Frame structure configuration

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a device, a method, an apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium for providing cell search. The method includes determining a cell search pattern, the pattern indicating that the cell search is performed in parallel on carriers associated with at least one of a second frequency range (FR2) in New Radio (NR) and a first frequency range (FR1) in Long Term Evolution (LTE) or NR, or that the cell search is performed on carriers associated with at least one of LTE or FR1 being searched before carriers in FR2, and performing the cell search based on the determined pattern. The approach proposed in the present disclosure can allow time for a user equipment (UE) to perform a cell search taking into account the maximum number of configured carriers without unnecessarily extending the allowed search time, thereby avoiding unnecessary long UE delays.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly to a device, method, apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium for frame structure configuration enhancements. [Background technology]

[0002] In communication systems, two main duplexing modes are used for uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) transmission: frequency division duplexing (FDD) and time division duplexing (TDD). In FDD, paired bands are used for simultaneous DL and UL transmission, with a guard band between them. In TDD, unpaired bands are used, and resources are divided in the time domain into different symbols or slots for DL and UL transmission, respectively. Allocating a time slot for UL in TDD reduces coverage and capacity and increases latency.

[0003] Against this background, an evolution of duplexing is proposed for 5G New Radio (NR) that enables simultaneous DL and UL transmissions on different physical resource blocks (PRBs) within the unpaired band of a cell. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Generally, the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a frame structure configuration solution.

[0005] In a first aspect, a first device is provided comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to at least: receive from a second device first configuration information indicating a set of resources for time division or frequency division duplex communication between the first device and the second device, the set of resources including a first subset of resources for uplink transmission; and receive from the second device second configuration information indicating at least a second subset of resources for uplink transmission, the at least one second subset of resources including at least one resource other than the first subset of resources.

[0006] In a second aspect, a second device is provided comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device to at least: transmit, to the first device, first configuration information indicating a set of resources for time division or frequency division duplex communication between the first device and the second device, the set of resources including a first subset of resources for uplink transmission; and transmit, to the first device, second configuration information indicating at least a second subset of resources for uplink transmission, the at least one second subset of resources including at least one resource other than the first subset of resources.

[0007] In a third aspect, a method is provided, comprising: receiving, at a first device, from a second device, first configuration information indicating a set of resources for time division or frequency division duplexing between the first device and the second device, the set of resources including a first subset of resources for uplink transmission; and receiving, from the second device, second configuration information indicating at least a second subset of resources for uplink transmission, the at least one second subset of resources including at least one resource other than the first subset of resources.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided, at a second device, including: transmitting, to a first device, first configuration information indicating a set of resources for time division communication or frequency division duplexing between the first device and the second device, the set of resources including a first subset of resources for uplink transmission; and transmitting, to the first device, second configuration information indicating at least a second subset of resources for uplink transmission, the at least one second subset of resources including at least one resource other than the first subset of resources.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a first device is provided, comprising: means for receiving, from a second device, first configuration information indicating a set of resources for time division or frequency division duplexing between the first device and the second device, the set of resources including a first subset of resources for uplink transmission, and means for receiving, from the second device, second configuration information indicating at least a second subset of resources for uplink transmission, the at least a second subset of resources including at least one resource other than the first subset of resources.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, a second device is provided, comprising: means for transmitting, to the first apparatus, first configuration information indicating a set of resources for time division communication or frequency division duplex communication between the first and second devices, the set of resources including a first subset of resources for uplink transmission; and means for transmitting, to the first apparatus, second configuration information indicating at least a second subset of resources for uplink transmission, the at least one second subset of resources including at least one resource other than the first subset of resources.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium storing a computer program which, when executed by at least one processor of an apparatus, causes the apparatus to carry out a method according to the third aspect.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium storing a computer program which, when executed by at least one processor of an apparatus, causes the apparatus to perform a method according to the fourth aspect.

[0013] Other features and preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of specific embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, in illustrative embodiments, the principles of the presently disclosed embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are presented by way of example and are preferably described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example network system in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. [Figure 2A] FIG. 2A illustrates an example configuration of a TDD pattern suitable for an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2B]FIG. 2B illustrates an example configuration of a TDD pattern suitable for an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a signaling chart illustrating an example of a frequency-time resource configuration procedure, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4A] FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example configuration of UL sub-bands in some example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4B] FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example configuration of UL sub-bands in some example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4C] FIG. 4C is a schematic diagram illustrating an example configuration of UL sub-bands in some example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5A] FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example configuration of UL sub-bands in some example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5B] FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram illustrating another exemplary configuration of UL sub-bands in some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6A] FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of allocation of UL subbands to a TDD-UL-DL pattern in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6B] FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example configuration for dynamic activation or deactivation of UL sub-bands in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of another exemplary method according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for practicing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 10]10 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer-readable medium according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] 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 to help those skilled in the art understand and practice the present disclosure, and are not intended to imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein may be implemented in various forms other than those described below.

[0016] 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 belongs.

[0017] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "embodiment," "exemplary embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not all embodiments need include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an exemplary embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly stated.

[0018] Although terms such as "first" and "second" may be used herein to describe various elements, it should be understood that these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are merely used to distinguish the functionality of the various elements. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0019] The terminology in the examples is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and is not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It will be further understood that as used herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising," "has," "having," "includes," and / or "including" specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0020] As used herein, "at least one of: " and "at least one of " and similar expressions where a list of two or more elements is joined by "and" or "or" mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0021] As used in this application, the term "circuit" means (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (e.g., analog and / or digital-only implementations); (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software (if applicable); (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware; (ii) software (including digital signal processors), software, and hardware processor portions with memory that work together to cause a device, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions; (c) A hardware circuit or processor, such as a microprocessor or part of a microprocessor, that requires software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but the software may be absent when not required for operation; It may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0022] This definition of circuit applies to all uses of the term in this application, including any claims. As a further example, as used herein, the term circuit also covers simply a hardware circuit or processor (or processors), or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware implementation. The term circuit also covers, for example, a baseband or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device, if applicable to particular claim elements.

[0023] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network conforming to any suitable communication standard, such as a fifth-generation (5G) system, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), or Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT). Furthermore, communications between terminal devices and network devices in a communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocols, including, but not limited to, first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth-generation (5G) New Radio (NR) communication protocols, and / or other protocols currently known or developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to various communication systems. Given the rapid development of communications, there will, of course, be future communication technologies and systems in which the present disclosure may be embodied. The scope of the present disclosure should not be considered limited to only the aforementioned systems.

[0024] As used herein, the term "network equipment" refers to a node of a communication network through which terminal equipment accesses the network and receives services therefrom. Depending on the terminology and technology applied, network equipment may refer to a base station (BS) or access point (AP), e.g., a Node B (Node B or NB), evolved Node B (eNode B or eNB), next generation Node B (NR NB), remote radio unit (RRU), radio header (RH), remote radio head (RRH), integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, relay, low-power node such as femto, pico, etc. Network equipment may be defined as part of a gNB, e.g., in a CU / DU split, in which case the network equipment is defined as either a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU.

[0025] The term "terminal equipment" refers to any terminal equipment capable of wireless communication. By way of example and not limitation, a terminal equipment may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a mobile subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). Terminal equipment includes, but is not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable terminal devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, wearables such as watches, head-mounted displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chain contexts), consumer electronics devices, devices operating in commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. Terminal equipment may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) unit of an integrated access backhaul (IAB) node (relay node). In the following description, the terms "terminal equipment", "communication equipment", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0026] In various exemplary embodiments, the functions described herein may be performed in a fixed network node and / or a radio network node, while in other exemplary embodiments, the functions may be implemented in a user equipment device (such as a mobile phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, desktop computer, mobile IoT device, or fixed IoT device). The user equipment device in these examples may, for example, include corresponding functions as described in connection with a fixed network node and / or a radio network node, as appropriate. The user equipment device may be user equipment and / or a control device, such as a chipset or processor, configured to control the user equipment when installed therein. Examples of such functions include a bootstrap server function and / or a home subscriber server, which may be implemented in the user equipment device by providing the user equipment device with software configured to cause the user equipment device to execute from the perspective of these functions / nodes.

[0027] To enable simultaneous DL and UL transmissions on PRBs within unpaired widebands in an NR cell, a combination of TDD and FDD has been proposed, sometimes referred to as subband non-overlapping full duplex (SBFD). In SBFD, at least a portion of the resources configured for DL transmission in the time domain may be dynamically or semi-statistically allocated to UL transmission. In other words, the SBFD frame takes the form of a UL-DL PRB split.

[0028] Implementing SBFD frames faces several challenges. First, the location and size of these UL-DL subbands may not be fixed, so the UE needs to communicate with the gNB the time and frequency location of the subbands to use for SBFD operation. Therefore, signaling of the SBFD frame configuration is required.

[0029] Backward compatibility with gNBs or UEs that only support normal TDD or FDD operation must be ensured. A gNB or corresponding cell that supports SBFD operation is expected to coexist with other gNBs or cells that only support normal TDD operation, both from a co-channel (i.e., cells deployed on the same carrier frequency, e.g., belonging to the same operator) and adjacent channel (i.e., cells deployed on adjacent carrier frequencies, e.g., belonging to different operators) perspective. Furthermore, existing 5G UEs that cannot be upgraded to support SBFD-specific features can be served by SBFD-enabled cells without experiencing performance degradation compared to their performance in normal TDD cells, for example.

