Wireless communication devices, methods, and systems

Abstract

This invention relates to wireless communication. A transmitting device is configured to: generate a payload and a scrambling sequence; scramble the payload using the scrambling sequence to generate a scrambled payload; append cyclic redundancy check (CRC) information to the scrambled payload to generate a CRC-protected scrambled payload; encode the CRC-protected scrambled payload using a fountain code to obtain multiple encoded information blocks; and map the encoded information blocks to physical resources for transmission. By encoding the payload into multiple information blocks, flexible resource mapping can be achieved based on the information blocks. The power consumption of transmitting the payload through the encoded information blocks can be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention generally relates to the field of communication technology. For example, this invention provides devices, methods, and systems for transmitting system information. Background Technology

[0002] Today, network energy efficiency is increasingly important, driven by two factors: the need to mitigate environmental degradation, particularly greenhouse gas emissions, and the urgent need to reduce operating expenses. The emergence of 6th generation (6G) telecommunications technology, as a further development of 5G, introduces a paradigm shift to accommodate more complex services and applications. These developments require extremely high data transmission rates, such as those for extended reality (XR) technologies. Therefore, this evolution towards 6G and higher versions manifests as increased network density, the use of more antennas, expanded bandwidth, and spectrum expansion across frequency bands.

[0003] While the transition to these advanced telecommunications technologies holds promise in terms of connectivity and quality of service, it also presents significant challenges in terms of environmental sustainability. It is essential to ensure that the environmental footprint of next-generation (6G and beyond) networks remains manageable. Therefore, developing innovative solutions aimed at improving the energy efficiency of these networks is crucial. Summary of the Invention

[0004] A significant portion of network operators' operating costs is attributed to energy consumption. For example, according to GSMA research, energy costs account for approximately 23% of total mobile network operating costs. A substantial portion of this energy expenditure is attributable to the radio access network (RAN), particularly active antenna units (AAUs). While data centers and fiber optic transmission systems also contribute to overall energy consumption, their impact is relatively smaller. Energy consumption in a radio access network can be divided into two distinct components: a dynamic component (dependent on active data transmission and reception) and a static component (which is always present regardless of data transmission activity to maintain the operational readiness of the radio access equipment).

[0005] The synchronization signal (SS) / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (or SSB) is the first signal / message that a cellular device detects / decodes in order to connect to a wireless network. In current 5G new radio (NR) networks, the SSB spans four OFDM symbols in the time domain and 240 subcarriers in the frequency domain, such as... Figure 1As shown, Chapter 7.4.3 of 3GPP TS 38.211 V18.1.0 describes the traditional SSB resource mapping.

[0006] However, this traditional SSB design still consumes considerable power to ensure coverage and fast cell access. How to optimize SSB from a power consumption perspective remains an unsolved problem.

[0007] In view of the above-mentioned problems and drawbacks, the present invention aims to optimize the power consumption of wireless communication networks. For example, an objective might be to reduce the power consumption caused by SSB transmission in advanced wireless mobile networks above 5G. Another objective could be to provide a more dynamic resource mapping for SSB transmission.

[0008] These and other objectives are achieved by the invention, for example, as described in the independent claims. Advantageous implementations are further described in the dependent claims.

[0009] A first aspect of the present invention provides a wireless communication method applied to a transmitting device. The method includes the following steps: Generate the PBCH payload and scrambling sequence; The scrambling sequence is used to scramble the PBCH payload to generate a scrambled payload; Cyclic redundancy check (CRC) information is appended to the scrambled payload to generate a CRC-protected scrambled payload. The CRC-protected scrambled payload is encoded using fountain codes to obtain multiple encoded information blocks; The encoded information blocks are mapped to physical resources for transmission.

[0010] Optionally, the PBCH payload can be generated based on the broadcast channel (BCH) data sequence.

[0011] Using fountain codes, a potentially infinite number of encoded symbols can be generated independently and randomly based on the payload as a given input to obtain multiple information blocks. In this way, assuming the length of the subset is large enough / sufficient to decode the payload, the receiving device can recover the original payload information from any subset of the multiple information blocks.

[0012] Therefore, the resource mapping pattern used for transmitting payload information can be flexibly determined.

[0013] In one implementation of the first aspect, the encoded information block may include a self-decoding block and / or a non-self-decoding block.

[0014] A self-decoding block is an information block from which the complete payload can be decoded. A non-self-decoding block is an information block from which the complete payload cannot be decoded and must be combined with at least one self-decoding block. Non-self-decoding blocks can be used to add extra redundancy to self-decoding blocks to improve the detection rate.

