wireless communication systems, coverage enhancement for signal quality and reliability may be required. Summary of the invention

[0004] Some aspects of the present disclosure relate to apparatus and methods for implementing techniques for user equipment (UE) and base stations to support coverage enhancement of physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmissions by multiple repetitions to improve signal quality and reliability. The implemented techniques can be applicable to many wireless systems, such as wireless communication systems based on 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 15 (Rel-15), Release 16 (Rel-16), Release 17 (Rel-17), non-terrestrial wireless networks (NTNs) or other wireless networks.

[0005] Some aspects of the present disclosure relate to operations performed by a UE. The operations performed by the UE may include determining a repetition enhancement configuration based on system information (SI) received from a base station. In some embodiments, the SI may include a system information block 1 (SIB1) message or a system information block 19 (SIB19) message. The repetition enhancement configuration may include a repetition type, a candidate number of repetitions, a conflict rule, a hopping pattern, or a relationship bundled with a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) to maintain power consistency and phase continuity during multiple time slots. The repetition type may include inter-slot repetition, inter-microslot repetition, or intra-slot repetition. The hopping pattern may include a hopping interval determined by the repetition enhancement configuration, and the relationship bundled with the DMRS may include a time domain window (TDW) configured based on the repetition enhancement configuration. The relationship bundled with the DMRS may also include the duration of the TDW.

[0006] In some embodiments, the UE may determine whether the UE is in a repetition enhancement mode to send a PUCCH transmission in a dedicated PUCCH resource set in a wireless system based on a reference signal measurement performed by the UE and a predetermined threshold. In some embodiments, the wireless system may be a non-terrestrial network (NTN) system, and the PUCCH transmission may be via a satellite between the UE and the base station. The PUCCH transmission may be a PUCCH format 0 transmission or a PUCCH format 1 transmission. The reference signal measurement may include a synchronization signal block (SSB) reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement. When the UE determines that the reference signal measurement performed by the UE is lower than the predetermined threshold, this indicates that the UE may be close to a cell edge of the wireless system, and the UE may enter the repetition enhancement mode. In some embodiments, the dedicated PUCCH resource set may include a portion of a resource set allocated to a traditional wireless system.

[0007] In response to determining that the UE is in the repetition enhancement mode, the UE may repeatedly send the PUCCH transmission in the dedicated resource set according to the repetition enhancement configuration. In some embodiments, the PUCCH transmission may include a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ). In some embodiments, the HARQ included in the PUCCH transmission includes a HARQ-ACK for message 4 of a 4-step random access channel (RACH) or a HARQ-ACK for message B of a 2-step RACH.

[0008] Some aspects of the present disclosure relate to a base station, the base station comprising: a transceiver configured to communicate with a UE and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver. The processor may be configured to: determine a repetition enhancement configuration for the UE to communicate with the base station in a repetition enhancement mode to send a PUCCH transmission in a dedicated PUCCH resource set. The processor may also be configured to: send the repetition enhancement configuration to the UE via SI; and receive from the UE the PUCCH transmission repeated multiple times in the dedicated PUCCH resource set according to the repetition enhancement configuration. The PUCCH transmission may include HARQ.

[0009] The present invention is provided for the purpose of illustrating some aspects only, so as to provide an understanding of the subject matter described herein. Therefore, the above-mentioned features are only examples and should not be understood as narrowing the scope or essence of the subject matter in the present disclosure. Other features, aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, drawings and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, illustrate the present disclosure and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure and enable those skilled in the relevant art to make and use the present disclosure.

[0011] Figures 1A to 1C A non-terrestrial wireless network (NTN) including a user equipment (UE) and a base station to support coverage enhancement for physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmissions through multiple repetitions according to some aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0012] Figure 2 A block diagram of a UE or base station including a transceiver and a processor according to some aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0013] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C Example procedures performed by a UE and a base station to support coverage enhancement for PUCCH transmissions through multiple repetitions according to some aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0014] FIG. 4A to FIG. 4B Example procedures performed by a UE and a base station to support coverage enhancement for PUCCH transmissions through multiple repetitions according to some aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0015] Figure 5 is an example computer system for implementing some aspects or portions of the disclosure provided herein.

[0016] The present disclosure is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, generally, like reference numerals indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Additionally, generally, the leftmost digit of a reference numeral identifies the drawing in which the reference numeral first appears. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] With the development of mobile communication networks, some wireless systems (such as fifth generation (5G) networks or non-terrestrial wireless networks) may have large propagation delays, higher propagation losses, weaker diffraction capabilities, and limited and shortened coverage for various reasons. Non-terrestrial wireless networks (NTNs) may refer to any network involving non-terrestrial flying objects. NTNs may include satellite communication networks, high altitude platform systems (HAPS), air-to-ground networks, low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, also known as drones), or any other NTNs. Coverage enhancement techniques may be needed to address challenges in NTNs or other similar networks with large propagation delays or other problems.

