Determining effective transmission resources for uplink transmission in wireless communication

Abstract

This document generally pertains to wireless communications involving user equipment and / or network devices, which determine valid UL transmission resources for uplink (UL) transmissions based on one or more resource blocks of at least two overlapping resource regions. User equipment can transmit UL transmissions based on valid UL transmission resources, and network devices can receive UL transmissions based on valid UL transmission resources.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This document is generally aimed at identifying effective transmission resources in wireless communication. Background Technology

[0002] Wireless communication systems involving mobile communication technologies (e.g., 5G or further 6G) are facing increasing demands, including the implementation of systems with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), and / or massive machine-type communication (mMTC). To meet these demands, full-duplex schemes can be implemented to improve the efficiency of communication systems.

[0003] Furthermore, wireless communication systems deploying commercial New Radio (NR) can implement Time Division Duplex (TDD). In TDD, time-domain resources are divided between the downlink and uplink. However, allocating limited durations for the uplink in TDD can lead to reduced coverage, increased latency, and reduced capacity. Therefore, enhancing TDD operation and / or allocation within TDD to increase coverage, reduce latency, and / or increase capacity may be desirable. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This document relates to methods, systems, apparatuses, and devices for wireless communication. In some embodiments, a method for wireless communication includes: a user equipment determining, based on one or more resource blocks of at least two overlapping resource regions, a valid UL transmission resource for uplink (UL) transmission; and the user equipment transmitting the UL transmission based on the valid UL transmission resource.

[0005] In some other embodiments, a method for wireless communication includes: a network device determining a valid UL transmission resource for uplink (UL) transmission based on one or more resource blocks of at least two overlapping resource regions; and the network device receiving UL transmission based on the valid UL transmission resource.

[0006] In some other embodiments, an apparatus, such as a network device, is disclosed. This apparatus may include one or more processors and one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured to read computer code from the one or more memories to implement any of the methods described above.

[0007] In some other embodiments, a computer program product is disclosed. This computer program product may include a non-transitory computer-readable program medium having computer code stored thereon, which, when executed by one or more processors, causes one or more processors to perform any of the methods described above.

[0008] The foregoing and other aspects and their embodiments are described in more detail in the accompanying drawings, description and claims. Attached Figure Description

[0009] Figure 1 A block diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system is shown.

[0010] Figure 2 A flowchart of a method for wireless communication is shown.

[0011] Figure 3 A flowchart of another method for wireless communication is shown.

[0012] Figure 4 A schematic diagram illustrates an example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for subband full-duplex (SBFD) operation within a time-division duplex (TDD) carrier.

[0013] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of another example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown.

[0014] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a third example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown.

[0015] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a fourth configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown.

[0016] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a fifth example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown.

[0017] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of a sixth example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown.

[0018] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of a seventh example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown.

[0019] Figure 11 A schematic diagram of an eighth example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown.

[0020] Figure 12 A schematic diagram of a ninth example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown.

[0021] Figure 13 A schematic diagram of a tenth example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown.

[0022] Figure 14 A schematic diagram of an example scheme for maintaining the same synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) index with the same random access channel (RACH) timing is shown in idle, inactive and radio resource control (RRC) connected states.

[0023] Figure 15 A schematic diagram of an eleventh example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown, illustrating an example of a first scheme for RO grouping.

[0024] Figure 16 A schematic diagram of a twelfth example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown, illustrating an example of a second scheme for RO grouping.

[0025] Figure 17 A schematic diagram of a thirteenth example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown, illustrating an example of a third scheme for RO grouping. Detailed Implementation

[0026] This specification describes various embodiments of systems, apparatuses, devices, and methods for determining effective transmission resources related to wireless communication.

[0027] Figure 1 A diagram is shown of an example wireless communication system 100 comprising multiple communication nodes (or simply nodes) configured to communicate wirelessly with each other. Typically, the communication nodes include at least one user equipment 102 and at least one network device 104. Figure 1 The example wireless communication system 100 is shown as including two user equipments 102, including a first user equipment 102 (1) and a second user equipment 102 (2), and a device 104. However, various other examples of wireless communication systems 100 including any combination of one or more user equipments 102 and / or one or more network devices 104 are possible.

[0028] Typically, user equipment as described herein (such as user equipment 102) may include a single electronic device or apparatus capable of wireless communication over a network, or multiple electronic devices or apparatuses (e.g., a network of electronic devices or apparatuses). User equipment may include or be otherwise referred to as a user terminal, user terminal equipment, or user equipment (UE). Furthermore, the user equipment may be, or is not limited to, mobile devices (such as mobile phones, smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, laptops, vehicles or other means of transportation (as a non-limiting example, human-powered, motor- or engine-driven vehicles such as cars, airplanes, trains, ships, or bicycles) or fixed or stationary devices (as a non-limiting example, such as desktop computers or other computing devices that are not typically moved for extended periods, such as home appliances, other relatively heavy devices including the Internet of Things (IoT), or computing devices used in commercial or industrial environments). In various embodiments, user equipment 102 may include transceiver circuitry 106 coupled to antenna 108 to enable wireless communication with network device 104. Transceiver circuitry 106 may also be coupled to processor 110, which may also be coupled to memory 112 or other storage devices. Memory 112 may store instructions or code therein that, when read and executed by processor 110, cause processor 110 to perform various methods described herein.

[0029] Furthermore, in general, network devices as described herein (such as network device 104) may include a single electronic device or apparatus, or multiple electronic devices or apparatuses (e.g., a network of electronic devices or apparatuses), and may include one or more wireless access nodes, base stations, or other wireless network access points capable of wirelessly communicating with one or more user equipments and / or with one or more other network devices 104 via the network. For example, in various embodiments, network device 104 may include a 4G LTE base station, a 5G NR base station, a 5G central unit base station, a 5G distributed unit base station, a next-generation node B (gNB), an enhanced node B (eNB), or other similar or next-generation (e.g., 6G) base station. Network device 104 may include transceiver circuitry 114 coupled to antenna 116, which may include antenna towers 118 of various types to enable wireless communication with user equipment 102 or another network device 104. Transceiver circuitry 114 may also be coupled to one or more processors 120, which may also be coupled to memory 122 or other storage devices. The memory 122 may store instructions or code that, when read and executed by the processor 120, cause the processor 120 to perform one or more of the methods described herein.

[0030] In various embodiments, two communication nodes in wireless system 100—such as user equipment 102 and network equipment 104, two user equipment 102 without network equipment 104, or two network equipment 104 without user equipment 102—can be configured to wirelessly communicate with each other in or through a mobile network and / or radio access network according to one or more standards and / or specifications. Typically, standards and / or specifications define the rules or procedures by which communication nodes can perform wireless communication, and in various embodiments may include those rules or procedures for communicating in the millimeter-wave (mm) band and / or utilizing multi-antenna schemes and beamforming capabilities. Additionally or alternatively, standards and / or specifications are those that define radio access technologies and / or cellular technologies, such as fourth-generation (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE), fifth-generation (5G) New Radio (NR), or New Radio Unlicensed (NR-U) as non-limiting examples.

[0031] Furthermore, in the wireless system 100, communication nodes are configured to wirelessly transmit signals to each other. Typically, communication between two communication nodes in the wireless system 100 can be or includes transmission or reception, and usually both occur simultaneously, depending on the perspective of the specific node in the communication. For example, in a given communication between a first node and a second node in which the first node is transmitting a signal to the second node and the second node is receiving a signal from the first node, the first node may be referred to as a source or transmitting node or device, and the second node may be referred to as a destination or receiving node or device, and the communication may be considered as transmission for the first node and reception for the second node. Of course, since communication nodes in the wireless system 100 can both transmit and receive signals, a single communication node can be both a transmitting / source node and a receiving / destination node simultaneously, or switch between being a source / transmitting node and a destination / receiving node.

[0032] Furthermore, specific signals can be characterized or defined as uplink (UL) signals, downlink (DL) signals, or sidelink (SL) signals. An uplink signal is a signal transmitted from user equipment 102 to network device 104. A downlink signal is a signal transmitted from network device 104 to user equipment 102. A sidelink signal is a signal transmitted from one user equipment 102 to another, or from one network device 104 to another. Moreover, for sidelink transmission, the first / source user equipment 102 directly transmits the sidelink signal to the second / destination user equipment 102 without any forwarding of the sidelink signal to network device 104.

