Terminal

Abstract

To provide a terminal capable of normally transmitting / receiving a physical channel corresponding to coverage extension.SOLUTION: In a radio communication system, a terminal 200 comprises: a transmission / reception unit for transmitting / receiving a physical channel; and a controlling unit that in a state corresponding to coverage extension differing from a normal state, supposes that the size of a resource block to be assigned to the physical channel is small. In the state corresponding to the coverage extension, the controlling unit supposes only a start position of the resource block and supposes that the size of the resource block is fixed. When transmitting / receiving the physical channel and in the case of a second state differing from a first state, the controlling unit supposes that the size of the resource block to be assigned to the physical channel is small.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to terminals that transmit and receive physical channels. [Background technology]

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP (registered trademark)) has developed specifications for the 5th generation mobile communication system (5G, also known as New Radio (NR) or Next Generation (NG)), and is also developing specifications for the next generation, known as Beyond 5G, 5G Evolution, or 6G.

[0003] For example, in 3GPP Release-17, it has been agreed to study Coverage Enhancement (CE) in NR (Non-Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0004] [Non-Patent Document 1] "New SID on NR coverage enhancement", RP-193240, 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #86, 3GPP, December 2019 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In order to realize the coverage extension in NR, the maximum coupling loss (MCL) of the physical channels (PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel), PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel), PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), and PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) has been evaluated, and it has been found that there is room for improvement for these physical channels.

[0006] Specifically, it is possible to improve the power spectrum density (PSD) during transmission of the physical channel.

[0007] Therefore, the following disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a terminal that can normally transmit and receive physical channels compatible with coverage extension. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] One aspect of the present disclosure is a terminal (UE 200) including a transceiver unit (radio signal transceiver unit 210) that transmits and receives a physical channel, and a control unit (control unit 270) that assumes that the size of the resource block assigned to the physical channel is small when in a second state different from a first state. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall schematic configuration of a wireless communication system 10. As shown in FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a radio frame, a subframe, and a slot used in the radio communication system 10. As shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of UE 200. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the MCL evaluation results of physical channels in FR1. [Diagram 5]FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the MCL evaluation results of physical channels in FR2. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of BLER characteristics of a PUSCH. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an RB unit and a DMRS according to the first operation example. [Figure 8A] FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating a setting example in RB units (half) according to resource allocation type 0 according to the operation example 2. In FIG. [Figure 8B] FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating a setting example in RB units (half) according to resource allocation type 1 according to the operation example 2. In FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a PDSCH-Config according to the second operation example. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the UE 200. As shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the same or similar reference numerals are used to designate the same functions or configurations, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

[0011] (1) Overall configuration of wireless communication system 1 is a schematic diagram of an overall configuration of a wireless communication system 10 according to the present embodiment. The wireless communication system 10 is a wireless communication system conforming to 5G New Radio (NR), and includes a Next Generation-Radio Access Network 20 (hereinafter, NG-RAN 20) and a terminal 200 (User Equipment 200, hereinafter, UE 200).

[0012] The wireless communication system 10 may be a wireless communication system conforming to a standard called Beyond 5G, 5G Evolution, or 6G.

[0013] The NG-RAN 20 includes a radio base station 100A (hereinafter, gNB 100A) and a radio base station 100B (hereinafter, gNB 100B). Note that the specific configuration of the wireless communication system 10, including the number of gNBs and UEs, is not limited to the example shown in FIG.

[0014] The NG-RAN 20 actually includes a plurality of NG-RAN nodes, specifically, gNBs, and is connected to a 5G-compliant core network (5GC, not shown). The NG-RAN 20 and the 5GC may be simply referred to as a "network."

[0015] The gNB100A and gNB100B are radio base stations conforming to NR, and perform radio communication conforming to NR with the UE 200. The gNB100A, gNB100B, and UE 200 are capable of supporting Massive MIMO, which generates a more directional beam by controlling radio signals transmitted from multiple antenna elements, Carrier Aggregation (CA), which uses a bundle of multiple component carriers (CCs), and Dual Connectivity (DC), which simultaneously communicates between the UE and each of multiple NG-RAN Nodes.

[0016] The wireless communication system 10 supports FR1 and FR2. The frequency bands of each FR are as follows.

[0017] FR1: 410MHz~7.125GHz FR2: 24.25GHz~52.6GHz FR1 may use a Sub-Carrier Spacing (SCS) of 15, 30 or 60 kHz and a bandwidth (BW) of 5 to 100 MHz. FR2 is a higher frequency than FR1, and may use an SCS of 60 or 120 kHz (240 kHz may be included) and a bandwidth (BW) of 50 to 400 MHz.

[0018] Furthermore, the wireless communication system 10 may also support a frequency band higher than the FR2 frequency band. Specifically, the wireless communication system 10 may support a frequency band exceeding 52.6 GHz up to 114.25 GHz.

