Systems and Methods for Inter-Device Communication

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to receiving, by a first wireless communication device, from a network (e.g., a base station (BS)), information indicating that the network supports sidelink (SL) carrier aggregation (CA). The first wireless communication device communicates with a second wireless communication device for SL communication. The first wireless communication device reports to the network at least one of an SL abnormal state on a first carrier or a recovery of the SL abnormal state on the first carrier.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to wireless communication, and more specifically, to abnormal states in device - to - device communication.

Background Art

[0002] Side - link (SL) communication refers to radio wave communication between two or more user equipment (UE). In this type of communication, two or more UEs that are geographically close to each other can communicate without being routed through a network (e.g., a base station (BS)) or a core network. Data transmission in SL communication is thus different from typical cellular network communication, which involves transmitting data to and receiving data from a network. In SL communication, data is transmitted directly from a source UE to a target UE through, for example, an integrated air interface (e.g., a PC5 interface) without passing through the network.

Summary of the Invention

Means for Solving the Problems

[0003] The exemplary arrangements disclosed herein are aimed at solving one or more of the problems presented in the prior art and providing additional features that will become readily apparent when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and with reference to the following detailed description. According to various arrangements, exemplary systems, methods, devices, and computer program products are disclosed herein. However, it is to be understood that these arrangements are presented by way of example and not limitation, and that various modifications to the disclosed arrangements can be made within the scope of the present invention, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon a review of the present disclosure.

[0004] Some arrangements of the present disclosure relate to a system, method, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable medium associated with a first UE receiving, from a network, information indicating that the network supports sidelink carrier aggregation (CA). The first UE communicates sidelink communication with a second UE.

[0005] Some arrangements of the present disclosure relate to a system, method, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable medium associated with a first UE communicating sidelink communication with a second UE. The first UE reports to the network at least one frequency to be used within the sidelink communication with the second UE based on a quality of service (QoS) flow.

[0006] Some arrangements of the present disclosure relate to a system, method, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable medium associated with a network receiving, from a first UE, information indicating that the network supports sidelink CA. The first UE communicates sidelink communication with a second UE. The network receives from the first UE at least one report of an abnormal state on a first carrier or recovery of an abnormal state on the first carrier.

[0007] The above and other aspects and their implementations are described in more detail by the drawings, description, and claims.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008] Various exemplary arrangements of the present solution are described in detail below with reference to the following figures or drawings. The drawings are provided for illustrative purposes only and depict exemplary embodiments of the present solution only to facilitate the understanding of the reader of the present solution. Therefore, the drawings should not be regarded as a limitation on the scope, range, or availability of the present solution. It should be noted that these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale for the sake of clarity and ease of illustration.

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[0016] Detailed Description Various exemplary arrangements of the solution are described below with reference to the accompanying figures to enable those skilled in the art to make and use the solution. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, various changes or modifications to the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope of the solution after a thorough reading of this disclosure. Accordingly, the solution is not limited to the exemplary arrangements and uses described and illustrated herein. In addition, the particular order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein is merely an exemplary approach. Based on design preferences, the particular order or hierarchy of steps of the disclosed methods or processes can be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the solution. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will understand that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or acts in a sample order and that the solution is not limited to the particular order or hierarchy presented unless expressly stated otherwise.

[0017] With the emergence of wireless multimedia services, the user demand for high data rates and user experience has been continuously increasing, which represents higher requirements regarding the system capacity and coverage of conventional cellular networks. In addition, public safety, social networking, proximity data sharing, and local advertising are gradually expanding the need for proximity services that enable users to perceive and communicate with neighboring users or objects. Conventional network-centric cellular networks have limited high data rate capabilities and support for proximity services. In this context, device-to-device (D2D) communication has emerged to address the drawbacks of the network-centric model. The application of D2D technology can reduce the burden on cellular networks, reduce the battery power consumption of UEs, increase the data rate, improve the robustness of the network infrastructure, and thus meet the above-described requirements for high data rate services and proximity services. D2D technology is also referred to as proximity services (ProSe), one-way / sidechain / SL communication, etc.

[0018] To improve the reliability, data rate, and latency of SL communication, carrier aggregation (CA) can be implemented for SL communication. In CA, two or more component carriers (CCs) are aggregated to support a wider transmission bandwidth in the frequency domain. In some embodiments, a vehicle UE can simultaneously perform SL reception and transmission on one or more CCs. The arrangements disclosed herein relate to data splitting and data replication based on CA.

[0019] Referring to FIG. 1A, an exemplary wireless communication network 100 is shown. The wireless communication network 100 illustrates group communication within a cellular network. In a wireless communication system, the network - side communication node or network can include a Next - Generation NodeB (gNB), an E - Utran NodeB (also known as an evolved NodeB, eNodeB, or eNB), a pico - station, a femto - station, a Transmission / Reception Point (TRP), an Access Point (AP), etc. The terminal - side node or UE can include devices such as, for example, a mobile device, a smartphone, a cellular phone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a tablet, a laptop computer, a wearable device, a vehicle with an in - vehicle communication system, etc. In FIG. 1A, the network - side and terminal - side communication nodes are represented by network 102 and UEs 104a and 104b, respectively. In some arrangements, network 102 and UEs 104a / 104b are sometimes also referred to as "wireless communication nodes" and "wireless communication devices", respectively. Such communication nodes / devices can perform wireless communication.

[0020] In the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 1A, network 102 may define cell 101 in which UEs 104a and 104b are located. UEs 104a and / or 104b can be in motion within the coverage of cell 101 or can remain stationary. UE 104a can communicate with network 102 via communication channel 103a. Similarly, UE 104b can communicate with network 102 via communication channel 103b. In addition, UEs 104a and 104b can communicate with each other via communication channel 105. The communication channels 103a and 104b between individual UEs and the network can be implemented using an interface such as the Uu interface, which is also known as the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) air interface. The communication channel 105 between UEs is a SL communication channel and can be implemented using the PC5 interface, which is introduced to handle high mobility speed and high density applications such as, for example, D2D communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication, or the like. In some instances, the vehicle network communication mode can collectively be referred to as vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) communication. Network 102 is connected to core network (CN) 108 via an external interface 107, for example, the Iu interface.

[0021] In some embodiments, a remote UE (e.g., UE 104b) that does not communicate directly with network 102 or CN 108 (e.g., communication channel link 103b is not established) can communicate with network 102 and CN 108 indirectly via a relay UE (e.g., UE 104a) that can communicate directly with network 102 and CN 108 or can communicate directly with network 102 and CN 108 via another relay UE, using the SL communication channel 105.

[0022] FIG. 1B illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary wireless communication system for transmitting and receiving downlink, uplink, and SL communication signals according to some arrangements of the present disclosure. In some arrangements, the system can transmit and receive data within a wireless communication environment such as the wireless communication network 100 of FIG. 1A as described above.

