Method and apparatus for processing transmissions based on uplink sub-bands

Abstract

The present disclosure is directed generally to wireless communication systems and methods, and particularly to resource configuration and allocation for time division duplexing. Various implementations described below relate to scheduling and allocation of time-frequency communication resources within an uplink subband configured within a set of resources otherwise configured for downlink transmission or for transmission with flexible direction. Various embodiments are described below for dynamically scheduling downlink transmissions within resources of an uplink subband to modify / extend resources for the uplink subband in order to improve the balance of uplink and downlink transmission resources in real time. The disclosure below further provides various implementations for resolving uplink and downlink transmission time conflicts within an uplink subband and for transmitting a downlink reference signal across a UL subband.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure is directed generally to wireless communication systems and methods, and more particularly to resource configuration and allocation for time division duplexing. [Background technology]

[0002] Terrestrial radio resources are a key component in wireless communication networks. Effective communications depend heavily on the efficient allocation of these resources. Communications between base stations and terminal devices, in either the uplink or downlink direction, share these resources. Reducing and eliminating signal interference and contention during such sharing is often a key aspect in designing an efficient wireless communication system. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0003] The present disclosure is directed generally to wireless communication systems and methods, and more particularly to time division duplexing of frequency resources.

[0004] In some example implementations, a method implemented by a wireless terminal device is disclosed that may include receiving, from a radio access network node, an allocation of a first set of time-frequency resources as downlink or direction-flexible time-frequency resources, and receiving from the radio access network node a configuration of uplink sub-bands for uplink transmission, the uplink sub-bands occupying contiguous resource blocks in frequency and sets of symbols in time within the first set of time-frequency resources.

[0005] In the above example implementation, the method may further include receiving, from the radio access network node, scheduling of a second set of time-frequency resources for uplink transmission, the second set of time-frequency resources being partially within and partially outside the uplink sub-band in time.

[0006] In any one of the above implementations, the configuration of the uplink sub-bands is received from a radio access network node via semi-static radio resource control (RRC) signaling or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0007] In any one of the above implementations, a portion of the second set of time-frequency resources outside the uplink sub-band is implemented as a time-domain adjustment to the uplink sub-band.

[0008] In any one of the above implementations, the time-domain adjustment for the uplink subband is valid only during the scheduling of the second set of time-frequency resources for the uplink transmission, or is valid until the next time-domain adjustment for the uplink subband, or is valid for a predetermined or configured period following the scheduling of the second set of time-frequency resources for the uplink transmission.

[0009] In any one of the above implementations, the scheduling of the second set of time-frequency resources is received from the radio access network node as a downlink control information (DCI) message.

[0010] In any one of the above implementations, the uplink sub-band configuration is transmitted in response to the radio access network node receiving a capability report from the wireless terminal device, the capability report indicating that the wireless terminal device supports sub-band full duplexing (SBFD) or that the wireless terminal device supports using a second set of time-frequency resources for uplink transmission.

[0011] In any one of the above implementations, the DCI message includes one or more parameters that indicate to the wireless terminal device the time and frequency location of the second set of time-frequency resources.

[0012] In any one of the above implementations, the DCI message includes an indicator that indicates to the wireless terminal device that the uplink subband should be extended according to the second set of time-frequency resources.

[0013] In any one of the above implementations, the radio access network node is prohibited from further scheduling any resources that are outside the uplink sub-band and that coexist in time with part of the second set of time-frequency resources that are within the frequency resource range of the uplink sub-band.

[0014] In any one of the above implementations, the flexible resources are configured within the time-frequency resources of the uplink sub-band by signaling from the radio access network node for the uplink sub-band, or a portion of the time-frequency resources of the uplink sub-band are enabled to be configured as flexible resources by signaling.

[0015] In any one of the above implementations, the transmission direction of the flexible resource is determined based on the direction of transmission scheduled within the flexible resource.

[0016] In any one of the above implementations, the flexible resource configured within the uplink sub-band includes one or more OFDM symbols across the entire frequency range of the uplink sub-band.

[0017] In any one of the above implementations, the flexible resource configured within the uplink sub-band includes one or more frequency resource blocks across the entire OFDM symbol range of the uplink sub-band.

[0018] In any one of the above implementations, the signaling includes RRC signaling.

[0019] In any one of the above implementations, the flexible resources are configured in response to the radio access network node receiving a capability report from the wireless terminal device, the capability report indicating that the wireless terminal device supports sub-band full duplexing (SBFD) or that the wireless terminal device supports flexible resources in an uplink sub-band.

[0020] In another example implementation, a method implemented by a wireless terminal is disclosed that may include receiving an allocation of a first set of time-frequency resources as downlink or direction-flexible time-frequency resources from a radio access network node, receiving a configuration of uplink sub-bands for uplink transmissions from the radio access network node, the uplink sub-bands occupying contiguous resource blocks in frequency and a set of OFDM symbols in time within the first set of time-frequency resources, and receiving a downlink transmission in the configured uplink sub-bands from the radio access network node.

[0021] In the above implementation, receiving a downlink transmission within the configured uplink sub-band may include receiving signaling from a radio access network node for scheduling a downlink transmission within at least one portion of the uplink sub-band.

[0022] In any one of the above implementations, at least one portion of the uplink sub-band overlaps with at least one portion of the uplink sub-band and does not correspond to any other portion of the uplink sub-band that is scheduled for uplink transmission.

[0023] In any one of the above implementations, the signaling is included in the DCI from the radio access network node when scheduling the downlink transmission.

[0024] In any one of the above implementations, the radio access network node is prohibited from scheduling further uplink transmissions over a second set of time-frequency resources that overlap with at least a portion of the configured uplink sub-band in time and that are within a frequency resource range of the configured uplink sub-band.

[0025] In any one of the above implementations, the method may further include determining a first priority level for the uplink subband, the first priority level being used as a basis for determining whether a downlink transmission is allowed to be scheduled in the uplink subband.

[0026] In any one of the above implementations, downlink transmission is allowed if the first priority level of the uplink sub-band is lower than the second priority level associated with the downlink transmission, and downlink transmission is prohibited if the first priority level of the uplink sub-band is higher than the second priority level associated with the downlink transmission.

[0027] In any one of the above implementations, the method may further include resolving a scheduling conflict between two downlink transmissions of the same priority or between a downlink transmission and an uplink transmission with time overlap within the uplink subband by maintaining transmissions inside the frequency range of the uplink subband and discarding transmissions outside the frequency range of the uplink subband.

[0028] In any one of the above implementations, the method may further include prohibiting scheduling of dynamic PDSCH downlink transmissions and dynamic PUSCH / PUCCH by the same PDCCH with overlapping time in the uplink subband.

[0029] In any one of the above implementations, the method may further include resolving scheduling conflicts between dynamic PDSCH downlink transmissions and dynamic PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions that overlap in time within the uplink sub-band based on timing of separate scheduling PDCCHs for the dynamic PDSCH downlink transmissions and the dynamic PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions.

[0030] In any one of the above implementations, the method may further include resolving scheduling conflicts between dynamic PDSCH downlink transmissions and semi-static PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions that overlap in time within the uplink sub-band based on OFDM symbol-level time separation between the individual scheduling PDCCHs for the dynamic PDSCH downlink transmissions and the semi-static PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions.

[0031] In any one of the above implementations, the method may further include resolving a scheduling conflict between a dynamic PDSCH downlink transmission and a semi-static PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmission that overlap in time within the uplink subband by maintaining the semi-static PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmission and by discarding the dynamic PDSCH downlink transmission.

[0032] In any one of the above implementations, the method may further include resolving scheduling conflicts between semi-static PDSCH downlink transmissions and dynamic PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions that overlap in time within the uplink subband by maintaining the dynamic PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions and discarding the semi-static PDSCH downlink transmissions.

[0033] In any one of the above implementations, the method may further include resolving a scheduling conflict between a semi-static PDSCH downlink transmission and a semi-static PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmission that overlap in time within the uplink subband by maintaining the semi-static PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmission and by discarding the semi-static PDSCH downlink transmission.

[0034] In any one of the above implementations, the method may further include the downlink transmission being configured to transmit a downlink reference signal in the uplink sub-band.

[0035] In some other implementations, methods are disclosed that are implemented by a radio access network node (or base station) that correspond to the methods implemented by the above-mentioned wireless terminal devices during communication thereof in semi-statically and dynamically configuring and reconfiguring uplink sub-bands, uplink transmission / reception over the uplink sub-bands, and downlink transmission / reception.

[0036] In some other implementations, a wireless communication device is disclosed. The wireless communication device may include a processor and a memory, the processor configured to read code from the memory and implement any one of the methods described above.

[0037] In yet some other implementations, a computer program product is disclosed that comprises a non-transitory computer-readable program medium with computer code stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, may cause the processor to implement any one of the methods described above.

[0038] Other aspects and alternatives of the above embodiments and their implementations are described in more detail in the following drawings, description, and claims. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0039] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication network including a radio access network, a core network, and a data network.

[0040] [Figure 2] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary radio access network including multiple mobile stations or UEs and radio access network nodes that communicate with each other via a terrestrial wireless communication interface.

[0041] [Figure 3] FIG. 3 shows an example time slot structure illustrating time-frequency resources for the uplink subbands.

[0042] [Figure 4] FIG. 4 shows an example time slot structure illustrating time-frequency resources for the uplink subbands.

[0043] [Figure 5]FIG. 5 shows an example time slot structure illustrating time-frequency resources for the uplink subbands.

[0044] [Figure 6] FIG. 6 shows an example time slot structure illustrating the adjustment of time-frequency resources for uplink subbands.

[0045] [Figure 7] FIG. 7 shows an example time slot structure illustrating the adjustment of time-frequency resources for uplink subbands.

[0046] [Figure 8] FIG. 8 shows an example time slot structure illustrating the adjustment of time-frequency resources for uplink subbands.