[0030] To solve these and other potential problems, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a SBFD frame structure and related configuration solution. The configuration of UL-DL PRB splitting is flexible; that is, the location and size of UL-DL resources or subbands may be configured, for example, at the cell level or operator level, or may be changed over time in individual cells. To this end, one or more signaling signals are enabled by the gNB to configure the UL-DL PRB split, for example, by configuring (activating or deactivating) one or more UL subbands. Furthermore, asymmetric SBFD subframe configurations are also possible by assigning TDD Pattern 1 and Pattern 2 with different subband configurations. In some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the terms “UL-DL PRB splitting” and “UL subband” may be used interchangeably.

[0031] 1 illustrates an exemplary network system 100 in which exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the communication network 100 may include a first device 110 and a second device 120. The first device 110 may be a terminal device (e.g., a UE). The second device 120 may be a terminal device, for example, a network device (e.g., a gNB) that provides service to the first device 110 located within a cell 102. Hereinafter, the first device 110 may also be referred to as a UE 110, and the second device 120 may also be referred to as a gNB 120.

[0032] The first device 110 and the second device 120 can communicate with each other based on a conventional FDD scheme, a conventional TDD scheme, or an SBFD scheme. In the context of this disclosure, the SBFD scheme may also be referred to as a cross-division duplex (xDD) scheme, a flexible duplex (FDU) scheme, etc. The link from the first device 110 to the second device 120 is referred to as an UL, and the link from the second device 120 to the first device 110 is referred to as a DL.

[0033] In TDD, the second device 120 can instruct the first device 110 to configure a TDD-UL-DL-pattern. In particular, the second device 120 can configure or instruct a unit time resource (e.g., symbol or slot) as "DL" or "UL" or "flexible" via RRC configuration. There is a common pattern that is broadcast as part of the system information of TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon and received by all UEs in the cell 102 accordingly.

[0034] 2A and 2B illustrate example configurations of TDD patterns suitable for embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2A, TDD-UL-DL-pattern 200 is configured via TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon, which can be either Pattern 1 or Pattern 2. As shown in FIG. 2B, TDD-UL-DL-pattern 202 is configured via TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon, and two concatenated patterns, i.e., both Pattern 1 and Pattern 2, may be repeated in the time domain. The PRBs of the symbols have the same string: "D" for DL, "F" for flexible, or "U" for UL. The configured pattern includes a DL phase first and a UL phase last, with the remaining phase in between designated "flexible." This flexible symbol is intended to be opportunistically used for either UL or DL and can be subject to the gNB's decision to either: Scheduling downlink control information (DCI), for example DCI format 0_x for UL and DCI format 1_x for DL (where x denotes 0, 1 or 2), is used to dynamically schedule UL transmission or DL reception to the UE. Additional UE-dedicated configuration signaling is provided semi-statically via Radio Resource Control (RRC) in TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated to further designate some or all flexible symbols in TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon as DL or UL. Transmit DCI format 2_0 (i.e., SFI) and further designate the "flexible" symbols remaining after the common and dedicated RRC configurations as DL or UL.

[0035] In some exemplary embodiments, the second device 120 can instruct the first device 110 on a UL-DL split or subband configuration. This allows a portion of resources originally allocated as DL or flexible to be converted to UL. In the context of this disclosure, a UL-DL split refers to at least a set of UL resources or subbands (e.g., REs, PRBs) that are converted from a set of DL and flexible symbols to include a set of resource elements usable for UL transmission. In an SBFD scheme, SBFD UL subbands are created on DL (and possibly flexible) symbols within the full carrier or BWP bandwidth. In this way, dynamic adjustment of the subband configuration to, for example, traffic demands is supported.

[0036] Although embodiments may be described below in conjunction with a TDD system, it should be understood that the SBFD frame structure and UL-DL splitting provided in this disclosure are also applicable to an FDD system, and thus the disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0037] It should also be understood that the number of network devices and terminal devices shown in Figure 1 is given for illustrative purposes, without implying any limitation, and communication network 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices.

[0038] Depending on the communication technology, communication network 100 may be a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) network, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) network, a single carrier-frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) network, or others. Communications discussed in network 100 may conform to any suitable standard, including, but not limited to, New Radio Access (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Evolution, LTE Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), cdma2000, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), 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. The technology described herein can be used with the wireless networks and technologies listed above, as well as other wireless networks and technologies. For clarity, one aspect of the technology will be described below in terms of LTE, and LTE terminology will be used in much of the description below.

[0039] The principles and embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to Figures 3 to 8. Figure 3 is a signaling chart illustrating an example process 300 for frequency-time resource configuration in some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The process 300 may include a first device 110 and a second device 120, as shown in Figure 1. For illustrative purposes, the process 300 will be described with reference to Figure 1.

[0040] As an example, process 300 may be implemented in a scenario in which first device 110 and second device 120 communicate in an FDD or TDD mode. In process 300, second device 120 transmits first configuration information 305 indicating a set of resources for TDD or FDD communication between first device 110 and second device 120. The set of resources may include a first subset of resources for uplink transmission.

[0041] For example, the first configuration information may be a TDD-UL-DL-pattern indicated via TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon, which may be included in an RRC system information broadcast (SIB). In the case of TDD, the set of resources may be symbols or slots for DL and UL transmissions allocated in the TDD-UL-DL-pattern, and the first subset of resources may be UL symbols or slots.

[0042] In some cases, in addition to TDD-UL-DL-ConfigCommon, to maintain backward compatibility, the second device 120 may send TDD-UL-DL-ConfigDedicated, e.g., DDDDU.

[0043] The second device 120 transmits second configuration information 310 indicating at least a second subset of resources for uplink transmission, where the at least one second subset of resources is configured as a UL-DL split and includes at least one resource other than the first subset of resources. The second configuration information may be included, for example, in a SIB, an RRC message, etc.

[0044] In the context of the present disclosure, a first subset of resources may refer to at least one UL slot or symbol in one or more TDD-UL-DL patterns. A second subset of resources may refer to one or more subbands allocated for UL transmission in at least one DL (or flexible) slot or symbol in one or more TDD-UL-DL patterns. As an example, a total of four subbands, e.g., SBFD_UL_subband1,...,SBFD_UL_subband4, are configured, where SBFD_UL_subband1 is allocated to TDD pattern 1 and SBFD_UL_subband1 and SBFD_UL_subband3 are allocated to TDD pattern 2. That is, the same subband can be allocated to one or more TDD patterns; it is not necessary for all subbands to be allocated to one or more TDD patterns.

[0045] In example embodiments, the first subset of resources may not overlap with at least one second subset of resources. Alternatively, in some other embodiments, at least a portion of the first subset of resources may overlap with at least one second subset of resources. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0046] 4A to 4C, an SBFD resource configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described. It should be understood that the resource units in the time domain and frequency domain are given for illustrative purposes without implying the classification approach of the first type classification model. In the examples shown in FIGS. 4A to 4E, the unit of the time resource may be a symbol or a slot, and the unit of the frequency resource may be a subcarrier, but any other resource unit or resolution may also be suitable for implementing the SBFD resource configuration.

[0047] In an exemplary embodiment, the second setting information is a first indication of a starting frequency resource and a starting time resource of the at least a second subset of resources; a second indication of an ending frequency resource and an ending time resource of the second subset of resources; may include:

[0048] Thus, the second configuration information may be in the form of a two-tuple [symbol, PRB] to indicate the start and end positions of each of the UL subbands, respectively. Figure 4A shows a schematic diagram of an example UL subband configuration 400 in some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As indicated by the first configuration instruction, slots 401 through 404 are allocated for DL transmission, and slot 405 is allocated for UL transmission. The second configuration instruction may indicate UL-DL splits 406 and 407, corresponding to subband 1 and subband 2 for UL transmission, which are indicated by RE / rectangle symbols.

[0049] The location and size of each UL-DL split 406 and 407 may be determined based on the start and end points of the corresponding subband in both the time and frequency domains, i.e., the two opposite corners of the RE / rectangular symbol. Thus, the start and end positions of UL subband 1 may be denoted by [first time index, first frequency index] and [second time index, second frequency index], respectively. The start and end positions of UL subband 2 may be denoted similarly.

[0050] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information may include a starting frequency resource and a starting time resource of at least one second subset of resources, a first number of frequency resources in the second subset, and a second number of time resources in the second subset. Figure 4B shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary configuration 410 of UL subbands in some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Similar to configuration 400, slots 401 through 404 are allocated for DL transmissions and slot 405 is allocated for UL transmissions, as indicated by the first configuration information. The second configuration instruction indicates UL-DL splits 406 and 407, corresponding to subband 1 and subband 2 for UL transmission, indicated by RE / rectangle symbols.

