Method, device and system for cell determination based on user equipment capabilities

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method, system, and apparatus for determining a cell based on user equipment (UE) capabilities. One method includes a step in which a UE reports at least one UE capability for cell determination, the cell including one or more frequency resource units based on the at least one UE capability. Another method includes a step in which a base station receives a report including at least one UE capability for cell determination, the cell including one or more frequency resource units based on the at least one UE capability.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to a method, device, and system for cell determination based on user equipment (UE) capabilities.

[0002] Wireless communication technologies are driving the world towards an increasingly connected and networked society. High-speed, low-latency wireless communications rely on efficient network resource management and allocation between user equipment and radio access network nodes (including, but not limited to, base stations). New generation networks are expected to provide high-speed, low-latency, and ultra-reliable communication capabilities to meet the demands of various industries and users. [Background technology]

[0003] The Long Term Evolution (LTE) or LTE-Advance (LTE-A) of fourth-generation mobile communication technology (4G) and fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5G) are facing increasing demands. According to the current development trend, 4G and 5G systems are promoting support for enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), and massive machine-type communication (mMTC). In addition, carrier aggregation (CA) may be used in 4G, 5G, and future communication systems.

[0004] In some embodiments, some user equipment (UE) capabilities may be reported by the UE regardless of whether they are the same or similar across multiple frequency bands. At the same time, after the UE capabilities for each frequency band are reported, the UE may be configured to reflect the corresponding UE capabilities. Such embodiments present several challenges / issues, such as, for example, how to more efficiently use similar or identical UE capabilities to improve the efficiency of wireless communications.

[0005] In view of at least one of the problems / issues described in the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides various embodiments for making cell decisions based on user equipment (UE) capabilities. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present disclosure relates to wireless communication methods, systems, and devices, and more particularly to methods, systems, and devices for cell determination based on user equipment (UE) capabilities. Various embodiments of the present disclosure may include methods for reporting UE capabilities and / or methods for cell determination based on reported UE capabilities, which helps to enhance efficient utilization of radio resources and improve performance of wireless communication.

[0007] In one embodiment, the present disclosure provides a wireless communication method (e.g., determining the cell based on reported UE capabilities) The method includes reporting by a user equipment (UE) at least one UE capability for cell determination, the cell including one or more frequency resource units based on the at least one UE capability.

[0008] In another embodiment, the present disclosure provides another wireless communication method. (e.g., determining the cell based on reported UE capabilities) The method includes a step of receiving, by a base station, a report including at least one UE capability for cell determination, the cell including one or more frequency resource units based on the at least one UE capability.

[0009] In some other embodiments, a wireless communication device may include a memory that stores instructions and a processing circuit in communication with the memory, the processing circuit being configured, when executing the instructions, to perform the above-described method.

[0010] In some other embodiments, a wireless communication device may include a memory that stores instructions and a processing circuit in communication with the memory, the processing circuit being configured, when executing the instructions, to perform the above-described method.

[0011] In some other embodiments, a computer-readable medium is provided that includes instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the above-described method. The computer-readable medium may be a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

[0012] These and other aspects and embodiments thereof are described in more detail in the accompanying drawings, specification and claims. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system including one radio network node and one or more user equipments. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a network node. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of user equipment. [Figure 4A] 1 is a flowchart of a wireless communication method. [Figure 4B] 10 is a flowchart of another wireless communication method. [Figure 5A] 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of wireless communication; [Figure 5B] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary embodiment of wireless communication. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary embodiment of wireless communication. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings, which form a part of this disclosure and which show by way of illustration specific examples of embodiments. It should be understood that the present disclosure may be embodied in a variety of different forms, and therefore, it is not intended that the subject matter encompassed or claimed be construed as limited to any embodiments set forth below.

[0015] Throughout the specification and claims, terms may have subtle, explicit or implicit meanings depending on the context beyond their explicitly stated meanings. Similarly, the terms "in one embodiment" or "in some embodiments" as used herein do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, and the terms "in another embodiment" or "in other embodiments" as used herein do not necessarily refer to different embodiments. The terms "in one implementation" or "in some implementations" as used herein do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, and the terms "in another implementation" or "in other implementations" as used herein do not necessarily refer to different embodiments. For example, the claimed subject matter is intended to include combinations of example embodiments or embodiments in whole or in part.

[0016] In general, terms may be understood, at least in part, from their usage in context. For example, terms such as "and," "or," or "and / or" as used herein may include various meanings, depending, at least in part, on the context in which they are used. Typically, when "or" is used to link a list, such as A, B, or C, it is intended to mean A, B, and C in an inclusive sense, as well as A, B, or C in an exclusive sense. Also, as used herein, the terms "one or more" or "at least one" may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in the singular or to describe a combination of features, structures, or characteristics in the plural, depending, at least in part, on the context. Similarly, terms such as "a," "an," or "the" may be understood to refer to the singular or to the plural, depending, at least in part, on the context. Furthermore, the terms "based on" or "determined by" should not be understood as necessarily intended to represent an exclusive series of elements, but rather may allow for the presence of additional elements not necessarily expressly recited, also depending, at least in part, on the context.

[0017] The present disclosure describes a method and device for cell determination based on user equipment (UE) capabilities.

[0018] New generation (NG) mobile communication systems are driving the world towards an increasingly connected and networked society. High-speed, low-latency wireless communications rely on efficient network resource management and allocation between user equipment and radio access network nodes (including, but not limited to, radio base stations). New generation networks are expected to provide high-speed, low-latency, and ultra-reliable communication capabilities to meet the demands of various industries and users.