[0047] [Figure 9] FIG. 9 shows an example time slot structure illustrating the adjustment of time-frequency resources for uplink subbands.

[0048] [Figure 10] FIG. 10 shows an exemplary time slot structure illustrating the organization of downlink resources within an uplink sub-band.

[0049] [Figure 11] FIG. 11 shows an exemplary time slot structure illustrating the organization of downlink resources within an uplink sub-band.

[0050] [Figure 12] FIG. 12 shows an exemplary time slot structure illustrating the organization of downlink resources within an uplink sub-band.

[0051] [Figure 13] FIG. 13 shows an exemplary time slot structure illustrating the organization of downlink resources within an uplink sub-band.

[0052] [Figure 14] FIG. 14 shows an exemplary time slot structure illustrating the organization of downlink resources within an uplink sub-band.

[0053] [Figure 15] FIG. 15 shows an exemplary time slot structure illustrating the organization of downlink resources within an uplink sub-band.

[0054] [Figure 16] FIG. 16 shows an exemplary time slot structure illustrating the organization of downlink resources within an uplink sub-band. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0055] Detailed Description Techniques and examples of implementations and / or embodiments described in this disclosure can be used to facilitate efficient configuration and allocation of uplink and downlink time-frequency communication resources within a radio access network. The term "exemplary" is used to mean "an example of" and does not imply an ideal or preferred example, implementation, or embodiment, unless otherwise stated. Section headings are used in this disclosure to facilitate understanding of the disclosed implementations and are not intended to limit the techniques disclosed in the sections to only the corresponding sections. The disclosed implementations may further be embodied in a variety of different forms, and therefore, it is intended that the scope of the present disclosure or claimed subject matter be construed as not being limited to any of the embodiments described below. Various implementations may be embodied as methods, devices, components, systems, or non-transitory computer-readable media. Thus, embodiments of the present disclosure may take the form of, for example, hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.

[0056] The present disclosure is directed generally to wireless communication systems and methods, and particularly to resource configuration and allocation for time division duplexing. Various implementations described in detail below relate to scheduling and allocation of time-frequency communication resources within an uplink subband configured within a set of resources otherwise configured for downlink transmission or for transmission with flexible direction. Various embodiments are described below for dynamically scheduling downlink transmissions within resources of an uplink subband to modify / extend resources for the uplink subband in order to improve the balance of uplink and downlink transmission resources in real time. The disclosure below further provides various implementations for resolving uplink and downlink transmission time conflicts within an uplink subband and for transmitting a downlink reference signal across a UL subband. Wireless Network Overview

[0057] An exemplary wireless communication network, shown as 100 in FIG. 1, may include wireless terminal devices or user equipment (UE) 110, 111, and 112, a carrier network 102, various service applications 140, and other data networks 150. Carrier network 102 may include, for example, access networks 120 and 121 and a core network 130. Carrier network 110 may be configured to transport voice, data, and other information (collectively referred to as data traffic) between UEs 110, 111, and 112, between UEs and service applications 140, or between UEs and other data networks 150. Access networks 120 and 121 may be configured as various radio access network nodes (WANNs, alternatively referred to as base stations) for interfacing with UEs on one side of a communication session and core network 130 on the other side. Core network 130 may include various network nodes configured to control communication sessions and perform network access management and traffic routing. The service applications 140 may be hosted by various application servers that are deployed outside of, but connected to, the core network 130. Similarly, other data networks 150 may also be connected to the core network 130.

[0058] In the wireless communication network 100 of FIG. 1, UEs may communicate with each other via radio access networks. For example, UEs 110 and 112 may be connected to and communicate via the same access network 120. UEs may communicate with each other via both access networks and core networks. For example, UE 110 may be connected to access network 120, while UE 111 may be connected to access network 121; thus, UE 110 and UE 111 may communicate with each other via access networks 120 and 121 and core network 130. UEs may further communicate with service applications 140 and data network 150 via core network 130. Additionally, UEs may communicate with each other directly via sidelink communication, as indicated by 113.

[0059] 2 further illustrates an example system diagram of radio access network 120, including WANN 202, serving UEs 110 and 112 via terrestrial interface 204. Radio transmission resources for terrestrial interface 204 include a combination of frequency, time, and / or spatial resources. UEs 110 and 112 may each be a mobile or fixed terminal device disposed with a mobile access unit, such as a SIM / USIM module, to access wireless communication network 100. UEs 110 and 112 may each be implemented as terminal devices, including, but not limited to, mobile phones, smartphones, tablets, laptop computers, vehicle-mounted communication equipment, roadside communication equipment, sensor devices, smart appliances (such as televisions, refrigerators, and ovens), or other devices capable of wirelessly communicating via the network. As shown in FIG. 2, UEs, such as UE 112, may each include transceiver circuitry 206 coupled to one or more antennas 208 to provide wireless communication with WANN 120 or another UE, such as UE 110. The transceiver circuitry 206 may also be coupled to a processor 210, which may also be coupled to a memory 212 or other storage device. The memory 212 may be transient or non-transient and may store therein computer instructions or code that, when read and executed by the processor 210, cause the processor 210 to implement various of the methods described herein.

[0060] Similarly, WANN 120 may include base stations or other wireless network access points capable of communicating wirelessly with one or more UEs over terrestrial interface 204 and with core network 130. For example, WANN 120 may be implemented in the form of, but not limited to, a 2G base station, a 3G nodeB, an LTE eNB, a 4G LTE base station, a 5G NR base station, a 5G central unit base station, or a 5G distributed unit base station. Each of these WANN types may be configured to perform a corresponding set of wireless network functions. WANN 202 may include transceiver circuitry 214 coupled to one or more antennas 216, which may include an antenna tower 218 in various forms, for providing wireless communication with UEs 110 and 112. Transceiver circuitry 214 may be coupled to one or more processors 220, which may be further coupled to memory 222 or other storage devices. The memory 222 may be transient or non-transient and may store therein instructions or code that, when read and executed by the one or more processors 220, cause the one or more processors 220 to implement various functions of the WANN 120 described herein.

[0061] Data packets in a radio access network, such as the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, may be transmitted as protocol data units (PDUs). The data contained therein may be packaged as PDUs at various network layers wrapped with nested and / or hierarchical protocol headers. The PDUs may be communicated between a transmitting device or transmitting end (these two terms are used synonymously) and a receiving device or receiving end (these two terms are also used synonymously) once a connection (e.g., a radio link control (RRC) connection) is established between the transmitting end and the receiving end. Either the transmitting device or the receiving device may be a wireless terminal device, such as devices 110 and 120 in FIG. 2, or a radio access network node, such as node 202 in FIG. 2. Each device may be both a transmitting device and a receiving device for bidirectional communication. UL Sub-Band

[0062] In a radio access communication network, for a carrier or frequency band configured for time division duplexing (TDD), each time slot is configured for either downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) communication. A time slot may further be configured as a flexible slot, which can be used for either DL or UL communication, but not both. The term "time slot" is alternatively referred to as "slot" herein for simplicity. Because DL traffic typically dominates UL traffic in a radio access network, DL slots are typically configured to outnumber UL slots. An exemplary typical periodic slot structure may be DDDSU, where D represents a "DL slot," U represents a "UL slot," and S represents a "flexible slot." A flexible slot may contain, for example, both DL and UL symbols. UL slots are therefore typically fewer in number and often discontinuous, thereby limiting the performance of UL transmissions. For example, UL data volume may be limited, and more importantly, the timeliness and edge coverage of UL transmissions is relatively poor due to frequent UL slot discontinuities.

[0063] In some example implementations, sub-band full duplexing (SBFD) techniques may be employed to provide improved UL support. For example, a time-frequency resource containing several consecutive resource blocks (RBs) in the frequency domain and several consecutive OFDM symbols in a DL or flexible slot may be configured as a UL sub-band. In other words, a piece of time-frequency resource, referred to as a UL sub-band, may be configured to support UL transmission within an otherwise DL or flexible slot.

[0064] Examples of SBFD time-frequency resource configurations are illustrated in Figures 3-5. In each of Figures 3-5, the horizontal axis represents time slots in units of OFDM symbols, while the vertical axis represents frequency resources in resource blocks (RBs). A particular time slot may be configured with an allocation of DL, UL, or F (flexible) OFDM symbols (OFDM symbols are hereinafter alternatively referred to as "symbols" for simplicity). For example, the time slot in Figure 3 includes nine DL symbols followed by five UL symbols. For another example, the time slot in Figure 4 includes nine DL symbols followed by two F symbols followed by three UL symbols. For yet another example, the time slot in Figure 5 includes nine F symbols followed by five UL symbols. In each of Figures 3-5, an exemplary UL sub-band is configured to occupy one or more RBs in frequency and several (e.g., seven) OFDM symbols in time, otherwise within the DL (Figures 3 and 4) or F (Figure 5) OFDM symbols. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the DL, UL, F symbol configurations and UL sub-band configurations shown in Figures 3-5 are only non-limiting examples.

[0065] In some example implementations of the above-described SBFD, UL sub-bands may be configured by RRC signaling. Alternatively, allocation and reallocation of UL sub-bands within DL or F time-frequency resources is therefore semi-static rather than fully dynamic. As a result, such implementations enable overall additional UL support when needed, but are very limited or unable to provide dynamic balancing of UL and DL resources according to the real-time needs of various services and applications. In particular, SBFD based on RRC signaling does not provide for dynamic and rapid reconfiguration of UL sub-bands when UL traffic decreases and more resources are needed for DL ​​transmissions.

[0066] One potential solution to provide more real-time allocation in SBFD is to allow dynamic scheduling of DL transmissions within the time-frequency resources of the UL sub-band already configured by RRC, as will be explained in more detail in various embodiments below.

[0067] Furthermore, if DL transmissions are enabled within the time-frequency resources of the UL sub-band, this will raise new problems. For example, within the time-frequency resources of the UL sub-band, various potential DL transmissions and various potential UL transmissions may overlap in the time domain. How to resolve these time-domain overlaps? This application also presents some solutions.

