COMMUNICATIONS METHOD, APPARATUS AND COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM

Abstract

[0003] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method, an apparatus, and a computer-readable medium for communication. The method includes determining, at a first terminal device, a first shared channel occupied (CO) time interval based on at least one of a remaining COT, a first priority value for a subsequent sidelink transmission of the first terminal device, or a first resource for the subsequent sidelink transmission. The method further includes transmitting information regarding the first shared CO time interval.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] FIELD Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly to a method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium for sidelink communications. [Background technology]

[0002] Sidelink in unlicensed spectrum or band (SL-U) is a major topic of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 18. SL-U should be based on New Radio (NR) sidelink and NR-U.

[0003] In case of communication in an unlicensed band between a network device and a terminal device, resources in a Channel Occupancy (CO) may be shared according to the scheduling of the network device in a Time Division Multiplex (TDM) mode. In case of direct communication in an unlicensed band between a terminal device and another terminal device, a CO initiated or taken over by the terminal device may be shared with the other terminal device for the direct communication. If the time interval of the Shared Channel Occupancy Time (COT) is inappropriate, the higher priority traffic of the terminal device may not be guaranteed. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Generally, the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, the method including: determining, in a first terminal device, a first shared CO time interval based on at least one of a remaining COT, a first priority value for a subsequent sidelink transmission of the first terminal device, or a first resource for the subsequent sidelink transmission, the method further including transmitting information regarding the first shared CO time interval.

[0006] In a second aspect, a method of communication is provided, comprising: receiving, in a second terminal device, information on a shared CO from a first terminal device; and determining a COT for a second sidelink transmission of the second terminal device based on at least one of the shared CO, a first priority value for a subsequent sidelink transmission of the first terminal device, a second priority value for the second sidelink transmission, or potential resources for the subsequent sidelink transmission.

[0007] In a third aspect, there is provided a terminal device comprising a processor and a memory storing instructions, the memory and the instructions configured to cause the terminal device, using the processor, to perform a method according to the first aspect.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, there is provided a terminal device, the terminal device including a processor and a memory storing instructions, the memory and the instructions configured to cause the terminal device, using the processor, to perform a method according to the second aspect.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium storing instructions which, when executed on at least one processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform a method according to the first aspect.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium storing instructions which, when executed on at least one processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform a method according to the second aspect.

[0011] It should be understood that this summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will be readily apparent from the following description. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the detailed description of several embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings.

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary communications network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

[0014] [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of automatic gain control (AGC) symbols and guard period (GP) symbols in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0015] [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a COT according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0016] [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an example signaling diagram illustrating an example process for CO sharing, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0017] [Figure 5A] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a shared CO time interval in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5B] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a shared CO time interval in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5C] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a shared CO time interval in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5D] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a shared CO time interval in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5E] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a shared CO time interval in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5F] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a shared CO time interval in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5G] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a shared CO time interval in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5H] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a shared CO time interval in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] [Figure 6] 1 is a flowchart of an exemplary method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] [Figure 7] 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary method according to some alternative embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0020] [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] In the drawings, the same or similar reference numbers represent the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only, to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing the present disclosure, and do not imply any limitations on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways different from those described below.

[0023] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0024] As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to any device having wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of terminal devices include User Equipment (UE), personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices, machine type communication (MTC) devices, vehicle-mounted devices for V2X communications where X stands for pedestrian, vehicle, or infrastructure / network, devices for integrated access and integrated access and backhaul (IAB), satellite-based or airborne vehicles in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) including High Altitude Platforms (HAPs) including satellites and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs), extended reality (XR) devices including different types of reality such as augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), virtual reality (VR), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are aircraft without a human pilot and commonly referred to as drones. "Terminal Device" includes, but is not limited to, a vehicle (V2X), a device on a high speed train (HST), or an image capture device such as a digital camera, a sensor game device, a music storage and playback device, or an Internet appliance that allows wireless or wired Internet access and browsing, etc. The "Terminal Device" may further have "multicast / broadcast" capabilities to support V2X applications, transparent IPv4 / IPv6 multicast distribution, IPTV, smart TV, wireless services, over-the-air software distribution, group communication, and IoT applications that are public safety and mission critical. It may also incorporate one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), known as multi-SIMs.The term "terminal equipment" may be used interchangeably with UE, mobile station, subscriber station, mobile terminal, user terminal, or wireless equipment.

[0025] The term "network device" refers to a device capable of providing or hosting a cell or coverage in which a terminal device can communicate. Examples of network devices include, but are not limited to, a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a next generation Node B (gNB), a transmit / receive point (TRP), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), an IAB node, a femto node, a pico node, a low power node such as a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), etc.

[0026] The terminal device or network device may have the capability of artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning. Generally, it includes a model trained from a large amount of data collected for a specific function and can be used to predict some information.

[0027] The terminal device or network device may operate on several frequency ranges, such as FR1 (410 MHz-7125 MHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz-71 GHz), frequency bands greater than 100 GHz, and Tera Hertz (THz). It can also operate on licensed / unlicensed / shared spectrum. The terminal device may have two or more connections with the network device under Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) application scenarios. The terminal device or network device can operate in full duplex, flexible duplex, and cross division duplex modes.

[0028] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in test equipment, such as, for example, a signal generator, a signal analyzer, a spectrum analyzer, a network analyzer, a test terminal equipment, a test network equipment, a channel emulator, and the like.

