SPS HARQ feedback in energy-saving state

Abstract

A method for network energy saving includes, by a user equipment (UE), receiving, from a base station, configuration parameters of a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configuration for a cell, receiving downlink control information (DCI) indicating activation of the SPS configuration, the DCI including a DCI duration field including a DCI duration value indicating a duration between a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and a corresponding hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback, and receiving a transport block (TB) based on the SPS configuration, wherein the time difference between the TB and the HARQ feedback associated with the TB is the DCI duration value in the DCI duration field while the base station or cell is in a non-energy saving state, and is not the duration indicated by the DCI duration value in the DCI duration field while the base station or cell is in an energy saving state.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] (CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS) This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 395,882, filed August 8, 2022 (the "Provisional Application"), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. [Background technology]

[0002] The present invention relates to 5G, the fifth generation mobile network. It is the new global wireless standard that follows 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. 5G enables networks designed to connect machines, objects, and devices. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] The present invention relates more particularly to enhancing semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) processes and HARQ feedback reporting. Example embodiments enhance existing SPS and HARQ feedback processes when network energy saving is configured / enabled. [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] In one embodiment, the present invention provides a method for network energy saving, the method including: a user equipment (UE) receiving, from a base station, configuration parameters of a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configuration for a cell; receiving downlink control information (DCI) indicating activation of the SPS configuration, the DCI including a DCI duration field including a DCI duration value indicating a duration between a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission and a corresponding hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback; and receiving a transport block (TB) based on the SPS configuration. The time difference between the TB and the HARQ feedback associated with the TB is the duration indicated by the DCI duration value in the DCI duration field while the base station or cell is in a non-energy saving state, and is not the duration indicated by the DCI duration value in the DCI duration field while the base station or cell is in an energy saving state.

[0005] While the base station or cell is in an energy saving state, a time difference between a transport block (TB) and a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback associated with the transport block may be longer than the duration indicated by the DCI duration value in the DCI duration field. The time difference between the transport block (TB) and a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback associated with the transport block may be the duration indicated by the DCI duration value in the DCI duration field plus an offset while the base station or cell is in an energy saving state. The method may also include receiving a control parameter indicating the offset. Receiving the control parameter may be based on a radio resource configuration (RRC) message. The radio resource configuration (RRC) message may include an RRC offset field having an RRC offset value indicating the offset.

[0006] Receiving the control parameter may be based on a media access control (MAC) command. The media access control (MAC) command may include a MAC offset field having a MAC offset value indicating an offset. Receiving the control parameter may be based on downlink control information (DCI). The downlink control information (DCI) may include a DCI offset field having a DCI offset value indicating the offset. If the reception is an indication that the base station or cell is in or has entered an energy saving state, the indication may include an indication offset field having an indication offset value indicating the offset. The indication may be based on one or more of a radio resource control (RRC) message, a media access control (MAC) command, and downlink control information (DCI).

[0007] The method may include ignoring a DCI duration value in a DCI duration field in response to the base station or cell being in or entering an energy saving state. The method may also include receiving, while the base station or cell is in or entering an energy saving state, a message, channel, or command indicating a time difference between a transport block (TB) and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback associated with the transport block. The channel may be a downlink control channel carrying downlink control information. The downlink control information may be activation downlink control information (DCI) used for activation of a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configuration. The activation downlink control information (DCI) may include a first field having a first value indicating a first duration between a first received transport block and a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback corresponding to the first received transport block while the base station or cell is in a non-energy saving state, and a second field having a second value indicating a second duration between a second received transport block and a HARQ feedback corresponding to the second received transport block while the base station or cell is in an energy saving state.

[0008] Preferably, the message is a broadcast message, and the broadcast message is a system information block (SIB) message. The duration may be defined by a number of slots. Moreover, the duration may be based on a subcarrier spacing associated with an uplink control channel carrying hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback. The hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback may be one of an acknowledgement (ACK) and a negative acknowledgement (NACK). The semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configuration parameters may include a periodicity parameter indicating the separation between successive SPS grants.

[0009] In the method, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback associated with a transport block (TB) received while a base station or cell is in an energy saving state may be postponed until the base station or cell for which the hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback is scheduled for transmission is in a non-energy saving state. In the method, a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configuration may be associated with a first SPS configuration index, and activation downlink control information (DCI) includes a DCI activation field having a DCI activation value indicating the SPS configuration index. A time difference between the transport block (TB) and the hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback associated with the transport block may be based on the periodicity of a signal or channel while the base station or cell is in a network energy saving state. The signal or channel may be a downlink signal or a downlink channel. The downlink signal or the downlink channel may be a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0010] In the method, the time difference may be based on a first period of the signal or channel while the base station or cell is in a non-energy saving state and a second period of the signal or channel while the base station or cell is in an energy saving state. The time difference may also be based on the first period and the second period. While the base station or one or more cells served by the base station are in an energy saving state, at least one signal, at least one channel, or at least one message may be transmitted or received with a longer period and less frequency.

[0011] The method may include receiving configuration parameters indicating a plurality of durations, wherein a DCI duration value in a DCI duration field of received downlink control information (DCI) may indicate a first duration of the plurality of durations. The configuration parameters for the semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configuration may also include a first parameter indicating an SPS radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), wherein the downlink control information is associated with the SPS RNTI. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example mobile communication system in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 2A] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example radio protocol stack for a user plane, in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 2B] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example radio protocol stack for a control plane, in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 3A] FIG. 10 is a diagram of an example of a mapping between logical channels and transport channels in the downlink, in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 3B] FIG. 10 is a diagram of an example of a mapping between logical channels and transport channels in the uplink, in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 3C] FIG. 10 is a diagram of an example of mapping between logical channels and transport channels in the sidelink, in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4A] FIG. 10 is a diagram of an example of a mapping between transport channels and physical channels in the downlink, in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4B]FIG. 10 is a diagram of an example of a mapping between transport channels and physical channels in the uplink, in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4C] FIG. 10 is a diagram of an example of a mapping between transport channels and physical channels in the sidelink, in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5A] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example radio protocol stack for NR sidelink communications in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5B] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example radio protocol stack for NR sidelink communications in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5C] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example radio protocol stack for NR sidelink communications in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5D] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example radio protocol stack for NR sidelink communications in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a diagram of example physical signals in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] 1 is a diagram of an example of radio resource control (RRC) states and transitions between different RRC states, in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example frame structure and physical resources in accordance with some aspects of various example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] 1A-1C are diagrams of example component carrier configurations in different carrier aggregation scenarios in accordance with certain aspects of various example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] 1 is a diagram of exemplary bandwidth portion configuration and switching in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 11]FIG. 10 is a diagram of an example of a contention-based and contention-free four-step random access process in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram of an example of a contention-based and contention-free two-step random access process, in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example time and frequency structure of a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB), in accordance with some aspects of various example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] 1 is a diagram of an exemplary SSB burst transmission in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] FIG. 1 is a diagram of example components of a user equipment and a base station for transmission and / or reception in accordance with some aspects of various example embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary process according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 17] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary process according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 18] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary process according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 19] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary process according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] 1 illustrates an example of a mobile communication system 100 in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The mobile communication system 100 may be operated by a wireless communication system operator, such as a mobile network operator (MNO), a private network operator, a multi-system operator (MSO), an Internet of Things (IoT) network operator, etc., and may provide services such as voice, data (e.g., wireless Internet access), messaging, vehicular communication services such as vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication services, safety services, mission-critical services, and services in residential, commercial, or industrial environments such as IoT and Industrial IoT (IIOT).

[0014] The mobile communication system 100 may enable various types of applications with different requirements in terms of latency, reliability, throughput, etc. Examples of supported applications include enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), highly reliable and low latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine-type communications (mMTC). eMBB may support stable connections with high peak data rates and moderate rates for cell-edge users. URLLC may support applications with high requirements in terms of latency and reliability and moderate requirements in terms of data rate. An example of an mMTC application is a network of a huge number of IoT devices that are only sporadically active and transmit small data payloads.

[0015] The mobile communication system 100 may include a radio access network (RAN) portion and a core network portion. The example shown in FIG. 1 illustrates a Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 105 and a 5G Core Network (5GC) 110 as examples of the RAN and core network, respectively. Other examples of the RAN and core network may be implemented without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Other examples of the RAN include an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN), a Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), etc. Other examples of the core network include an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), a UMTS Core Network (UCN), etc. The RAN implements a radio access technology (RAT) and resides between the user equipment (UE) 125 and the core network. Examples of such RATs include New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), also known as Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (EUTRA), and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). The RAT of the exemplary mobile communication system 100 may be NR. The core network resides between the RAN and one or more external networks (e.g., data networks) and is responsible for functions such as mobility management, authentication, session management, bearer setup, and various quality of service (QoS) applications. The functional layer between the UE 125 and the RAN (e.g., NG-RAN 105) is sometimes referred to as the access stratum (AS), and the functional layer between the UE 125 and the core network (e.g., 5GC 110) is sometimes referred to as the non-access stratum (NAS).

