Terminal device and method

Abstract

An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a solution for transport block size (TBS) determination for sidelink communication. In this solution, a first terminal device determines a subchannel including a first number of resource block (RB) interlaces, each RB interlace of the first number of RB interlaces having a target interlace size. The first terminal device determines a transport block size (TBS) for at least one transmission of a transport block (TB) for SL-U communication based on a target criterion associated with the subchannel. The first terminal device then transmits the at least one transmission of the TB to a second terminal device based on the TBS. In this way, interlaced RB-based transmission and contiguous RB-based transmission in SL-U are improved in terms of resource allocation, TBS determination, and utilization efficiency.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of communications technologies, and more particularly to methods, apparatus, and media for sidelink communications. [Background technology]

[0002] In 5G NR, sidelink communication is developed in unlicensed spectrum (also called SL-U). SL-U supports both interlaced resource block (RB)-based and continuous RB-based transmissions. The resource allocation granularity in the frequency domain for SL-U is a subchannel for the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH). For interlaced RB-based transmissions, one subchannel can consist of one or multiple interlaces. Depending on the specific channel configuration and overhead, the subchannel varies depending on the number of interlaces and the number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) contained in each interlace. For continuous RB-based transmissions, the subchannel division is independent of the division of resource sets within the resource pool. Therefore, SL-U is expected to improve resource allocation, transport block size (TBS) determination, and utilization efficiency. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally provide a method, apparatus, and computer storage medium for TBS determination in sidelink communications. [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] In a first aspect, there is provided a communication method performed by a first terminal device, the communication method including: determining, in the first terminal device, a subchannel including a first number of resource block (RB) interlaces, each of the first number of RB interlaces having a target interlace size; determining a transport block size (TBS) for at least one transmission of a transport block (TB) for sidelink communication based on a target criterion associated with the subchannel; and transmitting the at least one transmission of the TB to a second terminal device based on the TBS.

[0005] In a second aspect, there is provided a communication method performed by a second terminal device, the communication method including: determining, in the second terminal device, a subchannel including a first number of resource block (RB) interlaces, each of the first number of RB interlaces having a target interlace size; determining a transport block size (TBS) for at least one transmission of a transport block (TB) for sidelink communication based on a target criterion associated with the subchannel; and receiving, from the first terminal device, the at least one transmission of the TB based on the TBS.

[0006] In a third aspect, there is provided a communication method performed by a first terminal device, the communication method including: obtaining, in the first terminal device, subchannel configurations for resource block (RB) sets allocated for sidelink-unlicensed (SL-U) communication; determining a set of subchannels for each of the at least one RB set based on the subchannel configurations and a configuration of the at least one RB set, wherein starting positions of the set of subchannels coincide with starting positions of each RB set in the frequency domain; and transmitting at least one transmission of a transport block (TB) to a second terminal device based on the set of subchannels.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, there is provided a communication method performed by a second terminal device, the communication method including: obtaining, in the second terminal device, subchannel configurations for resource block (RB) sets allocated for sidelink-unlicensed (SL-U) communication; determining a set of subchannels for each of the at least one RB set based on the subchannel configurations and a configuration of the at least one RB set, wherein starting positions of the set of subchannels coincide with starting positions of each RB set in the frequency domain; and receiving at least one transmission of a transport block (TB) from the first terminal device based on the set of subchannels.

[0008] In a fifth aspect, there is provided a communications apparatus comprising a processing unit and a memory, coupled to the processing unit, having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, causing the apparatus to perform a method according to the first aspect.

[0009] In a sixth aspect, there is provided a communications apparatus comprising a processing unit and a memory, coupled to the processing unit, having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, causing the apparatus to perform a method according to the second aspect.

[0010] In a seventh aspect, there is provided a communications apparatus comprising a processing unit and a memory, coupled to the processing unit, having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, causing the apparatus to perform a method according to the third aspect.

[0011] In an eighth aspect there is provided a communications apparatus comprising a processing unit and a memory, coupled to the processing unit, having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by the processing unit, causing the apparatus to perform a method according to the fourth aspect.

[0012] In a ninth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to implement a method according to the first aspect.

[0013] In a tenth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to implement a method according to the second aspect.

[0014] In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to implement a method according to the third aspect.

[0015] In a twelfth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to implement a method according to the fourth aspect.

[0016] Other features of the present disclosure will become readily apparent from the following description. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description of several embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings.

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary communication environment in which exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

[0019] [Figure 2] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary method for sidelinking according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0020] [Figure 3A] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example configuration for interlaced RB-based communication in SL-U according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 3B] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example configuration for interlaced RB-based communication in SL-U according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] [Figure 4A] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example configuration of sub-channels in a sidelink according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] [Figure 4B] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example configuration for interlaced RB-based communication in the sidelink according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0023] [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example configuration for interlaced RB-based communication in the sidelink according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0024] [Figure 6] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary method for sidelinking according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0025] [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example configuration for continuous RB-based communication in sidelink according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0026] [Figure 8] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary method for sidelinking according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0027] [Figure 9] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary method for sidelinking according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0028] [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0029] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numbers represent the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0030] The principles of the present disclosure will be described with reference to several embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are set forth for illustrative purposes only to aid those skilled in the art in understanding and practicing the present disclosure, and do not imply any limitations on the scope of the present disclosure. The present disclosure described herein can be embodied in various forms other than those described below.

[0031] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0032] In this disclosure, the term "terminal device" refers to any device with wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of terminal devices include user equipment (UE), personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, internet of things (IoT) devices, Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communication (URLLC) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices, machine type communication (MTC) devices, in-vehicle devices for V2X communications where X represents pedestrian, vehicle, or infrastructure / network, devices for Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB), spacecraft or air vehicles in a Non-terrestrial network (NTN) including Satellites and High Altitude Platforms (HAPs) including Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs), Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), and other technologies. This includes, but is not limited to, extended reality (XR) devices, which include different types of reality such as real reality (VR), virtual reality (VR), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, i.e., aircraft without a human pilot, devices on high speed trains (HST), image capture devices such as digital cameras, sensors, gaming devices, music storage and playback devices, and internet appliances that enable wireless or wired internet access and browsing.The "terminal device" may also have "multicast / broadcast" capabilities and support public safety and mission-critical, V2X applications, transparent IPV4 / IPV6 multicast delivery, IPTV, smart TV, wireless services, over-the-air software delivery, group communication, and IoT applications. It may also incorporate one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), known as multi-SIMs. The term "terminal device" may be used interchangeably with UE, mobile station, subscriber station, mobile terminal, user terminal, or wireless device.

[0033] The term "network device" refers to a device capable of providing or hosting a cell or coverage area over which terminal devices can communicate. Examples of network devices include, but are not limited to, a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a next generation Node B (gNB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a low-power node such as an IAB node, a femto node, a pico node, and a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS).

[0034] A terminal device or network device may have artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning capabilities, which typically include models trained from a large amount of collected data for a specific function and can be used to predict some information.

[0035] A terminal device or network device may operate in multiple frequency ranges, such as FR1 (410 MHz to 7125 MHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz to 71 GHz), frequency bands greater than 100 GHz, and terahertz (THz). It can also operate in licensed, unlicensed, and shared spectrum. A terminal device may have multiple connections with network devices in Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) application scenarios. A terminal device or network device can operate in full duplex, flexible duplex, and cross division duplex modes.

[0036] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in test equipment, such as, for example, a signal generator, a signal analyzer, a spectrum analyzer, a network analyzer, a test terminal equipment, a test network equipment, a channel emulator, and the like.

[0037] In some embodiments, a terminal device may be connected to a first network device and a second network device. One of the first network device and the second network device may be a master node, and the other may be a secondary node. The first network device and the second network device may use different radio access technologies (RATs). In some embodiments, the first network device may be a first RAT device, and the second network device may be a second RAT device. In some embodiments, the first RAT device is an eNB, and the second RAT device is a gNB. Information related to the different RATs may be transmitted to the terminal device from at least one of the first network device and the second network device. In some embodiments, the first information may be transmitted from the first network device to the terminal device, and the second information may be transmitted from the second network device directly or via the first network device to the terminal device. In some embodiments, information related to the terminal device configuration configured by the second network device may be transmitted from the second network device via the first network device. The information regarding the reconfiguration of the terminal device configured by the second network device may be transmitted to the terminal device directly from the second network device or via the first network device.