[0068] Additionally, in the present disclosure, a new UL scheduling transmission based on UL sub-bands is also provided, which can dynamically balance DL and UL resources, thereby improving resource utilization. Dynamic Adjustment of UL Subbands to Accommodate Additional Symbols

[0069] In some example implementations, UL transmissions within a configured UL sub-band may be dynamically adjusted as it is determined that more UL time-frequency resources are needed in real time, e.g., expanded within a slot in the time domain to include additional OFDM symbols outside the configured UL sub-band.

[0070] In such a manner, the base station's original RRC allocation of UL sub-bands within a DL or F time slot may be determined based on the expected UL transmission needs of the service or application associated with a particular RRC session. The semi-static RRC allocation of UL sub-bands may be made conservative (smaller UL resource allocation) considering that the UL sub-bands may be dynamically adjusted / expanded in time. If, during an RRC session, UL traffic becomes more congested than expected and the conservative semi-static UL sub-band allocation becomes insufficient to effectively handle the UL traffic at that time, the UL transmission scheduled within the UL sub-band may be dynamically adjusted / expanded in the time domain to additional OFDM symbols outside the UL sub-band. In some example implementations, the extended UL symbols may occupy RBs within the semi-statically configured UL sub-bands. In some specific implementations, the extended UL symbols may occupy the same RBs of the semi-statically configured UL sub-bands allocated / scheduled for UL transmission.

[0071] The above example implementation may be advantageous in providing adaptive and dynamic balancing between UL and DL resource allocations while keeping any prior sub-band filtering techniques (including filter design, and frequency locking, and the like) intact, since the frequency domain resources of the UL sub-band may not need to change (only the time resources are extended), which is beneficial for sub-band filter design and frequency locking.

[0072] The time-frequency resources of the UL sub-band, including the symbols extended within the RBs of the UL sub-band, may be used by any UL transmission, including, but not limited to, any one of PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel), PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel), PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel), or SRS (Sounding Reference Signal), scheduled by DCI (Downlink Control Information) and / or configured by RRC signaling. PUCCH communication includes uplink communication, for example, carrying HARQ-ACK (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgement), CSI (Channel Status Indication), or SR (Scheduling Request). HARQ-ACK includes, for example, uplink HARQ-ACK corresponding to PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel) communication and uplink HARQ-ACK corresponding to PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) communication.

[0073] In some example implementations, dynamic time extension of UL transmissions may be scheduled using DCI. In a particular example implementation, the UL sub-band may be semi-statically configured for the UE so that the UE is aware of the time-frequency resources of the UL sub-band. Then, when DCI from the corresponding base station is used in the PDCCH to schedule uplink transmissions (e.g., PUSCH / PUCCH / PRACH transmissions) using the UL sub-band resources, a parameter may be introduced into the DCI to achieve the dynamic time extension described above. This parameter may be included, for example, for one of the following purposes:

[0074] (1) This may be used to signal that the time domain resources of the UL sub-band are adjusted and that the adjusted time domain resources of the UL sub-band further include symbols outside the UL sub-band configured / indicated / scheduled by a DCI for an UL transmission (e.g., a PUSCH / PUCCH / PRACH transmission). In this case, the validity time window of the adjusted time domain resources of the UL sub-band as scheduled by a DCI may be one of the following: the adjusted time domain resources of the UL sub-band according to a DCI scheduling an UL transmission are valid only for the current UL transmission scheduling, or the adjusted time domain resources of the UL sub-band according to a DCI scheduling an UL transmission are valid until the next time the time domain resources of the UL sub-band are readjusted by another DCI scheduling an UL transmission, or the adjusted time domain resources of the UL sub-band are valid within a subsequent predefined or configured period once the adjustment is indicated in the DCI scheduling the current UL transmission. For this purpose, the time domain resources of the UL sub-band are adjusted during the various optional time windows mentioned above, so that all symbols scheduled for UL transmission are part of the adjusted UL sub-band during the valid time window.

[0075] (2) This may be used to signal that a scheduled uplink transmission (e.g., PUSCH / PUCCH / PRACH transmission) should be transmitted according to the symbols configured / indicated / scheduled for uplink transmission in the DCI, even if the symbols thus scheduled for the uplink transmission (e.g., PUSCH / PUCCH / PRACH transmission) exceed the time-domain resources of the UL sub-band. For this purpose, the time-domain resources of the UL sub-band are not adjusted, but some of the symbols scheduled for the UL transmission can be outside the UL sub-band in the time domain.

[0076] In some example implementations, the above DCI associated with a PUSCH transmission may correspond to a DCI format used to schedule the PUSCH transmission. The DCI associated with a PRACH transmission may correspond to a DCI format used to trigger the PRACH transmission. Similarly, the DCI associated with a PUCCH transmission may correspond to a DCI format that schedules a PDSCH or a DCI that does not schedule a PDSCH. In some example implementations, a dedicated or special DCI format for the DCI may be configured by the base station to schedule / indicate a UL transmission in the UL sub-band. Alternatively, a dedicated or special CORESET / PDCCH monitoring occasion (MO) for the DCI may be configured by the base station to schedule / indicate a UL transmission in the UL sub-band.

[0077] Therefore, the present method does not require a new / dedicated DCI or DCI format to modify the UL sub-band, but reuses the DCI format and framework for scheduling UL transmission, simply by adding the above parameter or parameters to the DCI. When a base station desires to adjust the time-domain resources of the UL sub-band, the base station can set a value of a parameter for a certain state A, for example, as an indicator or flag, to indicate that the UL sub-band should be modified. For example, the base station sets a value of a parameter in the DCI for a certain state A and schedules a UL transmission (e.g., a PUSCH / PUCCH / PRACH transmission) through the DCI; then, the symbols configured / indicated / scheduled in the DCI for the UL transmission are automatically configured for the UL sub-band and for the UL transmission. In such a manner, the time-domain resources of the UL sub-band are dynamically adjusted / expanded while scheduling the UL transmission, so that a dynamic balance of UL resources and DL resources can be achieved. When the uplink transmission is a PUSCH, the PUSCH may include "with UL SCH" and "without UL SCH."

[0078] The above parameters may be implemented in various manners and may include more additional items. For example, a set of parameters may be used to indicate the number and location of UL symbol adjustments / extensions. These parameters may be included in the DCI. In some other implementations, the DCI may only need to include an indicator to indicate whether adjustments / extensions for the UL subbands are present. Parameters specifying the actual manner in which adjustments / extensions should be performed may be included in the scheduling DCI, or alternatively, may be preconfigured / predefined, or semi-statically configured, for example, via RRC signaling or MAC CE signaling. Such preconfigured / predefined or semi-statically configured parameters indicating the adjustment / extension manner may become effective when an indicator in the DCI is present or activated, or may otherwise be non-effective. There may be different options for the manner for adjustment / extension, represented by different sets of preconfigured / predefined or semi-statically configured parameters. These sets of parameters may be identified via an index. The indicator in the DCI may therefore additionally specify a specific set of pre-configured / pre-defined or semi-statically configured parameters that indicate the manner of symbol adjustment / extension in the time domain of the UL sub-band, e.g., using an index.

[0079] In some implementations, the parameters can be configured for the UE by higher layer signaling (such as RRC signaling or MAC CE signaling). Once the RRC configures the parameters to be present for the UE, the parameters can then be included in the DCI for dynamic scheduling of UL transmissions outside the UL subband. Otherwise, the parameters may not be included in the DCI for dynamic scheduling.

[0080] In some other implementations, the above parameters or indicators may not need to be included in or reconfigured within the DCI. Instead, the UE and base station may follow predefined and agreed-upon rules for dynamic scheduling of UL transmissions through the DCI. For example, the predefined and agreed-upon rules correspond to the above parameters and serve one of two purposes. For example, for a UE supporting SBFD, the DCI from the base station may schedule UL transmissions (e.g., PUSCH / PUCCH / PRACH transmissions) within the UL sub-band, and the scheduled time-domain resources configured / indicated for the UL transmissions may exceed (or otherwise be outside) the time-domain resources of the UL sub-band. The UE should then conduct the UL transmission within the configured / indicated resources, including time resources outside the time-domain range of the UL sub-band, but the frequency-domain resources for the scheduled UL transmissions are still within the frequency-domain resource range of the UL sub-band. In this way, when the base station needs to schedule an UL transmission for an SBFD UE through DCI, the time domain resources for the UL transmission can be configured or indicated to exceed the time domain resources of the UL sub-band, and the UL transmission is performed in the configured / indicated state within the time domain resources.

[0081] Examples of dynamic time-domain extension of semi-statically configured UL subbands are illustrated in Figures 6-9. Again, in Figures 6-9, the horizontal axis represents time slots in units of OFDM symbols, while the vertical axis represents frequency resources in RBs. In Figure 6, for example, the UL subband starts at symbol #2 and ends at symbol #8. UL transmissions may be scheduled by the base station via DCI for all or a portion of the frequency resources and for adjusted time-domain resources beyond the UL subband (e.g., the base station may schedule PUSCH / PUCCH / PRACH in the UL subband through a scheduling DCI in the PDCCH). In the example of Figure 6, some additional symbols outside the UL subband (e.g., symbols #9 and #10 outside the UL subband in addition to symbols #2-#8 within the UL subband) may be scheduled by DCI for UL transmissions. Specifically, the base station may schedule PUSCH / PUCCH / PRACH transmissions to occupy symbols #2-#10. The time domain location of the UL transmission shown in FIG. 6 with time adjustment may be specified in the scheduling DCI.