[0019] Long-Term Evolution (LTE) or LTE-Advance (LTE-A) of fourth-generation mobile communication technology (4G) and fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5G) are facing increasing demands. According to current development trends, 4G and 5G systems are promoting support for enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), and massive machine-type communication (mMTC) features. In some embodiments, coverage extension may be a requirement for 4G, 5G, and / or next-generation communication systems.

[0020] In some wireless communication systems, UE capability reporting may be performed per UE, per frequency band, per frequency band combination (BC), per feature set (FS), or per feature set per component carrier (FSPC). In other words, UE capability parameters may have a hierarchical structure. For example, in a table of UE capability parameters, "per level" indicates the level at which related parameters are included. "Per UE" may indicate that related parameters are signaled per UE. "Per frequency band" may indicate that they are signaled per frequency band. "Per BC" may indicate that they are signaled per frequency band combination. "Per FS" may indicate that they are signaled per feature set (or per frequency band per frequency band combination). "Per FSPC" may indicate that they are signaled per feature set per component carrier (or per component carrier (CC) per frequency band per frequency band combination). In some embodiments, "Per FD" may indicate that a related field description is referenced.

[0021] In some embodiments, regardless of whether the UE capabilities per frequency band among multiple frequency bands are the same or similar, the UE may report some UE capabilities per frequency band for each frequency band. At the same time, after the UE capabilities for each frequency band are reported, the radio resource control (RRC) configuration of the UE may also be configured per cell or carrier to reflect the corresponding UE capabilities. Such embodiments have some challenges / problems, such as how to more efficiently use similar or identical UE capabilities to improve the efficiency of wireless communication.

[0022] In view of at least one of the problems / issues described in the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides various embodiments for making cell decisions based on user equipment (UE) capabilities.

[0023] FIG. 1 shows a wireless network node (or wireless communication node). , also called network base station 1 illustrates a wireless communication system 100 including a network base station 118 and one or more user equipments (UEs) (or wireless communication devices) 110. The radio network nodes may include network base stations or may be Node Bs (NBs, e.g., gNBs) in a mobile communication environment. Each of the UEs may wirelessly communicate with the radio network nodes over one or more radio channels 115 for downlink / uplink communications. For example, a first UE 110 may wirelessly communicate with the radio network node 118 over a channel including multiple radio channels within a certain period of time. The network base station 118 may transmit higher layer signaling to the UE 110. The higher layer signaling may include configuration information for communications between the UE and the base station. In one embodiment, the higher layer signaling may include a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0024] 2 illustrates an example of an electronic device 200 for implementing a network base station. The exemplary electronic device 200 includes a wireless transmitter / receiver for transmitting / receiving communications with UEs and / or other base stations. ShinkaiThe electronic device 200 may include a base station interface circuit 208. The electronic device 200 may also include network interface circuitry 209 for allowing the base station to communicate with other base stations and / or core networks, such as optical or wireline interconnects, Ethernet, and / or other data transmission media / protocols. Optionally, the electronic device 200 may include an input / output (I / O) interface 206 for communicating with an operator or the like.

[0025] The electronic device 200 may also include system circuitry 204. The system circuitry 204 may include a processor 221 and / or memory 222. The memory 222 may include an operating system 224, instructions 226, and parameters 228. The instructions 226 may be used by one or more processors. 221 The parameters 228 may include parameters to support the execution of the instructions 226. For example, the parameters may include network protocol settings, bandwidth parameters, radio frequency mapping assignments, and / or other parameters.

[0026] 3 shows an example of an electronic device for implementing a terminal device 300 (e.g., user equipment (UE)). The UE 300 may be a mobile device, such as a smartphone or a mobile communication module installed in a vehicle. The UE 300 may include a communication interface 302, a system circuit 304, an input / output (I / O) interface 306, a display circuit 308, and a storage device 309. 308The system circuitry 304 may include a user interface 310. The system circuitry 304 may include any combination of hardware, software, firmware, or other logic / circuitry. The system circuitry 304 may be implemented, for example, by one or more systems on a chip (SoC), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), discrete analog and digital circuits, and other circuits. The system circuitry 304 may be part of implementing any desired functionality in the UE 300. In that regard, the system circuitry 304 may include logic that facilitates, for example, decoding and playing music and video (e.g., decoding and playing MP3, MP4, MPEG, AVI, FLAC, AC3, or WAV), executing applications, accepting user input, storing and retrieving application data, establishing, maintaining, and terminating cellular phone calls or data connections, such as for Internet connectivity, establishing, maintaining, and terminating wireless network connections, Bluetooth® connections, or other connections, and displaying information related to the user interface 310. The user interface 310 and input / output (I / O) interface 306 may include a graphical user interface, a touch-sensitive display, haptic feedback or other haptic output, voice or facial recognition input, buttons, switches, speakers, and other user interface elements. Additional examples of the I / O interface 306 include microphones, video and still cameras, temperature sensors, vibration sensors, rotation and orientation sensors, headset and microphone input / output jacks, universal serial bus (USB) connectors, memory card slots, radiation sensors (e.g., IR sensors), and other types of inputs.