[0019] Also, Cyclic Prefix-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (CP-OFDM) / Discrete Fourier Transform - Spread (DFT-S-OFDM) with a larger Sub-Carrier Spacing (SCS) may be applied. Furthermore, DFT-S-OFDM may be applied not only to the uplink (UL) but also to the downlink (DL).

[0020] FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of radio frames, subframes, and slots used in the radio communication system 10. In FIG.

[0021] As shown in Figure 2, one slot is composed of 14 symbols, and the larger (wider) the SCS is, the shorter the symbol period (and slot period) is. Note that the number of symbols constituting one slot does not necessarily have to be 14 symbols (e.g., 28 or 56 symbols). Also, the number of slots per subframe may differ depending on the SCS.

[0022] 2 may be called a time domain, a symbol period, a symbol time, etc. The frequency direction may be called a frequency domain, a resource block, a subcarrier, a BWP (Bandwidth part), etc.

[0023] In addition, the wireless communication system 10 can support Coverage Enhancement (CE) that expands the coverage of the cell formed by the gNB 100A (and gNB 100B, hereinafter the same). In the coverage enhancement, a mechanism for increasing the success rate of reception of various physical channels may be provided.

[0024] In this embodiment, in order to support coverage expansion, the wireless communication system 10 can handle resource (frequency direction and / or time direction) allocation changes for a specific physical channel, improvements in power density (PSD: Power Spectrum Density), and improvements in channel estimation accuracy.

[0025] (2) Functional block configuration of wireless communication system Next, a description will be given of a functional block configuration of the wireless communication system 10. Specifically, a functional block configuration of the UE 200 will be described.

[0026] Fig. 3 is a functional block diagram of the UE 200. As shown in Fig. 3, the UE 200 includes a radio signal transmitting / receiving unit 210, an amplifier unit 220, a modulation / demodulation unit 230, a control signal / reference signal processing unit 240, an encoding / decoding unit 250, a data transmitting / receiving unit 260, and a control unit 270.

[0027] The radio signal transmission / reception unit 210 transmits and receives radio signals conforming to NR. The radio signal transmission / reception unit 210 supports Massive MIMO, CA that uses a bundle of multiple CCs, and DC that simultaneously communicates between a UE and each of two NG-RAN nodes.

[0028] Specifically, the radio signal transmitting / receiving unit 210 transmits and receives radio signals via various physical channels. In particular, in this embodiment, the radio signal transmitting / receiving unit 210 constitutes a transmitting / receiving unit that transmits and receives physical channels.

[0029] Furthermore, the radio signal transmitting / receiving unit 210 may transmit capability information of the UE 200 regarding transmission and reception of the various physical channels to the network.

[0030] The capability information of UE 200 may be interpreted as UE capability information defined in 3GPP TS38.331 and the like.

[0031] The radio signal transmitting / receiving unit 210 can transmit the UE capability information via a predetermined uplink physical channel. The content of the UE capability information relating to transmission and reception on the physical channel will be described in more detail later.

[0032] The amplifier unit 220 is configured by a PA (Power Amplifier) / LNA (Low Noise Amplifier) ​​etc. The amplifier unit 220 amplifies the signal output from the modem unit 230 to a predetermined power level. The amplifier unit 220 also amplifies the RF signal output from the wireless signal transmitting / receiving unit 210.

[0033] The modem unit 230 performs data modulation / demodulation, transmission power setting, resource block allocation, and the like for each predetermined communication destination (such as gNB100A). The modem unit 230 may apply Cyclic Prefix-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (CP-OFDM) / Discrete Fourier Transform - Spread (DFT-S-OFDM). Furthermore, DFT-S-OFDM may be used not only for uplink (UL) but also for downlink (DL).

[0034] The control signal / reference signal processor 240 executes processing related to various control signals transmitted and received by the UE 200, and processing related to various reference signals transmitted and received by the UE 200.

[0035] Specifically, the control signal / reference signal processor 240 receives various control signals, such as radio resource control layer (RRC) control signals, transmitted from the gNB 100A (or gNB 100B, hereinafter the same) via a predetermined control channel. In addition, the control signal / reference signal processor 240 transmits various control signals to the gNB 100A via a predetermined control channel.

[0036] The control signal / reference signal processor 240 executes processing using reference signals (RS) such as a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) and a Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PTRS).

[0037] DMRS is a known reference signal (pilot signal) between a base station and a terminal for estimating a fading channel used for data demodulation. PTRS is a terminal-specific reference signal for estimating phase noise, which is an issue in high frequency bands.

[0038] In addition to the DMRS and PTRS, the reference signals may include a Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS), a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), and a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) for position information.

[0039] The channels include a control channel and a data channel. The control channels include a PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), a PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel), a RACH (Random Access Channel, Downlink Control Information (DCI) including a Random Access Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RA-RNTI)), and a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH).

[0040] The data channel includes a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), etc. Data may refer to data transmitted via a data channel.

[0041] Furthermore, the physical channels may include at least a PDCCH, a PUCCH, a PUSCH, and a PDSCH.