[0033] Furthermore, the signals transmitted between communication nodes in system 100 can be characterized or defined as data signals or control signals. Typically, data signals are signals that include or carry data, such as multimedia data (e.g., voice and / or image data), and control signals are signals that carry control information that configures the communication nodes in some way to communicate with each other, or otherwise controls how the communication nodes transmit data signals to each other. Additionally, certain signals can be defined or characterized by combinations of data / control and uplink / downlink / sidelink signals, including uplink control signals, uplink data signals, downlink control signals, downlink data signals, sidelink control signals, and sidelink data signals.

[0034] For at least some specifications, such as 5G NR, data signals and control signals are transmitted and / or carried on physical channels. Typically, a physical channel corresponds to a set of time-frequency resources used for signal transmission. Different types of physical channels can be used to transmit different types of signals. For example, physical data channels (or simply data channels), also referred to herein as flow channels, are used to transmit data signals, and physical control channels (or simply control channels) are used to transmit control signals. Example types of flow channels (or physical data channels) include, but are not limited to, the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) for transmitting downlink data signals, the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) for transmitting uplink data signals, and the Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) for transmitting sidelink data signals. Furthermore, example types of physical control channels include, but are not limited to, the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) for transmitting downlink control signals, the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) for transmitting uplink control signals, and the Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH) for transmitting sidelink control signals. For simplicity, as used herein, unless otherwise specified, a specific type of physical channel is also used to refer to the signal transmitted on that specific type of physical channel, and / or the transmission on that specific type of transmission. As an example, PDSCH refers to the Physical Downlink Shared Channel itself, downlink data signals transmitted on the PDSCH, or downlink data transmission. Therefore, a communication node transmitting or receiving a PDSCH means that the communication node is transmitting or receiving signals on the PDSCH.

[0035] Furthermore, for at least some specifications, such as 5G NR, and / or for at least some types of control signals, the control signals transmitted by the communication nodes may include control information containing information necessary to enable the transmission of one or more data signals between the communication nodes and / or to schedule one or more data channels (or one or more transmissions on data channels). For example, such control information may include information necessary for the proper reception, decoding, and demodulation of data signals received on physical data channels during data transmission, and / or information necessary for informing user equipment of uplink scheduling authorization regarding resources and transmission formats for uplink data transmission. In some embodiments, the control information includes downlink control information (DCI) transmitted from network device 104 to user equipment 102 in the downlink direction. In other embodiments, the control information includes uplink control information (UCI) transmitted from user equipment 102 to network device 104 in the uplink direction, or sidelink control information (SCI) transmitted from one user equipment 102 (1) to another user equipment 102 (2) in the sidelink direction.

[0036] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of an example method 200 for wireless communication related to the determination of valid UL transmission resources. At block 202, user equipment 202 determines UL transmission resources for uplink (UL) transmission based on one or more resource blocks that overlap at least two resource regions. At block 204, user equipment 102 transmits UL transmissions according to the valid UL transmission resources.

[0037] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of another example method 300 for wireless communication related to the determination of valid UL transmission resources. At block 302, network device 104 determines UL transmission resources for uplink (UL) transmissions based on one or more resource blocks that overlap at least two resource regions. At block 304, network device 104 receives UL transmissions based on valid UL transmission resources.

[0038] In some embodiments of method 200 and / or method 300, effective UL transmission resources include effective random access channel (RACH) timing (RO).

[0039] In some embodiments of method 200 and / or method 300, at least two resource regions include at least one of the initial UL bandwidth portion (BWP) or the initial downlink (DL) BWP and a subband in a time-division duplex (TDD) carrier used for subband non-overlapping full-duplex (SBFD) operation. In some embodiments of these embodiments, the subband is a UL subband in the TDD carrier and at most one UL subband exists in the TDD carrier, and a physical random access channel (PRACH) configuration is applied to the UL subband and the initial UL BWP.

[0040] In some embodiments of method 200 and / or method 300, at least two resource regions include a UL subband and an initial UL BWP, wherein valid UL transmission resources in the UL subband for initial random access are limited to one or more resource blocks overlapping the initial UL BWP and the UL subband. In some embodiments of these embodiments, at least two resource regions further include an initial DL BWP, and valid UL transmission resources are further limited to the initial UL BWP, one or more resource blocks overlapping the UL subband and the initial DL BWP.

[0041] In some embodiments of method 200 and / or method 300, there is no valid UL transmission resource in the UL subband for initial random access in the following cases: the UL subband does not overlap with the initial UL BWP in the frequency domain; the UL subband does not overlap with the initial DLBWP in the frequency domain; or the UL subband does not overlap with either the initial DLBWP or the initial ULBWP in the frequency domain.

[0042] In some embodiments of method 200 and / or method 300, at least two resource regions include a UL subband and an initial DL BWP, wherein the valid UL transmission resources in the UL subband for initial random access are limited to one or more resource blocks overlapping the initial DL BWP and the UL subband, and the lowest numbered resource block of the initial UL BWP used for UL transmission resource determination is represented as the lowest numbered resource block of the initial DL BWP or the UL subband.

[0043] In some embodiments of method 200 and / or method 300, the UL subband does not overlap with the initial DL BWP, nor with the initial UL BWP, the valid UL transmission resources for initial random access are limited to the UL subband, and the lowest numbered resource block of the initial UL BWP used for UL transmission resource determination is represented as the lowest numbered resource block of the UL subband.

[0044] In some embodiments of method 200 and / or method 300, the subband is a UL subband in a TDD carrier and at most one UL subband exists in the TDD carrier, and a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) configuration is applied to the UL subband. In some embodiments of these embodiments, at least two resource regions include the UL subband and the initial DL BWP, wherein the effective UL transmission resources in the UL subband for initial random access are limited to one or more resource blocks overlapping the UL subband and the initial UL BWP.

[0045] In some embodiments of method 200 and / or method 300, the subband is a UL subband in a TDD carrier and there are at most two UL subbands in the TDD carrier, and a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) configuration is applied to the UL subband and the initial UL BWP, or an independent PRACH configuration is applied to the initial UL subband. In some embodiments of these embodiments, the UL subband is an initial UL subband located within, within, or outside the initial DL BWP and initial UL BWP. In some embodiments of these embodiments, the UL subband is an initial UL subband located within at least one of the initial DL BWP or UL BWP, and a PRACH configuration is applied to the UL subband and the initial ULBWP, wherein the effective UL transmission resources in the initial UL subband for initial random access are limited to one or more resource blocks overlapping with at least one of the initial DLBWP or initial UL BWP. In some other embodiments of these implementations, the UL subband is an initial UL subband located outside of each of the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP, and a PRACH configuration is applied to the initial UL subband and the initial UL BWP, wherein the valid UL transport resources for initial random access are limited to the initial UL subband, and the lowest numbered resource block of the initial UL BWP used for UL transport resource determination is represented as the lowest numbered resource block of the initial UL subband.

[0046] In some embodiments of method 200 and / or method 300, the frequency range of the UL subband indicated by system information block 1 (SIB1) is equal to or within the frequency range of the UL subband indicated by radio resource control (RRC) signaling after initial random access.

[0047] In some embodiments of method 200 and / or method 300, the same synchronization signal (SS) / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) index associated with the same UL transport resource is maintained in all idle, inactive, and radio resource control (RRC) connection states by applying at least one of the following to one or more SSB-to-UL transport resource associations: restricting one or more parameters of the physical random access channel (PRACH) configuration; or the one or more SSB-to-UL transport resource associations include independent SSB-to-UL transport resource associations applied to active and inactive UL transport resources in the UL subband in the idle or inactive states.

[0048] In some embodiments of method 200 and / or method 300, the UL transport resource group for repeating the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) across the UL subband and the initial UL BWP is determined based on: UL transport resources having only the same frequency resources covered by the UL subband and the initial ULBWP; UL transport resources having the same frequency resources after applying a frequency offset to a portion of the UL transport resources located in the UL subband; or UL transport resources having the same frequency resources after applying a first frequency offset for initial random access to a portion of the UL transport resources located in the UL subband and a second frequency offset after initial random access to a portion of the UL transport resources located in the UL subband.

[0049] In some implementations of method 200 and / or method 300, the frequency domain of the UL subband is limited to the initial DL BWP or CORESET#0, and for a minimum or maximum size of one, two, four, or twelve resource blocks, the frequency domain of the UL subband does not overlap with the frequency domain of the synchronization signal or physical broadcast channel (PBCH).