[0029] As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "said" include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term "comprises" and variations thereof should be understood as open-ended terms meaning "including, but not limited to." The term "based on" should be understood as "based at least in part on." The terms "some embodiments" and "embodiments" should be understood as "at least some embodiments." The term "another embodiment" should be understood as "at least one other embodiment." Terms such as "first," "second," and the like may refer to different or the same object. The following may include other explicit and implicit definitions.

[0030] In some instances, values, procedures, or devices are referred to as "best," "lowest," "highest," "minimum," "maximum," etc. It should be understood that such descriptions are intended to illustrate that selections can be made from among many functional alternatives used, and that such selections are not necessarily better, smaller, higher, or otherwise more preferred than other selections.

[0031] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. As shown in Figure 1, communication network 100 may include terminal device 110, terminal device 120, terminal device 130, and network devices 140 and 150. Network devices 140 and 150 may communicate with terminal device 110, terminal device 120, and terminal device 130 via respective wireless communication channels.

[0032] In some embodiments, the network device 140 may be a gNB in ​​an NR system, and the network device 150 may be an eNB in ​​a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system.

[0033] It should be understood that the number of devices in Figure 1 is given for illustrative purposes and does not imply any limitations to the present disclosure. Communications network 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and / or terminal devices suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0034] Communications in the communication network 100 may conform to any suitable standard, including, but not limited to, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), LTE, LTE-Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), Machine Type Communication (MTC), and the like. Furthermore, communications may be performed according to any generation of communication protocols now known or developed in the future. Examples of communication protocols include, but are not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, and fifth generation (5G) communication protocols.

[0035] In some embodiments, communication in the communication network 100 may include sidelink communication. Sidelink communication is a direct wireless radio communication between two or more terminal devices, for example, terminal device 110, terminal device 120, and terminal device 130. In this type of communication, two or more terminal devices in close geographical proximity can communicate directly without going through the network device 140 or 150 or the core network. Thus, data transmission in sidelink communication differs from typical cellular network communication, where a terminal device transmits data to the network device 140 or 150 (i.e., uplink transmission) or receives data from the network device 140 or 150 (i.e., downlink transmission). As shown in FIG. 1, in sidelink communication, data is transmitted directly from a source terminal device (e.g., terminal device 110) to a target terminal device (e.g., terminal device 120) over a unified air interface, for example, a PC5 interface (i.e., sidelink transmission).

[0036] Sidelink communication can provide several advantages, including reducing data transmission load on the core network, system resource consumption, transmission power consumption and network operation costs, conserving radio spectrum resources and improving the spectral efficiency of cellular wireless communication systems.

[0037] In a sidelink communication system, sidelink resources are used to transmit information between terminal devices. Depending on application scenarios, service types, etc., sidelink communication methods include, but are not limited to, device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, etc.

[0038] V2X communication enables vehicles to communicate with other vehicles (i.e., vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication), infrastructure (i.e., vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication), wireless networks (i.e., vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication), pedestrians (i.e., vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication), and even with the owner's home (i.e., vehicle-to-home (V2H) communication). Examples of infrastructure include roadside devices such as traffic lights and toll booths. V2X communication can be used in a wide range of situations, including accident prevention, safety, convenience, traffic efficiency, and accident-free driving, and will ultimately lead to autonomous and self-driving vehicles.

[0039] For sidelink communication, the terminal device transmits or receives signals using resources in a sidelink resource pool that includes resources in the time and frequency domain that are either dedicated for sidelink communication or shared by sidelink communication and the cellular link.

[0040] The sidelink resource pool may include multiple slots and resource blocks (RBs), and all or a part of the symbols in a slot may be used for sidelink transmission. In the resource pool, among all symbols configured for sidelink in each slot, the first symbol (i.e., the start symbol) is used as an automatic gain control (AGC) symbol and the last symbol is used as a guard period (GP) symbol. The AGC and GP symbols may be considered as fixed overhead in the sidelink resources. In the following description of the embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2, the AGC and GP symbols are included in the sidelink symbols indicated by the sidelink channel resource configuration, and the AGC symbols transmit redundant sidelink information and the GP symbols are not used to carry sidelink information.

[0041] The terminal device 110, the terminal device 120, and the terminal device 130 may transmit sidelink signaling or information using sidelink channels, which include at least one of a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) resource used for carrying sidelink control information (SCI), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) resource used for carrying sidelink data service information, a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) resource used for carrying sidelink ACK / NACK feedback information, a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH) resource for carrying sidelink broadcast information, and a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH) resource used for carrying sidelink discovery signals.

[0042] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example 300 of COT according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, in order to transmit a PSCCH or a PSSCH in slot 0, the first terminal device 110 may perform a type 1 Listen Before Talk (LBT) procedure in subbands #0 and #1 before slot 0. In other words, the first terminal device 110 may use a subband as an LBT unit in the frequency domain. Alternatively, the frequency ranges #0 and #1 may be referred to as RB sets #0 and #1. That is, the first terminal device 110 may use a resource block (RB) set as an LBT unit in the frequency domain. Depending on the success of the LBT procedure before slot 0, the first terminal device 110 accesses a channel in slot 0 and transmits a PSCCH or a PSSCH. The first terminal device 110 may indicate in sidelink control information (SCI) on the PSCCH in slot 0 the resources in slot 0 for the current transmission and the resources in slots 6 and 9 reserved for subsequent transmissions, where each of the subsequent transmissions may include a retransmission or a PSFCH transmission, for example.