[0027] Referring to FIG. 3, the communication interface 302 may be a radio frequency (RF) transmitter / receiver that handles the transmission and reception of signals via one or more antennas 314. trust Receiving ShinkaiThe communication interface 302 may include a path 316. The communication interface 302 may include one or more transceivers. These transceivers may be wireless transceivers that include modulation / demodulation circuitry, digital-to-analog converters (DACs), shape tables, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), filters, waveform shapers, filters, preamplifiers, power amplifiers, and / or other logic for transmitting and receiving via one or more antennas or (for some devices) over a physical (e.g., wired) medium. The transmitted and received signals may follow any of a variety of formats, protocols, modulations (e.g., QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM, or 256-QAM), frequency channels, bit rates, and coding. As a specific example, communication interface 302 may include a transceiver supporting transmission and reception under 2G (the second generation mobile communication technology), 3G (the third generation mobile communication technology), Bluetooth (BT), WiFi (wireless fidelity), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA)+, 4G / Long Term Evolution (LTE), 5G standards, and / or 6G standards. However, the techniques described below apply to other wireless communication technologies, whether from the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), GSM Association, 3GPP2, IEEE, or other partnership or standards body.

[0028] 3 , the system circuitry 304 may include one or more processors 321 and memory 322. The memory 322 stores, for example, an operating system 324, instructions 326, and parameters 328. The processor 321 is configured to perform desired functions of the UE 300 by executing the instructions 326. The parameters 328 may provide and specify configuration and operational options for the instructions 326. The memory 322 may also store any BT, WiFi, 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G, or other data transmitted or received by the UE 300 via the communication interface 302. In various embodiments, system power for the UE 300 may be provided from a power storage device, such as a battery or a transformer.

[0029] This disclosure describes various embodiments for making cell decisions based on user equipment (UE) capabilities, which may be implemented partially or fully in the network base stations and / or user equipment illustrated in Figures 2-3. Various embodiments of the present disclosure may enable efficient radio transmissions in a communication system, thereby improving resource utilization efficiency and / or improving performance of the wireless communication system.

[0030] In some embodiments of the wireless communication system, among the UE capability parameters, general parameters, Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) parameters, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) parameters, Radio Link Control (RLC) parameters, and Medium Access Control (MAC) parameters may be reported only per UE. Physical layer parameters may have multiple reporting levels and can be reported per UE, per BC, per frequency band, per FS, and / or per FSPC.

[0031] In some embodiments of the wireless communication system, for the physical layer parameters, there are a number of parameters reported per frequency band within the BandCombinationList and BandNR parameters. As non-limiting examples, some parameters are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

[0032] [Table 1]

[0033] [Table 2]

[0034] In various embodiments of the present disclosure, a cell may be referred to as a soft cell or an aggregated cell and may be defined and / or configured for a UE. In some embodiments, a soft cell may be a UE-specific cell. A soft cell may be a cell that includes one or more frequency resource units (also called spectrum blocks) and may include one or more existing carriers, cells, or frequency bands based on shared / identical UE capabilities.

[0035] 4A, the present disclosure describes various embodiments of a wireless communication method 400. The method 400 may be performed by a wireless communication device (e.g., user equipment). The method 400 may include reporting 410 at least one UE capability for cell determination, where the cell includes one or more frequency resource units based on the at least one UE capability.

[0036] 4B, the present disclosure describes various embodiments of a wireless communication method 450. The method 450 may be performed by a wireless communication node (e.g., a base station). The method 450 may include receiving 460 a report including at least one UE capability for cell determination, where the cell includes one or more frequency resource units based on the at least one UE capability.

[0037] In some embodiments, the one or more frequency resource units include at least one of a carrier, a cell, and a frequency band.

[0038] In some embodiments, the cell comprises a plurality of Secondary It is determined by any of aggregation of a cell (SCell), aggregation of multiple anchor cells, and / or aggregation of multiple frequency bands.

[0039] In some embodiments, one frequency resource unit of the one or more frequency resource units is used for transmitting paging and / or another frequency resource unit of the one or more frequency resource units is used for transmitting data.

[0040] In some embodiments, at least one UE capability is reported according to one of: being identical for one or more frequency resource units, per set of frequency resource units, and / or supporting a cell that includes one or more frequency resource units.

[0041] In some embodiments, the frequency resource unit is a frequency band, the frequency band set includes one or more frequency bands, and / or at least one UE capability is reported per frequency band set, a level of granularity between per frequency band and per frequency band combination (BC).

[0042] In some embodiments, the UE reports its capabilities by either reporting a single value for the entire frequency band set, reporting a value for each frequency band in the frequency band set, and / or reporting a reference value for one frequency band in the frequency band set and an offset value for each other frequency band in the frequency band set.

[0043] In some embodiments, the cell is based on a serving cell level and includes one or more bandwidth portions (BWPs), where the BWP includes one or more frequency bands.

[0044] In some embodiments, at least one radio resource control (RRC) parameter is configured by either including a single value for each BWP having an aggregated bandwidth of the frequency band set, including a single value for each BWP having contiguous frequency resources, and / or including a reference value for one BWP of the plurality of BWPs and an offset value for each other BWP of the plurality of BWPs.

[0045] In some embodiments, in response to cell scheduling, the frequency ordering of the aggregated bandwidths is set either by higher layer signaling and / or a default frequency ordering.

[0046] In some embodiments, the default frequency order includes ascending frequency positions.

[0047] In some embodiments, in response to cell scheduling, the UE is scheduled with retransmissions in different BWPs with a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) entity shared among multiple BWPs in the cell.