[0018] According to some aspects, in a conventional wireless system, an uplink (UL) or downlink (DL) transmission may be designed for a time slot, which may be a dynamically scheduled unit or a duration otherwise defined by a communication standard. In different multiple time slots, there is usually no consistency requirement or coordination. A coverage enhancement technique that addresses the challenges caused by large propagation delays may be coordinated within multiple time slots for UL or DL ​​transmissions, such as DMRS bundling of the same demodulation reference signal (DMRS) or coherent DMRS repeated within multiple time slots, multiple physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmissions with repetitions, or multiple physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmissions with repetitions, and joint channel estimation of multiple PDSCH transmissions. For example, a UE may transmit the same or coherent DMRS symbols in multiple time slots, which may form a time domain window (TDW) including multiple physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmissions or PDSCH transmissions. Similarly, PUCCH transmissions may be transmitted repeatedly multiple times to improve signal quality and reliability in a repetition enhancement mode for coverage enhancement.

[0019] In some embodiments, the UE may be configured to determine whether the UE is in a repetition enhancement mode to send a PUCCH transmission in a dedicated PUCCH resource set in a wireless system based on a reference signal measurement performed by the UE and a predetermined threshold. In response to determining that the UE is in the repetition enhancement mode, the UE may repeatedly send the PUCCH transmission in the dedicated resource set according to a repetition enhancement configuration, which may be determined based on system information (SI) received from the base station.

[0020] FIG. 1 illustrates an NTN 100 including a UE 101 and a base station 103 to support coverage enhancement for PUCCH transmission through multiple repetitions according to some aspects of the present disclosure. The NTN 100 is provided for illustration purposes only and is not intended to limit the disclosed aspects. The techniques described herein for the NTN 100 may also be applied to other wireless systems without satellites to perform coverage enhancement for PUCCH transmission through multiple repetitions.

[0021] NTN 100 may include, but is not limited to, UE 101, base station 103, satellite 102, gateway 104, and core network 105. UE 101 communicates with satellite 102 via service link 111, and satellite 102 communicates with gateway 104 via feeder link 113. Service link 111 may include downlink 112 and uplink 114. Satellite 102 may include a network node or a transceiver for wireless communication. Various specific implementations of NTN 100 may exist. For example, base station 103 and gateway 104 may be integrated into one unit rather than as separate components. Base station 103 and core network 105 may implement functions as a normal terrestrial wireless network without a satellite, and gateway 104 may implement functions between the terrestrial wireless network and satellite 102.

[0022] In some embodiments, the NTN 100 may have a transparent payload, where the base stations 103 are located on the ground. In some embodiments, the NTN 100 may have a regenerative payload, where the base stations 103 may be located on the satellite 102. There may be multiple satellites carrying base stations that communicate with each other. There may be other network entities not shown, such as network controllers, relay stations. The NTN may be referred to as a wireless network, a wireless communication system, or some other name known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0023] In some embodiments, NTN 100 may be an NTN with non-terrestrial flying objects (e.g., satellite 102). In some embodiments, NTN 100 may include a satellite communication network including satellite 102, HAPS, or an air-to-ground network or UAV. There may be multiple satellites in NTN 100. Satellite 102 may be a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, or a geosynchronous (GSO) earth orbit (GEO) satellite. NTN 100 may be a HAPS, which may be an airborne platform including an airplane, a hot air balloon, and an airship. For example, NTN 100 may include an international mobile communication base station, referred to as a HIBS. The HIBS system may provide mobile services in the same transmission frequency used by a land mobile network. NTN 100 may be an air-to-ground network for providing in-flight connectivity for an aircraft by utilizing a ground station, which plays a role similar to a base station in a land mobile network. NTN 100 may also be a mobile low-altitude UAV.

[0024] In some embodiments, the satellite 102 may be a GEO satellite deployed at an altitude of 35786 km and characterized by slow movement around its orbital position relative to a point on the earth. Compared to terrestrial cellular systems, GEO satellite-based communication networks have large propagation delays and high propagation losses that must be considered in the overall design of the satellite network. Additionally and alternatively, the satellite 102 may be a LEO satellite at an altitude of 300km-3000km. In some embodiments, the satellite 102 may communicate with the UE 101 on various frequency bands, such as 1610MHz-1618.725MHz UL (L band) and 2483.5MHz-2500MHz DL (S band). There may be power flux density (PFD) limitations on the S band. For example, for the S band 2483.5MHz-2500MHz DL for mobile satellite services, the GSO satellite 102 may have a PFD: P = -146dB (W / m in 4kHz). 2 ), and in 1MHz, P = -128dB (W / m 2 ), where r = 0.5. In addition, the non-GSO satellite 102 may have a PFD of: P = -144 dB (W / m 2 ), and in 1MHz, P = -126dB (W / m 2 ), where r = 0.65.

[0025] According to some aspects, base station 103 may be a fixed station or a mobile station. In some embodiments, base station 103 may be located on satellite 102. Base station 103 may also be referred to as other names, such as base transceiver system (BTS), access point (AP), transmit / receive point (TRP), evolved Node B (eNB), next generation Node B (gNB), 5G Node B (NB) or some other equivalent terms.