[0082] The DCI may include the above parameter (alternatively referred to as an indicator or flat) with value A to signal the UE to perform UL transmission within scheduled time domain resource symbols #2-#10. For the UE not to perform UL transmission extension outside the UL sub-band under such scheduling, the DCI will set the parameter to value B instead of A. When the parameter is set to value A, this may further indicate a modification of the UL sub-band to include those resourced by the DCI outside the semi-statically configured UL sub-band within the valid time window, as described above. In other words, when the above scheduling DCI includes the parameter with value B, the UE performs UL transmission only within scheduled time domain resource symbols #2-#8, but not within symbols #9-#10.

[0083] To illustrate the above exemplary implementation in another manner, note that in FIG. 6, in one DL slot, one UL subband is configured in the time domain to occupy a total of seven consecutive symbols, from symbol #2 to symbol #8. The base station schedules an exemplary PUSCH / PUCCH / PRACH in the UL subband through DCI in the PDCCH. The PUSCH / PUCCH / PRACH may be indicated by the DCI to occupy the time-domain resources from symbol #2 to symbol #10. Meanwhile, symbols #9 and #10 are not configured for the UL subband (here, symbols #9 and #10 are originally configured as DL symbols, but can also be UL symbols or flexible symbols). When the base station sets the value of a parameter in the DCI to indicate that the time-domain resources of the UL subband are adjusted to include the symbols configured / indicated for the PUSCH / PUCCH / PRACH in the DCI, the following occurs: Therefore, the UE should consider that symbols #9 and #10 are dynamically configured for the UL subband to transmit the PUSCH / PUCCH / PRACH. That is, the UL subband is dynamically adjusted to include symbols #2-#10 over the valid time window, as described above. Thus, the UE transmits the PUSCH / PUCCH / PRACH within symbols #2-#10 of the UL subband. Alternatively, if the base station sets a parameter value in the DCI to indicate that the PUSCH / PUCCH / PRACH is transmitted according to the symbols configured / indicated for the PUSCH / PUCCH / PRACH in the DCI, then: Thus, the UE transmits the PUSCH / PUCCH / PRACH within symbols #2-#10 of the UL subband, but symbols #9 and #10 are not originally configured for the UL subband.

[0084] The embodiments illustrated in Figures 7-9 are similar to those of Figure 6, with the following differences: (1) in Figure 7, additional symbols that may be scheduled outside the UL subband by DCI may originally be preconfigured UL symbols, (2) in Figure 8, additional symbols that may be scheduled outside the UL subband by DCI may originally be preconfigured F (flexible) symbols, and (3) in Figure 9, the UL subband is configured (e.g., by RRC) within F symbols, and additional symbols that may be scheduled outside the UL subband by DCI may originally be preconfigured UL symbols. The underlying principles for scheduling UL transmissions apply to these situations.

[0085] To better support the dynamic UL subband adjustment described above, a corresponding UE capability may be introduced. In other words, a UE may either support dynamic UL subband adjustment for UL transmission or not. The UE may therefore report such capability or lack thereof to a base station. If the UE reports to the base station that such capability is supported in the UE, the base station may dynamically schedule / configure the UE to perform UE transmissions outside the symbols of the UL subband in the manner exemplarily described above. Otherwise, the base station would prohibit dynamically scheduling / configuring the UE to perform these UL transmission operations. For example, if the UE does not report the capability or does not explicitly report the lack of capability, the base station would avoid scheduling PUSCH / PUCCH / PRACH that exceed the time domain range of the UL subband.

[0086] In some example implementations, as may already be alluded to above, the dynamic UL transmission scheduling and operation described above may be limited to the frequency domain of the UL sub-band. For example, in the above example in Figures 6-9, with respect to dynamically adjusted symbols #9 and #10 for UL transmission, only resources within the frequency domain of the UL sub-band may be dynamically scheduled as frequency resources for UL transmission. Therefore, sub-band filter design and frequency locking may not require modification, among other advantages.

[0087] In some example implementations, some additional scheduling or configuration restrictions may be predefined and adopted to avoid / reduce interference of DL transmissions with UL transmissions. For example, in FIG. 6, for symbols outside the time domain resources of the UL sub-band that are dynamically scheduled for UL PUSCH / PUCCH / PRACH transmissions, the base station may not enable scheduling of DL transmissions within the frequency domain of the UL sub-band. In other words, DL transmissions may be prohibited from being scheduled at symbols #9 and #10 within the frequency resource range of the UL sub-band in FIG. 6. Dynamic scheduling of DL transmissions within UL sub-band resources

[0088] In some other situations, at a particular time, the UL sub-band, as configured via RRC, may be underutilized for UL transmission, and if DL traffic becomes overly congested, dynamic scheduling may be implemented to use the UL sub-band for DL ​​transmission. Thus, in some example implementations, methods are provided for scheduling DL transmissions within the UL sub-band resources so that the UL sub-band resources can be used for DL ​​transmissions in a dynamic manner. The principles underlying dynamically scheduling UL transmissions in various implementations described above with reference to Figures 6-9 apply to such dynamic DL transmission scheduling.

[0089] For example, if a UE is configured with a UL sub-band by RRC signaling, and the UE is scheduled by DCI in the PDCCH to perform DL reception (i.e., DL transmission by the base station) in resource A, and resource A overlaps with the resources of the UL sub-band in the time domain, then the UE should perform DL reception from resource A.

[0090] In this case, the base station may ensure that the UE's UL transmission in the UL sub-band and DL reception using the UL sub-band resources do not overlap in the time domain. In this way, the UL sub-band resources are dynamically used for DL ​​reception (DL transmission by the base station), thereby realizing flexible and dynamic use of the UL sub-band resources.

[0091] For another example, if a UE is configured with a UL subband by RRC signaling, and the base station schedules UL transmission to occupy some symbols within the UL subband, and if the UL subband still has some idle symbols, the base station can schedule DL transmission within the idle symbols, as shown in Figure 10. For example, as shown in Figure 10, the PDSCH for DL ​​transmission (by the base station) and corresponding DL reception by the UE is scheduled to use symbols not used for UL transmission within the UL subband in addition to symbols outside the UL subband (e.g., resource A is partially within the UL subband and partially outside the UL subband in the time domain, as shown in Figure 10). Regarding the partial symbols of the UL subband used for PDSCH transmission, a parameter can also be introduced into the DCI of the PDCCH that schedules the PDSCH, and the value of the parameter may be used to inform the UE to receive or not receive the PDSCH in the UL subband. Alternatively, the base station may use the value of this parameter to inform the UE to ignore PDSCH transmissions within the UL sub-band time resources, i.e., the UE may consider that some PDSCH transmissions located within the UL sub-band are not transmitted.

[0092] The implementation of parameters or indicators for performing dynamic DCI scheduling described above with respect to Figures 6-9 applies here for scheduling DL transmission / reception within the UL sub-band. Similarly, the implementations described above with respect to Figures 6-9 and with respect to the UE's capabilities in supporting such dynamic scheduling, reporting of UE capabilities, and actions by the UE and base station based on such reporting can be applied here for dynamic scheduling of DL transmission / reception within the UL sub-band.

[0093] Simply by way of example, parameters related to dynamic scheduling can be configured for the UE by higher layer signaling (such as RRC signaling or MAC CE signaling). Once RRC configures the parameters to be present for the UE, the parameters can be included in the DCI for scheduling DL transmissions that overlap in time with the UL subband; otherwise, the parameters are not included in the DCI scheduling.

[0094] Simply as another example, a corresponding UE capability may be introduced to better support dynamic scheduling of DL transmission / reception within the UL sub-band time resources. If the UE reports to the base station that the capability is supported, i.e., that the UE can perform the above-mentioned DL reception, the base station can schedule / configure the UE to perform dynamic DL reception operations partially within the UL sub-band time resources. Otherwise, the base station prohibits scheduling / configuring the UE to perform such operations. For example, if the UE does not report the capability or does not report the lack of capability, the base station will prohibit scheduling PDSCH to use the UL sub-band resources.

[0095] To avoid interference of DL transmission with UL transmission, the following restriction may optionally be adopted: for example, in Fig. 5, in symbols #9 and #10 of the UL sub-band, one PDSCH is scheduled in the resources of the UL sub-band, and then UL transmission is prohibited for the remaining frequency domain resources in symbols #9 and #10 in the UL sub-band. That is, in the resources of one UL sub-band, DL reception and UL transmission cannot be scheduled simultaneously, even if the DL reception and UL transmission are for different UEs.

[0096] Similar to the above example implementations related to Figures 6-9, some scheduling restrictions may be adopted to avoid / reduce interference of DL transmissions with UL transmissions. For example, in Figure 10, within symbols #9 and #10, one PDSCH is scheduled within the resources of the UL sub-band, and then for the remaining frequency domain resources within symbols #9 and #10 within the UL sub-band, UL transmissions may be prohibited (to reduce DL and UL interference with the UL sub-band within frequency). That is, within the resources of one UL sub-band, DL reception and UL transmission may not be scheduled simultaneously, even if the DL reception and UL transmission are for different UEs. UL sub-band configuration

[0097] In some implementations, in addition to generally configuring time-frequency resources of the UL subband for the UE (e.g., configuring several OFDM symbols in the time domain and several consecutive RBs in the frequency domain for the UL subband), the base station may also configure several flexible resources within the resource range of the UL subband in either the time domain or the frequency domain, or both the time and frequency domains. Flexible resources here are merely a name. They are actually resources located within the UL subband, which are flexible and special in that they are enabled for DL ​​transmission if needed, even though they are part of the UL subband (obviously, they can also be used for UL transmission, since they belong to the UL subband). For example, in the time domain, some of the OFDM symbols within the resource range of the UL subband may be configured to be flexible resources. For another example, in the frequency domain, some of the RBs within the UL subband may be configured to be flexible resources. Within the time-frequency resource range of the UL subband, the transmission direction of the flexible resources can then be determined based on the transmission direction configured or scheduled by the base station.

[0098] This approach described above is similar to the flexible symbol structure within the time slot structure. Configuration by the base station may be semi-static or dynamic. These flexible resources within the UL sub-band, when dynamically configured by the base station, may facilitate balancing of resources for DL ​​and UL transmissions in real time.

