Delay alignment method and device in device cooperative communication

Abstract

Examples are described regarding delay alignment in device cooperative communications. In one embodiment, a cooperative communication device obtains information about a delay of a relay operation for relaying a radio frequency (RF) signal to a master communication device or a network node, and provides the information about the delay to the master communication device to facilitate delay alignment in device cooperative communications between the master communication device, the cooperative communication device, and the network node.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This disclosure is part of a non-provisional application claiming priority benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 504,224, filed May 25, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by this reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to mobile communications, and more specifically to latency alignment in device-coordinated communications. BACKGROUND

[0004] The methods described in this section are not prior art to the claims listed below unless otherwise stated in this document and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

[0005] Massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology has played a key role in boosting the spectral efficiency and signal robustness of the Fifth Generation (5G) New Radio (NR). With the breakthrough of practical antenna systems, it has become feasible to accommodate a large number of digital antenna ports on network nodes from an implementation perspective.

[0006] Although MIMO enhancements have been implemented on the network side, the physical hardware limitations on the User Equipment (UE) side remain a bottleneck for MIMO gain improvement.

[0007] Therefore, to improve the overall MIMO performance on the UE side, device-coordinated communications and corresponding latency alignment in device-coordinated communications become important issues in newly developed wireless communication networks. SUMMARY

[0008] The following summary is provided for purposes of illustration only and is not intended to be limiting in any aspect. That is, the following summary is intended to introduce innovative and non-obvious technology concepts, highlights, benefits, and advantages described herein. The selected embodiments will be further described in the detailed description below. Thus, the following summary does not identify essential characteristics of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0009] One goal of the present disclosure is to propose solutions or schemes to address issues related to latency alignment in uplink and downlink transmissions when a communication device (e.g., a User Equipment (UE), a wearable device, or other device) communicates with a network device (e.g., a network node or a Base Station (BS), such as a Next Generation Node B (gNB)) in device-coordinated communications.

[0010] In one aspect, a method can involve a cooperating communication device obtaining information about a delay for a relay operation for relaying a radio frequency (RF) signal to a host communication device or network node and providing the information about the delay to the host communication device.

[0011] In one aspect, a method can involve a host communication device obtaining information about an uplink processing delay for a cooperating communication device, transmitting a first RF signal to the cooperating communication device on a first time-frequency resource, and transmitting a second RF signal to a network node on a second time-frequency resource. An uplink delay for the transmission of the second RF signal on the second time-frequency resource relative to the transmission of the first RF signal on the first time-frequency resource is determined based on the uplink processing delay.

[0012] In one aspect, a method can involve a host communication device obtaining information about a downlink processing delay for a cooperating communication device and determining a downlink delay based on the downlink processing delay. The method can also involve the host communication device receiving a first RF signal from a network node on a first time-frequency resource and determining a first frame boundary related to the first RF signal. The first RF signal carries baseband data. The method can also involve the host communication device receiving a second RF signal from the cooperating communication device on a second time-frequency resource and determining a second frame boundary related to the second RF signal based on the first frame boundary and the downlink delay.

[0013] Notably, while the description provided herein can be in the context of certain wireless access technologies, networks, and network topologies (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, LTE-Advanced Pro, Fifth Generation (5G), New Radio (NR), Internet of Things (IoT) and Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and Sixth Generation (6G)), the concepts, solutions, and any variants / derivatives thereof presented can be implemented in other types of wireless access technologies, networks, and network topologies. Thus, the scope of the disclosure is not limited to the examples described herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0014] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of the present disclosure. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure. It is to be noted that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, as some components can be shown disproportionately to others for clarity of illustration of the concepts of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 1 is an illustration of an example scenario of a mobile communication network described in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 2is an illustration of an example scenario for device cooperation based diversity enhancement described in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 3 is an illustration of an example scenario for device cooperation based rank enhancement described in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 4 is an illustration of an example scenario for device cooperation based transceiving capability enhancement described in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 5 is an illustration of an example communication system with example communication devices, example network devices, and example relay devices described in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 6 is an illustration of an example process described in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 7 is an illustration of another example process described in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 8 is an illustration of yet another example process described in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Detailed embodiments and implementations of the subject matter claimed in this application are disclosed herein. It is understood, however, that the disclosed embodiments and implementations are merely examples of the claimed subject matter and may be embodied in various forms. In addition, the presently disclosed subject matter may be embodied in a variety of different forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein. Rather, these example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and fully convey the scope of the claimed subject matter to the skilled in the art. In the following description, details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the presented embodiments and implementations.

[0024] SUMMARY

[0025] Embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure relate to various techniques, methods, schemes, and / or solutions for latency alignment in device cooperation communications. In accordance with the present disclosure, many possible solutions can be implemented individually or jointly. That is, although these possible solutions can be described separately below, two or more of these possible solutions can be implemented in one combination or another combination.

[0026] Figure 1An example scenario 100 of a mobile communication network implementing device cooperation is shown, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. A personal area network (PAN) can support extended reality (XR) class services, such as XR glasses with a mobile phone or customer premises equipment (CPE). A public network can include one or more relays and mobile phones. In some embodiments, at least one device can be a cooperating communication device to facilitate enhancement of the transceiving capabilities (e.g., antenna capabilities, diversity, rank, or otherwise) of a primary communication device in the mobile communication network.

[0027] Figure 2 An example scenario 200 of diversity enhancement based on device cooperation is shown, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. A high-capability device (e.g., a smartphone) can act as a proxy to provide a high-quality data path for a low-capability device (e.g., XR glasses). In this device cooperation scenario, the high-capability device can be a cooperating communication device or a cooperating user equipment (UE), while the low-capability device can be a primary communication device or a primary UE. A device control path CTRL can be established between the primary UE and the cooperating UE to exchange critical information, including channel state information (CSI), relay mode enablement, power control, and the like.

