Applying time gap offsets for non-terrestrial networks

Abstract

To provide an apparatus and method for determining a slot for an uplink reception for a non-terrestrial network link between a base station and user equipment.SOLUTION: A wireless communication system comprises a base station that determines a timing advance based on at least a random access preamble reception and determines an uplink offset based on the timing advance. The base station may further determine a candidate slot for an uplink reception based on at least the offset. In addition, the base station may determine if the candidate slot is available for the uplink reception. The base station may use the candidate slot for the uplink reception when the candidate uplink slot is available and may use the next available slot for the uplink reception when the candidate uplink slot is not available.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8A

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to wireless technology, and more specifically to the application of timing improvement to links in a non-terrestrial network. 〔Background of the Invention〕

[0002] In 5G New Radio (NR), there are several different timing relationships defined for the terrestrial network (TN). For example, K 0 is the time gap between downlink control information (DCI) and the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). In addition, K 1 is the time gap between PDSCH reception and physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission, and K 2 is the time gap between DCI and the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). In NR Release 16, for the non-terrestrial network (NTN), these timing relationships can change due to the greater communication distances involved in the NTN by traversing the wireless link from a terrestrial-based user equipment (UE) to a satellite and back to the terrestrial-based network (and vice versa). The problem is to determine how these timing relationships can be changed for the NTN.

Summary of the Invention

[0003] A user equipment (UE) comprising a processor configured to perform an operation of determining an uplink (UL) slot is described. In an exemplary embodiment, the UE receives a scaling factor from a base station via a first radio resource control (RRC) signal. The UE can further determine an offset via a second RRC signal. Additionally, the UE can receive downlink control information (DCI) including an indication of a first time gap from the base station. Further, the UE can calculate a new time gap by applying the scaling factor to at least the first time gap, and determine an uplink transmission slot based on at least the new time gap and the offset. The scaling factor depends on at least one of cell size, beam size, and user equipment capability. For a UE with high capability, the scaling factor is 1, and for a UE with low capability, the scaling factor is greater than 1. Additionally, the scaling factor ranges from 1 to 16.

[0004] Furthermore, the first time gap is K 1 and K 2 is a plurality of time gaps including, where K 1 represents a time gap between physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception and physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission, and K 2 represents a time gap between physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) reception and physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission. Further, different scaling factors may exist for different K values or different UEs. Additionally, the same scaling factor may exist for different K values. The first time gap includes K 4 representing a time gap between physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) reception and physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission.

[0005] In another embodiment, a UE comprising a processor configured to perform an operation of determining an uplink (UL) slot using a scaling factor set is described. In one embodiment, the UE receives a scaling factor set from a base station via a first radio resource control (RRC) signal. The UE can further determine an offset via a second RRC signal. Additionally, the UE can receive downlink control information (DCI) from the base station, including an indication of a first time gap and an indication of a selected scaling factor that is one of the scaling factor set. The UE can further calculate a new time gap by applying the selected scaling factor to at least the first time gap, and determine a slot for uplink transmission based on at least the new time gap and the offset. The scaling factor may depend on at least one of cell size, beam size, and user equipment capabilities.

[0006] Furthermore, the first time gap is K 1 and K 2 is a plurality of time gaps including, where K 1 represents the time gap between physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception and physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission, and K 2 represents the time gap between physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) reception and physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission. Furthermore, different scaling factors may exist for different K values or different UEs. Additionally, the same scaling factor may exist for different K values. The first time gap includes K 4 representing the time gap between physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) reception and physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission.

[0007] In another embodiment, a baseband processor configured to perform an operation of determining an uplink (UL) slot is described. In an exemplary embodiment, the baseband processor receives a scaling factor from a base station via a first radio resource control (RRC) signal. The baseband processor can further determine an offset via a second RRC signal. In addition, the baseband processor can receive downlink control information (DCI) including an indication of a first time gap from the base station. Further, the baseband processor can calculate a new time gap by applying the scaling factor to at least the first time gap, and determine a slot for uplink transmission based on at least the new time gap and the offset.

[0008] In another embodiment, a baseband processor configured to perform an operation of determining an uplink (UL) slot using a set of scaling factors is described. In one embodiment, the baseband processor receives a set of scaling factors from a base station via a first radio resource control (RRC) signal. The baseband processor can further determine an offset via a second RRC signal. In addition, the baseband processor can receive downlink control information (DCI) including an indication of a first time gap and an indication of a selected scaling factor that is one of the set of scaling factors from the base station. The baseband processor can further calculate a new time gap by applying the selected scaling factor to at least the first time gap, and determine a slot for uplink transmission based on at least the new time gap and the offset.

[0009] A method and apparatus for a base station are described that include a processor configured to perform an operation of determining a slot for uplink reception for a non-terrestrial network link between the base station and a user equipment. In an exemplary embodiment, the base station determines a timing advance based at least on random access preamble reception and determines an uplink offset based on the timing advance. The base station can further determine candidate slots for uplink reception based at least on the offset. Additionally, the base station can determine whether a candidate slot is available for uplink reception. The base station can use a candidate slot for uplink reception when the candidate uplink slot is available and can use the next available slot for uplink reception when the candidate uplink slot is not available.

[0010] Additionally, uplink reception includes a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a random access response (RAR) scheduled by the PUSCH, a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or an aperiodic SRS. The base station can further determine whether a candidate slot is an uplink slot, a downlink slot, a hybrid slot, or a flexible slot based at least on a time-division duplex (TDD) configuration of the candidate slot format, and the candidate slot is available if it is one of an uplink slot or a hybrid slot and the uplink reception corresponds to an uplink symbol in the hybrid slot, and the candidate slot is not available if it is one of a downlink slot, a hybrid slot having an uplink reception that does not correspond to an uplink symbol in the hybrid slot, or a flexible slot.

[0011] Furthermore, the uplink offset is a measure of the delay of the non-terrestrial network link. The base station can further calculate the uplink offset based on at least the timing advance of one or more satellite links in the non-terrestrial network. Additionally, the uplink offset is set equal to the sum of the service link timing advance and the feeder link timing advance divided by the slot duration. The base station can further calculate the media access control (MAC) control element (CE) action timing using at least the uplink offset. The base station can further calculate the time gap between the reception of the last physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) and the transmission of the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) using the sidelink offset, and the sidelink offset can have a value different from the uplink offset. The base station can further calculate the time domain offset for the type 1 configured grant configuration using at least the uplink offset.

[0012] In a further embodiment, a user equipment (UE) comprising a processor configured to perform an operation of determining a slot for a channel state information (CSI) reference resource is described. In one embodiment, the UE receives timing advance information from a base station. The UE can further determine an offset based on the timing advance information. The UE further determines candidate slots for a channel state information (CSI) reference resource based on at least the offset. Additionally, the UE can determine whether a candidate slot is available for use as a CSI reference resource. Further, the UE can use the candidate slot for the CSI reference resource when the candidate slot is available, and can use another slot for the CSI reference resource when the candidate slot is not available. Additionally, another available CSI reference resource can be the slot before or after the candidate slot.

[0013] The UE can further determine whether a candidate slot is an uplink slot, a downlink slot, a hybrid slot, or a flexible slot based on at least the time division duplex (TDD) configuration of the candidate slot format. Based on at least the time division duplex (TDD) configuration of the candidate slot format, if the candidate slot is an uplink slot, a downlink slot, a hybrid slot, or a flexible slot, the candidate slot is available. If the candidate slot is a downlink slot or one of the hybrid slots where downlink reception corresponds to downlink symbols in the hybrid slot, the candidate slot is available. If the candidate slot is an uplink slot, a hybrid slot where downlink reception does not correspond to downlink symbols in the hybrid slot, or one of the flexible slots, the candidate slot is unavailable.