[0043] Since the first terminal device 110 has no transmissions in slots 1 to 5 and 7 to 9 in subbands #0 and #1, the first terminal device 110 may share some or all of the remaining COT with at least one of the second terminal device 120 and the third terminal device 130. In this regard, the first terminal device 110 may transmit information regarding the shared CO time interval in slot 0. For example, the first terminal device 110 may transmit information regarding the shared CO time interval in the SCI on the PSCCH in slot 0. Hereinafter, a terminal device that transmits information regarding the shared CO time interval is also referred to as a shared terminal device, and a terminal device that receives information regarding the shared CO time interval is also referred to as a handover terminal device.

[0044] When the shared CO time interval includes slots 0 to 9, the first terminal device 110 needs to compete for subbands #0 and #1 with the second terminal device 120 and / or the terminal device 130 in slot 6 if a subsequent transmission occurs in slot 6. In this case, if the first terminal device 110 fails to access the channel in slot 6, the first terminal device 110 does not perform a subsequent transmission in slot 6. This has a negative impact on the subsequent transmission of the first terminal device 110, especially when the subsequent transmission of the first terminal device 110 has a higher priority. On the other hand, in order to guarantee a subsequent transmission in slot 6 with a higher priority, the first terminal device 110 may share the COT in slots 0 to 5 with the second terminal device 120 and / or the third terminal device 130. If the second terminal device 120 and the third terminal device 130 are not allowed to share the COT in slots 6 to 9, the resources in slots 6 to 9 may be wasted or may be occupied by other communication systems.

[0045] It can be seen that whether or not the shared CO time interval includes slot 9 does not affect the first terminal device 110, since subsequent transmissions in slot 9 are performed in subbands #3 and #4, rather than subbands #0 and #1.

[0046] To solve the above problem and one or more other potential problems, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for sidelink transmission. According to this solution, a first terminal device determines a shared CO time interval based on at least one of the remaining COT, a priority value of a subsequent sidelink transmission of the first terminal device, or resources for the subsequent sidelink transmission. Then, the first terminal device transmits information about the first shared CO time interval. This solution provides a balanced method for higher priority transmissions of both the shared terminal device and the takeover terminal device.

[0047] 4 is an example signaling diagram illustrating an example process 400 for CO sharing, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, the process 400 may involve a first terminal device 110 and a second terminal device 120, as shown in FIG. 1. It should be understood that the process 400 may include additional operations not shown and / or omit some operations shown, and the scope of the disclosure is not limited in this respect. Furthermore, although presented herein as being primarily performed sequentially, it should be understood that at least some of the operations of the process 400 may be performed simultaneously or in a different order than presented in FIG. 4.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 4, the first terminal device 110 determines a first shared CO time interval based on at least one of the remaining COT, a first priority value for a subsequent sidelink transmission of the first terminal device 110, or a first resource for the subsequent sidelink transmission (410).

[0049] In some embodiments, the subsequent sidelink transmission of the first terminal device 110 may include a retransmission or a PSFCH transmission.

[0050] Next, the first terminal device 110 transmits information regarding the first shared CO time interval (420). In some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may transmit the information regarding the shared CO time interval in a dedicated field of the SCI. The SCI may be an SCI having a new format compared to the existing SCI format. In response, the second terminal device 120 receives the information regarding the first shared CO time interval.

[0051] In the first embodiment, the first terminal device 110 may determine whether a priority threshold is set or preset. If the priority threshold is set or preset, the first terminal device 110 may compare a first priority value for the subsequent sidelink transmission of the first terminal device 110 to the priority threshold. If the first priority value is lower than the priority threshold, the first terminal device 110 may compare the remaining COT to a transmission offset, which is a time offset between a second resource on which information about the first shared CO time interval is transmitted and a first resource for the subsequent sidelink transmission.

[0052] If the remaining COT is smaller than the transmission offset, the first terminal device 110 may determine the remaining COT as the first shared CO time interval. On the other hand, if the transmission offset is smaller than the remaining COT, the first terminal device 110 may determine the transmission offset as the first shared CO time interval. This will be described with reference to Figures 5A and 5B.

[0053] 5A and 5B respectively illustrate an example of a shared CO time interval according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the examples of Fig. 5A and 5B, in response to a successful LBT procedure before slot 0, the first terminal device 110 transmits a PSCCH or a PSSCH and information about the first shared CO time interval in slot 0. The first terminal device 110 may also indicate in an SCI on the PSCCH in slot 0 the resources in slot 0 for the current transmission and the resources in slot 6 reserved for a subsequent sidelink transmission.

[0054] Additionally, in the example of Figures 5A and 5B, a priority threshold is set or pre-configured, and the priority value for the subsequent sidelink transmission in slot 6 is lower than the priority threshold.

[0055] In the example of FIG. 5A, the remaining COT includes slots 0 to 9, and the transmission offset between the resource (slot 0) in which information about the first shared CO time interval is transmitted and the resource for the subsequent sidelink transmission (slot 6) includes slots 0 to 5. In this case, the first terminal device 110 determines the transmission offset as the first shared CO time interval. That is, the first shared CO time interval includes slots 0 to 5. Although it has been described that the first shared CO time interval includes slots 0 to 5, since the first terminal device 110 has already used slot 0 to transmit information about the first shared CO time interval, the second terminal device 120 can use only slots 1 to 5 for its sidelink transmission.