[0050] In some embodiments of method 200 and / or method 300, the frequency domain of the UL subband is configured, or by default, to specify a minimum size not less than the size of the Synchronization Signal (SS) / Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) block (SSB) or Control Resource Set (CORESET) #0.

[0051] Further details of actions performed by one or more communication nodes in the wireless communication system 100 are now described, wherein any action may be incorporated into any of the various embodiments of method 200, method 300 or other methods.

[0052] For at least some implementations, the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) may include a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), each occupying one symbol and 127 subcarriers, and a PBCH spanning three orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols and 240 subcarriers, where one symbol is designated as the unused portion in the middle of the SSS. The possible time positions of the SSBs within a half-frame can be determined by the subcarrier spacing, and the periodicity of the half-frame in which the SSBs are transmitted can be configured by network device 104. During a half-frame, different SSBs may be transmitted in different spatial directions (e.g., by using different beams or by crossing a coverage area of ​​a cell). Multiple SSBs may be transmitted within a frequency span of a single carrier. Furthermore, the physical cell identifier (PCI) of SSBs transmitted at different frequency positions need not be unique. That is, different SSBs in the frequency domain may have different PCIs. However, when an SSB is associated with remaining minimum system information (RMSI), it corresponds to a single cell with a unique NR cell global identifier (NCGI). Such SSBs are called cell-defining SSBs (CD-SSBs). The primary cell (Pcell) can (and in some implementations always) be associated with a CD-SSB located on the synchronization grid.

[0053] Additionally, the Master Information Block (MIB) on the PBCH provides User Equipment 102 with parameters (e.g., Control Resource Set (CORESET) #0 configuration) for monitoring the PDCCH and / or scheduling the PDSCH carrying System Information Block 1 (SIB1). SIB1 may include cell common configurations, such as Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) configurations. Upon receiving SIB1, User Equipment 102 may send or transmit PRACH based on the PRACH configuration. The PRACH configuration may include time-domain and frequency-domain resources for potential PRACH transmission timing. As used herein, PRACH transmission timing is also referred to as Random Access Channel (RACH) timing (RO). Furthermore, for at least some embodiments, the PRACH configuration may also include preamble resources and corresponding power domain parameters. Example preamble resources and corresponding power domain parameters are listed in the pseudocode below.

[0054] Table 1: Example parameters for PRACH configuration

[0055]

[0056]

[0057] An implementation of SBFD-aware user equipment 102 that allows random access in subband full-duplex (SBFD) symbols can potentially reduce random access latency, lower PRACH collision probability, and / or improve PRACH and Msg3 coverage. As used herein, the term “Msg3” is a PUSCH or a message transmitted on a PUSCH, which, as an example, includes Radio Resource Control (RRC) information (e.g., RrcRequest), Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) information, Medium Access Control Element (MAC CE), and / or Common Control Channel (CCCH) Service Data Unit (SDU). Additionally or alternatively, Msg3 may be a message transmitted from an upper layer (e.g., a layer above the physical (PHY) layer) and / or associated with a contention resolution identifier for user equipment, which may be part of the random access procedure. The following embodiments describe implementations that support random access in SBFD symbols, including cases where initial random access is allowed, and / or cases where there may be only one UL subband in a time division duplex (TDD) carrier.

[0058] Furthermore, generally speaking, in full-duplex operation for a given communication node (e.g., network device 104 or user equipment 102), the communication node transmits and receives simultaneously. Additionally, when TDD is implemented, uplink and downlink transmissions use the same carrier frequency and are separated only in time. Accordingly, the TDD carrier is the carrier used to perform uplink and downlink transmissions according to TDD.

[0059] In some embodiments, network device 104 can perform subband non-overlapping full-duplex (SBFD) operation within a TDD carrier. For at least some of these embodiments, at most one UL subband exists within the TDD carrier, and a PRACH configuration is also applied to this UL subband. That is, there is only one UL subband within the TDD carrier, and no additional RACH configuration is applied to this UL subband. In other words, the PRACH configuration is applied to the initial UL BWP and this UL subband.

[0060] Typically, when a configuration is applied to a subband, transmissions can be performed in the subband based on that configuration, where the parameters and / or resources used for transmissions in that subband can be determined by or from the configuration. For example, the RACH-ConfigCommon carried by SIB1 is used to determine PRACH transmissions with corresponding preamble, frequency, time, and / or power domain parameters with corresponding resources, and is applied to the initial UL BWP and UL subband. Furthermore, PRACH configurations (e.g., RACH-ConfigCommon) are typically used to specify random access parameters (such as cell-specific random access parameters) for random access procedures or operations. Example parameters included in the PRACH configuration are shown in Table 1, and may include: prach-ConfigurationIndex (which can be used to determine the time-domain position of the PRACH preamble), msg1-FDM (described further below), and / or msg1-FrequencyStart (described further below).

[0061] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the effective RO in an SBFD symbol may be frequency-domain limited by the UL subband. In embodiments where the initial random access (random access in an idle or inactive state) is performed in only one UL subband of the TDD carrier, and where at least one resource block (RB) may overlap between the UL subband and the initial UL BWP (BWP#0), the effective RO in the SBFD symbol may be limited to at least one RB overlapping the UL subband and the initial UL BWP (BWP#0). For illustration, Figure 4 A schematic diagram illustrating an example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown. Figure 4 As shown, there exists only one UL subband, which is configured within a BWP pair (e.g., BWP#1 pair) or a TDD carrier. Furthermore, typically as used herein, such as in Figure 4 In the other accompanying drawings corresponding to the embodiments, the DL BWP may be located in a downlink symbol / flexible symbol, the UL BWP may be located in an uplink symbol / flexible symbol, and / or the UL subband may be located in a downlink symbol / flexible symbol. Furthermore, as generally used herein, the term BWP#1 refers to a BWP other than the initial BWP, a BWP configured via RRC signaling, and / or a BWP configured after initial random access. Additionally, as used herein, a BWP pair refers to a UL BWP and a DL BWP that have the same index for TDD (in FDD, a pair of UL BWPs and DL BWPs may have different indices). Still refer to Figure 4During initial access, valid ROs can be limited to the RBs that overlap in the frequency domain between the UL subband and the initial UL BWP (BWP#0). For example, when the number of PRACH transmission opportunities that are frequency-division multiplexed (FDM'd) in a time instance (hereinafter also referred to as "msg1-FDM") is four, only two ROs are valid during initial access or for initial access, within the RBs that occur or reside in or overlap with the initial UL BWP (BWP#0) in the frequency range of the UL subband.

[0062] Furthermore, as used herein, a valid transmission resource can be or includes those resources that are considered or determined not to conflict with other resources. Not all transmission resources will be valid. That is, some transmission resources may be considered valid while others are invalid. Invalid resources include those that are considered or determined to conflict with other resources. For example, a valid RO is considered not to conflict with other resources (such as resources outside the SSB or UL subband), while an invalid RO is considered to conflict with other resources (such as resources outside the SSB or UL subband). Transmissions performed by a communication node can be performed on valid transmission resources (e.g., valid ROs).

[0063] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the effective RO in the SBFD symbol is limited to the RB that overlaps with the UL subband, the initial ULBWP (BWP#0), and the initial DL BWP (BWP#0). For illustration, Figure 5 A schematic diagram of another example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown. Figure 5 As shown, there is only one UL subband, and this UL subband is configured within the BWP#1 pair. During initial access, one or more valid ROs can be limited to the RBs overlapping the UL subband, the initial UL BWP (BWP#0), and the initial DL BWP (BWP#0). For example, when msg1-FDM is four, during initial access or for initial access, only one RO is valid at a time within the RBs in the frequency range where the UL subband, the initial UL BWP (BWP#0), and the initial DL BWP (BWP#0) overlap.

[0064] Therefore, using an RB located at a position where only the UL subband overlaps with the initial UL BWP and / or the initial DL BWP, based on a common PRACH configuration applied to both the initial UL BWP and the UL subband, can be used to determine the RO valid during idle or inactive states. Furthermore, initial access can be successfully performed in the UL subband using a single common configuration.

[0065] Alternatively, in some embodiments where network device 104 performs SBFD operation within a TDD carrier, wherein at most one UL subband exists within the TDD carrier, and a PRACH configuration is applied to that UL subband (i.e., only one UL subband exists in the TDD carrier, no additional RACH configuration is applied to the UL subband, and the PRACH configuration is applied to the initial UL BWP and the UL subband), and wherein initial random access (random access in an idle or inactive state) is performed in only one UL subband in the TDD carrier, the UL subband and the initial UL BWP (BWP#0) may not overlap, and there is at least one RB where the UL subband overlaps with the initial DL BWP (BWP#0). In such embodiments, at least one communication node (e.g., user equipment 102 and / or network device 104) may perform one or more of the following operations for initial access.