[0014] In another embodiment, a baseband processor for determining a slot for a channel state information (CSI) reference resource is described. In one embodiment, the baseband processor receives timing advance information from a base station. The baseband processor can further determine an offset based on the timing advance information. The baseband processor further determines a candidate slot for the CSI reference resource based on at least the offset. In addition, the baseband processor can determine whether the candidate slot is available for the CSI reference resource. Further, when the candidate slot is available, the baseband processor can use the candidate slot for the CSI reference resource, and when the candidate slot is not available, the baseband processor can use another slot for the CSI reference resource. In addition, another available CSI reference resource can be the slot before or after the candidate slot. In addition, the offset is a measure of the delay of the non-terrestrial network link.

[0015] In another embodiment, a non-transitory machine-readable medium having executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processing units, perform a method for determining a slot for uplink reception for a non-terrestrial network link between a base station and a user equipment is described. In one embodiment, the method determines a timing advance based at least on a random access preamble reception and determines an uplink offset based on the timing advance. The method can further determine candidate slots for uplink reception based at least on the offset. Additionally, the method can determine whether a candidate slot is available for uplink reception. The method can use the candidate slot for uplink reception when the candidate uplink slot is available, and can use the next available slot for uplink reception when the candidate uplink slot is not available.

[0016] In a further embodiment, a non-transitory machine-readable medium having executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processing units, perform a method for determining a slot for a channel state information (CSI) reference resource is described. In one embodiment, the method receives timing advance information from a base station. The method can further determine an offset based on the timing advance information. The method further determines candidate slots for the CSI reference resource based at least on the offset. Additionally, the method can determine whether a candidate slot is available for the CSI reference resource. Further, the method can use the candidate slot for the CSI reference resource when the candidate slot is available, and can use another slot for the CSI reference resource when the candidate slot is not available.

[0017] Other methods and apparatuses are also described.

[0018] This disclosure is shown by way of example and is not limited to that shown in the figures of the accompanying drawings, and in the figures of the accompanying drawings, like reference numerals indicate like elements.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019]

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] A method and apparatus for a device to extend the time between downlink transmission and uplink transmission for a non-terrestrial network link between a base station and a user equipment are described. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known components, structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail so as not to obscure the understanding of this description.

[0021] References to "some embodiments" or "an embodiment" in this specification mean that a particular mechanism, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The phrase "in some embodiments" that appears in various places in this specification does not necessarily refer to all the same embodiments.

[0022] In the following description and claims, the terms "coupled" and "connected" and their derivatives may be used. It should be understood that these words are not intended to be synonyms for each other. "Coupled" is used to indicate that two or more elements, which may or may not be in direct physical or electrical contact with each other, cooperate or interact with each other. "Connected" is used to indicate the establishment of communication between two or more elements that are coupled to each other.

[0023] The processes shown in the following figures are executed by processing logic that includes hardware (e.g., circuitry, dedicated logic, etc.), software (such as that executed on a general-purpose computer system or a dedicated machine), or a combination of both. Although those processes are described below in terms of some sequential operations, it should be understood that some of the operations described can be executed in a different order. Furthermore, some operations can be executed in parallel rather than sequentially.

[0024] The terms "server", "client", and "device" are intended to generally refer to a data processing system rather than to a particular form factor of a server, client, and / or device.

[0025] A method and apparatus for a device that extends the time between downlink transmission and uplink transmission for a non-terrestrial network link between a base station and a user equipment are described. In some embodiments, the non-terrestrial network (NTN) is a type of wireless communication system that utilizes a satellite system as part of a wireless communication system between a user equipment (UE) and a base station (BS). For the timing in the NTN system, the timing relationship is different due to the longer delay involved in communicating data via a satellite-based system. In some embodiments, and in the NR Release 16 NTN study, the timing relationship is achieved by introducing an offset K offset where the PUSCH timing is

[0026] [Number] Here, K 2 is indicated by DCI, and μ PUSCH and μ PDCCH are the subcarrier spacings for PUSCH and PDCCH, respectively. In some embodiments, K offset is used to count the large propagation delay from the satellite, where K offset is in slot units. However, the problem can be to determine the time relationship based on the timing advance (TA). For example, and in some embodiments, it is necessary to calculate K offset and it is also necessary to ensure an appropriate UL slot after an additional slot offset. In addition, in an NTN system including UEs with a low ability to derive an accurate differential TA, there is a problem in ensuring that PUCCH / PUSCH scheduled via K 1 and K 2 can be received at the appropriate timing in a Next Generation NodeB (gNB). In this embodiment, the existing K 1 and K 2 value ranges may be small, with small K 1 and K 2The value may not be suitable for UEs with low ability to accurately obtain differential TA. Due to the introduction of UE-specific time offsets, the slots for uplink transmission of PUSCH or PUCCH are not guaranteed to be uplink slots within the existing ranges of K 1 and K 2 Therefore, for NTN, it is preferable to extend the ranges of K 1 and K 2 .

[0027] In some embodiments, the time offset K offset is introduced for NTN and added on top of the existing timings of UE transmission types (e.g., DCI-scheduled PUSCH, RAR-scheduled PUSCH, PUCCH, MAC CE action timing, aperiodic SRS, and CRI-RS reference resources). For example, and in some embodiments, the time offset K offset is calculated based on the sum of the service link full TA and the feeder link TA of the transparent satellite. As another example, and in some embodiments,

[0028]

Number

[0029] In some embodiments, the existing K 1 values can range from 0 to 15 slots, and the existing K 2 values can range from 0 to 32 slots. For example, and in some embodiments, NTN may have a large cell size and / or a large differential TA value. In this example, inaccurate differential TA values may be due to the capabilities of the UE. In some embodiments, a scaling factor can be applied to the K 1 , K 2 values, which are single scaling factor values for each UE, K 1 and K2 There may be different scaling factors for []. In addition, the selected scaling factor may depend on the UE capabilities. For example, and in some embodiments, for high-capability UEs, no scaling configuration may be required, or the configured scaling factor may be 1. Alternatively, for low-capability UEs, the configuration can include a single scaling factor greater than 1. In another embodiment, the scaling factor is K 4 can be applied to.

[0030] FIG. 1 shows a simplified exemplary wireless communication system according to some embodiments. Note that the system of FIG. 1 is merely an example of a possible system, and the features of the present disclosure can be implemented in any of various systems as desired.

[0031] As shown in the figure, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102A, which communicates with one or more user devices 106A, 106B,..., 106N via a transmission medium. Each of the user devices may be referred to herein as a "user equipment" (UE). Thus, the user device 106 is referred to as a UE or a UE device.

[0032] The base station (BS) 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cellular base station (referred to as a "cellular base station"), and may include hardware that enables wireless communication with the UEs 106A - 106N.

[0033] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a "cell". The base station 102A and the UE 106 may be configured to communicate via a transmission medium using any of various radio access technologies (RATs), also referred to as radio communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS, LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), 5G New Radio (5G NR), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc. (associated with, for example, the WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interface). It should be noted that when the base station 102A is implemented in the context of LTE, the base station 102A may alternatively be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". It should be noted that when the base station 102A is implemented in the context of 5G NR, the base station 102A may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB".