[0026] According to some aspects, UE 101 may be stationary or mobile. UE 101 may include processor 142 and memory 144. UE 101 may be a handheld terminal or a very small aperture terminal (VSAT), which is equipped with a parabolic antenna and is typically mounted on a building or a vehicle. UE 101 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, a desktop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop station, a tablet computer, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, an ultrabook, a medical device or equipment, a biometric sensor or device, a wearable device (smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, smart wristband, smart jewelry such as a smart ring or smart bracelet), an entertainment device (e.g., a music or video device, or a satellite radio), a vehicle component, a smart meter, an industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a machine type communication (MTC) device, an evolution or enhancement of a machine type communication (eMTC) device, or any other suitable device configured to communicate via a wireless medium. For example, MTC and eMTC devices may include robots, drones, location tags, etc.

[0027] In some embodiments, the base station 103 may determine a repetition enhancement configuration 121 for the UE 101 to send a PUCCH transmission 145 to the base station 103 in a dedicated PUCCH resource set in a repetition enhancement mode, wherein the PUCCH transmission 145 may be a PUCCH format 0 transmission or a PUCCH format 1 transmission, and may be a PUCCH transmission via a satellite 102 between the UE 101 and the base station 103. The UE 101 may receive system information (SI) 131 from the base station 103, wherein the SI 131 may include the repetition enhancement configuration 121, and store the repetition enhancement configuration 121 in a memory 144. The SI 131 may include a system information block 1 (SIB1) message or a system information block 19 (SIB19) message. UE 101 may perform reference signal measurements 141 and obtain the reference signal measurements, and determine whether UE 101 is in a repetition enhancement mode to send a PUCCH transmission 145 in a dedicated PUCCH resource set based on the reference signal measurements 141 and a predetermined threshold 143, wherein the signal measurements 141 and the predetermined threshold 143 may be stored in a memory 144. The reference signal measurements 141 may include a synchronization signal block (SSB) reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement. In response to determining that UE 101 is in the repetition enhancement mode, UE 101 may repeatedly send PUCCH transmissions 145 in the dedicated resource set according to the repetition enhancement configuration 121, wherein the PUCCH transmissions 145 may include a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) 147, both of which may be stored in the memory 144.

[0028] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1B and Figure 1C As shown, the HARQ 147 included in the PUCCH transmission 145 may include a HARQ-ACK for message 4 of a 4-step random access channel (RACH) procedure 170 or a HARQ-ACK for message B of a 2-step RACH procedure 180. The procedure 170 or the procedure 180 may also be referred to as a random access (RA) procedure or a RACH procedure. The NTN 100 may support two types of RA procedures, namely, a contention-based RA procedure and a contention-free RA procedure. Figure 1B 1 shows a contention-based RA with a 4-step message exchange process 170 between UE 101 and BS 103, and Figure 1C A contention-free mechanism using only a 2-step message exchange process 180 is shown.

[0029] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1B As shown, at time window 151, UE 101 may allocate a RA opportunity (RAO), which may be derived by a configuration index. When there is a RAO, UE 101 may transmit a random access preamble to base station 103 in message 1 using a physical random access channel (PRACH). At time window 161, base station 103 may estimate the round trip time (RTT) of UE 101 based on the arrival time (ToA) of the preamble received in message 1. Base station 103 may use the ToA estimate to determine the timing advance (TA) to be applied by UE 101. In some embodiments, UE 101 may determine that UE 101 has the ability to operate in a repetition enhancement mode to repeatedly send PUCCH transmissions multiple times in a dedicated PUCCH resource set. Therefore, UE 101 may send a dedicated preamble of the UE to the base station in a 4-step random access channel (RACH) process or a 2-step RACH process to indicate the ability of the UE to operate in the repetition enhancement mode.

[0030] The base station 103 may continuously check for preamble reception at RAO, and in the event that it detects a preamble reception, the base station 103 may respond with a random access response (RAR) referred to as message 2. The RAR contains TA parameters, as well as scheduling information (which points to the radio resources that the UE 101 must use for subsequent uplink data transmission) and a modulation and coding scheme (MCS). The UE 101 receives message 2 during time window 153 and further processes message 2 at time window 155.

[0031] UE 101 may send message 3 to initiate a connection request, wherein UE 101 is introduced into the network with a unique ID. This phase is also referred to as the contention resolution phase during time window 163. Afterwards, base station 103 may transmit back to UE 101 a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) message 4, which includes a confirmation of the selected temporary identifier, which will serve as a permanent ID for the user for all future message exchanges. Similar to message 2 reception, in this case, UE 101 will also wait for message 4 during time window 157 until the contention resolution timer is valid. If the timer expires, UE 101 may retry the RA process again at another RAO. A hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) protocol is used for message 3 and message 4 transmission, wherein a PUCCH transmission 145 including HARQ 147 is sent from UE 101 to base station 103. HARQ 147 may include additional information indicating whether a packet is received (ACK or NACK). In the case of NACK, the same packet must be resent.

[0032] In some embodiments, Figure 1C In the case of the non-contention RA process shown, skip Figure 1B Messages 3 and 4 are sent because the user is uniquely identified in this case. Figure 1C As shown, message A and PDSCH message B are sent between UE 101 and base station 103. These messages are similar to Figure 1B Message 1 and Message 2.