[0066] In the first operation, at least one communication node can determine that there is no supported valid RO in the UL subband for initial access during the idle state and / or inactive state.

[0067] In the second operation, at least one communication node may represent the lowest-numbered resource block of the initial UL BWP (hereinafter also referred to as "N_BWP_start") as the N_BWP_start of the initial DL BWP and / or as the N_BWP_start of the UL subband. For at least some of these embodiments, the N_BWP_start of the initial UL BWP may be indicated by a System Information Block (SIB) (e.g., SIB1), while all other parameters are reused. Furthermore, in such embodiments, the valid RO in the SBFD symbol may be limited to the RB that overlaps between the UL subband and the initial DL BWP.

[0068] Furthermore, typically and as mentioned, N_BWP_start is or indicates the lowest RB of the BWP, which can be used for RO determination in the frequency domain. For example, the offset of the lowest PRACH transmission timing in the frequency domain relative to Physical Resource Block (PRB) 0 (hereinafter also referred to as "msg1-FrequencyStart") can be based on N_BWP_start. Additionally or alternatively, in any embodiment of the various embodiments, N_BWP_start can be defined as follows: This is the lowest-numbered resource block for the initial uplink bandwidth portion, and in some embodiments, it can be derived from the higher-layer parameter `initialUplinkBWP` during access. Alternatively, It is the lowest numbered resource block of the activated uplink bandwidth portion, and is derived from the higher-layer parameter BWP-Uplink.

[0069] To illustrate, Figure 6 A schematic diagram of another example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown. Figure 6 As shown, there is only one UL subband, and this UL subband is configured within the BWP#1 pair. During initial access, the effective ROs can be limited to the RBs overlapping the UL subband and the initial DL BWP. Furthermore, the N_BWP_start of the initial UL BWP (BWP#0) can be represented or reinterpreted as the N_BWP_start of the initial DL BWP (BWP#0). For example, if msg1-FDM is quadruple and the N_BWP_start of the initial UL BWP (BWP#0) is represented or reinterpreted as the initial DL BWP (BWP#0), then during initial access, only two ROs are effective at a time within the RBs overlapping the UL subband and the initial DL BWP (BWP#0).

[0070] Therefore, using a common PRACH configuration based on the application to both the initial UL BWP and the UL subband, the RB located where only the UL subband overlaps with the initial UL BWP and / or the initial DL BWP can be used to determine the RO valid during idle or inactive states. Furthermore, initial access can be successfully performed in the UL subband using a single common configuration.

[0071] Alternatively, in some embodiments where network device 104 performs SBFD operation within a TDD carrier, wherein at most one UL subband exists within the TDD carrier and a PRACH configuration is applied to that UL subband (i.e., only one UL subband exists, no additional RACH configuration is applied to the UL subband, and the PRACH configuration is applied to the initial UL BWP and the UL subband), and in some embodiments where initial random access (random access in an idle or inactive state) is performed in only one UL subband in the TDD carrier, the UL subband and the initial UL BWP (BWP#0) may not overlap, and there is at least one RB where the UL subband overlaps with the initial DL BWP (BWP#0). In such embodiments, at least one communication node (e.g., user equipment 102 and / or network device 104) may perform one or more of the following operations for initial access.

[0072] In the first operation, at least one communication node can determine that there is no valid RO supported in the UL subband for initial access during the idle and / or inactive state.

[0073] In the second operation, at least one communication node can limit the valid RO in the SBFD symbol to the RB that overlaps with the UL subband and the initial UL BWP (BWP#0).

[0074] To illustrate, Figure 7 This diagram illustrates another configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains used for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier. (See diagram for example.) Figure 7 As shown, there is only one UL subband, and this UL subband is configured within the BWP#1 pair. During initial access, the effective ROs can be limited to the RBs overlapping the UL subband and the initial UL BWP (BWP#0). For example, with msg1-FDM set to four, during initial access, only two ROs are active at a time within the RBs overlapping the UL subband and the initial UL BWP (BWP#0).

[0075] Therefore, using an RB located at a position where only the UL subband overlaps with the initial UL BWP and / or the initial DL BWP, based on a common PRACH configuration applied to both the initial UL BWP and the UL subband, can be used to determine the RO valid during idle or inactive states. Furthermore, initial access can be successfully performed in the UL subband using a single common configuration.

[0076] Alternatively, in some embodiments where network device 104 performs SBFD operation within a TDD carrier, wherein at most one UL subband exists within the TDD carrier and a PRACH configuration is applied to that UL subband (i.e., only one UL subband exists in the TDD carrier, no additional RACH configuration is applied to the UL subband, and the PRACH configuration is applied to the initial UL BWP and the UL subband), and in some embodiments where initial random access (random access in an idle or inactive state) is performed in only one UL subband in the TDD carrier, the UL subband and the initial UL BWP (BWP#0) may not overlap, and the UL subband and the initial DL BWP (BWP#0) may not overlap. In such embodiments, at least one communication node (e.g., user equipment 102 and / or network device 104) may perform one or more of the following operations for initial access.

[0077] In the first operation, at least one communication node can determine that there is no supported valid RO in the UL subband for initial access during the idle state and / or inactive state.

[0078] In the second operation, at least one communication node may represent the N_BWP_start of the initial UL BWP as the N_BWP_start of the UL subband, which in some embodiments may be indicated by an SIB (e.g., SIB1), and / or other parameters are all reused. In such embodiments, the valid RO in the SBFD symbol may be limited to the RB in the UL subband.

[0079] To illustrate, Figure 8 A schematic diagram of another example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown. Figure 8 As shown, there is only one UL subband, and this UL subband is configured within the BWP#1 pair. During initial access, the valid ROs can be limited to the RBs overlapping the UL subband and the initial DL BWP with the UL subband's N_BWP_start, where the initial UL BWP's N_BWP_start (BWP#0) can be represented as or reinterpreted as the UL subband's N_BWP_start. For example, when msg1-FDM is four and the initial UL BWP (BWP#0)'s N_BWP_start is represented as or reinterpreted as the UL subband's N_BWP_start, four ROs are valid at a time within the RBs of the UL subband during initial access.

[0080] Therefore, by using a common PRACH configuration applied to both the initial UL BWP and the UL subband, the N_BWP_start of the initial UL BWP (BWP#0) can be represented or reinterpreted as the N_BWP_start of the UL subband, which can be used to determine the valid RO during idle or inactive states. Furthermore, initial access can be successfully performed in the UL subband using a single common configuration.

[0081] Alternatively, in some embodiments, when network device 104 performs SBFD operation within a TDD carrier, at most one UL subband exists within the TDD carrier, and an independent PRACH configuration is applied to the UL subband. That is, only one UL subband exists within the TDD carrier, and an independent RACH configuration is applied to the UL subband—i.e., there are two PRACH configurations, one applied to the UL BWP and the other to the UL subband. For example, multiple RACH-ConfigCommons (e.g., two RACH-ConfigCommons) carried by SIB1 are used to determine PRACH transmissions with corresponding preamble, frequency, time, and / or power domain parameters for corresponding resources, and one RACH-ConfigCommon is applied to the initial UL BWP while the other is applied to the UL subband. Alternatively, one RACH-ConfigCommon is applied to the initial UL BWP for a normal or non-SBFD-aware user equipment 102, while another RACH-ConfigCommon is applied to the initial UL BWP and UL subband for the SBFD-aware user equipment 102. Furthermore, PRACH configurations (e.g., RACH-ConfigCommon) are typically used to specify random access parameters (such as cell-specific random access parameters) for random access procedures or operations. Example parameters included in the PRACH configuration are shown in Table 1, and may include: prach-ConfigurationIndex (which can be used to determine the time-domain location of the PRACH preamble), msg1-FDM (described further below), and / or msg1-FrequencyStart (described further below).

[0082] In such embodiments, including cases where initial random access (random access in an idle or inactive state) is performed in only one UL subband on a TDD carrier, the UL subband and the initial DL BWP (BWP#0) may overlap. In such embodiments, the effective RO in the SBFD symbol may be limited to at least one RB where the UL subband and the initial DL BWP overlap.