[0016] The UE 125 may include wireless transmission and reception means for communicating with one or more nodes in a RAN, one or more relay nodes, one or more other UEs, etc. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop, a computer, a wireless transmitting and / or receiving unit in a vehicle, a V2X or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) device, a wireless sensor, an IoT device, an IIOT device, etc. Other names may be used for a UE, such as a mobile station (MS), terminal equipment, terminal node, client device, mobile device, etc.

[0017] The RAN may include nodes (e.g., base stations) for communication with UEs. For example, the NG-RAN 105 of the mobile communication system 100 may include nodes for communication with the UE 125. Different names may be used for the RAN nodes depending on the RAT used for the RAN. A RAN node may be referred to as a Node B (NB) in a RAN using the UMTS RAT. A RAN node may be referred to as an Evolved Node B (eNB) in a RAN using the LTE / EUTRA RAT. In the exemplary example of the mobile communication system 100 of FIG. 1 , the node of the NG-RAN 105 may be either a Next Generation Node B (gNB) 115 or a Next Generation Evolved Node B (ng-eNB) 120. In this specification, the terms base station, RAN node, gNB, and ng-eNB may be used interchangeably. The gNB 115 may provide termination of NR user plane and control plane protocols for the UE 125. The ng-eNB 120 may provide termination of E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocols for the UE 125. The interface between the gNB 115 and the UE 125, or between the ng-eNB 120 and the UE 125, may be referred to as a Uu interface. The Uu interface may be established using a user plane protocol stack and a control plane protocol stack. For the Uu interface, the direction from the base station (e.g., the gNB 115 or the ng-eNB 120) to the UE 125 may be referred to as the downlink, and the direction from the UE 125 to the base station (e.g., the gNB 115 or the ng-eNB 120) may be referred to as the uplink.

[0018] The gNB 115 and the ng-eNB 120 may be interconnected with each other by an Xn interface. The Xn interface may include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface. The transport network layer of the Xn-U interface may be built on Internet Protocol (IP) transport and may carry user plane protocol data units (PDUs) using GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP) over User Datagram Protocol (UDP) / IP. Xn-U may provide non-guaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and may support data forwarding and flow control. The transport network layer of the Xn-C interface may be built on Stream Control Transport Protocol (SCTP) over IP. The application layer signaling protocol may be referred to as XnAP (Xn Application Protocol). The SCTP layer may provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. The transport IP layer may deliver signaling PDUs using point-to-point transmission. The Xn-C interface may support Xn interface management, UE mobility management including context transfer and RAN paging, and dual connectivity.

[0019] The gNB 115 and ng-eNB 120 may also be connected to the 5GC 110 via an NG interface, more specifically, to the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 130 of the 5GC 110 via an NG-C interface and to the User Plane Function (UPF) 135 of the 5GC 110 via an NG-U interface. The transport network layer of the NG-U interface may be built on IP transport, and the GTP protocol may be used over UDP / IP to carry user plane PDUs between the NG-RAN node (e.g., the gNB 115 or the ng-eNB 120) and the UPF 135. The NG-U may provide non-guaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs between the NG-RAN node and the UPF. The transport network layer of the NG-C interface may be built on IP transport. SCTP may be added on top of IP for reliable transfer of signaling messages. The application layer signaling protocol may be referred to as NGAP (NG Application Protocol). The SCTP layer may provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. For transport, signaling PDUs may be delivered using IP layer point-to-point transmission. The NG-C interface may provide the following functions: NG interface management, UE context management, UE mobility management, transport of NAS messages, paging, PDU session management, configuration transport, and sending of alert messages.

[0020] The gNB115 or ng-eNB120 may host one or more of the following functions: Radio resource management functions such as radio bearer control, radio admission control, connection mobility control, dynamic allocation of resources to UEs in both uplink and downlink (e.g., scheduling), IP header compression and Ethernet header compression of data, encryption and integrity protection, selection of an AMF for a UE connection when routing to the AMF cannot be determined from information provided by the UE, routing of user plane data to UPF(s), routing of control plane information to the AMF, connection setup and release, scheduling and transmission of paging messages, scheduling and transmission of system broadcast information (e.g., originating from the AMF), mobility and scheduling measurements and measurement report configuration, transport level packet marking in the uplink, session management, support for network slicing, QoS flow management and mapping to data radio bearers, support for UEs in RRC inactive state, delivery of NAS messages, radio access network sharing, dual connectivity, close coordination between NR and E-UTRA, and maintaining security and radio configuration for user plane 5G System (5GS) Cellular IoT (CIoT) optimization.

[0021] The AMF 130 may host one or more of the following functions: NAS signaling termination, NAS signaling security, AS security control, CN inter-node signaling for mobility between 3GPP access networks, idle mode UE reachability (including control and execution of paging retransmissions), registration area management, support for intra-system and inter-system mobility, access authentication, access authorization including checking roaming rights, mobility management control (subscription and policy), support for network slicing, Session Management Function (SMF) selection, 5GS CIoT optimization selection.

[0022] The UPF 135 may host one or more of the following functions: anchor point for intra / inter-RAT mobility (if applicable), external PDU session point for interconnection to data networks, packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection and user plane part of policy rule application, traffic usage reporting, uplink classifier supporting routing of traffic flows to data networks, branching point supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, user plane QoS processing such as packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement, uplink traffic validation (Service Data Flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 1 , the NG-RAN 105 may support a PC5 interface between two UEs 125 (e.g., UE 125A and UE 125B). In the PC5 interface, the direction of communication between two UEs (e.g., from UE 125A to UE 125B or vice versa) may be referred to as a sidelink. Sidelink transmission and reception over the PC5 interface may be supported when the UE 125 is within NG-RAN 105 coverage, regardless of the RRC state the UE is in, and also when the UE 125 is out of NG-RAN 105 coverage. Support for V2X services over the PC5 interface may be provided by NR sidelink communication and / or V2X sidelink communication.

[0024] PC5-S signaling may be used to establish a unicast link via a direct communication request / accept message. A UE may self-assign its source Layer-2 ID for a PC5 unicast link, for example, based on the V2X service type. During the unicast link establishment procedure, a UE may send its source Layer-2 ID for the PC5 unicast link to a peer UE, for example, a UE that received a destination ID from a higher layer. The pair of source Layer-2 ID and destination Layer-2 ID may uniquely identify a unicast link. The receiving UE may verify that the destination ID belongs to it and may accept the unicast link establishment request from the source UE. During the PC5 unicast link establishment procedure, a PC5-RRC procedure on the access stratum may be invoked for the purpose of establishing a UE sidelink context and for exchanging AS layer configurations, capabilities, etc. PC5-RRC signaling may enable the exchange of UE capabilities and AS layer configurations, such as sidelink radio bearer configurations, between a pair of UEs between which a PC5 unicast link is established.

[0025] NR sidelink communication may support one of three transmission modes (e.g., unicast transmission, groupcast transmission, and broadcast transmission) for a pair of source and destination Layer-2 IDs within an AS. The unicast transmission mode may be characterized by supporting one PC5-RRC connection between peer UEs for the pair, sidelink control information and user traffic transmission and reception between peer UEs, sidelink HARQ feedback support, sidelink transmit power control support, RLC Acknowledged Mode (AM) support, and radio link failure detection for the PC5-RRC connection. The groupcast transmission may be characterized by sidelink user traffic transmission and reception between UEs belonging to a group in the sidelink and sidelink HARQ feedback support. The broadcast transmission may be characterized by sidelink user traffic transmission and reception between UEs in the sidelink.

[0026] The source Layer-2 ID, destination Layer-2 ID, and PC5 link identifier may be used for NR sidelink communications. The source Layer-2 ID may be a link layer ID that identifies the device or device group that is the recipient of the sidelink communication frame. The destination Layer-2 ID may be a link layer ID that identifies the device that originates the sidelink communication frame. In some examples, the source Layer-2 ID and destination Layer-2 ID may be assigned by a management function in the core network. The source Layer-2 ID may identify the sender of data in NR sidelink communications. The source Layer-2 ID may be 24 bits long and may be split into two bit strings at the MAC layer. One bit string is the least significant bit (8 bits) of the source Layer-2 ID and may be forwarded to the sender's physical layer. This may identify the source of the intended data in the sidelink control information and may be used for packet filtering at the receiver's physical layer. The second bit string may be the most significant 16-bit portion of the source Layer-2 ID and may be carried in the media access control (MAC) header. This may be used for packet filtering at the receiver's MAC layer. The destination Layer-2 ID may identify the target of the data in the NR sidelink communication. For NR sidelink communication, the destination Layer-2 ID may be 24 bits long and may be split into two bit strings at the MAC layer. One bit string may be the least significant 16-bit portion of the destination Layer-2 ID and may be forwarded to the sender's physical layer. This may identify the target of the intended data in the sidelink control information and may be used for packet filtering at the receiver's physical layer. The second bit string may be the most significant 8-bit portion of the destination Layer-2 ID and may be carried in the MAC header. This may be used for packet filtering at the receiver's MAC layer. The PC5 link identifier may uniquely identify the PC5 unicast link within the UE for the lifetime of the PC5 unicast link.The PC5 link identifier may be used to indicate the PC5 unicast link on which a sidelink Radio Link failure (RLF) declaration has been made and the PC5-RRC connection has been released.