[0038] In this disclosure, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms "a," "the," and "the" are intended to include the plural. The term "comprises" and variations thereof are interpreted as open-ended terms meaning "including, but not limited to." The term "based on" is interpreted as "based at least in part on." The terms "one embodiment" and "embodiment" are interpreted as "at least one embodiment." The term "another embodiment" is interpreted as "at least one other embodiment." Terms such as "first," "second," etc. may refer to different objects or the same object. The following content may include other definitions, both explicit and implicit.

[0039] In some instances, values, procedures, or devices are referred to as "optimal," "lowest," "highest," "minimum," "maximum," etc. It is understood that such descriptions are intended to indicate choices among multiple functional alternatives used, and that such choices are not necessarily better, smaller, higher, or more preferred than other choices.

[0040] As used herein, the terms "resource," "transmission resource," "uplink resource," or "downlink resource" may refer to any resource for performing communication, such as a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, a space domain resource, a code domain resource, or any other resource that enables communication. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, both frequency domain and time domain resources are used as examples of transmission resources for describing some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0041] In this specification, the terms "RB interlace" and "interlaced RB" refer to {m, M+m, 2M+m, 3M+m, ...} as RBs, where M is the number of interlaces given by Table 1 below. In the context of this disclosure, the terms "RB interlace" and "interlaced RB" are used interchangeably. [Table 1]

[0042] The channel structure of the NR sidelink and NR-U is expected to be reused for SL-U. In the NR sidelink, a resource pool contains contiguous physical resource blocks (PRBs) in the frequency domain. Specifically, a resource pool is defined by the start RB, which is the lowest RB in the resource pool, represented by sl-StartRB-Subchannel, and the total number of RBs in the resource pool, represented by sl-RB-Number. A subchannel is a frequency resource unit of the PSSCH, and each subchannel consists of contiguous RBs. For example, the size of a subchannel is SubchannelSize=[10, 12, 15, 20, 25, 50, 75, 100] RBs.

[0043] In NR-U, the system band is divided into multiple RB sets by some guard bands, and one bandwidth part (BWP) may include one or more RB sets. Depending on the sub-carrier space (SCS), an RB set may include different numbers of RBs, for example, 100-110 RBs per RB set when SCS=15 KHz, and 50-55 RBs per RB set when SCS=30 KHz.

[0044] As mentioned above, both continuous RB-based and interlaced RB-based transmissions are supported in the NR sidelink. For interlaced RB-based transmissions in SL-U, the resource allocation granularity in the frequency domain is a subchannel for the PSSCH, with each subchannel consisting of K RB interlaces, where K is fixed to 1 or, alternatively, K is a preconfigured integer. In one embodiment, a subchannel may be confined within an RB set. Alternatively, in some other embodiments, a subchannel may span one or more RB sets belonging to a resource pool.

[0045] For interlaced Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission in BWP, the Y bit of the frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) field indicates which RB set is allocated to the UE, and the allocated RB set corresponds to the Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) bandwidth. This applies to the following types of PUSCH: A PUSCH scheduled by at least one non-fallback downlink control information (DCI); Configured Grant PUSCH type 2, i.e., FDRA indicated by DCI, Configuration grant PUSCH type 1, i.e. FDRA configured by radio resource control (RRC).

[0046] Therefore, the UE may determine the overall PUSCH frequency domain resource allocation by the intersection of: The assigned interlace, indicated by the X bit in the FDRA field ·Available PRBs derived at least from the assigned RB set indicated by the Y bit in the FDRA field, and intra-carrier guard bands between RB sets corresponding to consecutive LBT bandwidths. Note that an RB set includes PRBs within the LBT bandwidth and does not include inter-carrier or intra-carrier guard PRBs. PRBs between adjacent RB sets include intra-carrier guards.

[0047] In one embodiment, Y is determined by the number of RB sets included in the BWP. The Y bit indicates the first RB set and the number of RB sets corresponding to the contiguous LBT bandwidth. Therefore, the maximum possible value of Y is: TIFF2025531429000003.tif1444, where N is the number of RB sets contained in the BWP.

[0048] In one embodiment, the TBS determination procedure for the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) may be reused for TBS determination in the sidelink.

[0049] For the Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH) overhead in TBS determination, the number of PSFCH symbols indicated by SCI is used. For the PSSCH Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) overhead in TBS determination, the reference number of REs occupied by PSSCH DMRS is used, where the reference number of REs is the average number of DMRS REs in a configured or pre-configured pattern. For the Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) and Phase Track Reference Signal (PT-RS) overhead in TBS determination, a new higher layer parameter (e.g., sl-xOverhead) is introduced for each resource pool.

[0050] In one embodiment, for PSCCH and PSSCH in SL-U, the number of PRBs for each subchannel may be different, taking into account aspects such as TBS determination, UE blind decoding, etc. Therefore, for interlaced RB-based transmission, different interlaces may have different numbers of PRBs. However, the UE is not expected to receive a retransmission with a TB size different from the last valid TB size signaled for this TB. For continuous RB-based transmission, the number of PRBs in the resource pool may not be an integer multiple of the number of PRBs for a subchannel, resulting in a waste of frequency resources.

[0051] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for resource allocation and resource determination in sidelink communication. In this solution, for interlaced RB-based transmission, TBS determination for multiple transmissions of a TB is based on consistent or deterministic subchannel and interlace sizes. Furthermore, for contiguous RB-based transmission, subchannels for each RB set are defined individually based on the respective RB set configuration. In this way, resource efficiency, blind decoding, and system performance for the sidelink can be improved.

[0052] The principles and embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0053] Example of a communication network FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary communication environment 100 in which exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

[0054] The communication environment 100 includes a first terminal device 110 and a second terminal device 120. The first terminal device 110 and the second terminal device 120 may communicate with each other via a sidelink. In some cases, the communication environment 100 may further include a network device (not shown) that provides services to the first terminal device 110 and the second terminal device 120.

[0055] It should be understood that the number of devices and their connections in Figure 1 are shown for purposes of illustration and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Communications environment 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and / or terminal devices adapted to implement embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0056] Communications in communication environment 100 may conform to any suitable standard, including, but not limited to, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), New Radio (NR), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), Machine Type Communication (MTC), etc. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed in accordance with any currently known or future-developed generation of communication protocols. Examples of communication protocols include, but are not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, 5.5G, 5G-Advanced networks, or sixth generation (6G) networks.

[0057] In some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 and the second terminal device 120 may communicate with each other via sidelink channels in an unlicensed spectrum. Sidelink is a communication mode that allows direct communication between two or more terminal devices without communication via a network device. SL communication may be performed over a wireless interface (e.g., a PC5 interface). SL communication may be unicast, groupcast, or broadcast and may be used for device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, emergency rescue applications, etc. Sidelink channels may include a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH).

[0058] In the context of the present disclosure, first terminal device 110 may operate as a transmit (Tx) device that transmits at least one transmission of a TB to second terminal device 120. Accordingly, second terminal device may operate as a receive (Rx) device. However, it should be understood that in some cases, first terminal device 110 may operate as an Rx device and second terminal device 120 may operate as a Tx device.

[0059] Depending on whether the first terminal device 110 is covered within the serving area of ​​the network device, sidelink communication scenarios include in-coverage, partial coverage, and out-of-coverage (OOC). In some cases, the communication network 100 may further include a network device (not shown in FIG. 1) that facilitates scheduling of resources for sidelink communication. In other cases, sidelink communication is performed between the first terminal device 110 and the second terminal device 120 without involving a network device.