[0051] The location and size of each of the UL-DL splits 406 and 407 may be determined based on the starting location of the corresponding subband in both the time domain and the frequency domain, as well as the bandwidth and duration of the subband. Thus, the starting location of UL subband 1 may be indicated by [first time index, first frequency index]. The bandwidth may be indicated by the number of frequency resources (e.g., PRBs) in the frequency domain, and the duration may be indicated by the number of time resources (e.g., symbols, slots, etc.) in the time domain.

[0052] In some exemplary embodiments, the at least one second subset of resources may include a first target subset of resources and a second target subset of resources. In these embodiments, the second configuration information may include: a third indication of a start frequency resource and a start time resource of the first target subset of resources and a first bandwidth of the first uplink subband corresponding to the first target subset of resources; a fourth indication of a start frequency resource and a start time resource of the second target subset of resources and a second bandwidth of the second uplink subband corresponding to the second target subset of resources; and may include:

[0053] In the above case, the start time resource of the second target subset of resources may be the first symbol after the end time resource of the first target subset of resources in the time domain. Figure 4C shows a schematic diagram of an example UL subband configuration 420 in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Similar to configurations 400 and 410, slots 401 to 404 are allocated for DL transmission, and slot 405 is allocated for UL transmission, as indicated by the first configuration information. The second configuration instruction indicates UL-DL splits 406 and 407 corresponding to subband 1 and subband 2 for UL transmission.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 4C, each of subbands 1 and 2 is indicated by a starting PRB, a starting symbol, and a bandwidth. The starting PRB and starting symbol can be represented as [first time index, first frequency index]. The frequency domain allocation of each subband can be determined based on the starting PRB and bandwidth. Regarding the time domain allocation, the last symbol of the last subband (i.e., subband 2) is assumed to be fixed in the time domain. For example, a specific symbol can be designated as the last DL symbol of S slots or the last symbol of S slots. Therefore, the last symbol of another subband (i.e., subband 1) becomes the starting symbol of the next subband (i.e., subband 2). In this way, the time domain allocation of each subband can be derived based on the set starting symbol of each subband.

[0055] In an exemplary embodiment, the second setting information is a first resource index value (RIV) indicating an origination frequency resource and a number of frequency resources in one of the at least one second subset of resources; a second RIV indicating start times and durations of temporal resources in the second subset of resources; may include:

[0056] In the above embodiments, the frequency-time square corresponding to the UL-DL split is shown in a similar way to provide the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resource allocation. The RIV jointly provides the starting PRB and the number of PRBs within the Active Bandwidth Part (BWP) or Common RB (CRB) grid. Furthermore, the corresponding Start and Length Indicator Value (SLIV) jointly provides the starting position and duration within the TDD-UL-DL-pattern.

[0057] In some demonstrative embodiments, the first device 110 may determine a third subset of resources 315 including the first and second subsets of resources based on the first and second configuration information. Based on the received information, the UE may determine a respective UL or DL direction or UL-DL split for each resource in the time and frequency grid described below in connection with FIG. 6A.

[0058] Accordingly, the first device 110 may send 320 a data transmission to the second device 120 on the third subset of resources.

[0059] Semi-statistical signaling of SBFD configuration has been described above. Dynamic signaling of SBFD configuration is described in detail below, which can be used in conjunction with semi-statistical signaling. In this case, the second configuration information may indicate at least a frequency domain allocation of at least a second subset of resources. The second device 120 may further transmit a configuration message 325 to the first device 110 to indicate activation or deactivation of at least a second subset of resources in the time domain. The configuration message may be transmitted by lower layer signaling, such as DCI, medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), etc.

[0060] In some exemplary embodiments, such a configuration message may be used to activate or deactivate each of the individual subbands corresponding to at least a second subset of resources.

[0061] In the above embodiment, after receiving the configuration message, the first device 110 may determine (330) whether the configuration message includes a first instruction to activate at least a first portion of at least one second subset of resources or a second instruction to deactivate at least a second portion of at least one second subset of resources.

[0062] If the configuration message includes the first instruction, the first device 110 may determine a third subset of the allocated resources for uplink transmission based on the first instruction. In this case, the third subset of resources may include the first subset of resources and at least an initial portion of at least one second subset of resources. Accordingly, the first device 110 may send a data transmission to the second device 120 on the third subset of resources (335).

[0063] Otherwise, if the configuration message includes the second instruction, the first device 110 may determine a fourth subset of the allocated resources for uplink transmission based on the second instruction. In this case, the fourth subset of resources may include the first subset of resources and a remaining portion other than at least the second portion of the at least one second subset of resources. Accordingly, the first device 110 may transmit to the second device 120 (340).

[0064] In the case of a frequency domain assignment, the second configuration information may include a starting frequency resource and a bandwidth of an uplink subband corresponding to one of the at least one second subset of resources. Alternatively, the second configuration information may include a starting frequency resource and an ending frequency resource of an uplink subband corresponding to the second subset of resources. In the case of a time domain assignment, the first configuration information may indicate a TDD-UL-DL pattern of the first device 110. Furthermore, the configuration message may include an indication of at least one slot of the TDD-UL-DL pattern to which the uplink subband should be applied.

[0065] In some exemplary embodiments, the indication may be a bitmap to indicate the D and / or S slots of the TDD-UL-DL pattern in which the configured or active UL subbands are applied. In case of multiple applied UL subbands, an indication of the active subbands is required, as will be described later. In this case, the UL resources start from the first symbol of each indicated slot, or alternatively, the starting symbol of the first indicated slot is set, and the other indicated slots are assumed to translate all DL symbols and / or flexible symbols as SBFD symbols.

[0066] In some exemplary embodiments, the bitmap has a number of bits corresponding to the number of D and S slots in the TDD-UL-DL-pattern. As an example, for the TDD-UL-DL-pattern "DDDSU", the bitmap may be 0111 to indicate that the active subbands are applicable to the second and third D and S slots.

[0067] 5A illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary UL subband configuration 500 in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 5A, slots 501 through 504 are allocated for DL transmissions and slot 505 is allocated for UL transmissions, as indicated by first configuration information. A second configuration instruction indicates the frequency domain allocation of UL-DL splits 506 through 508.

[0068] Representing the UL-DL split 506, the second configuration information may indicate the starting position and bandwidth of the corresponding subband 1. For example, the starting PRB may be indicated by a first time index. Furthermore, the bandwidth may be indicated by the number of frequency resources (e.g., PRBs) in the frequency domain. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the second configuration information may further indicate the starting symbol of the first slot in the UL-DL split 506-508 (i.e., the UL-DL split 506), with full slot allocation assumed for the remainder of the UL-DL split 506-508.

[0069] Alternatively, to reduce the number of bits required in the bitmap, a table can be identified or configured for each TDD pattern that shows only the relevant possibilities for using active UL subbands in the time domain. In this way, the gNB can dynamically and flexibly change the SBFD configuration in the time domain.

[0070] For example, the mapping between a 2-bit bitmap and the TDD-UL-DL-pattern "DDDSU" is shown in Table 1. It should be understood that such an approach is also applicable when multiple TDD-UL-DL-patterns are configured.

[0071] [Table 1]

[0072] Alternatively, in another example of a UL subband configuration, at least two non-overlapping UL subbands may be configured for the SBFD frame, and these subbands have the same bandwidth and time domain allocation, e.g., a nominal time domain allocation. One of the UL subbands is separated from the other UL subband by a frequency domain offset. In this case, the second configuration information may indicate the starting time resource and starting frequency resource of one of the UL subbands (e.g., in the format of [first time index, first frequency index]) and the frequency offset. Thus, the location of the other subband can be determined based on the frequency offset.

[0073] 5B shows a schematic diagram of another exemplary configuration 510 of UL subbands in some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5B, slots 511 through 514 are allocated for DL transmission, and slot 515 is allocated for UL transmission as indicated by the first configuration information. Two non-overlapping UL subbands 1 and 2 having the same bandwidth and nominal time domain allocation are configured for the SBFD frame. UL subband 2 is separated from UL subband 1 by a frequency offset, which may be due to frequency hopping.

[0074] Furthermore, in some exemplary embodiments, for each time instance (e.g., slot, symbol, etc.), only one of UL subbands 1 and 2 can be used. This is beneficial for UL transmit and DL receive filtering at the UE side. The second device 120 can dynamically indicate which subbands are active for UL, and the reference point for frequency domain allocation follows the activated subband.

[0075] Additionally or alternatively, if frequency hopping is enabled, the two subbands 1 and 2 can be used alternately in the time domain. The start of the frequency hop is on the active subband, which is indicated independently. Furthermore, if two or more UL subbands are configured, the indication of which two of the two or more subbands to use for frequency hopping should also be indicated dynamically or semi-statically.