[0027] 2A and 2B illustrate example user and control plane radio protocol stacks, respectively, in accordance with certain aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2A, the user plane protocol stack of the Uu interface (between the UE 125 and the gNB 115) includes Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) 201 and SDAP 211, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) 202 and PDCP 212, Radio Link Control (RLC) 203 and RLC 213, MAC 204 and MAC 214 sublayers of Layer 2, and Physical (PHY) Layer 205 and PHY 215 layers (Layer 1, also referred to as L1).

[0028] The PHY205 and PHY215 provide transport channels 244 to the MAC204 and MAC214 sublayers. The MAC204 and MAC214 sublayers provide logical channels 243 to the RLC203 and RLC213 sublayers. The RLC203 and RLC213 sublayers provide RLC channels 242 to the PDCP202 and PCP212 sublayers. The PDCP202 and PDCP212 sublayers provide radio bearers 241 to the SDAP201 and SDAP211 sublayers. Radio bearers can be classified into two groups: data radio bearers (DRBs) for user plane data and signaling radio bearers (SRBs) for control plane data. The SDAP201 and SDAP211 sublayers provide QoS flows 240 to the 5GC.

[0029] The main services and functions of the MAC204 or MAC214 sublayer include mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing / demultiplexing MAC Service Data Units (SDUs) belonging to one or different logical channels into / from transport blocks (TBs) delivered to / from the physical layer on transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction with Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) (one HARQ entity per cell in case of Carrier Aggregation (CA)), prioritization between UEs with dynamic scheduling, prioritization between logical channels for one UE with Logical Channel Prioritization (LCP), prioritization between overlapped resources for one UE, and padding. A single MAC entity may support multiple numerologies, transmission timings, and cells. Mapping restrictions in the logical channel prioritization control the numbers, cells, and transmission timings that a logical channel can use.

[0030] The HARQ function may ensure delivery between peer entities at Layer 1. If the physical layer is not configured for downlink / uplink spatial multiplexing, a single HARQ process may support one TB, and if the physical layer is configured for downlink / uplink spatial multiplexing, a single HARQ process may support one or multiple TBs.

[0031] The RLC203 or RLC213 sublayer may support three transmission modes: Transparent Mode (TM), Unacknowledged Mode (UM), and Acknowledged Mode (AM). RLC configuration may be done per logical channel independent of numerology and / or transmission duration, and Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) may operate with any numerology and / or transmission duration for which the logical channel is configured.

[0032] The main services and functions of the RLC203 or RLC213 sublayer depend on the transmission mode (e.g., TM, UM, or AM) and may include transfer of upper layer PDUs, sequence numbering independent of PDCP numbering (UM and AM), error correction by ARQ (AM only), RLC SDU segmentation (AM and UM) and re-segmentation (AM only), SDU reassembly (AM and UM), duplicate detection (AM only), RLC SDU discard (AM and UM), RLC re-establishment, and protocol error detection (AM only).

[0033] An automatic repeat request in the RLC203 or RLC213 sublayer may have the following characteristics: ARQ retransmits RLC SDUs or RLC SDU segments based on RLC status reports, polling of RLC status reports may be used if required by RLC, and the RLC receiver may trigger an RLC status report after detecting a missing RLC SDU or RLC SDU segment.

[0034] The main services and functions of the PDCP202 or PDCP212 sublayer may include forwarding of data (user plane or control plane), maintaining the PDCP sequence number (SN), compressing and decompressing headers using the Robust Header Compression (ROHC) protocol, compressing and decompressing headers using the EHC protocol, encryption and decryption, integrity protection and integrity verification, timer-based SDU discarding, routing of split bearers, duplication, reordering and in-order delivery, out-of-order delivery, and discarding duplicates.

[0035] The main services and functions of the SDAP 201 or SDAP 211 include mapping between QoS flows and data radio bearers, and marking QoS Flow IDs (QFIs) on both downlink and uplink packets. A single protocol entity of the SDAP may be configured for each individual PDU session.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 2B, the control plane protocol stack of the Uu interface (between UE 125 and gNB 115) includes the PHY layer (Layer 1), as well as the MAC, RLC, and PDCP sublayers of Layer 2 mentioned above, and further the RRC206 and RRC216 sublayers. The main services and functions of the RRC206 and RRC216 sublayers on the Uu interface include broadcasting of system information related to ASs and NASs, paging initiated by 5GC or NG-RAN, establishment, maintenance, and release of RRC connections between UEs and NG-RANs (including adding, modifying, and releasing carrier aggregation, and adding, modifying, and releasing dual connectivity within NR or between E-UTRA and NR), security functions including key management, establishment, configuration, maintenance, and release of SRBs and DRBs, mobility functions (including handover and context transfer, UE cell selection and reselection, cell selection and reselection control, and inter-RAT mobility), QoS management functions, UE measurement reporting and reporting control, radio link failure detection and recovery, and NAS message transfer between NASs and UEs. The NAS207 and NAS227 layers are control protocols (terminated in the AMF on the network side) that perform functions such as authentication, mobility management, and security control.

[0037] Sidelink specific services and functions of the RRC sublayer over the Uu interface include configuration of sidelink resource allocation via system information or dedicated signaling, reporting of UE sidelink information, sidelink related measurement configuration and reporting, and reporting of UE assistance information of SL traffic pattern(s).

[0038] 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate examples of mapping between logical channels and transport channels in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink, respectively, according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Various types of data transfer services may be provided by the MAC. Each logical channel type may be defined by the type of information transferred. The logical channels may be classified into two groups: control channels and traffic channels. The control channels may be used only for the transfer of control plane information. The Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH) is a downlink channel for broadcasting system control information. The Paging Control Channel (PCCH) is a downlink channel that carries paging messages. The Common Control Channel (CCCH) is a channel for transmitting control information between a UE and a network. This channel may be used for UEs that do not have an RRC connection with the network. The Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH) is a point-to-point bidirectional channel that transmits dedicated control information between a UE and a network and may be used by UEs that have an RRC connection. The Traffic Channel may be used only for the transfer of user plane information. A dedicated traffic channel (DTCH) is a point-to-point channel dedicated to one UE for the transfer of user information. A DTCH may exist in both the uplink and downlink. A sidelink control channel (SCCH) is a sidelink channel for transmitting control information (e.g., PC5-RRC and PC5-S messages) from one UE to other UE(s). A sidelink traffic channel (STCH) is a sidelink channel for transmitting user information from one UE to other UE(s). A sidelink broadcast control channel (SBCCH) is a sidelink channel for broadcasting sidelink system information from one UE to other UE(s).

[0039] Downlink transport channel types include the Broadcast Channel (BCH), the Downlink Shared Channel (DL-SCH), and the Paging Channel (PCH). The BCH may be characterized by a fixed, predefined transport format and the need to broadcast to the entire coverage area of ​​the cell either as a single message or by beamforming different BCH instances. The DL-SCH may be characterized by support for HARQ, support for dynamic link adaptation by varying modulation, coding, and transmit power, the possibility of being broadcast throughout the cell, the possibility of using beamforming, support for both dynamic and semi-static resource allocation, and support for UE Discontinuous Reception (DRX) to enable UE power savings. The DL-SCH may be characterized by support for HARQ, support for dynamic link adaptation by varying modulation, coding, and transmit power, the possibility of being broadcast throughout the cell, the possibility of using beamforming, support for both dynamic and semi-static resource allocation, and support for UE Discontinuous Reception (DRX) to enable UE power savings. The PCH may be characterized by support for UE discontinuous reception (DRX) to enable UE power saving (the DRX cycle is indicated to the UE by the network), by being broadcast throughout the coverage area of ​​the cell either as a single message or by beamforming of different PCH instances, and by being mapped to physical resources that can also be dynamically used for traffic / other control channels.

[0040] In the downlink, the following connections may exist between logical channels and transport channels: BCCH may be mapped to BCH, BCCH may be mapped to DL-SCH, PCCH may be mapped to PCH, CCCH may be mapped to DL-SCH, DCCH may be mapped to DL-SCH, and DTCH may be mapped to DL-SCH.

[0041] Uplink transport channel types include the Uplink Shared Channel (UL-SCH) and Random Access Channel(s) (RACH). The UL-SCH may be characterized by the possibility of using beamforming, support for dynamic link adaptation by changing transmit power and possibly modulation and coding, support for HARQ, and support for both dynamic and semi-static resource allocation. The RACH may be characterized by limited control information and collision risk.

[0042] In the uplink, the following connections may exist between logical channels and transport channels: CCCH may be mapped to UL-SCH, DCCH may be mapped to UL-SCH, and DTCH may be mapped to UL-SCH.

[0043] Types of sidelink transport channels include a sidelink broadcast channel (SL-BCH) and a sidelink shared channel (SL-SCH). The SL-BCH may feature a predefined transport format. The SL-SCH may feature support for unicast, groupcast, and broadcast transmissions, support for both UE autonomous resource selection and scheduled resource allocation by the NG-RAN, support for both dynamic and semi-static resource allocation when resources are allocated to the UE by the NG-RAN, support for HARQ, and support for dynamic link adaptation by changing transmit power, modulation, and coding.

[0044] In the sidelink, the following connections may exist between logical channels and transport channels: SCCH may be mapped to SL-SCH, STCH may be mapped to SL-SCH, and SBCCH may be mapped to SL-BCH.