[0023] The system generally includes a network 102 and UEs 104a and 104b as described with respect to FIG. 1A. The network 102 includes a network transceiver module 110, a network antenna 112, a network memory module 116, a network processor module 114, and a network communication module 118, and each module is coupled and interconnected with each other via a data communication bus 120 as needed. The UE 104a includes a UE transceiver module 130a, a UE antenna 132a, a UE memory module 134a, and a UE processor module 136a, and each module is coupled and interconnected with each other via a data communication bus 140a as needed. Similarly, the UE 104b includes a UE transceiver module 130b, a UE antenna 132b, a UE memory module 134b, and a UE processor module 136b, and each module is coupled and interconnected with each other via a data communication bus 140b as needed. The network 102 communicates with the UEs 104a and 104b via one or more than one of the communication channels 150, which can be any wireless channel or other medium known in the art suitable for transmission of data as described herein.

[0024] The system may further include any number of modules other than those shown in FIG. 1B. Those skilled in the art will understand that the various illustrative blocks, modules, circuits, and processing logics described in connection with the arrangements disclosed herein may be implemented in hardware, computer-readable software, firmware, or any practical combination thereof. To clearly illustrate the interchangeability and compatibility of hardware, firmware, and software, the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are generally described in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Persons skilled in the concepts described herein may implement such functionality in a suitable manner for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure.

[0025] Wireless transmission from one of the antennas of UE104a and 104b to the antenna of network 102 is known as uplink transmission, and wireless transmission from the antenna of network 102 to one of the antennas of UE104a and 104b is known as downlink transmission. According to some arrangements, UE transceiver modules 130a and 130b may each be referred to herein as an uplink transceiver or a UE transceiver. Each uplink transceiver can include a transmitter and a receiver circuitry coupled to respective individual antennas 132a and 132b. As an alternative, a duplex switch may couple the uplink transmitter or receiver to the uplink antenna in a time-division duplexing scheme. Similarly, network transceiver module 110 may be referred to herein as a downlink transceiver or a network transceiver. Each downlink transceiver can include an RF transmitter and a receiver circuitry coupled to antenna 112. As an alternative, a downlink duplex switch may couple the downlink transmitter or receiver to antenna 112 in a time-division duplexing scheme. The operations of transceivers 110 and 130a and 130b are coordinated in time such that the uplink receiver is coupled to antennas 132a and 132b for receiving transmission via wireless communication channel 150 at the same time that the downlink transmitter is coupled to antenna 112. In some arrangements, UE104a and 104b can communicate with network 102 via wireless communication channel 150 using UE transceivers 130a and 130b through respective individual antennas 132a and 132b. Wireless communication channel 150 can be any wireless channel or other medium known in the art suitable for downlink and / or uplink transmission of data as described herein. UE104a and 104b can communicate with each other via wireless communication channel 170. Wireless communication channel 170 can be any wireless channel or other medium suitable for SL transmission of data as described herein.

[0026] UE transceivers 130a and 130b and network transceiver 110 are each configured to communicate via a wireless data communication channel 150 and cooperate with a suitably configured antenna arrangement that can support a specific wireless communication protocol and modulation scheme. In some arrangements, UE transceivers 130a and 130b and network transceiver 110 are configured to support industry standards such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and emerging 5G and 6G standards or equivalents. However, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not necessarily limited in its application to specific standards and associated protocols. Rather, UE transceivers 130a and 130b and network transceiver 110 may be configured to support alternative or additional wireless data communication protocols, including future standards or variations thereof.

[0027] Processor modules 136a, 136b, and 114 may each be implemented or realized with a general-purpose processor, associative memory, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field-programmable gate array, any suitable programmable logic device, discrete gate, or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. Thus, the processor may be realized as a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, state machine, or the like. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as, for example, a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, or any other such combination of configurations.

[0028] Furthermore, the methods and algorithms described in connection with the arrangements disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in firmware, in software modules executed by processor modules 114 and 136a and 136b respectively, or in any practical combination thereof. Memory modules 116 and 134a and 134b may be implemented as RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. In this regard, memory modules 116 and 134a and 134b may be coupled to processor modules 114 and 136a and 136b respectively, such that processor modules 114 and 136a and 136b can read information from and write information to memory modules 116 and 134a and 134b respectively. Memory modules 116, 134a, and 134b may also be integrated within their respective processor modules 114, 136a, and 136b. In some arrangements, memory modules 116, 134a, and 134b may each include cache memory for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during the execution of instructions to be executed by processor modules 116, 134a, and 134b respectively. Memory modules 116, 134a, and 134b may also each include non-volatile memory for storing instructions to be executed by processor modules 114 and 136a and 136b respectively.

[0029] Network interface 118 generally represents the hardware, software, firmware, processing logic, and / or other components of network 102 that enable two-way communication between network transceiver 110 and other network components and communication nodes configured to communicate with network 102. For example, network interface 118 may be configured to support Internet or WiMAX traffic. In a typical deployment, but not limited to, network interface 118 provides an 802.3 Ethernet interface so that network transceiver 110 can communicate with a conventional Ethernet-based computer network. Thus, network interface 118 may include a physical interface for connection to a computer network (e.g., a mobile switching center (MSC)). As used herein with respect to a specified operation or function, the terms "configured for" or "configured to" refer to a device, component, circuit, structure, machine, signal, etc. that is physically constructed, programmed, formatted, and / or arranged to perform the specified operation or function. Network interface 118 can enable network 102 to communicate with other networks or core networks via a wired or wireless connection.

[0030] In some arrangements, UE104a and 104b can each operate within a hybrid communication network, in which the UE communicates with network 102 and other UEs, such as 104a and 104b. As will be described in more detail below, UE104a and 104b support SL communication with other UEs as well as downlink / uplink communication between network 102 and UE104a and 104b. Generally, SL communication enables UE104a and 104b to establish direct communication links with each other or other UEs from different cells without requiring network 102 to relay data between the UEs.

[0031] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary system 200 for SL communication according to various arrangements. As shown in FIG. 2, network 210 (such as network 102 in FIG. 1A) broadcasts signals received by a first UE220, a second UE230, and a third UE240. UE220 and 230 in FIG. 2 are shown as vehicles with in-vehicle communication networks, while UE240 is shown as a mobile device. As indicated by SL, UE220-240 can communicate with each other (e.g., directly transmit and receive) via an air interface without the need for automatic transfer by base station 210 or core network 250. This type of V2X communication is referred to as PC5-based V2X communication or V2X SL communication.

[0032] As used herein, when two UEs 104a or 104b communicate with each other via communication channel 105 / 170 in SL communication, the UE that transmits data to another UE is referred to as the transmitting (TX) UE, and the UE that receives the data is referred to as the receiving (RX) UE.

[0033] In some embodiments, the network may not support SL CA. For example, the network may not be able to schedule SL resources on multiple carriers, or may not be able to provide an SL configuration for multiple carriers. Some of the arrangements disclosed herein relate to a UE determining whether the network supports SL CA.