[0083] To illustrate, Figure 9 A schematic diagram of another example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown. Figure 9As shown, there is only one UL subband, and this UL subband is configured within the BWP#1 pair. During initial access, the effective ROs can be limited to the RBs overlapping the UL subband and the initial DL BWP. For example, with msg1-FDM set to four, only two ROs are active at a time within the RBs overlapping the UL subband and the initial UL BWP during initial access.

[0084] Therefore, using an RB located at a position where only the UL subband overlaps with the initial UL BWP and / or the initial DL BWP, based on an independent PRACH configuration applied to both the initial UL BWP and the UL subband, can be used to determine the RO valid during idle or inactive states. Consequently, initial access can be successfully performed in the UL subband.

[0085] Alternatively, in some embodiments where network device 104 performs SBFD operation within a TDD carrier, an initial UL subband may exist, in addition to or besides one UL subband within the TDD carrier, to support idle and / or inactive states, such as for initial access. In at least some of these embodiments, the PRACH configuration applied to the UL subband may also be applied to the initial UL subband. That is, there are two UL subbands, and no additional RACH configuration is applied to the initial UL subband, such that the same PRACH configuration is applied to the UL BWP, the UL subband, and the initial UL subband. For at least some of these embodiments, including cases where initial random access (random access in an idle or inactive state) is performed in the initial UL subband within the TDD carrier, the initial UL subband is within the initial DL BWP and / or the initial UL BWP. In such embodiments, valid ROs in the SBFD symbol may be limited to one or more RBs in the initial UL subband.

[0086] To illustrate, Figure 10 A schematic diagram of another example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown. Figure 10 As shown, there is an initial UL subband configured within the BWP#0 pair, and another UL subband is also configured within the BWP#1 pair. During initial access, valid ROs can be limited to one or more RBs within the initial UL subband. For example, with msg1-FDM set to four, only two ROs are valid at a time within the RBs of the initial UL subband during initial access.

[0087] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the effective RO in an SBFD symbol may be frequency-domain limited by the UL subband. For embodiments performing initial random access (random access in an idle or inactive state) in the initial UL subband of a TDD carrier, and for embodiments where the initial UL subband is not within or overlaps with the initial DL BWP and / or initial UL BWP, the effective RO in the SBFD symbol may be limited to the initial UL subband. For illustration, Figure 11 A schematic diagram of another example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown. Figure 11 As shown, there exists an initial UL subband configured outside the initial BWP#0 pair. During initial access, the effective RO can be limited to the RB within the initial UL subband.

[0088] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the effective ROs in the SBFD symbol may be frequency-domain limited by the UL subband, and independent BWP#0 pairs may be configured for one or more SBFD-aware user equipment 102s. For embodiments where initial random access (random access in an idle or inactive state) is performed in the initial UL subband of the TDD carrier, and where the initial UL subband is not within or overlaps with the initial DL BWP and / or initial UL BWP for non-SBFD-aware (or normal) user equipment 102, the effective ROs in the SBFD symbol may be limited to the initial UL subband, which is within the initial DL BWP and / or the initial UL BWP for SBFD-aware user equipment 102. For illustration, Figure 12 A schematic diagram of another example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown. Figure 12 As shown, there exists an initial UL subband configured outside of the initial BWP#0 pair for normal UEs. During initial access, the effective RO can be limited to the RB within the initial UL subband, which is within the BWP#0 pair for SBFD-aware user equipment 102.

[0089] Therefore, the RB located in the initial UL subband, based on the common PRACH configuration applied to both the initial UL BWP and the UL subband, can be used to determine the valid RO during idle or inactive states. Furthermore, initial access can be successfully performed in the UL subband using a single common configuration.

[0090] Alternatively, in some embodiments where network device 104 performs SBFD operation within a TDD carrier, and where there is a UL subband within the TDD carrier and supports the initial UL subband for idle and / or inactive states (such as for initial access), a separate PRACH configuration is applied to the initial UL subband. That is, there are two UL subbands and two PRACH configurations, one of which is applied to the UL subband and another, or a separate PRACH configuration, is applied to the initial UL subband. For at least some of these embodiments, including cases where initial random access (random access in an idle or inactive state) is performed in the initial UL subband within the TDD carrier, the initial UL subband is within the initial DLBWP and / or initial UL BWP. In such embodiments, the valid RO in the SBFD symbol may be limited to the initial UL subband.

[0091] To illustrate, Figure 13 A schematic diagram of another example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown. Figure 13 As shown, there is an initial UL subband configured within the BWP#0 pair, and another UL subband is configured within the BWP#1 pair. During initial access, valid ROs can be limited to the RBs of the initial UL subband or within the RBs of the initial UL subband. For example, with msg1-FDM set to four, during initial access, four ROs are valid at a time within the RBs of the initial UL subband.

[0092] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the effective ROs in the SBFD symbol may be frequency-domain limited by the UL subband. For embodiments where initial random access (random access in an idle or inactive state) is performed in the initial UL subband of the TDD carrier, and where the RBs of the initial UL subband are not within the initial DL BWP and / or not within the initial UL BWP, the effective ROs in the SBFD symbol may be limited to the initial UL subband. For example, refer to... Figure 11 An initial UL subband exists outside of the BWP#0 pair. During initial access, the effective RO can be limited to the RB within the initial UL subband.

[0093] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the effective ROs in the SBFD symbol may be frequency-domain limited by the UL subband, and independent BWP#0 pairs may be configured for one or more SBFD-aware user equipment 102. For embodiments where initial random access (random access in idle or inactive state) is performed in the initial UL subband of the TDD carrier, and where the RBs of the initial UL subband are not within the initial DL BWP and / or not within the initial UL BWP for one or more non-SBFD-aware (or normal) user equipment 102, the effective ROs in the SBFD symbol may be limited to the initial UL subband, which is within the initial DLBWP and / or within the initial UL BWP for one or more SBFD-aware user equipment 102. For example, refer to... Figure 12 An initial UL subband exists outside the BWP#0 pair configured for non-SBFD sensing user equipment 102. During initial access, the effective RO can be limited to the RB of the initial UL subband, which is within the BWP#0 pair for SBFD sensing user equipment 102.

[0094] Therefore, using the RB located in the initial UL subband based on an independent PRACH configuration applied to both the initial UL BWP and the initial UL subband, the valid RO during idle or inactive states can be determined. Consequently, initial access can be successfully performed in the UL subband.

[0095] Alternatively, in some embodiments, including but not limited to those previously described embodiments in which only one UL subband exists in a TDD carrier, the relationship or correspondence between the UL subband indicated by System Information Block (SIB) 1 in the idle or inactive state and the UL subband indicated by Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling in the RRC_connected state may include one or more of the following.

[0096] In the first relationship or correspondence, the frequency or frequency range of the UL subband indicated by SIB1 is equal to the frequency or frequency range of the UL subband indicated by RRC signaling in RRC_connected mode or after initial random access. For at least some of these embodiments, the RB used during random access is also limited to the initial UL BWP and / or the initial DL BWP during idle or inactive states (initial random access).

[0097] In the second relationship or correspondence, the frequency or frequency range of the UL subband indicated by SIB1 is within the frequency or frequency range of the UL subband indicated by RRC signaling after the initial random access, and in some embodiments, it may also be limited to the initial UL BWP.

[0098] In the third relationship or correspondence, the frequency or frequency range of the UL subband indicated by SIB1 is within the frequency or frequency range of the UL subband indicated by RRC signaling after the initial random access, and in some embodiments, it may also be limited to the initial UL BWP and the initial DL BWP.

[0099] In some embodiments, in the idle and / or inactive states, an indication of the frequency domain location of the UL subband can be carried in a System Information Block (SIB), such as SIB1. In the RRC_connected state, a semi-static indication of the frequency domain location of the UL subband can be given to one or more user equipment 102 in the RRC_CONNECTED mode / state.

[0100] Therefore, the RB of the initial UL subband configured by SIB and RRC signaling in RRC state can be used to determine the RO valid during idle or inactive states. Consequently, initial access can be successfully performed in the UL subband.

[0101] Alternatively, in some embodiments, including but not limited to those in which the valid RO in the UL subband for initial random access (random access in idle or inactive state) differs from the valid RO in the UL subband for random access in the RRC connected state, in order to maintain the same SSB index associated with the same RO in all idle, inactive, and RRC connected states, one of the following schemes can be applied or implemented for SSB-RO association.

[0102] In the first scheme, one or more parameters of the PRACH configuration can be restricted to ensure that the same SSB index is associated with the same RO in all states, including idle, inactive, and RRC connected states.