[0015] Optionally, each of the multiple information blocks is a self-decoding block. Alternatively, the multiple information blocks include at least one self-decoding block, and optionally, one or more non-self-decoding blocks. The one or more non-self-decoding blocks cannot be decoded individually, but can be decoded when combined with at least one self-decoding block. The one or more non-self-decoding blocks are used to provide additional redundancy for the at least one self-decoding block.

[0016] In another implementation of the first aspect, the method may further include rate matching of one or more of the encoded information blocks before mapping the encoded information blocks.

[0017] In another implementation of the first aspect, before mapping the encoded information block, the method may further include: scrambling one or more of the encoded information blocks using another scrambling sequence.

[0018] In another implementation of the first aspect, the method may further include modulating the encoded information block before mapping it.

[0019] In another implementation of the first aspect, the encoded information block may be mapped to physical resources using one or more resource mapping modes based on network condition information, channel condition information, or neighbor cell information.

[0020] In another implementation of the first aspect, mapping the encoded information block to physical resources for transmission may include mapping the encoded information block to one or more OFDM symbols.

[0021] In another implementation of the first aspect, the method may further include: Receive an indication from each of one or more receiving devices, wherein each indication is used to indicate one or more desired information blocks; Based on the one or more instructions, one or more of the encoded information blocks are sent through the mapped physical resources.

[0022] In another implementation of the first aspect, the method may further include: Send an instruction to the receiving device, wherein the instruction is used to indicate one or more encoded information blocks to be sent; The one or more encoded information blocks to be sent are transmitted through the mapped physical resources.

[0023] In another implementation of the first aspect, the indication may be sent via a medium access control element (MAC CE), downlink control information (DCI), radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or paging message.

[0024] In another implementation of the first aspect, the method may further include sending one or more of the following: Information regarding whether the plurality of encoded information blocks are activated for the PBCH payload; The number of the plurality of encoded information blocks; Information about one or more transmission modes associated with the plurality of encoded information blocks.

[0025] Optionally, any of the above information may be sent to a receiving device or a group of receiving devices, or may be sent by broadcast.

[0026] A second aspect of the present invention provides a wireless communication method applied to a receiving device. The method includes: receiving one or more encoded information blocks from a transmitting device via a PBCH; and processing at least one subset of the one or more encoded information blocks using fountain codes to obtain a PBCH payload.

[0027] In one implementation of the second aspect, before receiving the one or more encoded information blocks, the method further includes: The number of coded information blocks required is determined based on one or more measurements; The number of the required information blocks are sent to the sending device.

[0028] In another implementation of the second aspect, before receiving the one or more encoded information blocks, the method further includes: Receive an instruction from the transmitting device, wherein the instruction is used to indicate that the one or more encoded information blocks to be received by the receiving device are received in accordance with the instruction.

[0029] A third aspect of the present invention provides a transmitting device for wireless communication. The transmitting device is used for: Generate the PBCH payload and scrambling sequence; The scrambling sequence is used to scramble the PBCH payload to generate a scrambled payload; Cyclic redundancy check (CRC) information is appended to the scrambled payload to generate a CRC-protected scrambled payload. The CRC-protected scrambled payload is encoded using fountain codes to obtain multiple encoded information blocks; The encoded information blocks are mapped to physical resources for transmission.

[0030] In one implementation of the third aspect, the encoded information block may include a self-decoding block and / or a non-self-decoding block.

[0031] In another implementation of the third aspect, before mapping the encoded information blocks, the transmitting device may also be used to: perform rate matching on one or more of the encoded information blocks.

[0032] In another implementation of the third aspect, before mapping the encoded information block, the transmitting device may further be used to scramble one or more of the encoded information blocks using another scrambling sequence.

[0033] In another implementation of the third aspect, before mapping the encoded information block, the transmitting device may also be used to modulate the encoded information block.

[0034] In another implementation of the third aspect, the encoded information block can be mapped to physical resources using one or more resource mapping modes based on network condition information, channel condition information, or neighbor cell information.

[0035] In another implementation of the third aspect, for transmitting the encoded information block by mapping it to physical resources, the transmitting device may be used to: map the encoded information block to one or more OFDM symbols.

[0036] In another implementation of the third aspect, the transmitting device can also be used for: Receive an indication from each of one or more receiving devices, wherein each indication is used to indicate one or more desired information blocks; Based on the one or more instructions, one or more of the encoded information blocks are sent through the mapped physical resources.