[0048] In some embodiments, cells are activated or deactivated at either the BWP or carrier level only, and / or a combination of the cell level and the BWP or carrier level.

[0049] In some embodiments, cells are further activated independently based on downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) frequency resource units.

[0050] In some embodiments, in response to applying a transmitter (Tx) for each frequency band set, Tx switching occurs between multiple frequency band sets, regardless of whether the multiple frequency band sets are within a cell.

[0051] In some embodiments, the frequency band set is configured by either higher layer signaling, predefined, and / or formed by configuring a frequency band pair or frequency band group switching period of 0 microseconds.

[0052] In some embodiments, a frequency band set includes one or more BWPs in different frequency bands within a cell, each BWP including multiple BWPs, and / or a frequency band set includes one or more carriers in different frequency bands within a cell, each carrier including multiple carriers.

[0053] In some embodiments, the switching period is reported based on either a frequency band pair or a frequency band set pair.

[0054] Example Set I This disclosure describes various embodiments for making cell decisions based on user equipment (UE) capabilities, where there can be two basic soft-cell structures: a cell-specific soft-cell as shown in Figure 5A, and a UE-specific soft-cell as shown in Figure 5B.

[0055] A cell-specific soft cell may be defined or configured from the perspective of a gNB (base station). As shown in Figure 5A, a cell contains multiple frequency bands and applies to all UEs that support the corresponding UE capabilities. In some embodiments, UE capabilities may be reported or required by UEs that support a cell that contains multiple frequency bands.

[0056] UE-specific soft cells may be defined or configured by the gNB and may be based on UE capabilities. As shown in Figure 5B, a cell may contain multiple frequency bands, but for different UEs that support one or more corresponding UE capabilities, the number of multiple frequency bands in a soft cell may vary based on UE capability reporting and / or gNB configuration for each UE. In some embodiments, UE capabilities may be reported or required by UEs that support a cell that includes multiple frequency bands.

[0057] In various examples / embodiments, the term "soft cell" or "cell" may be used to refer to a UE-specific soft cell and / or a cell-specific soft cell. In some embodiments, a soft cell , complex A soft carrier may include non-contiguous frequency resources from several frequency bands. Optionally, the non-contiguous frequency resources are included in one BWP or multiple BWPs. In some embodiments, a soft carrier may be a DL carrier or an UL carrier, or a carrier that includes both DL and UL resources. In some embodiments, a soft cell may include a soft BWP that includes non-contiguous frequency resources from multiple frequency bands. In some embodiments, a soft BWP may be a DL BWP or an UL BWP, or a BWP that includes both DL and UL resources.

[0058] In some embodiments, a soft cell may be defined or configured in any of the following ways: In one way, a soft cell may be defined / supported / configured only for secondary cell (SCell) extension, where the soft cell is constructed by aggregation of multiple SCells; In another way, a soft cell may be defined / supported / configured for primary cell (PCell) or single cell extension, where the soft cell is constructed by aggregation of multiple anchor cells; In another way, a soft cell may be defined / supported / configured for one or more cell extensions, where the soft cell is constructed by aggregation of multiple frequency bands.

[0059] In some embodiments, initial access may be supported by a soft cell. One or more frequency bands within a soft cell may be used for synchronization signals and PBCH blocks (SSBs) or broadcast transmissions. One or more frequency bands may be used for physical random access channel (PRACH) or msg3 transmissions. As a non-limiting example, one frequency band within a soft cell may be used for SSB or broadcast transmissions, and all frequency bands within the soft cell may be used for PRACH or msg3 transmissions. In some embodiments, the PRACH may be transmitted on one or more frequency bands at a time, where a UE transmits the PRACH based on the capabilities of the soft cell with all or partial frequency bands.

[0060] In some embodiments, paging may be transmitted on a BWP / carrier / frequency band that is different from the BWP / carrier / frequency band used in the RRC connected state. As a non-limiting example, for a UE in the RRC connected state, multiple frequency bands in a soft cell may be used for DL / UL traffic transmission, while the carrier / frequency band used for paging in the soft cell may be different from any of the multiple frequency bands in the soft cell used for DL / UL traffic transmission. There are advantages associated with these embodiments, such as improved network performance. Ministry Energy or UE power saving is enabled, where the UE can save energy or power when in a state without traffic transmission.

[0061] In some embodiments, for cell-specific soft cells, the management of the gNB may be simpler. There may be no difference in terms of adding / releasing different UEs to / from one soft cell. On the other hand, it may be more challenging for the UE to implement.

[0062] In some embodiments, UE-specific soft cells may be more friendly to different UEs with different capabilities, while making gNB management more complex. As a non-limiting example, for the same shared frequency band set containing multiple frequency bands, single-cell scheduling may be used for one UE while carrier / cell aggregation may be used for another UE.

[0063] Various embodiments described in the present disclosure have the advantage of restricting RRC configuration based on shared UE capabilities and reducing UE complexity, where a soft cell is a cell that includes one or more existing carriers / cells / frequency bands based on one or more shared / identical UE capabilities, and a soft cell may be a cell-specific cell or a UE-specific cell, and may be derived by aggregation of multiple SCells or aggregation of multiple anchor cells.