[0103] In the second approach, one or more specific SSB-RO association rules can be implemented. For example, one association rule could be that independent SSB-RO associations can be applied to valid and invalid ROs in the UL subband in an idle or inactive state. In some of these embodiments, an invalid RO in the UL subband in an idle or inactive state is a valid RO in an RRC-connected state.

[0104] Figure 14 A schematic diagram illustrating examples of a first scheme and a second scheme for maintaining the same SSB index with the same RO in idle state, inactive state and RRC connected state.

[0105] Therefore, by using the above scheme, the same SSB index can be maintained for the same RO in different idle, inactive, and RRC connected states, and / or PRACH resources can be shared for different user equipment 102 in different idle, inactive, and RRC connected states, including when a valid RO is determined. Furthermore, initial access can be successfully performed in the UL subband.

[0106] Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, including but not limited to embodiments where the frequency or frequency range of valid ROs in the UL subband used for initial random access in an idle or inactive state differs from the frequency or frequency range of valid ROs in the initial UL BWP, RO groups (or group formation or determination) for PRACH repetitions can be determined. For at least some embodiments, RO groups for PRACH repetitions may correspond to PRACH transmissions with N_rep preamble repetitions, wherein all corresponding valid PRACH timings are temporally consecutive, use the same frequency resources, and are associated with the same SS / PBCH block index. Additionally or alternatively, RO groups can be determined or formed according to one or more of the following schemes.

[0107] In the first scheme (Scheme 1): only ROs in the same frequency or frequency range as the UL subband or the initial UL subband and the UL BWP or the initial UL BWP can be grouped into an RO group for repetition.

[0108] Figure 15 A schematic diagram of another example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown, illustrating an example of a first scheme for RO grouping.

[0109] In the second scheme (Scheme 2), after applying the frequency offset, ROs at the same frequency or frequency range can be grouped into a single RO group for repetition. In some of these embodiments involving the second scheme, invalid ROs in the UL subband may not be grouped with valid ROs in the initial ULBWP, regardless of whether the RO is valid or invalid for initial random access in an idle or inactive state. Furthermore, in some embodiments of these schemes, based on the RO indices arranged in ascending or descending order in the frequency domain, the UL subband or the initial UL subband may be grouped with the same RO index in the UL BWP or the initial UL BWP into a single RO group for repetition. Figure 16 A schematic diagram of another example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown, illustrating an example of a second scheme for RO grouping.

[0110] In the third scheme (Scheme 3), after applying the frequency offset for the initial random access (random access in idle or inactive state) and the second frequency offset after the initial random access (in RRC connected state), ROs in the same frequency or frequency range or located within the UL subband can be grouped into a single RO group for repetition. For example, invalid ROs in the UL subband in idle or inactive state may not be grouped with valid ROs in the initial UL BWP. Alternatively, invalid ROs in the UL subband in idle or inactive state can become valid ROs in the RRC connected state and can be grouped with valid ROs in the (initial) UL BWP. In some of these embodiments involving the third scheme, based on the RO indices arranged in ascending or descending order in the frequency domain, invalid ROs are first excluded, and then the UL subband or initial UL subband is grouped with the same RO index in the UL BWP or initial UL BWP into a single RO group for repetition. Figure 17 A schematic diagram of another example configuration of resources in the time and frequency domains for SBFD operation within a TDD carrier is shown, illustrating an example of a third scheme for RO packetization with a first frequency offset in an idle or inactive state. For the third scheme of RO packetization in an RRC connected state, a second frequency offset can be applied, such as... Figure 17 As shown.

[0111] In the fourth option (option 4), one or more of the first to third options can be configured or implemented in a semi-static or dynamic manner.

[0112] Therefore, by using the above scheme, RO packets for PRACH repetition can be executed, including packets between different frequency resources. Furthermore, initial access can be successfully performed in the UL subband.

[0113] Alternatively, in some embodiments where an initial UL subband is configured, one or more restrictions on the initial subband may be supported or implemented. In conjunction with one or more restrictions, it is advantageous for the initial UL subband not to overlap with the SSB, CORESET#0, or the initial DL BWP, since the SSB, CORESET#0, and / or SIB1 within the initial DL BWP can be received by the user equipment 102. Therefore, one or more restrictions may include at least one of the following.

[0114] In the first restriction (Restriction 1), the frequency domain of the UL subband or the initial UL subband is restricted to the initial DL BWP or CORESET#0, and for a minimum or maximum size of one, two, four, or twelve RBs, it does not overlap with the synchronization signal (SS) or physical broadcast channel (PBCH) in the frequency domain. Alternatively or additionally, the frequency domain of the UL subband is configured with, or has a default configuration specifying, that the minimum size is not less than the size of the SSB or CORESET#0.

[0115] In the second restriction (restriction 2), for a minimum or maximum size of one, two, four, or twelve RBs, the frequency domain of the UL subband or the initial UL subband does not overlap with the primary synchronization signal (PSS) and / or the secondary synchronization signal (SSS) in the frequency domain.

[0116] In the third restriction (restriction 3), the frequency domain of the UL subband or the initial UL subband does not overlap with CORESET#0 in the frequency domain, including but not limited to situations where the initial DL BWP is not configured and is determined by default to have the same size as CORESET#0, making the initial UL subband unsupported. Alternatively, the third restriction may be implemented where the UL subband or the initial UL subband may overlap with SSB, CORESET#0, and / or SIB1 in the frequency domain due to the size limitation of the initial DL BWP.

[0117] In the fourth restriction (restriction 4), the initial UL subband may be configured with or have a default configuration specifying that its size is equal to that of SSB, CORESET#0, or the initial DL BWP. In some of these embodiments, the occurrence of conflicts for UL transmissions (e.g., PRACH) and DL transmissions (e.g., SSB) may depend on the implementation of priority rules or on time-division multiplexing (TDM) for one or both of the UL and DL transmissions. Furthermore, or alternatively, priority rules may be different for idle, inactive, and RRC connected states. For example, in idle or inactive states, DL transmissions may have a higher priority than UL transmissions, while in RRC connected states, UL transmissions may have a higher priority than DL transmissions. Furthermore, or alternatively, if only one UL subband exists and initial access on the SBFD symbol is supported, the UL subband may overlap with at least one of SSB, CORESET#0, or SIB1 due to the size limitation of the initial DL BWP.

[0118] In the fifth restriction (restriction 5), the UL subband may at least partially overlap with the initial DL BWP in the frequency domain. In some of these embodiments, the UL subband does not overlap with SSB and / or CORESET#0 in the frequency domain.

[0119] In the sixth restriction (restriction 6), the position of the UL sub-band is the same as the position of SSB and / or CORESET#0.

[0120] In the seventh restriction (restriction 7), the size of the UL sub-band is not less than the number of RBs of SSB and / or CORESET#0.

[0121] Alternatively, in some embodiments, random access can be performed in a cell configured with a Supplementary Uplink (SUL) carrier. In such embodiments, network device 104 can explicitly signal which carrier to use, such as which of the normal or non-supplementary uplink (NUL) carrier and the SUL carrier to use. Otherwise, user equipment 102 may select the SUL carrier if and only if the measured quality of the DL signal or channel is below a broadcast threshold. User equipment 102 can perform carrier selection before selecting between 2-step and 4-step random access (RA) types. Thresholds can be configured separately for the NUL and SUL carriers, which may be a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold used for selecting between 2-step and 4-step RA types. Once initiated, uplink transmissions of the random access procedure can be retained on the selected carrier. If the UL subband or initial UL subband is supported for initial access, additional thresholds (e.g., additional RSRP thresholds) can be used, and these additional thresholds can be determined according to or based on one or more of the following schemes.

[0122] In the first scheme, an additional threshold can be used for similar carrier selection between NUL carriers and UL subbands. For example, suppose an RSRP threshold (e.g., SBFD-RSRP-Threshold) is used for selection between NUL carriers and SUL carriers. Using the RSRP threshold, user equipment 102 can first select between NUL carriers and SUL carriers. If user equipment 102 selects the NUL carrier, then user equipment 102 can then determine whether to select the UL subband. Alternatively, user equipment 102 can utilize the ascending order of the RSRP of the downlink path loss reference to select among two or more of the NUL carrier, SUL carrier, and UL subband, and / or user equipment 102 can utilize a selection order that sorts the SUL carrier, NUL carrier, and UL subband in some order, instructing user equipment 102 how to perform the selection according to that order.