[0042] The encoding / decoding unit 250 performs data division / concatenation and channel coding / decoding, etc. for each predetermined communication destination (such as gNB100A).

[0043] Specifically, the encoding / decoding unit 250 divides the data output from the data transmitting / receiving unit 260 into pieces of a predetermined size, performs channel coding on the divided data, and decodes the data output from the modem unit 230 and concatenates the decoded data.

[0044] The data transmission / reception unit 260 transmits and receives Protocol Data Units (PDUs) and Service Data Units (SDUs). Specifically, the data transmission / reception unit 260 performs assembly / disassembly of PDUs / SDUs in multiple layers (such as a Medium Access Control layer (MAC), a Radio Link Control layer (RLC), and a Packet Data Convergence Protocol layer (PDCP)). In addition, the data transmission / reception unit 260 performs data error correction and retransmission control based on a hybrid automatic repeat request (Hybrid ARQ).

[0045] The control unit 270 controls each functional block constituting the UE 200. In particular, in this embodiment, the control unit 270 can execute various controls related to physical channels to support coverage extension (CE).

[0046] Specifically, the control unit 270 may assume that in a state supporting coverage extension (which may be called the second state), unlike a normal state (which may be called the first state), the size of the resource block (RB) assigned to the physical channel is small.

[0047] For example, in 3GPP Release 15 and 16, physical channels, specifically, resources of PDSCH, PUSCH, PDCCH, and PUCCH are allocated in RB units (RB Unit: 12 subcarriers, full RB), but the RB unit may be reduced. Typical reduction examples include half RB (6 subcarriers) and quarter RB (3 subcarriers). The control unit 270 may assume such RB units.

[0048] In addition, when the RB unit is reduced in this way, that is, when the coverage extension is supported, the control unit 270 determines the start position of the RB (RB start ) and may assume that the size of the RB is fixed. In other words, control unit 270 may assume that the number of RBs is a uniquely determined value (fixed value).

[0049] Furthermore, when the coverage extension is supported, the control unit 270 may assume a coding rate (CR) to be applied to the physical channel based on the size of the RB.

[0050] Specifically, control unit 270 may set an appropriate modulation and coding scheme (MCS) according to the set RB unit in accordance with the specifications of 3GPP Release 15 and 16.

[0051] Alternatively, the control unit 270 may change the value of the set MCS according to the set RB unit. For example, when the Transport block size (TBS) is a half RB, it is the same as a full RB, so it may be changed to a full RB. Details of such an operation will be described later.

[0052] (3) Operation of wireless communication system Next, a description will be given of the operation of the wireless communication system 10. Specifically, a description will be given of the operation related to reception by the UE 200 of physical channels (PDSCH, PUSCH, PDCCH, PUCCH) compatible with coverage enhancement (CE).

[0053] (3.1) Premise A Study Item set by 3GPP (see RP-193240) envisages the realisation of coverage extension in both the FR1 and FR2 frequency bands.

[0054] Targeted scenarios include outdoor (O) gNB serving indoor (I) UEs (in FR1), indoor gNB serving indoor UEs (in FR2), and coverage extension in urban, suburban and rural areas (including long-distance rural areas).

[0055] The main target services are VoIP (Voice over IP) and eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broadband).

[0056] Based on such a scenario and target services, the maximum coupling loss (MCL) of the physical channels, specifically, the PDSCH, PUSCH, PDCCH, and PUCCH, is evaluated. As a result, it is assumed that there is a need for improvement, as shown below.

[0057] (FR1) ·PUSCH: Approximately 10 dB (VoIP), approximately 15 dB (eMBB) ·PDCCH: Approximately 5 dB (VoIP) (FR2) PUSCH: approx. 5 dB (eMBB) ·PDCCH: Approximately 10 dB (VoIP) PUCCH: Approx. 5 dB (VoIP) Figure 4 shows the MCL evaluation results of the physical channels in FR1. Figure 5 shows the MCL evaluation results of the physical channels in FR2.

[0058] The following describes the operation of PDSCH, PUSCH, PDCCH, and PUCCH improvements to support coverage extension.

[0059] As one approach to satisfying a predetermined data rate (which may be read as transmission speed, communication rate, communication speed, throughput, etc.), the following options are possible.

[0060] (Option 1): Increase the number of Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) and lower the modulation method and coding rate (Option 2): Reduce the number of PRBs and increase the modulation method and coding rate If option 1 is selected, the block error rate (BLER) performance relative to the signal-to-interference plus noise power ratio (SINR) improves, but the power spectrum density (PSD) decreases. On the other hand, if option 2 is selected, the opposite occurs.

[0061] Fig. 6 shows an example of the BLER characteristic of the PUSCH. Specifically, Fig. 6 shows the BLER characteristic of the PUSCH when the number of PRBs and the coding rate are changed while keeping the data rate constant (assuming VoIP (about 12.2 kbps) in FR1).