[0037] In another implementation of the third aspect, the transmitting device can also be used for: Send an instruction to the receiving device, wherein the instruction is used to indicate one or more encoded information blocks to be sent; The one or more encoded information blocks to be sent are transmitted through the mapped physical resources.

[0038] In another implementation of the third aspect, the indication can be sent via a medium access control element (MAC CE), downlink control information (DCI), radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or paging message.

[0039] In another implementation of the third aspect, the transmitting device may also be used to transmit one or more of the following: Information regarding whether the plurality of encoded information blocks are activated for the PBCH payload; The number of the plurality of encoded information blocks; Information about one or more transmission modes associated with the plurality of encoded information blocks.

[0040] The transmitting device of the third aspect may accordingly have the same features and advantages as the method of the first aspect or any implementation thereof.

[0041] A fourth aspect of the present invention provides a receiving device for wireless communication. The receiving device is used for: Receive one or more encoded information blocks from the transmitting device; At least one subset of the one or more encoded information blocks is processed using fountain codes to obtain the payload.

[0042] In one implementation of the fourth aspect, before receiving the one or more encoded information blocks, the receiving device may further be used to: The number of coded information blocks required is determined based on one or more measurements; The number of the required information blocks are sent to the sending device.

[0043] In another implementation of the fourth aspect, before receiving the one or more encoded information blocks, the receiving device may also be used to: Receive an instruction from the transmitting device, wherein the instruction is used to indicate that the one or more encoded information blocks to be received by the receiving device are received in accordance with the instruction.

[0044] The receiving device of the fourth aspect may accordingly have the same features and advantages as the method of the second aspect or any implementation thereof.

[0045] A fifth aspect of the present invention provides a wireless communication system comprising at least one transmitting device according to a third aspect and one or more receiving devices according to a fourth aspect.

[0046] A sixth aspect of the present invention provides a computer program including program code for performing the method according to the first aspect or any implementation thereof.

[0047] A seventh aspect of the present invention provides a computer program including program code for performing the method according to the second aspect or any implementation thereof.

[0048] The eighth aspect of the invention provides a non-transitory storage medium storing executable program code, which, when executed by a processor (or chipset), causes the method described according to the first aspect or any implementation thereof to be performed.

[0049] A ninth aspect of the present invention provides a non-transitory storage medium storing executable program code, which, when executed by a processor (or chipset), causes the method described according to the second aspect or any implementation thereof to be performed.

[0050] It should be noted that all devices, elements, units, and modules described in this application can be implemented in software or hardware elements or any combination thereof. All steps performed by the various entities described in this application, and functions described as being performed by the various entities, are intended to indicate that the respective entities are suitable for or used to perform the respective steps and functions. Although in the following description of the invention, specific functions or steps performed by external entities are not reflected in the detailed description of the specific elements of the entity performing that particular step or function, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that these methods and functions can be implemented in the corresponding software or hardware elements or any combination thereof. Attached Figure Description

[0051] Referring to the accompanying drawings, the following description will illustrate the above aspects and their implementation methods, wherein: Figure 1 The traditional time-frequency structure of SSB is shown; Figure 2 The illustration shows a method for use in a transmitting device provided by the present invention; Figure 3 A to Figure 3 D illustrates an example of a possible SSB structure provided by the present invention; Figure 4 A to Figure 4D illustrates other examples of possible SSB structures provided by the present invention; Figure 5 A to Figure 5 C illustrates an example of the information block of the present invention; Figure 6 An example of the system of the present invention is shown; Figure 7 An illustration of the method provided by the present invention is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0052] The key terms and their abbreviations / abbreviations used in this invention are listed below: 3GPP; BCH; BPSK; BS; CRC; DCI; DL; DMRS; gNB; LDPC; NR; MAC; MAC CE; MCS; MIB; PBCH; PDCCH; PDSCH; PSS; PUCCH; PUSCH; RAT; RAN; RB; RNTI; CRNTI; PLTTI; RNTI -P-RNTI; Quad Phase Shift Keying -QPSK; Radio Resource Control -RRC; Subcarrier -SC; Synchronization Signal -SS, SS / PBCH Block -SSB; Secondary Synchronization Signal -SSS; Uplink -UL; User Equipment -UE.

[0053] Cell search is the process by which a UE obtains time-frequency synchronization with a cell and detects the cell's physical layer cell ID (PCI). During cell search operations performed when the UE powers on, mobile in connected mode, mobile in idle mode (e.g., reselection), and mobile to other systems in the NR system, the UE uses synchronization signals to deduce the necessary information required to access the cell.