[0028] The cooperating UE can communicate with a network node (e.g., a satellite, a base station, or a network device in a mobile communication network) in a first frequency band fl and with the primary UE in a second frequency band f2. The cooperating UE can perform inter-band frequency conversion to convert a radio frequency (RF) carrier of a received signal from the first frequency band fl to the second frequency band f2, or vice versa. This device cooperation applies to both uplink and downlink transmissions.

[0029] Wearable devices are typically less capable than smartphones in terms of MIMO processing capability, number of transmit (Tx) or receive (Rx) antennas, carrier aggregation (CA) capability, and the like. Figure 2 A cooperating UE (e.g., a 4Rx smartphone) is shown working in collaboration with a 2Rx wearable device with 1 component carrier (CC) capability as an intermediate node. The smartphone can act as an advanced amplify-and-forward (AF) relay with better Rx beamforming capability (i.e., more receive antennas) and can purify the signal quality by rejecting interference from unintended directions and forward the processed signal to the low-capability wearable device.

[0030] Figure 3 An example scenario 300 of rank enhancement based on device cooperation is shown, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. One smartphone and one cooperating device (e.g., a relay device, another smartphone, an indoor CPE, or the like) cooperate to receive a resulting high-rank data signal at the smartphone that is transmitted from a network node (e.g., a satellite, a base station, or a network device in a mobile communication network).

[0031] In this device cooperation scenario, the smartphone can be the master communication device or master UE, while the above-mentioned cooperating device can be the cooperating communication device or cooperating UE. The master UE can communicate with the network node in a first frequency band fl and with the cooperating UE in a second frequency band f2. The cooperating UE can communicate with the network node in the first frequency band fl and with the master UE in the second frequency band f2, just like the master UE. The cooperating UE can perform inter-band frequency conversion to convert the RF carrier of the received signal from the first frequency band fl to the second frequency band f2, and vice versa. This device cooperation is also applicable to uplink and downlink transmissions.

[0032] A device control path CTRL can be established between the master UE and the cooperating UE to exchange critical information, including CSI, relay mode enablement, power control, etc. The master UE utilizes its CA capability to receive signals from the base station and the cooperating UE in both frequency bands fl and f2 simultaneously and jointly processes the received signals as if it has two sets of Rx antennas. The network node transmits signals to one terminal device in the frequency band fl, which appears to be equipped with two sets of Rx antennas in a single frequency band, thus doubling the rank of the end-to-end MIMO channel.

[0033] Figure 4 An example scenario 400 based on device cooperation for transceiving capability enhancement according to embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. In this example, a cooperating communication device (labeled as cooperating UE 406 in Figure 4 ) can be placed in the vicinity of a master communication device (labeled as master UE 404 in Figure 4 ) or between a network node 402 (e.g., a satellite, a base station, or a network device in a mobile communication network) and the master UE 404.

[0034] The master UE 404 can communicate with the network node 402 in a first frequency band fl and with the cooperating UE 406 in a second frequency band f2. The cooperating UE 406 can communicate with the network node 402 in the first frequency band fl and with the master UE 404 in the second frequency band f2, just like the master UE 404. The cooperating UE 406 can perform inter-band frequency conversion to convert the RF carrier of the received signal from the first frequency band fl to the second frequency band f2, and vice versa. This device cooperation is also applicable to uplink and downlink transmissions.

[0035] In some embodiments, the master UE 404 can transmit signals in two different time-frequency resources or two different frequency bands fl and f2 simultaneously or substantially simultaneously (e.g., with a predetermined uplink or downlink delay).

[0036] In some embodiments, the master UE 404 can include multiple physical antennas, and the physical antennas can be shared on two different time-frequency resources or two different frequency bands to reduce the chip area cost of the master UE 404. Note that the master UE 404 can also use two different sets of antennas to transmit signals on two different time-frequency resources or two different frequency bands, respectively, and the present disclosure is not limited to any type of implementation.

[0037] In one example, the master user equipment (UE) 404 can have 4 physical antennas (i.e., physical antennas 1 to 4) and can have 4 layers of data (i.e., layers 1 to 4) to transmit. In addition, each layer of data corresponds to one antenna port. In a first configuration, the master UE 404 maps a particular layer to a particular physical antenna. For example, layer 1 data is transmitted through physical antenna 1, layer 2 data is transmitted through physical antenna 2, and so on. This can be referred to as a non-coherent mode. In a second configuration, in the master UE 404, at least one particular layer is mapped to at least two physical antennas, and at least one physical antenna has no mapping to at least one of the 4 layers of data. For example, layer 1 data is transmitted through physical antenna 1 and physical antenna 2, layer 2 data is transmitted through physical antenna 3 and physical antenna 4, and so on. This can be referred to as a partial-coherent mode. In a third configuration, each layer of data is mapped to all physical antennas. This is referred to as a full-coherent mode.

[0038] The master UE 404 can transmit a first signal to the network node 402 through a channel 424 (which can be considered a direct path or direct link). The master UE 404 can transmit a second signal to the cooperating UE 406 through a channel 428, and then the second signal can be transmitted to the network node 402 through a channel 426. The channels 428 and 426 can be considered indirect paths or indirect links. The master UE 404 can apply a first precoder to the first signal and a second precoder to the second signal. As one example, the master UE 404 can map the first signal to a first set of physical antennas (e.g., including two physical antennas) to generate two superimposed signals, and map the second signal to a second set of physical antennas (e.g., including two physical antennas) to generate two superimposed signals.

[0039] In addition, the master UE 404 can mix the superimposed signals with respective radio frequency (RF) carriers and transmit the generated RF signals on the respective sets of physical antennas.

[0040] For the direct path, the network node 402 can receive the RF signals from the master UE 404 through the channel 424.

[0041] For indirect paths, the cooperating UE 406 can receive the RF signals from the master UE 404 through channel 428, and the network node 402 can receive the RF signals from the cooperating UE 406 through channel 426. The cooperating UE 406 can relay or forward the received signals, with some necessary processing, such as but not limited to amplification or linear combination, to the network node 402.