[0060] A sidelink resource allocation scheme may be applied to allocate resources in a resource pool for sidelink communication. There are two possible sidelink resource allocation schemes. In a first sidelink resource allocation scheme (also referred to as Mode 1 for sidelink resource allocation), the network device can schedule sidelink resources via a communication interface with the terminal device 110 or 120. The resource allocation may include dynamic grants, e.g., via downlink control information (DCI), or configuration grants (e.g., Type 1 or Type 2 configuration grants). In a second sidelink resource allocation scheme (also referred to as Mode 2 for sidelink resource allocation), resources for sidelink communication are autonomously selected by the terminal device 110 or 120 based on a contention scheme.

[0061] In some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may transmit an interlaced RB-based transmission to the second terminal device 120. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may transmit a continuous RB-based transmission to the second terminal device 120. Prior to any transmission, the first terminal device 110 may determine a TBS for the transmission or retransmission of a TB, as described in more detail below.

[0062] Operating principle and process example Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for resource allocation and resource determination for sidelink communications, in which a TBS for at least one transmission of a TB is determined according to a target criterion, such that multiple transmissions of the TB, including the initial transmission and one or more retransmissions, are performed based on a consistent or deterministic TBS. In other words, the TBSs for the multiple transmissions have consistent sizes at either the interlace level or the PRB level.

[0063] 2, which illustrates a flowchart of a process 200 for communication according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. For ease of explanation, the process 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The process 200 may be performed at a first terminal device 110 and may involve a second terminal device 120.

[0064] In process 200, sidelink communication between a first terminal device 110 and a second terminal device 120 is based on interlaced RB-based transmission. In block 210, the first terminal device 110 determines a subchannel. The subchannel includes a first number of RB interlaces, and each RB interlace of the first number of RB interlaces has a target interlace size.

[0065] In block 220, the first terminal device 110 determines a TBS for at least one transmission of the TB for the sidelink transmission based on a target criterion associated with the subchannel.

[0066] In some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may determine the TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces and the target interlace size.

[0067] In block 230, first terminal device 110 sends at least one transmission of the TB to second terminal device 120 based on the TBS.

[0068] In some embodiments, at least one RB set is allocated for sidelink communication, and the first number of RB interlaces reside within each of the at least one RB set or across multiple RB sets.

[0069] In some embodiments, subchannels of consistent size may be defined and supported within an RB set for sidelink communication, e.g., a subchannel includes K interlaces, where K corresponds to the first number in process 200. This effectively avoids situations where different subchannels include different numbers of interlaces.

[0070] In some example embodiments, the value of K may be defined based on the SCS in the resource pool for first terminal device 110 and second terminal device 120. By way of example, the set of candidate numbers of RB interlaces may be predetermined based on the SCS, and the value of K is preset or configured via an RRC parameter.

[0071] In these embodiments, first terminal device 110 may receive a setting for a first number of RB interlaces for a subchannel from a set of candidate numbers of RB interlaces, where the set of candidate numbers corresponds to an SCS for at least one RB set, and may determine a TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces.

[0072] 3A and 3B are schematic diagrams illustrating an example configuration for interlaced RB-based communication in the sidelink according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, SCS=30 KHz, each RB set may include 50-55 RBs, and the set of candidate numbers for RB interlaces for SCS=30 KHz is {1, 5}. The set of candidate numbers is an integer divisible by the number of interlaces for at least one RB set. The value of K is selected from {1, 5} and indicated by an RRC parameter. In this way, each subchannel can have the same number of interlaces.

[0073] In exemplary configuration 300, K=1, so each subchannel consists of one interlace: interlace 0 for subchannel 0, interlace 1 for subchannel 1, interlace 2 for subchannel 2, interlace 3 for subchannel 3, interlace 4 for subchannel 4, and so on. In exemplary configuration 310, K=5, so each subchannel consists of five interlaces: the first five consecutive interlaces 0-4 for subchannel 0, the second five consecutive interlaces 0-4 for subchannel 1, and so on.

[0074] In an example configuration where SCS=15KHz and each RB set contains 100-110 RBs, the set of candidate numbers for RB interlaces for SCS=15KHz is {1, 2, 5, 10}. Similarly, the value of K is selected from {1, 2, 5, 10} and is indicated by the RRC parameters.

[0075] In some embodiments, subchannels of inconsistent sizes may be defined and supported within an RB set for sidelink communication. Figure 4A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example configuration 400 of subchannels in the sidelink according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4A, an RB set associated with sidelink communication may include three subchannels 0-2, where subchannel 0 and subchannel 1 each consist of two interlaces (i.e., K=2), and subchannel 2 consists of one interlace (i.e., K'=1).

[0076] To support the same TBS across multiple transmissions or retransmissions, in some exemplary embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may assume that each subchannel has the same number of RB interlaces when determining the TBS. For example, a first number (e.g., M) of RB interlaces are assumed across all subchannels. In this case, the assumed subchannels for TBS determination may differ from the actual subchannels configured for sidelink communication, and the assumed subchannel sizes are used only for TBS determination. Additionally or alternatively, the first terminal device 110 may further adjust the coding rate based on the determined TBS.

[0077] In some embodiments, the first number M may be the value of K, the value of K', the average value of K or K', the average number of interlaces across all subchannels in the RB set, or any other suitable pre-configured value. In the example of Figure 4A, M is selected from {1, 3 / 2, 5 / 3, 2}.

[0078] Figure 4B is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary configuration 410 for interlace RB-based communication in sidelink according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4B, for a first transmission that refers to the transmission of a relatively earlier TB and may be either an initial transmission or a retransmission, subchannel 0 and subchannel 1 are each composed of two interlaces (i.e., K = 2), and subchannel 2 is composed of one interlace (i.e., K' = 1). When determining the TBS for a second transmission that refers to the transmission of a later TB in time and may be a retransmission, subchannel 2 is regarded as having an interlace with K = 2. In other words, even for a subchannel that includes a relatively small number of interlaces (i.e., K' < K), the first terminal device 110 assumes that the subchannel includes M interlaces when determining the TBS.

[0079] In some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may indicate the number of interlaces of each subchannel of the PSSCH for different transmissions of the TB via sidelink control information (SCI). In this case, the number of interlaces may be maintained the same over a plurality of transmissions or retransmissions of the TB for TBS determination. In this case, upon receiving the SCI, the second terminal device 120 knows the interlace size of each interlace for each transmission of the plurality of transmissions of the TB.

[0080] Furthermore, the number of PRBs included in one RB interlace may also be considered in the determination of the TBS. In some embodiments, a consistent interlace size is defined and supported for sidelink communication. For example, an interlace size of 10 PRBs may be allowed for all RB sets. In this case, the TBS may be maintained the same among a plurality of transmissions of the TB.

[0081] As another example, the first terminal device 110 may allow a consistent interlace size of 10 or 11 PRBs per RB set. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example configuration 500 for interlaced RB-based communication in the sidelink according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, interlace 0 and interlace 1 each consist of 11 PRBs, and the remaining interlaces 2 to 9 each consist of 10 PRBs. To maintain consistency in interlace size for TBS determination, the first terminal device 110 does not use the last few PRBs. The last few PRBs may be determined as (N_PRB mod 5) for SCS=30 kHz and (N_PRB mod 10) for SCS=15 kHz, where N_PRB is the number of PRBs in the RB set.

[0082] Additionally or alternatively, in the above embodiment, one RB set may be associated with an interlace size of 10 PRBs, and another RB set may be associated with an interlace size of 11 PRBs. In this case, the first terminal device 110 may always use an RB set having the same interlace size for multiple transmissions of the same TB.

[0083] In some embodiments, inconsistent interlace sizes are defined and supported for sidelink communication. In this case, the first terminal device 110 may allow two interlace sizes, for example, 10 PRB and 11 PRB. To support the same TBS for multiple transmissions of a TB, the first terminal device 110 may assume that each subchannel includes the same number of PRBs when determining the TBS. For example, it may assume that each interlace includes a predefined number (e.g., N) of PRBs. Therefore, the assumed interlace size for TBS determination may differ from the actual interlace size set for sidelink communication, and the assumed interlace size is used only for TBS determination. Additionally or alternatively, the first terminal device 110 may further adjust the coding rate based on the determined TBS.

