Scheduling time offsets for non-terrestrial networks
By employing numerology-agnostic and scaled timing offsets, the challenges of long round-trip times in non-terrestrial networks are addressed, enhancing scheduling efficiency and reducing delays in 5G NR systems.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2025194383
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2021-06-01
- Filing Date
- 2025-11-13
- Publication Date
- 2026-02-27
AI Technical Summary
Existing 5G new radio (NR) systems face challenges in efficiently scheduling transmissions in non-terrestrial networks due to long round-trip times caused by the long distances electromagnetic waves travel, leading to inefficiencies in uplink-downlink interactions, particularly with numerology-dependent timing offsets that can result in unnecessary delays or invalid scheduling configurations.
Implementing numerology-agnostic timing offsets or scaled timing offsets based on a baseline numerology with a scaling factor, and signaling different offsets for various bandwidth portions and component carriers to ensure effective scheduling across diverse communication scenarios.
Enhances scheduling efficiency in non-terrestrial networks by reducing delays and ensuring accurate timing alignment across different numerologies and bandwidths, thereby improving throughput and reducing interference.
Smart Images

Figure 2026034451000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
[Technical Field]
[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 336,107, entitled "SCHEDULING TIME OFFSET FOR NON-TERRESTRIAL NETWORKS," filed June 1, 2021, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 038,704, entitled "SCHEDULING TIME OFFSET FOR NON-TERRESTRIAL NETWORKS," filed June 12, 2020, the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated by reference in their entireties.
[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to techniques and apparatus for 5G New Radio (NR) scheduling time offsets for non-terrestrial networks. [Background technology]
[0003] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasts. A typical wireless communication system may employ multiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple-access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, and Long Term Evolution (LTE). LTE / LTE-Advanced is a set of extensions to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®).
[0004] A wireless communication network may include several base stations (BSs) that can support communication for several user equipments (UEs). The user equipments (UEs) may communicate with the base stations (BSs) via downlinks and uplinks. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from the BSs to the UEs, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from the UEs to the BSs. As described in more detail below, a BS may be referred to as a Node B, gNB, access point (AP), radio head, transmit receive point (TRP), new radio (NR) BS, 5G Node B, etc.
[0005] The above multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunications standards to provide common protocols that enable different user equipment to communicate on a city, national, regional, or even global scale. New Radio (NR), sometimes referred to as 5G, is a set of extensions to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®). NR is designed to increase spectral efficiency, reduce costs, improve service, utilize new spectrum, better support mobile broadband Internet access by using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) with Cyclic Prefix (CP) (CP-OFDM) on the downlink (DL), and CP-OFDM and / or SC-FDM (e.g., also known as Discrete Fourier Transform Spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM)) on the uplink (UL) to better integrate with other open standards, as well as support beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]
[0006] According to aspects of the present disclosure, a method of wireless communication by a user equipment (UE) includes receiving at least one first time offset for scheduling non-terrestrial communication, the at least one first time offset configured according to at least one of a numerology or a bandwidth portion (BWP). The method also includes communicating according to the at least one first time offset.
[0007] In another aspect, an apparatus for wireless communication in a sidelink user equipment (UE) includes a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. Instructions stored in the memory, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to receive at least one first time offset for scheduling non-terrestrial communication. The at least one first time offset is configured according to at least one of a numerology or a bandwidth portion (BWP). The instructions also cause the apparatus to communicate according to the at least one first time offset.
[0008] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a user equipment (UE) for wireless communication includes means for receiving at least one first time offset for scheduling non-terrestrial communication, the at least one first time offset being configured according to at least one of a numerology or a bandwidth portion (BWP). The UE also includes means for communicating according to the at least one first time offset.
[0009] In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium has program code recorded thereon. The program code includes program code, when executed by a user equipment (UE), for receiving at least one first time offset for scheduling non-terrestrial communications. The at least one first time offset is configured according to at least one of a numerology or a bandwidth portion (BWP). The program code also includes program code for communicating according to the at least one first time offset.
[0010] Aspects generally include methods, apparatus, systems, computer program products, non-transitory computer-readable media, user equipment, base stations, wireless communication devices, and processing systems, as fully described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings and this specification.
[0011] The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of examples according to the present disclosure so that the detailed description that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages will now be described. The concepts and examples disclosed may be readily used as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent structures do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. The properties of the disclosed concepts, both their organization and method of operation, together with associated advantages, will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. Each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description, and not as a definition of the limits of the claims.
[0012] To enable the features of the present disclosure to be understood in detail, a particular description may be made by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. However, since this description may recognize other equally effective embodiments, it should be noted that the accompanying drawings illustrate only some embodiments of the present disclosure and therefore should not be considered as limiting its scope. The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements. [Brief explanation of the drawings]
[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a wireless communication network, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a base station in communication with user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 3]FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system that supports scheduling of timing offsets for non-terrestrial networks, according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates another example of a wireless communication system that supports scheduling of timing offsets for non-terrestrial networks, according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 illustrates an example process for scheduling and communicating time offsets, performed, for example, by a user equipment (UE), in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0014] Various aspects of the present disclosure are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the scope of the present disclosure encompasses any aspect of the present disclosure, whether implemented independently or in combination with any other aspect of the present disclosure. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the described aspects. Additionally, the scope of the present disclosure encompasses such apparatuses or methods practiced using other structure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to or other than the various aspects of the present disclosure described. It should be understood that any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.