[0099] An exemplary slot structure configured based on the above-described UL subband configuration is shown in FIG. 11 in the context of an originally configured DL slot with a semi-statically configured UL subband. All symbols are originally configured as DL symbols. FIG. 11 shows an exemplary new slot structure with a UL subband for an SBFD UE configured with flexible resources according to the above implementation. In FIG. 11, the third through fourteenth DL symbols are configured for the UL subband for the SBFD UE in the time domain, and several consecutive RBs are configured for the UL subband in the frequency domain. The base station may further configure the eleventh through fourteenth symbols as flexible resources for the UL subband within the time-domain resources within the UL subband and across the entire frequency resource range of the UL subband. In this way, in the time-frequency domain of the UL subband, these flexible resources can be used according to the direction of transmission scheduled / configured by the base station across these flexible resources. The base station and UE can therefore be scheduled to perform DL reception (by the UE) or UL transmission (from the UE) within the new slot structure using flexible resources within the UL sub-band.

[0100] Figures 12 and 13 illustrate other exemplary slot structures in which UL sub-bands are configured by a base station with flexible resources within the UL sub-bands. The examples in Figures 12 and 13 are similar to those in Figure 11, except that the slots as shown were originally configured as flexible slots (with all flexible symbols) and mixed slots with mixed DL symbols and flexible symbols. The number of flexible symbols within a UL sub-band may be configured according to the needs of all of Figures 11-13. Furthermore, for all of Figures 11-13, if the flexible symbols within the UL sub-band and the UL symbols within the UL sub-band need to be interlaced, the slot structure can be so configured by the base station.

[0101] In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 14, flexible resources within the UL sub-band are configured in the frequency domain, not the time domain. In other words, some RBs in the UL sub-band may be configured as flexible RBs. As specifically illustrated in FIG. 14, the base station may configure a new slot structure. In FIG. 14, a slot is originally configured as a DL slot containing all DL symbols. The third to fourteenth DL symbols are configured for the UL sub-band for an SBFD UE in the time domain, and several consecutive RBs are configured for the UL sub-band in the frequency domain. The base station may then further configure several RBs within the frequency domain resources of the UL sub-band and across all symbols of the UL sub-band in the time domain as flexible resources of the UL sub-band. In this way, in the time-frequency domain of the UL sub-band, these flexible resources can be used according to the direction of transmission scheduled / configured by the base station within the flexible resources. The base station and UE may perform DL or UL transmission within the flexible resources within the UL sub-band of the new slot structure.

[0102] Figures 15 and 16 illustrate other exemplary slot structures in which UL sub-bands are configured by a base station with flexible frequency resources within the UL sub-band. The examples in Figures 12 and 13 are similar to that of Figure 14, except that the slots as shown were originally configured as flexible slots (with all flexible symbols) and mixed slots with mixed DL symbols and flexible symbols. The number of flexible RB resources within a UL sub-band may be configured according to the needs of all of Figures 14-16. Furthermore, for all of Figures 14-16, if the flexible band of RBs within the UL sub-band and the UL symbols within the UL sub-band need to be interlaced, the slot structure can be configured by the base station accordingly.

[0103] Exemplary configuration implementations are further described below as being performed by a base station and a UE. The base station may configure a UL sub-band for the UE based on RRC signaling. The base station may also simultaneously or subsequently configure a UL sub-band flexible resource for the UE within the time-frequency resource of the UL sub-band as described above, for example, based on RRC signaling, MAC CE signaling, DCI signaling, and the like. The base station can schedule / configure UL reception or DL ​​transmission over the transmission flexible resource within the UL sub-band for a UE with corresponding capabilities.

[0104] From the UE side, the UE receives RRC signaling from the base station to configure an UL sub-band and acquires the UL sub-band. The UE simultaneously or subsequently receives signaling from the base station to configure flexible resources within the UL sub-band and acquires the UL sub-band with the flexible resources. The UE may then receive scheduling / configuration signaling from the base station and perform UL transmission or DL ​​reception within the UL sub-band over the flexible resources.

[0105] In some further implementations, the principles underlying Figures 6-10 regarding scheduling of UL transmission or DL ​​reception within UL sub-bands with flexible resources can be applied and combined, e.g., adaptive modifications are sufficient in terms of DCI design, UL transmission, and DL reception.

[0106] Furthermore, to simplify UE design and support UL sub-bands with flexible resources, a corresponding UE capability is also introduced. If the UE reports this capability, the base station can configure a UL sub-band with flexible resources for the UE and enable scheduling of UL transmission or DL ​​reception in the UL sub-band. Otherwise, if the UE does not report this capability or does not explicitly report the lack of capability, the base station will prohibit configuring a UL sub-band with flexible resources for the UE. Embodiment 4

[0107] Enabling DL reception within the UL sub-band can facilitate dynamic balancing of DL and UL resources. However, when DL reception is enabled within the UL sub-band, such DL reception may also overlap in the time domain with other possible UL transmissions within the UL sub-band. Even if such DL reception and UL transmissions may be on different RBs, they may need to be avoided to avoid complicating the air interface design. In addition, some DL receptions may be scheduled or configured outside the UL sub-band, potentially overlapping in time with DL receptions or UL transmissions within the UL sub-band. This may need to be avoided for the same reasons as above. Therefore, some predefined options and rules may need to be specified to avoid these overlapping transmissions / receptions and to select transmission or reception when a conflict occurs.

[0108] Generally, UL transmission herein includes, but is not limited to, semi-statically configured PUSCH / PUCCH and dynamically scheduled PUSCH / PUCCH. Similarly, DL reception herein includes, but is not limited to, semi-statically configured SPS PDSCH / CSI-RS / DL PRS and dynamically scheduled PDSCH / CSI-RS / DL PRS. Option 1: UL Sub-Band Prioritization

[0109] In some example implementations, the base station may configure priorities or priority levels for UL sub-bands for the UE. The conflicts described above may then be resolved according to the various priorities.

[0110] For example, for DL ​​reception, if its priority is higher than that of the UL sub-band, the DL reception may be allowed to be scheduled or configured in the UL sub-band by the base station, otherwise the DL reception may be prohibited from being scheduled or configured in the UL sub-band.

[0111] Similarly, under such a rule, if predefined, the UE would not expect DL reception to be scheduled or configured in the UL sub-band if the priority of the DL reception is lower than or equal to the priority of the UL sub-band. In such a situation, the UE would not receive / process the DL reception. Also, under such a rule, if DL reception is scheduled or configured in the UL sub-band, the base station should ensure that such DL reception has a higher priority than that of the UL sub-band.

[0112] In some example implementations, the UL sub-band priority as configured by the base station above may not be considered valid for UL transmission. In other words, even if the priority of the UL transmission differs from the priority of the UL sub-band, the UL transmission can always be scheduled or configured within the UL sub-band. The base station may ignore the UL sub-band priority when scheduling / configuring a UL transmission within the UL sub-band.

[0113] In some further exemplary implementations, in the UL sub-band, if DL reception and UL transmission overlap in the time domain, the higher priority channel / signal can survive and be transmitted, and the lower priority channel / signal is discarded for transmission / reception. Within the UL sub-band, the UE will not expect DL reception and UL transmission of the same priority to overlap in the time domain. Therefore, the base station should ensure during the scheduling process that DL reception and UL transmission of the same priority within the UL sub-band do not overlap in the time domain. Option 2 - Absolute Priority and Equal Priority Solutions

[0114] In some example implementations, the base station and the UE may agree based on pre-established rules that if the time domain overlaps between DL receptions of the same priority, or between DL receptions and UL transmissions of the same priority, or between UL transmissions of the same priority, the DL reception or UL transmission within the UL sub-band is continued, and the DL reception or UL transmission outside the UL sub-band is discarded.

[0115] Within the UL sub-band, the UE would therefore not expect DL reception and UL transmission of the same priority to overlap in the time domain, and therefore the base station should ensure that DL reception and UL transmission of the same priority within the UL sub-band do not overlap in the time domain.

[0116] In some other example implementations, DL reception and UL transmission with the same priority in the UL sub-band overlap in the time domain, and the base station and UE may agree that DL reception is always maintained while UL transmission is dropped because UL transmission should be preferentially transmitted in the UL sub-band. In some other example implementations, DL reception and UL transmission with the same priority in the UL sub-band overlap in the time domain, and the base station and UE may agree that DL reception is always maintained and UL transmission is dropped, for example, if the base station and UE agree that DL reception should be scheduled in the UL sub-band only in emergency situations, so that DL reception should be preferentially transmitted.

[0117] When channels / signals of different priorities (DL reception / UL transmission) overlap in the time domain, regardless of whether they are in the UL sub-band, the higher priority channel / signal can survive and be transmitted, and the lower priority channel / signal transmission is abandoned. Option 3 - No time overlap allowed between DG PDSCH and DG PUSCH / PUCCH in UL subband

[0118] In some example implementations, within an UL subband, when a dynamic PDSCH (DL transmission) scheduled by a PDCCH (denoted as DG PDSCH) and a dynamic PUSCH / PUCCH (UL transmission) scheduled by a PDCCH (denoted as DG PUSCH / PUCCH) overlap in the time domain, the following rules may be predefined and taken into consideration:

[0119] For example, if a DG PDSCH is allowed to be transmitted in the UL sub-band, the base station and the UE may agree on a predefined rule that ensures that the DG PDSCH and the DG PUSCH / PUCCH do not overlap in the UL sub-band in the time domain at any time. Otherwise, if a DG PDSCH or a DG PUSCH / PUCCH is scheduled in a time-domain resource in the UL sub-band, the DG PUSCH / PUCCH or the DG PDSCH cannot be scheduled in this time-domain resource to avoid their time-domain overlap. From the UE's perspective, the UE would not expect one DG PDSCH and one DG PUSCH / PUCCH to overlap in the time domain in the UL sub-band. If they overlap in the time domain, the UE will not process them and regard this situation as a base station scheduling error. Option 4 - DG PDSCH and DG PUSCH / PUCCH in UL subband: Time-based scheduling

[0120] In some example implementations, in the UL subband, if a DG PDSCH scheduled by a PDCCH and a DG PUSCH / PUCCH scheduled by a PDCCH overlap in the time domain and they have the same priority, one of the following rules may be predefined and implemented: Rule 1

[0121] If a DG PDSCH is scheduled by PDCCH1 and a DG PUSCH / PUCCH is scheduled by PDCCH2, and the DG PDSCH and DG PUSCH / PUCCH overlap within an UL sub-band in the time domain, the DG PDSCH or DG PUSCH / PUCCH corresponding to the PDCCH with a later start (or end) symbol between PDCCH1 and PDCCH2 survives for transmission, while the DG PDSCH or DG PUSCH / PUCCH corresponding to the PDCCH with an earlier start (or end) symbol is discarded.