[0054] NR defines two types of synchronization signals: the primary synchronization signal (PSS) and the secondary synchronization signal (SSS). The PBCH is used to transmit the MIB to the UE. The SSB includes the PSS, SSS, and PBCH. Figure 1The conventional time-frequency structure of SSB is shown, which has the following characteristics: PSS, SSS, and PBCH are together in consecutive OFDM symbols; Each SSB occupies 4 OFDM symbols in the time domain and is distributed across 240 subcarriers (20 RBs) in the frequency domain. The PSS occupies the first OFDM symbol and spans 127 subcarriers; The SSS is located in the third OFDM symbol and spans 127 subcarriers. Below the SSS are several (e.g., eight) unused subcarriers, and above the SSS are several (e.g., nine) unused subcarriers. The PBCH occupies two full OFDM symbols (the second and fourth), spanning 240 subcarriers, and in the third OFDM symbol, it spans 48 subcarriers below and above the SSS. This results in the PBCH occupying 576 subcarriers across the three OFDM symbols (240+48+48+240=576).

[0055] The PBCH is used to carry the PBCH payload and the PBCH DMRS. The PBCH DMRS occupies 144 REs, which is one-quarter of the total number of REs. The remaining REs are used for the PBCH payload (576 – 144 = 432 REs).

[0056] Traditional PBCH designs are generic for all UEs and cannot adapt to UE channel conditions and / or neighbor cell inference. This invention provides a flexible / configurable scheme for transmitting system information via PBCH (or any other similar channel).

[0057] Figure 2 The illustration shows a method applied to a transmitting device according to the present invention. In this invention, the transmitting device can also be abbreviated as gNB. Correspondingly, the receiving device can also be referred to as UE. The method includes the following steps: Step 201: Generate the PBCH payload and scrambling sequence; Step 202: Scramble the PBCH payload using a scrambling sequence to generate a scrambled payload; Step 203: Append CRC information to the scrambled payload to generate a CRC-protected scrambled payload; Step 204: Encode the CRC-protected scrambled payload using fountain codes to obtain multiple encoded information blocks; Step 208: Map the encoded information blocks to physical resources for transmission.

[0058] The PBCH payload in step 201 can be generated based on BCH data. Steps 201 to 203 can be performed using any conventional method known in the art. For example, step 201 can be performed based on Chapter 7.1.1 of 3GPP TS 38.212 V18.1.0; step 202 can be performed based on Chapter 7.1.2 of 3GPP TS 38.212 V18.1.0; and step 203 can be performed based on Chapter 7.1.3 of 3GPP TS 38.212 V18.1.0. Therefore, steps 201 to 203 are not described in detail herein.

[0059] In step 204, the CRC-protected scrambled payload is encoded into multiple information blocks using fountain codes. Each information block may include a complete sequence that the UE can decode independently. The complete sequence includes optimized encoded symbols generated based on the fountain codes to achieve the maximum possible successful detection / decoding rate.

[0060] Optionally, the number of encoded information blocks can be determined based on one or more of the following: network condition information, channel condition information of one or more UEs, and information of one or more neighboring cells. For example, when one or more UEs are in good channel conditions, a smaller number of information blocks can be generated. Whether the channel conditions are "good" or "bad" can be determined based on a threshold.

[0061] Fountain codes are rateless erasure codes originally designed for multicast and streaming applications, such as in "Capacity-Achieving Rateless Polar Codes" published by Bin Li et al. in 2015. In this invention, fountain codes can be used to provide dynamic bit rates for different channel conditions. Fountain codes can be designed using Turbo codes, LDPC codes, polar codes, etc.

[0062] For example, there are several methods to construct good rateless codes. The most common method for constructing rateless codes is using puncturing. First, a good low-rate code, called the master code, is constructed, and then some coded symbols are discarded to construct a higher-rate code. This method is applicable to almost all codes, especially convolutional codes, Turbo codes, LDCP codes, and polar codes. The performance of the resulting code depends primarily on the puncturing pattern. Finding the optimal puncturing pattern is usually done through computer search. Extension is another method for constructing rateless codes. First, a good high-rate code is constructed, and then parity symbols are continuously added to generate a lower-rate code. The purpose of constructing a lower-rate code is to find a new code with a good minimum Hamming weight. Rateless codes constructed using extension generally do not guarantee a high minimum Hamming weight at lower rates because the minimum weight at a given rate depends on the original code. Based on the extension method, it is possible to directly find good codes that can generate a near-infinite number of coded symbols for a given set of input symbols. The coded symbols are usually generated independently and randomly. The receiver can then recover the original input symbols from any subset of the received symbols, provided that the length of the subset is large enough. Examples of these methods are primitive rateless codes, Luby transform (LT) codes, and Raptor codes.