[0076] In example embodiments, the TDD-UL-DL-pattern RRC configuration element can be extended to include one or more UL subbands that apply to the corresponding TDD-UL-DL-pattern. This allows for implementing an "asymmetric" SBFD subframe configuration by allocating TDD Pattern 1 and TDD Pattern 2 with different subband configurations, such as DXXXU-DDDXU. Figure 6A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of allocation 600 of UL subbands to TDD-UL-DL patterns, in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0077] As shown in FIG. 6A, TDD pattern 1 "DDDSU" corresponding to slots 601 through 605 is concatenated with TDD pattern 2 "DDSUU" corresponding to slots 606 through 610. At least one set of UL subbands 1 and 3 may overlap with DL, UL, or flexible symbols in the time domain. DL symbols / slots that overlap with at least one set of UL subbands can be considered SBFD symbols / slots. This can be considered an SBFD UL-DL pattern configured by RRC or higher layers that can be used for purposes of initial access (e.g., random access channel) and determining the validity of certain semi-static signals, such as the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0078] To enable dynamic adaptation of the SBFD subband configuration, multiple UL subbands may be configured via higher layer indication (e.g., RRC signaling), while lower layer indication (e.g., MAC CE or a new DCI format) may be used to activate or deactivate one or more UL subbands in a dynamic manner, e.g., the DCI or MAC CE may provide a bitmap, e.g., 10011, to activate or deactivate each individual subband.

[0079] It should be noted that not all UL subbands need to be assigned to the TDD-UL-DL-pattern provided by the RRC / SIB, as lower layer signaling (via MAC, DCI, etc.) may also be used to determine which UL subbands are enabled / active for the UE at a given time.

[0080] 6B shows a schematic diagram of an example configuration 610 for dynamic activation or deactivation of UL sub-bands in some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6B, the first device 110 receives a configuration message via lower layer signaling, e.g., MAC, DCI, etc., to change the configuration of the UL sub-bands. In the example of FIG. 6B, the MAC or DCI includes the bitmap "011."

[0081] Therefore, the first device 110 applies the received UL subband configuration after a predetermined time from receiving the configuration message. Thus, in slots 621-625, subbands 2 and 3 are deactivated and subband 1 is activated, and in slots 626-630, the states of subbands 1-3 are toggled, i.e., subbands 2 and 3 are activated and subband 1 is deactivated.

[0082] In some exemplary embodiments, a new MAC CE or DCI format may be used to activate or deactivate each individual subband. For example, the DCI or MAC CE provides a bitmap, e.g., 0110, with each bit mapped to a corresponding one of four (pre-)configured UL subbands. Optionally, "1" and "0" can be used to indicate which UL subbands are considered enabled and disabled, respectively. Another option is to use a value of "1" to toggle the activation / deactivation state of the corresponding subband, in other words, to switch the state of a subband from enabled to disabled or from disabled to enabled.

[0083] It should be appreciated that other options for mixing higher and lower layer signaling are possible to implement embodiments. For example, a table with multiple possible enabled or disabled states, e.g., 0101, 0111, 0000, 1010, may be provided through RRC signaling, and a two-bit indication in the DCI or MAC CE may point to one of four entries in the table. Thus, the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0084] In some exemplary embodiments, a similar approach to that used to dynamically signal SFI using DCI format 2_0 in dynamic TDD may be reused for SBFD operation. In this case, the frequency domain allocation of DU splits is configured via higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC, MAC, etc.). The time granularity for indicating SBFD operation may be at the OFDM symbol level. One or more tables of slot formats are configured in the first device 110 to indicate multiple options for UL-DL resource partitioning with a time resolution of one OFDM symbol. For example, a table similar to Table 11.1.1-1 of TS 38.213 in this embodiment may be used for this purpose, where the "F" symbol is replaced with the "SBFD" symbol.

[0085] Instead of using a new table, a subset of unused indices 66-254 in Table 11.1.1-1 of TS 38.213 can be used to signal SBFD symbols. For example, indices 60-115 can be used to signal the same slot format as indices 0-55, but the "F" symbol can be replaced with an "SBFD" symbol. In some embodiments, a gNB can transmit one DCI 2_0 per cell. UEs that do not support SBFD operation interpret the "F" symbol as a flexible symbol according to Table 11.1.1-1 of TS 38.213, while SBFD-capable UEs interpret the "F" symbol as an SBFD symbol with frequency-domain UL-DL splitting configured by higher layers. Additionally, in some cases, SBFD-capable UEs can be further configured by higher layer signaling whether to interpret the "F" symbol as a flexible symbol or an SBFD symbol according to Table 11.1.1-1 of TS 38.213.

[0086] Alternatively, in some other embodiments, the gNB can configure UEs that do not support SBFD operation and SBFD-capable UEs via two separate DCI 2_0. In this case, the SFI is signaled separately to UEs that do not support SBFD operation and SBFD-capable UEs. The indexes either point to two different tables, i.e., Table 11.1.1-1 of TS 38.213 for UEs that do not support SBFD operation and a new table for SBFD-capable UEs, or point to the same extended Table 11.1.1-1 of TS 38.213.

[0087] Examples of slot formats available for SBFD operation are shown in Table 2. For example, one entry can be defined as D, X2, X2, X2, U, U, X3, X3, X3, X3, X3, U, U, U, where "Xn" indicates UL-DL split SBFD symbols in the frequency domain configured by SBFD_UL_subband_n.

[0088] [Table 2]

[0089] It should be understood that some of the steps in process 200 are optional or may be omitted, and the order of the steps is given for illustrative purposes, and thus, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited in this respect.

[0090] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, an SBFD frame structure and related configuration solution is provided. The UL-DL split and UL subband configuration are flexible; that is, the location and size of the UL-DL PRB split may be configured, for example, at the cell level or operator level, or may vary over time in individual cells. To this end, one or more signalings are enabled by the gNB to configure, activate, or deactivate the UL-DL PRB split. Furthermore, asymmetric SBFD subframe configurations are also possible by assigning TDD Pattern 1 and Pattern 2 with different subband configurations.

[0091] 7 shows a flowchart of an example method 700 in some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 700 can be implemented in a terminal device, for example, first device 110 described with reference to FIG. 1. For illustrative purposes, method 700 will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0092] At 710, the first device 110 receives first configuration information from the second device 120 indicating a set of resources for time division or frequency division duplexing between the first device 110 and the second device 120. The set of resources may include a first subset of resources for uplink transmission.

[0093] At 720, the first device 110 receives second configuration information from the second device 120 indicating at least a second subset of resources for uplink transmission. The at least one second subset of resources may include at least one resource other than the first subset of resources.

[0094] In some example embodiments, the first subset of resources may not overlap with at least one second subset of resources. Additionally or alternatively, at least a portion of the first subset of resources may overlap with at least one second subset of resources.

[0095] In some exemplary embodiments, the second setting information is: a first indication of a starting frequency resource and a starting time resource of the at least a second subset of resources; a second indication of an ending frequency resource and an ending time resource of the second subset of resources; may include:

[0096] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information may include a starting frequency resource and a starting time resource of at least one second subset of resources, a first number of frequency resources in the second subset, and a second number of time resources in the second subset.

[0097] In some example embodiments, the at least one second subset of resources may include a first target subset of resources and a second target subset of resources, where the second configuration information is: a third indication of a start frequency resource and a start time resource of the first target subset of resources and a first bandwidth of the first uplink subband corresponding to the first target subset of resources; a fourth indication of a start frequency resource and a start time resource of the second target subset of resources and a second bandwidth of the second uplink subband corresponding to the second target subset of resources; and may include: Furthermore, in these embodiments, the start time resource of the second target subset of resources may be the first symbol after the end time resource of the first target subset of resources in the time domain.

[0098] In some exemplary embodiments, the second setting information is: a first resource index value indicating a starting frequency resource and a number of frequency resources in one of the at least one second subset of resources; second resource index values indicating start time resources and durations of time resources within the second subset of resources; may include:

[0099] In some example embodiments, the second configuration information may be included in either a system information block (SIB) or a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0100] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 110 may determine a third subset of resources that includes the first and second subsets of resources based on the first and second configuration information. The first device 110 may then send a data transmission to the second device 120 on the third subset of resources.

[0101] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information may indicate at least a second subset of resources in the frequency domain. The first device 110 may receive a configuration message from the second device 120 indicating at least a second subset of resources in the time domain.

[0102] Additionally or alternatively, in the above embodiment, the second setting information is a starting frequency resource and a bandwidth of an uplink subband corresponding to one of the at least one second subset of resources; or a start frequency resource and an end frequency resource of an uplink subband corresponding to a second subset of resources; Contains any of the following.

[0103] In some demonstrative embodiments, the first configuration information may indicate a time division duplexing pattern of the first device 110. The configuration message may include an indication of at least one slot of the time division duplexing pattern to which the uplink subband is to be applied.

[0104] Additionally or alternatively, in the above embodiment, the indication may include: multiple downlink slots or symbols in a time division duplex pattern, or at least one special slot or symbol in the time division duplex pattern; The bitmap may have a number of bits corresponding to at least one of the numbers. In this case, the first value of the bit in the bitmap may indicate a corresponding slot or symbol to which an uplink subband corresponding to one of the at least one second subset of resources is applied, and additionally or alternatively, the second value of the bit in the bitmap may indicate a corresponding slot or symbol to which no uplink subband is applied.

[0105] In some exemplary embodiments, the values of the bitmap apply to uplink subbands: Multiple downlink slots or symbols in a time division duplex pattern, or at least one special slot or symbol in the time division duplex pattern; may represent at least one multiple combination of: In this case, the association of the multiple values and the multiple combinations may be pre-configured or pre-determined in the first device 110 and the second device 120.

[0106] In some example embodiments, the start time resource of the second subset of resources may be the first symbol of the corresponding slot indicated by the bitmap.