[0084] In some embodiments, the predefined number N may be any of the actual interlace sizes (e.g., 10 PRB, 11 PRB, etc.), or the average of the actual interlace sizes, or any suitable predefined interlace size. In the example of Figure 5, N is selected from {10, 10.5, 11}.

[0085] In some embodiments, when determining the TBS for the retransmission of the TB, the first terminal device 110 may directly use the TBS determined or used for the initial transmission or previous retransmission, in which case the transmitting device does not need to recalculate the TBS based on the PRB or RE, which can further reduce the computational complexity and overhead.

[0086] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the first terminal device 110 may indicate the number of PRBs for each interlace of the PSSCH for different transmissions of the TB via the SCI. In this case, the number of PRBs for each interlace may be maintained the same across multiple transmissions or retransmissions of the TB for TBS determination. In this case, upon receiving the SCI, the second terminal device 120 knows the number of PRBs for each interlace.

[0087] From the perspective of the second terminal device 120, the targeting criteria is also used in determining the TBS, so that the same TBS is obtained for multiple transmissions of the TB, as will be explained in more detail below with reference to FIG.

[0088] It should be understood that the examples, configurations, and structures of Figures 3A through 5 are shown for illustrative purposes, as there are many variations in resource allocation in the frequency domain, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0089] This solution allows for consistent and deterministic TBS for multiple PSSCH transmissions in the sidelink, which is particularly useful for resource determination and blind decoding in SL-U. Thus, interlaced resource block (RB)-based transmission improves communication reliability, TBS determination, blind decoding, and resource efficiency.

[0090] 6 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method 600 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 600 may be implemented in any suitable terminal device. For convenience of explanation, the method 600 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. For example, the method 600 may be implemented in the second terminal device 120.

[0091] In block 610, second terminal device 120 determines a subchannel, where the subchannel includes a first number of RB interlaces, and each RB interlace of the first number of RB interlaces has a target interlace size.

[0092] In block 620, the second terminal device 120 determines a TBS for at least one transmission of the TB for sidelink communication based on the target criterion associated with the subchannel, where the at least one transmission may be based on an interlaced RB-based transmission.

[0093] For example, the at least one transmission of the TB may include at least one of an initial transmission of the TB and at least one retransmission of the TB.

[0094] In some embodiments, the targeting criteria may be predetermined in first terminal device 110 and second terminal device 120. Alternatively, or additionally, the targeting criteria may be indicated via at least one RRC parameter.

[0095] In some embodiments, at least one RB set may be allocated for sidelink communication, and the first number of RB interlaces may exist within each of the at least one RB set or across multiple RB sets.

[0096] In some embodiments, second terminal device 120 may receive a setting for a first number of RB interlaces for a subchannel from a set of candidate numbers of RB interlaces, where the set of candidate numbers corresponds to a subcarrier space for at least one RB set, and may determine a TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces.

[0097] In some embodiments, the second terminal device 120 may determine the TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces and the target interlace size.

[0098] In some embodiments, each of the at least one RB set may be associated with a respective interlace size, and the at least one transmission of the TB may include multiple transmissions of the TB, in which case the second terminal device 120 may determine the TBS for each of the multiple transmissions based on the at least one RB set associated with the same interlace size.

[0099] In some embodiments, the at least one RB set may include at least a first RB set and a second RB set, where the first RB set is associated with a first interlace size and the second RB set is associated with a second interlace size, and the first interlace size may be different from the second interlace size. In this case, the second terminal device 120 may determine a target interlace size for each interlace of the at least one RB set. The target interlace size may be one of the first interlace size, the second interlace size, and an average value of the first interlace size and the second interlace size. The second terminal device 120 may then determine a TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces and the target interlace size.

[0100] In some embodiments, the at least one transmission of the TB may include multiple transmissions of the TB, in which case the second terminal device 120 may receive from the first terminal device 110 an SCI indicating a target interlace size for each interlace for transmitting each of the multiple transmissions of the TB.

[0101] In some embodiments, the RB set associated with the sidelink communication may include a second subchannel including a second number of RB interlaces and a third subchannel including a third number of RB interlaces different from the second number.

[0102] In some embodiments, second terminal device 120 may determine a first number of RB interlaces for each subchannel of the RB set. The first number may be one of a second number, a third number, or an average of the second and third numbers. Second terminal device 120 may determine a TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces.

[0103] In some embodiments, the at least one transmission of the TB includes multiple transmissions of the TB, in which case second terminal device 120 may receive from first terminal device 110 an SCI indicating a first number of RB interlaces for each subchannel for transmitting each transmission of the multiple transmissions of the TB.

[0104] In some embodiments, the at least one transmission of the TB includes at least one retransmission of the TB. In this case, the second terminal device 120 may determine the TBS for a previous transmission of the TB as the TBS for the at least one retransmission of the TB. The previous transmission may include one of the initial transmission and the previous retransmission of the TB.

[0105] In block 630, second terminal device 120 receives at least one transmission of a TB from first terminal device 110 based on the TBS.

[0106] A detailed description of the improvement of the continuous RB-based transmission in the sidelink is provided below. In this solution, subchannels for each RB set are individually defined based on the RB set configuration, which can improve resource utilization efficiency.

[0107] 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example configuration for contiguous RB-based communication in the sidelink according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7, in the frequency domain, a resource pool 700 may include multiple RB sets 710-730. Additionally, the resource pool 700 may be composed of a set of contiguous subchannels 712-716, 722-726, and 732-736 defined within the multiple RB sets 710-730, respectively.

[0108] 8, which illustrates a flowchart of a process 800 for communication according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. For ease of explanation, the process 800 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The process 800 may be performed at a first terminal device 110 and may involve a second terminal device 120.

[0109] In process 800, sidelink communication between first terminal device 110 and second terminal device 120 is based on continuous RB-based transmission. In block 810, first terminal device 110 obtains a subchannel configuration for an RB set allocated for sidelink communication.

[0110] In block 820, the first terminal device 110 determines a set of subchannels for each RB set of the at least one RB set based on the subchannel configuration and the configuration of the at least one RB set, where the starting positions of the set of subchannels coincide with the starting positions of each RB set in the frequency domain.

[0111] In some embodiments, first terminal device 110 determines a starting RB (e.g., TIFF2025531429000004.tif919) and end RB (e.g., TIFF2025531429000005.tif820), where: TIFF2025531429000006.tif858, TIFF2025531429000007.tif730 is the number of guard bands within the cell. TIFF2025531429000008.tif41168 where μ is the SCS setting, TIFF2025531429000009.tif915 is the carrier size, TIFF2025531429000010.tif916 is the start RB of the resource block grid, TIFF2025531429000011.tif821 is the size of the corresponding guard band, TIFF2025531429000012.tif821 is the start RB of the corresponding guard band.

[0112] In some exemplary embodiments, the subchannel configuration includes, but is not limited to, the number of consecutive subchannels in each RB set, the size of the subchannel, etc. Then, first terminal device 110 may individually determine the number of subchannels in each RB set of the determined RB sets. In the frequency domain, each RB set may consist of sl-NumSubchannelwithinRBSet consecutive subchannels. A subchannel may consist of sl-SubchannelSizewithinRBSet consecutive PRBs, where sl-NumSubchannelwithinRBSet and sl-SubchannelSizewithinRBSet are higher layer parameters.

[0113] In each of RB sets 710 to 730, the subchannel m for m=0, 1, ..., sl-NumSubchannelwithinRBSet-1 is j=0, 1, ..., n subCHsize PRB number n for -1 PRB =n subCHRBstart +m·n subCHsize +n with j subCHsize may consist of a set of n consecutive RBs, where subCHsize is given by the upper layer parameter sl-SubchannelSizewithinRBSet, and n subCHRBstart are the starting CRB indices of the determined RB sets, respectively.

[0114] Both first terminal device 110 and second terminal device 120 use the last few PRBs (e.g., N PRB mod n subCHsize It is not expected that the PRBs 740 and 742, which can be determined as follows, are used (NPRB is the number of PRBs in each RB set of RB sets 710 to 730).