[0062] As shown in FIG. 6, by halving the number of PRBs and doubling the coding rate (CR), a difference of about 2 dB occurs in the required SINR required to achieve a BLER (for example, 1%).

[0063] On the other hand, halving the number of PRBs results in a gain of about 3 dB when calculating the MCL (see Chapter 5.1.2 of 3GPP TS36.824). As a result, a better MCL can be achieved when the coding rate is high but the number of PRBs is small (with a high approx.).

[0064] In the following, operations that can improve the PSD of the physical channel are described.

[0065] (3.2) Operation overview By improving the PSD, the coverage in which UE200 can reside (i.e., successfully perform wireless communication with gNB100A (or gNB100B)) can be expanded.

[0066] In 3GPP Release-15 and 16, resources for the PDSCH, PUSCH, PDCCH, and PUCCH are allocated in RB units (that is, 12 subcarriers), but in the following operation example, the RB unit is reduced.

[0067] Specifically, as described above, the number of subcarriers may be reduced to half RBs (six subcarriers) or quarter RBs (three subcarriers).

[0068] As described above, the physical channels that can be the subject of the reduction are assumed to be PDSCH, PUSCH, PDCCH, and PUCCH, but are not necessarily limited to these physical channels.

[0069] The mapping of the DMRS does not need to be changed and may be the same as that in 3GPP Release-15 and 16.

[0070] Alternatively, the DMRS sequence generation may follow 3GPP Release-15 and N_SC^RB (the number of subcarriers per RB) may be interpreted as any of {12, 6, 3} depending on the RB unit (full / half / quarter). N_SC^RB is specified in Chapter 4.4.4.1 of 3GPP TS38.211, etc.

[0071] The RB unit (full / half / quarter) may be set in any of the following ways.

[0072] Method 1: Use an existing Resource allocation type Method 2: Create a new Resource allocation type As described above, the setting target is the start position of the RB (RB start ) only.

[0073] The coding rate (CR) may be set according to any of the following methods.

[0074] Method 1: Set the appropriate MCS according to the RB unit (full / half / quarter) set in accordance with 3GPP Release-15, 16 Method 2: Change the MCS setting according to the RB unit (full / half / quarter)

[0075] (3.3) Example of operation Hereinafter, operation examples 1 to 4 will be described as specific examples of the above-mentioned operation.

[0076] (3.3.1) Example 1 In this operation example, the unit by which resources for the PDSCH, PUSCH, PDCCH, and PUCCH are allocated, specifically, the RB unit, is reduced.

[0077] More specifically, the number of subcarriers included in an RB unit may be reduced from 12 (full) to 6 (half) or 3 (quarter), etc. Fig. 7 shows an example of the configuration of an RB unit and a DMRS according to operation example 1. Specifically, the upper part of Fig. 7 shows an example where an RB unit is 12 subcarriers (full) (see the bold frame in the figure). The middle part of Fig. 7 shows an example where an RB unit is 6 subcarriers (half), and the lower part of Fig. 7 shows an example where an RB unit is 3 subcarriers (quarter).

[0078] As described above, the mapping of the DMRS does not need to be changed in particular and may be the same as that in 3GPP Release-15 and 16.

[0079] Alternatively, in particular, when transform precoding is enabled, the sequence generation for DMRS may follow 3GPP Release-15 and N_SC^RB may be interpreted as any of {12, 6, 3} depending on the RB unit (full / half / quarter).

[0080] The sequence r(n) of the DMRS may be generated as follows (see Chapter 6.4.1.1.1.2 of 3GPP TS38.211):

[0081]

number

[0082] (3.3.2) Example 2 This operation example relates to a method of setting the RB unit (full / half / quarter). As described above, the RB unit may be set by the existing resource allocation type (method 1) or the new resource allocation type (method 2).

[0083] When using an existing resource allocation type (method 1), resource allocation type 0 or resource allocation type 1 may be applied.

[0084] 8A shows an example of setting in RB units (half) according to Resource allocation type 0 in operation example 2. FIG. 8B shows an example of setting in RB units (half) according to Resource allocation type 1 in operation example 2.

[0085] In the case of resource allocation type 0, as shown in FIG. 8A, in a Resource Block Group (RBG) set by a bitmap, for example, the smallest (lowest frequency) six subcarriers (in the case of a half PRB (which may be abbreviated as RB)) of the set RBG may be set.

[0086] Alternatively, the six subcarriers to be set may be set in advance using information elements (IEs) of the RRC layer, such as PDSCH-Config and PUSCH-Config.

[0087] Also, whether or not to change the RB unit may be set in advance using PDSCH-Config, PUSCH-Config, etc. The number of required bits is N RBG N RBG indicates the number of RBGs.

[0088] In the case of resource allocation type 1, when the number of RBs allocated is 1, it may be interpreted as half or quarter RB. Whether or not to interpret the RB unit as a different unit may be set in advance using PDSCH-Config, PUSCH-Config, etc. The number of required bits can be expressed as follows.