[0034] FIG. 3 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an exemplary method 300 for managing CA-based SL wireless communication according to various arrangements. Referring to FIGS. 1A - 3, method 300 can be implemented by a first UE (e.g., UE104a / 220), a second UE (e.g., UE104b / 230), and a network 102 / 210. Communication via the SL wireless communication channel 170 or the SL network is shown crossing the dashed line between the first UE and the second UE. Communication via the wireless communication channel 103a / 150 is shown crossing the dashed line between the first UE and the network.

[0035] At 310, the network transmits information indicating that the network supports SL CA. At 320, the UE receives information indicating that the network supports SL CA. In response to the UE receiving such information, the UE can determine that the network supports SL CA. In some embodiments, a first UE determines that the network supports SL CA in response to determining that the information includes an indication that the network supports SL CA. In some embodiments, the information indicating that the network supports SL CA includes a system information block (SIB). In response to determining that the information contains a configuration for two or more SL carriers, the first UE determines that the network supports SL CA. For example, in response to receiving an SIB with a configuration for two or more SL carriers, the first UE can determine that the network supports SL CA. In some embodiments, the information indicating that the network supports SL CA can include other information, messages, or signaling such as radio resource control (RRC) signaling, media access control (MAC) control element (CE), etc., that explicitly indicate that SL CA is supported by the network.

[0036] At 330, a first UE communicates with a second UE over SL communication. At 340, the second UE communicates with the first UE over SL communication. For example, the first UE and the second UE transmit and receive signals and data with each other respectively.

[0037] At 345, the first UE determines whether at least one of whether an abnormal state is detected on one carrier or whether the abnormal state is recovered.

[0038] At 350, in response to the first wireless communication device determining that the network supports SL CA, the first UE reports to the network at least one of an SL abnormal state on the first carrier or recovery of an SL abnormal state on the first carrier.

[0039] At 360, the network receives a report of at least one of an SL abnormal state on the first carrier or recovery of an SL abnormal state on the first carrier from the first UE. Thus, in an embodiment where two or more SL carriers are included in the SIB, the first UE reports the SL carrier abnormal state to the network. In some arrangements, the first UE reports at least one of an SL abnormal state on the first carrier or recovery of an SL abnormal state on the first carrier in response to the first UE determining that the network supports SL CA.

[0040] In some arrangements, the abnormal state includes a radio link failure. In some embodiments, a UE such as the first UE can detect an abnormal state regarding a carrier in the manner described herein and, in response, directly trigger an RLF on that carrier. In some embodiments, in response to detecting an abnormal state as described, the first UE can trigger an RLF regarding the carrier in response to determining that the first UE cannot recover from the abnormal state regarding the carrier.

[0041] In some arrangements, the first UE determines an abnormal state on the first carrier in response to detecting that the amount of missing feedback information regarding the first carrier reaches a maximum value (e.g., a pre-determined threshold). The missing feedback information includes at least one of missing physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) reception or missing hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback reception. In some arrangements, the maximum value can be configured by at least one of the network (e.g., the network), a second UE, etc.

[0042] For example, in response to detecting that the number of missing PSFCH receptions on at least one PSFCH reception resource (e.g., opportunity) for a first carrier reaches a maximum missing PSFCH reception threshold, the first UE determines an abnormal state on the first carrier. That is, the first UE detects that an abnormal state has occurred on the first carrier in response to determining that the maximum number of missing PSFCH receptions regarding at least one PSFCH reception resource for the first carrier, through which the first UE communicates with a second UE via an SL connection, has been reached. For example, in response to determining that the number of missing HARQ feedbacks regarding at least one HARQ feedback resource (e.g., opportunity) for the first carrier reaches a maximum missing HARQ feedback threshold, the first UE determines an abnormal state on the first carrier. That is, the first UE detects that an abnormal state has occurred on the first carrier in response to determining that the maximum number of missing HARQ feedbacks regarding the HARQ feedback resource for the first carrier, through which the first UE communicates with a second UE via an SL connection, has been reached. For example, in response to determining that the number of missing PSFCH receptions regarding at least one PSFCH reception resource for the first carrier reaches a maximum missing PSFCH reception threshold when an affirmative-negative response is selected, the first UE determines an abnormal state on the first carrier. That is, the first UE detects that an abnormal state has occurred on the first carrier in response to determining that the maximum number of missing PSFCH receptions regarding the PSFCH reception resource for the first carrier, through which the first UE communicates with a second UE via an SL connection, has been reached, and the affirmative-negative response is selected by, for example, at least one of the first UE, the second UE, or the network. For example, in response to determining that the number of missing PSFCH receptions regarding at least one PSFCH reception resource for the first carrier reaches a maximum missing PSFCH reception threshold when a negative qualification response is selected, the first UE determines an abnormal state on the first carrier.That is, in response to determining that the first UE has reached the maximum number of missing PSFCH receptions regarding the PSFCH reception resources for the first carrier for communicating with the second UE via the SL connection, the first UE detects that an abnormal state has occurred on the first carrier, and the negative acknowledgment response is selected by, for example, at least one of the first UE, the second UE, or the network.

[0043] In some arrangements, the first UE determines an abnormal state on the first carrier in response to determining that the ratio of the amount of missing feedback information regarding the first carrier to the intended amount of feedback information regarding the first carrier has reached a maximum value (e.g., a pre-determined threshold). The ratio can include at least one of the ratio of the number of missing PSFCH receptions regarding at least one PSFCH reception resource for the first carrier to the intended number of PSFCH receptions regarding the at least one PSFCH reception resource, or the ratio of the number of missing HARQ feedbacks regarding at least one HARQ feedback resource for the first carrier to the intended number of HARQ feedbacks regarding the at least one HARQ feedback resource.

[0044] For example, the first UE detects that an abnormal state has occurred on the first carrier in response to a determination that a ratio of the number of missing PSFCH receptions for at least one PSFCH reception resource for the first carrier to the number of intended PSFCH receptions for the at least one PSFCH reception resource reaches a PSFCH ratio threshold and an acknowledgment - negative acknowledgment is selected. That is, the first UE detects that an abnormal state has occurred on the first carrier in response to a determination that a ratio of the number of missing PSFCH receptions on the first carrier to the number of intended PSFCH receptions on the first carrier reaches a threshold and an acknowledgment - negative acknowledgment is selected. Regarding groupcast, in an embodiment in which an acknowledgment - negative acknowledgment is used therein, each RX UE (e.g., the first UE) transmits HARQ feedback regarding different PSFCH resources (e.g., at least one PSFCH reception resource). For a given transmission, a TX UE (e.g., the second UE) is intended to receive N PSFCH receptions (intended HARQ feedback) regarding N PSFCH resources, where N is the group size. The group size is the number of RX UEs in the group.

[0045] For example, in response to a determination that a ratio of the number of missing HARQ feedbacks for at least one HARQ feedback resource for a first carrier to the number of intended HARQ feedbacks for the at least one HARQ feedback resource reaches a HARQ feedback ratio threshold and an acknowledgement-negative acknowledgement (ACK-NACK) is selected, a first UE detects that an abnormal state has occurred on the first carrier. That is, the first UE detects that an abnormal state has occurred on the first carrier in response to a determination that a ratio of the number of missing HARQ feedbacks to the number of intended HARQ feedbacks is higher than a threshold and an ACK-NACK is selected. For groupcast, in an embodiment in which ACK-NACK is used therein, each RX UE (e.g., the first UE) transmits HARQ feedbacks for different PSFCH resources (e.g., at least one HARQ feedback resource). For a given transmission, a TX UE (e.g., a second UE) is intended to receive N PSFCH receptions (intended HARQ feedbacks) for N HARQ feedback resources, where N is a group size. The group size is the number of RX UEs in the group.