[0064] Embodiment Set II The present disclosure describes various embodiments for making cell decisions based on user equipment (UE) capabilities, where, to support soft cells, the one or more shared / identical UE capabilities may include at least one of the following UE capabilities per frequency band / FS (Feature Set) / FSPC (Feature Set per Component Carrier):

[0065] As a non-limiting example in some embodiments, the one or more UE capabilities per frequency band may include similar / same multiple input multiple output (MIMO) capabilities, i.e., additionalActiveTCI-StatePDCCH, aperiodicBeamReport, and / or multipleTCI, with the same subcarrier spacing (SCS) being 15 KHz, as shown in Table 3: bwp-DiffNumerology, bwp-SameNumerology.

[0066] [Table 3-1] [Table 3-2]

[0067] As a non-limiting example in some embodiments, the one or more UE capabilities per FS may include pdcch-MonitoringAnyOccasions, pdsch-ProcessingType2 for 700 / 800 / 900 MHz, additionalDMRS-DL-Alt, and / or similar physical channel procedures, as shown in Table 4.

[0068] [Table 4-1] [Table 4-2]

[0069] As a non-limiting example in some embodiments, the one or more UE capabilities per FSPC may include maxNumberMIMO-LayersPDSCH, supportedBandwidthDL, supportedModulationOrderDL, supportedSubCarrierSpacingDL, as shown in Table 5, in response to similar / identical MIMO / modem / SCS capabilities.

[0070] [Table 5-1] [Table 5-2]

[0071] In some embodiments, one or more UE capabilities may be reported per frequency band set to support a soft cell, where per frequency band set is an intermediate level between per frequency band and per BC. For example, a BC may be reported for carrier aggregation (CA), where there are one or more frequency band sets for combining soft cells. Or, one or more UE capabilities may be reported per BC for a soft cell.

[0072] In some embodiments, there may be a per-UE parameter for reporting whether soft cells are supported. In some embodiments, there may be no distinction between FR1 and FR2, or only FR1. In some embodiments, the UE may report the supported frequency band set per UE or per BC, e.g., a subset of the frequency band list reports the frequency band set per UE or per BC.

[0073] In some embodiments, the UE capability parameters may be reported in any of the following alternative ways: In one way, a single value is reported for each frequency band set; In another way, a single value is reported for each frequency band, which is similar to existing ways; In another way, a single value and multiple delta (or offset values) may be reported for a frequency band set, where the single value serves as a reference value for one frequency band in the frequency band set and each of the multiple deltas serves as an offset value for each other frequency band in the frequency band set or for each frequency band in the frequency band set.

[0074] As a non-limiting example, if the maximum number of active CGs in a cell's BWP is reported per frequency band, and the maximum is 12, then for soft cells, the following may be reported: In one method, the total maximum number of soft cells (or frequency band sets), e.g., 30, is reported for the frequency band set. In another method, the same maximum number for each frequency band of a soft cell is reported, e.g., 10. In another method, a delta (e.g., -4, -2, 0, 2, or 4) maximum number of one reference frequency band for a soft cell in each remaining frequency band is reported, e.g., 10 for the first frequency band, 2 for the second and third frequency bands in the frequency band set, e.g., 4 for the third and fourth frequency bands.

[0075] Various embodiments described in the present disclosure have the advantage of limiting RRC configuration and reducing UE capability reporting, where a soft cell is a cell that includes one or more existing carriers / cells / frequency bands based on one or more shared / identical UE capabilities, and a soft cell may be a cell-specific cell or a UE-specific cell, and may be derived by aggregation of multiple SCells or aggregation of multiple anchor cells.

[0076] Embodiment Set III The present disclosure describes various embodiments for making cell decisions based on user equipment (UE) capabilities, where to support soft cells, the soft cell configuration may be based on a serving cell level, where the bandwidth portion (BWP) configuration is one of the following options:

[0077] In one option (Option 1), one BWP is configured to include one frequency band. In some embodiments, there may be at most one active BWP configured in a cell, or there may be more than one active BWP configured in a cell, where each BWP may include one frequency band.

[0078] In another option (Option 2), one BWP is configured to include multiple frequency bands. In some embodiments, there is at most one active BWP configured in a cell, and the UE may support CA capabilities, or there may be more than one active BWP configured in a cell, where multiple BWPs may overlap.

[0079] In some embodiments, there is only one aggregated DL and / or one aggregated UL carrier within a soft cell. In some embodiments, an aggregated DL or UL carrier may be a soft carrier that includes non-contiguous frequency resources of multiple frequency bands, optionally with one BWP or multiple BWPs. In some embodiments, a soft cell may include a soft carrier that includes both DL and UL resources. In some embodiments, a soft cell may include a soft BWP that includes non-contiguous frequency resources of multiple frequency bands. In some embodiments, a soft BWP may be a DL BWP or a UL BWP, or a BWP that includes both DL and UL resources.

[0080] In some embodiments, for a soft cell, the configuration of the RRC parameters is one of the following alternatives: In one alternative (Alt. 1), the RRC parameters are configured with a single value for each BWP with aggregated bandwidth of the frequency band set; In another alternative (Alt. 2), the RRC parameters are configured with a single value for each BWP with contiguous frequency resources; In another alternative (Alt. 3), the RRC parameters are configured with a single value for multiple BWPs or frequency bands and with a delta or offset value for each (remaining) BWP or frequency band in the frequency band set. For example, based on option 1, Alt. 2 or Alt. 3 may apply, and / or based on option 2, Alt. 1 may apply.