[0045] 4A, 4B, and 4C illustrate examples of mappings between transport channels and physical channels in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink, respectively, in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Physical channels in the downlink include a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). The PCH transport channel and the DL-SCH transport channel are mapped to the PDSCH. The BCH transport channel is mapped to the PBCH. Although no transport channels are mapped to the PDCCH, downlink control information (DCI) is transmitted via the PDCCH.

[0046] Physical channels in the uplink include the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), and the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH). The UL-SCH transport channel may be mapped to the PUSCH, and the RACH transport channel may be mapped to the PRACH. Although the transport channels are not mapped to the PUCCH, uplink control information (UCI) is transmitted via the PUCCH.

[0047] Physical channels in the sidelink include the Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), the Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), the Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH), and the Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH). The Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH) may indicate resources and other transmission parameters used by the UE for the PSSCH. The Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) may transmit control information such as the data TB itself, as well as HARQ procedures and CSI feedback triggers. At least six OFDM symbols in a slot may be used for PSSCH transmission. The Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH) may carry HARQ feedback over the sidelink from the UE that is the intended recipient of the PSSCH transmission to the UE that performed the transmission. The PSFCH sequence may be transmitted in one PRB repeated across two OFDM symbols near the end of the sidelink resources in a slot. The SL-SCH transport channel may be mapped to the PSSCH. The SL-BCH may be mapped to the PSBCH. Although no transport channel is mapped to the PSFCH, sidelink feedback control information (SFCI) may be mapped to the PSFCH. Although no transport channel is mapped to the PSCCH, sidelink control information (SCI) may be mapped to the PSCCH.

[0048] Figures 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D illustrate example radio protocol stacks for NR sidelink communications in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The AS protocol stack for the user plane (i.e., STCH) of the PC5 interface may consist of an SDAP sublayer, a PDCP sublayer, an RLC sublayer, a MAC sublayer, and a physical layer. The user plane protocol stack is shown in Figure 5A. The AS protocol stack for the SBCCH of the PC5 interface may consist of an RRC, RLC, MAC sublayer, and a physical layer, as shown in Figure 5B below. To support the PC5-S protocol, the PC5-S is placed above the PDCP, RLC, and MAC sublayers and a physical layer in the PC5-S control plane protocol stack for the SCCH, as shown in Figure 5C. The AS protocol stack for the control plane of the SCCH for RRC of the PC5 interface consists of an RRC sublayer, a PDCP sublayer, an RLC sublayer, a MAC sublayer, and a physical layer. The control plane protocol stack for the SCCH for RRC is shown in Figure 5D.

[0049] Sidelink Radio Bearers (SLRBs) may be classified into two groups: Sidelink Data Radio Bearers (SL DRBs) for user plane data and Sidelink Signaling Radio Bearers (SL SRBs) for control plane data. Separate SL SRBs using different SCCHs may be configured for PC5-RRC signaling and PC5-S signaling, respectively.

[0050] The MAC sublayer may provide the following services and functions over the PC5 interface: radio resource selection, packet filtering, priority handling between uplink and sidelink transmissions for a given UE, and sidelink CSI reporting. Due to the restriction of logical channel prioritization in the MAC, only sidelink logical channels belonging to the same destination may be multiplexed into a MAC PDU for all unicast, groupcast, and broadcast transmissions that may be associated with that destination. For packet filtering, an SL-SCH MAC header containing both the source Layer-2 ID and the destination Layer-2 ID portion may be added to the MAC PDU. The logical channel identifier (LCID) included in the MAC subheader may uniquely identify a logical channel within the combination of the source Layer-2 ID and the destination Layer-2 ID.

[0051] RLC sublayer services and functions may be supported for the sidelink. Both RLC unacknowledged mode (UM) and acknowledged mode (AM) may be used in unicast transmissions, but only UM may be used in groupcast or broadcast transmissions. For UM, only unidirectional transmission may be supported for groupcast and broadcast.

[0052] Services and functions of the PDCP sublayer of the Uu interface may be supported for the sidelink with some restrictions: out-of-order delivery may only be supported for unicast transmissions, and duplication may not be supported over the PC5 interface.

[0053] The SDAP sublayer may provide the following services and functions over the PC5 interface: Mapping between QoS flows and sidelink data radio bearers There may be one SDAP entity per destination for one of unicast, groupcast, and broadcast associated with the destination.

[0054] The RRC sublayer may provide the following services and functions over the PC5 interface: forwarding PC5-RRC messages between peer UEs, maintaining and releasing a PC5-RRC connection between two UEs, and detecting sidelink radio link failure of a PC5-RRC connection based on an indication from MAC or RLC. A PC5-RRC connection may be a logical connection between two UEs for a pair of source and destination Layer-2 IDs that can be considered established after a corresponding PC5 unicast link is established. There may be a one-to-one correspondence between PC5-RRC connections and PC5 unicast links. A UE may have multiple PC5-RRC connections with one or more UEs for different pairs of source and destination Layer-2 IDs. Separate PC5-RRC procedures and messages may be used for the UE to transfer sidelink configuration, including UE capabilities and SL-DRB configuration, to the peer UE. Both peer UEs may exchange their UE capabilities and sidelink configuration using separate bidirectional procedures in both sidelink directions.

[0055] FIG. 6 illustrates exemplary physical signals in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Demodulation Reference Signals (DM-RSs) may be used in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink and may be used for channel estimation. DM-RSs are UE-specific reference signals that may be transmitted along with physical channels in the downlink, uplink, or sidelink and may be used for channel estimation and coherent detection of the physical channels. Phase Tracking Reference Signals (PT-RSs) may be used in the downlink, uplink, and sidelink and may be used to track phase and mitigate performance loss due to phase noise. PT-RSs may be primarily used to estimate and minimize the impact of Common Phase Error (CPE) on system performance. Due to phase noise characteristics, PT-RS signals may be sparse in the frequency domain and dense in the time domain. PT-RSs may occur in combination with DM-RSs if the network is configured to have PT-RSs present. A Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) may be used in the downlink for positioning using various positioning techniques. The PRS may be used to measure the delay of downlink transmissions by correlating signals received from a base station with a local replica in the receiver. A Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) may be used in the downlink and sidelink. CSI-RS may be used for channel state estimation, reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements for mobility and beam management, and time / frequency tracking for demodulation, among other uses. CSI-RS may be configured UE-specific, although multiple users may share the same CSI-RS resource.The UE may determine a CSI report and transmit the CSI report to the base station on the uplink using the PUCCH or PUSCH. The CSI report may be carried in the sidelink MAC CE. A primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) may be used for radio frame synchronization. The PSS and SSS may be used for cell search procedures during initial connection or for mobility purposes. A sounding reference signal (SRS) may be used in the uplink for uplink channel estimation. Similar to the CSI-RS, the SRS may serve as a QCL reference for other physical channels and therefore can be configured and transmitted quasi-colocated with the SRS. The sidelink PSS (S-PSS) and sidelink SSS (S-SSS) may be used in the sidelink for sidelink synchronization.

[0056] 7 illustrates example radio resource control (RRC) states and transitions between different RRC states in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. A UE may be in one of three RRC states: an RRC connected state 710, an RRC idle state 720, and an RRC inactive state 730. After power-on, the UE may be in the RRC idle state 720, and the UE may establish a connection with the network via an RRC connection establishment procedure using initial access to perform data transfer and / or make / receive voice calls. Once the RRC connection is established, the UE may enter the RRC connected state 710. The UE may transition from the RRC idle state 720 to the RRC connected state 710 or from the RRC connected state 710 to the RRC idle state 720 using an RRC connection establishment / release procedure 740.

[0057] When a UE frequently transmits small data, the RRC inactive state 730 may be used to reduce the signaling load and latency resulting from frequent transitions from the RRC connected state 710 to the RRC idle state 720. In the RRC inactive state 730, the AS context may be stored by both the UE and the gNB. This may result in a faster state transition from the RRC inactive state 730 to the RRC connected state 710. The UE may transition from the RRC inactive state 730 to the RRC connected state 710 or from the RRC connected state 710 to the RRC inactive state 730 using an RRC connection resumption / deactivation procedure 760. The UE may transition from the RRC inactive state 730 to the RRC idle state 720 using an RRC connection release procedure 750.

[0058] FIG. 8 illustrates an example frame structure and physical resources according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Downlink, uplink, or sidelink transmissions may be organized into frames of 10 ms duration consisting of ten 1 ms subframes. Each subframe may consist of 1, 2, 4, ... slots, and the number of slots per subframe may vary depending on the subcarrier spacing of the carrier on which the transmission occurs. The slot duration may be 14 symbols with a normal cyclic prefix (CP) or 12 symbols with an extended CP, and may be scaled in time as a function of the subcarrier spacing used, so that there are an integer number of slots in a subframe. FIG. 8 illustrates a resource grid in the time and frequency domains. Each element of the resource grid includes one symbol in time and one subcarrier in frequency and is referred to as a resource element (RE). A resource block (RB) may be defined as 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain.

[0059] In some examples, in non-slot-based scheduling, transmission of a packet may occur over a portion of a slot, e.g., 2, 4, or 7 OFDM symbols, which may also be referred to as a minislot. Minislots may be used for low-latency applications such as URLLC and operation in unlicensed bands. In some embodiments, minislots may also be used for fast and flexible scheduling of services (e.g., preemption for URLLC over eMBB).