[0056] In the example of Fig. 5B, the remaining COT includes slots 0 to 4, and the transmission offset between the resource (slot 0) in which information about the first shared CO time interval is transmitted and the resource for the subsequent sidelink transmission (slot 6) includes slots 0 to 5. In this case, the first terminal device 110 determines the remaining COT as the first shared CO time interval. That is, the first shared CO time interval includes slots 0 to 4.

[0057] In some embodiments, if the first priority value is greater than or equal to the priority threshold, or if the priority threshold is not set or pre-set, the first terminal device 110 may determine the first shared CO time interval as the remaining COT.

[0058] In a second embodiment, the first terminal device 110 may determine the first shared CO time interval as the remaining COT without comparing the first priority value with a priority threshold.

[0059] In the third embodiment, the first terminal device 110 may determine the first shared CO time interval as the transmission offset without comparing the first priority value with a priority threshold.

[0060] In some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may receive a radio resource control (RRC) configuration or an RRC preconfiguration. The RRC configuration or the RRC preconfiguration may indicate which of the first, second, or third embodiments is to be adopted by the first terminal device 110. The first terminal device 110 may determine a first shared CO time interval based on the RRC configuration or the RRC preconfiguration.

[0061] In some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may transmit information about the first shared CO time interval together with the first sidelink transmission in the third resource. The LBT units associated with the third resource overlap in the frequency domain with the first resource for the subsequent sidelink transmission. For example, consider the example of Figs. 5A and 5B. The first terminal device 110 transmits information about the first shared CO time interval in slot 0 with the first sidelink transmission in resource 0 belonging to subbands #0 and #1. The first terminal device 110 transmits the subsequent sidelink transmission in resource 6, which also belongs to subbands #0 and #1.

[0062] Continuing to refer to FIG. 4, upon receiving information regarding the first shared CO time interval from the first terminal device 110, the second terminal device 120 determines a COT for the second sidelink transmission of the second terminal device 120 based on at least one of the first shared CO time interval, the first priority value for a subsequent sidelink transmission of the first terminal device, the second priority value for the second sidelink transmission, or potential resources for the subsequent sidelink transmission (430).

[0063] In an embodiment in which the subsequent sidelink transmission of the first terminal device 110 is a PSSCH retransmission, the second terminal device 120 may determine potential resources for the subsequent sidelink transmission from a Time resource assignment field in the SCI transmitted by the first terminal device 110.

[0064] In an embodiment in which the subsequent sidelink transmission of the first terminal device 110 is a PSFCH transmission, the second terminal device 120 may determine potential resources for the subsequent sidelink transmission from predefined possible PSFCH opportunities for a sidelink resource pool, e.g. based on a PSFCH resource configuration in the resource pool.

[0065] In some embodiments, the second terminal device 120 may compare the second priority value for the second sidelink transmission with the first priority value for the subsequent sidelink transmission. If the second priority value is smaller than the first priority value, the second terminal device 120 may determine the COT for the second sidelink transmission of the second terminal device 120 as the first shared CO time interval. For example, the first priority value for the subsequent sidelink transmission may be equal to the value in the priority field in the SCI transmitted by the first terminal device 110.

[0066] On the other hand, if the second priority value is greater than or equal to the first priority value, the second terminal device 120 may determine a transmission offset between the resource on which the information on the first shared CO time interval is received and the potential resources for a subsequent sidelink transmission.

[0067] If the first shared CO time interval is smaller than the transmission offset, the second terminal device 120 may determine the COT as the first shared CO time interval. On the other hand, if the transmission offset is smaller than the first shared CO time interval, the second terminal device 120 may determine the COT as the transmission offset. This will be described with reference to FIG. 5C.

[0068] 5C is a diagram illustrating an example of a shared CO time interval according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 5C, in response to a successful LBT procedure before slot 0, the first terminal device 110 transmits a PSCCH or PSSCH and information about the first shared CO time interval in slot 0. The first terminal device 110 may also indicate in an SCI on the PSCCH in slot 0 the resources in slot 0 for the current transmission and the resources in slot 6 reserved for a subsequent sidelink transmission.

[0069] Additionally, in the example of Fig. 5C, the information regarding the first shared CO time interval in slot 0 indicates that the first shared CO time interval includes slots 0 to 9. The transmission offset between the resource on which the information regarding the first shared CO time interval is received and the potential resources for a subsequent sidelink transmission includes slots 0 to 5.

[0070] If the second priority value is smaller than the first priority value, the second terminal device 120 may determine the CO time interval for the second sidelink transmission of the second terminal device 120 as the first shared CO time interval. On the other hand, if the second priority value is equal to or greater than the first priority value, the second terminal device 120 may determine a transmission offset and compare the shared CO time interval to the transmission offset. In the example of FIG. 5C, since the transmission offset is smaller than the first shared CO time interval, the second terminal device 120 may determine the CO time interval as the transmission offset.

[0071] In some embodiments, the second terminal device 120 may receive resource allocation information for the first terminal device 110 from the first terminal device 110. The second terminal device 120 may then determine a shared subband or RB set associated with the first shared CO time interval based on the resource allocation information.