[0042] In some implementations, the frequency conversion can be performed by the cooperating UE 406 in the analog domain or in the digital domain. In some implementations, the cooperating UE 406 can perform some digital baseband signal processing for frequency conversion. The data processing delay in the cooperating UE 406 can be increased due to the involvement of the digital baseband data path. Therefore, the delay alignment for uplink and / or downlink transmission can be needed in device cooperation communications.

[0043] In some implementations, the cooperating communication devices (e.g., cooperating UEs or relay devices, such as the cooperating UE 406 shown) can obtain their uplink processing delays (e.g., but not limited to, the internal delay or internal delay of frequency conversion in the uplink direction or some necessary processing in the uplink direction) through design guarantee, factory calibration. Figure 4

[0044] In some implementations, the cooperating communication devices can obtain their downlink processing delays (e.g., but not limited to, the internal delay or internal delay of frequency conversion in the downlink direction or some necessary processing in the downlink direction) through design guarantee, factory calibration, or dynamic calibration.

[0045] In some implementations, the uplink processing delays and / or downlink processing delays can be estimated or determined through field test results or experimental results. In some implementations, the uplink processing delays and / or downlink processing delays can be estimated or determined by the cooperating communication devices themselves or external instruments.

[0046] In some implementations, the downlink processing delays or delays can be dynamically estimated, determined, or adjusted by the cooperating communication devices or the master communication devices through dynamic calibration. For example, the cooperating communication devices and / or the master communication devices can determine or estimate the downlink delays or downlink processing delays using the reference signals transmitted by the network node.

[0047] ​In some implementations, the uplink processing delay or delay can be dynamically estimated, determined, or adjusted by the cooperating communication device or network node through dynamic calibration. For example, the cooperating communication device and / or network node can dynamically calibrate the uplink delay or uplink processing delay using signals received from the primary communication device. When the uplink delay or uplink processing delay is determined or estimated by the network node, the network node can further provide information about the uplink delay or uplink processing delay to the primary communication device or the cooperating communication device.

[0048] In some implementations, the cooperating communication device can obtain information about the delay (e.g., but not limited to, the internal delay or internal delay described above, some necessary processing for frequency conversion or in the uplink or downlink direction) corresponding to relaying a radio frequency (RF) signal to the primary communication device (e.g., the primary communication device or the primary UE, such as the primary UE 404 shown in Figure 4 FIG. 4) or the network node (e.g., a satellite, a base station, or a network device in a mobile communication network, such as the network node 402 shown in Figure 4 FIG. 4), and provide the primary communication device with information about the delay.

[0049] In some implementations, in the downlink direction, the cooperating communication device can receive M rdl RF signals from the network node on a first time-frequency resource and transmit M rdl RF signals to the primary communication device on a second time-frequency resource through M tdl RF antennas. M tdl represents the number of received signal streams (or the number of receiving antennas) of the cooperating communication device in the downlink direction, and M rdl RF signals carry baseband data signals corresponding to L layers of data generated by the network node. In some implementations, the number M rdl and the number L are positive integers, and L is greater than M rdl . M rdl represents the number of transmitted signal streams (or the number of transmitting antennas) of the cooperating communication device in the downlink direction, and M tdl RF signals carry L layers of data.

[0050] In the uplink direction, the cooperating communication device can receive M rul RF signals from the primary communication device through M rul RF antennas on a first time-frequency resource and transmit M tul RF signals to the network node through M tul RF antennas on a second time-frequency resource. M rul represents the number of received signal streams (or the number of receiving antennas) of the cooperating communication device in the uplink direction, and M rulThe RF signals carry baseband data signals corresponding to the K layers of data generated by the master communication device. In certain implementations, the digital M rul and K are positive integers. M tul represents the number of transmit signal streams (or the number of transmit antennas) of the cooperating communication device in the uplink direction, while M tul The RF signals carry K layers of data.

[0051] In certain implementations, the relaying operation can include amplification and forwarding, and can not include decoding the RF signals. In certain implementations, the relaying operation can be based on amplification and forwarding without decoding the RF signals.

[0052] In certain implementations, the information about the delay can be pre-stored in a memory of the cooperating communication device.

[0053] In certain implementations, the information about the delay can be provided to the master communication device through control signals transmitted between the master communication device and the cooperating communication device (e.g., through the device control path CTRL described above).

[0054] In certain implementations, the information about the delay can include at least one uplink delay and a downlink delay. For the uplink direction, the master communication device can utilize the uplink delay to implement timing advance for the signal streams transmitted to the cooperating communication device. For the downlink direction, the master communication device can utilize the downlink delay to estimate the frame boundary of the signal streams transmitted by the cooperating communication device to speed up the decoding of the signals received in the master communication device from different devices (e.g., network nodes and cooperating communication devices).

[0055] In certain implementations, the delay can include an uplink delay (e.g., the uplink delay D UL ), and the delay can be estimated or determined by the cooperating communication device. More specifically, in certain implementations, the cooperating communication device can receive a first RF signal from the master communication device on a first time-frequency resource, transmit a second RF signal to a network node on a second time-frequency resource, and determine a time difference between receiving the first RF signal on the first time-frequency resource and transmitting the second RF signal on the second time-frequency resource as the uplink delay. In certain implementations, the first RF signal can carry baseband data generated by the master communication device, while the second RF signal is derived from the first RF signal.

[0056] In certain implementations, for signal processing in the uplink direction, the cooperating communication device can convert the first RF signal from a first frequency band corresponding to the first time-frequency resource to a second frequency band corresponding to the second time-frequency resource to generate the second RF signal. In certain implementations, the cooperating communication device can linearly combine one or more first RF signals received from the master communication device to generate a linearly combined signal, and convert the linearly combined signal from a first frequency band corresponding to the first time-frequency resource to a second frequency band corresponding to the second time-frequency resource to generate the second RF signal.

[0057] In certain implementations, the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource do not overlap in the time domain and / or the frequency domain.