[0089]

number

[0090] N_RB^UL, BWP is the number of RBs in the UL BWP.

[0091] In addition, when creating a new resource allocation type (method 2), the setting target is the start position of the RB (RB start ) only.

[0092] Specifically, DCI formats 0_2 and 1_2 (for URLLC (Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications)) and RB start The granularity (K2) of the RBG start ).

[0093] In this case, the number of required bits can be expressed as follows:

[0094]

number

[0095] Also, the number of RBs (LRBs ) may be a unique value (fixed value) (e.g., L RBs =1 / 4, 1 / 2, 1, 2, 3, …). In this case, L RBs may be set using PDSCH-Config, PUSCH-Config, etc. Also, as an initial value, for example, L RBs =1 may also be used.

[0096] Fig. 9 shows a configuration example of PDSCH-Config according to operation example 2. When a new Resource allocation type is provided as shown in Fig. 9, for example, resourceAllocationType2 may be added as a value of the resourceAllocation field of PDSCH-Config.

[0097] In this case, the DCI for configuring the PDSCH resource may be an existing DCI (DCI format 0_0, 0_1, 0_2), or a new DCI format may be defined.

[0098] In addition, when Dynamic Switch of resourceAllocationType is executed, similarly to 3GPP Release-15 and 16, it may be set using the MSB bit of the Frequency domain resource assignment field of DCI.

[0099] In this case, the RA (Resource Allocation) type when the MSB bit = 0 and the RA type when the MSB bit = 1 may be arbitrarily set using, for example, PDSCH-Config. Alternatively, a new DCI format may be specified and Type 0, 1 or 2 may be set using the two MSB bits.

[0100] (3.3.3) Example 3 This operation example relates to a method for setting a coding rate (CR). As described above, an appropriate MCS may be set in accordance with 3GPP Release-15, 16 according to the set RB unit (full / half / quarter) (Method 1), or the set MCS may be interpreted differently according to the set RB unit (full / half / quarter) (Method 2).

[0101] In the case of method 1, for example, in the case of a half RB, the TBS may be half that in the case of a full RB, whereas in the case of method 2, for example, in the case of a half RB, the TBS may be the same as that in the case of a full RB.

[0102] When half RBs are allocated to the physical channel, the coding rate of the MCS may be interpreted as, for example, 2. Alternatively, a new MCS table may be defined, and different coding rates may be defined for full / half / quarter RBs.

[0103] (3.3.4) Example 4 In this operation example, the UE 200 may transmit capability information (UE capability information) of the UE 200 regarding transmission and reception of the physical channels (PDSCH, PUSCH, PDCCH, PUCCH) to the network.

[0104] As described above, the UE 200 can report the capability of the UE 200 with respect to the physical channel, for example, as follows:

[0105] ·Whether or not half RB (e.g., 6 subcarriers) / quarter RB (e.g., 3 subcarriers) is supported - Support for new DCI formats Specifically, the UE capability report (which may be rephrased as the transmission of UE capability information) may be performed in accordance with any of the following for a frequency band (which may be FR or Band) supported by the UE 200.

[0106] Reports compatibility for all frequencies (compatibility as UE200) - Report compatibility for each frequency - Reports compatibility for each frequency range (e.g. FR1, FR2) Furthermore, the report of the duplexing method supported by UE 200 may follow any of the following.

[0107] Report on compatibility with UE200 Report by duplex method (Time Division Duplex (TDD), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD))

[0108] (4) Actions and Effects According to the above-described embodiment, the following advantageous effects can be obtained. Specifically, in the case of the UE 200 in a state (which may be called a second state) corresponding to the coverage extension, unlike the normal state (which may be called a first state), it can be assumed that the size of the RBs allocated to the physical channels (PDSCH, PUSCH, PDCCH, PUCCH) is small.

[0109] By having the UE 200 assume a configuration of physical channels suitable for such coverage extension, the UE 200 can normally transmit and receive physical channels compatible with coverage extension during coverage extension.

[0110] In this embodiment, when the UE 200 is in a state that supports coverage extension, the UE 200 determines the start position of the RB (RB start ) and the size of the RB may be assumed to be fixed. Therefore, the network does not need to specify the size of the small RB applied during coverage extension one by one, and efficient RB specification can be realized.

[0111] In this embodiment, when the UE 200 supports coverage extension, the UE 200 may assume a coding rate (CR) to be applied to the physical channel based on the size of the RB. Therefore, the network does not need to specify an appropriate coding rate corresponding to the size of the small RB applied during coverage extension, and can realize efficient specification of the RB and coding rate (MCS).

[0112] (5) Other embodiments Although the embodiment has been described above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the description of the embodiment and that various modifications and improvements are possible.

[0113] For example, in the above embodiment, the description is given on the assumption that the settings related to the physical channel are changed when the coverage is extended, but as described above, this is not necessarily limited to when the coverage is extended. For example, the second state may be interpreted as a state in which at least some settings related to the physical channel are different from the first state, or may be interpreted as a case in which a predetermined DCI format is used, etc.