[0123] In the second scheme, SSB selection can be performed independently for the NUL carrier and the UL subband. User equipment 102 can perform SSB selection for the UL subband if the UL subband is selected based on the first scheme, or if the NUL carrier is selected without, independently of, or separately from the first scheme. For example, suppose a certain RSRP threshold is referred to as SBFD-RSRP-ThresholdSSB, which is the RSRP threshold used to select the SSB for random access (RA) for subband full-duplex (SBFD). In some embodiments, SBFD-RSRP-ThresholdSSB can be applied only to a subset of SSBs. For example, the subset of SSBs can be provided by ssb-PositionsInBurst in SIB1 or in ServingCellConfigCommon for SBFD-aware user equipment 102. Particularly in these embodiments, RSRP-ThresholdSSB can be applied to potential SSBs provided by ssb-PositionsInBurst in SIB1 or in ServingCellConfigCommon for SBFD-aware user equipment 102.

[0124] Furthermore, although the above embodiments are described as being used to make valid PRACH resource determinations, they can also be used, or similarly used, to make valid UL transmission resource determinations for UL transmissions other than PRACH, such as PUSCH, PUCCH, and SRS transmissions, as non-limiting examples. In other words, as a non-limiting example, in any of the various embodiments, the valid UL transmission resources determined according to the above embodiments may include PRACH transmission resources (e.g., RO), PUSCH transmission resources, PUCCH transmission resources, and / or SRS transmission resources. Additionally or alternatively, the above embodiments can also be used, or otherwise used, to determine valid DL transmission resources, such as valid DL transmission resources for PDSCH and / or PDCCH transmissions, as non-limiting examples. Additionally or alternatively, although the above embodiments are described as being performed in or using a UL subband, in any of the various other embodiments, they can similarly be performed in or using a DL subband.

[0125] The above description and accompanying drawings provide specific example embodiments and implementations. However, the described subject matter can be embodied in many different forms, and therefore, the covered or claimed subject matter is intended to be construed as not being limited to any of the example embodiments set forth herein. A reasonably broad scope is intended for the claimed or covered subject matter. Among other things, for example, the subject matter can be embodied as a non-transitory computer-readable medium for a method, apparatus, component, system, or storage of computer code. Thus, embodiments can take the form of, for example, hardware, software, firmware, storage medium, or any combination thereof. For example, the method embodiments described above can be implemented by a component, apparatus, or system including memory and a processor by executing computer code stored in memory.

[0126] Throughout the specification and claims, terms may have nuanced meanings beyond those explicitly stated, implied or suggested in the context. Similarly, the phrase "in one embodiment / implementation" as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, and the phrase "in another embodiment / implementation" as used herein does not necessarily refer to different embodiments. For example, the subject matter intended to be claimed includes combinations of all or some of the exemplary embodiments.

[0127] Generally, terms can be understood, at least in part, from their usage in the context. For example, the terms “and,” “or,” or “and / or,” as used herein, can come in a variety of meanings, which can depend at least in part on the context in which such terms are used. Typically, “or,” when used in an associative list, such as A, B, or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C, and is used here in an inclusive sense, while A, B, or C is used here in an exclusive sense. Furthermore, depending at least in part on the context, the term “one or more” as used herein can be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense or in a plural sense. Similarly, terms such as “a,” “an,” or “the” can also be understood to convey a singular or plural usage, depending at least in part on the context. Moreover, the term “based on” can be understood to not necessarily convey an exclusive set of factors and can instead allow for the presence of additional factors that are not necessarily explicitly described, again, depending at least in part on the context.

[0128] References to features, advantages, or similar language throughout this specification do not imply that all features and advantages achievable using this solution should be or should be included in any single implementation thereof. Rather, references to features and advantages are to be understood as meaning that a particular feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of this solution. Therefore, the discussion of features and advantages, and similar language throughout this specification, may, but does not necessarily, refer to the same embodiments.

[0129] Furthermore, the features, advantages, and characteristics described in this solution can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. Those skilled in the art will recognize that, based on the description herein, this solution can be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages that may not be present in all embodiments of this solution may be recognized in certain embodiments.

[0130] The subject matter of this disclosure may also cover or include, among other things, the following:

[0131] The first aspect includes a method for wireless communication, the method comprising: determining, by a user equipment, a valid UL transmission resource for uplink (UL) transmission based on one or more resource blocks of at least two overlapping resource regions; and transmitting UL transmission by the user equipment based on the valid UL transmission resource.

[0132] The second aspect includes a method for wireless communication, the method comprising: determining, by a network device, a valid UL transmission resource for uplink (UL) transmission based on one or more resource blocks of at least two overlapping resource regions; and receiving UL transmission by the network device based on the valid UL transmission resource.

[0133] The third aspect includes either the first or the second aspect and further includes: wherein the effective UL transmission resources include effective random access channel (RACH) timing (RO).

[0134] The fourth aspect includes any one of the first to third aspects and further includes: wherein at least two resource regions include a subband for subband non-overlapping full-duplex (SBFD) operation in a time division duplex (TDD) carrier, and at least one of an initial UL bandwidth portion (BWP) or an initial downlink (DL) BWP.

[0135] The fifth aspect includes the fourth aspect and further includes: wherein the subband is a UL subband in a TDD carrier and there is at most one UL subband in the TDD carrier, and the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) configuration is applied to the UL subband and the initial UL BWP.

[0136] The sixth aspect includes the fifth aspect and further includes: wherein at least two resource areas comprise a UL subband and an initial UL BWP, wherein valid UL transmission resources in the UL subband for initial random access are restricted to one or more resource blocks overlapping the initial UL BWP and the UL subband.

[0137] The seventh aspect includes the sixth aspect and further includes: wherein at least two resource areas further include an initial DL BWP, and the effective UL transmission resources are further restricted to one or more resource blocks overlapping the initial UL BWP, the UL subband, and the initial DL BWP.

[0138] The eighth aspect includes the fifth aspect and further includes: wherein, in the following cases, there is no valid UL transmission resource in the UL subband for initial random access: the UL subband does not overlap with the initial UL BWP in the frequency domain; the UL subband does not overlap with the initial DL BWP in the frequency domain; or the UL subband does not overlap with either the initial DL BWP or the initial UL BWP in the frequency domain.

[0139] The ninth aspect includes the fifth aspect and further includes: wherein at least two resource regions include a UL subband and an initial DL BWP, wherein the valid UL transmission resources in the UL subband for initial random access are restricted to one or more resource blocks overlapping the initial DL BWP and the UL subband, and the lowest numbered resource block of the initial UL BWP used for determining the UL transmission resources is represented as the lowest numbered resource block of the initial DL BWP or the UL subband.

[0140] The tenth aspect includes the fifth aspect and further includes: wherein the UL subband does not overlap with the initial DL BWP, nor with the initial UL BWP, and the valid UL transmission resources for initial random access are limited to the UL subband, and the lowest numbered resource block of the initial UL BWP used for determining the UL transmission resources is represented as the lowest numbered resource block of the UL subband.

[0141] The eleventh aspect includes the fourth aspect and further includes: wherein the subband is a UL subband in a TDD carrier and there is at most one UL subband in the TDD carrier, and an independent physical random access channel (PRACH) configuration is applied to the UL subband.

[0142] The twelfth aspect includes the eleventh aspect and further includes: wherein at least two resource regions comprise a UL subband and an initial DL BWP, wherein valid UL transport resources in the UL subband for initial random access are restricted to one or more resource blocks overlapping the UL subband and the initial UL BWP.

[0143] The thirteenth aspect includes the fourth aspect and further includes: wherein the subband is a UL subband in a TDD carrier and there are at most two UL subbands in the TDD carrier, and a physical random access channel (PRACH) configuration is applied to the UL subband and the initial UL BWP, or an independent PRACH configuration is applied to the initial UL subband.

[0144] The fourteenth aspect includes the thirteenth aspect and further includes: wherein the UL subband is an initial UL subband located within the initial DL BWP, within the initial UL BWP, or outside the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP.

[0145] The fifteenth aspect includes the fourteenth aspect and further includes: wherein the UL subband is an initial UL subband located within at least one of the initial DL BWP or UL BWP, and a PRACH configuration is applied to the UL subband and the initial UL BWP, wherein valid UL transmission resources in the initial UL subband for initial random access are restricted to one or more resource blocks overlapping with at least one of the initial DL BWP or initial UL BWP.