[0122] For example, if the start (or end) symbol of PDCCH1 is later than the start (or end) symbol of PDCCH2, the DG PDSCH will survive and the DG PUSCH / PUCCH will be discarded. If the start (or end) symbol of PDCCH2 is later than the start (or end) symbol of PDCCH1, the DG PUSCH / PUCCH will survive and the DG PDSCH will be discarded. Rule 2

[0123] Contrary to rule 1 above, if a DG PDSCH is scheduled by PDCCH1 and a DG PUSCH / PUCCH is scheduled by PDCCH2, and the DG PDSCH and DG PUSCH / PUCCH overlap within an UL sub-band in the time domain, the DG PDSCH or DG PUSCH / PUCCH corresponding to the PDCCH with the earlier start (or end) symbol between PDCCH1 and PDCCH2 is retained, and the DG PDSCH or DG PUSCH / PUCCH corresponding to the PDCCH with the later (or end) symbol is discarded.

[0124] For example, if the start (or end) symbol of PDCCH1 is earlier than the start (or end) symbol of PDCCH2, the DG PDSCH survives for transmission and the DG PUSCH / PUCCH is discarded. If the start (or end) symbol of PDCCH2 is earlier than the start (or end) symbol of PDCCH1, the DG PUSCH / PUCCH survives for transmission and the DG PDSCH is discarded. Rule 3

[0125] If a DG PDSCH is scheduled by PDCCH1 and a DG PUSCH / PUCCH is scheduled by PDCCH2, and the DG PDSCH and the DG PUSCH / PUCCH overlap in a UL sub-band in the time domain and one of them has multiple repeated transmissions, the channel with repeated transmissions survives for transmission and the channel without repeated transmissions is discarded.

[0126] For example, if a DG PDSCH is scheduled with repeated transmissions and a DG PUSCH / PUCCH is scheduled without repeated transmissions, the DG PDSCH is retained while the DG PUSCH / PUCCH is discarded. For another embodiment, if a DG PDSCH is scheduled without repeated transmissions and a DG PUSCH / PUCCH is scheduled with repeated transmissions, the DG PUSCH / PUCCH is retained while the DG PDSCH is discarded. Rule 4

[0127] If the DG PDSCH is scheduled by PDCCH1 and the DG PUSCH / PUCCH is scheduled by PDCCH2, and the DG PDSCH and the DG PUSCH / PUCCH overlap in the UL sub-band in the time domain, and they both have multiple repeated transmissions, then Rule 1 or Rule 2 above may be used to decide which of them to keep and which to discard. Option 5 - DG PDSCH and CG PUSCH / PUCCH in UL subband: Time-based or assumed priority scheduling

[0128] In some example implementations, within an UL subband, if a DG PDSCH scheduled by a PDCCH and a semi-static / configured grant PUSCH / PUCCH (denoted as CG PUSCH / PUCCH) overlap in the time domain and have the same priority, one of the following rules may be predefined and considered: Rule 5

[0129] If there is at least a duration of T between the end of the end symbol of the PDCCH corresponding to the DG PDSCH and the start of the start symbol of the CG PUSCH / PUCCH, the DG PDSCH continues to be transmitted while the CG PUSCH / PUCCH is discarded. Otherwise, the CG PUSCH / PUCCH continues to be transmitted and the DG PDSCH is discarded. Here, the start of the duration of T is from the end of the end symbol of the PDCCH.

[0130] Here, the duration of T may be defined as follows: T may be defined based on N1 in the existing protocol TS38.213, or may be defined based on N2 in the existing protocol TS38.213, or may be defined as 14 symbols. Rule 6

[0131] In some implementations, the CG PUSCH / PUCCH remains and is transmitted at all times, and the DG PDSCH is discarded. In other words, higher priority may be given to the UL transmission when they overlap within the UL sub-band in the time domain. Option 6 - SPS PDSCH and DG PUSCH / PUCCH in UL subband: Time-based or assumed priority scheduling

[0132] In some example implementations, within an UL subband, if a semi-static PDSCH (denoted as SPS PDSCH) and a dynamic PUSCH / PUCCH (denoted as DG PUSCH / PUCCH) scheduled by a PDCCH overlap in the time domain and have the same priority, one of the following rules may be predefined and considered: Rule 7

[0133] If there is at least a duration of Q between the end of the end symbol of the PDCCH corresponding to the DG PUSCH / PUCCH and the start of the start symbol of the SPS PDSCH, the DG PUSCH / PUCCH survives and is transmitted while the SPS PDSCH is discarded, otherwise the SPS PDSCH survives and is transmitted and the DG PUSCH / PUCCH is discarded, where the start of the duration of Q is from the end of the end symbol of the PDCCH.

[0134] Here, the duration of Q may be defined as follows: Q may be defined based on N1 in the existing protocol TS38.213, or may be defined based on N2 in the existing protocol TS38.213, or may be defined as 14 symbols. Rule 8

[0135] In some example implementations, the DG PUSCH / PUCCH remains and is transmitted at all times, and the SPS PDSCH is discarded. Due to their time-domain overlap within the UL sub-band, UL transmission may be given higher priority. In other words, if the resources of the DG PUSCH / PUCCH and the SPS PDSCH scheduled / configured by the base station for an SBFD UE overlap in the time domain within the UL sub-band, the base station assumes that the UE transmits the DG PUSCH / PUCCH, and therefore, the base station does not transmit the SPS PDSCH. If the UE finds that the resources of the DG PUSCH / PUCCH and the SPS PDSCH overlap in the time domain of the UL sub-band, then the UE transmits the DG PUSCH / PUCCH, and the UE does not receive the SPS PDSCH under this rule. Option 7 - SPS PDSCH and CG PUSCH / PUCCH in UL sub-band

[0136] In some example implementations, within an UL subband, if the SPS PDSCH and the CG PUSCH / PUCCH overlap in the time domain and they have the same priority, one of the following rules may be predefined and considered: Rule 9

[0137] Under this exemplary rule, the CG PUSCH / PUCCH always remains and is transmitted, and the SPS PDSCH is discarded. Because their time-domain overlap is within the UL sub-band, UL transmission may be given higher priority. In other words, if the resources of the CG PUSCH / PUCCH and SPS PDSCH configured by the base station for an SBFD UE overlap in the time domain within the UL sub-band, the base station may assume that the UE transmits the CG PUSCH / PUCCH under this rule, and therefore the base station does not transmit the SPS PDSCH. Under this exemplary rule, the UE may find that the resources of the CG PUSCH / PUCCH and the SPS PDSCH overlap in the time domain of the UL sub-band, and then the UE transmits the CG PUSCH / PUCCH, and the UE does not receive the SPS PDSCH. Rule 10

[0138] The UE does not expect the CG PUSCH / PUCCH and the SPS PDSCH to overlap in the time domain within the UL sub-band. That is, the base station configures the CG PUSCH / PUCCH and the SPS PDSCH for an SBFD UE, and the base station should ensure that the resources of the CG PUSCH / PUCCH and the SPS PDSCH within the UL sub-band do not overlap in the time domain. Under this rule, if the UE finds that the resources of the CG PUSCH / PUCCH and the SPS PDSCH within the UL sub-band overlap in the time domain, the UE does not perform any reception or transmission. Transmission of DL reference signals within UL sub-bands

[0139] In some example implementations, a downlink reference signal, such as a typical DL transmission, may be allowed to be transmitted within the resources of the UL sub-band. Downlink reference signals, here, include, but are not limited to, reference signals for channel measurement (e.g., a semi-static CSI-RS (Channel State Information Reference Signal) or CSI-RS triggered based on the PDCCH) or reference signals for positioning (e.g., DL PRS). When a reference signal is configured to use resources of the UL sub-band for transmission (e.g., symbols within the UL sub-band), the UE and base station may consider one of the following implementations, where the resources of the UL sub-band used to transmit the reference signal are denoted as "resource B." 1) When the reference signal is an SBFD-capable UE: In some example implementations, the reference signal is always transmitted on resource B. If an UL transmission of an SBFD UE is scheduled / configured to include resource B, the SBFD UE should be instructed to perform rate matching with respect to resource B. In other words, the UL transmission is punctured on resource B, i.e., the UL transmission skips resource B. Specifically, the UE uses UL sub-band resources other than resource B for its UL transmission. In some alternative exemplary implementations, if no UL transmission of any SBFD UE is scheduled / configured to include resource B, the reference signal is transmitted in resource B. Otherwise, the base station does not transmit the reference signal in resource B. The base station should indicate, by signaling to the UE, whether the reference signal is transmitted on resource B for the SBFD UE. In some other alternative exemplary implementations, the base station explicitly signals to the UE whether resource B is used for reference signals or UL transmission. The UE correspondingly determines whether resource B is used for reference signals or for UL transmission according to the base station signaling. The signaling may be RRC signaling / MAC CE, or the signaling may be DCI signaling (e.g., in a DCI scheduling UL transmission). In some other alternative implementations, when the UE requests a reference signal, the UE may simultaneously inform the base station whether the reference signal should be transmitted in resource B. For example, when the UE needs to request a reference signal, the UE sends request signaling to the base station and simultaneously informs the base station in the request signaling that resource B should be used for UL transmission or that resource B will be used for receiving the reference signal (if said resource B is known). In some other alternative implementations, if DL PDSCH reception for an SBFD UE is scheduled / configured in resource C, and resource C contains resource B, and DL PDSCH reception is determined to be received from the UE (i.e., the base station determines that DL PDSCH reception is transmitted in resource B), the UE considers the reference signal to be transmitted in resource B, but the DL PDSCH reception to be transmitted in resource C excluding resource B (skipping resource B). 2) When the reference signal is for a legacy UE (i.e., a UE without SBFD capability): In some implementations, the reference signal is always transmitted on resource B. Thus, legacy UEs will receive the reference signal. An SBFD-capable UE shall perform rate matching on resource B if the SBFD UE's UL transmission is scheduled / configured to include this resource B. An SBFD UE always performs rate matching on resource B, or the SBFD UE is signaled whether to perform rate matching on resource B. Resolving overlap of NACK-only PUCCHs with different priorities in the time domain