[0063] Using fountain codes, a CRC-protected scrambled payload can be encoded into multiple information blocks, each mapped to a time-frequency resource, as shown in step 208. Optionally, the multiple information blocks may include one or more self-decoding blocks. Self-decoding blocks include coded symbols designed using fountain codes. Self-decoding blocks may include system bits (i.e., the payload in step 201), for example, in the case of linear fountain codes. System bits can be extracted solely by decoding the self-decoding blocks. The block size is greater than or equal to the system bit size. Optionally, the multiple information blocks may include one or more non-self-decoding blocks. Non-self-decoding blocks include coded symbols designed using fountain codes, which add additional redundancy to one or more self-decoding blocks. Optionally, each information block may be a self-decoding block. Optionally, the multiple information blocks may include one or more self-decoding blocks and one or more non-self-decoding blocks, wherein each non-self-decoding block is used to add redundancy to each self-decoding block.

[0064] Both self-decoding blocks and non-self-decoding blocks include optimized coded symbols generated based on fountain codes. When the UE uses these coded symbols to obtain system bits (i.e., the payload in step 201) during the decoding process, it can achieve the maximum possible successful detection / decoding rate.

[0065] Optionally, prior to mapping the encoded information block, the method includes one or more of the following steps: Step 205: Perform rate matching on one or more of the encoded information blocks; Step 206: Scramble one or more of the encoded information blocks (or rate-matched information blocks) using another scrambling sequence; Step 207: Modulate the encoded information block (or scrambled information block).

[0066] It should be noted that steps 205 to 207 can be applied individually or in combination.

[0067] Step 205 is optional and can be used if one or more of the encoded information blocks require further puncturing or expansion. Step 206 is optional and can be used if one or more of the encoded information blocks require scrambling. Optionally, in step 206, the physical cell ID can be used as another scrambling sequence. Optionally, in step 207, any modulation scheme can be used, such as, but not limited to, QPSK and BPSK.

[0068] Optionally, based on one or more of network condition information, channel condition information of one or more UEs, and information of one or more neighboring cells, one or more resource mapping modes are used to map the encoded information block to physical resources.

[0069] For example, when interference from neighboring cells is strong (or stronger than a certain threshold), a resource mapping mode that spans more subcarriers can be selected to mitigate the impact of strong interference.

[0070] It should be noted that block triggering and / or (re)configuration can be preset (e.g., specified by technical specifications) and is known to both the gNB and the UE.

[0071] Figure 3 A to Figure 3 D illustrates an example of a possible SSB provided by the present invention. For example... Figure 3 A to Figure 3 As shown in Figure D, as an example, each information block occupies one OFDM symbol spanning 48 subcarriers (4 RBs). Based on the information blocks, different physical resource mapping patterns can be generated to transmit the PBCH, for example, as... Figure 3 A to Figure 3 D is shown in a non-exhaustive manner. From Figure 3 A to Figure 3 As can be seen from D, the successful PBCH detection rate gradually decreases, while the power consumption of transmitting SSBs (including PBCH) gradually decreases (because fewer resources are used). It should be noted that... Figure 3 A to Figure 3 D's physical resource grid may be related to Figure 1Resource grids in a given area may have the same characteristics, or they may have different characteristics. Figure 3 A to Figure 3 OFDM symbol numbers and subcarrier numbers are not shown in D. It should also be noted that this invention can be applied to SSBs of any size and is not limited to 4 OFDM symbols × 240 subcarriers. By dividing the PBCH into multiple information blocks, a flexible resource mapping mode can be used to transmit the PBCH. Furthermore, network power consumption can be reduced because the physical resources used for PBCH transmission can be decreased.

[0072] The gNB can determine the appropriate physical resource mapping pattern for transmitting PBCH to one or more UEs based on one or more of the following information: the preferences / requirements of one or more UEs; channel condition information of one or more UEs; network resource information; and information about one or more neighboring cells. Additionally, the network side (e.g., a network management entity) can determine the appropriate physical resource mapping pattern for transmitting PBCH to one or more UEs for a given gNB based on one or more of the following information: cell planning (coverage requirements); the preferences / requirements of one or more UEs; channel condition information of one or more UEs; and network resource information.

[0073] For example, a gNB can be used to receive one or more indications from one or more UEs. Each indication specifies one or more information blocks (or resource mapping patterns for transmitting the PBCH) required (or preferred) by each UE. That is, a UE can notify the gNB of its preferred information blocks. In this case, the gNB can follow the UE's indications if other conditions permit. However, if other conditions do not allow this preference (e.g., relatively high interference from neighboring cells), the gNB can choose not to follow the UE's indications.