[0015] Several aspects of a telecommunications system will now be presented with reference to various apparatus and techniques. These apparatus and techniques will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements may be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.
[0016] Although aspects may be described using terminology generally associated with 5G and beyond wireless technologies, it should be noted that aspects of the present disclosure may be applied in other generation-based communication systems such as and including 3G and / or 4G technologies.
[0017] In non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), the round-trip time from the base station to the UE via intermediate satellites can be quite long. Similarly, the round-trip time between the base station on the satellite and the UE can be long. The long round-trip time is due to the long distances that electromagnetic waves travel. 5G new wireless systems compensate for this round-trip time delay with an additional time offset to ensure effective scheduling of transmissions with uplink-downlink (UL-DL) interactions.
[0018] According to aspects of the present disclosure, additional time offsets may be signaled and determined across different numerologies, potentially in different bandwidth portions (BWPs), component carriers, etc. In some aspects of the present disclosure, a numerology agnostic timing offset value (K offset ) is provided. That is, the timing offset value specifies the same number of slots for all numerologies. The numerologies refer to at least a subcarrier spacing, e.g., 15 kHz, 30 kHz, etc.
[0019] In other aspects, the network signals a default timing offset value for the baseline numerology. The timing offset value for any particular numerology is then determined by applying a scaling factor to that of the baseline numerology. According to other aspects of the present disclosure, the network signals different timing offset values to be applied to different numerologies or different bandwidth portions (BWPs). According to yet further aspects of the present disclosure, the above-mentioned different timing offset options are applied across different bandwidth portions or across different component carriers (CCs) in a carrier aggregation configuration.
[0020] 1 is a diagram illustrating a network 100 in which aspects of the present disclosure may be practiced. Network 100 may be a 5G or NR network, or some other wireless network, such as an LTE network. Wireless network 100 may include several BSs 110 (shown as BS 110a, BS 110b, BS 110c, and BS 110d) and other network entities. A BS is an entity that communicates with user equipment (UE) and may also be referred to as a base station, NR BS, Node B, gNB, 5G Node B (NB), access point, transmit / receive point (TRP), etc. Each BS may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term "cell" can refer to the coverage area of a BS and / or the BS subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.
[0021] A BS may provide communication coverage for a macrocell, a picocell, a femtocell, and / or another type of cell. A macrocell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a few kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions. A picocell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions. A femtocell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access by UEs that have an association with the femtocell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). A BS for a macrocell may be referred to as a macro BS. A BS for a picocell may be referred to as a pico BS. A BS for a femtocell may be referred to as a femto BS or a home BS. 1, BS 110a may be a macro BS for a macro cell 102a, BS 110b may be a pico BS for a pico cell 102b, and BS 110c may be a femto BS for a femto cell 102c. A BS may support one or more (e.g., three) cells. The terms “eNB,” “base station,” “NR BS,” “gNB,” “TRP,” “AP,” “Node B,” “5G NB,” and “cell” may be used interchangeably.
[0022] In some aspects, the cells may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of the cells may move according to the location of the mobile BS. In some aspects, the BSs may be interconnected to each other and / or to one or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) in wireless network 100 through various types of backhaul interfaces, such as direct physical connections, virtual networks, etc., using any suitable transport network.
[0023] Wireless network 100 may also include relay stations. A relay station is an entity that can receive data transmissions from an upstream station (e.g., a BS or UE) and send the data transmissions to a downstream station (e.g., a UE or BS). A relay station may also be a UE that can relay transmissions for other UEs. In the example shown in FIG. 1, relay station 110d may communicate with macro BS 110a and UE 120d to facilitate communication between BS 110a and UE 120d. A relay station may also be called a relay BS, a relay base station, a relay, etc.
[0024] Wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network including different types of BSs, e.g., macro BSs, pico BSs, femto BSs, relay BSs, etc. These different types of BSs may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and different impacts on interference within wireless network 100. For example, macro BSs may have high transmit power levels (e.g., 5-40 watts), while pico BSs, femto BSs, and relay BSs may have lower transmit power levels (e.g., 0.1-2 watts).
[0025] Network controller 130 may couple to a set of BSs and may provide coordination and control for these BSs. Network controller 130 may communicate with the BSs via a backhaul. The BSs may also communicate with each other directly or indirectly, e.g., via wireless or wireline backhaul.
[0026] The UEs 120 (e.g., 120a, 120b, 120c) may be dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE may be fixed or mobile. A UE may also be referred to as an access terminal, terminal, mobile station, subscriber unit, station, etc. A UE may be a cellular phone (e.g., a smartphone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a medical device or equipment, a biometric sensor / device, a wearable device (smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., smart ring, smart bracelet)), an entertainment device (e.g., a music or video device, or satellite radio), a vehicle component or sensor, a smart meter / sensor, industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, or any other suitable device configured to communicate over a wireless or wired medium.