[0046] For example, in response to a determination that a ratio for assessing congestion of a channel on a first carrier exceeds a threshold, a first UE detects that an abnormal state has occurred on the first carrier. For example, the first UE can detect that a channel utilization rate (CBR) of a resource pool on the first carrier is higher than a configured threshold, where the CBR indicates channel congestion (e.g., the higher the CBR, the greater the channel congestion). The CBR can include a ratio of subchannels with a signal strength higher than the threshold (e.g., measured using a received signal strength indicator (RSSI)) to a total number of subchannels on the carrier. The first UE can determine the CBR on the first carrier.

[0047] For example, in response to determining that the number of retransmissions for a destination has reached the retransmission maximum value, the first UE detects that an abnormal state has occurred on the first carrier. For example, an SL Radio Link Control (RLC) entity resident in at least one of the network, the first UE, or the second UE can indicate to the first UE that the maximum number of retransmissions for a specific destination has been reached.

[0048] For example, in response to determining that the RRC reconfiguration timer (e.g., T400) for a destination has expired, the first UE detects that an abnormal state has occurred on the first carrier. Timer T400 is started in response to the transmission of an RRC reconfiguration message for SL and stopped in response to the reception of an RRC reconfiguration failure message for SL or an RRC reconfiguration completion message for SL.

[0049] For example, in response to determining that the number of consecutive Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest Discontinuous Transmissions (DTX) for a destination has reached the HARQ DTX maximum value, the first UE detects that an abnormal state has occurred on the first carrier. A Medium Access Control (MAC) entity resident in at least one of the network, the first UE, or the second UE can indicate to the first UE that the maximum number of consecutive HARQ DTX on the first carrier for the destination has been reached.

[0050] For example, in response to determining that the integrity regarding at least one Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB) (e.g., SL-Signaling Radio Bearer 2 (SL-SRB2) or SL-SRB3) for a destination has failed, the first UE detects that an abnormal state has occurred on the first carrier. An SL Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) entity resident on one or more of the first UE, the second UE, and the network can send an integrity check failure indication to the first UE indicating an integrity failure of at least one of SL-SRB2 or SL-SRB3 for the destination.

[0051] For example, in response to receiving an indication corresponding to recovering from an abnormal state, the first UE determines that the abnormal state on the first carrier has been recovered. In some embodiments, receiving the indication includes at least one of: the first UE receiving, from a network (e.g., the network), a SL carrier list including the first carrier; the first UE receiving, from a network (e.g., the network), a first activation indication indicating to activate the first carrier; the first UE receiving, from a network, a first recovery indication indicating to recover the first carrier; the first UE receiving, from a peer UE (e.g., the second UE), a second activation indication indicating to activate the first carrier; or the first UE receiving, from the second UE, a second recovery indication indicating to recover the first carrier.

[0052] For example, in response to the first UE determining that a timer started in response to determining an abnormal state on the first carrier has expired, the first UE determines that the abnormal state on the first carrier has been recovered. For example, the first UE starts a timer in response to detecting an abnormal state on the first carrier, and in response to determining that the timer has expired, the first UE considers that the first carrier has recovered from the abnormal state.

[0053] In some embodiments, in response to a first UE detecting an abnormal state on a first carrier, the first UE transmits abnormal state recovery signaling to a peer UE (e.g., a second UE). After receiving the abnormal state recovery response signaling from the peer UE, the first UE determines that the abnormal state regarding the first carrier has been recovered. In some embodiments, the response signaling can include HARQ feedback. Thus, in some arrangements, in response to determining the abnormal state on the first carrier, the first UE transmits at least one abnormal state recovery signaling to the second UE. The first UE receives at least one abnormal state response signaling from the second UE. The first UE determines that the abnormal state on the first carrier has been recovered in response to receiving the at least one abnormal state response signaling.

[0054] For example, the recovery signaling can be RRC signaling. For example, the recovery signaling can be a MAC CE.

[0055] For example, the response signaling can be RRC signaling. For example, the recovery signaling can be a MAC CE. For example, the recovery signaling can be HARQ feedback. For example, the response signaling can be RRC re - establishment signaling.

[0056] In some embodiments, in response to a first UE detecting an abnormal state on a first carrier, the first UE initiates a recovery procedure, and the recovery procedure transmits an abnormal state recovery signaling of a first number (e.g., N) to a peer UE (e.g., a second UE). After receiving at least a second number (e.g., M) of abnormal state recovery response signaling from the peer UE, the first UE determines that the abnormal state regarding the first carrier has been recovered. In response to the first UE receiving a third number of abnormal state response signaling and the third number being less than the second number, the first UE determines that at least one of the abnormal state recovery cannot be recovered or an RLF should be detected on this carrier. In some embodiments, the response signaling can include HARQ feedback. The first number N and the second number M can be integers received from a network (e.g., the network) or be pre-determined. Thus, in some arrangements, in response to determining an abnormal state on the first carrier, the first UE transmits at least one abnormal state recovery signaling of the first number (e.g., N) to the second UE. The first UE receives at least one abnormal state response signaling of the second number from the second UE. The second number reaches a threshold value (e.g., M). The first UE determines that the abnormal state on the first carrier has been recovered in response to receiving at least one abnormal state response signaling of the second number. If the first UE does not receive at least one abnormal state response signaling of the second number from the second UE and does not reach the threshold value M, the first UE considers that the carrier cannot be recovered from the abnormal state.

[0057] In some arrangements, the first UE transmits at least one abnormal state recovery signaling of a first number (e.g., N) to the second UE within a first period (e.g., K milliseconds). In some arrangements, the transmission period can be controlled by a timer. For example, in response to the recovery procedure being triggered, the first UE starts the timer. In response to determining that the first timer has expired, the first UE transmits the recovery signaling and restarts the first timer. In response to determining that the maximum number of transmissions of the recovery signaling has been reached, the first UE stops the first timer.

[0058] In some arrangements, in response to the recovery procedure being triggered, the first UE starts the timer. In response to determining that the first timer has expired and that the number of received response signals of a second number is less than a threshold (e.g., the maximum number), the first UE determines that RLF should be detected on this carrier.

[0059] In some arrangements, in response to the recovery procedure being triggered, the first UE starts the timer. In response to determining that the first timer has expired and that the number of received response signals of a second number is less than a threshold (e.g., the maximum number), the first UE determines that this carrier cannot be recovered.