[0034] As shown in the figure, the base station 102A may also be equipped to communicate with a network 100 (e.g., among various possibilities, in particular, the core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunication network such as a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and / or the Internet). Thus, the base station 102A can facilitate communication between user devices and / or between a user device and the network 100. In particular, the cellular base station 102A can provide various telecommunication capabilities such as voice, SMS, and / or data services to the UE 106.

[0035] Base station 102 and other similar base stations (such as base stations 102B...102N) operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards can thus be provided as a network of cells that can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping services to UEs 106A~106N and similar devices across a geographical area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0036] Thus, as shown in FIG. 1, base station 102A can function as a "serving cell" for UEs 106A~106N, and each UE 106 can also receive signals from one or more other cells (where possible, within their communication ranges) that can be referred to as "neighboring cells" (which can be provided by base stations 102B~102N and / or any other base stations). Such cells can also facilitate communication between user devices and / or communication between user devices and network 100. Such cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pico" cells, and / or cells providing various other granularities of service area size. For example, base stations 102A~102B shown in FIG. 1 may be macro cells, and base station 102N may be a micro cell. Other configurations are possible.

[0037] In some embodiments, base station 102A may be a next-generation base station, such as a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or a "gNB". In some embodiments, the gNB can be connected to a conventional Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network and / or an NR Core (NRC) network. Additionally, a gNB cell can include one or more Transition and Reception Points (TRPs). Additionally, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0038] Note that UE106 may be capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, UE106 may be configured to communicate using at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, e.g., WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interface), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.), in addition to wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.). UE106 may be configured to communicate using, in addition or as an alternative, one or more Global Navigational Satellite Systems (GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H or DVB-H), and / or, if desired, any other wireless communication protocol. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including three or more wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0039] Figures 2A and 2B show a base station (BS) communicating with a user equipment (UE) device via a non-terrestrial network (NTN) according to some embodiments. Figure 2A shows a user equipment 206A that can communicate with a 5G core network 210A, or another user equipment 206B in direct communication (also known as device-to-device or side link). In some embodiments, UE206A can communicate with a satellite 202 via a service link 204A, and the satellite 202 can communicate with the 5G core network 210A via a feeder link 208A and a next-generation node B (gnB) 212A.

[0040] In some embodiments, sidelink communication can utilize dedicated sidelink channels and sidelink protocols to facilitate direct communication between devices. For example, a sidelink control channel (PSCCH) can be used for actual data transmission between devices, a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) can be used to carry sidelink control information (SCI), a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) can be used for HARQ feedback information, and a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH) can be used for synchronization.

[0041] In another embodiment, FIG. 2B shows a UE 206C that can communicate with the 5G core network 210B or another UE 206D that communicates directly. In some embodiments, the UE 206C can communicate with a satellite, which is a gnB 212B, via a service link 204B, and the gnB 212B can communicate with the 5G core network 210B via a feeder link 208B.

[0042] In addition, sidelink communication can be used for communication between vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P), vehicle-to-network (V2N), and other types of direct communication.

[0043] Returning to FIG. 1, according to some embodiments, any one of UEs 106A-N can also communicate with base station 102A via uplink and downlink communications. Each UE may be a device having cellular communication capabilities such as a mobile phone, a handheld device, a computer, or a tablet, or substantially any type of wireless device. UEs 106A-N may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. By executing such stored instructions, UEs 106A-N can execute any of the method embodiments described herein. Alternatively or in addition, UEs 106A-N may include programmable hardware elements such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) configured to execute any of the method embodiments described herein, or any portion of any of the method embodiments described herein.

[0044] UEs 106A-N can include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, UEs 106A-N can be configured to communicate using, for example, CDMA2000 (1xRTT / 1xEV-DO / HRPD / eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio, and / or GSM or LTE using a single shared radio. The shared radio may be coupled to a single antenna or (for example, for MIMO) multiple antennas to perform wireless communication. Generally, a radio may include any combination of a baseband processor, analog RF signal processing circuitry (including, for example, filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.), or digital processing circuitry (for example, for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, a radio may implement one or more receive and transmit chains using the above hardware. For example, UEs 106A-N can share one or more portions of a receive and / or transmit chain among multiple wireless communication technologies such as those described above.

[0045] In some embodiments, the UEs 106A - N may include separate transmit and / or receive chains for each wireless communication protocol that the UE is configured to communicate with (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components). As a further possibility, the UEs 106A - N may include one or more radios shared among multiple wireless communication protocols and one or more radios exclusively used by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, the UEs 106A - N may include a shared radio for communicating using either LTE or 5G NR (or, LTE or 1xRTT, or LTE or GSM), as well as separate radios for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are possible. Figure 3 - Block Diagram of UE

[0046] Figure 3 shows an exemplary simplified block diagram of a communication device 106 according to some embodiments. Note that the block diagram of the communication device in Figure 3 is merely an example of a possible communication device. According to embodiments, the communication device 106 may be, among other devices, a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop computer, notebook computer, or portable computing device), a tablet, and / or a combination of devices. As shown in the figure, the communication device 106 may include a set 300 of components configured to perform core functions. For example, this set of components may be implemented as a system on chip (SOC) that may include portions for various purposes. Alternatively, this set 300 of components may be implemented as separate components or groups of components for various purposes. The set 300 of components may be coupled (e.g., communicatively, directly or indirectly) to various other circuits of the communication device 106.

[0047] For example, the communication device 106 may include various types of memories (such as including NAND flash 310), input / output interfaces such as connector I / F 320 (for connecting to input devices such as a computer system, dock, charging station, microphone, camera, keyboard, and output devices such as a speaker), a display 360 that may be integrated with the communication device 106 or external to the communication device 106, a cellular communication circuit 330 for 5G NR, LTE, GSM, etc., and a short-range wireless communication circuit 329 (such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) and WLAN circuits). In some embodiments, the communication device 106 may include a wired communication circuit (not shown) such as a network interface card for Ethernet, for example.

[0048] As shown in the figure, the cellular communication circuit 330 may be coupled (e.g., communicatively, directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas such as antennas 335 and 336. The short-range wireless communication circuit 329 may also be coupled (e.g., communicatively, directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas such as antennas 337 and 338 as shown in the figure. Alternatively, in addition to or instead of being coupled (e.g., directly or indirectly communicatively) to antennas 337 and 338, the short-range wireless communication circuit 329 may be coupled (e.g., directly or indirectly communicatively) to antennas 335 and 336. The short-range wireless communication circuit 329 and / or the cellular communication circuit 330 may include a plurality of receive chains and / or a plurality of transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting a plurality of spatial streams in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration or the like.

[0049] In some embodiments, as further described below, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include dedicated receive chains (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR) for a plurality of radio access technologies (RATs) (e.g., communicatively, directly or indirectly included and / or coupled. Dedicated processors and / or radios). Additionally, in some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include a single transmit chain that can be switched between radios dedicated to a particular RAT. For example, a first radio may be dedicated to a first RAT, e.g., LTE, and communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with an additional radio, e.g., a second radio, and the second radio may be dedicated to a second RAT, e.g., 5G NR, and communicate with a dedicated receive chain and the shared transmit chain.

[0050] The communication device 106 may also include one or more user interface elements and / or may be configured for use with one or more user interface elements. The user interface elements may include a display 360 (which may be a touch screen display), a keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or implemented as part of a touch screen display), a mouse, a microphone, and / or a speaker, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of various other elements capable of providing information to the user and / or receiving or interpreting user input, such as any of various elements.