[0033] According to some aspects, it can be based on Figure 2 The illustrated block diagram implements UE 101. Base station 103 may also be implemented similarly. Figure 2, UE 101 may have an antenna panel 217, which includes one or more antenna elements to form various transmit beams, such as transmit beam 213, which are coupled to transceiver 203 and controlled by processor 142. Transceiver 203 and antenna panel 217 (using transmit beam 213) may be configured to implement wireless communications in a wireless network, such as supporting satellite communications as shown in NTN 100. In detail, transceiver 203 may include radio frequency (RF) circuitry 216, transmit circuitry 212, and receive circuitry 214. RF circuitry 216 may include multiple parallel RF chains for one or more of the transmit or receive functions, each RF chain connected to one or more antenna elements of the antenna panel. In addition, processor 142 may be communicatively coupled to memory 144, which is further coupled to transceiver 203. Various data may be stored in the memory 144, such as repetition enhancement configuration 121, reference signal measurement 141, predetermined threshold 143, PUCCH transmission 145, and HARQ 147, as shown in FIG. Figure 1A and Figure 2 shown.

[0034] In some embodiments, memory 144 may store instructions that, when executed by processor 142, perform or cause the operations described herein to be performed, such as operations for supporting coverage enhancement of PUCCH transmissions through multiple repetitions to improve signal quality and reliability. Alternatively, processor 142 may be "hard-coded" to perform the operations described herein. In some embodiments, processor 142 may be configured to perform the operations described herein. Figure 3A Process 300 and Figure 3B The operations described in process 310 in .

[0035] Figure 3A An example process 300 performed by a UE for coverage enhancement of PUCCH transmissions through multiple repetitions according to some aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. Similarly, Figure 3B An example process 310 performed by a base station for coverage enhancement through multiple repetitions of PUCCH transmissions according to some aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. According to some aspects, as FIG. 3A to FIG. 3B As shown, process 300 may be performed by UE 101 and process 310 may be performed by base station 103 .

[0036] At 301, UE 101 may determine a repetition enhancement configuration 121 based on SI 131 received from base station 103. In some embodiments, SI 131 may include a system information block 1 (SIB1) message or a system information block 19 (SIB19) message. The repetition enhancement configuration 121 may include various information, such as a repetition type, a candidate number of repetitions, a conflict rule, a hopping pattern, or a relationship with a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) bundle to maintain power consistency and phase continuity during multiple time slots. In some embodiments, the repetition type may include inter-slot repetition, inter-mini-slot repetition, or intra-slot repetition. The hopping pattern may include a hopping interval determined by the repetition enhancement configuration 121, and the relationship with the DMRS bundle may include a time domain window (TDW) configured based on the repetition enhancement configuration 121. In some embodiments, the relationship with the DMRS bundle also includes the duration of the TDW.

[0037] In some embodiments, SI 131 may be a SIB1 (or SIB19) message that includes a repetition enhancement configuration 121 to indicate that NTN 100 supports coverage enhancement for PUCCH transmissions 145 including HARQ-ACK 147 in response to a PUCCH transmission such as Figure 1B Message 4 of the RACH process shown. The repetition type can be inter-slot repetition, inter-mini-slot repetition or intra-slot repetition. The repetition enhancement configuration 121 may also include a frequency hopping mode indication, a DMRS bundling indication, a time domain window size, and the like.

[0038] In some embodiments, SI 131 may be a SIB1 message to configure the repetition type as inter-slot repetition, inter-microslot, or intra-slot repetition, for example, by configuring the parameter pucch-configcommon. The SIB1 message may also configure the number of repetitions, such as the number of repetitions selected from {1,2,4,8,16}. In some embodiments, for PUCCH resource indexes 0 to 6 (e.g., PUCCH format 0 with 2 symbols or PUCCH format 1 with 4 symbols), intra-slot repetition may be supported in the second and subsequent slots. In some embodiments, if the PUCCH repetition in a slot conflicts with a sounding reference signal (SRS), the conflict may be resolved based on priority rules. If the PUCCH repetition conflicts with a PUSCH transmission in a slot, the existing multiplexing rules may be reused. In some embodiments, for inter-slot repetition, for PUCCH resource indexes 7 to 15, only inter-slot PUCCH repetition may be supported.

[0039] In some embodiments, the repetition enhancement configuration 121 may indicate that PUCCH frequency hopping may be supported. The SIB1 message or SIB19 message may configure which frequency hopping mode is applied, for example, through the parameter pucch-configcommon. In some embodiments, for PUCCH transmissions of format 0 or format 1 with 4 symbol repetitions, mini-slot hopping may be supported. In some embodiments, for PUCCH format 1 repetitions, inter-slot hopping may be supported.