[0115] In block 830, first terminal device 110 sends at least one transmission of the TB to second terminal device 120 based on the set of subchannels.

[0116] In some embodiments, for consecutive PRB-based transmission, to use N (N≦M) consecutive RB sets, it is necessary to perform Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) on multiple RB sets that include at least M consecutive RB sets.

[0117] In some embodiments, PRBs 740 and 742 between consecutive RB sets 710-730 are permitted for transmission or reception. In this case, PRBs 740 and 742 are considered partial subchannels, and subchannels 712-716, 722-726, and 732-736 are considered full subchannels. Terminal device 110 may transmit an SCI including a frequency resource indication (FRIV) to indicate the partial subchannels 740 and 742 between two consecutive RB sets 710-730. Thus, second terminal device 120 may decode the FRIV from the SCI to know the final resource allocation.

[0118] Alternatively, or additionally, in some other embodiments, PRBs 740 and 742 between consecutive RB sets 710-730 are permitted for transmission or reception. The first terminal device 110 may ignore the PRBs between two consecutive RB sets and transmit an SCI including an FRIV indicating only the full subchannels 712-716, 722-726, and 732-736 within the RB set. Thus, the second terminal device 120 may decode the FRIV from the SCI, learn the indicated subchannels 712-716, 722-726, and 732-736, and assume that the PRBs 740 and 742 between the assigned subchannels are included in the ultimately assigned resources.

[0119] From the perspective of the second terminal device 120, the same subchannel configuration is used and therefore the same set of subchannels is obtained for sidelink communication, as will be explained in more detail below with reference to FIG.

[0120] It should be understood that the examples, configurations, and structures in Figure 7 are shown for illustrative purposes. There are many variations in resource allocation in the frequency domain, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0121] 9 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method 900 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 900 may be implemented in any suitable terminal device. For convenience of explanation, the method 900 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. For example, the method 900 may be implemented in the second terminal device 120.

[0122] In block 910, the second terminal device 120 obtains a subchannel configuration for a resource block (RB) set allocated for sidelink communication.

[0123] In some embodiments, the subchannel configuration is an RRC parameter that may include at least one of a target number of subchannels in the set and a target size of each subchannel in the set of subchannels.

[0124] In block 920, the second terminal device 120 determines a set of subchannels for each RB set of the at least one RB set based on the subchannel configuration and the configuration of the at least one RB set, where the starting positions of the set of subchannels coincide with the starting positions of each RB set in the frequency domain.

[0125] In some embodiments, second terminal device 120 may determine at least a starting position in the frequency domain of each RB set of the at least one RB set based on the configuration of the at least one RB set, and may determine a set of subchannels including a target number of subchannels to be distributed consecutively within each RB set of the at least one RB set, starting from the starting position of each RB set of the at least one RB set, each of the target number of subchannels having a target size.

[0126] In block 930, second terminal 120 receives at least one transmission of a TB from first terminal 110 based on the set of subchannels.

[0127] In some embodiments, second terminal device 120 may receive a TB transmission on multiple contiguous RB sets in the frequency domain.

[0128] In some embodiments, second terminal device 120 may receive from first terminal device 110 a frequency resource indication (eg, FRIV) for a first subchannel within a plurality of contiguous RB sets.

[0129] Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the frequency resource indication may further indicate at least one second subchannel between two consecutive RB sets.

[0130] 10 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1000 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus 1000 can be considered as another exemplary implementation of the first terminal device 110 or the second terminal device 120 shown in FIG. 1. Thus, the apparatus 1000 can be implemented in, or at least as part of, the first terminal device 110 or the second terminal device 120.

[0131] As shown, the apparatus 1000 comprises a processor 1010, a memory 1020 coupled to the processor 1010, a suitable transmitter (TX) / receiver (RX) 1040 coupled to the processor 1010, and a communication interface coupled to the TX / RX 1040. The memory 1010 stores at least a portion of a program 1030. The TX / RX 1040 is for bidirectional communication. The TX / RX 1040 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, although in practice the access nodes referred to in this disclosure may have multiple antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communication with other network elements, such as, for example, an X2 / Xn interface for bidirectional communication between eNBs / gNBs, an S1 / NG interface for communication between a Mobility Management Entity (MME) / Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) / SGW / UPF and an eNB / gNB, an Un interface for communication between an eNB / gNB and a relay node (RN), or a Uu interface for communication between an eNB / gNB and a terminal device.

[0132] The program 1030 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by an associated processor 1010, cause the device 1000 to operate in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, as described herein with reference to FIGS. 1-9. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 1010 of the device 1000, by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 1010 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the combination of the processor 1010 and the memory 1020 may form a processing means 1050 suitable for implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0133] The memory 1020 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as, by way of non-limiting example, non-transitory computer-readable storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. While only one memory 1020 is shown in the device 1000, the device 1000 may have multiple physically distinct memory modules. The processor 1010 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may include, by way of non-limiting example, one or more of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 1000 may have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips that are time-slaved to a clock that synchronizes the main processor.

[0134] In some embodiments, a communications device (e.g., a first terminal device) comprises circuitry configured to: determine a subchannel including a first number of resource block (RB) interlaces, each of the first number of RB interlaces having a target interlace size; determine a transport block size (TBS) for at least one transmission of a transport block (TB) for sidelink communications based on a target criterion associated with the subchannel; and transmit the at least one transmission of the TB to another terminal device (e.g., a second terminal device) based on the TBS.

[0135] In some embodiments, at least one RB set is allocated for sidelink communication, and the first number of RB interlaces reside within each of the at least one RB set or across multiple RB sets.

[0136] In some embodiments, the circuitry is configured to determine the TBS based on the target criterion by receiving a setting of a first number of RB interlaces for the subchannel from a set of candidate numbers of RB interlaces, where the set of candidate numbers corresponds to a subcarrier space for at least one RB set, and determining the TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces.

[0137] In some embodiments, the circuitry is configured to determine the TBS based on a target criterion by determining the TBS based on a first number of RB interlaces and a target interlace size.

[0138] In some embodiments, each of the at least one RB set is associated with a respective interlace size, and the at least one transmission of the TB includes multiple transmissions of the TB, and the circuitry is configured to determine the TBS based on the target criterion by determining the TBS for each of the multiple transmissions based on the at least one RB set associated with the same interlace size.

[0139] In some embodiments, the at least one RB set includes at least a first RB set and a second RB set, where the first RB set is associated with a first interlace size and the second RB set is associated with a second interlace size, where the first interlace size is different from the second interlace size. The circuitry is configured to determine the TBS based on the target criterion by determining a target interlace size for each interlace of the at least one RB set, the target interlace size being one of the first interlace size, the second interlace size, and an average of the first interlace size and the second interlace size; and determining the TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces and the target interlace size.

[0140] In some embodiments, the at least one transmission of the TB includes multiple transmissions of the TB, and the circuitry is further configured to transmit sidelink control information (SCI) to another communication device indicating a target interlace size for each interlace for transmitting each transmission of the multiple transmissions of the TB.

[0141] In some embodiments, the RB set associated with the sidelink communication includes a second subchannel including a second number of RB interlaces and a third subchannel including a third number of RB interlaces different from the second number.

[0142] In some embodiments, the circuitry is configured to determine the TBS based on the target criterion by determining a first number of RB interlaces for each subchannel of the RB set, where the first number is one of a second number, a third number, and an average number of the second number and the third number, and determining the TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces.

[0143] In some embodiments, the at least one transmission of the TB includes multiple transmissions of the TB, and the circuitry is further configured to transmit, to the other communication device, an SCI indicating a first number of RB interlaces for each subchannel for transmitting each transmission of the multiple transmissions of the TB.

[0144] In some embodiments, the at least one transmission of the TB includes at least one retransmission of the TB, and the circuitry is configured to determine the TBS based on the target criteria by determining a TBS for a previous transmission of the TB as a TBS for the at least one retransmission of the TB, the previous transmission including one of an initial transmission and a previous retransmission of the TB.