[0027] Some UEs may be considered machine type communication (MTC) UEs or evolved or enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) UEs. MTC UEs and eMTC UEs include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, location tags, etc. that may communicate with a base station, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. A wireless node may provide connectivity for or to a network (e.g., a wide area network such as the Internet or a cellular network), for example, via a wired or wireless communication link. Some UEs may be considered Internet of Things (IoT) devices and / or may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband Internet of Things) devices. Some UEs may be considered customer premises equipment (CPE). The UE 120 may be included inside a housing that houses components of the UE 120, such as processor components, memory components, etc.
[0028] In general, any number of wireless networks may be deployed within a given geographic area. Each wireless network may support a particular RAT and may operate on one or more frequencies. A RAT may also be referred to as a radio technology, air interface, etc. A frequency may also be referred to as a carrier, frequency channel, etc. Each frequency may support a single RAT within a given geographic area to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RAT networks may be deployed.
[0029] In some aspects, two or more UEs 120 (e.g., shown as UE 120a and UE 120e) may communicate directly (e.g., without using the base station 110 as an intermediary for communicating with each other) using one or more sidelink channels. For example, the UEs 120 may communicate using peer-to-peer (P2P) communication, device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocols (which may include, e.g., vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocols, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocols, etc.), mesh networks, etc. In this case, the UEs 120 may perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and / or other operations described elsewhere as being performed by the base station 110. For example, the base station 110 may configure the UE 120 with downlink control information (DCI), radio resource control (RRC) signaling, media access control-control element (MAC-CE), or system information (e.g., system information block (SIB)).
[0030] The UEs 120 may include a non-terrestrial network (NTN) timing offset module 140. For simplicity, only one UE 120d is shown as including the NTN timing offset module 140. The NTN timing offset module 140 may receive one or more first time offsets for scheduling non-terrestrial communications. The one or more first time offsets are configured according to at least one of a numerology or a bandwidth portion (BWP). The NTN timing offset module 140 may also communicate according to the one or more first time offsets.
[0031] As noted above, Figure 1 is provided as an example only. Other examples may differ from those described with respect to Figure 1.
[0032] 2 shows a block diagram of a design 200 of a base station 110 and a UE 120, which may be one of the base stations and one of the UEs in FIG. 1. Base station 110 may be equipped with T antennas 234a through 234t, and UE 120 may be equipped with R antennas 252a through 252r, where in general T≧1 and R≧1.
[0033] At the base station 110, the transmit processor 220 may receive data for one or more UEs from a data source 212, select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCSs) for each UE based at least in part on a channel quality indicator (CQI) received from the UE, process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for each UE based at least in part on the MCS selected for the UE, and provide data symbols to all UEs. Reducing the MCS reduces throughput but increases transmission reliability. The transmit processor 220 may also process system information and control information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI), etc.) and provide overhead and control symbols. The transmit processor 220 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRSs)) and synchronization signals (e.g., primary synchronization signals (PSSs) and secondary synchronization signals (SSSs)). The transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, control symbols, overhead symbols, and / or reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide T output symbol streams to T modulators (MODs) 232a through 232t. Each modulator 232 may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 232 may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The T downlink signals from modulators 232a through 232t may be transmitted via T antennas 234a through 234t, respectively. According to various aspects described in more detail below, synchronization signals may be generated using location coding to convey additional information.
[0034] At UE 120, antennas 252a through 252r may receive downlink signals from base station 110 and / or other base stations and may provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs) 254a through 254r, respectively. Each demodulator 254 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) the received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator 254 may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from all R demodulators 254a through 254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. A receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols and provide decoded data for UE 120 to a data sink 260 and decoded control and system information to controller / processor 280. The channel processor may determine a reference signal received power (RSRP), a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a channel quality indicator (CQI), etc. In some aspects, one or more components of the UE 120 may be included in a housing.
[0035] On the uplink, at UE 120, transmit processor 264 may receive and process data from data source 262 and control information from controller / processor 280 (e.g., for reports including RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, CQI, etc.). Transmit processor 264 may also generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from transmit processor 264 may be precoded by TX MIMO processor 266 if applicable, further processed by modulators 254a through 254r (e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM, CP-OFDM, etc.), and transmitted to base station 110. At base station 110, uplink signals from UE 120 and other UEs may be received by antennas 234, processed by demodulator 254, detected by MIMO detector 236 if applicable, and further processed by receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information sent by UE 120. The receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to a data sink 239 and the decoded control information to the controller / processor 240. The base station 110 may include a communication unit 244 and may communicate with the network controller 130 via the communication unit 244. The network controller 130 may include a communication unit 294, a controller / processor 290, and a memory 292.
[0036] The controller / processor 240 of the base station 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, and / or any other components of FIG. 2 may perform one or more techniques related to non-terrestrial network time offsets, as described in more detail elsewhere. For example, the controller / processor 240 of the base station 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, and / or any other components of FIG. 2 may perform or direct the operation of, for example, the process of FIG. 5 and / or other processes described. The memories 242 and 282 may store data and program codes for the base station 110 and the UE 120, respectively. The scheduler 246 may schedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink and / or uplink.
[0037] In some aspects, the UE 120 may include means for receiving, means for communicating, means for scaling, means for deriving, and / or means for determining, which may include one or more components of the UE 120 described with respect to FIG.
[0038] As noted above, Figure 2 is provided as an example only. Other examples may differ from those described with respect to Figure 2.