[0058] In certain implementations, the delay can include a downlink delay (e.g., a downlink delay D DL ), and can be determined by the cooperating communication device. More specifically, in certain implementations, the cooperating communication device can receive the first RF signal from the network node on the first time-frequency resource, transmit the second RF signal to the master communication device on the second time-frequency resource, and determine a time difference between receiving the first RF signal on the first time-frequency resource and transmitting the second RF signal on the second time-frequency resource as the downlink delay. In certain implementations, the first RF signal can carry baseband data generated by the network node, while the second RF signal is derived from the first RF signal.

[0059] In certain implementations, for signal processing in the downlink direction, the cooperating communication device can convert the first RF signal from a first frequency band corresponding to the first time-frequency resource to a second frequency band corresponding to the second time-frequency resource to generate the second RF signal. In certain implementations, the cooperating communication device can linearly combine one or more first RF signals received from the network node to generate a linearly combined signal, and convert the linearly combined signal from a first frequency band corresponding to the first time-frequency resource to a second frequency band corresponding to the second time-frequency resource to generate the second RF signal.

[0060] In certain implementations, the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource do not overlap in the time domain and / or the frequency domain.

[0061] In certain implementations, the information about the uplink delay can be used by the master communication device to compensate for the uplink delay on the indirect path due to device cooperation. In certain implementations, the information about the downlink delay can be used by the master communication device to determine the frame boundary related to the signal received from the indirect path, thereby reducing the computational complexity in frame boundary determination or timing alignment. The master communication device can align the frame boundary of the signal received from the indirect path with the frame boundary of the signal received from the direct path. When the timing of the signals received from different paths is aligned, the master communication device can jointly decode the signals to achieve an improvement in overall MIMO performance.

[0062] More specifically, in certain implementations regarding delay alignment in uplink transmissions, a master communication device can obtain information regarding an uplink processing delay of a cooperating communication device, transmit a first RF signal to the cooperating communication device on a first time-frequency resource, and transmit a second RF signal to a network node on a second time-frequency resource. An uplink delay of transmitting the second RF signal on the second time-frequency resource relative to transmitting the first RF signal on the first time-frequency resource can be determined based on the uplink processing delay.

[0063] In certain implementations, the information regarding the uplink processing delay can be obtained from the cooperating communication device or the network node.

[0064] In certain implementations, the first RF signal and the second RF signal respectively carry first and second baseband data signals, and the first and second baseband data signals are to be received or expected to be received by the network node in a same time slot.

[0065] In certain implementations, the first RF signal can be transmitted at a first time (e.g., ti), the second RF signal can be transmitted at a second time (e.g., t2), and wherein the first time is earlier than the second time, the difference in time being the uplink delay or a quantized value of the uplink delay (e.g., (t2-tl) equals D UL or a quantized value of D UL , or ti is a quantized value of (t2-D UL ).

[0066] In certain implementations, the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource do not overlap in the time domain or the frequency domain.

[0067] In some implementations regarding delay alignment in downlink transmissions, a master communication device can obtain information regarding a downlink processing delay of a cooperating communication device, and determine a downlink delay (e.g., a downlink delay D DL ) based on the downlink processing delay. The master communication device can receive a third RF signal from a network node on a third time-frequency resource, and determine a first frame boundary related to the third RF signal. The third RF signal carries baseband data generated by the network node. The master communication device can receive a fourth RF signal from the cooperating communication device on a fourth time-frequency resource, and determine a second frame boundary related to the fourth RF signal based on the first frame boundary and the downlink delay.

[0068] In some implementations, the information regarding the downlink processing delay can be obtained from the cooperating communication device or the network node.

[0069] In some implementations, the third time-frequency resource and the fourth time-frequency resource do not overlap in the time domain or do not overlap in the frequency domain.

[0070] Example implementations

[0071] Figure 5 An example communication system 500 is shown, having an example communication device 510, an example network device 520, and an example relay device 530, in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. Each of the communication device 510, the network device 520, and the relay device 530 can perform various functions to implement the latency alignment schemes, techniques, procedures, and methods in device-cooperative communication described herein, including the scenarios / schemes described above and the procedures 600, 700, and 800 described below.

[0072] The communication device 510 can be part of an electronic device, which can be a UE, such as a portable or mobile device, a wearable device, a wireless communication device, or a computing device. For example, the communication device 510 can be implemented in a smartphone, a smartwatch, a personal digital assistant, a digital camera, or a computing device, such as a tablet, a laptop, or a notebook computer. The communication device 510 can also be part of a machine-type device, which can be an IoT, NB-IoT, or IIoT device, such as a fixed or stationary device, a home device, a wired communication device, or a computing device. For example, the communication device 510 can be implemented in a smart thermostat, a smart refrigerator, a smart door lock, a wireless speaker, or a home control center. Alternatively, the communication device 510 can be implemented in the form of one or more integrated circuit (IC) chips, such as but not limited to one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, or one or more complex instruction set computing (CISC) processors. The communication device 510 can include at least some of the components shown in FIG. 5, such as the processor 512. The communication device 510 can also include one or more other components that are not related to the proposed schemes of the present disclosure (e.g., an internal power supply, a display device, and / or a user interface device), and therefore, these components of the communication device 510 are neither shown in FIG. 5 nor described below to keep the description concise. Figure 5 The network device 520 can be part of a network device, which can be a network node, such as a satellite, a base station, a small cell, a router, or a gateway. For example, the network device 520 can be implemented in an eNodeB in an LTE network, a gNB in a 5G / NR, IoT, NB-IoT, or IIoT network, or a satellite or a base station in a 6G network. Alternatively, the network device 520 can be implemented in the form of one or more IC chips, such as but not limited to one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, or one or more RISC or CISC processors. The network device 520 can include at least some of the components shown in FIG. 6, such as the processor 612. The network device 520 can also include one or more other components that are not related to the proposed schemes of the present disclosure (e.g., an internal power supply, a display device, and / or a user interface device), and therefore, these components of the network device 520 are neither shown in FIG. 6 nor described below to keep the description concise. Figure 5

[0073] The network device 520 can be part of a network device, which can be a network node, such as a satellite, a base station, a small cell, a router, or a gateway. For example, the network device 520 can be implemented in an eNodeB in an LTE network, a gNB in a 5G / NR, IoT, NB-IoT, or IIoT network, or a satellite or a base station in a 6G network. Alternatively, the network device 520 can be implemented in the form of one or more IC chips, such as but not limited to one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, or one or more RISC or CISC processors. The network device 520 can include at least some of the components shown in FIG. 6, such as the processor 612. The network device 520 can also include one or more other components that are not related to the proposed schemes of the present disclosure (e.g., an internal power supply, a display device, and / or a user interface device), and therefore, these components of the network device 520 are neither shown in FIG. 6 nor described below to keep the description concise. Figure 5 ​The network device 520 can also include one or more other components that are not related to the proposed solutions of the present disclosure (e.g., an internal power supply, a display device, and / or a user interface device), and thus, these components of the network device 520 are neither shown in Figure 5 nor described below in order to maintain brevity.