[0072] In some embodiments, the second terminal device 120 may determine a plurality of time and frequency resources for the first terminal device 110 based on the resource allocation information. The second terminal device 120 may then determine at least one subband or RB set in which a first time and frequency resource of the plurality of time and frequency resources is located within the shared subband or RB set, as described with reference to FIG. 5D.

[0073] 5D is a diagram illustrating an example of a shared CO time interval according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 5D, in response to a successful LBT procedure before slot 0, the first terminal device 110 transmits a PSCCH or PSSCH and information about the first shared CO time interval in slot 0. The first terminal device 110 may also indicate in an SCI on the PSCCH in slot 0 the resources in slot 0 for the current transmission and the resources in slots 6 and 9 reserved for a subsequent sidelink transmission.

[0074] Upon receiving the SCI from the first terminal device 110, the second terminal device 120 may determine three time-frequency resources from the fields "Frequency resource assignment" and "time resource assignment" of the SCI. The three time-frequency resources include a resource 510 (earliest resource or starting resource) located in subbands #0 and #1 in slot 0, a resource 520 located in subbands #1 and #2 in slot 6, and a resource 530 located in subbands #2 and #3 in slot 9. The second terminal device 120 may determine the subbands #0 and #1 in which the resource 510 is located as a shared subband or RB set.

[0075] In some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may determine the remaining time of the CO initiated by the second terminal device 110 as the remaining COT.

[0076] In some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may receive information regarding the second shared CO time interval from the third terminal device 130. The first terminal device 110 may then determine the end of the second shared CO time interval as the end of the remaining COT.

[0077] In some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may receive information about the second shared CO time interval in the fourth resource. In some such embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may transmit information about the first shared CO time interval in the fifth resource. To ensure that the first terminal device 110 has time to process the information about the second shared CO time interval and prepare information about the first shared CO time interval, the time offset between the fourth resource and the fifth resource may be greater than an offset threshold. For example, consider the example shown in FIG. 5E. The first terminal device 110 receives information about the second shared CO time interval from the third terminal device 130 in slot 0. The first terminal device 110 transmits information about the first shared CO time interval in slot 5. There are five slots between slot 0 and slot 5. In this example, the offset threshold may be one slot or a few microseconds.

[0078] In some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may receive information regarding the third shared CO time interval from a fourth terminal device (not shown) and information regarding the fourth shared CO time interval from a fifth terminal device (not shown). The first terminal device 110 may compare the end of the third shared CO time interval with the end of the fourth shared CO time interval. The first terminal device 110 may then determine the end of one of the third shared CO time interval and the fourth shared CO time interval as the end of the remaining COT based on this comparison.

[0079] In some embodiments, if the end of the third shared CO time interval is later than the end of the fourth shared CO time interval, the first terminal device 110 may determine the end of the third shared CO time interval as the end of the remaining COT, as will be described with reference to FIG.

[0080] FIG. 5F illustrates an example of a shared CO time interval according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 5F, the fifth terminal device transmits information about the fourth shared CO time interval in slot 0, and the fourth terminal device transmits information about the third shared CO time interval in slot 4. The fourth shared CO time interval includes slots 0 to 7, and the third shared CO time interval includes slots 4 to 9. Upon receiving the information about the third shared CO time interval and the information about the fourth shared CO time interval, the first terminal device 110 may compare the end of the third shared CO time interval with the end of the fourth shared CO time interval. Because the end of the third shared CO time interval is later than the end of the fourth shared CO time interval, the first terminal device 110 determines the end of the third shared CO time interval as the end of the remaining COT.

[0081] In such an embodiment, the shared subband or RB set associated with the third shared CO time interval may completely overlap with the shared subband or RB set associated with the fourth shared CO time interval. For example, consider the example shown in FIG. 5F. The shared subband associated with the third shared CO time interval includes subbands #0 and #1. The shared subband associated with the fourth shared CO time interval also includes subbands #0 and #1. Thus, the shared subband associated with the third shared CO time interval completely overlaps with the shared subband associated with the fourth shared CO time interval.

[0082] In some embodiments, when the end of the third shared CO time interval and the end of the fourth shared CO time interval are the same, the first terminal device 110 may determine the end of the third shared CO time interval or the end of the fourth shared CO time interval as the end of the remaining COT.

[0083] In some embodiments, if the end of the third shared CO time interval and the end of the fourth shared CO time interval are the same, a first Channel Access Priority Class (CAPC) associated with the third shared CO time interval is compared with a second CAPC associated with the fourth shared CO time interval. If the first CAPC is higher than the second CAPC, the first terminal device 110 may determine the first CAPC as the associated CAPC of the remaining COT. If the second CAPC is higher than the first CAPC, the first terminal device 110 may determine the second CAPC as the associated CAPC of the remaining COT.

[0084] In some embodiments, the shared subband or RB set associated with the third shared CO time interval may not completely overlap with the shared subband or RB set associated with the fourth shared CO time interval. In such an embodiment, if the end of the third shared CO time interval is earlier than the end of the fourth shared CO time interval, the first terminal device 110 may determine the end of the third shared CO time interval as the end of the remaining COT. This will be described with reference to Figures 5G and 5H.