[0060] In some arrangements, the first UE receives from the network (e.g., the network) at least one of the following: the value of the first number for recovery signaling, the value of the second number for response signaling, the value of the first period for recovery signaling, the value of the first timer for transmission of the recovery signaling, the priority of the recovery signaling, the priority of the response signaling, the waiting time boundary of the recovery signaling, the HARQ feedback attribute of the recovery signaling (e.g., HARQ enabled or disabled), the maximum number of retransmissions of the recovery signaling, the waiting time boundary of the response signaling, the HARQ feedback attribute of the response signaling (e.g., HARQ enabled or disabled), the maximum number of retransmissions of the response signaling, etc.

[0061] In some embodiments, in response to a determination that an abnormal state regarding a first carrier is recovered, the first UE reports the abnormal state recovery on the first carrier to a network (e.g., the network). In some embodiments, the first UE starts a timer in response to an abnormal state being detected on the first carrier, and in response to a determination that the timer expires, the first UE determines an abnormal state for a destination (e.g., a second UE). In response to a determination that no carrier satisfies a carrier selection condition (e.g., no carrier can be selected or reselected) for communicating with a destination (e.g., a second UE), the first UE determines an abnormal state at the destination.

[0062] FIG. 4 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an exemplary method 400 for managing CA-based SL wireless communication according to various arrangements. Referring to FIGS. 1A-4, method 400 can be implemented by a first UE (e.g., UE104a / 220), a second UE (e.g., UE104b / 230), and a network 102 / 210. Communication via the SL wireless communication channel 170 or the SL network is shown crossing a dashed line between the first UE and the second UE.

[0063] At 330, as described, the first UE communicates SL communication with the second UE. At 340, as described, the second UE communicates SL communication with the first UE.

[0064] At 410, the first UE determines that at least one condition for triggering reselection of a carrier (e.g., a second carrier) is satisfied. The first UE can determine that at least one condition for triggering a reselection procedure is satisfied. In response to determining that at least one condition for triggering a carrier reselection procedure is satisfied, the first UE triggers a carrier reselection procedure. The carrier reselection procedure includes the first UE selecting at least one candidate carrier and selecting a carrier from among the at least one candidate carrier.

[0065] For example, the first UE can trigger carrier selection or reselection of the second carrier in response to determining at least one condition for triggering reselection. Examples of conditions for triggering reselection include that an abnormal state is detected on the second carrier, an abnormal state is detected at the destination, the selected carrier for the destination (e.g., the second carrier) is included in an unacceptable carrier list provided by a peer UE (e.g., the second UE), the selected carrier for the destination (e.g., the second carrier) is included in a non - permitted carrier list provided by a peer UE (e.g., the second UE), in response to receiving an indication that the maximum number of retransmissions for a specific destination from a sidelink RLC entity has been reached, in response to receiving an indication that an RRC reconfiguration timer (e.g., T400) for a specific destination has expired, in response to receiving an indication that the maximum number of consecutive HARQ DTX for a specific destination from a MAC entity has been reached, or in response to receiving an integrity check failure indication for an SL RB (e.g., SL - SRB2 or SL - SRB3) for a specific destination from an SL PDCP entity.

[0066] In 420, a third carrier is selected as a candidate carrier. In some embodiments, the first UE selects a carrier (e.g., the third carrier) included in a preferred carrier list provided by a peer UE (e.g., the second UE) as a candidate carrier. That is, in embodiments where the carrier exists within the preferred carrier list provided by the peer UE, the first UE selects the carrier indicated in the preferred carrier list as the third carrier.

[0067] In some embodiments, the first UE selects a third carrier that satisfies at least one condition for selecting a candidate carrier for SL communication with the second UE as a candidate carrier. Examples of conditions for selecting a candidate carrier include that no abnormal state is detected on the third carrier, the channel congestion of the third carrier (e.g., as measured by CBR) is lower than a configured or pre-determined threshold, the third carrier is not included in a prohibited carrier list provided by the peer UE (e.g., the second UE), or the third carrier is not included in a non-preferred carrier list provided by the peer UE (e.g., the second UE), including at least one of these.

[0068] In some arrangements, the first UE determines that a carrier (e.g., the third carrier) is a candidate carrier for selection or reselection in response to a determination that at least one condition for the candidate carrier is satisfied. Examples of conditions for the candidate carrier include that no abnormal state is detected on the third carrier, the channel congestion of the third carrier (e.g., as measured by CBR) is lower than a configured or pre-determined threshold, the third carrier is not included in a prohibited carrier list provided by the peer UE (e.g., the second UE), or the third carrier is not included in a non-preferred carrier list provided by the peer UE (e.g., the second UE).

[0069] At 430, a first UE selects a carrier from at least one candidate carrier. In some embodiments, one carrier among the candidate carriers (e.g., a third carrier) is selected in response to a determination that the carrier is included in a preferred carrier list provided by a peer UE (e.g., a second UE). In some embodiments, one carrier among the candidate carriers (e.g., a third carrier) is selected in response to a determination that the carrier is not included in at least one of an unacceptable carrier list or a non - permitted carrier list provided by a peer UE (e.g., a second UE). In some embodiments, in response to a determination that none of the candidate carriers are included in a preferred carrier list provided by a peer UE, the UE randomly selects a carrier among at least one of the candidate carriers. In some embodiments, in response to a determination that all of at least one candidate carrier are included in at least one of an unacceptable carrier list or a non - permitted carrier list provided by a peer UE, the UE randomly selects a carrier among at least one of the candidate carriers. In some embodiments, a candidate carrier included in a preferred carrier is first selected by the first UE.

[0070] At 440, the first UE excludes a carrier from at least one candidate carrier. In some embodiments, a carrier is excluded from at least one candidate carrier if at least one condition is met. Examples of conditions for excluding a carrier from at least one candidate carrier include that an abnormal state is detected by the UE on a third carrier, that the channel congestion of the third carrier (e.g., as measured by CBR) is higher than a configured or pre - determined threshold, that the third carrier is included in a non - permitted carrier list provided by a peer UE (e.g., a second UE), or that the third carrier is included in an unacceptable carrier list provided by a peer UE (e.g., a second UE), or at least one of that an abnormal state is detected on the third carrier.

[0071] In some arrangements, data can be mapped to one or more frequencies or frequency ranges for each service type. Service types associated with different radio frequencies or frequency ranges can be classified into distinct quality of service (QoS) flows, such as PC5 QoS flows. A QoS flow can be defined by QoS parameters and QoS characteristics, referred to as a QoS profile. In other words, different QoS flows can be associated with different frequencies or frequency ranges. Examples of service types include multimedia priority service (MPS), evolved multimedia broadcast multicast service (eMBMS), further enhanced eMBMS (FeMBMS), etc. For a UE (e.g., the first UE) performing SL communication (e.g., at 330), the UE reports to the network a corresponding SL frequency (e.g., at least one frequency or frequency range) and a QoS flow for requesting configuration, resources, etc. In some examples where two or more services have the same destination layer 2 ID, reporting the SL frequency to the network at the granularity of the destination layer 2 ID leads to the network being unable to distinguish whether the reported SL frequency can be used for all services using the same destination layer 2 ID. In some arrangements, the UE reports the SL frequency to the network at the granularity of the QoS flow (e.g., PC5 QoS flow). In some arrangements, the UE reports the QoS flow to the network at the granularity of the sidelink frequency. In some arrangements, the UE reports to the network the mapping of the QoS flow and the SL frequency.