[0039] In some cases, different types of devices supporting different types of applications and / or services may coexist in a cell. Examples of different types of devices include UE handsets, customer premises equipment (CPE), vehicles, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, etc. Examples of different types of applications include ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) applications, massive machine-type communications (mMTC) applications, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) applications, vehicle-to-anything (V2X) applications, etc. Furthermore, in some cases, a single device may support different applications or services simultaneously.
[0040] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 300 that supports scheduling of timing offsets for a non-terrestrial network (NTN) in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the wireless communication system 300 may implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100. The wireless communication system 300 may include a base station 110 and a UE 120, which may be examples of corresponding devices described with reference to FIG. 1. For example, the wireless communication system 300 may be a non-terrestrial network that may include the base station 110, the UE 120, and a satellite 340. The satellite 340 may relay communications for the base station (e.g., the base station 110) and the mobile terminal (e.g., the UE 120). The base station 110 may also be referred to as a gateway. A geographic area associated with a transmit beam of the satellite 340 may be referred to as a beam footprint 330, and the UE 120 may communicate with the satellite 340 when the UE 120 is located within the beam footprint 330.
[0041] The base station 110 may perform communication procedures with the UE 120 (e.g., radio resource control (RRC) procedures such as a cell acquisition procedure, a random access procedure, an RRC connection procedure, an RRC configuration procedure, etc.). The base station 110 may be configured with multiple antennas, which may be used for directional or beamformed transmissions. As part of the communication procedures, the base station 110 may establish a bidirectional communication link 310 for communication with the UE 120. Additionally or alternatively, as part of the communication procedures, the base station 110 may configure the UE 120 with a configuration 315 (e.g., time and frequency resources, a reference signal period, a symbolic indication of slots for transmitting reference signals) via RRC signaling. While shown as direct communication in FIG. 3 , this disclosure focuses on communication of the UE 120 to the base station 110 via a satellite 340.
[0042] The satellite 340 may generate satellite information (e.g., ephemeris information) related to communications between the satellite 340, the UE 120, and the base station 110. For example, the satellite 340 may determine a propagation delay associated with transmissions between the satellite 340, the UE 120, and the base station 110. In some cases, the propagation delay may be based on a distance d from the satellite 340 to a point 305 (e.g., a center) of the beam footprint 330. In other cases, the propagation delay may be a factor of the distance d, which may correspond to a round-trip distance between the base station 110 and the satellite 340. Additionally or alternatively, the propagation delay may be an estimated round-trip delay or round-trip time between the UE 120 and the base station 110, which may be based at least in part on the distance d and / or 2d. Note that the distance d may not reflect the exact distance from the satellite 340 to the UE 120. For example, the UE 120 may be located at an edge of the beam footprint 330 and may be a different distance from the satellite 340 than the distance d. However, such a difference in distance may be insignificant compared to the distance d, which may therefore be sufficient to represent the distance from the satellite 340 to the UE 120.
[0043] The satellite 340 may transmit satellite information to the base station 110 and / or the UE 120 that may be located within the beam footprint 330 via the wireless communication link 335. In some cases, the satellite 340 may update and transmit the satellite information to the base station 110 and / or the UE 120 on a preconfigured schedule (e.g., an update rate). The preconfigured schedule may be based on the velocity of the satellite 340. For example, the velocity of the satellite 340 may result in a maximum round-trip time change rate of 50 μs per second. That is, for each second of movement of the satellite 340, the round-trip time of communication between the satellite 340 and the UE 120 may change by, for example, 50 μs. The round-trip time change rate may also change based on the movement (e.g., orbit) of the satellite. In such cases, the satellite 340 may update the satellite information multiple times per second. Additionally or alternatively, the base station 110 may transmit the satellite information to the UE 120 via the bidirectional communication link 310, for example, as part of the configuration 315. In some cases, the base station 110 may transmit the satellite information to the UE 120 based on a preconfigured schedule, for example, the update rate of the satellites 340 .
[0044] The satellite information may also include the velocity of the satellite 340. The velocity of the satellite 340 may, in some cases, be defined by or related to the following equation: v×cos(α), where α is the angle between the vector of the velocity v and the vector of the distance d. The UE 120 may use the velocity of the satellite 340 to determine a round-trip time rate. In some cases, the UE 120 may determine the round-trip time rate using the velocity of the satellite 340 based at least in part on the UE 120 being located relative to the point 305 of the beam footprint 330. In some examples, using the velocity of the satellite 340, the round-trip time rate may be defined by the following equation: −2v×cos(α) / c, where α is the angle between the vector of the velocity v and the vector of the distance d, and c is the speed of light. Thus, if an upstream transmission is to be transmitted with a timing adjustment t a UE 120 is scheduled to transmit at time t0, the actual transmission time by UE 120 is t0+t aIf a new timing adjustment is not provided by base station 110, time t a For a subsequent upstream transmission scheduled to be transmitted at +Δt, the actual transmission time by UE 120 is t a +Δt×(−2v×cos(α) / c).