[0074] For example, if UE A's channel conditions are better than UE B's, then the gNB can be used by UE A. Figure 3 The mode shown in D is used for UE B. Figure 3 The mode shown in A. If the gNB can only use one mode for both UE A and UE B, then because UE B is in poor channel conditions, the gNB will follow the instructions of UE B, while because UE A is in good channel conditions, the gNB will not follow the instructions of UE A.

[0075] For example, if the interference in a neighboring cell is higher in direction A than in direction B, then the gNB can be used for all UEs in direction A. Figure 3 The mode shown in A is used for all UEs in direction B. Figure 3 The pattern shown in C.

[0076] It should be noted that the resource mapping mode of the present invention is per SSB. That is, when multiple SSBs are transmitted, the resource mapping mode can be applied to each SSB separately within a transmission window. Therefore, multiple SSBs can be transmitted during different transmission windows and / or on multiple carriers and / or through multiple beams with different resource mapping modes.

[0077] Figure 4 A to Figure 4 D illustrates other possible SSB examples of the present invention. The information block size of the present invention can be configurable and variable. For example, as Figure 4 A to Figure 4 As shown in Figure D, an information block occupies an OFDM symbol spanning 60 subcarriers (5 RBs). The information block size can be preset or configurable by the gNB. Figure 4 A to Figure 4 Other details of D may be related to Figure 3 A to Figure 3 D is similar, so I will not elaborate further here.

[0078] Figure 5 A to Figure 5 C illustrates an example of an information block of the present invention. An information block may include a self-decoding block and / or a non-self-decoding block. Figure 5 A to Figure 5 The size of information blocks in C is for illustrative purposes only and is variable.

[0079] For example, such as Figure 5 As shown in Figure A, information blocks B0, B1, and B2 are mapped to two OFDM symbols, while information blocks B3 and B4 are mapped to three OFDM symbols. Each information block B0 through B4 is a self-decoding block, allowing each block to be decoded independently to obtain the complete PBCH payload. These blocks can also be jointly decoded to add additional redundancy, thereby improving the success rate of PBCH payload detection.

[0080] exist Figure 5 In block B, information blocks B3 and B4 are self-decoding blocks. Information blocks B0 to B2 are non-self-decoding blocks, which can be used to add additional redundancy to information blocks B3 and / or B4.

[0081] exist Figure 5 In C, information block B0 is a self-decoding block, while information blocks B1 to B10 are non-self-decoding blocks, which can be used to add extra redundancy to information block B0.

[0082] Figure 6 An example of a system 600 of the present invention is shown. System 600 includes at least one transmitting device 610 and one or more receiving devices 620. The transmitting device 610 is used to perform the functions described above. Figures 2 to 5the method mentioned therein, and sends an information block 602 to one or more receiving devices 620. The information block can be used to carry cell information (e.g., PBCH payload and PBCH DMRS).

[0083] At least one transmitting device 610 may use information blocks of different patterns. For example, as Figure 6 shows, the channel condition of a first receiving device 620A is better than that of a second receiving device 620B. In this case, the transmitting device 610 may select for the first receiving device 620A, for example, Figure 3 the resource mapping pattern shown in D, and select for the second receiving device 620B the resource mapping pattern shown in Figure 3 A. Information blocks of different patterns may be transmitted in the same frame or different frames, which is not limited in the present invention.

[0084] Optionally, each of the receiving devices 620A and 620B may indicate one or more required information blocks (e.g., the number of required information blocks, or a required resource mapping pattern). The indication may be sent by each receiving device through a MAC CE on PUSCH, UCI, SRS, or PRACH. Similarly, the transmitting device 610 may indicate one or more information block patterns to one or more receiving devices 620A and 620B. The indication may be sent by the transmitting device 610 through MAC CE, DCI, RRC signaling, or a paging message.

[0085] Figure 7 shows an illustration of a method 700 provided by the present invention. The method is applied to a receiving device and includes the following steps: Step 701: receiving one or more encoded information blocks from PBCH from a transmitting device; Step 702: performing decoding processing on at least one subset of the one or more encoded information blocks by using a fountain code to obtain a PBCH payload.

[0086] To process at least one subset of one or more encoded information blocks, the receiving device can be configured to demodulate and decode at least one subset of the one or more encoded information blocks.