[0060] FIG. 9 illustrates exemplary component carrier configurations in different carrier aggregation scenarios in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. In carrier aggregation (CA), two or more component carriers (CCs) may be aggregated. A UE may simultaneously receive or transmit on one or more CCs depending on its capabilities. CA may be supported on both contiguous and non-contiguous CCs within the same band or different bands, as shown in FIG. 9. The gNB and UE may communicate using a serving cell. The serving cell may be associated with at least one downlink CC (e.g., may be associated with only one downlink CC or may be associated with a downlink CC and an uplink CC). The serving cell may be a primary cell (PCell) or a secondary cell (SCell).

[0061] The UE may adjust the timing of its uplink transmission using an uplink timing control procedure. A timing advance (TA) may be used to adjust the timing of the uplink frame relative to the timing of the downlink frame. The gNB may determine a desired timing advance setting and provide it to the UE. The UE may use the provided TA to determine its uplink transmission timing relative to its observed downlink receive timing.

[0062] In the RRC connected state, the gNB may be responsible for maintaining the timing advance to keep L1 synchronization. Serving cells with uplinks to which the same timing advance applies and that use the same timing reference cell are grouped into a timing advance group (TAG). A TAG may include at least one serving cell with an uplink configured. The mapping of serving cells to TAGs may be configured by RRC. For a primary TAG, the UE may use the PCell as the timing reference cell, but may also use an SCell as the timing reference cell in certain cases other than in the case of shared spectrum channel access. For a secondary TAG, the UE may use any of the activated SCells of this TAG as the timing reference cell and may not change it unless necessary.

[0063] The timing advance update may be signaled by the gNB to the UE via a MAC CE command. Such a command may restart a TAG-specific timer that may indicate whether L1 can be synchronized. If the timer is running, L1 may be considered synchronized; otherwise, L1 may be considered unsynchronized (in which case uplink transmissions may only occur on the PRACH).

[0064] A UE with a single timing advance capability for CA may simultaneously receive and / or transmit on multiple CCs corresponding to multiple serving cells (multiple serving cells grouped into one TAG) sharing the same timing advance. A UE with multiple timing advance capability for CA may simultaneously receive and / or transmit on multiple CCs corresponding to multiple serving cells (multiple serving cells grouped into multiple TAGs) with different timing advances. The NG-RAN may ensure that each TAG contains at least one serving cell. A non-CA capable UE may receive on a single CC and transmit on a single CC corresponding to only one serving cell (one serving cell in one TAG).

[0065] The multi-carrier property of the physical layer in case of CA may be exposed to the MAC layer, and one HARQ entity may be required per serving cell. When CA is configured, the UE may have one RRC connection with the network. Upon RRC connection establishment / re-establishment / handover, one serving cell (e.g., PCell) may provide NAS mobility information. Depending on the UE capabilities, the SCell may be configured to form a set of serving cells together with the PCell. The set of serving cells configured for a UE may consist of one PCell and one or more SCells. Reconfiguration, addition, and deletion of SCells may be performed by RRC.

[0066] In a dual connectivity scenario, a UE may be configured with multiple cells including a Master Cell Group (MCG) for communication with a master base station, a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) for communication with a secondary base station, and two MAC entities, i.e., one MAC entity for the MCG for communication with the master base station and one MAC entity for the SCG for communication with the secondary base station.

[0067] FIG. 10 illustrates exemplary bandwidth portion configuration and switching in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. A UE may be configured with one or more bandwidth portions (BWPs) 1010 on a given component carrier. In some examples, one of the one or more bandwidth portions may be active at a time. The active bandwidth portion may define the UE's operating bandwidth within the cell's operating bandwidth. For initial access, an initial bandwidth portion 1020 determined from system information may be used until the UE's configuration within the cell is received. With bandwidth adaptation (BA), for example, via BWP switching 1040, the UE's reception and transmission bandwidths may not be as large as the cell's bandwidth and may be adjusted. For example, the width may be commanded to change (e.g., shrink during periods of low activity to conserve power), the location may move in the frequency domain (e.g., increase scheduling flexibility), or the subcarrier spacing may be commanded to change (e.g., allow for different services). The first active BWP 1020 may be the active BWP upon RRC (re)configuration of the PCell or activation of the SCell.

[0068] For a downlink BWP or an uplink BWP in the set of downlink or uplink BWPs, the UE may be provided with the following configuration parameters, respectively: subcarrier spacing (SCS), cyclic prefix, number of common RBs and consecutive RBs, index within the set of downlink or uplink BWPs by the respective BWP-Id, a set of BWP common parameters, and a set of BWP-specific parameters. A BWP may be associated with an OFDM numerology according to the configured subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix for the BWP. For a serving cell, the UE may be provided with a default downlink BWP among the configured downlink BWPs. If the UE is not provided with a default downlink BWP, the default downlink BWP may be the initial downlink BWP.

[0069] A downlink BWP may be associated with a BWP inactivity timer. If the BWP inactivity timer associated with an active downlink BWP expires and a default downlink BWP is configured, the UE may perform a BWP switch to the default BWP. If the BWP inactivity timer associated with an active downlink BWP expires and a default downlink BWP is not configured, the UE may perform a BWP switch to the initial downlink BWP.

[0070] 11 illustrates an example of a contention-based and contention-free four-step random access process according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a contention-based and contention-free two-step random access process according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The random access procedure may be triggered by various events, such as initial access from an RRC idle state, an RRC connection re-establishment procedure, arrival of downlink or uplink data during an RRC connected state when the uplink synchronization status is "unsynchronized," arrival of uplink data during an RRC connected state when there are no available PUCCH resources for a scheduling request (SR), a failed SR, a request by RRC upon synchronization reconfiguration (e.g., handover), a transition from an RRC inactive state, establishment of secondary TAG time alignment, a request for other system information (SI), beam failure recovery (BFR), and a consistent uplink listen-before-talk (LBT) failure on the PCell.

[0071] Two types of random access (RA) procedures can be supported: a four-step RA type with MSG1 and a two-step RA type with MSGA. Both types of RA procedures can support contention-based random access (CBRA) and contention-free random access (CFRA), as shown in Figures 11 and 12.

[0072] The UE may select the type of random access at the start of the random access procedure based on the network configuration. If CFRA resources are not configured, the RSRP threshold may be used by the UE to select between the 2-step RA type and the 4-step RA type. If CFRA resources for the 4-step RA type are configured, the UE may perform random access via the 4-step RA type. If CFRA resources for the 2-step RA type are configured, the UE may perform random access via the 2-step RA type.

[0073] MSG1 for the 4-step RA type may consist of a preamble on the PRACH. After transmitting MSG1, the UE may monitor for a response from the network within a configured window. For CFRA, a dedicated preamble for MSG1 transmission may be assigned by the network, and upon receiving a random access response (RAR) from the network, the UE may terminate the random access procedure as shown in FIG. 11. For CBRA, upon receiving a random access response, the UE may send MSG3 using the uplink grant scheduled in the random access response and may monitor contention resolution as shown in FIG. 11. If contention resolution is not successful after (re)transmission(s) of MSG3, the UE may return to transmitting MSG1.

[0074] The MSGA for the two-step RA type may include a preamble on the PRACH and a payload on the PUSCH. After transmitting the MSGA, the UE may monitor for a response from the network within a configured window. For CFRA, dedicated preamble and PUSCH resources may be configured for MSGA transmission, and upon receiving a network response, the UE may terminate the random access procedure as shown in FIG. 12. For CBRA, if a network response is received and contention resolution is successful, the UE may terminate the random access procedure as shown in FIG. 12. On the other hand, if a fallback indication is received in MSGB, the UE may perform MSG3 transmission using the uplink grant scheduled in the fallback indication and may monitor contention resolution. If contention resolution is not successful after the (re)transmission(s) of MSG3, the UE may return to transmitting MSGA.

[0075] FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary time and frequency structure of a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. An SS / PBCH block (SSB) may consist of a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), each occupying one symbol and 127 subcarriers (e.g., subcarrier numbers 56-182 in FIG. 13), and a PBCH spanning three OFDM symbols and 240 subcarriers, with one symbol remaining unused for the SSS in the middle, as shown in FIG. 13. The possible time locations of the SSBs within a half-frame may be determined by the subcarrier spacing, and the period of the half-frame during which the SSBs are transmitted may be configured by the network. Different SSBs may be transmitted in different spatial directions (i.e., across the cell's coverage area using different beams) during a half-frame.

[0076] The PBCH may be used to carry a Master Information Block (MIB) that the UE uses during cell search and initial access procedures. The UE may first decode the PBCH / MIB to receive other system information. The MIB may provide the UE with parameters necessary to acquire System Information Block 1 (SIB1), more specifically, information necessary to monitor the PDCCH to schedule the PDSCH carrying SIB1. Additionally, the MIB may indicate barring status information for the cell. The MIB and SIB1 may be collectively referred to as Minimum System Information (SI), and SIB1 may be referred to as Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI). Other System Information Blocks (SIBs) (e.g., SIB2, SIB3, ..., SIB10, SIBpos) may be referred to as Other SI. Other SI may be broadcast periodically on the DL-SCH, broadcast on demand on the DL-SCH (e.g., upon request from a UE in RRC idle, RRC inactive, or RRC connected state), or sent in a dedicated manner on the DL-SCH to RRC connected UEs (e.g., if configured by the network, upon request from an RRC connected UE, or if the UE has an active BWP for which a common search space is not configured).