[0107] In some exemplary embodiments, the first one of the starting time resources of the second subset may be indicated by the second device 120. Additionally, the remaining starting time resources of the second subset may be the first symbols of the corresponding slots indicated by the bitmap.

[0108] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information may indicate a first target subset of resources in the time domain and a frequency offset. The first device 110 may determine at least one second target subset of resources based on the first target subset of resources in the time domain and the frequency offset. In this case, the first target subset of resources may correspond to a first uplink subband. Additionally or alternatively, the at least one second target subset of resources may correspond to at least one second uplink subband.

[0109] In some demonstrative embodiments, the frequency offset may correspond to frequency hopping associated with the first device 110. The first uplink subband and the at least one second uplink subband may be applied alternatively in the time domain.

[0110] In some demonstrative embodiments, the first configuration information may indicate a first time division duplex pattern and a second time division duplex pattern of the first device 110. Additionally or alternatively, the second configuration message may include at least one first uplink subband assigned to the first time division duplex pattern and at least one second uplink subband assigned to the second time division duplex pattern.

[0111] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information may indicate at least a second subset of resources in the frequency domain. In this case, the first device 110 may receive from the second device 120 a DCI including an SFI corresponding to the at least one second subset of resources in the time domain. The first device 110 may determine a third subset of resources allocated for uplink transmission based on the slot format indicator. In this case, the third subset of resources may include the first subset of resources and at least one second subset of resources. Thus, the first device can transmit a data transmission to the second device 120 on the third subset of resources.

[0112] In some demonstrative embodiments, the first device 110 may receive a configuration message from the second device 120. If the configuration message includes a first instruction to activate at least a first portion of at least one second subset of resources, the first device 110 may determine a third subset of resources allocated for uplink transmission based on the first instruction. The third subset of resources may include the first subset of resources and at least a first portion of the at least one second subset of resources. The first device 110 may then send a data transmission to the second device 120 on the third subset of resources.

[0113] In other exemplary embodiments, if the configuration message includes a second instruction to deactivate at least a second portion of the at least one second subset of resources, the first device 110 may determine a fourth subset of the allocated resources for uplink transmission based on the second instruction. The fourth subset of resources may include the first subset of resources and a remaining portion of the at least one second subset of resources other than the at least second portion. The first device 110 may then send a data transmission to the second device 120 on the fourth subset of resources.

[0114] In an exemplary embodiment, the configuration message may include a DCI, a MAC CE, and the like.

[0115] In some exemplary embodiments, first device 110 may comprise a terminal device and second device 120 may comprise a network device, or in some other embodiments, first device 110 may comprise a network device and second device 120 may comprise a terminal device.

[0116] 8 shows a flowchart of an example method 800 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 800 may be implemented in network equipment, such as second device 120 described with reference to FIG. 1. For illustrative purposes, method 800 will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0117] At 810, the second device 120 transmits first configuration information to the first device 110 indicating a set of resources for time division or frequency division duplex communication between the first device 110 and the second device 120. The set of resources may include a first subset of resources for uplink transmission.

[0118] At 820, the second device 120 transmits second configuration information to the first device 110 indicating at least a second subset of resources for uplink transmission, the at least a second subset of resources including at least one resource other than the first subset of resources.

[0119] In some example embodiments, the first subset of resources may not overlap with at least one second subset of resources. Additionally or alternatively, at least a portion of the first subset of resources may overlap with at least one second subset of resources.

[0120] In some exemplary embodiments, the second setting information is: a first indication of a starting frequency resource and a starting time resource of the at least a second subset of resources; a second indication of an ending frequency resource and an ending time resource of the second subset of resources; may include:

[0121] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information may include a starting frequency resource and a starting time resource of at least one second subset of resources, a first number of frequency resources in the second subset, and a second number of time resources in the second subset.

[0122] In some example embodiments, the at least one second subset of resources may include a first target subset of resources and a second target subset of resources, where the second configuration information is: a third indication of a start frequency resource and a start time resource of the first target subset of resources and a first bandwidth of the first uplink subband corresponding to the first target subset of resources; a fourth indication of a start frequency resource and a start time resource of the second target subset of resources and a second bandwidth of the second uplink subband corresponding to the second target subset of resources; and may include: Furthermore, in these embodiments, the start time resource of the second target subset of resources may be the first symbol after the end time resource of the first target subset of resources in the time domain.

[0123] In some exemplary embodiments, the second setting information is: a first resource index value indicating a starting frequency resource and a number of frequency resources in one of the at least one second subset of resources; second resource index values indicating start time resources and durations of time resources within the second subset of resources; may include:

[0124] In some example embodiments, the second configuration information may be included in either a system information block (SIB) or a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0125] In some demonstrative embodiments, the second device 120 may receive a data transmission from the first device 110 on a third subset of resources that includes the first and second subsets of resources.

[0126] In some example embodiments, the second configuration information may indicate at least a second subset of resources in the frequency domain. The second device 120 may transmit a configuration message to the first device 110 indicating at least a second subset of resources in the time domain.

[0127] In some exemplary embodiments, the second setting information is: a starting frequency resource and a bandwidth of an uplink subband corresponding to one of the at least one second subset of resources; or a start frequency resource and an end frequency resource of an uplink subband corresponding to a second subset of resources; It may include one of:

[0128] In some exemplary embodiments, the first configuration information may indicate a time division duplex pattern of the first device 110, and the configuration message includes an indication of at least one slot of the time division duplex pattern to which the uplink subband is to be applied.

[0129] In some exemplary embodiments, the instructions include: Multiple downlink slots or symbols in a time division duplex pattern, or at least one special slot or symbol in the time division duplex pattern; The bitmap may have a number of bits corresponding to at least one of the numbers. In this case, the first value of the bit in the bitmap may indicate a corresponding slot or symbol to which an uplink subband corresponding to one of the at least one second subset of resources is applied, and additionally or alternatively, the second value of the bit in the bitmap may indicate a corresponding slot or symbol to which no uplink subband is applied.

[0130] In some exemplary embodiments, the values of the bitmap apply to uplink subbands: Multiple downlink slots or symbols in a time division duplex pattern, or at least one special slot or symbol in the time division duplex pattern; may represent a combination of at least one of: In this case, the association between the multiple values and the multiple combinations may be set or determined in advance in first device 110 and second device 120.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the start time resource of the second subset of resources may be the first symbol of the corresponding slot indicated by the bitmap.

[0132] In some exemplary embodiments, the first one of the starting time resources of the second subset may be indicated by the second device 120. Additionally, the remaining starting time resources of the second subset may be the first symbols of the corresponding slots indicated by the bitmap.

[0133] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information may indicate a first target subset of resources in the time domain and a frequency offset between the first target subset of resources in the time domain and at least one second target subset of resources, where the first target subset of resources may correspond to a first uplink subband and the at least one second target subset of resources may correspond to at least one second uplink subband.

[0134] In some demonstrative embodiments, the frequency offset may correspond to frequency hopping associated with the first device 110. The first uplink subband and the at least one second uplink subband may be applied alternatively in the time domain.

[0135] In some demonstrative embodiments, the first configuration information may indicate a first time division duplex pattern and a second time division duplex pattern of the first device 110. Additionally or alternatively, the second configuration message may include at least one first uplink subband assigned to the first time division duplex pattern and at least one second uplink subband assigned to the second time division duplex pattern.

[0136] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information may indicate at least a second subset of resources in the frequency domain. In this case, the second device 120 may transmit a DCI including an SFI corresponding to the at least a second subset of resources in the time domain to the first device 110. Thus, the second device 120 may receive a data transmission from the first device 110 on a third subset of resources that includes the first subset of resources and the at least a second subset of resources.

[0137] In some demonstrative embodiments, second device 120 may send a configuration message including a first instruction to activate at least a first portion of at least one second subset of resources to first device 110. Second device 120 may then receive a data transmission from first device 110 on a third subset of resources that includes the first subset of resources and at least a first portion of the at least one second subset of resources.

[0138] In some demonstrative embodiments, second device 120 may send a configuration message including a second instruction to deactivate at least a second portion of the at least one second subset of resources to first device 110. Second device 120 may then receive a data transmission from first device 110 on a fourth subset of resources that includes the first subset of resources and a remaining portion other than at least the second portion of the at least one second subset of resources.

[0139] In an exemplary embodiment, the configuration message may include a DCI, a MAC CE, and the like.

[0140] In some exemplary embodiments, first device 110 may comprise a terminal device and second device 120 may comprise a network device, or in some other embodiments, first device 110 may comprise a network device and second device 120 may comprise a terminal device.

[0141] In some exemplary embodiments, a first device (e.g., first device 110) capable of executing method 700 may comprise means for performing each step of method 700. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuit or a software module. In some embodiments, the means may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code, in conjunction with the at least one processor, are configured to perform the performance of the apparatus.

[0142] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device comprises means for receiving, from the second device, first configuration information indicating a set of resources for time division or frequency division duplexing between the first device and the second device, the set of resources including a first subset of resources for uplink transmission; and means for receiving, from the second device, second configuration information indicating at least a second subset of resources for uplink transmission, the at least one second subset of resources including at least one resource other than the first subset of resources.