[0040] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3C As shown, for PUCCH transmissions with frequency hopping intervals, inter-slot frequency hopping may be supported. The PUCCH transmission and its repetitions may include a PUCCH transmission 322, a PUCCH transmission 324, a PUCCH transmission 326, and a PUCCH transmission 328. The PUCCH transmission 322 and the PUCCH transmission 324 may be transmitted at a first frequency band 325, and the PUCCH transmission 326 and the PUCCH transmission 328 may be transmitted at a second frequency band 327, wherein the second frequency band 327 is separated from the first frequency band 325 by a frequency offset 321. The PUCCH transmission 322 and the PUCCH transmission 324 may be separated by a frequency hopping interval (e.g., a time interval) 323, and the same may be true for the PUCCH transmission 326 and the PUCCH transmission 328. The frequency hopping interval 323 may be configured by the base station 103. In some embodiments, the frequency hopping pattern may be specified based on a relative time slot index together with a system frame number.

[0041] In some embodiments, the repetition enhancement configuration 121 may configure the relationship with DMRS bundling in the inter-slot hopping mode. The base station 103 may configure the hopping interval and the TDW. Based on the repetition enhancement configuration 121, the UE 101 may first determine the hopping interval, then the configured TDW, and then the actual TDW. In some embodiments, the inter-slot hopping pattern for PUCCH repetition with DMRS bundling may be determined based on the relative slot index. Relative slot 0 may be the slot where the PUCCH repetition starts, after which subsequent slot indices increase by 1. In some embodiments, a SIB1 message or a SIB19 message may configure the PUCCH repetition with DMRS bundling, for example, through the parameter pucch-configcommon. A default maximum duration of the TDW may be defined, where the maximum duration is the UE's ability to maintain power consistency and phase continuity during DMRS bundling. In some embodiments, the TDW may be configured with multiple slots. In some other embodiments, the TDW may be configured with multiple micro slots.

[0042] At 303, UE 101 may determine whether UE 101 is in a repetition enhancement mode to send PUCCH transmission 145 in a dedicated PUCCH resource set based on reference signal measurements 141 made by UE 101 and a predetermined threshold 143. In some embodiments, reference signal measurements 141 may include SSB RSRP measurements. When UE 101 determines that reference signal measurements 141 are below the predetermined threshold 143, UE 101 may be in a repetition enhancement mode to send PUCCH transmission 145 in a dedicated PUCCH resource set. In some embodiments, when reference signal measurements 141 are below the predetermined threshold 143, UE 101 may be close to a cell edge of NTN 100.

[0043] In some embodiments, the reference signal measurement 141 and the predetermined threshold 143 are related to the SSB RSRP, which can determine the PUCCH coverage enhancement. The predetermined threshold 143 can be indicated in the SIB1 message or the SIB19 message. In some embodiments, the UE 101 can report its ability to operate in a repetition enhancement mode to support coverage enhancement. A separate PRACH opportunity is allocated to the NTN UE or a separate PRACH preamble is allocated in the case of a shared PRACH opportunity. If a dedicated preamble of the UE 101 is detected by the base station 103, the UE 101 supports PUCCH coverage enhancement. In some embodiments, the preamble can be further divided into several subgroups, each preamble subgroup being associated with repetition, frequency hopping, and DMRS bundling, respectively. In some embodiments, UE capabilities supporting PUCCH coverage enhancement for message 4 may include the following components: PUCCH format 0 and PUCCH format 1 repetition, inter-minislot repetition and / or inter-slot repetition, frequency hopping mode, inter-minislot hopping, interslot hopping, interslot hopping with hopping intervals, DMRS bundling in the case of interslot hopping, and DMRS bundling for PUCCH format 1.

[0044] In some embodiments, the dedicated PUCCH resource set may be part of a resource set allocated to a legacy wireless system. An existing PUCCH resource set prior to the dedicated PUCCH resource configuration in Table 9.2.1-1 of TS38.213 shown below may be reused. Different entries may be configured for legacy UEs and NTN coverage enhancement UEs, for example, a legacy UE is configured with index 0 of Table 9.2.1-1, and an NTN UE may be configured with index 2 of the table.

[0045] Table 9.2.1-1: PUCCH resource set before dedicated PUCCH resource configuration

[0046]

[0047]

[0048] In some embodiments, new PUCCH resources may be defined as a dedicated resource set for repeatedly sending PUCCH transmissions according to a repetition enhancement configuration. New PUCCH resources are PUCCH resources that are not reused or allocated to legacy wireless systems. Table 1 shows a new PUCCH resource table. In Table 1, the PUCCH format can still be format 0 and format 1. In some embodiments, new PUCCH resources may be defined only for PUCCH format 1. For indexes 0 to 2, the starting symbol may be symbol 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12. Starting from symbol 0 may be beneficial for repetition between mini-slots. For indexes 3 to 6, the starting symbol may be 0, 4, 8. For indexes 11 to 15, the starting symbol may be 0.

[0049] At 305 , in response to determining that the UE 101 is in the repetition enhancement mode, the UE 101 may repeatedly send a PUCCH transmission 145 in a dedicated set of resources according to the repetition enhancement configuration 121 , wherein the PUCCH transmission 145 may include a HARQ 147 .