[0072] FIG. 5 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an exemplary method 500 for managing CA-based SL wireless communication with various arrangements. Referring to FIGS. 1A-5, method 500 can be implemented by a first UE (e.g., UE104a / 220), a second UE (e.g., UE104b / 230), and network 102 / 210. Communication via SL wireless communication channel 170 or SL network is shown crossing the dashed line between the first UE and the second UE. Communication via wireless communication channel 103a / 150 is shown crossing the dashed line between the first UE and the network.

[0073] At 330, as described, the first UE communicates SL communication with the second UE. At 340, as described, the second UE communicates SL communication with the first UE.

[0074] At 510, the first UE reports to the network at least one frequency (e.g., at least one frequency range) used within the SL communication with the second UE based on a QoS flow. At 520, the network receives from the first UE at least one frequency used within the SL communication with the second UE based on a QoS flow.

[0075] In some embodiments, reporting at least one frequency used within the SL communication with the second UE based on a QoS flow includes the first UE reporting to the network, for each of a plurality of destinations of the SL communication, at least one frequency for the QoS flow. In other words, for each of at least one frequency used within the SL communication with the second UE, the first UE reports a QoS flow associated with the at least one frequency being reported. For example, for each of at least one frequency being reported, the first UE reports a frequency (or frequency range) for the SL communication and a QoS flow associated with the frequency for the SL communication.

[0076] In some embodiments, reporting at least one frequency used within SL communication with a second UE based on a QoS flow includes reporting, for each of the at least one frequency, a QoS flow for each of a plurality of services of the SL communication. In other words, for each QoS flow, the first UE reports an SL frequency associated with the reported QoS flow. For example, the first UE reports to the network a QoS flow (e.g., a QoS flow identifier and / or other attributes) and at least one frequency (or frequency range) for SL communication associated with the QoS flow.

[0077] In some embodiments, reporting at least one frequency used within SL communication with a second UE based on a QoS flow includes reporting a mapping that maps at least one frequency to a QoS flow for each of a plurality of services of the SL communication.

[0078] In some arrangements, the first UE passes at least one frequency from an upper layer (e.g., a V2X layer) to a lower layer to perform SL communication at the granularity of each QoS flow. In some arrangements, the first UE passes a QoS flow and at least one frequency associated with the QoS flow to a lower layer to perform SL communication at the granularity of each QoS flow. In some arrangements, the first UE passes at least one frequency and a PC5 QoS flow associated with the SL frequency to a lower layer to perform SL communication at the granularity of each QoS flow.

[0079] In some arrangements, different service types can have the same destination layer 2 ID, and the service types have different radio frequencies and are classified into the same QoS flow. In this case, the first UE passes only the overlapping frequencies (e.g., at least one overlapping frequency range) of different services from the upper layer (e.g., the V2X layer) to the lower layer. That is, each of the at least one frequency passed to the lower layer is an overlapping frequency between two or more of the multiple services of SL communication. In embodiments where there is no overlapping frequency for the service type, the service types are not classified into the same QoS flow. In other words, the first UE ensures that the frequencies classified into the same PC5 QoS flow can be used by all service types mapped within this PC5 QoS flow. For example, the first UE initiates SL communication with the second UE (e.g., at 330) for the first service and the second service. The first service is mapped to (e.g., can be communicated using) the first frequency (e.g., the first frequency range) and the second frequency (e.g., the second frequency range). The second service is mapped to (e.g., can be communicated using) the second frequency and the third frequency. The first UE determines that the first service and the second service can use the same PC5 QoS flow (e.g., the first QoS flow). In this case, only the second frequency associated with the first QoS flow is passed into the lower layer with respect to the first UE passing the first QoS flow to the lower layer.

[0080] In some embodiments, the first UE passes from an upper layer (e.g., the V2X layer) to a lower layer at least one frequency for each of at least one service type, at least one service type for each of at least one frequency, at least one service type and at least one frequency associated with the at least one service type, or at least one frequency and at least one service type associated with the at least one frequency. That is, the first UE passes from an upper layer (V2X layer) to a lower layer at least one of the sidelink frequency (or frequency range) at the service type granularity, the service type at the sidelink frequency granularity, the service type and the associated sidelink frequency, or the sidelink frequency and the associated service type, as follows.

[0081] In some arrangements, for a first UE reporting SL frequencies to the network, only the overlapping frequencies (e.g., at least one overlapping frequency range) used by all service types associated with the same destination identifier (e.g., destination L2 ID) are reported. In some embodiments, the destination identifier identifies a second UE. For example, the first UE initiates SL communication with the second UE (e.g., at 330) for a first service and a second service. The first service is mapped to a first frequency (e.g., a first frequency range) and a second frequency (e.g., a second frequency range) (e.g., can be communicated using them). The second service is mapped to the second frequency and a third frequency (e.g., can be communicated using them). The first UE determines that the first service and the second service may use the same destination L2 ID-1. In this case, when the first UE reports at least one frequency to the network, only the second frequency is reported for the destination L2 ID-1.

[0082] In some arrangements, for SL relay communication, the remote UE connects to the network via the relay UE, and the remote UE communicates with the relay UE via SL communication. Regarding the UE that performs SL communication, the UE selects a synchronization reference source. Examples of the source include the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), a cell, or the UE. A remote UE that is not within the coverage of a cell cannot select the cell as the reference source. However, based on the configuration (e.g., the synchronization priority in SIB12 or RRC reconfiguration is set by the network), the remote UE can select the cell as the reference.

[0083] In some arrangements, the remote UE is not allowed to request SIB12 via the relay UE.

[0084] In some examples, Message-A includes at least one of an RRC message or an SIB message.

[0085] In some examples, Source-A can be at least one of the network, the network, the primary cell, the serving cell, one frequency (e.g., a frequency range), GNSS, the user equipment, etc.

[0086] Regarding the frequency used to transmit NR SL communication, in response to the UE determining that the UE is within the coverage of a first source (e.g., Source-A), the UE can select Source-A as the reference.

[0087] Regarding the frequency used to transmit NR SL communication, if the frequency is related to Source-A (e.g., associated with it, related to it, by it, or used for it), and the UE determines or considers that it is within the coverage of Source-A, the UE can select Source-A as the reference.

[0088] Regarding the frequency used to transmit NR side-link communication, when the frequency is related to Source-A and the UE determines or considers that it is within the coverage of Source-A, the UE can select based on the downlink frequency paired with Source-A.

[0089] Regarding the frequency used to transmit NR SL communication, when the UE is outside the coverage on the relevant frequency and the UE determines or considers that it is within the coverage of Source-A, the UE can select based on Source-A.

[0090] Regarding the frequency used to transmit NR SL communication, when the UE is outside the coverage on the relevant frequency, the UE determines or considers that it is within the coverage of Source-A, and Source-A is related to at least one of the primary cell or the secondary cell, the UE can select based on at least one of the primary cell or the secondary cell.