[0074] The relay device 530 can be part of an electronic device, which can be a UE, such as a portable or mobile device, a wearable device, a wireless communication device, a relay device, a CPE, or a computing device. For example, the relay device 530 can be implemented in a smartphone, a smartwatch, XR glasses, a personal digital assistant, a digital camera, or a computing device, such as a tablet, a notebook, or a notebook computer. The relay device 530 can also be part of a machine type device, which can be an IoT, NB-IoT, or IIoT device, such as a fixed or stationary device, a home device, a wired communication device, or a computing device. For example, the relay device 530 can be implemented in a smart thermostat, a smart refrigerator, a smart door lock, a wireless speaker, or a home control center. Alternatively, the relay device 530 can be implemented in the form of one or more IC chips, such as but not limited to one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more RISC processors, or one or more CISC processors. The relay device 530 can include at least some of the components shown in Figure 5 , such as the processor 532. The relay device 530 can also include one or more other components that are not related to the proposed solutions of the present disclosure (e.g., an internal power supply, a display device, and / or a user interface device), and thus, these components of the relay device 530 are neither shown in Figure 5 nor described below in order to maintain brevity.

[0075] In some implementations, the communication device 510 can be a primary communication device, and the relay device 530 can be a cooperative communication device when performing device cooperative communication.

[0076] In one aspect, each of processor 512, processor 522, and processor 532 can be implemented in the form of one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, or one or more complex-instruction-set-computer (CISC) processors. That is, although the singular term “processor” is used herein to refer to processor 512, processor 522, and processor 532, each of processor 512, processor 522, and processor 532 can include multiple processors in certain implementations, while in other implementations, each of processor 512, processor 522, and processor 532 can include a single processor, in accordance with the present disclosure. In another aspect, each of processor 512, processor 522, and processor 532 can be implemented in the form of hardware (and optionally firmware), having electronic components, including, for example and without limitation, one or more transistors, one or more diodes, one or more capacitors, one or more resistors, one or more inductors, one or more memristors, and / or one or more varactors, which components are configured and arranged to implement certain purposes in accordance with the present disclosure. In other words, in at least some implementations, each of processor 512, processor 522, and processor 532 is a special purpose machine, specifically designed, arranged, and configured to perform specific tasks, including autonomous reliability enhancements in devices (e.g., represented by communication device 510 or relay device 530) and networks (e.g., represented by network device 520), in accordance with various implementations of the present disclosure.

[0077] In some implementations, communication device 510 can further include a transceiver 516 coupled with processor 512 and capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some implementations, communication device 510 can further include a memory 514 coupled with processor 512 and capable of being accessed by processor 512 and storing data. In some implementations, network device 520 can further include a transceiver 526 coupled with processor 522 and capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some implementations, network device 520 can have multiple physical antennas associated with multiple antenna ports. In some implementations, network device 520 can further include a memory 524 coupled with processor 522 and capable of being accessed by processor 522 and storing data. In some implementations, relay device 530 can further include a transceiver 536 coupled with processor 532 and capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some implementations, relay device 530 can further include a memory 534 coupled with processor 532 and capable of being accessed by processor 532 and storing data.

[0078] Accordingly, the communication device 510, the network device 520, and the relay device 530 can conduct wireless communications through transceivers 516, 526, and 536, respectively. To help better understand, the following descriptions regarding operations, functions, and capabilities of the communication device 510, the network device 520, and the relay device 530 are provided in the context of a mobile communication environment in which the communication device 510 is implemented as or as a master communication device or master user equipment (UE), the network device 520 is implemented as or as a network node or network equipment, and the relay device 530 is implemented as or as a cooperative communication device or cooperative user equipment (UE) in a communication network that supports device-to-device cooperative communications.

[0079] In some implementations, with respect to uplink transmissions, the processor 512 of the communication device 510 can obtain information regarding an uplink processing delay of a cooperative communication device (e.g., the relay device 530). The processor 512 can also transmit, through the transceiver 516, a first RF signal to the cooperative communication device on a first time-frequency resource and transmit, through the transceiver 516, a second RF signal to a network node (e.g., the network device 520) on a second time-frequency resource. In some implementations, an uplink delay for transmitting the second RF signal on the second time-frequency resource relative to transmitting the first RF signal on the first time-frequency resource can be determined based on the obtained uplink processing delay.

[0080] In some implementations, the uplink delay can be set to a value of the obtained uplink processing delay. In some implementations, the uplink delay can be set to a sum of a transmission time required for the master communication device to the cooperative communication device and the obtained uplink processing delay.

[0081] In some implementations, the first RF signal and the second RF signal carry first and second baseband data signals, respectively, and the first and second baseband data signals are to be or should be received by the network node in a same time slot.

[0082] In some implementations, the first RF signal can be transmitted at a first time, the second RF signal can be transmitted at a second time, and the first time can be earlier than the second time by the uplink delay or a quantized value of the uplink delay.

[0083] In some implementations, the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource do not overlap in a time domain or do not overlap in a frequency domain.