[0146] The sixteenth aspect includes the fourteenth aspect and further includes: wherein the UL subband is an initial UL subband located outside of each of the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP, and the PRACH configuration is applied to the initial UL subband and the initial ULBWP, wherein the valid UL transport resources for initial random access are limited to the initial UL subband, and the lowest numbered resource block of the initial UL BWP for determining the UL transport resources is represented as the lowest numbered resource block of the initial UL subband.

[0147] The seventeenth aspect includes any one of the first to sixteenth aspects and further includes: wherein the frequency range of the UL subband indicated by System Information Block 1 (SIB1) is equal to or within the frequency range of the UL subband indicated by Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling after initial random access.

[0148] The eighteenth aspect includes any one of the first to seventeenth aspects and further includes: wherein the same synchronization signal (SS) / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) index associated with the same UL transmission resource is maintained in all idle, inactive, and radio resource control (RRC) connection states by applying at least one of the following to one or more SSB-to-UL transmission resource associations: one or more parameters restricting the physical random access channel (PRACH) configuration; or one or more SSB-to-UL transmission resource associations include: independent SSB-to-UL transmission resource associations applied to active and inactive UL transmission resources in UL subbands in idle or inactive states.

[0149] The nineteenth aspect includes any one of the first to eighteenth aspects and further includes: wherein the UL transport resource group for repeating the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) across the UL subband and the initial UL BWP is determined according to: UL transport resources having only the same frequency resources covered by the UL subband and the initial UL BWP; UL transport resources having the same frequency resources after applying a frequency offset to a portion of the UL transport resources located in the UL subband; or UL transport resources having the same frequency resources after applying a first frequency offset for initial random access to a portion of the UL transport resources located in the UL subband and a second frequency offset after initial random access to a portion of the UL transport resources located in the UL subband.

[0150] The twentieth aspect includes any one of the first to sixteenth aspects and further includes: wherein, for a minimum or maximum size of one, two, four, or twelve resource blocks, the frequency domain of the UL subband is restricted to the initial DLBWP or CORESET#0 and does not overlap with the frequency domain of the synchronization signal or the physical broadcast channel (PBCH).

[0151] The twenty-first aspect includes any one of the first to sixteenth aspects and further includes: wherein the frequency domain of the UL subband is configured or deduced by default to have a minimum size not less than the size of the synchronization signal (SS) / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) or control resource set (CORESET) #0.

[0152] The twenty-second aspect includes a wireless communication device comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is configured to read code from the memory to implement the method of any one of the first to twenty-first aspects.

[0153] The twenty-third aspect includes a computer program product comprising a computer-readable program medium including code stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the method described in any one of the first to twenty-first aspects.

[0154] In addition to the features mentioned in the individual aspects listed above, some examples may be shown individually or in combination of the optional features mentioned in the dependent aspects and / or disclosed in the description above and shown in the figures.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication, the method comprising: The user equipment determines the valid UL transmission resources for uplink (UL) transmission based on one or more resource blocks that overlap between at least two resource regions; as well as The user equipment transmits the UL transmission based on the available UL transmission resources.

2. A method for wireless communication, the method comprising: The network device determines the valid UL transmission resources for uplink (UL) transmission based on one or more resource blocks that overlap between at least two resource regions; as well as The network device receives the UL transmission based on the available UL transmission resources.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein, The effective UL transmission resources include effective random access channel (RACH) timings (RO).

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein, The at least two resource regions include a subband in a time division duplex (TDD) carrier used for subband non-overlapping full-duplex (SBFD) operation, and at least one of an initial UL bandwidth portion (BWP) or an initial downlink (DL) BWP.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein, The subband is a UL subband in a TDD carrier and there is at most one UL subband in the TDD carrier, and a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) configuration is applied to the UL subband and the initial UL BWP.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, The at least two resource regions include a UL subband and the initial ULBWP, wherein the valid UL transport resources in the UL subband for initial random access are restricted to one or more resource blocks that overlap with the initial UL BWP and the UL subband.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein, The at least two resource regions further include the initial DLBWP, and the effective UL transmission resources are further restricted to one or more resource blocks overlapping the initial UL BWP, the UL subband, and the initial DLBWP.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein, There are no valid UL transport resources for initial random access in the UL subband under the following conditions: The UL subband does not overlap with the initial UL BWP in the frequency domain; The UL subband does not overlap with the initial DL BWP in the frequency domain; or The UL subband does not overlap with the initial DL BWP or the initial UL BWP in the frequency domain.

9. The method according to claim 5, wherein, At least two resource regions include the UL subband and the initial DLBWP, wherein the valid UL transport resources in the UL subband for initial random access are restricted to one or more resource blocks overlapping the initial DLBWP and the UL subband, and the lowest numbered resource block of the initial ULBWP used for determining the UL transport resources is represented as the initial DLBWP or the lowest numbered resource block of the UL subband.

10. The method according to claim 5, wherein, The UL subband does not overlap with the initial DL BWP, nor with the initial UL BWP, and the valid UL transmission resources used for initial random access are restricted to the UL subband, and the lowest numbered resource block of the initial UL BWP used for UL transmission resource determination is represented as the lowest numbered resource block of the UL subband.

11. The method according to claim 4, wherein, The subband is a UL subband in a TDD carrier and there is at most one UL subband in the TDD carrier, and an independent physical random access channel (PRACH) configuration is applied to the UL subband.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein, The at least two resource regions include the UL subband and the initial DL BWP, wherein the valid UL transmission resources in the UL subband for initial random access are restricted to one or more resource blocks that overlap between the UL subband and the initial UL BWP.

13. The method according to claim 4, wherein, The subband is a UL subband in a TDD carrier and there are at most two UL subbands in the TDD carrier, and a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) configuration is applied to the UL subband and the initial UL BWP, or an independent PRACH configuration is applied to the initial UL subband.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein, The UL sub-band is an initial UL sub-band located within the initial DL BWP, within the initial UL BWP, or outside of the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein, The UL subband is an initial UL subband located within at least one of the initial DL BWP or the ULBWP, and the PRACH configuration is applied to the UL subband and the initial ULBWP, wherein the valid UL transport resources in the initial UL subband for initial random access are restricted to one or more resource blocks that overlap with at least one of the initial DL BWP or the initial UL BWP.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein, The UL subband is an initial UL subband located outside of each of the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP, and the PRACH configuration is applied to the initial UL subband and the initial UL BWP, wherein the valid UL transport resources for initial random access are restricted to the initial UL subband, and the lowest numbered resource block of the initial UL BWP for UL transport resource determination is represented as the lowest numbered resource block of the initial UL subband.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein: The frequency range of the UL subband indicated by System Information Block 1 (SIB1) is equal to the frequency range of the UL subband indicated by Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling after initial random access, or within the frequency range of the UL subband indicated by Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling after initial random access.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein, To maintain the same synchronization signal (SS) / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) index associated with the same UL transport resource in idle, inactive, and radio resource control (RRC) connection states, apply at least one of the following to one or more SSB-to-UL transport resource associations: Restrict one or more parameters in the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) configuration; or The one or more SSB-to-UL transport resource associations include: independent SSB-to-UL transport resource associations applied to valid and invalid UL transport resources in the UL subband for the idle state or the inactive state.

19. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein, The UL transmission resource group for repeating the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) across the UL subband and the initial UL BWP is determined according to the following: UL transmission resources having only the same frequency resources covered by the UL subband and the initial UL BWP; After applying a frequency offset to a portion of the UL transmission resources located in the UL subband, UL transmission resources with the same frequency resources; or After applying a first frequency offset for initial random access to a portion of the UL transmission resources located in the UL subband, and a second frequency offset after initial random access to a portion of the UL transmission resources located in the UL subband, UL transmission resources with the same frequency resources are considered.

20. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein, The frequency domain of the UL subband is restricted within the initial DL BWP or CORESET#0, and for a minimum or maximum size of one, two, four, or twelve resource blocks, the frequency domain of the UL subband does not overlap with the frequency domain of the synchronization signal or the physical broadcast channel (PBCH).

21. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein, The frequency domain of the UL subband is configured or deduced by default to have a minimum size not less than the size of the Synchronization Signal (SS) / Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) block (SSB) or Control Resource Set (CORESET) #0.

22. A wireless communication device, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein, The processor is configured to read code from the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21.

23. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable program medium including code stored thereon, the code causing the processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21 when executed by a processor.

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