[0050] Table 1

[0051]

[0052]

[0053] In some embodiments, the PUCCH transmission 145 may include HARQ 147 and may be transmitted in response to message B, such as Figure 1C As shown. In some embodiments, for the 2-step RACH procedure, a separate PRACH opportunity may be allocated to the NTN UE or a separate PRACH preamble may be allocated in the case of a shared PRACH opportunity. If a dedicated preamble is detected by the base station 103, the base station knows that the UE 101 supports PUCCH coverage enhancement. A predetermined threshold 143 for SSB RSRP measurement 141 may be determined for the 2-step RACH procedure for NTN UE PUCCH coverage enhancement. The PUCCH resources may be indicated by the PUCCH resource indicator field in the successRAR shown in Table 2 below. The SIB1 message may configure the PUCCH repetition type, DMRS bundling, and frequency hopping mode for Message B HARQ-ACK feedback.

[0054] Table 2

[0055]

[0056] Figure 3BIllustrated is a process 310 performed by base station 103 for coverage enhancement through multiple repetitions of PUCCH transmissions in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. According to some aspects, process 310 may be performed by base station 103.

[0057] At 311, the base station 103 may determine a repetition enhancement configuration (e.g., repetition enhancement configuration 121) for the UE 101 to send a PUCCH transmission in a dedicated PUCCH resource set to the base station 103 in a repetition enhancement mode. In some embodiments, the repetition enhancement configuration 121 may include the following fields:

[0058] pucch-ResourceCommonNTN-r18 INTEGER(0..15)OPTIONAL

[0059] pucch-RepetitionNTN-r18 ENUMERATED{neither,inter-mini-slot,inter-slot}

[0060] pucch-RepetitionNumberNTN-r18 INTEGER{1,2,4,8,16}

[0061] pucch-FrequencyhoppingNTN-r18 ENUMERATED

[0062] {neither,inter-mini-slotFH,Inter-slotFH,

[0063] Inter-slotFHwithinterval,DMRSbundlingwithInter-slotFH}

[0064] PUCCH-Frequencyhopping-IntervalNTN-r18 INTEGER{1,2,4,8,16}

[0065] PUCCH-TimeDomainWindowLengthNTN-r18 INTEGER{2,4,5,10}

[0066] At 313 , the base station 103 may send the repetition enhancement configuration 121 to the UE 101 in SI 131 .

[0067] At 315 , the base station 103 receives from the UE 101 a PUCCH transmission 145 repeated multiple times in a dedicated PUCCH resource set according to the repetition enhancement configuration 121 , wherein the PUCCH transmission 145 includes a HARQ 147 .

[0068] FIG. 4A to FIG. 4B Example processes (eg, process 400 and process 410 ) performed by a UE and a base station for supporting coverage enhancement for PUCCH transmissions through multiple repetitions according to some aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0069] Figure 4A Process 400 shown in may be an example of process 300 performed by UE 101, illustrated with more, less, or different details.

[0070] At 401 , UE 101 may read the SIB1 message to obtain PUCCH configuration (eg, repetition enhancement configuration 121 ) and resources (including repetition type, repetition number, frequency hopping pattern, and DMRS bundling).

[0071] At 403, UE 101 may read RACH-configcommon to obtain the allocated preamble for NTN PUCCH.

[0072] At 405, UE 101 may evaluate SSB RSRP measurement 141 compared to a predetermined threshold 143 and decide to send a preamble dedicated to NTN, which may indicate that UE 101 will operate in repetition enhancement mode.

[0073] At 407 , after receiving the Message 4 PDSCH, the UE 101 may transmit a PUCCH transmission 145 for Message 4 or Message B using the configured number of repetitions, frequency hopping pattern as determined by the repetition enhancement configuration 121 .

[0074] Figure 4B The process 410 shown in FIG. 4 may be an example of the process 310 performed by the base station 103, illustrated in more, less, or different detail.

[0075] At 411 , the base station 103 may reserve and indicate the PUCCH configuration of the NTN via a SIB1 message, for example, the repetition enhancement configuration 121 , where the repetition enhancement configuration 121 may include a repetition type, a repetition number, a frequency hopping pattern, and DMRS bundling.

[0076] At 413, the base station 103 may allocate a separate RO or a separate preamble for NTN PUCCH detection.

[0077] At 415, the base station 103 may detect the dedicated preamble of the NTN.

[0078] At 417 , the base station 103 may detect a PUCCH for Message 4 or Message B with a configured number of repetitions and a frequency hopping pattern based on the repetition enhancement configuration 121 .

[0079] For example, one or more computer systems (such as Figure 5 The computer system 500 shown in the figure can be used to implement various aspects. The computer system 500 can be any computer capable of performing the functions described herein, such as Figures 1A to 1C and Figure 2 The UE 101 or base station 103 shown is used for FIG. 3A to FIG. 3B , FIG. 4A to FIG. 4B 142 or the operations described by the processes 300, 310, 400, or 410 shown. Computer system 500 includes one or more processors (also referred to as central processing units or CPUs), such as processor 504. Processor 504 is connected to a communication infrastructure 506 (e.g., a bus). Computer system 500 also includes user input / output devices 503, such as a monitor, keyboard, pointing device, etc., that communicate with communication infrastructure 506 through user input / output interface 502. Computer system 500 also includes main memory or primary storage 508, such as random access memory (RAM). Main memory 508 may include one or more levels of cache. Main memory 508 has control logic components (e.g., computer software) and / or data stored therein.