[0145] In some embodiments, the at least one transmission of the TB includes at least one of an initial transmission of the TB and at least one retransmission of the TB.

[0146] In some embodiments, the target criteria are predetermined in the communication device and the other communication device.

[0147] In some embodiments, the targeting criteria is indicated via at least one radio resource control (RRC) parameter.

[0148] In some embodiments, a communication device (e.g., a second terminal device) comprises circuitry configured to: determine a subchannel including a first number of resource block (RB) interlaces, each of the first number of RB interlaces having a target interlace size; determine a transport block size (TBS) for at least one transmission of a transport block (TB) for sidelink communication based on a target criterion associated with the subchannel; and receive at least one transmission of the TB from another communication device (e.g., a first terminal device) based on the TBS.

[0149] In some embodiments, at least one RB set is allocated for sidelink communication, and the first number of RB interlaces reside within each of the at least one RB set or across multiple RB sets.

[0150] In some embodiments, the TBS is determined based on the target criteria by receiving a setting of a first number of RB interlaces for a subchannel from a set of candidate numbers of RB interlaces, where the set of candidate numbers corresponds to a subcarrier space for at least one RB set, and determining the TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces.

[0151] In some embodiments, the circuitry is configured to determine the TBS based on a target criterion by determining the TBS based on a first number of RB interlaces and a target interlace size.

[0152] In some embodiments, each of the at least one RB set is associated with a respective interlace size, and the at least one transmission of the TB includes multiple transmissions of the TB, and the circuitry is configured to determine the TBS based on the target criterion by determining the TBS for each of the multiple transmissions based on the at least one RB set associated with the same interlace size.

[0153] In some embodiments, the at least one RB set includes at least a first RB set and a second RB set, where the first RB set is associated with a first interlace size and the second RB set is associated with a second interlace size, where the first interlace size is different from the second interlace size. The circuitry is configured to determine the TBS based on the target criterion by determining a target interlace size for each interlace of the at least one RB set, the target interlace size being one of the first interlace size, the second interlace size, and an average of the first interlace size and the second interlace size; and determining the TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces and the target interlace size.

[0154] In some embodiments, the at least one transmission of the TB includes multiple transmissions of the TB, and the circuitry is further configured to receive sidelink control information (SCI) from another communication device indicating a target interlace size for each interlace for transmitting each transmission of the multiple transmissions of the TB.

[0155] In some embodiments, the RB set associated with the sidelink communication includes a second subchannel including a second number of RB interlaces and a third subchannel including a third number of RB interlaces different from the second number.

[0156] In some embodiments, the circuitry is configured to determine the TBS based on the target criterion by determining a first number of RB interlaces for each subchannel of the RB set, where the first number is one of a second number, a third number, and an average number of the second number and the third number, and determining the TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces.

[0157] In some embodiments, the at least one transmission of the TB includes multiple transmissions of the TB, and the circuitry is further configured to receive from another communication device an SCI indicating a first number of RB interlaces for each subchannel for transmitting each transmission of the multiple transmissions of the TB.

[0158] In some embodiments, the at least one transmission of the TB includes at least one retransmission of the TB, and the circuitry is configured to determine the TBS based on the target criteria by determining a TBS for a previous transmission of the TB as a TBS for the at least one retransmission of the TB, the previous transmission including one of an initial transmission and a previous retransmission of the TB.

[0159] In some embodiments, the at least one transmission of the TB includes at least one of an initial transmission of the TB and at least one retransmission of the TB.

[0160] In some embodiments, the target criteria are predetermined in the communication device and the other communication device.

[0161] In some embodiments, the targeting criteria is indicated via at least one radio resource control (RRC) parameter.

[0162] In some embodiments, a communication device (e.g., a first terminal device) includes circuitry configured to: obtain subchannel configurations for resource block (RB) sets allocated for sidelink communication; determine a set of subchannels for each of the at least one RB set based on the subchannel configurations and the configuration of the at least one RB set, wherein starting positions of the set of subchannels coincide with starting positions of each RB set in the frequency domain; and transmit at least one transmission of a transport block (TB) to another communication device based on the set of subchannels.

[0163] In some embodiments, the subchannel configuration is an RRC parameter that includes at least one of a target number of subchannels in the set and a target size of each subchannel in the set of subchannels.

[0164] In some embodiments, the circuitry is configured to determine the set of subchannels by: determining at least a starting position in the frequency domain of each RB set of the at least one RB set based on a configuration of the at least one RB set; and determining a set of subchannels including a target number of subchannels to be distributed consecutively within each RB set of the at least one RB set, starting from the starting position of each RB set of the at least one RB set, wherein each of the target number of subchannels has a target size.

[0165] In some embodiments, the circuitry is configured to transmit at least one transmission of the TB by transmitting the transmission of the TB over multiple consecutive sets of RBs in the frequency domain.

[0166] In some embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to transmit a frequency resource indication of the first subchannel within the plurality of contiguous RB sets to another communication device.

[0167] In some embodiments, the frequency resource indication further indicates at least one second subchannel between two consecutive RB sets.

[0168] In some embodiments, a communication device (e.g., a second terminal device) comprises circuitry configured to: obtain subchannel configurations for resource block (RB) sets allocated for sidelink communication; determine a set of subchannels for each of the at least one RB set based on the subchannel configurations and the configuration of the at least one RB set, wherein starting positions of the set of subchannels coincide with starting positions of each RB set in the frequency domain; and receive at least one transmission of a transport block (TB) from another communication device based on the set of subchannels.

[0169] In some embodiments, the subchannel configuration is an RRC parameter that includes at least one of a target number of subchannels in the set and a target size of each subchannel in the set of subchannels.

[0170] In some embodiments, the circuitry is configured to determine the set of subchannels by: determining at least a starting position in the frequency domain of each RB set of the at least one RB set based on a configuration of the at least one RB set; and determining a set of subchannels including a target number of subchannels to be distributed consecutively within each RB set of the at least one RB set, starting from the starting position of each RB set of the at least one RB set, wherein each of the target number of subchannels has a target size.

[0171] In some embodiments, the circuitry is configured to receive at least one transmission of the TB by receiving transmission of the TB on a plurality of consecutive RB sets in the frequency domain.

[0172] In some embodiments, the circuitry is further configured to receive a frequency resource indication for a first subchannel within a plurality of contiguous RB sets from another communication device.

[0173] In some embodiments, the frequency resource indication further indicates at least one second subchannel between two consecutive RB sets.

[0174] The term "circuitry" as used in this disclosure may refer to a hardware circuit and / or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. For example, a circuit may be a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware. As another example, a circuit may be any portion of a hardware processor with software, where the hardware processor includes digital signal processor(s), software, and memory(s) that work together to cause a device, such as a terminal device or network device, to perform various functions. As yet another example, a circuit may be a hardware circuit and / or processor, such as a microprocessor or portion of a microprocessor, that requires software / firmware to operate, but the software may not be present when not necessary for operation. As used in this disclosure, the term circuitry also includes simply a hardware circuit or processor(s) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor(s) and its (or their) associated software and / or firmware implementation.

[0175] In summary, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide the following solutions:

[0176] In one solution, a communication method includes: determining, in a first terminal device, a subchannel including a first number of resource block (RB) interlaces, each of the first number of RB interlaces having a target interlace size; determining a transport block size (TBS) for at least one transmission of a transport block (TB) for sidelink communication based on a target criterion associated with the subchannel; and transmitting the at least one transmission of the TB to a second terminal device based on the TBS.

[0177] In some embodiments, at least one RB set is allocated for sidelink communication, and the first number of RB interlaces reside within each of the at least one RB set or across multiple RB sets.

[0178] In some embodiments, determining the TBS based on the target criteria includes receiving a setting of a first number of RB interlaces for the subchannel from a set of candidate numbers of RB interlaces, the set of candidate numbers corresponding to a subcarrier space for at least one RB set, and determining the TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces.

[0179] In some embodiments, determining the TBS based on the target criteria includes determining the TBS based on a first number of RB interlaces and a target interlace size.