[0143] In some exemplary embodiments, the first subset of resources does not overlap with at least a second subset of resources.

[0144] In some exemplary embodiments, at least a portion of the first subset of resources overlaps with at least a second subset of resources.

[0145] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information includes a first indication of a start frequency resource and a start time resource of at least one second subset of resources and a second indication of an end frequency resource and an end time resource of the second subset of resources.

[0146] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information includes a starting frequency resource and a starting time resource of at least one second subset of resources, a first number of frequency resources in the second subset, and a second number of time resources in the second subset.

[0147] In some exemplary embodiments, the at least one second subset of resources includes a first target subset of resources and a second target subset of resources, and the second configuration information includes: a third indication of a start frequency resource and a start time resource of the first target subset of resources and a first bandwidth of the first uplink subband corresponding to the first target subset of resources; and a fourth indication of a start frequency resource and a start time resource of the second target subset of resources, and a second bandwidth of the second uplink subband corresponding to the second target subset of resources, wherein the start time resource of the second target subset of resources is the first symbol after the end time resource of the first target subset of resources in the time domain.

[0148] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information includes a first resource index value indicating a starting frequency resource and a number of frequency resources in one of the at least one second subset of resources, and a second resource index value indicating a starting time resource and a duration of the time resources in the second subset of resources.

[0149] In an exemplary embodiment, the second configuration information is included in either a system information block or a radio resource control message.

[0150] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device further comprises means for determining, based on the first and second configuration information, a third subset of resources comprising a subset of the first and second resources, and means for sending a data transmission to the second device on the third subset of resources.

[0151] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information indicates at least a second subset of resources in the frequency domain. The first device further comprises means for receiving a configuration message from the second device, the configuration message indicating at least a second subset of resources in the time domain.

[0152] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information includes one of: a starting frequency resource and a bandwidth of an uplink subband corresponding to one of the at least one second subset of resources; or a starting frequency resource and an ending frequency resource of an uplink subband corresponding to the second subset of resources.

[0153] In some exemplary embodiments, the first configuration information indicates a time division duplex pattern of the first device, and the configuration message includes an indication of at least one slot of the time division duplex pattern to which the uplink subband is to be applied.

[0154] In some exemplary embodiments, the indication is a bitmap having a number of bits corresponding to at least one of a number of downlink slots or symbols in the time division duplex pattern or at least one special slot or symbol in the time division duplex pattern, where a first value of a bit in the bitmap indicates a corresponding slot or symbol to which an uplink subband corresponding to one of the at least one second subset of resources is to be applied, and a second value of a bit in the bitmap indicates a corresponding slot or symbol to which an uplink subband is not to be applied.

[0155] In some exemplary embodiments, the multiple values of the bitmap indicate multiple combinations of at least one of multiple downlink slots or symbols in a time division duplex pattern to which the uplink subbands are applied, or at least one special slot or symbol in a time division duplex pattern, and the mapping of the multiple values to the multiple combinations is pre-configured or predetermined in the first device and the second device.

[0156] In an exemplary embodiment, the start time resource of the second subset of resources is the first symbol of the corresponding slot indicated by the bitmap.

[0157] In some exemplary embodiments, the first start time resource of the second subset is indicated by the second device, and the remaining start time resources of the second subset are first symbols of corresponding slots indicated by the bitmap.

[0158] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information indicates a first target subset of resources in the time domain and a frequency offset, and the first apparatus further comprises means for determining at least one second target subset of resources based on the first target subset of resources in the time domain and the frequency offset, where the first target subset of resources corresponds to a first uplink subband and the at least one second target subset of resources corresponds to at least one second uplink subband.

[0159] In some exemplary embodiments, the frequency offset corresponds to frequency hopping associated with the first device, and the first uplink subband and the at least one second uplink subband are applied alternately in the time domain.

[0160] In some exemplary embodiments, the first configuration information indicates a first time division duplex pattern and a second time division duplex pattern of the first device, and the second configuration message includes at least one first uplink subband assigned to the first time division duplex pattern and at least one second uplink subband assigned to the second time division duplex pattern.

[0161] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information indicates at least a second subset of resources in the frequency domain, and the first device further comprises: means for receiving from the second device downlink control information including a slot format indicator corresponding to the at least one second subset of resources in the time domain; means for determining, based on the slot format indicator, a third subset of resources allocated for uplink transmission, the third subset of resources including the first subset of resources and the at least one second subset of resources; and means for instructing the second device to perform a data transmission on the third subset of resources.

[0162] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device further comprises means for receiving a configuration message from the second device; and, in accordance with a determination that the configuration message includes a first instruction to activate at least a first portion of at least one second subset of resources, means for determining a third subset of resources allocated for uplink transmission based on the first instruction, wherein the third subset of resources includes the first subset of resources and at least a first portion of the at least one second subset of resources; and means for sending a data transmission on the third subset of resources to the second device.

[0163] In some demonstrative embodiments, the first device further comprises: means for determining, according to a determination that the configuration message includes a second instruction to deactivate at least a second portion of the at least one second subset of resources, a fourth subset of resources allocated for uplink transmission based on the second instruction, wherein the fourth subset of resources includes a remaining portion other than the first subset of resources and the at least the second portion of the at least one second subset of resources; and means for sending a data transmission to the second device on the fourth subset of resources.

[0164] In some exemplary embodiments, the configuration message includes one of downlink control information or a medium access control element.

[0165] In an exemplary embodiment, the first device comprises a terminal device and the second device comprises a network device.

[0166] In some exemplary embodiments, a second apparatus (e.g., second device 120) capable of performing method 800 may comprise means for performing each step of method 800. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuit or a software module. In some embodiments, the means may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, in conjunction with the at least one processor, to perform the performance of the apparatus.

[0167] In some exemplary embodiments, the second apparatus comprises: means for transmitting, to the first device, first configuration information indicating a set of resources for time division or frequency division duplexing between the first apparatus and the second apparatus, the set of resources including a first subset of resources for uplink transmission; and means for transmitting, to the first device, second configuration information indicating at least a second subset of resources for uplink transmission, the at least one second subset of resources including at least one resource other than the first subset of resources.

[0168] In some exemplary embodiments, the first subset of resources does not overlap with at least a second subset of resources.

[0169] In some exemplary embodiments, at least a portion of the first subset of resources overlaps with at least a second subset of resources.

[0170] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information includes a first indication of a start frequency resource and a start time resource of at least one second subset of resources and a second indication of an end frequency resource and an end time resource of the second subset of resources.

[0171] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information includes a starting frequency resource and a starting time resource of at least one second subset of resources, a first number of frequency resources in the second subset, and a second number of time resources in the second subset.

[0172] In some exemplary embodiments, the at least one second subset of resources includes a first target subset of resources and a second target subset of resources, and the second configuration information includes a third indication of a start frequency resource and a start time resource of the first target subset of resources and a first bandwidth of a first uplink subband corresponding to the first target subset of resources, and a fourth indication of a start frequency resource and a start time resource of the second target subset of resources and a second bandwidth of a second uplink subband corresponding to the second target subset of resources, wherein the start time resource of the second target subset of resources is a first symbol after the end time resource of the first target subset of resources in the time domain.

[0173] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information includes a first resource index value indicating a starting frequency resource and a number of frequency resources in one of the at least one second subset of resources, and a second resource index value indicating a starting time resource and a duration of the time resources in the second subset of resources.

[0174] In an exemplary embodiment, the second configuration information is included in either a system information block or a radio resource control message.

[0175] In some exemplary embodiments, the second device further comprises means for receiving a data transmission from the first device on a third subset of resources that includes the first and second subsets of resources.

[0176] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information indicates at least a second subset of resources in the frequency domain, and the second device further comprises means for transmitting a configuration message to the first device indicating at least a second subset of resources in the time domain.

[0177] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information includes one of: a starting frequency resource and a bandwidth of an uplink subband corresponding to one of the at least one second subset of resources; or a starting frequency resource and an ending frequency resource of an uplink subband corresponding to the second subset of resources.

[0178] In some exemplary embodiments, the first configuration information indicates a time division duplex pattern of the first device, and the configuration message includes an indication of at least one slot of the time division duplex pattern to which the uplink subband is to be applied.

[0179] In some exemplary embodiments, the indication is a bitmap having a number of bits corresponding to the number of at least one of a plurality of downlink slots or symbols in the time division duplex pattern or at least one special slot or symbol in the time division duplex pattern, wherein a first value of a bit in the bitmap indicates a corresponding slot or symbol to which an uplink subband corresponding to one of the at least one second subset of resources is to be applied, and a second value of a bit in the bitmap indicates a corresponding slot or symbol to which an uplink subband is not to be applied.

[0180] In some exemplary embodiments, the multiple values of the bitmap indicate multiple combinations of at least one of multiple downlink slots or symbols in a time division duplex pattern to which the uplink subbands are applied, or at least one special slot or symbol in a time division duplex pattern, and the mapping of the multiple values to the multiple combinations is pre-configured or predetermined in the first device and the second device.

[0181] In an exemplary embodiment, the start time resource of the second subset of resources is the first symbol of the corresponding slot indicated by the bitmap.

[0182] In some exemplary embodiments, the first start time resource of the second subset is indicated by the second device, and the remaining start time resources of the second subset are first symbols of corresponding slots indicated by the bitmap.