[0077] FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary SSB burst transmission according to some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. An SSB burst may include N SSBs, and each SSB of the N SSBs may correspond to a beam. The SSB bursts may be transmitted according to a periodicity (e.g., an SSB burst period). During a contention-based random access process, the UE may perform a random access resource selection process, in which the UE first selects an SSB and then selects an RA preamble. The UE may select an SSB with an RSRP above a configured threshold. In some embodiments, if an SSB with an RSRP above a configured threshold is not available, the UE may select an arbitrary SSB. A set of random access preambles may be associated with the SSB. After selecting the SSB, the UE may select a random access preamble from the set of random access preambles associated with the SSB and may transmit the selected random access preamble to initiate the random access process.

[0078] In some embodiments, one beam out of the N beams may be associated with the CSI-RS resource. The UE may measure the CSI-RS resource and select a CSI-RS with an RSRP above a configured threshold. The UE may select a random access preamble corresponding to the selected CSI-RS and may transmit the selected random access process to initiate the random access process. If there is no random access preamble associated with the selected CSI-RS, the UE may select a random access preamble corresponding to an SSB quasi-colocated with the selected CSI-RS.

[0079] In some embodiments, based on the UE measurements of CSI-RS resources and the UE CSI report, the base station may determine a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state and may indicate the TCI state to the UE, which may use the indicated TCI state to receive downlink control information (e.g., via a PDCCH) or data (e.g., via a PDSCH). The UE may use the indicated TCI state to use an appropriate beam for reception of data or control information. The indication of the TCI state may use an RRC configuration or a combination of RRC and dynamic signaling (e.g., via a MAC Control Element (MAC CE) and / or based on the value of a field in the downlink control information that schedules downlink transmissions). The TCI state may indicate a quasi-co-location (QCL) relationship between a downlink reference signal, such as a CSI-RS, and a DM-RS associated with a downlink control channel or data channel (e.g., a PDCCH or PDSCH, respectively).

[0080] In some embodiments, the UE uses a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) configuration parameter to decode the PDSCH according to a detected PDCCH configured with a list of up to M TCI state configurations and containing DCI for the UE and a designated serving cell, where M varies depending on the UE's capabilities. Each TCI state may include parameters for configuring a QCL relationship between one or two downlink reference signals and a DM-RS port of the PDSCH, a DM-RS port of the PDCCH, or a CSI-RS port of a CSI-RS resource. The quasi-co-location relationship may be configured by one or more RRC parameters. The quasi-co-location type corresponding to each DL RS may take one of the following values: 'QCL-TypeA': {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread}; 'QCL-TypeB': {Doppler shift, Doppler spread}; 'QCL-TypeC': {Doppler shift, average delay}; 'QCL-TypeD': {Spatial Rx parameters}. The UE may receive an activation command (eg, MAC CE) that is used to map the TCI state to a codepoint in the DCI field.

[0081] FIG. 15 illustrates exemplary components of a user equipment and a base station for transmission and / or reception in accordance with some aspects of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. All or some of the blocks and functions of FIG. 15 may reside in or be performed by the base station 1505 and the user equipment 1500. The antenna 1510 may be used to transmit or receive electromagnetic signals. The antenna 1510 may comprise one or more antenna elements and may enable various input-output antenna configurations, including multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configurations, multiple-input single-output (MISO) configurations, and single-input multiple-output (SIMO) configurations. In some embodiments, the antenna 1510 may enable massive MIMO configurations with tens or hundreds of antenna elements. The antenna 1510 may enable other multi-antenna techniques, such as beamforming. In some examples, depending on the capabilities of the UE 1500 or the type of the UE 1500 (e.g., a low-complexity UE), the UE 1500 may support only a single antenna.

[0082] The transceiver 1520 may communicate bidirectionally over a wireless link via the antenna 1510, as described herein. For example, the transceiver 1520 may represent a wireless transceiver of a UE and may communicate bidirectionally with a wireless transceiver of a base station, or vice versa. The transceiver 1520 may include a modem that modulates packets, provides the modulated packets to the antenna 1510 for transmission, and demodulates packets received from the antenna 1510.

[0083] The memory 1530 may include RAM and ROM. The memory 1530 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 1535, including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform various functions described herein. In some examples, the memory 1530 may include, among other things, a basic input / output system (BIOS), which may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0084] The processor 1540 may include a hardware device having processing capabilities (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some examples, the processor 1540 may be configured to operate a memory using a memory controller. In other examples, the memory controller may be integrated into the processor 1540. The processor 1540 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 1530) to cause the UE 1500 or the base station 1505 to perform various functions.

[0085] Central processing unit (CPU) 1550 may perform basic arithmetic, logic, control, and input / output (I / O) operations specified by computer instructions in memory 1530. User equipment 1500 and / or base station 1505 may include additional peripheral components such as a graphics processing unit (GPU) 1560 and a global positioning system (GPS) 1570. GPU 1560 is specialized circuitry for rapidly manipulating and modifying memory 1530 to speed up processing performance of user equipment 1500 and / or base station 1505. GPS 1570 may be used, for example, to enable location-based services or other services based on the geographic location of user equipment 1500.

[0086] In some examples, the SPS-Config may be used to configure downlink semi-persistent transmission. Multiple downlink SPS configurations may be configured for one BWP of the serving cell. The field / parameter harq-CodebookID may indicate the corresponding HARQ-ACK codebook for the SPS PDSCH and the HARQ-ACK codebook index for the ACK of the SPS PDSCH release. The field / parameter harq-ProcID-Offset may indicate the offset used to derive the HARQ process ID. The field / parameter mcs-Table may indicate the MCS table the UE may use for DL ​​SPS. The field / parameter n1PUCCH-AN may indicate the HARQ resources for the PUCCH of the DL SPS. The network may configure the resources as either format 0 or format 1. The actual PUCCH resources may be configured in the PUCCH-Config and referenced by their ID. The field / parameter n1PUCCH-AN-PUCCHsSCell may indicate the HARQ resources for the PUCCH on the PUCCH switching SCell (sSCell) of the DL SPS. The network configures resources as either format0 or format1. The actual PUCCH resources may be configured in the PUCCH Config of the PUCCH sSCell and referenced by its ID. The fields / parameters nrofHARQ-Processes, nrofHARQ-ProcessesExt may indicate the number of HARQ processes configured for SPS DL. The field / parameter pdsch-AggregationFactor may indicate the number of repetitions for the SPS PDSCH. The field / parameter periodicity may indicate the periodicity of the DL SPS. The field / parameter sps-ConfigIndex may indicate an index of one of multiple SPS configurations. The field / parameter sps-HARQ-Deferral may indicate the maximum number of slots or subslots within which the transmission of a DL SPS HARQ-ACK can be deferred.

[0087] In some examples, the IE SPS-ConfigIndex may be used to indicate the index of one of multiple DL SPS configurations within one BWP.

[0088] In some examples, semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) may be configured by RRC for the serving cell per BWP. Multiple allocations may be active simultaneously within the same BWP. DL SPS activation and deactivation may be independent between serving cells.

[0089] In some examples, for DL ​​SPS, the DL allocation may be stored or cleared based on L1 signaling provided by the PDCCH indicating activation or deactivation of the SPS.

[0090] In some examples, the RRC may configure the following parameters when an SPS is configured: cs-RNTI: CS-RNTI for activation, deactivation, and retransmission; nrofHARQ-Processes: number of HARQ processes configured for the SPS; harq-ProcID-Offset: offset of the HARQ processes for the SPS; periodicity: periodicity of downlink assignment configured for the SPS.

[0091] In some instances, when an SPS is released by an upper layer, a corresponding configuration may be released.

[0092] In some examples, after a downlink allocation is configured in an SPS, the MAC entity may sequentially consider the Nth downlink allocation to occur in the following slots: (numberOfSlotsPerFrame × SFN + slot number within frame) = [(numberOfSlotsPerFrame × SFNstart time + slotstart time) + N × period × numberOfSlotsPerFrame / 10] modulo (1024 × numberOfSlotsPerFrame), where SFNstart time and slotstart time are the SFN and slot of the first PDSCH transmission for which the configured downlink allocation is (re)initialized, respectively.

[0093] In some examples, if the SFNs are not consistent across carriers within a cell group, the SFN of the associated serving cell may be used to calculate the occurrence of the configured downlink allocation.

[0094] In some examples, when a downlink allocation for a PDCCH occasion is received for a serving cell on a PDCCH for the MAC entity's CS-RNTI or G-CS-RNTI, if the NDI in the received HARQ information is 0, if the PDCCH content indicates SPS deactivation, the MAC entity may clear the configured downlink allocation for the serving cell (if present), and if the timeAlignmentTimer associated with the TAG containing the serving cell for which the HARQ feedback is being transmitted is running, the MAC entity may indicate an acknowledgment of the SPS deactivation to the physical layer. If the PDCCH content indicates SPS activation, the MAC entity may store the downlink allocation and associated HARQ information for this serving cell as a configured downlink allocation, and the MAC entity may initialize or reinitialize the configured downlink allocation for this serving cell starting within the associated PDSCH duration and repeating according to the rules.