[0045] When the UE 120 is in discontinuous reception (DRX) mode and in an RRC idle or RRC connected state, the base station 110 may transmit downlink control information on certain time and frequency resources (e.g., fixed symbols). Between these time and frequency resources, the UE 120 enters a lower power state, also referred to as a “sleep mode,” to reduce power consumption and increase the battery life of the UE 120. In the RRC idle or RRC connected state, the UE 120 may wake up once every number of symbols to receive downstream transmissions from the base station 110 and / or the satellite 340. The gap periods allocated before and after a reference signal transmission may benefit the base station 110 by reducing or eliminating interference between the UE 120's transmissions and those from other nearby UEs.
[0046] 4 illustrates an alternative network configuration of a wireless communication system 400 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In this configuration, a base station 110-b is located on a satellite 440. The base station 110-b communicates with a core network 430 via a wireless communication link 435. A UE 120 communicates with the non-terrestrial base station 110-b via the wireless communication link 435.
[0047] In a non-terrestrial network (NTN), the round trip time from base station 110 to UE 120 via intermediate satellite 340 may be significant. Similarly, the round trip time between base station 110-b on satellite 440 and UE 120 may be long. The long round trip time is due to the long distances that electromagnetic waves travel.
[0048] 5G new wireless systems compensate for this round-trip time delay with additional time offsets to ensure effective scheduling of transmissions with uplink-downlink (UL-DL) interactions. These additional offsets (defined as K in Section 6.2.1.2 of 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) Technical Report 38.821) offset ) may apply to timing relationships including uplink-downlink interactions. When a UE acquires a satellite cell, it derives K from broadcast system information. offset may be derived, or K offset may be configured by higher layers, such as by using Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. offset The value may be per satellite beam or per cell. offset Values may be signaled and determined across different numerologies, potentially in different bandwidth portions (BWPs), component carriers, etc.
[0049] In 3GPP (registered trademark) Technical Report 38.821, K offset The values apply to the transmission timing of the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) (including CSI (Channel State Information) on the PUSCH) scheduled by DCI (Downlink Control Information), the transmission timing of the PUSCH scheduled by a random access response (RAR) grant, the transmission timing of a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) message on the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), the medium access control control element (MAC-CE) action timing, the CSI reference resource timing, and the transmission timing of the aperiodic sounding reference signal (SRS). offset The value of is given as a number of slots that is independent of any numerology (e.g., the subcarrier spacing (SCS) configured for communication). In practice, different numerologies may be used for different component carriers.
[0050] Because propagation delay is not determined by numerology, using numerology-independent timing offset values can result in unnecessary delay for numerologies with small SCSs (e.g., large slot durations), which can reduce throughput. For numerologies with large SCSs (e.g., small slot durations), the number of slots may not be sufficient to accommodate the propagation delay, which can result in invalid scheduling configurations. Even for 15 kHz to 60 kHz numerologies, numerology-independent timing offset values quadruple the absolute time allocated to propagation delay when going from 60 kHz numerology to 15 kHz numerology.
[0051] According to aspects of the present disclosure, a numerology-independent timing offset value (K offset ) is provided. That is, the timing offset value specifies the same number of slots for all numerologies. The network offset ) is broadcast or signaled conservatively, in other words, so that a numerology with the maximum possible subcarrier spacing can be scheduled. This timing offset value (K offset ) may reduce throughput in numerologies with smaller subcarrier spacing.
[0052] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the network broadcasts or signals a default timing offset value for a baseline numerology. The UE then determines the timing offset value for any particular numerology by applying a scaling factor. For example, the default timing offset value is:
[0053]
number
[0054] As, numerology μ defaultA specific timing offset value (K offset )teeth,
[0055]
number
[0056] where f(.) may represent a ceiling or floor operation as the case may be. The function f(.) may be defined in a specification or provided in broadcast or dedicated signaling. In some aspects, the function f(.) may be the identity function.
[0057] According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the network broadcasts or signals different timing offset values that apply to different numerologies. This option may provide finer granularity for scaling at the expense of increased signaling overhead. Thus, a first timing offset may be signaled for a first numerology, a second timing offset may be signaled for a second numerology, and so on. Similarly, if more than two numerologies exist, more than two timing offsets may be signaled.
[0058] According to further aspects of the present disclosure, the network broadcasts or signals different timing offset values for different bandwidth portions (BWPs). In these aspects, a first timing offset may be signaled for a first BWP, and a second timing offset may be scheduled for a second BWP. Similarly, if there are more than two BWPs, more than two timing offsets may be signaled.
[0059] According to aspects of the present disclosure, the different timing offset options described above are applied across different bandwidth portions. That is, the UE may assume that a solution is applicable to different bandwidth portions that may be part of the same beam or cell, for example, based on common system information. In the case of a numerology-independent time offset, the UE applies the time offset across all bandwidth portions that have common system information, such as a common system information block (SIB) message. Similarly, in the case of a scaled / default time offset or an offset specific to a particular numerology, the UE applies the time offset across all bandwidth portions that share system information.