[0081] Taking the configured grant type 1 RRC parameters as a non-limiting example, frequencyDomainAllocation may be configured according to any of the following alternatives: In Alt.1, a BIT STRING (e.g., 30 bits) for the aggregated BWPs of the frequency band set may be configured; In Alt.2, a BIT STRING (e.g., 18 bits) for each BWP may be configured; In Alt.3, a BIT STRING (e.g., 18 bits) for the reference BWP or frequency band may be configured, plus additional bits that are a delta value (e.g., 2 bits for each (remaining) BWP or frequency band) indicating the allocation of the remaining resource block groups (RBGs).

[0082] Various embodiments described in the present disclosure have the advantage of limiting RRC configuration and reducing UE capability reporting, where a soft cell is a cell that includes one or more existing carriers / cells / frequency bands based on one or more shared / identical UE capabilities, and a soft cell may be a cell-specific cell or a UE-specific cell, and may be derived by aggregation of multiple SCells or aggregation of multiple anchor cells.

[0083] Embodiment Set IV The present disclosure describes various embodiments for making cell decisions based on user equipment (UE) capabilities, where both single aggregated BWP and multiple BWP operations may be performed for operations on soft cells, such as scheduling, (re)transmission, and Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Response (HARQ-ACK) feedback.

[0084] In some embodiments, when scheduling is based on single-cell scheduling, the UE may be scheduled within the aggregated bandwidth of a frequency band set, or wideband scheduling may be performed. The RBGs of each BWP and the RBGs of the aggregated bandwidth may be configured independently. The frequency order of the aggregated bandwidth (including the indexes of RB, RBG, BWP, etc.) may be configured explicitly or according to a default configuration derived in ascending order by frequency location. When scheduling is based on multi-cell scheduling, the UE may be scheduled within a frequency band set (or soft cell) similar to the set of cells configured in multi-cell scheduling, while some Type 2 fields (including independent indication fields) may be optimized according to one of the following options: Option 1, indicating a single value that applies to all BWPs (or frequency bands); Option 2, indicating a single value that applies to a reference BWP (or frequency band) and a delta value for each (remaining) BWP (frequency band) is configured; and / or Option 3, indicating one row of the association code RRC table for all BWPs (or frequency bands).

[0085] In some embodiments, for transmission or retransmission, if based on single-cell scheduling, the UE may be scheduled within the aggregated bandwidth of the frequency band set, or wideband scheduling may be performed. A single transport block (TB) may be generated per soft cell (or frequency band set), or a single TB may be generated with a CBG set with each CBG applied to each BWP (or frequency band). If based on multi-cell scheduling, the UE may be scheduled within a frequency band set (or soft cell) as well as a set of cells configured in multi-cell scheduling with different TBs. In some embodiments, different TBs may be generated with different BWPs (or frequency bands). In some embodiments, retransmissions may be performed with different BWPs (or frequency bands) with HARQ entities shared within the soft cell.

[0086] In some embodiments, for HARQ-ACK feedback, if based on single-cell scheduling, the UE may be scheduled within the aggregated bandwidth of the frequency band set, or wideband scheduling may be performed. A codebook based on the TB or CBG level may be used for transmission, or BWP (or frequency band)-level HARQ-ACK feedback derivable by the CBG group may be used, e.g., one HARQ-ACK bit per CBG set corresponding to the BWP (or frequency band). If based on multi-cell scheduling, the UE may be scheduled within a frequency band set (or soft cell) similar to the set of cells configured in multi-cell scheduling, and the HARQ-ACK bits for cells are in the same PUCCH group. In some embodiments, a TB-level codebook may be used for each BWP (or frequency band) in the soft cell (or frequency band set).

[0087] In some embodiments, the (de)activation of a soft cell may be performed solely at the BWP level or carrier level, or may be performed at a combination of the cell level and the BWP level or carrier level, where each may further be combined with the DL and UL BWPs / carriers / cells / frequency bands individually. As option 1, a soft cell is always active, and the BWPs (or frequency bands) within a soft cell (or frequency band set) may be activated / deactivated by signaling, such as downlink control information (DCI), RRC, or media access control (MAC) control element (CE). In some embodiments, more than one BWP (or frequency band) may be added / deactivated to / from a soft cell at a time. As option 2, a soft cell may be activated / deactivated, and an activated soft cell may include one or more BWPs (or frequency bands) that are selectively applicable to a deactivated soft cell. In some embodiments, soft cell switching may be performed based on L1, L2, or L3 signaling with each soft cell having an independent frequency band set. In some embodiments, To perform soft cell switching, L1 or L2 or L3 signaling is Further DL BWP / Carrier / Cell / Frequency Band and UL BWPs / carriers / cells / frequency bands may be individually combined. As a non-limiting example, in a cell having DL BWPs#0 / 1 / 2 / 3 and ULBWPs#0 / 1, only UL BWP#1 is deactivated when UL traffic is low, or ULBWP#2 is activated when UL traffic is high.

[0088] Various embodiments described in the present disclosure have the advantage of limiting RRC configuration and reducing UE capability reporting, where a soft cell is a cell that includes one or more existing carriers / cells / frequency bands based on one or more shared / identical UE capabilities, and a soft cell may be a cell-specific cell or a UE-specific cell, and may be derived by aggregation of multiple SCells or aggregation of multiple anchor cells.

[0089] Embodiment Set V This disclosure describes various embodiments for making cell decisions based on user equipment (UE) capabilities, where enhanced frequency band set manipulation is an enhanced UL Tx switching that may be performed on a soft cell basis. In some embodiments, BWP (or frequency band) or carrier based UL Tx switching may be applied to soft cells, where one or more carriers may share one Tx.