[0140] In some embodiments, the network may configure priorities for physical channels for the UE. When a first physical channel with a higher priority overlaps with a second physical channel with a lower priority in the time domain, the first physical channel may cancel the second physical channel. This implies that the UE may drop (i.e., cancel) the second physical channel transmission and transmit only the first physical channel. Alternatively, the UE may drop information of the second physical channel or may not multiplex information of the second physical channel within the first physical channel.

[0141] The network may configure a NACK-only feedback mode for the UE. The configured NACK-only feedback mode may be applied for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). For the PDSCH, the network may configure or indicate a NACK-only physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). When the UE correctly decodes the PDSCH, the UE may not transmit the NACK-only PUCCH. When the UE does not correctly decode the PDSCH, the UE may transmit the NACK-only PUCCH.

[0142] The first NACK-only PUCCH may correspond to a first group of PDSCHs. The first group of PDSCHs may include one or more PDSCHs. The first NACK-only PUCCH with a higher priority overlaps with a second physical channel with a lower priority in the time domain. In some embodiments, the first NACK-only PUCCH with a higher priority may cancel the second physical channel with a lower priority. This implies that the UE may drop (i.e., cancel) the second physical channel transmission regardless of the decoding result of the first group of PDSCHs. More specifically, the UE may drop (i.e., cancel) the second physical channel even if the UE correctly decodes the first group of PDSCHs. When the UE correctly decodes the first group of PDSCHs, the UE may not transmit the first NACK-only PUCCH, or the UE may not transmit anything. The UE may determine PUCCH resources only according to the decoding result of the first group of PDSCHs.

[0143] In some embodiments, the first NACK-only PUCCH with a higher priority may not cancel the second physical channel with a lower priority. Furthermore, the first NACK-only PUCCH with a higher priority may not cancel the second physical channel with a lower priority when the UE correctly decodes the first group of PDSCHs. This implies that the UE may transmit the second physical channel when the UE correctly decodes the first group of PDSCHs.

[0144] The second NACK-only PUCCH may correspond to a second group of PDSCHs. The second group of PDSCHs may include one or more PDSCHs. The first NACK-only PUCCH with a higher priority overlaps with the second NACK-only PUCCH with a lower priority in the time domain. The first NACK-only PUCCH with a higher priority may not cancel the second NACK-only PUCCH with a lower priority. The UE may determine PUCCH resources according to decoding results of both the first group of PDSCHs and the second group of PDSCHs.

[0145] Furthermore, a first NACK-only PUCCH with a higher priority may not cancel a second NACK-only PUCCH with a lower priority when the UE correctly decodes the first group of PDSCHs. The UE may transmit the first NACK-only PUCCH when the UE does not decode at least one of the first group of PDSCHs. The UE may transmit the second NACK-only PUCCH when the UE correctly decodes the first group of PDSCHs and does not decode at least one of the second group of PDSCHs. The UE may not transmit the first NACK-only PUCCH or the second NACK-only PUCCH when the UE correctly decodes the first group of PDSCHs and correctly decodes the second group of PDSCHs.

[0146] The embodiment allows the UE to avoid unnecessary dropping or canceling, and therefore, spectral efficiency may be improved.

[0147] The above description and accompanying drawings provide specific exemplary embodiments and implementations. However, the described subject matter can be embodied in a variety of different forms, and thus, it is intended that the covered or claimed subject matter be construed as not limited to any exemplary embodiments set forth herein. A reasonably broad scope for the claimed or covered subject matter is intended. Among other things, for example, the subject matter may be embodied as a method, device, component, system, or non-transitory computer-readable medium for storing computer code. Thus, embodiments may take the form of, for example, hardware, software, firmware, a storage medium, or any combination thereof. For example, the method embodiments described above may be implemented by a component, device, or system including a memory and a processor by executing computer code stored in the memory.

[0148] Throughout this specification and the claims, terms may have nuanced meanings that are suggested or implied in context beyond their explicitly stated meaning. Similarly, the phrase "in one embodiment / implementation" as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, and the phrase "in another embodiment / implementation" as used herein does not necessarily refer to a different embodiment. For example, it is intended that claimed subject matter include any combination of exemplary embodiments, whether in whole or in part.

[0149] Generally, terminology can be understood, at least in part, from its usage in context. For example, terms such as "and," "or," or "and / or," as used herein, can include a variety of meanings that may depend, at least in part, on the context in which such terms are used. Typically, "or," when used to relate a list such as "A, B, or C," is intended to mean "A, B, and C," used herein in an inclusive sense, and "A, B or C," used herein in an exclusive sense. Additionally, as used herein, the term "one or more" can be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense, or to describe a combination of features, structures, or characteristics in a plural sense, depending, at least in part, on the context. Similarly, terms such as "a," "an," or "the" may be understood to convey singular usage or to convey plural usage, depending at least in part on the context. Additionally, the term "based on" may be understood as not intended to convey a necessarily exclusive set of factors, but instead may allow for the existence of additional factors not necessarily explicitly described, again depending at least in part on the context.

[0150] References to features, advantages, or similar language throughout this specification do not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized using the present solution should or are included in any single implementation thereof. Rather, language referring to features and advantages is understood to mean that the specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present solution. Thus, discussions of features and advantages and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.

[0151] Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the solution may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Those skilled in the art will recognize, in light of the description herein, that the solution may be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other cases, additional features and advantages may be recognized in some embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the solution.

Claims

1. 1. A method implemented by a radio access network node, comprising: Allocating a first set of time-frequency resources to a user equipment (UE) as downlink or direction-flexible time-frequency resources; configuring an uplink sub-band for uplink transmission for the UE, the uplink sub-band occupying contiguous resource blocks in frequency and a set of symbols in time within the first set of time-frequency resources; A method comprising:

2. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: scheduling a second set of time-frequency resources for uplink transmission for the UE, the second set of time-frequency resources being partially within and partially outside the uplink subband in time.

3. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein configuring the uplink sub-bands is performed by the radio access network node via semi-static radio resource control (RRC) signaling or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein a portion of the second set of time-frequency resources outside the uplink subband is implemented as a time-domain adjustment to the uplink subband.

5. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the time-domain adjustment for the uplink subband is valid only during scheduling of the second set of time-frequency resources for the uplink transmission, or is valid until a next time-domain adjustment for the uplink subband, or is valid for a pre-determined or configured period following scheduling of the second set of time-frequency resources for the uplink transmission.

6. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the scheduling of the second set of time-frequency resources is performed by the radio access network node via a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message.

7. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein configuring the uplink sub-bands is performed in response to the radio access network node receiving a capability report from the UE, the capability report indicating that the UE supports sub-band full duplexing (SBFD) or that the UE supports using the second set of time-frequency resources for the uplink transmission.

8. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the DCI message includes one or more parameters indicating to the UE a time and frequency location of the second set of time-frequency resources.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the DCI message includes an indicator that indicates to the UE that the uplink subband should be extended according to the second set of time-frequency resources.

10. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the radio access network node is prohibited from further scheduling any resources that are outside the uplink sub-band and that coexist in time with a portion of the second set of time-frequency resources that are within a frequency resource range of the uplink sub-band.

11. flexible resources are configured within time-frequency resources of the uplink sub-band by signaling relating to the uplink sub-band; or a portion of the time-frequency resources of the uplink subband is enabled by the signaling to be configured as flexible resources; The method of claim 1.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the transmission direction of the flexible resource is determined based on the direction of transmissions scheduled within the flexible resource.

13. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the flexible resources configured within the uplink sub-band comprise one or more OFDM symbols across an entire frequency range of the uplink sub-band.

14. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the flexible resource configured within the uplink sub-band comprises one or more frequency resource blocks across an entire OFDM symbol range of the uplink sub-band.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the signaling comprises RRC signaling.

16. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the flexible resources are configured in response to the radio access network node receiving a capability report from the UE, the capability report indicating that the UE supports sub-band full duplexing (SBFD) or that the UE supports the flexible resources in the uplink sub-band.

17. 1. A method implemented by a radio access network node, comprising: Allocating a first set of time-frequency resources to a user equipment (UE) as downlink or direction-flexible time-frequency resources; configuring an uplink sub-band for uplink transmission for the UE, the uplink sub-band occupying contiguous resource blocks in frequency and a set of OFDM symbols in time within the first set of time frequency resources; transmitting a downlink transmission within the configured uplink sub-band; A method comprising:

18. 20. The method of claim 17, wherein transmitting the downlink transmission in the configured uplink sub-band includes generating signaling to the UE to schedule the downlink transmission in at least one portion of the uplink sub-band.

19. 20. The method of claim 18, wherein at least one portion of the uplink sub-band overlaps with at least one portion of the uplink sub-band and does not correspond to any other portion of the uplink sub-band that is scheduled for uplink transmission.