[0051] The communication device 106 may further include one or more smart cards 345 that include SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC (Universal Integrated Circuit Card) cards 345.

[0052] As shown in the figure, the SOC 300 may include a processor(s) 302 capable of executing program instructions for the communication device 106, and a display circuit 304 capable of performing graphic processing to provide a display signal to the display 360. The processor(s) 302 may be coupled to a Memory Management Unit (MMU) 340, and the MMU 340 receives addresses from the processor(s) 302 and converts these addresses to locations within memory (e.g., memory 306, Read Only Memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310), and / or other circuits or devices such as the display circuit 304, short-range wireless communication circuit 229, cellular communication circuit 330, connector I / F 320, and / or display 360. The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table conversion or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the processor(s) 302.

[0053] As described above, the communication device 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuits. The communication device 106 may also be configured to determine physical downlink shared channel scheduling resources for user equipment devices and base stations. Further, the communication device 106 may be configured to group and select CCs from a wireless link and determine virtual CCs from the selected group of CCs. The wireless device may also be configured to perform physical downlink resource mapping based on an aggregate resource matching pattern of a group of CCs.

[0054] As described herein, communication device 106 may include hardware components and software components for implementing the above features for determining physical downlink shared channel scheduling resources for communication device 106 and the base station. The processor 302 of communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored in a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 302 of communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein in conjunction with any one or more of the other components 300, 304, 306, 310, 320, 329, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360.

[0055] In addition, as described herein, processor 302 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 302 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 302. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor(s) 302.

[0056] Furthermore, as described herein, the cellular communication circuit 330 and the short-range wireless communication circuit 329 can each include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included within the cellular communication circuit 330, and similarly, one or more processing elements may be included within the short-range wireless communication circuit 329. Thus, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit 330. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit 230. Similarly, the short-range wireless communication circuit 329 may include one or more ICs configured to perform the functions of the short-range wireless communication circuit 32. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the short-range wireless communication circuit 329. Figure 4 - Block Diagram of a Base Station

[0057] FIG. 4 shows an exemplary block diagram of a base station 102 according to some embodiments. Note that the base station of FIG. 4 is merely an example of a possible base station. As shown in the figure, the base station 102 may include a processor(s) 404 capable of executing program instructions for the base station 102. The processor(s) 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440, and the memory management unit 440 may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s) 404 and translate those addresses to locations within a memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450) or other circuits or devices.

[0058] The base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. The network port 470 may be coupled to a telephone network and may be configured to provide access to the telephone network to a plurality of devices such as the UE device 106 as described above in FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0059] The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network such as, for example, the core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may be capable of providing mobility related services and / or other services to a plurality of devices such as UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may be coupled to a telephone network via the core network and / or the core network may be capable of providing a telephone network (e.g., between other UE devices served by a cellular service provider).

[0060] In some embodiments, the base station 102 may be a next generation base station, such as, for example, a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or a "gNB". In such embodiments, the base station 102 may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or an NR core (NRC) network. Additionally, the base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transmission and reception points (TRPs). Additionally, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0061] The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434, and possibly a plurality of antennas. The at least one antenna 434 may be configured to operate as a radio transceiver and may further be configured to communicate with the UE device 106 via the radio 430. The antenna 434 communicates with the radio 430 via a communication chain 432. The communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both. The radio 430 may be configured to communicate via various radio communication standards including, but not limited to, 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

[0062] The base station 102 can be configured to perform wireless communication using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, the base station 102 can include multiple radios, which can enable the base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, the base station 102 may include an LTE radio for performing communication according to LTE, and a 5G NR radio for performing communication according to 5G NR. In such a case, the base station 102 may be capable of operating as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility, the base station 102 may include a multi-mode radio, which can be capable of performing communication according to any of multiple wireless communication technologies (such as 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0063] As further described below in this specification, BS102 can include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting the implementation of the features described in this specification. The processor 404 of the base station 102 can be configured to implement or support the implementation of some or all of the methods described in this specification, for example, by executing program instructions stored in a memory medium (such as a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or as a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 404 of BS102, together with one or more of the other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, 470, can be configured to implement or support the implementation of some or all of the features described in this specification.

[0064] In addition, as described herein, the processor(s) 404 may be composed of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included within the processor(s) 404. Thus, the processor(s) 404 can include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to execute the functions of the processor(s) 404. In addition, each integrated circuit can include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to execute the functions of the processor(s) 404.

[0065] Furthermore, as described herein, the radio 430 may be composed of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included within the radio 430. Thus, the radio 430 can include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to execute the functions of the radio 430. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to execute the functions of the radio 430. Figure 5: Block Diagram of a Cellular Communication Circuit

[0066] FIG. 5 shows an exemplary simplified block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments. Note that the block diagram of the cellular communication circuit of FIG. 5 is merely an example of a possible cellular communication circuit. According to an embodiment, the cellular communication circuit 330 may be included in a communication device such as the communication device 106 described above. As described above, the communication device 106 may be, among other devices, a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or base station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet, and / or a combination of devices.

[0067] The cellular communication circuit 330 may be coupled (e.g., directly or indirectly communicably) to one or more antennas such as antennas 335a - b and 336 as shown (in FIG. 3). In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include dedicated receive chains (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR) for a plurality of RATs (e.g., including dedicated processors and / or radios and / or communicably directly or indirectly coupled to dedicated processors and / or radios). For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include a modem 510 and a modem 520. The modem 510 may be configured for communication according to a first RAT, e.g., LTE or LTE - A, etc., and the modem 520 may be configured for communication according to a second RAT, e.g., 5G NR, etc.

[0068] As shown in the figure, the modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory 516 that communicates with the processor 512. The modem 510 may communicate with a Radio Frequency (RF) front - end 530. The RF front - end 530 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving wireless signals. For example, the RF front - end 530 may include a receive circuitry (RX) 532 and a transmit circuitry (TX) 534. In some embodiments, the receive circuitry 532 may communicate with a downlink (DL) front - end 550 that may include circuitry for receiving wireless signals via the antenna 335a.

[0069] Similarly, the modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory 526 that communicates with the processor 522. The modem 520 may communicate with an RF front end 540. The RF front end 540 can include circuitry for transmitting and receiving wireless signals. For example, the RF front end 540 may include a receiving circuit 542 and a transmitting circuit 544. In some embodiments, the receiving circuit 542 may communicate with a DL front end 560 that can include circuitry for receiving wireless signals via an antenna 335b.

[0070] In some embodiments, the switch 570 may couple the transmitting circuit 534 to an uplink (UL) front end 572. Additionally, the switch 570 may couple the transmitting circuit 544 to the UL front end 572. The UL front end 572 can include circuitry for transmitting wireless signals via an antenna 336. Thus, when the cellular communication circuit 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a first RAT (e.g., as supported via the modem 510), the switch 570 may be switched to a first state that enables the modem 510 to transmit signals (e.g., via a transmission chain including the transmitting circuit 534 and the UL front end 572) according to the first RAT. Similarly, when the cellular communication circuit 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a second RAT (e.g., as supported via the modem 520), the switch 570 may be switched to a second state that enables the modem 520 to transmit signals (e.g., via a transmission chain including the transmitting circuit 544 and the UL front end 572) according to the second RAT.

[0071] As described herein, the modem 510 can include the above features, or hardware and software components that implement the periodic resource portions for the user equipment device and the base station, as well as various other techniques described herein. The processor 512 can be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored in a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 512 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 512 can be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein in conjunction with one or more of the other components 530, 532, 534, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336.