[0183] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information indicates a first target subset of resources in the time domain and a frequency offset between the first target subset of resources in the time domain and at least one second target subset of resources, where the first target subset of resources corresponds to a first uplink subband and the at least one second target subset of resources corresponds to at least one second uplink subband.

[0184] In some exemplary embodiments, the frequency offset corresponds to frequency hopping associated with the first device, and the first uplink subband and the at least one second uplink subband are applied alternately in the time domain.

[0185] In some exemplary embodiments, the first configuration information indicates a first time division duplex pattern and a second time division duplex pattern of the first device, and the second configuration message includes at least one first uplink subband assigned to the first time division duplex pattern and at least one second uplink subband assigned to the second time division duplex pattern.

[0186] In some exemplary embodiments, the second configuration information indicates at least a second subset of resources in the frequency domain, and the second apparatus further comprises means for transmitting, to the first device, downlink control information including a slot format indicator corresponding to the at least one second subset of resources in the time domain, and means for receiving, from the first device, a data transmission on a third subset of resources including the first subset of resources and the at least one second subset of resources.

[0187] In some demonstrative embodiments, the second device further comprises means for transmitting to the first device a configuration message including a first instruction to activate at least a first portion of at least one second subset of resources, and means for receiving from the first device a data transmission on a third subset of resources including the first subset of resources and at least a first portion of the at least one second subset of resources.

[0188] In some demonstrative embodiments, the second device further comprises means for transmitting to the first device a configuration message including a second instruction to deactivate at least a second portion of the at least one second subset of resources, and means for receiving from the first device a data transmission on a fourth subset of resources including the first subset of resources and a remaining portion other than the at least the second portion of the at least one second subset of resources.

[0189] In some exemplary embodiments, the configuration message includes one of downlink control information or a medium access control element.

[0190] In an exemplary embodiment, the first device comprises a terminal device and the second device comprises a network device.

[0191] 9 is a simplified block diagram of a device 900 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 900 may be provided to implement a communications device such as, for example, the first device 110 or the second device 120 as shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the device 900 includes one or more processors 910, one or more memories 920 coupled to the processors 910, and one or more transmitters and / or receivers (TX / RX) 940 (i.e., communications modules 940) coupled to the processors 910.

[0192] The TX / RX 940 is for bidirectional communication. The TX / RX 940 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communication with other network elements.

[0193] The processor 910 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 900 may have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips that are slaved in time to a clock that synchronizes a main processor.

[0194] The memory 920 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memory include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 924, electronically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disks, compact disks (CDs), digital video disks (DVDs), and other magnetic and / or optical storage devices. Examples of volatile memory include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 922 and other volatile memories that do not persist through power-down periods.

[0195] The computer program 930 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 910. The program 930 may be stored in the ROM 924. The processor 910 can load the program 930 into the RAM 922 to perform any suitable operations and processes.

[0196] 2 to 8, the embodiment of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 930 such that the device 900 can execute any process of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0197] In some embodiments, the program 930 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium, which may be included in the device 900 (such as in memory 920) or other storage accessible by the device 900. The device 900 may load the program 930 from the computer-readable medium into RAM 922 and execute it. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile storage device, such as a ROM, an EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, a CD, a DVD, etc. Figure 10 shows an example of a computer-readable medium 1000 in the form of a CD or DVD. The computer-readable medium has the program 930 stored thereon.

[0198] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. One aspect may be implemented in hardware, while another aspect may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. While various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described using block diagrams, flowcharts, or some other graphical representations, it should be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller, or other computing device, or some combination thereof, in non-limiting examples.

[0199] 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 those included in program modules, that execute on a target real or virtual processor to perform the method 700 or 800 described above with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split among program modules as desired in various embodiments. The machine-executable instructions of the program modules may be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, the program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0200] Program code for implementing the methods of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can 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, cause the specific functions / operations in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be performed. The program code can run entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0201] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program code or associated data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable an apparatus, device, or processor to perform the various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer-readable media, etc.

[0202] The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. Computer-readable media include, but are not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatus, devices, or any suitable computing device thereof. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, 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 disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0203] Furthermore, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown, or sequentially, or to perform all of the illustrated operations, to achieve desirable results. In certain situations, multitasking and parallel processing may be preferred. Similarly, while several specific implementation details are included in the above description, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

[0204] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure, as defined by 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. a first device, at least one processor; When executed by the at least one processor, the first device is configured to: receiving, from a second device, first configuration information indicating a set of resources for time division or frequency division duplex communication between the first device and the second device, the set of resources including a first subset of the resources for uplink transmission; receiving, from the second device, second configuration information indicating at least a second subset of the resources for the uplink transmission, the at least one second subset of resources including at least one resource other than the first subset of resources; at least one memory storing instructions for causing the A first device comprising:

2. The first device of claim 1 , wherein the first subset of resources does not overlap with the at least one second subset of resources.

3. The first device of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the first subset of resources overlaps with the at least one second subset of resources.

4. The second setting information is a first indication of a starting frequency resource and a starting time resource of one of the at least a second subset of resources; a second indication of an ending frequency resource and an ending time resource of the second subset of resources; The first device of claim 1 , comprising:

5. 2. The first device of claim 1, wherein the second configuration information comprises a starting frequency resource and a starting time resource of one of the at least one second subset of resources, a first number of frequency resources in the second subset, and a second number of time resources in the second subset.

6. the at least one second subset of resources includes the first target subset of resources and the second target subset of resources, and the second configuration information comprises: a third indication of a start frequency resource and a start time resource of the first target subset of resources and a first bandwidth of a first uplink subband corresponding to the first target subset of resources; and a fourth indication of a start frequency resource and a start time resource of the second target subset of resources and a second bandwidth of a second uplink subband corresponding to the second target subset of resources; and Including, the start time resource of the second target subset of resources is the first symbol after the end time resource of the first target subset of resources in the time domain. The first device of claim 1 .

7. The second setting information is a first resource index value indicating a starting frequency resource and a number of frequency resources in one of the at least one second subset of resources; a second resource index value indicating a start time resource and a duration of time resources in the second subset of resources; The first device of claim 1 , comprising:

8. The first device of claim 1 , wherein the second configuration information is included in one of a system information block or a radio resource control message.

9. The at least one memory, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the first device to further: determining a third subset of the resources based on the first and second configuration information, the third subset of the resources comprising the first and second subsets of the resources; transmitting data for the third subset of resources to the second device; 9. A first device according to claim 1, further comprising instructions for:

10. the second configuration information indicates the at least one second subset of resources in a frequency domain; The at least one memory, when executed by the at least one processor, further causes the first device to: receiving a configuration message from the second device indicating the at least one second subset of the resources in the time domain; 9. A first device according to claim 1, further comprising instructions for:

11. The second setting information is a starting frequency resource and a bandwidth of an uplink subband corresponding to one of the at least one second subset of resources; or a start frequency resource and an end frequency resource of an uplink subband corresponding to the second subset of resources; The first device of claim 10, comprising:

12. 11. The first device of claim 10, wherein the first configuration information indicates a time division duplex pattern of the first device, and the configuration message includes an indication of at least one slot of the time division duplex pattern to which the uplink subband is applied.

13. The instructions are: a plurality of downlink slots or symbols in the time division duplex pattern; or at least one special slot or symbol in said time division duplex pattern; a bitmap having a number of bits corresponding to at least one of the numbers a first value of a bit in the bitmap indicating a corresponding slot or symbol to which an uplink subband corresponding to one of the at least one second subset of resources is to be applied, and a second value of the bit in the bitmap indicating the corresponding slot or symbol to which the uplink subband is not to be applied; The first device of claim 12.

14. the plurality of values of the bitmap apply to the uplink subbands; a plurality of downlink slots or symbols in the time division duplex pattern; or at least one special slot or symbol in said time division duplex pattern; and the mapping of the plurality of values and the plurality of combinations is pre-configured or pre-determined in the first device and the second device; The first device of claim 12.

15. The first device of claim 12 , wherein a start time resource of the second subset of resources is a first symbol of a corresponding slot indicated by the bitmap.

16. 13. The first device of claim 12, wherein a first start time resource of the second subset is indicated by the second device, and the remaining start time resources of the second subset are first symbols of corresponding slots indicated by the bitmap.

17. the second configuration information indicating a first target subset of resources in the time domain and a frequency offset; The at least one memory, when executed by the at least one processor, further causes the first device to: determining at least one second target subset of resources based on the first target subset of resources in a time domain and the frequency offset, wherein the first target subset of resources corresponds to a first uplink subband and the at least one second target subset of resources corresponds to at least one second uplink subband; 9. A first device according to claim 1, further comprising instructions for:

18. 18. The first device of claim 17, wherein the frequency offset corresponds to frequency hopping associated with the first device, and the first uplink subband and the at least one second uplink subband are applied alternately in the time domain.

19. 9. The first device according to claim 1, wherein the first configuration information indicates a first time division duplex pattern and a second time division duplex pattern of the first device, and the second configuration message includes at least one first uplink subband assigned to the first time division duplex pattern and at least one second uplink subband assigned to the second time division duplex pattern.