[0087] For example, the number of received encoded information blocks is equal to M. The receiving device can be configured to start processing N of the M information blocks, where 1 ≤ N<M, to check whether the PBCH payload can be successfully decoded. If not, the receiving device can be configured to increase N and attempt to decode the PBCH payload again. The processing step can be stopped when N=M, when decoding is successful, or when N reaches a preset threshold (e.g., exceeding the bandwidth supported by a bandwidth-limited UE).

[0088] The processing steps for each block of information to be processed can be referenced in reverse order. Figure 2 Steps 207 to 201. For example, the receiving device can be used to demodulate, descramble, decode, and perform CRC verification for each block of information to be processed.

[0089] Alternatively, the receiving device can also be used for: The number of coded information blocks required is determined based on one or more measurements; The number of required information blocks sent to the sending device.

[0090] In this way, the transmitting device can obtain the required encoded information block from the receiving device. The transmitting device can take this information into account when making decisions about mapping and transmitting the encoded information block.

[0091] Optionally, before receiving one or more encoded information blocks, the receiving device may also be used to: Receive an instruction from the transmitting device, wherein the instruction is used to indicate one or more encoded information blocks to be received by the receiving device, such that one or more encoded information blocks are received according to the instruction.

[0092] In summary, this invention provides an improved PBCH design in frequency and time resource grids, featuring improved PBCH coding and resource mapping. Fountain coding allows coded symbols to be grouped to obtain multiple coded information bit blocks, which add redundancy to each other. That is, conventional PBCH-coded information is divided into multiple coded information blocks using fountain coding. These multiple coded information blocks can be flexibly mapped in time-frequency resources. For example, the coded information blocks can be contiguous in the frequency domain. Alternatively, the coded information blocks can be transmitted on any OFDM symbol. The overall coding rate of the multiple information blocks can be the same as, lower than, or higher than that of conventional coding schemes.

[0093] Block triggering and block configuration can be implemented in several ways: A connected UE request can request one or more specific information blocks for a given SSB or SSB group. Step 1: The UE knows that the gNB supports the features of the present invention and / or the conditions required to request a given block (or block set) (e.g., channel quality-related conditions) and / or the channel used for the request (e.g., MAC CE on PUSCH / signals on PUCCH). Step 2: The UE requests a given block (e.g., an estimate of channel quality based on previous measurements by the UE, which are based on the SSB or CSI-RS or any other reference resource accessible to the UE). Alternatively, the UE may request the number of information blocks; Step 3: Use, for example, MAC CE or DCI to notify the UE of the new block transmission from the gNB; Step 4: UE detects notification blocks, such as for synchronization, L3 / L1 measurement, or Scell ​​activation.

[0094] The connected UE is notified that the network (e.g., gNB) determines one or more appropriate specific information blocks for each SSB or group of SSBs for the UE or a group of UEs: Step 1: The UE knows that the gNB supports the features of this invention; Step 2: Based on the UE measurement report and / or neighbor cell information, the gNB determines one or more suitable blocks; Step 3: The gNB notifies the UE of the block via MAC CE, RRC, DCI and paging using any DL channel.

[0095] Blind search for idle / inactive UEs: Step 1: The UE knows that the gNB supports the features of this invention, or that it is specified as mandatory in the relevant specifications; Step 2: The UE performs a blind search of all possible information blocks. To reduce the UE's blind search, the number of initial / default information blocks can be reduced (e.g., to two or three). Furthermore, all SSBs can use the same pattern.

[0096] Idle / inactive UEs with reduced bandwidth capability (supporting limited bandwidth): Step 1: The UE knows that the gNB supports the features of this invention, or that it is specified as mandatory in the relevant specifications; Step 2: The UE blindly searches for all possible information blocks within the supported bandwidth to decode the PBCH payload.

[0097] Therefore, this invention provides an improved PBCH design, including improved block-based coding / multiplexing / rate matching and block-based mapping in the frequency and time domains for each SSB. PBCH transmission can be tailored based on UE (or UE group) requirements and / or channel conditions for each SSB. In this way, cells with connected UEs in good channel conditions can save power and reduce interference to neighboring cells. Cells with idle / inactive UEs are expected to save power and reduce interference. UEs can also save power by using fewer blocks when decoding the PBCH. The PBCH can be adaptable between SSBs, which helps reduce radiation of a given SSB beam to reduce interference to neighboring cells and / or reduce potentially harmful radiation in a given direction.

[0098] It should be noted that the block-based transmission scheme disclosed in this invention can be applied not only to the PBCH, but also to any other channel transmitting cell / system information. Furthermore, this invention can be used in conjunction with other on-demand SSB transmission schemes, for example, by changing the SSB mode in time and frequency, changing the SSB components (without PSS, without SSS, or without PSS / SSS, or with a modified DMRS mode), to produce a fully flexible SSB arrangement.