[0060] Multiple component carriers (CCs) in a carrier aggregation configuration are contemplated by the present disclosure. Each component carrier has its own system information. When multiple component carriers are configured, different values of the time offset may be received for each component carrier with different system information. That is, multiple sets of time offsets may be received. A UE may send uplink transmissions (e.g., transmission of HARQ-ACK feedback) on a common uplink carrier, such as a primary component carrier in a time division duplex (TDD) operating mode, corresponding to downlink reception across multiple component carriers. In this case, the timeline of the uplink transmissions should be uniquely determined for the common uplink carrier. Toward this unique determination of the timeline, a set of common values of the time offset may be determined from among multiple sets of time offsets corresponding to multiple downlink component carriers. One example where the above event may occur is in the case of cross-carrier scheduling, where a primary component carrier schedules downlink transmissions on multiple (primary and secondary) component carriers and HARQ feedback is provided jointly on the primary component carrier.
[0061] In aspects of the present disclosure, the UE may determine a common offset for the timeline described above based on an offset corresponding to a primary component carrier. For example, the offset may be communicated to the UE as broadcast system information, dedicated RRC signaling, etc. In other aspects, the UE may determine a common offset for multiple component carriers as the maximum offset among the assigned time offsets. The determination may be per numerology or per single offset value, depending on how the offset is signaled. Any of these aspects may operate with the time offsets described above, i.e., numerology-independent time offset, scaled time offset, BWP-specific time offset, and numerology-specific time offset.
[0062] As noted above, Figures 3-4 are provided as examples. Other examples may differ from those described with respect to Figures 3-4.
[0063] FIG. 5 illustrates an example process 500, performed by, for example, a UE, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The example process 500 is an example of scheduling a time offset for a non-terrestrial network. As shown in FIG. 5, in some aspects, the process 500 may include receiving at least one first time offset for scheduling non-terrestrial communication. The first time offset is configured according to a numerology and / or a bandwidth portion (BWP) (block 502). For example, the user equipment (e.g., using the antenna 252a, the DEMOD / MOD 254a, the MIMO detector 256, the receive processor 258, the controller / processor 280, and / or the memory 282) receives the first time offset. The first time offset may be a single time offset applied across all numerologies. In other aspects, the first time offset is a single time offset, and the UE scales the single time offset based on the current numerology configured for communication to derive a scaled time offset. The UE may derive the scaled time offset by applying a ceiling operation and / or a floor operation. The first time offsets may include a first offset specific to a first numerology and / or BWP and a second offset specific to a second numerology and / or BWP. The first time offsets may include at least one time offset associated with each component carrier from which the UE is receiving downlink data.
[0064] The process 500 may include communicating according to at least one first time offset (block 504). For example, user equipment (e.g., using antennas 252r, DEMOD / MOD 254r, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, TX MIMO processor 266, transmit processor 264, controller / processor 280, and / or memory 282) communicates according to at least one first time offset. In the case of scaled offsets, the UE may communicate according to the scaled time offset instead of a single time offset. In other aspects, the UE may communicate according to the first time offset across different bandwidth portions (BWPs) according to common system information. The UE may determine the timing of an uplink transmission on an uplink component carrier based on a time offset associated with a primary downlink component carrier or based on a maximum time offset across all aggregated downlink component carriers.
[0065] The following numbered clauses describe example implementations. 1. A method of wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving at least one first time offset for scheduling non-terrestrial communications, wherein the at least one first time offset is configured according to at least one of a numerology or a bandwidth portion (BWP); communicating according to at least one first time offset; A method comprising: 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the at least one first time offset is a single time offset that applies across all numerologies. 3. The at least one first time offset includes a single time offset, and the method comprises: scaling the time offset based on a current numerology configured for communication to derive a scaled time offset; communicating according to at least one first time offset by applying a scaled time offset; 3. The method of clause 1 or 2, further comprising: 4. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 3, further comprising the step of deriving the scaled time offset by applying at least one of a ceiling operation or a floor operation. 5. The method of clause 1, wherein the at least one first time offset includes a first time offset specific to a first numerology and a second time offset specific to a second numerology. 6. The method of any one of clauses 1 or 5, wherein the at least one first time offset includes a first time offset specific to a first bandwidth portion (BWP) and a second time offset specific to a second BWP. 7. The method of any one of clauses 1, 5, or 6, wherein communicating according to at least one first time offset includes communicating according to at least one first time offset across a plurality of different bandwidth portions (BWPs) corresponding to common system information. 8. The method of any one of clauses 1, 5, 6, or 7, wherein the at least one first time offset includes at least one time offset associated with each component carrier from which the UE is receiving downlink data. 9. The method of any one of clauses 1, 5, 6, 7, or 8, further comprising determining timing of uplink transmissions on an uplink component carrier based on at least one time offset associated with a primary downlink component carrier. 10. The method of any one of clauses 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9, further comprising determining timing of uplink transmissions on uplink component carriers based on a maximum time offset across all aggregated downlink component carriers. 