20. the second configuration information indicates the at least one second subset of the resources in a frequency domain; The at least one memory, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the first device to further: receiving downlink control information from the second device, the downlink control information including a slot format indicator corresponding to the at least one second subset of the resources in the time domain; determining a third subset of the resources allocated for uplink transmission based on the slot format indicator, the third subset of resources comprising the first subset of resources and the at least one second subset of resources; transmitting data to the second device on the third subset of resources; 9. A first device according to claim 1, further comprising instructions for:

21. The at least one memory, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the first device to further: receiving a configuration message from the second device; In accordance with determining that the configuration message includes a first instruction to activate at least a first portion of the at least one second subset of resources, determining a third subset of the resources allocated for uplink transmission based on the first instruction, the third subset of resources including the first subset of resources and the at least a first portion of the at least one second subset of resources; transmitting data to the second device on the third subset of resources; 9. A first device according to claim 1, further comprising instructions for:

22. The at least one memory, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the first device to further: In accordance with determining that the configuration message includes a second instruction to deactivate at least a second portion of the at least one second subset of resources, determining a fourth subset of the resources allocated for uplink transmission based on the second instruction, the fourth subset of resources including the first subset of resources and a remaining portion of the at least one second subset of resources other than the at least the second portion; sending a data transmission to the second device on the fourth subset of resources; 22. The first device of claim 21, storing instructions to cause the first device to execute:

23. 23. The first device of claim 21 or 22, wherein the configuration message includes one of downlink control information or a medium access control element.

24. The first device according to claim 1 , wherein the first device comprises a terminal device and the second device comprises a network device.

25. a second device, at least one processor; When executed by the at least one processor, the second device receives at least: transmitting, to a first device, first configuration information indicating a set of resources for time division or frequency division duplex communication between the first device and the second device, the set of resources including a first subset of the resources for uplink transmission; transmitting, to the first device, second configuration information indicating at least a second subset of the resources for the uplink transmission, the at least one second subset of resources including at least one resource other than the first subset of resources; at least one memory storing instructions for executing the A second device comprising:

26. 26. The second device of claim 25, wherein the first subset of resources does not overlap with the at least one second subset of resources.

27. 26. The second device of claim 25, wherein at least a portion of the first subset of resources overlaps with the at least one second subset of resources.

28. The second setting information is a first indication of a starting frequency resource and a starting time resource of one of the at least a second subset of resources; a second indication of an ending frequency resource and an ending time resource of the second subset of resources; 26. The second device of claim 25, comprising:

29. 26. The second device of claim 25, wherein the second configuration information includes a starting frequency resource and a starting time resource of one of the at least one second subset of resources, a first number of frequency resources in the second subset, and a second number of time resources in the second subset.

30. the at least one second subset of resources includes the first target subset of resources and the second target subset of resources, and the second configuration information comprises: a third indication of a start frequency resource and a start time resource of the first target subset of resources and a first bandwidth of a first uplink subband corresponding to the first target subset of resources; and a fourth indication of a start frequency resource and a start time resource of the second target subset of resources and a second bandwidth of a second uplink subband corresponding to the second target subset of resources; and Including, the start time resource of the second target subset of resources is the first symbol after the end time resource of the first target subset of resources in the time domain.

26. The second device of claim 25.

31. The second setting information is a first resource index value indicating a starting frequency resource and a number of frequency resources in one of the at least one second subset of resources; a second resource index value indicating a start time resource and a duration of time resources in the second subset of resources; 26. The second device of claim 25, comprising:

32. 26. The second device of claim 25, wherein the second configuration information is included in one of a system information block or a radio resource control message.

33. The at least one memory, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the second device to further: receiving a data transmission from the first device on a third subset of the resources that includes the first and second subsets of resources; 33. A second device according to any one of claims 25 to 32, storing instructions to cause it to:

34. the second configuration information indicates the at least one second subset of the resources in a frequency domain; The at least one memory, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the second device to further: sending a configuration message to the first device indicating the at least one second subset of the resources in the time domain; 33. A second device according to any one of claims 25 to 32, storing instructions to cause it to:

35. The second setting information is a starting frequency resource and a bandwidth of an uplink subband corresponding to one of the at least one second subset of resources; or a start frequency resource and an end frequency resource of an uplink subband corresponding to the second subset of resources; 35. The second device of claim 34, comprising one of:

36. 35. The second device of claim 34, wherein the first configuration information indicates a time division duplex pattern of the first device, and the configuration message includes an indication of at least one slot of the time division duplex pattern to which the uplink subband applies.

37. The instructions are: a plurality of downlink slots or symbols in the time division duplex pattern; or at least one special slot or symbol in said time division duplex pattern; a bitmap having a number of bits corresponding to at least one of the numbers a first value of a bit in the bitmap indicating a corresponding slot or symbol to which an uplink subband corresponding to one of the at least one second subset of resources is applied, and a second value of the bit in the bitmap indicating the corresponding slot or symbol to which the uplink subband is not applied.

37. The second device of claim 36.

38. the plurality of values of the bitmap apply to the uplink subbands; a plurality of downlink slots or symbols in the time division duplex pattern; or at least one special slot or symbol in said time division duplex pattern; and a plurality of combinations of the uplink subbands to which at least one of the mapping of the plurality of values and the plurality of combinations is preset or predetermined in the first device and the second device; 37. The second device of claim 36.

39. 37. The second device of claim 36, wherein a starting time resource of the second subset of resources is the first symbol of a corresponding slot indicated by the bitmap.

40. 37. The second device of claim 36, wherein a first start time resource of the second subset is indicated by the second device, and the remaining start time resources of the second subset are the first symbols of corresponding slots indicated by the bitmap.

41. 33. The second device of claim 25, wherein the second configuration information indicates a first target subset of resources in the time domain and a frequency offset between the first target subset of resources and at least one second target subset of resources in the time domain, the first target subset of resources corresponding to a first uplink subband and the at least one second target subset of resources corresponding to at least one second uplink subband.

42. 42. The second device of claim 41, wherein the frequency offset corresponds to frequency hopping associated with the first device, and the first uplink subband and the at least one second uplink subband are applied alternately in the time domain.

43. 33. The second device of claim 25, wherein the first configuration information indicates a first time division duplex pattern and a second time division duplex pattern of the first device, and the second configuration message includes at least one first uplink subband assigned to the first time division duplex pattern and at least one second uplink subband assigned to the second time division duplex pattern.

44. the second configuration information indicates the at least one second subset of the resources in a frequency domain; The at least one memory, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the second device to further: transmitting, to the first device, downlink control information including a slot format indicator corresponding to the at least one second subset of the resources in the time domain; receiving a data transmission from the first device on a third subset of the resources including the first subset of resources and the at least one second subset of resources; 33. A second device according to any one of claims 25 to 32, storing instructions to cause it to:

45. The at least one memory, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the second device to further: sending a configuration message to the first device, the configuration message including a first instruction to activate at least a first portion of the at least one second subset of resources; receiving a data transmission from the first device on the first subset of resources and a third subset of resources including at least the first portion of the at least one second subset of resources; 33. A second device according to any one of claims 25 to 32, storing instructions to cause it to:

46. The at least one memory, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the second device to further: sending to the first device a configuration message including a second instruction to deactivate at least a second portion of the at least one second subset of resources; receiving a data transmission from the first device on the first subset of resources and a fourth subset of resources comprising a remaining portion of the at least one second subset of resources other than the at least the second portion; 33. A second device according to any one of claims 25 to 32, storing instructions to cause it to:

47. 47. The second device of claim 45 or 46, wherein the configuration message includes one of downlink control information or a medium access control element.

48. 33. The second device of any of claims 25 to 32, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device and the second device comprises a network device.

49. receiving, at a first device, from a second device, first configuration information indicating a set of resources for time division or frequency division duplex communication between the first device and the second device, the set of resources including a first subset of the resources for uplink transmission; receiving, from the second device, second configuration information indicating at least a second subset of the resources for the uplink transmission, the at least one second subset of resources including at least one resource other than the first subset of resources; A method comprising:

50. transmitting, at a second device, to a first device, first configuration information indicating a set of resources for time division or frequency division duplex communication between the first device and the second device, the set of resources including a first subset of the resources for uplink transmission; transmitting, to the first device, second configuration information indicating at least a second subset of the resources for the uplink transmission, the at least one second subset of resources including at least one resource other than the first subset of resources; A method comprising:

51. 1. A first device, comprising: means for receiving, from a second device, first configuration information indicating a set of resources for time division or frequency division duplexing between the first device and the second device, the set of resources including a first subset of the resources for uplink transmission; and means for receiving, from the second device, second configuration information indicating at least a second subset of the resources for the uplink transmission, the at least one second subset of resources including at least one resource other than the first subset of resources; and A first device comprising:

52. a second device, means for transmitting, to a first device, first configuration information indicating a set of resources for time division or frequency division duplex communication between the first device and a second device, the set of resources including a first subset of the resources for uplink transmission; and means for transmitting, to the first device, second configuration information indicating at least a second subset of the resources for the uplink transmission, the at least one second subset of resources including at least one resource other than the first subset of resources; and A second device comprising:

53. 51. A computer readable medium containing program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform the method of claim 49 or 50.

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