[0084] In some implementations, with respect to downlink transmission, the processor 512 of the communication device 510 can obtain information about a downlink processing delay of the cooperating communication device, and determine a downlink delay based on the downlink processing delay. The processor 512 can also receive, through the transceiver 516, a first RF signal on a first time-frequency resource from a network node, and determine a first frame boundary related to a signal derived from the first RF signal. The first RF signal can carry baseband data generated by the network node. The processor 512 can also receive, through the transceiver 516, a second RF signal on a second time-frequency resource from the cooperating communication device, and determine a second frame boundary related to a signal derived from the second RF signal based on the first frame boundary and the downlink delay.

[0085] In some implementations, the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource do not overlap in the time domain or do not overlap in the frequency domain.

[0086] With respect to the operation of the relay device 530, in some implementations, the processor 532 of the relay device 530 can obtain information about a delay of a relay operation that relays an RF signal to a primary communication device (e.g., the communication device 510) or a network node (e.g., the network device 520), and provide the information about the delay to the primary communication device.

[0087] In some implementations, the relay operation can include amplification and forwarding, and can not include decoding the RF signal. In some implementations, the relay operation can be based on amplification and forwarding without decoding the RF signal.

[0088] In some implementations, the information about the delay can be pre-stored in the memory 534 of the relay device 530.

[0089] In certain implementations, the delay can include an uplink delay, and the processor 532 can receive, through the transceiver 536, a first RF signal on a first time-frequency resource from the primary communication device, transmit, through the transceiver 536, a second RF signal on a second time-frequency resource to the network node, and determine a time difference between receiving the first RF signal on the first time-frequency resource and transmitting the second RF signal on the second time-frequency resource as the uplink delay. In certain implementations, the first RF signal can carry baseband data generated by the primary communication device, and the second RF signal is derived from the first RF signal.

[0090] In certain implementations, the delay can include a downlink delay, and the processor 532 can receive, through the transceiver 536, a first RF signal from the network node on a first time-frequency resource, transmit, through the transceiver 536, a second RF signal to the primary communication device on a second time-frequency resource, and determine a time difference between receiving the first RF signal on the first time-frequency resource and transmitting the second RF signal on the second time-frequency resource as the downlink delay. In certain implementations, the first RF signal can carry baseband data generated by the network node, and the second RF signal is derived from the first RF signal.

[0091] In certain implementations, whether in the uplink or downlink direction, the processor 532 can convert the first RF signal from a first frequency band corresponding to the first time-frequency resource to a second frequency band corresponding to the second time-frequency resource to generate the second RF signal.

[0092] In certain implementations, whether in the uplink or downlink direction, the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource do not overlap in the time domain or do not overlap in the frequency domain.

[0093] Example process

[0094] Figure 6 An example process 600 is shown in accordance with one implementation of the present disclosure. The process 600 can be one example implementation, whether partial or complete, of the scenarios / arrangements described above regarding delay alignment in device cooperative communication. The process 600 can represent one aspect of a feature implementation of the communication device 510. The process 600 can include one or more operations, actions, or functions shown by one or more of blocks 610, 620, and 630. Although shown as discrete blocks, individual blocks of the process 600 can be divided into more blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Further, the blocks of the process 600 can be performed in the order shown, or in a different order. Figure 6 The process 600 can be implemented by the communication device 510 or any suitable user equipment (UE) or machine type device. For illustrative purposes and not limitation, the process 600 is described below in the context of the communication device 510. The process 600 can begin at block 610.

[0095] At 610, the process 600 can involve the processor 512 of the communication device 510 obtaining information regarding an uplink processing delay of a cooperative communication device (e.g., the relay device 530). The process 600 can proceed from 610 to 620.

[0096] At 620, the process 600 can involve the processor 512 transmitting, to the cooperative communication device, a first RF signal on a first time-frequency resource. The process 600 can proceed from 620 to 630.

[0097] At 630, the process 600 can involve the processor 512 transmitting, to a network node (e.g., the network device 520), a second RF signal on a second time-frequency resource. The uplink delay for transmitting the second RF signal on the second time-frequency resource relative to transmitting the first RF signal on the first time-frequency resource can be determined based on the uplink processing delay.

[0098] In certain implementations, the first RF signal and the second RF signal respectively carry first and second baseband data signals, and the first and second baseband data signals are to be or should be received by the network node in the same time slot.

[0099] In certain implementations, the first RF signal can be transmitted at a first time, the second RF signal can be transmitted at a second time, and wherein the first time is earlier than the second time, the difference in time being the uplink delay or a quantized value of the uplink delay.

[0100] In certain implementations, the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource do not overlap in the time domain or the frequency domain.

[0101] In certain implementations, the process 600 can involve the processor 512 obtaining information about a downlink processing delay of the cooperating communication device, and determining a downlink delay based on the downlink processing delay. The process 600 can involve the processor 512 receiving, from the network node, a third RF signal on a third time-frequency resource, and determining a first frame boundary related to the third RF signal, wherein the third RF signal carries baseband data. The process 600 can involve the processor 512 receiving, from the cooperating communication device, a fourth RF signal on a fourth time-frequency resource, and determining a second frame boundary related to the fourth RF signal based on the first frame boundary and the downlink delay.

[0102] Figure 7 Another example process 700 according to one implementation of the disclosure is shown. The process 700 can be one example implementation, whether partial or complete, of the above-described scenarios / scenarios regarding delay alignment in device cooperation communication. The process 700 can represent one aspect of a feature implementation by the communication device 510. The process 700 can include one or more operations, actions, or functions shown as one or more of blocks 710, 720, 740, 750, and 760. Although shown as discrete blocks, the various blocks of the process 700 can be divided into more blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Further, the blocks of the process 700 can be performed in the order shown, or in a different order. Figure 7 The process 700 can be implemented by the communication device 510 or any suitable user equipment (UE) or machine type device. For illustration purposes only and without limitation, the process 700 is described below in the context of the communication device 510. The process 700 can begin at block 710.

[0103] At 710, process 700 can involve processor 512 of communication device 510 obtaining information about a downlink processing delay of a cooperating communication device (e.g., relay device 530). Process 700 can proceed from 710 to 720.