[0072] In addition, as described herein, the processor 512 can include one or more processing elements. Thus, the processor 512 can include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processor 512. In addition, each integrated circuit can include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the processor 512.

[0073] As described herein, the modem 520 can include the above functions for selecting periodic resources on the radio link between the UE and the base station, as well as the hardware and software components for implementing various other techniques described herein. The processor 522 can be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored in a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 522 can be configured as a programmable hardware element such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 522 can be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein in conjunction with one or more of the other components 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336.

[0074] In addition, as described herein, the processor 522 can include one or more processing elements. Thus, the processor 522 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processor 522. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the processor 522. Timing Relationships in NTN

[0075] In a terrestrial network (TN), the timing can be different compared to NTN. For example, in the case of TN, in the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception timing, the downlink control information (DCI) indicates a slot offset K 0 where the slot allocated to the PDSCH is

[0076]

Number

[0077]

Number

[0078] Furthermore, the Random Access Response (RAR) permits the scheduled PUSCH transmission timing (e.g., Msg3), and the RAR message ends in slot n which is the slot allocated for PUSCH that is n + K 2 + Δ, where the value of Δ may depend on μ PUSCH (see Table 1 below).

[0079]

Table 1

[0080] Furthermore, in the case of DCI-scheduled PUCCH transmission timing, the DCI indicates the slot offset K 1 . Thus, for PDSCH reception in slot n, the slot allocated for PUCCH is n + K 1 . Figure 6 is a diagram of some embodiments of reception timing and transmission timing. In Figure 6, the PDSCH reception timing 600 shows that K 0 608 is the time gap between DCI602 and PDSCH 604, and K 1 610 is the time gap between PDSCH 604 reception and PUCCH606 transmission. Furthermore, the PUSCH transmission timing 614 shows that K 2 is the time gap between DCI602 and PUSCH616.

[0081] In addition, in the TN system, for the media access control (MAC) control element (CE) action timing, the HARQ-ACK corresponding to the PDSCH that carries the MAC-CE command is transmitted in slot n. The corresponding operation time is

[0082]

Number

[0083]

Number

[0084] In a further embodiment, K 0 and K 1 are searched for in DCI format 1_0, 1_1, or 1_2, where K 0 is the time gap between the DCI and the PDSCH, and K 1 is the time gap between the PDSCH reception and the PUCCH transmission. In some embodiments, in DCI format 1_0, K 1 is between 1 and 8 slots, in DCI format 1_1, K 1 is one of the values between 0 and 15 slots in the PUCCH SCS (the "dl-DataToUL-ACK" IE), and in DCI format 1_2, K 1 is one of the values between 0 and 15 slots in the PUCCH SCS (the "dl-DataToUL-ACK-ForDCIFormat1_2" IE). Further, the maximum gap between the PDSCH reception and the PUCCH transmission is 15 slots. In another embodiment, K 2 is searched for in DCI format 0_0, 0_1, or 0_2, K 2is the time gap between DCI and PUSCH. In some embodiments, in DCI formats 0_0, 0_1, and 0_2, K 2 is one of the values from 0 to 32 slots in the PUCCH SCS ("PUSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocation" or "PUSCH-TimeDomainResourceAllocationNew" IE).

[0085] For the timing in the NTN system, the timing relationship is different due to the longer delays involved in communicating data via the satellite-based system. In some embodiments, in the NR Release 16 NTN study, the timing relationship is achieved by introducing an offset K offset where the PUSCH timing is

[0086]

Number

[0087]

Number

[0088] [Number] depends on the type of CSI report. Additionally, the MAC CE action timing is

[0089] [Number] where n is the HARQ - ACK time for the PDSCH carrying the MAC CE command,

[0090] [Number] is the number of slots per sub - frame for the sub - carrier spacing μ. In some embodiments, the MAC CE action timing is 3 microseconds for TN, but this time can be larger in NTN.

[0091] In some embodiments, in an NTN system, the challenge can be to determine the time relationship based on the timing advance (TA). In some embodiments, the timing advance means that in uplink transmission, the UE transmits data earlier to compensate for the propagation delay so that the gNB receives the uplink data on time. For example, and in some embodiments, K offset needs to be calculated, and it is also necessary to guarantee appropriate UL resources after an additional slot offset. Additionally, in an NTN system including UEs with low ability to derive the exact differential TA, K 1 and K 2There are issues in ensuring that PUCCH / PUSCH scheduled via can be received at the next-generation NodeB (gNB) at an appropriate timing. In some embodiments, high-capability UEs can derive an accurate differential TA, while low-capability UEs cannot. In this embodiment, the existing K 1 and K 2 value ranges may be small, and small K 1 and K 2 values may not be suitable for UEs with low ability to obtain an accurate differential TA. By introducing UE-specific time offsets, the slots for uplink transmission of PUSCH or PUCCH are not guaranteed to be uplink slots within the existing ranges of K 1 and K 2 . Thus, in some embodiments, the UE can extend the ranges of K 1 and K 2 for NTN. Further, it may be useful to increase the value ranges of K 1 and K 2 without increasing the DCI signaling overhead. Additionally, in NTN, the system can apply K offset to sidelink transmissions and configure parameters in the configured grant type 1 for NTN.

[0092] In a further embodiment, a scaling factor (S) for K 4 can be applied. In some embodiments, possible scaling factors can be one of {1, 2, 4, 8, 16} or a different value. K 1 or K 2 or K 4Similar to the scaling factor for, the value of the scaling factor may depend on the cell / beam size and / or UE capabilities. In some embodiments, the network configures and / or selects a single scaling factor value for each UE. In further embodiments, the network (e.g., a base station) signals the scaling factor to the UE. For example, and in some embodiments, the signaling may be dedicated RRC signaling, e.g., "SL-ConfigDedicatedNR-r16". In another embodiment, the actual time gap between PDSCH reception and PUCCH transmission is S·K 1 may be a slot.

[0093] Figure 7 is a diagram of some embodiments of NTN timing relationship 700. In Figure 7, the timing relationship includes slot timings 702A - D. In some embodiments, gnB DL702A includes a scheduled PUSCH704 for TN, which is shifted for NTN scheduled PUSCH706 for NTN using K offset 708. Additionally, UL DL702B starts after TA710. At slot 0 of UE DL702B, DCI is received and the scheduled PUSCH starts with a delay of K 2 to 2 slots. UE UL702C has a propagation delay of 4 slots from slots 10 to 13. Further, gnB UL702D is the PUSCH received at slot 10 due to a large propagation delay 716.

[0094] In some embodiments, an additional time offset K offset is introduced for NTN, where this time offset is in slot units. Additionally, this time offset is on top of the existing timings of UE transmission types (e.g., DCI scheduled PUSCH, RAR scheduled PUSCH, PUCCH, MAC CE action timing, aperiodic SRS, and CRI-RS reference resources). Figures 8A and 8B are K offsetDetermine and use K to determine different timings for UL and DL offset FIG. 8A is a flowchart of some embodiments of a process that uses offset .