[0080] The computer system 500 may also include one or more secondary storage devices or memories 510. The secondary storage 510 may include, for example, a hard disk drive 512 and / or a removable storage device or drive 514. The removable storage drive 514 may be a floppy disk drive, a tape drive, an optical drive, an optical storage device, a tape backup device, and / or any other storage device / drive.

[0081] Removable storage drive 514 may interact with removable storage unit 518. Removable storage unit 518 includes a computer usable or readable storage device having computer software (control logic) and / or data stored thereon. Removable storage unit 518 may be a floppy disk, magnetic tape, optical disk, DVD, optical storage disk, and / or any other computer data storage device. Removable storage drive 514 reads from and / or writes to removable storage unit 518 in a well-known manner.

[0082] According to some aspects, secondary memory 510 may include other components, tools, or other methods for allowing computer programs and / or other instructions and / or data to be accessed by computer system 500. Such components, tools, or other methods may include, for example, a removable storage unit 522 and an interface 520. Examples of removable storage unit 522 and interface 520 may include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such as found in video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as an EPROM or PROM) and associated socket, a memory stick and USB port, a memory card and associated memory card slot, and / or any other removable storage unit and associated interface.

[0083] In some examples, the main memory 508, the removable storage unit 518, and the removable storage unit 522 may store instructions that, when executed by the processor 504, cause the processor 504 to perform operations for a UE or a base station (e.g., Figures 1A to 1C and Figure 2 In some examples, the operations include: FIG. 3A to FIG. 3B , FIG. 4A to FIG. 4B The operations shown in process 300, process 310, process 400, or process 410 illustrate and describe those operations.

[0084] The computer system 500 may also include a communication or network interface 524. The communication interface 524 enables the computer system 500 to communicate and interact with any combination of remote devices, remote networks, remote entities, etc. (individually and collectively referenced by reference numeral 528). For example, the communication interface 524 may allow the computer system 500 to communicate with the remote device 528 via a communication path 526, which may be wired and / or wireless and may include any combination of a LAN, a WAN, the Internet, etc. Control logic components and / or data may be sent to and from the computer system 500 via the communication path 526. The operation of the communication interface 524 may be performed by a wireless controller and / or a cellular controller. The cellular controller may be a separate controller to manage communications according to different wireless communication technologies. The operations in the foregoing aspects may be implemented in various configurations and architectures. Thus, some or all of the operations in the foregoing aspects may be performed in hardware, software, or in both hardware and software. In some aspects, a tangible, non-transitory apparatus or article of manufacture includes a tangible, non-transitory computer usable or readable medium having control logic components (software) stored thereon, also referred to herein as a computer program product or program storage device. This includes, but is not limited to, computer system 500, main memory 508, auxiliary memory 510, and removable storage units 518 and 522, and tangible articles of manufacture embodying any combination of the foregoing. Such control logic components, when executed by one or more data processing devices (such as computer system 500), cause such data processing devices to operate as described herein.

[0085] Based on the teachings contained in this disclosure, it will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art how to use the Figure 5 The various aspects of the present disclosure may be made and used with data processing devices, computer systems, and / or computer architectures other than those shown. In particular, the various aspects may operate with software, hardware, and / or operating system implementations other than those described herein.

[0086] It should be understood that the Detailed Description section, rather than the Summary and Abstract sections, is intended to be used to interpret the claims. The Summary and Abstract sections may set forth one or more but not all exemplary aspects of the present disclosure as contemplated by the inventors, and thus are not intended to limit the present disclosure or the appended claims in any way.

[0087] Although the present disclosure has been described herein with reference to exemplary aspects of exemplary fields and applications, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Other aspects and modifications are possible and are within the scope and essence of the present disclosure. For example, and without limiting the generality of this paragraph, the various aspects are not limited to the software, hardware, firmware, and / or entities illustrated in the figures and / or described herein. In addition, the various aspects (whether or not explicitly described herein) have significant practicality for fields and applications beyond the examples described herein.

[0088] Various aspects have been described herein by means of functional building blocks that illustrate the specific implementation of specific functions and their relationships. For ease of description, the boundaries of these functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined herein. As long as the specified functions and relationships (or their equivalents) are properly performed, alternative boundaries may be defined. In addition, alternative aspects may use an order different from the order described herein to perform functional blocks, steps, operations, methods, etc.

[0089] References herein to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," or similar phrases indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the relevant art to incorporate such feature, structure, or characteristic into other aspects, whether or not explicitly mentioned or described herein.

[0090] The breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary aspects, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

[0091] For one or more embodiments or examples, at least one of the components described in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods described below in the Examples section. For example, circuitry associated with a thread device, router, network element, etc., as described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures, may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below in the Examples section.