[0099] This invention can be applied to any telecommunications network / system, such as, but not limited to, 5G (or NR), 6G mobile networks, etc. The transmitting and receiving devices in this invention may each include processing circuitry or chipsets (not shown) for performing, implementing, or initiating the various operations described herein. The processing circuitry may include hardware and software. The hardware may include analog circuitry or digital circuitry, or both. The digital circuitry may include components such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or multi-purpose processors. Optionally, the processing circuitry (or chipset) includes one or more processors and non-transitory memory connected to the one or more processors. The non-transitory memory may carry executable program code that, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the device to perform, implement, or initiate the operations or methods described herein.

[0100] The invention has been described in conjunction with various embodiments and implementations as examples. However, based on a study of the drawings, the invention, and the independent claims, those skilled in the art will be able to understand and implement other variations in practicing the claimed invention. In the claims and the specification, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single element or other unit may fulfill the function of several entities or items described in the claims. The enumeration of certain measures in dissimilar dependent claims does not imply that combinations of these measures cannot be used in advantageous implementations.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method applied to a transmitting device, characterized in that, The method includes: Generate the (201) Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) payload and scrambling sequence; The scrambling sequence is used to scramble the PBCH payload (202) to generate a scrambled payload; The Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) information is appended to the scrambled payload described in (203) to generate a CRC-protected scrambled payload; The CRC-protected scrambled payload is encoded using fountain codes (204) to obtain multiple encoded information blocks; The encoded information block is mapped (208) to physical resources for transmission.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The encoded information block includes self-decoding blocks and / or non-self-decoding blocks.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, Before mapping the encoded information blocks, the method further includes: performing rate matching (205) on one or more of the encoded information blocks.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, Before mapping the encoded information block, the method further includes: scrambling one or more of the encoded information blocks using another scrambling sequence (206).

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, Before mapping the encoded information block, the method further includes: modulating the encoded information block (207).

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The encoded information block is mapped to physical resources using one or more resource mapping modes based on network condition information, channel condition information, or neighbor cell information.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive an indication from each of one or more receiving devices, wherein each indication is used to indicate one or more desired information blocks; Based on the one or more instructions, one or more of the encoded information blocks are sent through the mapped physical resources.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send an instruction to the receiving device, wherein the instruction is used to indicate one or more encoded information blocks to be sent; The one or more encoded information blocks to be sent are transmitted through the mapped physical resources.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The instructions are sent via Media Access Control (MACCE), Downlink Control Information (DCI), Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, or paging messages.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The method also includes sending one or more of the following: Information regarding whether the plurality of encoded information blocks are activated for the PBCH payload; The number of the plurality of encoded information blocks; Information about one or more transmission modes associated with the plurality of encoded information blocks.

11. A wireless communication method (700) applied to a receiving device, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive (701) one or more encoded information blocks from the Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) from the transmitting device; At least one subset of the one or more encoded information blocks is decoded using fountain codes (702) to obtain the PBCH payload.

12. The method (700) according to claim 11, characterized in that, Before receiving the one or more encoded information blocks, the method further includes: The number of coded information blocks required is determined based on one or more measurements; The number of the required information blocks are sent to the sending device.

13. The method (700) according to claim 11, characterized in that, Before receiving the one or more encoded information blocks, the method further includes: Receive an instruction from the transmitting device, wherein the instruction is for indicating the one or more encoded information blocks to be received by the receiving device, wherein the one or more encoded information blocks are received according to the instruction.

14. A transmitting device (610) for wireless communication, characterized in that, The transmitting device (610) is used for: Generate the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) payload and scrambling sequence; The scrambling sequence is used to scramble the PBCH payload to generate a scrambled payload; The Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) information is appended to the scrambled payload to generate a CRC-protected scrambled payload. The CRC-protected scrambled payload is encoded using fountain codes to obtain multiple encoded information blocks; The encoded information blocks are mapped to physical resources for transmission.

15. A receiving device (620A, 620B) for wireless communication, characterized in that, The receiving device is used for: Receive one or more encoded information blocks from the Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) from the transmitting device (610); At least one subset of the one or more encoded information blocks is decoded using fountain codes to obtain the PBCH payload.

16. A wireless communication system (600), characterized in that, It includes at least one transmitting device (610) according to claim 14 and one or more receiving devices (620A, 620B) according to claim 15.

17. A computer program comprising instructions, characterized in that, When the program is executed by a computer, the instructions cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

Images