[0095] In some examples, the UE may receive a DCI to activate an SPS configuration. The DCI may be a downlink scheduling DCI, such as DCI format 1_0, DCI format 1_1, or DCI format 1_2. DCI formats 1_0, 1_1, and 1_2 may include a PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing field.

[0096] In some examples, the power consumption of a base station may be divided into two parts: a dynamic part that may be consumed while data transmission / reception is in progress, and a static part that may be consumed (e.g., at all times) to maintain necessary operation of the base station even when data transmission / reception is not in progress. The static power consumption may be determined by a sleep mode or may be a fixed value.

[0097] In some examples, for the dynamic portion, power consumption may be optimized based on traffic. Considering the various requirements of different UEs and different services at different transmission time intervals (TTIs), transmission parameters such as active TRX chain sets and transmit power may be adjusted based on the service requirements to maximize potential power savings without significant performance degradation. In some examples, some transmission parameters may be adjusted depending on the UE's data rate requirements and expected transmission capacity. For example, when traffic is low and transmission capacity would be wasted, some of the transceiver chains or components may be turned off to reduce power consumption. Exemplary techniques for enabling NES may include power reduction in the time domain, spatial domain, frequency domain, and / or power domain. For example, dynamic on / off and light common signaling may be used for the time domain.

[0098] In some examples, when there is no data in the time domain, the base station may reduce power consumption by symbol muting. More efficient symbol muting may be achieved by simplifying some always-on signals / channels. In some examples, to ensure that the cell is detectable by the UE, some always-on common signals (e.g., SSB and SIB1) may be transmitted by the base station. These always-on common signals may occupy a certain number of symbols, during which the BS may not transition to sleep mode for energy conservation.

[0099] In some examples, some of the symbols may be active during times when the network is transmitting only SSB and SIB1.

[0100] In some examples, the periodicity of SSBs and SIB1s may be changed when the network is idle to reduce the ratio of SSBs and SIB1s. Changing the periodicity may increase UE access latency and may risk legacy UEs being unable to accurately identify cells with longer SSB periods.

[0101] In some examples, if a carrier already exists on which the UE can receive SSB / SIB1, the common signaling of the other carriers may be simplified and / or supplemented by the signaling received from the first carrier.

[0102] In some examples, for an SSB, a discovery reference signal (DRS) occupying fewer symbols (e.g., two symbols) than an existing SSB may be transmitted on the energy-saving carrier to mitigate impacts on UE performance, such as synchronization accuracy. In some examples, if the BS can maintain synchronization between different carriers (e.g., between the anchor carrier and the energy-saving carrier), the SSB on the energy-saving carrier may be skipped entirely, e.g., to achieve additional sleep time without the SSB. A UE on an energy-saving carrier may acquire time and synchronization based on the SSB on the anchor carrier. In some examples, a legacy UE may not be able to access the network via the energy-saving carrier, but because the anchor carrier exists, the legacy UE may receive regular SSBs and SIB1 on the anchor carrier. In some examples, by skipping the SSB on the energy-saving carrier, the UE may acquire synchronization information from the PCell, thereby reducing SCell activation latency and improving throughput performance. For example, the latency of fast SCell activation may be reduced.

[0103] In some examples, using SSB received from one carrier for other carriers in a multi-carrier scenario may not only provide energy savings but also reduce the latency of the SCell activation procedure.

[0104] In some instances, for FR2 carriers that may be deployed in a standalone manner, due to differences in activity between beams, there may be scope to further reduce the need for always-on common signals such as SSB / SIB1, for example by replacing these signals with on-demand SSB / SIB1.

[0105] In some examples, transmission of common signals, eg, SSB and SIB1, may be optimized to minimize energy consumption in single-carrier and multi-carrier scenarios.

[0106] Existing UE and network processes can result in high energy consumption at the network / base station. Network energy saving can be important for environmental sustainability and operational cost savings. Existing semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) processes, and more specifically, HARQ feedback reporting of received SPS transport blocks, can be inefficient and can increase energy consumption at the base station and / or UE when the base station or a cell served by the base station is in or configured to be in an energy saving state. Existing SPS processes and HARQ feedback reporting need to be augmented. Example embodiments augment existing SPS and HARQ feedback processes when network energy saving is configured / enabled.

[0107] In an example embodiment such as shown in FIG. 16, the UE may receive one or more messages including configuration parameters (e.g., RRC configuration parameters) from the base station. The one or more messages may include one or more RRC messages. The configuration parameters may include SPS configuration parameters for one or more SPS configurations. One SPS configuration of the one or more SPS configurations may be configured for a cell (e.g., a cell served by the base station). The SPS configuration may include parameters used by the UE to determine an SPS grant / radio resource for receiving a downlink SPS transport block. For example, the SPS configuration parameters may include a periodicity parameter indicating a time interval between successive SPS grants. For example, the SPS configuration parameters may include one or more HARQ-related parameters used by the UE to determine a HARQ process ID associated with the SPS grant. For example, the SPS configuration parameters may include an SPS configuration index of an SPS configuration within the one or more SPS configurations. For example, the SPS configuration parameters may include an SPS RNTI, and a DCI used for activating the SPS configuration may be associated with the SPS RNTI.

[0108] The UE may receive an activation DCI indicating activation of an SPS configuration. For example, the DCI may include a first field having a value indicating an SPS configuration index associated with the SPS configuration, and the UE may determine for which SPS configuration the DCI indicates activation based on the SPS configuration index indicated by the activation DCI. The activation DCI may further include a second field having a value indicating a PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing / duration. In some examples, the UE may receive multiple PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing / duration configuration parameters, and the value of the second field may indicate (e.g., provide an index to) one of multiple PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing / durations. The PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing / duration may be used by the UE to determine the HARQ feedback timing associated with the SPS TB. The timing of the HARQ feedback may further be based on the timing of the SPS TB.

[0109] The UE may receive the SPS TB based on the SPS grant determined using the SPS configuration parameters and the activation DCI. The UE may determine the timing of HARQ feedback (e.g., HARQ ACK or NACK) associated with the SPS TB. The UE may determine the timing of HARQ feedback based on whether the base station or one or more cells served by the base station (e.g., one or more cells including the cell where the SPS TBS is received or the cell where the PUCCH carrying the HARQ feedback is configured) is in an energy saving state or a non-energy saving state. When the base station or one or more cells served by the base station is in an energy saving state, at least one signal, at least one channel, or at least one message may be transmitted or received with a longer period and / or less frequency than when the base station or one or more cells served by the base station is in a non-energy saving state.

[0110] In some examples, based on and while the base station or one or more cells served by the base station are in a non-energy saving state, the UE may determine the HARQ feedback timing associated with the SPS TB based on the PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing and the timing of the SPS TB indicated by the activation DCI. For example, based on and while the base station or one or more cells served by the base station are in an energy saving state, the time difference between the SPS TB and the HARQ feedback associated with the SPS TB may not be the duration indicated by the PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indicated by the activation DCI.

[0111] In some examples, based on the base station or one or more cells served by the base station being in an energy saving state, and while in the energy saving state, the time difference between the SPS TB and the HARQ feedback associated with the SPS TB may be the duration indicated by the PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing indicated by the activation DCI plus an offset. In some examples, the offset may be based on a control parameter (e.g., based on the value of a field in an RRC message, based on the value of a field in a MAC CE, or based on the value of a field in a DCI). In some examples, the activation DCI may include a field indicating the offset. In some examples, such as that shown in FIG. 17, the UE may receive an indication (e.g., via an RRC message or a MAC CE or DCI) that the base station or one or more cells served by the base station are in or have entered an energy saving state. In response to receiving the indication, the UE may determine that the base station or one or more cells served by the base station are in or have entered an energy saving state. In some examples, the indication may include a field having a value indicating the offset.

[0112] In some examples, such as that shown in FIG. 18, the UE may ignore the PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing field in the DCI based on the base station or one or more cells served by the base station entering an energy saving state.

[0113] In some examples, such as that shown in FIG. 19, the UE may receive one or more messages (e.g., a broadcast message, e.g., an SIB message), one or more channels, one or more signals, and / or one or more commands, and may determine a time difference between the SPS TB and the HARQ feedback corresponding to the SPS TB based on at least one of the one or more messages, one or more channels, one or more signals, and one or more commands while the base station or one or more cells served by the base station are in an energy saving state (e.g., based on an explicit parameter indicating the time difference). For example, the SPS activation DCI may include a field having a value indicating the time difference. In some examples, the DCI may include multiple fields indicating the time difference while the base station or one or more cells served by the base station are in an energy saving state and the time difference while the base station or one or more cells served by the base station are in a non-energy saving state.

[0114] In some examples, the PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing may be in several slots. The PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback timing may be based on the subcarrier spacing of the control channel carrying the HARQ feedback.

[0115] In some examples, the UE may store HARQ feedback associated with the SPS TB and may postpone its transmission until the base station or one or more cells served by the base station are in a non-energy saving state.