20. 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the signaling is included in a DCI to the UE when scheduling the downlink transmission.

21. 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the radio access network node is prohibited from scheduling further uplink transmissions over a second set of time-frequency resources that overlap with at least a portion of the configured uplink sub-band in time and that are within a frequency resource range of the configured uplink sub-band.

22. 20. The method of claim 17, further comprising: configuring a first priority level for the uplink subband, the first priority level being used as a basis for determining whether a downlink transmission is allowed to be scheduled in the uplink subband.

23. the downlink transmission is allowed if a first priority level of the uplink subband is lower than a second priority level associated with the downlink transmission; the downlink transmission is prohibited if a first priority level of the uplink sub-band is higher than the second priority level associated with the downlink transmission; 23. The method of claim 22.

24. 20. The method of claim 17, further comprising resolving a scheduling conflict between two downlink transmissions or a downlink and an uplink transmission of the same priority with time overlap within the uplink sub-band by maintaining transmissions inside a frequency range of the uplink sub-band and discarding the transmissions outside the frequency range of the uplink sub-band.

25. 20. The method of claim 17, further comprising prohibiting scheduling of dynamic PDSCH downlink transmissions and dynamic PUSCH / PUCCH by the same PDCCH with overlapping time in the uplink subband.

26. 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising resolving scheduling conflicts between dynamic PDSCH downlink transmissions and dynamic PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions that overlap in time in the uplink sub-band based on timing of separate scheduling PDCCHs for the dynamic PDSCH downlink transmission and the dynamic PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmission.

27. 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising resolving scheduling conflicts between dynamic PDSCH downlink transmissions and semi-static PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions that overlap in time in the uplink sub-band based on an OFDM symbol-level time separation between separate scheduling PDCCHs for the dynamic PDSCH downlink transmissions and the semi-static PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions.

28. 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising resolving scheduling conflicts between dynamic PDSCH downlink transmissions and semi-static PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions that overlap in time in the uplink sub-band by maintaining the semi-static PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions and discarding the dynamic PDSCH downlink transmissions.

29. 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising resolving scheduling conflicts between semi-static PDSCH downlink transmissions and dynamic PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions that overlap in time in the uplink sub-band by maintaining the dynamic PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions and discarding the semi-static PDSCH downlink transmissions.

30. 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising resolving scheduling conflicts between semi-static PDSCH downlink transmissions and semi-static PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions that overlap in time in the uplink subband by maintaining the semi-static PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions and discarding the semi-static PDSCH downlink transmissions.

31. 20. The method of claim 17, wherein the downlink transmission is configured to transmit a downlink reference signal in the uplink sub-band.

32. 1. A method implemented by a wireless terminal device, comprising: receiving an allocation of a first set of time-frequency resources as downlink or direction-flexible time-frequency resources from a radio access network node; receiving from the radio access network node a configuration of uplink sub-bands for uplink transmission, the uplink sub-bands occupying contiguous resource blocks in frequency and a set of symbols in time within the first set of time-frequency resources; A method comprising:

33. 33. The method of claim 32, further comprising receiving scheduling of a second set of time-frequency resources for uplink transmission from the radio access network node, the second set of time-frequency resources being partially within and partially outside the uplink sub-band in time.

34. 34. The method of claim 33, wherein the uplink sub-band configuration is received from the radio access network node via semi-static radio resource control (RRC) signaling or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

35. 35. The method of claim 34, wherein a portion of the second set of time-frequency resources outside the uplink subband is implemented as a time-domain adjustment to the uplink subband.

36. 36. The method of claim 35, wherein the time-domain adjustment for the uplink subband is valid only during scheduling of the second set of time-frequency resources for the uplink transmission, or is valid until a next time-domain adjustment for the uplink subband, or is valid for a pre-determined or configured period following scheduling of the second set of time-frequency resources for the uplink transmission.

37. 35. The method of claim 34, wherein the scheduling of the second set of time-frequency resources is received from a radio access network node as a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message.

38. 38. The method of claim 37, wherein the uplink sub-band configuration is transmitted in response to the radio access network node receiving a capability report from the wireless terminal device, the capability report indicating that the wireless terminal device supports Sub-Band Full Duplex (SBFD) or that the wireless terminal device supports using the second set of time-frequency resources for the uplink transmission.

39. 38. The method of claim 37, wherein the DCI message includes one or more parameters indicating to the wireless terminal device a time and frequency location of the second set of time-frequency resources.

40. 38. The method of claim 37, wherein the DCI message includes an indicator indicating to the wireless terminal device that the uplink subband should be extended according to the second set of time-frequency resources.

41. 34. The method of claim 33, wherein the radio access network node is prohibited from further scheduling any resources that are outside the uplink sub-band and that coexist in time with a portion of the second set of time-frequency resources that are within a frequency resource range of the uplink sub-band.

42. flexible resources are configured within time-frequency resources of said uplink sub-band by signaling from said radio access network node for said uplink sub-band, or a portion of the time-frequency resources of the uplink subband is enabled by the signaling to be configured as flexible resources; 33. The method of claim 32.

43. 43. The method of claim 42, wherein the transmission direction of the flexible resource is determined based on the direction of transmissions scheduled within the flexible resource.

44. 44. The method of claim 43, wherein the flexible resources configured within the uplink sub-band comprise one or more OFDM symbols across an entire frequency range of the uplink sub-band.

45. 44. The method of claim 43, wherein the flexible resources configured within the uplink sub-band comprise one or more frequency resource blocks across an entire OFDM symbol range of the uplink sub-band.

46. 43. The method of claim 42, wherein the signaling comprises RRC signaling.

47. 43. The method of claim 42, wherein the flexible resources are configured in response to the radio access network node receiving a capability report from the wireless terminal device, the capability report indicating that the wireless terminal device supports sub-band full duplexing (SBFD) or that the wireless terminal device supports the flexible resources in the uplink sub-band.

48. 1. A method implemented by a wireless terminal device, comprising: receiving an allocation of a first set of time-frequency resources as downlink or direction-flexible time-frequency resources from a radio access network node; receiving from the radio access network node a configuration of uplink sub-bands for uplink transmission, the uplink sub-bands occupying contiguous resource blocks in frequency and a set of OFDM symbols in time within the first set of time-frequency resources; receiving a downlink transmission from the radio access network node within the configured uplink sub-band; A method comprising:

49. 49. The method of claim 48, wherein receiving the downlink transmission in the configured uplink sub-band comprises receiving signaling from the radio access network node to schedule the downlink transmission in at least one portion of the uplink sub-band.

50. 50. The method of claim 49, wherein at least one portion of the uplink sub-band overlaps with at least one portion of the uplink sub-band and does not correspond to any other portion of the uplink sub-band scheduled for uplink transmission.

51. 50. The method of claim 49, wherein the signaling is included in a DCI from the radio access network node when scheduling the downlink transmission.

52. 52. The method of claim 51 , wherein the radio access network node is prohibited from scheduling further uplink transmissions over a second set of time-frequency resources that overlap with at least a portion of the configured uplink sub-band in time and that are within a frequency resource range of the configured uplink sub-band.

53. 49. The method of claim 48, further comprising: determining a first priority level for the uplink subband, the first priority level being used as a basis for determining whether a downlink transmission is allowed to be scheduled in the uplink subband.

54. the downlink transmission is allowed if a first priority level of the uplink subband is lower than a second priority level associated with the downlink transmission; the downlink transmission is prohibited if a first priority level of the uplink sub-band is higher than the second priority level associated with the downlink transmission; 54. The method of claim 53.

55. 49. The method of claim 48, further comprising resolving a scheduling conflict between two downlink transmissions or a downlink and an uplink transmission of the same priority with time overlap within the uplink sub-band by maintaining transmissions inside a frequency range of the uplink sub-band and discarding the transmissions outside a frequency range of the uplink sub-band.

56. 49. The method of claim 48, further comprising prohibiting scheduling of dynamic PDSCH downlink transmissions and dynamic PUSCH / PUCCH by the same PDCCH with overlapping time in the uplink subband.

57. 49. The method of claim 48, further comprising resolving scheduling conflicts between dynamic PDSCH downlink transmissions and dynamic PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions that overlap in time in the uplink sub-band based on timing of separate scheduling PDCCHs for the dynamic PDSCH downlink transmission and the dynamic PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmission.

58. 49. The method of claim 48, further comprising resolving scheduling conflicts between dynamic PDSCH downlink transmissions and semi-static PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions that overlap in time in the uplink sub-band based on an OFDM symbol-level time separation between separate scheduling PDCCHs for the dynamic PDSCH downlink transmissions and the semi-static PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions.

59. 49. The method of claim 48, further comprising resolving scheduling conflicts between dynamic PDSCH downlink transmissions and semi-static PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions that overlap in time in the uplink sub-band by maintaining the semi-static PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions and discarding the dynamic PDSCH downlink transmissions.

60. 49. The method of claim 48, further comprising resolving a scheduling conflict between semi-static PDSCH downlink transmissions and dynamic PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions that overlap in time in the uplink subband by maintaining the dynamic PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions and discarding the semi-static PDSCH downlink transmissions.

61. 49. The method of claim 48, further comprising resolving scheduling conflicts between semi-static PDSCH downlink transmissions and semi-static PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions that overlap in time in the uplink subband by maintaining the semi-static PUSCH / PUCCH uplink transmissions and discarding the semi-static PDSCH downlink transmissions.

62. 49. The method of claim 48, wherein the downlink transmission is configured to transmit a downlink reference signal in the uplink sub-band.

63. A radio access network node according to any one of claims 1 to 62, comprising a memory for storing instructions and a processor for executing said instructions to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 62.

64. 63. A computer readable non-transitory medium for storing computer instructions which, when executed by a processor of a radio access network node according to any one of claims 1 to 62, perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 62.

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