[0085] 5G and 5H each illustrate an example of a shared CO time interval according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 5G, the fifth terminal device transmits information about the fourth shared CO time interval in slot 0, and the fourth terminal device transmits information about the third shared CO time interval in slot 4. The fourth shared CO time interval includes slots 0-8, and the third shared CO time interval includes slots 4-9. The shared subband associated with the fourth shared CO time interval also includes subbands #0 and #1. The shared subband associated with the third shared CO time interval includes subbands #1 and #2. Thus, the shared subband associated with the third shared CO time interval does not completely overlap with the shared subband associated with the fourth shared CO time interval.

[0086] Upon receiving the information regarding the third shared CO time interval and the information regarding the fourth shared CO time interval, the first terminal device 110 may compare the end of the third shared CO time interval with the end of the fourth shared CO time interval. If the end of the fourth shared CO time interval is earlier than the end of the third shared CO time interval, the first terminal device 110 determines the end of the fourth shared CO time interval as the end of the remaining COT.

[0087] In the example of FIG. 5H, the fifth terminal device transmits information about the fourth shared CO time interval in slot 0, and the fourth terminal device transmits information about the third shared CO time interval in slot 4. Additionally, the first terminal device 110 acquires the first CO in slot 6 by performing the LBT type 1 procedure. The fourth shared CO time interval includes slots 0 to 8, the third shared CO time interval includes slots 4 to 9, and the first CO time interval includes slots 6 to 15. The shared subband associated with the fourth shared CO time interval also includes subband #0. The shared subband associated with the third shared CO time interval includes subband #2. The shared subband associated with the first COT includes subband #1. Therefore, the shared subband associated with the third shared CO time interval does not completely overlap with the shared subband associated with the fourth shared CO time interval and the shared subband associated with the first COT.

[0088] Upon receiving the information about the third shared CO time interval and the information about the fourth shared CO time interval, the first terminal device 110 may compare the end of the third shared CO time interval with the end of the fourth shared CO time interval and the end of the first COT. If the end of the fourth shared CO time interval is earlier than the end of the third shared CO time interval and the end of the first COT, the first terminal device 110 determines the end of the fourth shared CO time interval as the end of the remaining COT.

[0089] 6 is a flow chart of an example method 600 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the method 600 may be implemented in a terminal device, such as one of the terminal devices 110, 120, and 130 as shown in FIG. 1. For purposes of illustration, and without loss of generality, the method 600 will be described as being performed by the terminal device 110 with reference to FIG.

[0090] In block 610, the first terminal device 110 determines a first shared CO time interval based on at least one of the remaining COT, a first priority value for a subsequent sidelink transmission of the first terminal device, or a first resource for the subsequent sidelink transmission.

[0091] In block 620, the first terminal device 110 transmits information regarding the first shared CO time interval.

[0092] In some embodiments, determining the first shared CO time interval includes, if the first priority value is lower than a priority threshold, comparing the remaining COT to a transmission offset, where the transmission offset is a time offset between a second resource on which information about the first shared CO time interval is transmitted and the first resource for the subsequent sidelink transmission; determining the remaining COT as the first shared CO time interval if the remaining COT is smaller than the transmission offset; and determining the transmission offset as the first shared CO time interval if the transmission offset is smaller than the remaining COT.

[0093] In some embodiments, determining the first shared CO time interval includes determining the remaining COT as the first shared CO time interval if the first priority value is greater than or equal to a priority threshold or if the priority threshold is not set.

[0094] In some embodiments, transmitting information regarding the first shared CO time interval comprises transmitting the information in a first sidelink transmission in third resources that overlap in the frequency domain with the first resources for the subsequent sidelink transmission.

[0095] In some embodiments, the method 600 further includes determining a remaining time of a channel occupation (CO) initiated by the first terminal device as the remaining COT.

[0096] In some embodiments, the method 600 further includes receiving information regarding a second shared CO time interval from a third terminal device and determining an end of the second shared CO time interval as an end of the remaining COT.

[0097] In some embodiments, receiving information regarding the second shared CO time interval includes receiving information regarding the second shared CO time interval in a fourth resource, and transmitting information regarding the first shared CO time interval includes transmitting information regarding the first shared CO time interval in a fifth resource, wherein a time offset between the fourth resource and the fifth resource is greater than an offset threshold.

[0098] In some embodiments, the method 600 further includes receiving information regarding a third shared CO time interval from a fourth terminal device, receiving information regarding a fourth shared CO time interval from a fifth terminal device, comparing an end of the third shared CO time interval with an end of the fourth shared CO time interval, and determining an end of one of the third shared CO time interval and the fourth shared CO time interval as an end of the remaining COT based on the comparison.

[0099] In some embodiments, the shared subband or resource block (RB) set associated with the third shared CO time interval completely overlaps with the shared subband or RB set associated with the fourth shared CO time interval.

[0100] In some embodiments, determining the remaining COT includes determining an end of the third shared CO time interval as an end of the remaining COT if the end of the third shared CO time interval is later than an end of the fourth shared CO time interval.

[0101] In some embodiments, determining the remaining COT includes, if an end of the third shared CO time interval and an end of the fourth shared CO time interval are the same, determining the end of the third shared CO time interval or the end of the fourth shared CO time interval as the end of the remaining COT.

[0102] In some embodiments, the method 600 further includes: when an end of the third shared CO time interval and an end of the fourth shared CO time interval are the same, comparing a first Channel Access Priority Class (CAPC) associated with the third shared CO time interval with a second CAPC associated with the fourth shared CO time interval; when the first CAPC is higher than the second CAPC, determining the first CAPC as the associated CAPC of the remaining COT; and when the second CAPC is higher than the first CAPC, determining the second CAPC as the associated CAPC of the remaining COT.