[0116] In some examples, the time difference between the SPS TB and the HARQ feedback corresponding to the SPS TB may be based on a period of a signal or channel (e.g., SSB, etc.) while the base station or one or more cells served by the base station is in a network energy saving state. In some examples, the time difference between the SPS TB and the HARQ feedback corresponding to the SPS TB may be based on a first period of the signal or channel (e.g., SSB, etc.) while the base station or one or more cells served by the base station is in a network energy saving state and a second period of the signal or channel while the base station or one or more cells served by the base station is in a non-energy saving state.

[0117] In an example embodiment, a user equipment (UE) may receive configuration parameters for a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configuration for a cell from a base station. The UE may receive downlink control information (DCI) indicating activation of the SPS configuration, where the DCI includes a field having a value indicating a duration between a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and a corresponding hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback. The UE may receive a transport block (TB) based on the SPS configuration, where the time difference between the TB and the HARQ feedback associated with the TB may be the duration indicated by the value of the field while the base station or cell is in a non-energy saving state, or may not be the duration indicated by the value of the field while the base station or cell is in an energy saving state.

[0118] In some examples, while a base station or cell is in an energy saving state, the time difference between a transport block (TB) and a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback associated with the transport block may be longer than the duration indicated by the value of the field.

[0119] In some examples, the time difference between a transport block (TB) and a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback associated with the transport block may be the duration indicated by the value of the field plus an offset while the base station or cell is in an energy saving state.

[0120] In some examples, the UE may receive a control parameter indicating the offset. In some examples, receiving the control parameter may be based on a radio resource configuration (RRC) message. In some examples, the RRC message may include a field having a value indicating the offset. In some examples, receiving the control parameter may be based on a media access control (MAC) command. In some examples, the media access control (MAC) command may include a field having a value indicating the offset. In some examples, receiving the control parameter may be based on downlink control information (DCI). In some examples, the downlink control information (DCI) may include a field having a value indicating the offset. In some examples, the UE may receive an indication that a base station or a cell is in or has entered an energy saving state, where the indication may include a field including a value indicating the offset. In some examples, the indication may be based on one or more of a radio resource control (RRC) message, a media access control (MAC) command, and downlink control information (DCI).

[0121] In some examples, the UE may ignore the value of the field in response to the base station or cell being in or entering an energy saving state.

[0122] In some examples, while a base station or cell is in or has entered an energy saving state, a UE may receive a message, channel, or command indicating a time difference between a TB and a HARQ feedback associated with the TB. In some examples, the channel may be a downlink control channel carrying downlink control information. In some examples, the downlink control information may be activation downlink control information used for activating an SPS configuration. In some examples, the activation downlink control information may include: a first field having a first value indicating a first duration between a first received transport block and a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback corresponding to the first received transport block while the base station or cell is in a non-energy saving state; and a second field having a second value indicating a second duration between a second received transport block and a HARQ feedback corresponding to the second received transport block while the base station or cell is in an energy saving state. In some examples, the message may be a broadcast message. In some examples, the broadcast message may be a system information block (SIB) message.

[0123] In some examples, the duration may be expressed in number of slots. In some examples, the duration may be based on a subcarrier spacing associated with an uplink control channel that carries hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback.

[0124] In some examples, the hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback may be one of an acknowledgement (ACK) and a negative acknowledgement (NACK).

[0125] In some examples, semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configuration parameters may include a periodicity parameter that indicates the separation between successive SPS grants.

[0126] In some examples, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback associated with a transport block (TB) received while the base station or cell is in an energy saving state is postponed until the base station or cell for which the HARQ feedback is scheduled to be transmitted is in a non-energy saving state.

[0127] In some examples, the semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configuration may be associated with a first SPS configuration index, and the activation downlink control information (DCI) may include a field having a value indicating the SPS configuration index. In some examples, the signal or channel may be a downlink signal or a downlink channel. In some examples, the downlink signal or a downlink channel may be a synchronization signal block (SSB). In some examples, the time difference may be based on a first period of the signal or channel while the base station or cell is in a non-energy saving state and a second period of the signal or channel while the base station or cell is in an energy saving state. In some examples, the time difference may be based on the first period and the second period.

[0128] In some examples, while the base station or one or more cells served by the base station is in an energy saving state, at least one signal or at least one channel or at least one message may be transmitted or received at a longer period and less frequently.

[0129] In some examples, the UE may receive configuration parameters indicating the plurality of durations, and a value of a field in the downlink control information indicates a first duration of the plurality of durations. In some examples, the configuration parameters for the semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configuration may include a first parameter indicating an SPS Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI), and the downlink control information may be associated with the SPS RNTI.

[0130] The example blocks and modules described in this disclosure with respect to various exemplary embodiments may be implemented or embodied by a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Examples of general-purpose processors include, but are not limited to, a microprocessor, any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. In some examples, a processor may be implemented using a combination of devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in combination with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0131] The functions described in this disclosure may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. Instructions or code may be stored on or transmitted to a computer-readable medium for implementing the functions. Other examples of implementing the functions disclosed herein are also within the scope of this disclosure. The implementation of the functions may be via physically co-located or distributed elements (e.g., in various locations), including being distributed such that some of the functions are implemented in different physical locations.

[0132] Computer-readable media include, but are not limited to, non-transitory computer storage media. Non-transitory storage media may be accessed by general-purpose or special-purpose computers. Examples of non-transitory storage media include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disc (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, etc. Non-transitory media may be used to carry or store desired program code means (e.g., instructions and / or data structures) and may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. In some examples, software / program code may be transmitted from a remote source (e.g., a website, a server, etc.) using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio wave, and microwave. In such examples, coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio wave, and microwave are within the definition of medium. Combinations of the above examples are also within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0133] As used in this disclosure, the use of the term "or" in a list of items indicates an inclusive list. A list of items may be preceded by phrases such as "at least one" or "one or more." For example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C includes A or B or C or AB (i.e., A and B) or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" preceding a list of conditions should not be construed as "based only on" the set of conditions, but rather as "based at least in part on" the set of conditions. For example, a result described as "based on condition A" may also be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0134] As used herein, the terms "comprise," "include," or "contain" are used interchangeably, have the same meaning, and are to be interpreted as inclusive and open-ended. The terms "comprise," "include," or "contain" may be used before a list of elements to indicate that at least all elements listed in the list are present, but other elements not in the list may also be present. For example, if A contains B and C, then both {B,C} and {B,C,D} are within the scope of A.

[0135] The present disclosure, in connection with the accompanying drawings, describes exemplary configurations that are not representative of all implementations that may be implemented or all configurations within the scope of the present disclosure. The term "exemplary" should be construed as an illustration, instance, or example, and not as meaning "preferred" or "advantageous over other examples." Upon reading this disclosure, including the description of the embodiments and the drawings, those skilled in the art will understand that the technology disclosed herein may be implemented using alternative embodiments. Those skilled in the art will understand that the embodiments described herein, or specific features of the embodiments, may be combined to realize yet other embodiments for implementing the technology described in the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. 1. A method for network energy conservation, comprising: receiving, by a user equipment (UE), from a base station, configuration parameters for a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configuration for a cell; receiving downlink control information (DCI) indicating activation of the SPS configuration, the DCI including a DCI duration field including a DCI duration value indicating a duration between a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and a corresponding hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback; receiving a transport block (TB) based on the SPS configuration, wherein a time difference between the TB and a HARQ feedback associated with the TB is: while the base station or the cell is in a non-energy saving state, the duration indicated by the DCI duration value in the DCI duration field; not the duration indicated by the DCI duration value in the DCI duration field while the base station or the cell is in an energy saving state.

2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein while the base station or the cell is in the energy saving state, the time difference between the transport block (TB) and a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback associated with the transport block is longer than the duration indicated by the DCI duration value in the DCI duration field.

3. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein while the base station or the cell is in the energy saving state, the time difference between the transport block (TB) and a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback associated with the transport block is the duration indicated by the DCI duration value in the DCI duration field plus an offset.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving a control parameter indicative of the offset.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein receiving the control parameters is based on a Radio Resource Configuration (RRC) message.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the radio resource configuration (RRC) message includes an RRC offset field having an RRC offset value indicating the offset.

7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the step of receiving the control parameters is based on a media access control (MAC) command.

8. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the media access control (MAC) command includes a MAC offset field having a MAC offset value indicating the offset.

9. The method of claim 4 , wherein receiving the control parameters is based on Downlink Control Information (DCI).

10. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the downlink control information (DCI) includes a DCI offset field having a DCI offset value indicating the offset.

11. 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising receiving an indication that the base station or the cell is in or has entered an energy saving state, the indication including an indication offset field having an indication offset value indicating the offset.

12. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the indication is based on one or more of a radio resource control (RRC) message, a medium access control (MAC) command, and a downlink control information (DCI).

13. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: ignoring the DCI duration value in the DCI duration field in response to the base station or the cell being in or entering the energy saving state.

14. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, while the base station or the cell is in or has entered the energy saving state, a message, a channel, or a command indicating the time difference between the transport block (TB) and a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback associated with the transport block.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the channel is a downlink control channel that carries downlink control information.

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