11. The method of any one of clauses 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10, wherein the maximum time offset includes a maximum time offset for each numerology. 12. The method of any one of clauses 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11, wherein the at least one first time offset associated with each component carrier comprises at least one of a scaled time offset, a numerology-independent time offset, a bandwidth portion-specific time offset, or a numerology-specific time offset. 13. An apparatus for wireless communication in a user equipment (UE), comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; Instructions stored in a memory that, when executed by a processor, cause the apparatus to: receiving at least one first time offset for scheduling non-terrestrial communications, wherein the at least one first time offset is configured according to at least one of a numerology or a bandwidth portion (BWP); communicating according to at least one first time offset; command and An apparatus comprising: 14. The apparatus of clause 13, wherein the at least one first time offset is a single time offset that applies across all numerologies. 15. The at least one first time offset is a single time offset, in which the processor instructs the device to: scaling the single time offset based on a current numerology configured for communication to derive a scaled time offset; communicating according to at least one first time offset by applying a scaled time offset; 15. Apparatus according to clause 13 or 14, causing 16. The apparatus of any one of clauses 13 to 15, wherein the processor causes the apparatus to derive the scaled time offset by applying at least one of a ceiling operation or a floor operation. 17. The apparatus of clause 13, wherein the at least one first time offset includes a first time offset specific to a first numerology and a second time offset specific to a second numerology. 18. The apparatus of any one of clauses 13 or 17, wherein the at least one first time offset includes a first time offset specific to a first bandwidth portion (BWP) and a second time offset specific to a second BWP. 19. The apparatus of any one of clauses 13, 17, or 18, wherein the processor causes the apparatus to communicate according to at least one first time offset across a plurality of different bandwidth portions (BWPs) corresponding to common system information. 20. The apparatus of any one of clauses 13 or 17 to 19, wherein the at least one first time offset includes at least one time offset associated with each component carrier from which the UE is receiving downlink data. 21. The apparatus of any one of clauses 13 or 17 to 20, wherein the processor causes the apparatus to determine timing of uplink transmissions on an uplink component carrier based on at least one time offset associated with a primary downlink component carrier. 22. The apparatus of any one of clauses 13 or 17 to 21, wherein the processor causes the apparatus to determine timing of uplink transmissions on uplink component carriers based on a maximum time offset across all aggregated downlink component carriers. 23. The apparatus of any one of clauses 13 or 17 to 22, wherein the maximum time offset includes a maximum time offset for each numerology. 24. The apparatus of any one of clauses 13 or 17 to 23, wherein the at least one first time offset associated with each component carrier includes at least one of a scaled time offset, a numerology-independent time offset, a bandwidth portion-specific time offset, or a numerology-specific time offset. 25. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communications, comprising: means for receiving at least one first time offset for scheduling non-terrestrial communications, wherein the at least one first time offset is configured according to at least one of a numerology or a bandwidth portion (BWP); means for communicating according to at least one first time offset; UE equipped with. 26. The UE of clause 25, wherein the at least one first time offset is a single time offset that applies across all numerologies. 27. The at least one first time offset is a single time offset, and the UE: means for scaling a single time offset based on a current numerology configured for communication to derive a scaled time offset; and means for communicating according to at least one first time offset by applying the scaled time offset. 27. The UE of clause 25 or 26, further comprising: 28. The UE of clause 25, wherein the at least one first time offset includes a first time offset specific to a first numerology and a second time offset specific to a second numerology. 29. The UE of any one of clauses 25 or 28, wherein the at least one first time offset includes a first time offset specific to a first bandwidth portion (BWP) and a second time offset specific to a second BWP. 30. The UE of any one of clauses 25, 28, or 29, wherein the means for communicating according to at least one first time offset includes means for communicating according to at least one first time offset across a plurality of different bandwidth portions (BWPs) corresponding to common system information.
[0066] The above disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the embodiments.
[0067] As used, the term "component" shall be interpreted broadly as hardware, firmware, and / or a combination of hardware and software. As used, a processor may be implemented in hardware, firmware, and / or a combination of hardware and software.
[0068] Some aspects are described with respect to thresholds: as used herein, meeting a threshold can refer, depending on the context, to a value being greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, not equal to the threshold, etc.
[0069] It will be apparent that the described systems and / or methods may be implemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, and / or combinations of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods is not limiting of the aspects. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and / or methods have been described without reference to specific software code. It should be understood that software and hardware can be designed to implement the systems and / or methods based at least in part on the descriptions.
[0070] Although particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and / or disclosed herein, these combinations do not limit the disclosure of various aspects. Indeed, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and / or disclosed herein. Although each dependent claim listed below may depend directly on only one claim, the disclosure of various aspects includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set. A phrase referring to "at least one of" a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to include a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc, as well as any combination having multiples of the same element (e.g., aa, aaa, aab, aac, abb, acc, bb, bbb, bbc, cc, and ccc, or any other order of a, b, and c).