[0103] In some embodiments, a shared subband or resource block (RB) set associated with the third shared CO time interval does not completely overlap with a shared subband or resource block (RB) set associated with the fourth shared CO time interval.

[0104] In some embodiments, determining the remaining COT includes determining an end of the third shared CO time interval as an end of the remaining COT if the end of the third shared CO time interval is earlier than an end of the fourth shared CO time interval.

[0105] 7 is a flow chart of an example method 700 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the method 700 may be implemented in a terminal device, such as one of the terminal devices 110, 120, and 130 as shown in FIG. 1. For purposes of illustration, and without loss of generality, the method 700 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 as being performed by the terminal device 120.

[0106] In block 710, the second terminal device 120 receives information regarding the shared CO from the first terminal device.

[0107] In block 720, the second terminal device 120 determines a CO for the second sidelink transmission of the second terminal device based on at least one of the shared CO, the first priority value for the subsequent sidelink transmission of the first terminal device, the second priority value for the second sidelink transmission, or potential resources for the subsequent sidelink transmission.

[0108] In some embodiments, determining the CO includes determining the CO as the shared CO if the second priority value is less than the first priority value.

[0109] In some embodiments, determining the CO includes determining a transmission offset between a resource from which information about the shared CO is received and the potential resource if the second priority value is greater than or equal to the first priority value, determining the CO as the shared CO if a time interval of the shared CO is smaller than the transmission offset, and determining a time interval of the CO as the transmission offset if the transmission offset is smaller than a time interval of the shared CO.

[0110] In some embodiments, the method 700 further includes receiving, from the first terminal device, resource allocation information for the first terminal device, and determining a shared subband or resource block (RB) set associated with the shared CO based on the resource allocation information.

[0111] In some embodiments, determining the shared subband or RB set includes determining a plurality of frequency resources for the first terminal device based on the resource allocation information, and determining at least one subband or RB set in which a starting frequency resource among the plurality of frequency resources is located as the shared subband or RB set.

[0112] 8 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 800 suitable for implementing some embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus 800 may be considered as another exemplary embodiment of the terminal device 110 or the terminal device 120 shown in FIG. 1. Thus, the apparatus 800 may be implemented in the terminal device 110 or 120 or as at least a part thereof.

[0113] As shown, the apparatus 800 comprises a processor 810, a memory 820 coupled to the processor 810, a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 840 coupled to the processor 810, and a communication interface coupled to the TX / RX 840. The memory 820 stores at least a portion of a program 830. The TX / RX 840 is used for bidirectional communication. The TX / RX 840 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, although the access nodes referred to herein may in practice have multiple antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communication with other network elements, such as an X2 interface for bidirectional communication between gNBs or eNBs, an S1 interface for communication between a Mobility Management Entity (MME) / Serving Gateway (S-GW) and an eNB, an Un interface for communication between a gNB or eNB and a Relay Node (RN), or an Uu interface for communication between a gNB or eNB and a terminal device.

[0114] The program 830 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by an associated processor 810, enable the device 800 to operate according to embodiments of the present disclosure, as described herein with reference to Figures 1-7. The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 810 of the device 800, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 810 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the combination of the processor 810 and the memory 820 may form a processing means 850 suitable for implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0115] The memory 820 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as, by way of non-limiting example, non-transitory computer-readable storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed and removable memories. Although only one memory 820 is shown in the device 800, there may be several physically different memory modules in the device 800. The processor 810 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may include, by way of non-limiting example, one or more of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP) and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 800 may have multiple processors, for example application specific integrated circuit chips time-slaved to a clock that synchronizes the main processor.

[0116] Components included in the devices and / or apparatus of the present disclosure may be implemented in various ways, including software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, one or more units may be implemented using software and / or firmware, such as machine-executable instructions stored on a storage medium. In addition to or in lieu of machine-executable instructions, some or all of the units in the devices and / or apparatus may be implemented, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components. By way of example and not limitation, exemplary types of hardware logic components that may be used include field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), application specific general purpose products (ASSPs), systems on chips (SOCs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), and the like.

[0117] Overall, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described using block diagrams, flow charts, or some other pictorial representations, it should be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented, by way of non-limiting examples, in hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing device, or any combination thereof.

[0118] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as instructions included in a program module, that execute in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform a process or method described above with reference to any one of Figures 1 to 7. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as appropriate. The machine-executable instructions of the program modules may be executed in local or distributed devices. In a distributed device, the program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0119] Program codes for carrying out the methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, and when executed by the processor or controller, the program code causes the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may run entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a separate software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0120] The above program code may be implemented on a machine-readable medium, which may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program used by or associated with an instruction execution system, device, or apparatus. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, device, or apparatus, or any suitable combination of the aforementioned media. More specific examples of the machine-readable storage medium may include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the aforementioned.