[0092] The disclosure anticipates that entities responsible for the collection, analysis, disclosure, transmission, storage or other purposes of such personal information data will comply with sound privacy policies and / or privacy measures. Specifically, such entities should implement and adhere to the use of privacy policies and measures that are recognized as meeting or exceeding the industry or government requirements for maintaining the privacy and security of personal information data. Such policies should be convenient for users to access and should be updated with changes in the collection and / or use of data. Personal information from users should be collected for legal and reasonable entity purposes and should not be shared or sold outside these legal purposes. In addition, such collection / sharing should only be after receiving the user's informed consent. Additionally, such entities should consider taking any necessary steps to protect and safeguard access to such personal information data, and ensure that other entities with access to personal information data comply with the privacy policies and procedures of other entities. In addition, such entities can subject themselves to third-party assessments to prove that they comply with widely accepted privacy policies and privacy practices. In addition, policies and practices should be adapted to specific types of personal information data collected and / or accessed, and be suitable for applicable laws and standards that include considerations of special jurisdictions. For example, in the United States, the collection or acquisition of certain health data may be governed by federal and / or state laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); while health data in other countries may be subject to other regulations and policies and should be handled accordingly. Therefore, different privacy measures should be advocated for different types of personal data in each country.

Claims

1. A method for performing wireless communication by a user equipment (UE) to a base station in a wireless system, the method comprising: determining a repetition enhancement configuration based on system information (SI) received from the base station; determining, based on reference signal measurements made by the UE and a predetermined threshold, whether the UE is in a repetition enhancement mode to transmit a dedicated physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission in a PUCCH resource set; as well as In response to determining that the UE is in the repetition enhancement mode, the PUCCH transmission is repeatedly sent in the dedicated resource set according to the repetition enhancement configuration, wherein the PUCCH transmission includes hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference signal measurement comprises a synchronization signal block (SSB) reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the SI comprises a system information block 1 (SIB1) message or a system information block 19 (SIB19) message.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the HARQ included in the PUCCH transmission comprises a HARQ-ACK for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) message 4 for a 4-step random access channel (RACH) procedure or a HARQ-ACK for a PDSCH message B for a 2-step RACH procedure. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the PUCCH transmission is PUCCH format 0 transmission or PUCCH format 1 transmission.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the UE is in the repetitive enhancement mode comprises: A determination is made that the reference signal measurements made by the UE are below the predetermined threshold, indicating that the UE is close to a cell edge of the wireless system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless system is a non-terrestrial network (NTN) system, and the PUCCH transmission is performed via a satellite between the UE and the base station.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the dedicated PUCCH resource set is individually configured as a part of a resource set predefined for a legacy wireless system.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the repetition enhancement configuration comprises a repetition type, a candidate number of repetitions, a conflict rule, a frequency hopping pattern, or a relationship with a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) bundling to maintain power consistency and phase continuity during multiple time slots.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the repetition type comprises inter-slot repetition, inter-mini-slot repetition, or intra-slot repetition.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the frequency hopping pattern comprises a frequency hopping interval determined by the repetition enhancement configuration, and the relationship with DMRS bundling comprises a time domain window (TDW) configured based on the repetition enhancement configuration.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the relationship with DMRS bundling further includes a duration of the TDW.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: determining a capability of the UE to operate in the repetition enhancement mode to transmit the PUCCH transmission multiple times in the dedicated PUCCH resource set; as well as A dedicated preamble for the UE is sent to the base station in a 4-step random access channel (RACH) procedure or a 2-step RACH procedure to indicate the capability of the UE to operate in the repetitive enhancement mode.

14. A base station for performing wireless communication in a wireless system, the base station comprising: a transceiver configured to enable wireless communication with a user equipment (UE); and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to: determining a repetition enhancement configuration for the UE to send a dedicated physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission to the base station in a PUCCH resource set in a repetition enhancement mode; Sending the repetition enhancement configuration to the UE in system information (SI); as well as The PUCCH transmission repeated a plurality of times in the dedicated PUCCH resource set according to the repetition enhancement configuration is received from the UE, wherein the PUCCH transmission includes a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ).

15. The base station of claim 13, wherein the HARQ included in the PUCCH transmission includes a HARQ-ACK for message 4 of a 4-step random access channel (RACH) or a HARQ-ACK for message B of a 2-step RACH.

16. The base station of claim 13, wherein the repetition enhancement configuration comprises a repetition type, a candidate number of repetitions, a conflict rule, a frequency hopping pattern, or a relationship with a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) bundling to maintain power consistency and phase continuity during multiple time slots.

17. The base station of claim 16, wherein the repetition type comprises inter-slot repetition, inter-mini-slot repetition, or intra-slot repetition.

18. The base station of claim 16, wherein the frequency hopping pattern comprises a frequency hopping interval determined by the repetition enhancement configuration, and the relationship with DMRS bundling comprises a time domain window (TDW) configured based on the repetition enhancement configuration.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to perform operations comprising: determining a repetition enhancement configuration based on system information (SI) received from a base station; determining, based on reference signal measurements made by the UE and a predetermined threshold, whether the UE is in a repetition enhancement mode to transmit a dedicated physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission in a PUCCH resource set; as well as In response to determining that the UE is in the repetition enhancement mode, repeatedly sending the PUCCH transmission in the dedicated resource set according to the repetition enhancement configuration, wherein the PUCCH transmission includes a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ).

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the HARQ included in the PUCCH transmission comprises a HARQ-ACK for message 4 of a 4-step random access channel (RACH) or a HARQ-ACK for message B of a 2-step RACH.

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