[0104] At 720, process 700 can involve processor 512 determining a downlink delay based on the downlink processing delay. Process 700 can proceed from 720 to 730.

[0105] At 730, process 700 can involve processor 512 receiving a first RF signal from a network node (e.g., network device 520) on a first time-frequency resource. The first RF signal can carry baseband data generated by the network node. Process 700 can proceed from 730 to 740.

[0106] At 740, process 700 can involve processor 512 determining a first frame boundary related to the first RF signal. Process 700 can proceed from 740 to 750.

[0107] At step 750, process 700 can involve processor 512 receiving a second RF signal from the cooperating communication device on a second time-frequency resource. Process 700 can proceed from step 750 to step 760.

[0108] At step 760, process 700 can involve processor 512 determining a second frame boundary related to the second RF signal based on the first frame boundary and the downlink delay.

[0109] In certain implementations, the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource can not overlap in the frequency domain or the time domain.

[0110] In certain implementations, process 700 can involve processor 512 obtaining information about an uplink processing delay of the cooperating communication device, transmitting a third RF signal to the cooperating communication device on a third time-frequency resource, and transmitting a fourth RF signal to the network node on a fourth time-frequency resource. The uplink delay of transmitting the fourth RF signal on the fourth time-frequency resource relative to transmitting the third RF signal on the third time-frequency resource can be determined based on the uplink processing delay.

[0111] In certain implementations, the third RF signal and the fourth RF signal carry first and second baseband data signals, respectively, and the first and second baseband data signals are to be or should be received by the network node in the same time slot.

[0112] In certain implementations, the third RF signal can be transmitted at a first time, the fourth RF signal can be transmitted at a second time, and the first time is earlier than the second time by the uplink delay or a quantized value of the uplink delay.

[0113] Figure 8 Another example process 800 in accordance with one implementation of the present disclosure is shown. The process 800 can be an example implementation, whether partial or complete, of the scenarios / scenarios described above involving delay alignment in device cooperation communications in accordance with the present disclosure. The process 800 can represent one aspect of a feature implementation of the relay device 530. The process 800 can include one or more operations, actions, or functions shown by one or more of blocks 810 and 820. Although shown as discrete blocks, individual blocks of the process 800 can be divided into more blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Further, the blocks of the process 800 can be performed in the order shown in FIG. 8, or in a different order. The process 800 can be implemented by the relay device 530 or any suitable user equipment (UE) or machine type device. For illustrative purposes and not limitation, the process 800 is described below in the context of the relay device 530. The process 800 can begin at block 810. Figure 8

[0114] At block 810, the process 800 can involve the processor 532 of the relay device 530 obtaining information about a delay of a relay operation for relaying an RF signal to a primary communication device (e.g., the communication device 510) or a network node (e.g., the network device 520). From block 810, the process 800 can proceed to block 820.

[0115] At block 820, the process 800 can involve the processor 532 providing the information about the delay to the primary communication device.

[0116] In some implementations, the relay operation can include amplification and forwarding and can not include decoding the RF signal. In some implementations, the relay operation can be based on amplification and forwarding without decoding the RF signal.

[0117] In some implementations, the information about the delay can be pre-stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 534) of the relay device 530.

[0118] In some implementations, the delay can include an uplink delay, and the process 800 can involve the processor 532 receiving a first RF signal from the primary communication device on a first time-frequency resource, transmitting a second RF signal to the network node on a second time-frequency resource, and determining a time difference between receiving the first RF signal on the first time-frequency resource and transmitting the second RF signal on the second time-frequency resource as the uplink delay. In some implementations, the first RF signal can carry baseband data generated by the primary communication device, and the second RF signal can be derived from the first RF signal.

[0119] ​In some implementations, the process 800 can involve the processor 532 converting the first RF signal from a first frequency band corresponding to the first time- frequency resource to a second frequency band corresponding to the second time- frequency resource to generate the second RF signal.

[0120] In some implementations, the first time-frequency resource and the second time- frequency resource can not overlap in the time domain or the frequency domain.

[0121] In some implementations, the delay can include a downlink delay, and the process 800 can involve the processor 532 receiving the first RF signal from the network node on the first time-frequency resource, transmitting the second RF signal to the primary communication device on the second time-frequency resource, and determining a time difference between receiving the first RF signal on the first time-frequency resource and transmitting the second RF signal on the second time-frequency resource as the downlink delay.

[0122] In some implementations, the process 800 can involve the processor 532 converting the first RF signal from a first frequency band corresponding to the first time- frequency resource to a second frequency band corresponding to the second time- frequency resource to generate the second RF signal.

[0123] In some implementations, the first time-frequency resource and the second time- frequency resource can not overlap in the time domain or the frequency domain.

[0124] Additional Description

[0125] The subject matter described herein is sometimes illustrated using different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that the depicted architectures are merely examples, and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented to achieve the same functionality. From a conceptual standpoint, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively "associated" such that the goal is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as "associated with" (e.g., in an array or otherwise as shown in the figures) each other for that functionality. Any components so associated can also be viewed as being "coupled" with each other with the coupling being understood at the conceptual level presented herein. Also, any component or collection of components that can be readily identified by one skilled in the art as performing a particular functionality can be logically determined as being "coupled" to one or more other components that can perform that functionality in association therewith. Any two components "coupled" to each other can also be viewed as being "operably connected" or "operably coupled" to each other to perform the looking-up, the associating, the processing, the storing, or the otherwise providing of information.

[0126] Also, with respect to the use of nearly any plural and / or singular term herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and / or from the singular to the plural, depending on the context and / or application. Singular / plural terms are thus to be understood to be interchangeable as appropriate to the context and / or application. The various singular / plural permutations can be expressly set forth herein for as clarity.