[0095] In some embodiments, the base station executes process 800 as shown in FIG. 8A. In FIG. 8A, process 800 determines a timing advance based on a random access preamble reception at block 802. In one embodiment, process 800 collects information used to calculate K offset In this embodiment, K offset is derived from the timing advance (TA). The base station can calculate the TA from the received PRACH. At block 804, process 800 determines K offset based on the determined TA. In some embodiments, the determination of K offset is based on the type of the NTN architecture. In some embodiments, the time offset K offset is calculated based on the sum of the service link full TA and the feeder link TA of the transparent satellite where the gNB is terrestrial. For example, and in some embodiments, when the gNB is terrestrial,

[0096]

Number

[0097]

Number

[0098] Process 800 determines K at block 806 offsetDetermine candidate slots for UL reception based on. In some embodiments, candidate slots for UL reception are given by the formula

[0099]

Number

[0100] In block 814, process 800 further adjusts the MAC CE action timing using K offset In some embodiments, process 800 uses the formula

[0101]

Number

[0102]

Number

[0103] In Figure 8B, process 850 is executed by the UE. Figure 8B shows that process 850 starts at block 852 by receiving timing advance information from the base station. In some embodiments, the determination of K offset is based on the type of NTN architecture. In some embodiments, process 850 collects information for calculating K offset . In this embodiment, K offset is derived from the TA in the TA command in the RAR (Random Access Response) message from the NW. At block 854, process 850 determines K offset based on the determined TA. In some embodiments, the time offset K offset is calculated based on the sum of the service link full TA and the feeder link TA of the transparent satellite where the gnB is on the ground. For example, and in some embodiments, when the gNB is on the ground,

[0104]

Number

[0105]

Number

[0106] Process 850 determines candidate slots in block 856 based on CSI-RS reference resource timing and K offset . In some embodiments, the CSI reference resource timing, the CSI reference resource is in the downlink slot,

[0107]

Number

[0108]

Number

[0109] Figures 9A-9D are flow diagrams of some embodiments of a process for extending one or more time gaps between downlink (DL) and uplink (UL). Figure 9A shows the scaling factor and K offsetFIG. 9 is a flow diagram of some embodiments for determining a slot for UL transmission. In some embodiments, the UE executes process 900. In FIG. 9, process 900 begins at block 902 by receiving a scaling factor for the K value via a radio resource control (RRC) signal. In some embodiments, the scaling factor may be for one or more of K 1 K 2 or K 4 . In some embodiments, the existing K 1 K 2 values can independently range from 0 to 15 slots (K 1 ) or from 0 to 32 slots (K 2 ). In some embodiments, the scaling factor is one of {1, 2, 4, 8, 16}, although the scaling factor may include different values. For example, and in some embodiments, NTN may have a large cell size and / or a large differential TA value. In this example, an inaccurate differential TA value may be due to the UE's ability to derive an accurate or inaccurate differential TA. In some embodiments, the value(s) of the scaling factor(s) may depend on the cell and / or beam size. For example, and in some embodiments, the larger the cell size, the larger the scaling factor value. Additionally, a single scaling factor value can exist for each UE, or different scaling factors can exist for different K values. Additionally, the selected scaling factor may depend on the UE capabilities. For example, and in some embodiments, for a high-capability UE, no scaling configuration may be required or the configured scaling factor may be 1. Alternatively, for a low-capability UE, the configuration can include a single scaling factor greater than 1.

[0110] At block 904, process 900 determines K offset via the RRC signal. In some embodiments, process 900 signals K offset from the network via a dedicated RRC signal.Receives, and the dedicated RRC signal can be the same or a different RRC signal as the RRC signal used to communicate the scaling factor. At block 906, process 900 receives DCI having an indication of a K value. In this embodiment, the DCI includes an indication of which of the K values (e.g., K 1 , K 2 , or K 4 ) is to be scaled by the scaling factor. At block 908, process 900 calculates a new K value using the scaling factor and the indicated K value. In some embodiments, process 900 calculates the new K value by multiplying the existing K value by the scaling factor. For example, and in one embodiment, if the K value is K 1 , process 900 calculates K 1 ’ = S * K 1 . The new K value can be calculated similarly for K 2 and / or K 4 . At block 910, the process determines a slot for UL transmission using the new K value and K offset .

[0111] In FIG. 9A, process 900 applies the scaling factor transmitted using the RRC message. In an alternative embodiment, the scaling factor applied can be more dynamic if the scaling factor is communicated to the UE via not only the RRC signal but also the DCI. FIG. 9B is a flowchart of some embodiments for determining a slot for UL transmission using the scaling factor and K offset , where the scaling factor shown here is communicated via the DCI. In some embodiments, the UE executes process 920. In FIG. 9B, process 920 starts at block 922 by receiving a set of scaling factors for the K value via a radio resource control (RRC) signal. In some embodiments, the set of scaling factors is K 1 , K 2 , or K 4can be used for one or more of them. In some embodiments, the existing K 1 , K 2 values can independently range from 0 to 15 slots (K 1 ) or from 0 to 32 slots (K 2 ). In some embodiments, the scaling factor set can be a scaling factor set such as {1, 2, 4, 8, 16}, but the scaling factor set can include different values. In block 924, process 920 determines K offset via an RRC signal. In some embodiments, process 920 receives K offset by signaling from the network via a dedicated RRC signal, and the dedicated RRC signal can be the same or a different RRC signal than the RRC signal used to communicate the scaling factor.

[0112] In block 926, process 920 receives DCI having an indication of the K value and the scaling factor. In some embodiments, the DCI includes the K value (e.g., K 1 , K 2 , or K 4includes an indication of which of them should be scaled using the scaling factor. Additionally, the DCI can include an indication of which scaling factor should be used with this K value, where the scaling factor is selected from the set of scaling factors transmitted to the UE as described in block 922 above. Different scaling factors may exist for different K values and / or different UEs. For example, and in some embodiments, the NTN may have a large cell size and / or a large differential TA value. In this example, an inaccurate differential TA value may be due to the UE's ability to derive an accurate or inaccurate differential TA. In some embodiments, the value(s) of the scaling factor(s) for the set of scaling factors may depend on the cell and / or beam size. For example, and in some embodiments, the larger the cell size, the larger the scaling factor value. Additionally, the selected scaling factor may depend on the UE capabilities. For example, and in some embodiments, for a high-capability UE, no scaling configuration may be required, or the configured scaling factor may be 1. Alternatively, for a low-capability UE, the configuration can include a single scaling factor greater than 1.

[0113] Process 920 calculates a new K value using the indicated scaling factor and the indicated K value at block 928. In some embodiments, process 920 calculates the new K value by multiplying the existing K value by the scaling factor. For example, in one embodiment, if the K value is K 1 then process 920 calculates K 1 ’ =S * K 1 The new K value can be calculated similarly for K 2 and / or K 4 At block 930, the process determines a slot for UL transmission using the new K value and K offset

[0114] In FIGS. 9A and 9B, processes 900 and 920 represent UE processes for determining UL slots based on information transmitted from the base station to the UE. At the base station, the corresponding process determines UL slot information for receiving UL communication. FIG. 9C is a flowchart of some embodiments for determining a slot for UL transmission for the base station using a scaling factor and K offset In some embodiments, the base station executes process 940. In FIG. 9C, process 940 starts in block 942 by determining a scaling factor and K offset for the UE. In some embodiments, process 940 determines the scaling factor based on NTN characteristics and UE characteristics as described in FIG. 9A above. In block 944, process 940 transmits the scaling factor and K offset to the UE via one or more RRC signals. In some embodiments, process 940 can transmit the scaling factor and K offset in the same or different RRC signals.