[0121] It should be noted that although operations have been described in a particular order, it should not be understood that such operations are required to be performed in the particular order shown, or in any sequential order, or to perform all of the operations described, in order to achieve desired results. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although details of several specific embodiments are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be unique to certain embodiments. Some features described in the context of individual embodiments may be realized in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

[0122] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the present disclosure, as defined in the appended claims, is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. 1. A method of communication comprising: In the first terminal device, a first shared channel occupancy (CO) time interval is set to Remaining Channel Occupancy Time (COT), a first priority value for a subsequent sidelink transmission of the first terminal device, or a first resource for the subsequent sidelink transmission; and transmitting information regarding the first shared CO time interval; The method includes:

2. Determining the first shared CO time interval comprises: if the first priority value is lower than a priority threshold, comparing the remaining COT to a transmission offset, the transmission offset being a time offset between a second resource on which information about the first shared CO time interval is transmitted and the first resource for the subsequent sidelink transmission; if the remaining COT is less than the transmission offset, determining the remaining COT as the first shared CO time interval; If the transmission offset is less than the remaining COT, determining the transmission offset as the first shared CO time interval; 2. The method of claim 1, comprising:

3. Determining the first shared CO time interval comprises: determining the remaining COT as the first shared CO time interval if the first priority value is equal to or greater than a priority threshold or if the priority threshold is not set; The method according to claim 1 or 2, comprising:

4. Transmitting information regarding the first shared CO time interval transmitting the information in a first sidelink transmission in third resources that overlap in the frequency domain with the first resources for the subsequent sidelink transmission.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising:

5. determining a remaining time interval of a channel occupation (CO) initiated by the first terminal device as the remaining COT; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

6. receiving information relating to the second shared CO time interval from a third terminal device; determining an end of the second shared CO time interval as an end of the remaining COT; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

7. Receiving information regarding the second shared CO time interval receiving information regarding the second shared CO time interval within a fourth resource; Transmitting information regarding the first shared CO time interval transmitting information about the first shared CO time interval in a fifth resource, wherein a time offset between the fourth resource and the fifth resource is greater than an offset threshold. The method according to claim 6.

8. receiving information from a fourth terminal device relating to a third shared CO time interval; receiving information relating to a fourth shared CO time interval from a fifth terminal device; comparing an end of the third shared CO time interval with an end of the fourth shared CO time interval; determining an end of one of the third shared CO time interval and the fourth shared CO time interval as an end of the remaining COT based on the comparison; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

9. A shared subband or resource block (RB) set associated with the third shared CO time interval completely overlaps with a shared subband or RB set associated with the fourth shared CO time interval. The method according to claim 8.

10. Determining an end of the remaining COT includes: determining an end of the third shared CO time interval as an end of the remaining COT if the end of the third shared CO time interval is later than an end of the fourth shared CO time interval; 10. The method of claim 9, comprising:

11. Determining an end of the remaining COT includes: determining an end of the third shared CO time interval or an end of the fourth shared CO time interval as an end of the remaining COT if the end of the third shared CO time interval and the end of the fourth shared CO time interval are the same; 10. The method of claim 9, comprising:

12. if an end of the third shared CO time interval and an end of the fourth shared CO time interval are the same, comparing a first Channel Access Priority Class (CAPC) associated with the third shared CO time interval to a second CAPC associated with the fourth shared CO time interval; If the first CAPC is higher than the second CAPC, determining the first CAPC as an associated CAPC of the remaining COT; If the second CAPC is higher than the first CAPC, determining the second CAPC as the associated CAPC of the remaining COT; The method of claim 9 further comprising:

13. A shared subband or resource block (RB) set associated with the third shared CO time interval does not completely overlap with a shared subband or resource block (RB) set associated with the fourth shared CO time interval. The method according to claim 8.

14. Determining an end of the remaining COT includes: determining an end of the third shared CO time interval as an end of the remaining COT if the end of the third shared CO time interval is earlier than an end of the fourth shared CO time interval; 14. The method of claim 13, comprising:

15. 1. A method of communication comprising: receiving, in a second terminal device, information relating to shared channel occupancy (CO) from the first terminal device; a CO for a second sidelink transmission of the second terminal device; the shared CO; a first priority value for a subsequent sidelink transmission of the first terminal device; a second priority value for the second sidelink transmission, or potential resources for the subsequent sidelink transmission; and determining based on at least one of The method includes:

16. The determining of CO comprises: determining the CO as the shared CO if the second priority value is less than the first priority value; 16. The method of claim 15, comprising:

17. The determining of CO comprises: determining a transmission offset between a resource on which information about the shared CO is received and the potential resource if the second priority value is greater than or equal to the first priority value; If the time interval of the shared CO is less than the transmission offset, determining the CO as the shared CO; If the transmission offset is smaller than the time interval of the shared CO, determining the time interval of the CO as the transmission offset; 16. The method of claim 15, comprising:

18. receiving, from the first terminal device, resource allocation information for the first terminal device; determining a shared subband or resource block (RB) set associated with the shared CO based on the resource allocation information; 16. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

19. Determining the shared subband or RB set includes: determining a plurality of frequency resources for the first terminal device based on the resource allocation information; determining at least one subband or RB set in which an originating frequency resource of the plurality of frequency resources is located as the shared subband or RB set; 20. The method of claim 18, comprising:

20. 1. A terminal device comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions, The instructions, when executed by the processor, perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 14. Terminal device.

21. 1. A terminal device comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions, The instructions, when executed by the processor, perform a method according to any one of claims 15 to 19. Terminal device.

22. storing instructions which, when executed on at least one processor of a device, cause said device to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14; Computer-readable medium.

23. storing instructions which, when executed on at least one processor of a device, cause said device to carry out the method according to any one of claims 15 to 19; Computer-readable medium.

Images