[0114] Moreover, the block diagram (FIG. 3) used in the description of the above-mentioned embodiment shows functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Furthermore, the method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized by using one device that is physically or logically combined, or may be realized by using two or more devices that are physically or logically separated and directly or indirectly connected (for example, by using wires, wirelessly, etc.). The functional block may be realized by combining the one device or the multiple devices with software.

[0115] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, determination, judgment, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, consideration, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, and assignment. For example, a functional block (component) that performs the function of transmission is called a transmitting unit or a transmitter. As described above, there is no particular limitation on the method of realization of any of these.

[0116] Furthermore, the above-mentioned UE 200 may function as a computer that performs processing of the wireless communication method of the present disclosure. Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the UE 200. As shown in Fig. 10, the UE 200 may be configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a storage 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, and a bus 1007.

[0117] In the following description, the term "apparatus" may be interpreted as a circuit, a device, a unit, etc. The hardware configuration of the apparatus may be configured to include one or more of the apparatuses shown in the drawings, or may be configured to exclude some of the apparatuses.

[0118] Each functional block of the UE 200 (see FIG. 3) is realized by any hardware element of the computer device, or a combination of the hardware elements.

[0119] In addition, each function in UE200 is realized by loading a specific software (program) onto hardware such as processor 1001, memory 1002, etc., so that processor 1001 performs calculations, controls communication by communication device 1004, and controls at least one of reading and writing of data in memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0120] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer by running, for example, an operating system, and may be configured by a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control unit, an arithmetic unit, a register, and the like.

[0121] Furthermore, the processor 1001 reads out programs (program codes), software modules, data, etc. from at least one of the storage 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002, and executes various processes according to these. As the programs, programs that cause a computer to execute at least a part of the operations described in the above-mentioned embodiments are used. Furthermore, the above-mentioned various processes may be executed by one processor 1001, or may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The programs may be transmitted from a network via a telecommunications line.

[0122] The memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be configured by at least one of, for example, a Read Only Memory (ROM), an Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), etc. The memory 1002 may also be called a register, a cache, a main memory (primary storage device), etc. The memory 1002 can store a program (program code), a software module, etc., capable of executing a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0123] Storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be composed of at least one of, for example, an optical disk such as a Compact Disc ROM (CD-ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magnetic strip, and the like. Storage 1003 may be referred to as an auxiliary storage device. The above-mentioned recording medium may be, for example, a database, a server, or other suitable medium including at least one of memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0124] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for performing communication between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also called, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module.

[0125] The communication device 1004 may be configured to include a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, and the like to realize, for example, at least one of Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD).

[0126] The input device 1005 is an input device (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that accepts input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (e.g., a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, etc.) that performs output to the outside. The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into one device (e.g., a touch panel).

[0127] In addition, each device such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002 is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between each device.

[0128] Furthermore, the device may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc., and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

[0129] Furthermore, the notification of information is not limited to the aspects / embodiments described in the present disclosure, and may be performed using other methods. For example, the notification of information may be performed by physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI)), higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling, broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), other signals, or a combination of these. Furthermore, the RRC signaling may be called an RRC message, and may be, for example, an RRC Connection Setup message, an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, or the like.

[0130] Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be applied to at least one of a system using Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), Future Radio Access (FRA), New Radio (NR), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (registered trademark), other suitable systems, and next-generation systems extended based on these. In addition, a combination of multiple systems (e.g., a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A and 5G, etc.) may be applied.

[0131] The order of the steps, sequences, flow charts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be changed unless inconsistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an example order, and are not limited to the particular order presented.

[0132] In the present disclosure, a specific operation performed by a base station may be performed by its upper node in some cases. In a network consisting of one or more network nodes having a base station, it is clear that various operations performed for communication with a terminal may be performed by at least one of the base station and other network nodes other than the base station (e.g., MME or S-GW, etc., but are not limited to these). Although the above example illustrates a case in which there is one other network node other than the base station, it may also be a combination of multiple other network nodes (e.g., MME and S-GW).

[0133] Information, signals (information, etc.) may be output from a higher layer (or a lower layer) to a lower layer (or a higher layer), and may be input and output via multiple network nodes.

[0134] The input / output information may be stored in a specific location (e.g., memory) or may be managed using a management table. The input / output information may be overwritten, updated, or appended. The output information may be deleted. The input information may be transmitted to another device.

[0135] The determination may be based on a value represented by a single bit (0 or 1), a Boolean (true or false) value, or a numerical comparison (e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

[0136] Each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched according to execution. In addition, notification of specific information (e.g., notification that "X is the case") is not limited to being done explicitly, but may be done implicitly (e.g., not notifying the specific information).

[0137] Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

[0138] Additionally, software, instructions, information, etc. may be transmitted or received over a transmission medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired and / or wireless technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), and / or wireless technologies (such as infrared, microwave, etc.), then these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.