[0115] Process 940 transmits DCI having an indication of the K value in block 946. In some embodiments, process 940 selects which K value should be chosen for scaling. In some embodiments, which K value is included depends on the DCI format. For example, and in one embodiment, when the base station transmits DCI having a DCI format for DL scheduling, the DCI will include K1. In the case of UL scheduling, the DCI format may include K2. In these embodiments, process 940 selects one or more of K 1 , K 2 , or K 4 to indicate in the DCI. In block 948, process 940 determines at least the scaling factor, the K value, and / or K offsetBased on this, determine the slot for receiving UL transmissions from the UE. In one embodiment, the determination of the UL slot depends on the type of UL transmission (e.g., PUCCH, PUSCH, and / or another type of UL transmission). For example, and in one embodiment, in the case of PUCCH, the UL slot is determined using the formula n + K 1 ’ where K 1 ’ is the scaled value of K 1 As an alternative, in the case of PUSCH, the UL slot is determined using the formula

[0116]

Number

[0117] In FIG. 9B above, the UE receives a set of scaling factors, and which factor is used by the UE is indicated within the DCI transmitted from the base station. FIG. 9D is a flowchart of some embodiments for determining the slot for UL transmission for the base station using the scaling factor and K offset where the shown scaling factor is communicated through the DCI. In some embodiments, the base station executes process 960. In FIG. 9D, process 960 starts in block 962 by determining a set of scaling factors and transmitting them from the base station to the UE via an RRC signal. In some embodiments, the set of scaling factors can be used for one or more of K 1 K 2 or K 4 In some embodiments, the existing K​1 , K 2 values are, independently, in the range of 0 to 15 slots (K 1 ) or 0 to 32 slots (K 2 ). In some embodiments, the scaling factor set can be a scaling factor set such as {1, 2, 4, 8, 16}, but the scaling factor set can include different values.

[0118] In block 964, process 960 determines K offset and transmits it to the UE via the RRC signal. In some embodiments, process 960 determines the value of K offset based on the type of the NTN architecture, as described above in FIG. 8A. In some embodiments, process 960 transmits K offset by signaling from the network via a dedicated RRC signal, and the dedicated RRC signal can be the same or different from the RRC signal used to communicate the scaling factor. Process 960 determines, in block 966, the scaling factor and the K value for the UE's UL transmission. In some embodiments, process 960 selects which K value should be chosen for scaling. Which K value is included in the DCI depends on the DCI formatting, as explained in FIG. 9A above. In these embodiments, process 960 selects one or more of K 1 , K 2 , or K 4 for indication in the DCI. Additionally, the scaling factor is selected from the scaling factor set and can be adjusted according to the determined K value and / or the receiving UE. Process 960 transmits, in block 968, an indication of the K value and the determined scaling factor. In block 970, process 960 includes at least the scaling factor, the K value, and / or K offsetBased on this, a slot for receiving UL transmissions from the UE is determined. In one embodiment, the determination of the UL slot depends on the type of UL transmission (e.g., PUCCH, PUSCH, and / or another type of UL transmission). For example, and in one embodiment, in the case of PUCCH, the UL slot is determined using the formula n + K 1 ’ where K 1 ’ is a scaled value of K 1 . Alternatively, in the case of PUSCH, the UL slot is determined using the formula

[0119]

Number

[0120] In some embodiments, DCI format 3_0 includes the time gaps K 3 and K 4 where the time gap K_3 is the time gap between DCI 3_0 reception and the first PSCCH / PSSCH transmission, and the time gap K 4 is the time gap between the last PSFCH reception and the PUCCH transmission. In NTN, there may be no additional K 3 above K offset , but K offset is used as K 4It can be applied to. FIG. 10 is an exemplary block diagram of the sidelink timing relationship 1000 in NTN according to some embodiments. In FIG. 10, the timing relationship shows the time gaps between DCI 3_0 1002 and PSCCH / PSSCH 1004, and between PSFCH 1006 and PUCCH 1008. In some embodiments, the time gap K 3 1010 is not adjusted for NTN because this time gap is sufficient for the gap between DCI 3_0 1002 and PSCCH / PSSCH 1004. Alternatively, the time gap K 4 1012 between PSFCH 1006 and PUCCH 1008 is increased by K offset only in NTN. In addition, K offset may be the same or different even in the case of PUSCH transmission in NTN.

[0121] In further embodiments, the UE can use K offset in the timing relationship for the configured grant configuration of type 1. FIGS. 11A and 11B are exemplary block diagrams of the timing relationship for the configured grant configuration of type 1 in NTN. In FIG. 11A, the time domain offset 1104 can include K offset , where the time domain offset is the offset from the reference time 1102 (e.g., SFN = 0) to the configured grant 1108. In some embodiments, the configured grants 1108 are separated by a periodicity value 1106. In some embodiments, K offset is included in the configured grant configuration. In another embodiment, a separate K offset parameter is within the configured grant configuration. For example, and in some embodiments, the following formula is used to determine the slot number for the configured grant including K offset . [(SFN × number of slots per frame × number of symbols per slot) + (slot number in the frame × number of symbols per slot) + symbol number in the slot] = (timeReferenceSFN × number of slots per frame × number of symbols per slot + timeDomainOffset × number of symbols per slot + K offset × number of symbols per slot + S + N × periodicity) modulo (1024 × number of slots per frame × number of symbols per slot).

[0122] In a further embodiment, the network combines K offset with "TimeDomainOffset" in the configured permission configuration. For example, and in some embodiments, for the "timeDomainOffset" range, the lower limit depends on the satellite type (e.g., LEO, GEO, HAPS). For example, and in some embodiments, in a configured permission configuration of type 1, there is a field of "timeDomainOffset" to indicate the time gap between the configured permission time and the reference time (e.g., SFN = 0). The time gap may be larger for NTN than for K offset including.

[0123] In another embodiment, the network can include K offset in each transmission. In FIG. 11B, the time domain offset 1112 can include K offset as a separate value in each transmission, where the time domain offset is the offset from the reference time 1114 (e.g., SFN = 0) when added to the configured permission 1118 of K offset 1120. In some embodiments, the configured permission 1118 is separated by a periodicity value 1116.

[0124] FIG. 12 is for a configured grant configuration of type 1, K offset FIG. 13 is a flowchart of some embodiments of process 1300 that determines and applies scaling to K. In some embodiments, the UE executes process 1200. In FIG. 13, at block 1202, process 1200 receives timing information, where the timing information does not include K offset In some embodiments, process 1200 receives K offset by signaling from the network via a dedicated RRC message. At block 1204, process 1200 applies K offset to the configured grant configuration of type 1 as described in FIG. 11B.

[0125] The various parts of what has been described above can be executed by a logic circuit such as a dedicated logic circuit or by a microcontroller or other form of processing core that executes program code instructions. Thus, the processes taught by the above discussion can be executed by program code such as machine-executable instructions, which cause a machine to perform specific functions. In this context, a "machine" can be a machine that converts intermediate form (or "abstract") instructions into processor-specific instructions (e.g., an "abstract execution environment" such as a "virtual machine" (e.g., a Java virtual machine), an interpreter, a common language runtime, a high-level language virtual machine, etc.), and / or an electronic circuit (e.g., a "logic circuit" implemented with transistors) disposed on a semiconductor chip designed to execute instructions, such as a general-purpose processor and / or a dedicated processor. The processes taught by the above considerations can also be executed by an electronic circuit designed to execute those processes (or a portion of the process) without executing program code, either instead of or in combination with a machine.

[0126] The present invention also relates to an apparatus for performing the operations described herein. This apparatus can be specially constructed for the required purposes or can include a general-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in a computer. Such a computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, each coupled to a computer system bus, including but not limited to any type of disk, such as floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magneto-optical disks, read-only memory (ROM), RAM, EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic or optical cards, or any other type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions.