[0090] In some embodiments, switching between multiple BWPs, carriers, and frequency bands may occur within a cell or not, provided that per-frequency-band Tx still applies. Option 1: Switch based on BWP / carrier / frequency band regardless of carrier type. UL Tx switching for a cell with multiple BWPs / carriers / frequency bands may operate as a carrier aggregation switching scheme with frequency band combination configuration. One non-limiting example is frequency band combination for a cell and, optionally, frequency band combination for UL Tx switching, i.e., BandCombinationForOneCell-UplinkTxSwitch. Option 2: Switch based on BWP / carrier / frequency band with some restrictions for one or more carriers within a cell. Alt. 1: A supplemental uplink (SUL) carrier may not support simultaneous transmission with any other NUL carrier. In this case, all NUL carriers in the cell are corresponding NUL carriers defined / configured for the SUL. Alt. 2: A SUL carrier may not support simultaneous transmission with one corresponding NUL carrier. In this case, one of the NUL carriers in the cell is the corresponding NUL carrier defined / configured for the SUL. Alt.3: Based on the RRC configuration, it is configurable whether the SUL carrier and the (non-)corresponding NUL carrier support simultaneous transmission. Alt.4: If there is more than one SUL carrier in the cell, in addition to Alt.3, it is configurable whether the SUL carrier and other SUL carriers support simultaneous transmission.

[0091] In some embodiments, if per frequency band set Tx is applied, switching between frequency band sets may occur whether within a cell or not.

[0092] In some embodiments, the set of frequency bands (or frequency band set) may be derived by RRC configuration, predefined in a specification, or derived by a 0 μs switching period configuration. In some embodiments, some limitations include at least one of the following: Alt. 1: One or more BWPs / carriers in different frequency bands of multiple BWPs / carriers in a cell may be grouped as a frequency band set. As shown in FIG. 6, Tx per frequency band set and more BWPs / carriers may be used for UL transmission of a UE up to 2 Tx. In some embodiments, multiple BWPs / carriers in different frequency bands in a cell are a frequency band set, where Tx per cell includes multiple frequency bands. Alt. 2: Only carriers in different frequency bands in a cell may be configured as a frequency band set, in which case a normal cell may not support a frequency band set. When carriers in frequency bands in a cell are defined / configured from the BC, a frequency band set may be configured only within the frequency band combination (-UplinkTxSwitch). If the carriers of frequency bands in a cell are defined / configured from one or more BCs, the set of frequency bands may be from different BCs. Alt. 3: If at least one carrier is a SUL carrier, the set of frequency bands may only include frequency bands of the same type. In this case, a set of frequency bands including both NUL and SUL frequency bands may not be permitted.

[0093] In some embodiments, another scheme for deriving a virtual frequency band or set of frequency bands may include setting the switching period to 0 microseconds (μs) for a frequency band pair or combination. As a non-limiting example shown in FIG. 6, the switching period between frequency bands B and C, i.e., T_switch from B to C (T_switchB-C), is set to 0 μs, generating a frequency band set or virtual frequency band that includes frequency band B and frequency band C.

[0094] In some embodiments, UL Tx switching may be performed based on at least one BWP / carrier in a set of frequency bands or a virtual frequency band, where Tx switching may be performed between different frequency band sets. As a non-limiting example, for a UE that indicates capability for uplink switching via BandCombination-UplinkTxSwitch for a frequency band combination, if the UE is configured for uplink switching via parameter uplinkTxSwitching and ... offset When transmitting on the uplink based on DCI(s) received before or based on higher layer configuration, if the UE performs two-port transmission on one uplink carrier in one frequency band set and the previous uplink transmission is one-port transmission on another uplink carrier in another frequency band set, the UE shall Tx1-Tx2 It is expected that no transmissions will be made on any carrier within this period.

[0095] In some embodiments, the switching period may be reported based on a pair of frequency bands or a pair of frequency band sets. If based on a pair of frequency bands, the switching gap may be determined by the maximum switching period of the pair of frequency bands involved in the frequency band set switching. As a non-limiting example shown in FIG. 6, the switching gap is determined by Max{T_switchA-B, T_switchA-C, T_switchB-C} or Max{T_switchA-B, T_switchA-C}, where in some embodiments, T_switchB-C may be 0 μs. In some embodiments, the switching period between any one frequency band and another frequency band in one set may be the same. If based on a pair of frequency band sets, the set of frequency bands is defined / configured, and the switching period for the pair of frequency band sets is reported or configured. As a non-limiting example, uplinkTxSwitchingPeriodofBandSet is introduced for the switching period for the pair of frequency band sets.

[0096] Various embodiments described in the present disclosure have the advantage that it is advantageous for a UE to use multiple fragmented contiguous spectrum resources, where multiple carriers are located in different frequency bands, and the number of Txs for a UE may be limited to a maximum of two; furthermore, with Tx per frequency band set, it is advantageous for the UE to utilize more BWPs / carriers / frequency bands within a cell or multiple cells; a soft cell is a cell that includes one or more existing carriers / cells / frequency bands based on one or more shared / identical UE capabilities.

[0097] The present disclosure describes a wireless communication method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium. The present disclosure solves the problem of making cell decisions based on user equipment (UE) capabilities. The method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium described in the present disclosure can facilitate wireless communication, thereby improving efficiency and overall performance. The method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium described in the present disclosure can improve the overall efficiency of a wireless communication system.