[0139] The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0140] In addition, the terms described in this disclosure and the terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, at least one of a channel and a symbol may be a signal (signaling). Also, a signal may be a message. Also, a component carrier (CC) may be called a carrier frequency, a cell, a frequency carrier, etc.

[0141] As used in this disclosure, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.

[0142] In addition, the information, parameters, etc. described in the present disclosure may be represented using absolute values, may be represented using relative values ​​from a predetermined value, or may be represented using other corresponding information. For example, a radio resource may be indicated by an index.

[0143] The names used for the above-mentioned parameters are not limiting in any way. Furthermore, the formulas using these parameters may differ from those explicitly disclosed in this disclosure. The various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements may be identified by any suitable names, and therefore the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not limiting in any way.

[0144] In this disclosure, terms such as "base station (BS)", "radio base station", "fixed station", "NodeB", "eNodeB (eNB)", "gNodeB (gNB)", "access point", "transmission point", "reception point", "transmission / reception point", "cell", "sector", "cell group", "carrier", "component carrier", etc. may be used interchangeably. A base station may also be referred to by terms such as a macro cell, a small cell, a femto cell, a pico cell, etc.

[0145] A base station can accommodate one or more (e.g., three) cells (also called sectors). When a base station accommodates multiple cells, the entire coverage area of ​​the base station can be divided into multiple smaller areas, and each smaller area can also be provided with communication services by a base station subsystem (e.g., a small indoor base station (Remote Radio Head: RRH)).

[0146] The term "cell" or "sector" refers to part or all of the coverage area of ​​a base station and / or a base station subsystem that provides communication services within that coverage.

[0147] In this disclosure, the terms "Mobile Station (MS)", "user terminal", "User Equipment (UE)", "terminal", etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0148] A mobile station may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable terminology.

[0149] At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be called a transmitting device, a receiving device, a communication device, etc. At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be a device mounted on a moving body, the moving body itself, etc. The moving body may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned moving body (e.g., a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned). At least one of the base station and the mobile station may include a device that does not necessarily move during communication operation. For example, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be an Internet of Things (IoT) device such as a sensor.

[0150] Furthermore, a base station in the present disclosure may be read as a mobile station (user terminal, the same applies below). For example, each aspect / embodiment of the present disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a mobile station is replaced with communication between multiple mobile stations (which may be called, for example, Device-to-Device (D2D) or Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X)). In this case, the mobile station may be configured to have the functions of a base station. Furthermore, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" may be read as terms corresponding to communication between terminals (for example, "side"). For example, an uplink channel, a downlink channel, etc. may be read as a side channel.

[0151] Similarly, a mobile station in the present disclosure may be interpreted as a base station, in which case the base station may have the functions of a mobile station. A radio frame may be composed of one or more frames in the time domain. Each of the one or more frames in the time domain may be called a subframe. A subframe may further be composed of one or more slots in the time domain. A subframe may have a fixed time length (e.g., 1 ms) that is independent of numerology.

[0152] Numerology may be a communication parameter that applies to the transmission and / or reception of a signal or channel, and may indicate, for example, at least one of a SubCarrier Spacing (SCS), a bandwidth, a symbol length, a Cyclic Prefix length, a Transmission Time Interval (TTI), a number of symbols per TTI, a radio frame structure, a particular filtering operation that the transceiver performs in the frequency domain, a particular windowing operation that the transceiver performs in the time domain, etc.

[0153] A slot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain (such as an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbol, etc.) A slot may be a numerology-based unit of time.

[0154] A slot may include multiple minislots. Each minislot may be composed of one or more symbols in the time domain. A minislot may also be called a subslot. A minislot may be composed of fewer symbols than a slot. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted in a time unit larger than a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type A. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted using a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type B.

[0155] A radio frame, a subframe, a slot, a minislot, and a symbol each represent a time unit for transmitting a signal. The radio frame, the subframe, the slot, the minislot, and the symbol may each be referred to by a different name.

[0156] For example, one subframe may be called a transmission time interval (TTI), multiple consecutive subframes may be called a TTI, or one slot or one minislot may be called a TTI. That is, at least one of the subframe and the TTI may be a subframe (1 ms) in the existing LTE, a period shorter than 1 ms (for example, 1-13 symbols), or a period longer than 1 ms. Note that the unit representing the TTI may be called a slot, minislot, etc., instead of a subframe.

[0157] Here, TTI refers to, for example, the minimum time unit for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, a base station performs scheduling to allocate radio resources (such as frequency bandwidth and transmission power that can be used by each user terminal) to each user terminal in TTI units. Note that the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

[0158] The TTI may be a transmission time unit for a channel-encoded data packet (transport block), a code block, a code word, etc., or may be a processing unit for scheduling, link adaptation, etc. When a TTI is given, the time interval (e.g., the number of symbols) in which a transport block, a code block, a code word, etc. are actually mapped may be shorter than the TTI.