[0127] Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that, in general, the terms used herein, particularly in the appended claims, such as "comprising," are typically intended to be interpreted as "open" terms, e.g., the term "comprising" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least," the term "includes" should be interpreted as "includes but is not limited to," etc. Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that if a specific number of an introduced claim statement is intended, such intent would normally be expressly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such an express recitation, no such intent exists. For example, to aid understanding, the following appended claims can contain the use of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim statements. However, the use of these phrases should not be interpreted as implying that any specific claim containing such introduced claim statements is limited to containing only one such statement, even if the same claim includes the introductory phrase "one or more" or "at least one" and an indefinite article such as "a" or "an," e.g., "a" and / or "an" should be interpreted as "at least one" or "one or more"; the same applies to the use of the definite article to introduce claim statements. Moreover, even if a specific number of an introduced claim statement is expressly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted as being at least the recited number, e.g., the recitation of "two statements" alone and without further modifier means at least two statements, or two or more statements. Furthermore, where conventions such as "at least one A, B, and C, etc." are used, generally such structure is used in the sense that would be understood by those skilled in the art following the convention, e.g., "a system having at least one A, B, and C" would include but is not limited to a system having only A, only B, only C, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B, and C together, etc. Where conventions such as "at least one A, B, or C, etc." are used, generally such structure is used in the sense that would be understood by those skilled in the art following the convention, e.g., "a system having at least one A, B, or C" would include but is not limited to a system having only A, only B, only C, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B, and C together, etc. Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that almost any disjunctive word and / or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, in the claims, or in the drawings, should be interpreted to allow for the possibility that either term, any term, or both terms are present. For example, the phrase "A or B" would be interpreted to allow for the possibility that "A" or "B" or "A and B" are present.

[0128] From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various implementations of the disclosure have been described herein for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Accordingly, the various implementations disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Claims

1. A method comprising: obtaining, by a processor of a cooperating communication device, information about a delay of a relaying operation for relaying a radio frequency (RF) signal to a host communication device or a network node; and providing, by the processor, the information about the delay to the host communication device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the relaying operation comprises amplifying and forwarding without decoding the RF signal.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the information about the delay is pre-stored in a memory of the cooperating communication device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the delay comprises an uplink delay, and the method further comprises: receiving, by the processor, a first RF signal from the host communication device on a first time-frequency resource; transmitting, by the processor, a second RF signal to the network node on a second time-frequency resource; and determining, by the processor, a time difference between receiving the first RF signal on the first time-frequency resource and transmitting the second RF signal on the second time-frequency resource as the uplink delay.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: converting, by the processor, the first RF signal from a first frequency band corresponding to the first time-frequency resource to a second frequency band corresponding to the second time-frequency resource to generate the second RF signal.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource do not overlap in a time domain or a frequency domain.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the delay comprises a downlink delay, and the method further comprises: receiving, by the processor, a first RF signal from the network node on a first time-frequency resource; transmitting, by the processor, a second RF signal to the host communication device on a second time-frequency resource; and determining, by the processor, a time difference between receiving the first RF signal on the first time-frequency resource and transmitting the second RF signal on the second time-frequency resource as the downlink delay.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: converting, by the processor, the first RF signal from a first frequency band corresponding to the first time-frequency resource to a second frequency band corresponding to the second time-frequency resource to generate the second RF signal.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource do not overlap in a time domain or a frequency domain.

10. A method comprising: obtaining, by a processor of a host communication device, information about an uplink processing delay of a cooperating communication device; transmitting, by the processor, a first RF signal to the cooperating communication device on a first time-frequency resource; and transmitting, by the processor, a second RF signal to a network node on a second time-frequency resource, wherein an uplink delay of the transmitting the second RF signal on the second time-frequency resource relative to the transmitting the first RF signal on the first time-frequency resource is determined based on the uplink processing delay.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first RF signal and the second RF signal carry first and second baseband data signals, respectively, and wherein the first and second baseband data signals are to be received by the network node in a same time slot. 12.The method of claim 10, wherein the first RF signal is transmitted at a first time, the second RF signal is transmitted at a second time, and wherein the first time is earlier than the second time, and the time difference is the uplink delay or a quantized value of the uplink delay. 13.The method of claim 10, wherein the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource do not overlap in the time domain or the frequency domain. 14.The method of claim 10, further comprising: obtaining, by the processor, information about a downlink processing delay of the cooperating communication device; determining, by the processor, a downlink delay based on the downlink processing delay; receiving, by the processor, a third RF signal from the network node on a third time-frequency resource, wherein the third RF signal carries baseband data; determining, by the processor, a first frame boundary related to the third RF signal; receiving, by the processor, a fourth RF signal from the cooperating communication device on a fourth time-frequency resource; and determining, by the processor, a second frame boundary based on the first frame boundary of the fourth RF signal and the downlink delay. 15.A method, comprising: obtaining, by a processor of a primary communication device, information about a downlink processing delay of a cooperating communication device; determining, by the processor, a downlink delay based on the downlink processing delay; receiving, by the processor, a first RF signal from a network node on a first time-frequency resource, wherein the first RF signal carries baseband data; determining, by the processor, a first frame boundary related to the first RF signal; receiving, by the processor, a second RF signal from the cooperating communication device on a second time-frequency resource; and determining, by the processor, a second frame boundary based on the first frame boundary of the second RF signal and the downlink delay. 16.The method of claim 15, wherein the first time-frequency resource and the second time-frequency resource do not overlap in the frequency domain or the time domain. 17.The method of claim 15, further comprising: obtaining, by the processor, information about an uplink processing delay of the cooperating communication device; transmitting, by the processor, a third RF signal to the cooperating communication device on a third time-frequency resource; and transmitting, by the processor, a fourth RF signal to the network node on a fourth time-frequency resource, wherein an uplink delay of transmitting the fourth RF signal on the fourth time-frequency resource relative to transmitting the third RF signal on the third time-frequency resource is determined based on the uplink processing delay. 18.The method of claim 17, wherein the third RF signal and the fourth RF signal carry first baseband data signal and second baseband data signal respectively, and wherein the first baseband data signal and the second data signal are to be received by the network node in a same time slot. 19.The method of claim 17, wherein the third RF signal is transmitted at a first time, the fourth RF signal is transmitted at a second time, and wherein the first time is earlier than the second time, and the uplink delay or a quantized value of the uplink delay.

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