[0180] In some embodiments, each of the at least one RB set is associated with a respective interlace size, and the at least one transmission of the TB includes multiple transmissions of the TB, and determining the TBS based on the target criteria includes determining a TBS for each transmission of the multiple transmissions based on the at least one RB set associated with the same interlace size.

[0181] In some embodiments, the at least one RB set includes at least a first RB set and a second RB set, the first RB set being associated with a first interlace size and the second RB set being associated with a second interlace size, the first interlace size being different from the second interlace size, and determining the TBS based on the target criterion includes determining a target interlace size for each interlace of the at least one RB set, the target interlace size being one of the first interlace size, the second interlace size, and an average value of the first interlace size and the second interlace size, and determining the TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces and the target interlace size.

[0182] In some embodiments, the at least one transmission of the TB includes multiple transmissions of the TB, and the method further includes transmitting, to the second terminal device, sidelink control information (SCI) indicating a target interlace size for each interlace for transmitting each transmission of the multiple transmissions of the TB.

[0183] In some embodiments, the RB set associated with the sidelink communication includes a second subchannel including a second number of RB interlaces and a third subchannel including a third number of RB interlaces different from the second number.

[0184] In some embodiments, determining the TBS based on the target criteria includes determining a first number of RB interlaces for each subchannel of the RB set, where the first number is one of a second number, a third number, and an average number of the second number and the third number, and determining the TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces.

[0185] In some embodiments, the at least one transmission of the TB includes multiple transmissions of the TB, and the method includes transmitting, to the second terminal device, an SCI indicating a first number of RB interlaces for each subchannel for transmitting each transmission of the multiple transmissions of the TB.

[0186] In some embodiments, the at least one transmission of the TB includes at least one retransmission of the TB, and determining the TBS based on the target criteria includes determining a TBS for a previous transmission of the TB as the TBS for the at least one retransmission of the TB, the previous transmission including one of an initial transmission and a previous retransmission of the TB.

[0187] In some embodiments, the at least one transmission of the TB includes at least one of an initial transmission of the TB and at least one retransmission of the TB.

[0188] In some embodiments, the target criteria are predetermined in the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

[0189] In some embodiments, the targeting criteria is indicated via at least one radio resource control (RRC) parameter.

[0190] In another solution, a communication method includes, in a second terminal device, determining a subchannel including a first number of resource block (RB) interlaces, each of the first number of RB interlaces having a target interlace size; determining a transport block size (TBS) for at least one transmission of a transport block (TB) for sidelink communication based on a target criterion associated with the subchannel; and receiving at least one transmission of the TB from the first terminal device based on the TBS.

[0191] In some embodiments, at least one RB set is allocated for sidelink communication, and the first number of RB interlaces reside within each of the at least one RB set or across multiple RB sets.

[0192] In some embodiments, determining the TBS based on the target criteria includes receiving a setting of a first number of RB interlaces for the subchannel from a set of candidate numbers of RB interlaces, the set of candidate numbers corresponding to a subcarrier space for at least one RB set, and determining the TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces.

[0193] In some embodiments, determining the TBS based on the target criteria includes determining the TBS based on a first number of RB interlaces and a target interlace size.

[0194] In some embodiments, each of the at least one RB set is associated with a respective interlace size, and the at least one transmission of the TB includes multiple transmissions of the TB, and determining the TBS based on the target criteria includes determining a TBS for each transmission of the multiple transmissions based on the at least one RB set associated with the same interlace size.

[0195] In some embodiments, the at least one RB set includes at least a first RB set and a second RB set, the first RB set being associated with a first interlace size and the second RB set being associated with a second interlace size, the first interlace size being different from the second interlace size, and determining the TBS based on the target criterion includes determining a target interlace size for each interlace of the at least one RB set, the target interlace size being one of the first interlace size, the second interlace size, and an average value of the first interlace size and the second interlace size, and determining the TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces and the target interlace size.

[0196] In some embodiments, the at least one transmission of the TB includes multiple transmissions of the TB, and the method further includes receiving sidelink control information (SCI) from the first terminal device indicating a target interlace size for each interlace for transmitting each transmission of the multiple transmissions of the TB.

[0197] In some embodiments, the RB set associated with the sidelink communication includes a second subchannel including a second number of RB interlaces and a third subchannel including a third number of RB interlaces different from the second number.

[0198] In some embodiments, determining the TBS based on the target criteria includes determining a first number of RB interlaces for each subchannel of the RB set, where the first number is one of a second number, a third number, and an average number of the second number and the third number, and determining the TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces.

[0199] In some embodiments, the at least one transmission of the TB includes multiple transmissions of the TB, and the method includes receiving, from the first terminal device, an SCI indicating a first number of RB interlaces for each subchannel for transmitting each transmission of the multiple transmissions of the TB.

[0200] In some embodiments, the at least one transmission of the TB includes at least one retransmission of the TB, and determining the TBS based on the target criteria includes determining a TBS for a previous transmission of the TB as the TBS for the at least one retransmission of the TB, the previous transmission including one of an initial transmission and a previous retransmission of the TB.

[0201] In some embodiments, the at least one transmission of the TB includes at least one of an initial transmission of the TB and at least one retransmission of the TB.

[0202] In some embodiments, the target criteria are predetermined in the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

[0203] In some embodiments, the targeting criteria is indicated via at least one radio resource control (RRC) parameter.

[0204] In another solution, a communication method includes, in a first terminal device, obtaining a subchannel configuration for a resource block (RB) set allocated for sidelink communication; determining a set of subchannels for each of the at least one RB set based on the subchannel configuration and the configuration of the at least one RB set, wherein the starting positions of the set of subchannels coincide with the starting positions of each RB set in the frequency domain; and transmitting at least one transmission of a transport block (TB) to a second terminal device based on the set of subchannels.

[0205] In some embodiments, the subchannel configuration is an RRC parameter that includes at least one of a target number of subchannels in the set and a target size of each subchannel in the set of subchannels.

[0206] In some embodiments, determining the set of subchannels includes: determining at least a starting position in the frequency domain of each RB set of the at least one RB set based on a configuration of the at least one RB set; and determining a set of subchannels including a target number of subchannels starting from the starting position of each RB set of the at least one RB set and consecutively distributed within each RB set of the at least one RB set, wherein each of the target number of subchannels has a target size.

[0207] In some embodiments, transmitting at least one transmission of the TB includes transmitting the transmission of the TB on multiple contiguous RB sets in the frequency domain.

[0208] In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting a frequency resource indication of the first subchannel within the plurality of contiguous RB sets to the second communication device.

[0209] In some embodiments, the frequency resource indication further indicates at least one second subchannel between two consecutive RB sets.

[0210] In another solution, a communication method includes, in a second terminal device, obtaining a subchannel configuration for a resource block (RB) set allocated for sidelink communication; determining a set of subchannels for each of the at least one RB set based on the subchannel configuration and the configuration of the at least one RB set, wherein the starting positions of the set of subchannels coincide with the starting positions of each RB set in the frequency domain; and receiving at least one transmission of a transport block (TB) from the first terminal device based on the set of subchannels.

[0211] In some embodiments, the subchannel configuration is an RRC parameter that includes at least one of a target number of subchannels in the set and a target size of each subchannel in the set of subchannels.

[0212] In some embodiments, determining the set of subchannels includes: determining at least a starting position in the frequency domain of each RB set of the at least one RB set based on a configuration of the at least one RB set; and determining a set of subchannels including a target number of subchannels starting from the starting position of each RB set of the at least one RB set and consecutively distributed within each RB set of the at least one RB set, wherein each of the target number of subchannels has a target size.

[0213] In some embodiments, receiving at least one transmission of the TB includes receiving a transmission of the TB on multiple contiguous RB sets in the frequency domain.

[0214] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving, from the first communication device, a frequency resource indication for the first subchannel within the plurality of contiguous RB sets.

[0215] In some embodiments, the frequency resource indication further indicates at least one second subchannel between two consecutive RB sets.