[0159] In addition, when one slot or one minislot is called TTI, one or more TTIs (i.e., one or more slots or one or more minislots) may be the minimum time unit of scheduling. Also, the number of slots (minislots) constituting the minimum time unit of scheduling may be controlled.

[0160] A TTI having a time length of 1 ms may be called a normal TTI (TTI in LTE Rel. 8-12), a normal TTI, a long TTI, a normal subframe, a normal subframe, a long subframe, a slot, etc. A TTI shorter than a normal TTI may be called a shortened TTI, a short TTI, a partial or fractional TTI, a shortened subframe, a short subframe, a minislot, a subslot, a slot, etc.

[0161] In addition, a long TTI (e.g., a normal TTI, a subframe, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a time length exceeding 1 ms, and a short TTI (e.g., a shortened TTI, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a TTI length shorter than the TTI length of a long TTI and equal to or greater than 1 ms.

[0162] A resource block (RB) is a resource allocation unit in the time domain and the frequency domain, and may include one or more consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be the same regardless of the numerology, for example, 12. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be determined based on the numerology.

[0163] In addition, the time domain of the RB may include one or more symbols and may be one slot, one minislot, one subframe, or one TTI in length. Each of one TTI, one subframe, etc. may be composed of one or more resource blocks.

[0164] One or more RBs may be called a physical resource block (PRB), a sub-carrier group (SCG), a resource element group (REG), a PRB pair, an RB pair, or the like.

[0165] Furthermore, a resource block may be composed of one or more resource elements (REs). For example, one RE may be a radio resource region of one subcarrier and one symbol.

[0166] A Bandwidth Part (BWP), which may also be referred to as a fractional bandwidth, may represent a subset of contiguous common resource blocks (RBs) for a numerology on a carrier, where the common RBs may be identified by the index of the RBs relative to a common reference point of the carrier. PRBs may be defined in a BWP and numbered within the BWP.

[0167] The BWP may include a BWP for UL (UL BWP) and a BWP for DL ​​(DL BWP). One or more BWPs may be configured for a UE within one carrier.

[0168] At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the UE may not expect to transmit or receive a given signal / channel outside the active BWP. Note that the terms "cell", "carrier", etc. in this disclosure may be replaced with "BWP".

[0169] The above-mentioned structures of radio frames, subframes, slots, minislots, symbols, etc. are merely examples. For example, the number of subframes included in a radio frame, the number of slots per subframe or radio frame, the number of minislots included in a slot, the number of symbols and RBs included in a slot or minislot, the number of subcarriers included in an RB, the number of symbols in a TTI, the symbol length, the cyclic prefix (CP) length, etc. may be changed in various ways.

[0170] The terms "connected," "coupled," or any variation thereof, refer to any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" to each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, "connected" may be read as "access." As used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to each other using at least one of one or more wires, cables, and printed electrical connections, as well as electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency range, microwave range, and optical (both visible and invisible) range, as some non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples.

[0171] The reference signal may also be abbreviated as Reference Signal (RS), and may be called a pilot depending on the applicable standard.

[0172] As used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly stated otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

[0173] The "means" in the configuration of each of the above devices may be replaced with "part," "circuit," "device," etc.

[0174] Any reference to an element using a designation such as "first," "second," etc., used in this disclosure does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient way to distinguish between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed therein or that the first element must precede the second element in some way.

[0175] When the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are used in this disclosure, these terms are intended to be inclusive, as is the term "comprising." Further, as used in this disclosure, the term "or" is not intended to be an exclusive or.

[0176] In this disclosure, where articles have been added due to translation, such as a, an, and the in English, the disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are in the plural form.

[0177] As used in this disclosure, the terms "determining" and "determining" may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Determining" and "determining" may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, search, inquiry (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining, and the like. "Determining" and "determining" may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), and the like. In addition, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc., to be a "judgment" or "decision." In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering some action to be a "judgment" or "decision." In addition, "judgment" can be interpreted as "assuming," "expecting," "considering," etc.

[0178] In the present disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "coupled" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different."

[0179] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described in the present disclosure. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0180] 10. Wireless communication systems 20 NG-RAN 100A, 100B gNB UE 200 210 Radio signal transmitter / receiver 220 Amplifier section 230 Modulation and demodulation section 240 Control signal / reference signal processing unit 250 Encoding / Decoding Unit 260 Data transmission and reception unit 270 Control Unit 1001 Processor 1002 Memory 1003 Storage 1004 Communication equipment 1005 Input Device 1006 Output device 1007 Bus

Claims

1. a transceiver unit for transmitting and receiving a physical channel; A control unit that assumes that the size of a resource block assigned to the physical channel is small when the coverage extension is supported, which is different from the normal state; Equipped with The control unit assumes only the start position of the resource block and assumes that the size of the resource block is fixed when the terminal supports the coverage extension.

2. The terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit, when in a state supporting the coverage extension, assumes a coding rate to be applied to the physical channel based on a size of the resource block.

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