[0127] Machine-readable media includes any method for storing or transferring information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, machine-readable media includes read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, and the like.

[0128] A manufactured product can be used to store program code. The manufactured product storing the program code may be embodied as, but is not limited to, one or more memories (e.g., one or more flash memories, random access memories (static, dynamic, or otherwise)), optical disks, CD-ROMs, DVD ROMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, or other types of machine-readable media suitable for storing electronic instructions. The program code can also be downloaded from a remote computer (e.g., a server) to a requesting computer (e.g., a client) via a data signal embodied in a propagation medium (e.g., via a communication link (e.g., a network connection)).

[0129] The above "Mode for Carrying Out the Invention" is presented from the viewpoints of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits inside a computer memory. The descriptions and representations of these algorithms are tools used by those skilled in the data processing art to most effectively convey the essence of their work content to other persons skilled in the art. An algorithm is generally considered, in this specification, to be a sequence of self-consistent operations that bring about a desired result. Those operations require physical manipulation of physical quantities. Usually, although not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has been found convenient, mainly for reasons of general usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, and the like.

[0130] However, it should be noted that all of these terms, and all similar terms, are associated with appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless otherwise specifically stated, as is apparent from the above discussion, throughout the description, discussions using terms such as "transmit", "receive", "detect", "determine", "communicate", "send", "allocate", "rank", "decrement", "select", "apply", "signal", etc. refer to the operations and processes of a computer system or similar electronic computing device that manipulates data represented as physical (electronic) quantities in the registers or memory of the computer system and converts it into other data similarly represented as physical quantities in the computer system memory or registers, or other such information storage devices, transmission devices, or display devices.

[0131] The processes and displays presented in this specification are not inherently related to any particular computer or other device. Various general-purpose systems can be used with programs according to the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized devices for performing the described operations. The required structure for various of these systems will be apparent from the following description. Further, the invention is not described in relation to any particular programming language. It will be understood that the teachings of the invention as described herein can be implemented using various programming languages.

[0132] It should be well understood that the use of personally identifiable information should conform to privacy policies and practices generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled to minimize the risk of unintended or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the permitted use should be clearly shown to the user.

[0133] The foregoing description has described only some exemplary embodiments of the invention. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize from such discussion, the accompanying drawings, and the claims that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. 1. A base station comprising a processor configured to perform operations, the operations including: determining a timing advance based on at least a random access preamble reception; determining an uplink offset based on the timing advance; determining candidate slots for uplink reception based at least on the offset; determining whether the candidate slot is available for uplink reception; when the candidate uplink slot is available, using the candidate slot for the uplink reception; when the candidate uplink slot is unavailable, using a next available slot for the uplink reception; and a base station.

2. 2. The base station of claim 1, wherein the uplink reception includes a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), a PUSCH-scheduled Random Access Response (RAR), a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), or an aperiodic SRS.

3. determining whether the candidate slot is available 2. The base station of claim 1, further comprising: determining whether the candidate slot is an uplink slot, a downlink slot, a hybrid slot, or a flexible slot based on at least a time division duplex (TDD) configuration of the candidate slot format, wherein if the candidate slot is one of an uplink slot, or a hybrid slot with the uplink reception corresponding to an uplink symbol in the hybrid slot, the candidate slot is available, and if the candidate slot is one of a downlink slot, a hybrid slot with the uplink reception not corresponding to an uplink symbol in the hybrid slot, or a flexible slot, the candidate slot is unavailable.

4. The base station of claim 1 , wherein the uplink offset is a measure of a delay of a non-terrestrial network link.

5. determining the uplink offset, calculating the uplink offset based on at least a timing advance of one or more satellite links in the non-terrestrial network; The base station of claim 1 , comprising:

6. 2. The base station of claim 1, wherein the uplink offset is set equal to the sum of a service link timing advance and a feeder link timing advance divided by a slot duration.

7. The processor, calculating a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) action timing using at least the uplink offset; The base station of claim 1 , further configured to perform the operations consisting of:

8. The processor, calculating a time gap between a last physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) reception and a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission using a sidelink offset; The base station of claim 1 , further configured to perform the operations consisting of:

9. The base station of claim 8 , wherein the sidelink offset has a different value than the uplink offset.

10. The processor, calculating a time domain offset for a Type 1 configured grant configuration using at least the uplink offset; The base station of claim 1 , further configured to perform the operations consisting of:

11. 1. A user equipment (UE) comprising a processor configured to perform operations, the operations comprising: receiving timing advance information from a base station; determining an offset based on the timing advance information; determining candidate slots for a channel state information (CSI) reference resource based at least on the offset; determining whether the candidate slot is available for the CSI reference resource; using the candidate slot for the CSI reference resource when the candidate slot is available; when the candidate slot is unavailable, using another slot for the CSI reference resource; A user equipment (UE).

12. The determining step comprises:

12. The UE of claim 11, further comprising: determining whether the candidate slot is an uplink slot, a downlink slot, a hybrid slot, or a flexible slot based on at least a time division duplex (TDD) configuration of the candidate slot format, wherein if the candidate slot is one of a downlink slot, or a hybrid slot with the downlink reception corresponding to a downlink symbol in the hybrid slot, the candidate slot is available, and if the candidate slot is one of an uplink slot, a hybrid slot with the downlink reception not corresponding to a downlink symbol in the hybrid slot, or a flexible slot, the candidate slot is unavailable.

13. The UE of claim 11 , wherein the offset is a measure of a delay of a non-terrestrial network link.

14. The UE of claim 11 , wherein the other available CSI reference resource is a slot preceding the candidate slot.

15. The UE of claim 11 , wherein the other available CSI reference resource is a slot following the candidate slot.

16. 1. A baseband processor configured to perform operations, the operations comprising: receiving timing advance information from a base station; determining an offset based on the timing advance information; determining candidate slots for a channel state information (CSI) reference resource based at least on the offset; determining whether the candidate slot is available; and using the candidate slot for the CSI reference resource when the candidate slot is available; when the candidate slot is unavailable, using another slot for the CSI reference resource; a baseband processor including:

17. The determining step comprises:

17. The baseband processor of claim 16, further comprising: determining whether the candidate slot is an uplink slot, a downlink slot, a hybrid slot, or a flexible slot based on at least a time division duplex (TDD) configuration of the candidate slot format, wherein if the candidate slot is one of an uplink slot or a hybrid slot, the candidate slot is available, and if the candidate slot is one of a downlink slot, a hybrid slot, or a flexible slot, the candidate slot is unavailable.

18. 17. The baseband processor of claim 16, wherein the offset is a measure of a delay of a non-terrestrial network link.

19. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processing units, determining a timing advance based on at least a random access preamble reception; determining an uplink offset based on the timing advance; determining candidate slots for uplink reception based at least on the offset; determining whether the candidate slot is available; and when the candidate uplink slot is available, using the candidate slot for the uplink reception; when the candidate uplink slot is unavailable, using a next available slot for the uplink reception; and A non-transitory machine-readable medium for performing a method, comprising:

20. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processing units, perform the following steps: receiving timing advance information from a base station; determining an offset based on the timing advance information; determining candidate slots for a channel state information (CSI) reference resource based at least on the offset; determining whether the candidate slot is available; and using the candidate slot for the CSI reference resource when the candidate slot is available; when the candidate slot is unavailable, using another slot for the CSI reference resource; A non-transitory machine-readable medium for performing a method, comprising:

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