[0216] In another solution, a communications device includes at least one processor and at least one memory having stored therein instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to perform any of the methods described above.

[0217] Another solution is a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform any of the methods described above.

[0218] Yet another solution is a computer program comprising instructions that, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform any of the methods described above.

[0219] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. While various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described using block diagrams, flowcharts, or some other pictorial representations, it should be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described in this disclosure may be implemented in, by way of non-limiting example, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller, or other computing device, or some combination thereof.

[0220] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions (e.g., computer-executable instructions included in program modules) that execute on a device by a target real or virtual processor to perform the processes or methods described above with reference to FIGS. 1-9. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split among program modules as desired in various embodiments. The machine-executable instructions for the program modules may be executed in local or distributed devices. In a distributed device, the program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0221] Program code for implementing the methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, so that when executed by the processor or controller, the program code performs the functions / acts specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams. The program code may be executed entirely on a machine, partially on a machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on a machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0222] The program code may be embodied in a machine-readable medium, which may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. The machine-readable medium includes, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of machine-readable storage media include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0223] Furthermore, although operations are described in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown, or sequentially, or that all of the operations shown be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain situations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, while several specific implementation details are included in the above description, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

[0224] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological operations, it is to be understood that the present disclosure, which is limited to the appended claims, is not necessarily limited to the specific features or operations described above. Rather, the specific features and operations described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. determining, at a first terminal device, a sub-channel including a first number of resource block (RB) interlaces, each of the first number of RB interlaces having a target interlace size; determining a transport block size (TBS) for at least one transmission of a transport block (TB) for sidelink communication based on a target criterion associated with the subchannel; and transmitting the at least one transmission of the TB to a second terminal device based on the TBS; A communication method including:

2. Determining the TBS based on the target criteria includes: receiving a setting of the first number of RB interlaces for the subchannel from a set of candidate numbers of RB interlaces, the set of candidate numbers corresponding to a subcarrier space for at least one RB set; determining the TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces. The communication method according to claim 1 .

3. at least one RB set is allocated for the sidelink communication, the first number of RB interlaces being present within each of the at least one RB set or across multiple RB sets, the at least one RB set including at least a first RB set and a second RB set, the first RB set being associated with a first interlace size and the second RB set being associated with a second interlace size, the first interlace size being different from the second interlace size; Determining the TBS based on the target criteria includes: determining the target interlace size for each interlace of the at least one RB set, the target interlace size being one of the first interlace size, the second interlace size, and an average value of the first interlace size and the second interlace size; determining the TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces and the target interlace size. The communication method according to claim 1 .

4. the at least one transmission of the TB includes multiple transmissions of the TB; The communication method includes: transmitting, to the second terminal device, sidelink control information (SCI) indicating the target interlace size for each interlace for transmitting each transmission of the plurality of transmissions of the TB. The communication method according to claim 3 .

5. the RB set associated with the sidelink communication includes a second subchannel including a second number of RB interlaces and a third subchannel including a third number of RB interlaces different from the second number; Determining the TBS based on the target criteria includes: determining the first number of RB interlaces for each subchannel of the RB set, the first number being one of the second number, the third number, and an average number of the second number and the third number; determining the TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces. The communication method according to claim 1 .

6. the at least one transmission of the TB includes multiple transmissions of the TB; The communication method includes: transmitting an SCI to the second terminal device indicating the first number of RB interlaces for each subchannel for transmitting each transmission of the plurality of transmissions of the TB; The communication method according to claim 5.

7. determining, at a second terminal device, a sub-channel including a first number of resource block (RB) interlaces, each of the first number of RB interlaces having a target interlace size; determining a transport block size (TBS) for at least one transmission of a transport block (TB) for sidelink communication based on a target criterion associated with the subchannel; and receiving, based on the TBS, the at least one transmission of the TB from a first terminal device; A communication method including:

8. Determining the TBS based on the target criteria includes: receiving a setting of the first number of RB interlaces for the subchannel from a set of candidate numbers of RB interlaces, the set of candidate numbers corresponding to a subcarrier space for at least one RB set; determining the TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces. The communication method according to claim 7.

9. at least one RB set is allocated for the sidelink communication, the first number of RB interlaces are present within or across each of the at least one RB set, each of the at least one RB set is associated with a respective interlace size, and the at least one transmission of the TB includes multiple transmissions of the TB; Determining the TBS based on the target criteria includes: determining a TBS for each of the plurality of transmissions based on at least one RB set associated with a same interlace size. The communication method according to claim 7.

10. the at least one RB set includes at least a first RB set and a second RB set, the first RB set being associated with a first interlace size and the second RB set being associated with a second interlace size, the first interlace size being different from the second interlace size; Determining the TBS based on the target criteria includes: determining the target interlace size for each interlace of the at least one RB set, the target interlace size being one of the first interlace size, the second interlace size, and an average value of the first interlace size and the second interlace size; determining the TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces and the target interlace size. The communication method according to claim 7.

11. the at least one transmission of the TB includes multiple transmissions of the TB; The communication method includes: receiving, from the first terminal device, sidelink control information (SCI) indicating the target interlace size for each interlace for transmitting each transmission of the plurality of transmissions of the TB. The communication method according to claim 10.

12. the RB set associated with the sidelink communication includes a second subchannel including a second number of RB interlaces and a third subchannel including a third number of RB interlaces different from the second number; Determining the TBS based on the target criteria includes: determining the first number of RB interlaces for each subchannel of the RB set, the first number being one of the second number, the third number, and an average number of the second number and the third number; determining the TBS based on the first number of RB interlaces. The communication method according to claim 11.

13. the at least one transmission of the TB includes multiple transmissions of the TB; The communication method includes: receiving from the first terminal device an SCI indicating the first number of RB interlaces for each subchannel for transmitting each transmission of the plurality of transmissions of the TB; The communication method according to claim 12.

14. obtaining, in a first terminal device, a subchannel configuration for a resource block (RB) set allocated for sidelink communication; determining a set of subchannels for each of the at least one RB set based on the subchannel configuration and a configuration of at least one RB set, wherein a starting position of the set of subchannels coincides with a starting position of each RB set in the frequency domain; transmitting at least one transmission of a transport block (TB) to a second terminal device based on the set of subchannels; A communication method including:

15. the subchannel configuration is an RRC parameter including at least one of a target number of subchannels in the set and a target size of each subchannel in the set of subchannels; Determining the set of sub-channels comprises: determining at least a starting position in the frequency domain of each RB set of the at least one RB set based on the configuration of the at least one RB set; determining the set of sub-channels including the target number of sub-channels to be distributed consecutively within each RB set of the at least one RB set, starting from the starting position of each RB set of the at least one RB set; each of the target number of sub-channels has the target size; The communication method according to claim 14.

16. and transmitting, to the second terminal device, a frequency resource indication of a first subchannel within a plurality of consecutive RB sets and at least one second subchannel between two consecutive RB sets. The communication method according to claim 15.

17. obtaining, in a second terminal device, a subchannel configuration for a resource block (RB) set allocated for sidelink communication; determining a set of subchannels for each of the at least one RB set based on the subchannel configuration and a configuration of at least one RB set, wherein a starting position of the set of subchannels coincides with a starting position of each RB set in the frequency domain; receiving at least one transmission of a transport block (TB) from a first terminal device based on the set of subchannels; A communication method including:

18. the subchannel configuration is an RRC parameter including at least one of a target number of subchannels in the set and a target size of each subchannel in the set of subchannels; Determining the set of sub-channels comprises: determining at least a starting position in the frequency domain of each RB set of the at least one RB set based on the configuration of the at least one RB set; determining the set of sub-channels including the target number of sub-channels to be distributed consecutively within each RB set of the at least one RB set, starting from the starting position of each RB set of the at least one RB set; each of the target number of sub-channels has the target size; 18. The communication method of claim 17.

19. and receiving, from the first terminal device, a frequency resource indication of a first subchannel within a plurality of consecutive RB sets and at least one second subchannel between two consecutive RB sets.

18. The communication method of claim 17.

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