[0091] Regarding the frequency used to transmit NR SL communication, when the UE is outside the coverage on the relevant frequency, the UE determines or considers that it is within the coverage of Source-A, and Source-A is not related to at least one of the primary cell or the secondary cell, the UE can select based on Source-A.

[0092] In response to obtaining message - A scheduled by source - A, the UE determines that it is within the coverage of source - A. In response to obtaining (e.g., receiving) message - A scheduled by the PDCCH of source - A, the UE determines that it is within the coverage of source - A. In some embodiments, the message scheduled by source - A or the PDCCH of source - A includes the message that the UE obtains (e.g., receives) directly from source - A, i.e., without going through a relay UE.

[0093] Regarding the frequency used to transmit NR SL communication, if the frequency is included in message - A scheduled by source - A, the UE can select based on source - A.

[0094] Regarding the frequency used to transmit NR SL communication, if the frequency is related to source - A and the frequency is included in message - A scheduled by source - A, the UE can select based on source - A.

[0095] Regarding the frequency used to transmit NR sidelink communication, if the frequency is related to source - A and SIB12 is directly scheduled by source - A, the UE can select based on the downlink frequency paired with source - A.

[0096] Regarding the frequency used to transmit NR SL communication, if the UE is outside the coverage on the related frequency and in response to determining that the frequency is included in message - A scheduled by source - A, the UE can select based on source - A.

[0097] Regarding the frequency used to transmit NR SL communication, when the UE is outside the coverage on the relevant frequency and in response to the determination that the frequency is included in Message-A scheduled by Source-A, if the frequency is related to at least one of the primary cell or the secondary cell, the UE can select based on at least one of the primary cell or secondary cell scheduling SIB12.

[0098] Regarding the frequency used to transmit NR SL communication, when the UE is outside the coverage on the relevant frequency and in response to the determination that the frequency is included in Message-A scheduled by Source-A and the frequency is not related to at least one of the primary cell or the secondary cell, the UE can select based on the frequency scheduling Message-A.

[0099] In an embodiment where the frequency is included in Message-A scheduled by Source-A, the value indicating whether the UE can transmit synchronization information is set to true. This value is included in Message-A scheduled by Source-A, and the UE transmits the SL synchronization / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block SSB on the frequency used for NR SL communication. In an embodiment where the frequency is included in Message-A scheduled by Source-A, if the reference signal received power (RSRP) of Source-A is lower than the configured threshold, the UE transmits the SL SSB on the frequency used for NR SL communication. When the UE is within the coverage of Source-A, the UE transmits the sidelink SSB on the frequency used for NR SL communication based on the configuration scheduled by Source-A.

[0100] Regarding a UE connected to a network via a relay UE, the UE can ignore message - A scheduled directly by source - A. Regarding a UE connected to a network via a relay UE, the UE is not allowed to obtain message - A scheduled directly by source - A. The primary cell of the UE is a cell from which the UE can obtain message - A scheduled directly by source - A. The serving cell of the UE is a cell from which the UE can obtain the SIB scheduled directly by the network. Regarding a UE connected to a network via a relay UE, the UE can ignore message - A scheduled directly by source - A in response to a determination that source - A is not the cell to which the UE is connected. Regarding a UE connected to a network via a relay UE, if message - A scheduled by source - A is received, the UE considers that message - A is not received in response to a determination that source - A is not the cell to which the UE is connected. Regarding a UE connected to a network via a relay UE, if message - A scheduled by source - A is received, the UE considers that it is not within the coverage of source - A in response to a determination that source - A is not the cell to which the UE is connected.

[0101] Figure 6 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an exemplary method 600 for managing SL wireless communication according to various arrangements. Referring to FIGS. 1A - 6, method 600 can be implemented by a first UE (e.g., UE104a / 220) and a second UE (e.g., UE104b / 230). Communication via the SL wireless communication channel 170 or the SL network is shown crossing the dashed line between the first UE and the second UE.

[0102] At 330, as described, a first UE communicates SL communication with a second UE. At 340, as described, the second UE communicates SL communication with the first UE. At 610, the first UE selects a synchronization reference source.

[0103] In some embodiments, the first UE selects source - A (e.g., network 102 / 210) as the reference source in response to determining that the first UE is within the coverage of source - A. For example, the UE considers that it is within the coverage of source - A in response to obtaining message - A scheduled by source - A.

[0104] In some embodiments, the first UE selects source - A as the reference source for the frequency used to transmit NR SL communication in response to determining that the frequency is included within message - A scheduled by source - A.

[0105] In some embodiments, the first UE selects source - A as the reference source for the frequency used to transmit NR SL communication in response to determining that the frequency is related to source - A and the frequency is included within message - A scheduled by source - A.

[0106] In some embodiments, the first UE selects source - A paired downlink frequency as the reference source for the frequency used to transmit NR SL communication in response to determining that the frequency is related to source - A and the frequency is included within message - A scheduled by source - A.

[0107] In some embodiments, the first UE selects source-A as a reference source for the frequency used to transmit NR SL communication in response to a determination that the UE is outside the frequency coverage and the frequency is included in message-A scheduled by source-A. In some embodiments, the first UE selects source-A scheduling SIB12 as a reference source for the frequency used to transmit NR SL communication in response to a determination that the UE is outside the frequency coverage and the frequency is included in message-A scheduled by source-A.

[0108] Although various arrangements of the present solution have been described above, it should be understood that they are presented as examples and not as limitations. Similarly, the various schematic diagrams may depict exemplary architectures or configurations, which are provided to enable those skilled in the art to understand the exemplary features and functions of the present solution. However, such those skilled in the art will understand that the present solution is not limited to the exemplary architectures or configurations shown, and can be implemented using various alternative architectures and configurations. In addition, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, one or more features of some arrangements can be combined with one or more features of other arrangements described herein. Therefore, the scope and range of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the exemplary arrangements described above.

[0109] Also, any reference in this specification to elements using designations such as "first", "second", etc. generally does not limit the quantity or order of those elements. Rather, these designations can be used in this specification as a convenient means of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of elements. Therefore, references to a first and a second element do not mean that only two elements can be employed or that the first element must precede the second element in a certain manner.

[0110] In addition, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, and symbols, which may be referenced in the above description, can be represented, for example, by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0111] One of ordinary skill in the art will further appreciate that any of the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, processors, means, circuits, methods, and functions described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware (e.g., digital implementation, analog implementation, or a combination of the two), firmware, various forms of program or design code that incorporates instructions (which may be referred to herein, for convenience, as "software" or "software modules"), or any combination of these techniques. To clearly illustrate the interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have generally been described above in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software, or a combination of these techniques, depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. One of ordinary skill in the art can implement the described functionality in various ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions do not depart from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0112] Furthermore, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, devices, components, and circuits described herein can be implemented within or by an integrated circuit (IC) that can include a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof. The logical blocks, modules, and circuits can further include antennas and / or transceivers and can communicate with various components within a network or within a device. A general purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor can be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. The processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as, for example, a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in combination with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration of combinations of the functions described herein.