[0098] In some other embodiments, a computer-readable medium containing instructions is provided that, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the methods described above. The computer-readable medium may be referred to as a non-transitory computer-readable medium (CRM) that stores data for a long period of time, such as a flash drive or a compact disc (CD), or as a medium that stores data for a short period of time while power is applied, such as a memory device or random access memory (RAM). In some embodiments, the computer-readable instructions may be included in software, which is embodied in one or more tangible non-transitory computer-readable media. Such non-transitory computer-readable media may be media associated with user-accessible mass storage, as well as specific short-term storage media that are non-transitory in nature, such as internal mass storage or ROM. Software implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure may be stored on such devices and executed by a processor (or processing circuitry). The computer-readable medium may include one or more memory devices or chips, depending on specific needs. The software includes causing a processor (including a CPU, GPU, FPGA, etc.) to perform a particular process or a particular portion of a particular process described herein, defining data structures stored in RAM, and modifying such data structures according to processes defined by the software.

[0099] References throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar terms do not imply that all features and advantages realizable by the present invention should or are included in any single embodiment thereof. Rather, the terms referring to features and advantages are understood to mean that the particular feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, discussions of features and advantages and similar terms throughout this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.

[0100] Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Those skilled in the relevant art will recognize, in light of the description herein, that the invention can be practiced without one or more specific capabilities or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other cases, additional features and advantages may be recognized in a particular embodiment that are not present in all embodiments of the invention.

Claims

1. 1. A wireless communication method, comprising: a user equipment (UE) reporting at least one UE capability for cell determination, the cell including one or more frequency resource units based on the at least one UE capability; Wireless communication method.

2. 1. A wireless communication method, comprising: a base station receiving a report including at least one UE capability for cell determination, the cell including one or more frequency resource units based on the at least one UE capability; Wireless communication method.

3. the one or more frequency resource units include at least one of a carrier, a cell, and a frequency band; 3. The wireless communication method according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The cell is Aggregation of multiple second cells (SCells), Aggregation of multiple anchor cells; and determined by any of an aggregation of multiple frequency bands; 3. The wireless communication method according to claim 1 or 2.

5. one frequency resource unit among the one or more frequency resource units is used for transmitting paging; other frequency resource units of the one or more frequency resource units are used for transmitting data; 3. The wireless communication method according to claim 1 or 2.

6. The at least one UE capability: being identical for one or more frequency resource units; for each set of frequency resource units; and supporting a cell including one or more frequency resource units, 3. The wireless communication method according to claim 1 or 2.

7. the frequency resource unit is a frequency band; The frequency band set includes one or more frequency bands; and the at least one UE capability is reported per frequency band set, which is a granularity level between per frequency band and per frequency band combination (BC); The wireless communication method according to claim 6.

8. The UE reporting a single value for the entire set of frequency bands; reporting a value for each frequency band in the set of frequency bands; and reporting UE capabilities by either reporting a reference value for the one frequency band in the set of frequency bands and an offset value for each other frequency band in the set of frequency bands; The wireless communication method according to claim 7.

9. The cell is based on a serving cell level and includes one or more bandwidth portions (BWPs), each of which includes one or more frequency bands.

3. The wireless communication method according to claim 1 or 2.

10. At least one radio resource control (RRC) parameter including a single value for each BWP having an aggregated bandwidth of the frequency band set; containing a single value for each BWP having contiguous frequency resources; and a reference value for one BWP of the plurality of BWPs and an offset value for each other BWP of the plurality of BWPs. The wireless communication method according to claim 9.

11. In response to the cell scheduling, the frequency ordering of the aggregated bandwidth is higher layer signaling, and Set by one of the default frequency sequences, 3. The wireless communication method according to claim 1 or 2.

12. the default frequency order includes ascending frequency positions; The wireless communication method according to claim 11.

13. In response to the cell scheduling, the UE is scheduled with retransmissions on different BWPs with a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) entity shared among the plurality of BWPs in the cell.

3. The wireless communication method according to claim 1 or 2.

14. The cell is BWP or carrier level only, and Activated or deactivated at any level of a combination of cell level and BWP or carrier level; 3. The wireless communication method according to claim 1 or 2.

15. The cells are further independently activated based on downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) frequency resource units. The wireless communication method according to claim 14.

16. In response to the application of a transmitter (Tx) for each frequency band set, Tx switching is performed between the multiple frequency band sets regardless of whether the multiple frequency band sets are within one cell.

3. The wireless communication method according to claim 1 or 2.

17. The frequency band set is higher layer signaling, be predefined, and The frequency band set is formed by a frequency band pair or a frequency band group with a switching period of 0 microseconds.

17. The wireless communication method of claim 16.

18. A frequency band set includes one or more BWPs in different frequency bands within a cell, each of which includes multiple BWPs; or A frequency band set includes one or more carriers in different frequency bands within a cell, each frequency band including multiple carriers.

18. A wireless communication method according to claim 16 or 17.

19. The switching period is reported based on either a frequency band pair or a frequency band set pair.

18. A wireless communication method according to claim 16 or 17.

20. A wireless communication device, a processor and a memory, The processor is configured to read code from the memory and to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19. Wireless communication device.

21. 1. A computer program product comprising: a computer-readable program medium code stored in the computer program product, the computer-readable program medium code causing the processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19 when executed by the processor; Computer program products.

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