[0071] No element, act, or instruction used should be construed as critical or required unless explicitly described as such. Also, the articles "a" and "an" are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with "one or more." Furthermore, the terms "set" and "group" are intended to include one or more items (e.g., related items, unrelated items, combinations of related and unrelated items, etc.) and may be used interchangeably with "one or more." Where only one item is intended, the phrase "only one" or similar language is used. Also, the terms "has," "have," "having," and the like, are intended to be open-ended terms. Furthermore, the phrase "based on" is intended to mean "based at least in part on," unless expressly specified otherwise. [Explanation of symbols]
[0072] 100 Wireless network, wireless communication system 102a Macrocell 102b Picocell 102c Femtocell 110 Base station (BS) 120 User Equipment (UE) 130 Network Controller 140 Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) Timing Offset Module 212 Data Sources 220 Transmit Processor 230 Transmit (TX) Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) Processor 232 Modulator (MOD) 234 Antenna 236 MIMO detector 238 Receive Processor 239 Data Sink 240 Controllers / Processors 242 memory 244 communication unit 246 Scheduler 252 Antenna 254 Demodulator (DEMOD) 256 MIMO detector 258 Receive Processor 260 Data Sink 262 Data Sources 264 Transmit Processor 266 TX MIMO Processor 280 Controller / Processor 282 memory 290 Controller / Processor 292 memory 294 Communication Unit 300 Wireless Communication System 305 points 310 Two-Way Communication Link 315 Configuration 330 beam footprint 335 Wireless Communication Links 340 satellite 400 Wireless Communication System 430 Core Network 435 Wireless Communication Links 440 satellite
Claims
1. 1. A method of wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving at least one first time offset for scheduling non-terrestrial communications, wherein the at least one first time offset is configured according to at least one of a numerology or a bandwidth portion (BWP); communicating according to the at least one first time offset; A method comprising:
2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one first time offset is a single time offset that applies across all numerologies.
3. the at least one first time offset comprises a single time offset, and the method further comprises: scaling the single time offset based on a current numerology configured for communication to derive a scaled time offset; communicating according to the at least one first time offset by applying the scaled time offset; 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising deriving the scaled time offset by applying at least one of a ceiling operation or a floor operation.
5. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one first time offset includes a first time offset specific to a first numerology and a second time offset specific to a second numerology.
6. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one first time offset comprises a first time offset specific to a first bandwidth portion (BWP) and a second time offset specific to a second BWP.
7. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein communicating according to the at least one first time offset comprises communicating according to the at least one first time offset across a plurality of different bandwidth portions (BWPs) corresponding to common system information.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one first time offset comprises at least one time offset associated with each component carrier on which the UE is receiving downlink data.
9. 10. The method of claim 8, further comprising determining a timing of an uplink transmission on an uplink component carrier based on the at least one time offset associated with a primary downlink component carrier.
10. 10. The method of claim 8, further comprising determining a timing of an uplink transmission on an uplink component carrier based on a maximum time offset across all aggregated downlink component carriers.
11. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the maximum time offset comprises a maximum time offset for each numerology.
12. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the at least one first time offset associated with each component carrier comprises at least one of a scaled time offset, a numerology-independent time offset, a bandwidth portion-specific time offset, or a numerology-specific time offset.
13. 1. An apparatus for wireless communication in a user equipment (UE), comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; Instructions stored in the memory that, when executed by the processor, cause the device to: receiving at least one first time offset for scheduling non-terrestrial communications, wherein the at least one first time offset is configured according to at least one of a numerology or a bandwidth portion (BWP); communicating according to the at least one first time offset; and An apparatus comprising:
14. 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one first time offset is a single time offset that applies across all numerologies.
15. The at least one first time offset is a single time offset, and the processor causes the device to: scaling the single time offset based on a current numerology configured for communication to derive a scaled time offset; communicating according to the at least one first time offset by applying the scaled time offset; and The apparatus of claim 13,
16. The processor causes the device to: The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the scaled time offset is derived by applying at least one of a ceiling operation or a floor operation.
17. 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one first time offset includes a first time offset specific to a first numerology and a second time offset specific to a second numerology.
18. 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one first time offset includes a first time offset specific to a first bandwidth portion (BWP) and a second time offset specific to a second BWP.
19. The processor causes the device to:
14. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising: communicating according to the at least one first time offset across a plurality of different bandwidth portions (BWPs) corresponding to common system information.
20. 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one first time offset comprises at least one time offset associated with each component carrier on which the UE is receiving downlink data.
21. The processor causes the device to:
21. The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising: determining timing of an uplink transmission on an uplink component carrier based on the at least one time offset associated with a primary downlink component carrier.
22. The processor causes the device to:
21. The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising: determining timing of an uplink transmission on an uplink component carrier based on a maximum time offset across all aggregated downlink component carriers.
23. 23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the maximum time offset comprises a maximum time offset for each numerology.
24. 21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the at least one first time offset associated with each component carrier comprises at least one of a scaled time offset, a numerology-independent time offset, a bandwidth portion-specific time offset, or a numerology-specific time offset.
25. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communications, comprising: means for receiving at least one first time offset for scheduling non-terrestrial communications, wherein the at least one first time offset is configured according to at least one of a numerology or a bandwidth portion (BWP); means for communicating according to said at least one first time offset; UE equipped with.
26. 26. The UE of claim 25, wherein the at least one first time offset is a single time offset that applies across all numerologies.
27. the at least one first time offset is a single time offset, and the UE: means for scaling the single time offset based on a current numerology configured for communication to derive a scaled time offset; means for communicating according to the at least one first time offset by applying the scaled time offset; The UE of claim 25 further comprising:
28. 26. The UE of claim 25, wherein the at least one first time offset includes a first time offset specific to a first numerology and a second time offset specific to a second numerology.
29. 26. The UE of claim 25, wherein the at least one first time offset includes a first time offset specific to a first bandwidth portion (BWP) and a second time offset specific to a second BWP.
30. 26. The UE of claim 25, wherein the means for communicating according to the at least one first time offset comprises means for communicating according to the at least one first time offset across a plurality of different bandwidth portions (BWPs) corresponding to common system information.