[0113] When implemented in software, the functions can be stored on a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. Accordingly, the steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein can be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium includes both a computer storage medium and a communication medium including any medium that can transfer a computer program or code from one location to another. A storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable medium can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

[0114] In this book, the term "module", as used herein, refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements for implementing the associated functions described herein. Additionally, for the purposes of discussion, the various modules are described as discrete modules. However, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, two or more modules may be combined to form a single module that implements the associated functions according to the arrangement of the present solution.

[0115] In addition, a memory or other storage device and communication components may be employed in the arrangement of the present solution. For the purpose of clarity, it should be understood that the above description describes the arrangement of the present solution with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, processing logic elements, or domains may be used without departing from the present solution. For example, the functionality illustrated as being implemented by separate processing logic elements or controllers may be implemented by the same processing logic element or controller. Thus, the reference to a particular functional unit is merely a reference to a suitable means for providing the described functionality and does not indicate a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

[0116] Various modifications to the implementations described in this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other implementations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the implementations shown herein, but should be accorded the widest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein, as recited in the following claims.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method, comprising: receiving, by a first wireless communication device, information from a network; and determining whether the network supports sidelink (SL) carrier aggregation (CA). A method as described above.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: reporting, by the first wireless communication device, to the network at least one of an SL abnormal state on a first carrier or a recovery of the SL abnormal state on the first carrier, in response to the first wireless communication device determining that the network supports the SL CA.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first wireless communication device determines that the network supports the SL CA, and the information includes an indication that the network supports the SL CA.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein in response to determining that the information contains a configuration for two or more SL carriers, the first wireless communication device determines that the network supports the SL CA.

5. A wireless communication method, comprising: determining, by a first wireless communication device, that at least one condition for triggering a reselection procedure is satisfied; and triggering, in response to determining that at least one condition for triggering a carrier reselection procedure is satisfied, the carrier reselection procedure. A method as described above.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the carrier reselection procedure includes selecting, by the first wireless communication device, at least one carrier as a candidate carrier.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the carrier reselection procedure includes selecting a carrier from among at least one candidate carrier.

8. The at least one condition includes: an abnormal state is detected on a second carrier; a second carrier for a destination is included in a non-preferred carrier list provided by a second UE; a second carrier for the destination is included in a non-permitted carrier list provided by the second UE. Receiving an indication from the SL radio link control (RLC) entity that the maximum number of retransmissions for the destination has been reached, The radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration timer has expired for the destination, Receiving an indication from the media access control (MAC) entity that the maximum number of consecutive hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) discontinuous transmission (DTX) for a specific destination has been reached, or Receiving an integrity check failure indication from the SL packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity regarding the SL radio bearer (RB) for the destination The method according to claim 5, including one or more of the above.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein the carrier is selected as the candidate carrier based on a preferred carrier list provided by a second UE.

10. The carrier is selected as the candidate carrier based on at least one condition for selecting a carrier for SL communication, At least one condition for selecting the carrier is No abnormal state is detected on the carrier, The channel congestion on the carrier is below a threshold, The carrier is excluded from a list of non-permitted carriers provided by a second UE, or The carrier is excluded from a list of unfavorable carriers provided by the second UE The method according to claim 6, including one or more of the above.

11. Further including that a carrier among the candidate carriers will be selected based on at least one condition for candidate carriers for SL communication, At least one condition for selecting the carrier is No abnormal state is detected on a third carrier, The channel congestion on the third carrier is below a threshold, The third carrier is excluded from a list of non-permitted carriers provided by a second UE, or The third carrier is excluded from a list of unfavorable carriers provided by the second UE The method according to claim 7, including one or more of the above.

12. A wireless communication method, Communicating SL communication with a second wireless communication device by a first wireless communication device The first wireless communication device reports to the network at least one frequency used in SL communication with a second UE based on a quality of service (QoS) flow A method comprising the above.

13. Reporting at least one frequency used in SL communication with the second UE based on the QoS flow includes reporting, for each of a plurality of services of the SL communication, the at least one frequency associated with the QoS flow. The method according to claim 12.

14. Reporting at least one frequency used in SL communication with the second UE based on the QoS flow includes reporting, for each of the at least one frequency, the QoS flow for each of a plurality of services of the SL communication. The method according to claim 12.

15. Reporting at least one frequency used in SL communication with the second UE based on the QoS flow includes reporting, for each of a plurality of services of the SL communication, a mapping that maps the at least one frequency to the QoS flow. The method according to claim 12.

16. The method according to claim 12, further comprising passing the at least one frequency from an upper layer to a lower layer, wherein the SL communication uses the at least one frequency to be implemented for the QoS flow within the lower layer.

17. The QoS flow associated with the at least one frequency is passed by the first UE from the upper layer to the lower layer using the at least one frequency. The method according to claim 16.

18. Each of the at least one frequency is an overlapping frequency between two or more of a plurality of services for the QoS flow of the SL communication. The method according to claim 16.

19. The first wireless communication device uses at least one frequency for all of the plurality of services for the same QoS flow. The method according to claim 18.

20. By the first wireless communication device At least one frequency for each of at least one service type At least one service type for each of the at least one frequency the at least one service type and at least one frequency associated with the at least one service type, or at least one of the at least one frequency and at least one service type associated with the at least one frequency The method according to claim 12, further comprising passing at least one of them from an upper layer to a lower layer.

21. The method according to claim 12, wherein the at least one frequency is at least one overlapping frequency of all of the at least one service type associated with a destination identifier.

22. A wireless communication method, comprising: receiving, by a first wireless communication device, a synchronization configuration from a network; selecting, by the first wireless communication device, a synchronization reference source based on a synchronization configuration for a frequency used for sidelink (SL) communication The method including.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the synchronization reference source includes at least one of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), a cell, and a user equipment (UE).

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the cell is selected as a synchronization reference source for a frequency used for the SL communication in response to a determination that the frequency is in a message scheduled by the cell.

25. The method according to claim 23, wherein the cell is selected as a synchronization reference source for a frequency used for the SL communication in response to a determination that the frequency is in a message scheduled by a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of the cell.

26. The method according to claim 23, wherein the cell is selected as a reference for a frequency used for the SL communication in response to a determination by the first communication device that the first wireless communication device is within the coverage of the cell.

27. The method according to claim 24, wherein the message may be a system information block.

28. A wireless communication method, comprising: receiving, by a first wireless communication device, a system information block (SIB) from a network; ignoring the SIB in response to the first wireless communication device connecting to another network via a second wireless communication device The method including.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the SIB is SIB12. **Claim 30** A wireless communication method, comprising: receiving, by a network, from a first wireless communication device, information indicating that the network supports sidelink (SL) carrier aggregation (CA), wherein the first wireless communication device communicates with a second wireless communication device via SL communication; and receiving, by the network, from the first wireless communication device, at least one report of an abnormal state on a first carrier or an SL abnormal state recovery on the first carrier. A method comprising the above.

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