Terminal devices, network devices, and methods

Abstract

Embodiments of this disclosure relate to the configuration and operation of a PBCH and CORESET#0 for operation on a dedicated spectrum below 5 MHz. A terminal device determines that communication between the terminal device and a network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth. The network device transmits SSB over the PBCH to the terminal device. A set of resource elements in the PBCH having subcarrier number k is set to zero, the set of resource elements is in one or more resource blocks, and k is relative to the start of the SS / PBCH block, and k is in the range from 0 to a first predetermined number and / or from a second predetermined number to the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH. Resources can be saved by reusing resources in this way.

Description

Technical Field

[0002]

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunications, and in particular, to methods, apparatuses, and computer-readable media for dedicated spectrum.

Background Art

[0002] Several techniques have been proposed to improve communication performance. The New Radio (NR) system requires more efficient and flexible spectrum. For example, through multi-carrier joint scheduling and dynamic spectrum sharing, the efficiency and flexibility of the spectrum can be enhanced. Furthermore, NR can support narrower dedicated spectrum. Therefore, it is valuable to study dedicated spectrum.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] Generally, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide solutions for dedicated spectrum.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] [[ID=In the first embodiment, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes a processor configured to perform the following actions: determine that communication between the terminal device and a network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth; and receive a Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel (SS / PBCH) block on a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) from the network device, wherein a set of resource elements in the PBCH having subcarrier number k is set to zero, the set of resource elements is in one or more resource blocks, k is relative to the start of the SS / PBCH block, and k is in the range from 0 to a first predetermined number and / or from a second predetermined number to the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH.

[0005] In a second embodiment, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes a processor configured to perform the following actions: determine that communication between the terminal device and a network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth; receive a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block on a PBCH from the network device; and determine a subcarrier offset from a first subcarrier in a common resource block to a first subcarrier in the SS / PBCH block, wherein the offset between the common resource block and the SS / PBCH block is defined in association with the value of the subcarrier offset.

[0006] In a third embodiment, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes a processor configured to perform the following actions: determine that communication between the terminal device and a network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth; and determine a subset of resource blocks from a control resource set, wherein the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) and corresponding Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) resource elements of resource element groups having resource blocks not included in the subset of resource blocks are set to zero.

[0007] In a fourth embodiment, a network device is provided. The network device includes a processor configured to cause the network device to determine that communication between a terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth, and to transmit a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block on a PBCH to the terminal device, wherein a set of resource elements in the PBCH having subcarrier number k is set to zero, the set of resource elements is in one or more resource blocks, k is relative to the start of the SS / PBCH block, and k is in the range from 0 to a first predetermined number and / or from a second predetermined number to the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH.

[0008] In a fifth aspect, a method for communication is provided, which includes determining that communication between the terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth, and receiving a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block on a PBCH from the network device, wherein a set of resource elements in the PBCH having a subcarrier number k is set to zero, the set of resource elements is in one or more resource blocks, k is relative to the start of the SS / PBCH block, and k is in the range from 0 to a first predetermined number and / or from a second predetermined number to the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH.

[0009] In a sixth aspect, a method for communication is provided. This method includes determining that communication between the terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth; receiving a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block on the PBCH from the network device; and determining a subcarrier offset from a first subcarrier in a common resource block to a first subcarrier in the SS / PBCH block, wherein the offset between the common resource block and the SS / PBCH block is defined in relation to the value of the subcarrier offset.

[0010] In a seventh aspect, a method for communication is provided, which includes determining that communication between the terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth, and determining a subset of resource blocks from a control resource set, wherein the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS) resource elements of resource element groups having resource blocks not included in the subset of resource blocks are set to zero.

[0011] In the eighth aspect, a method for communication is provided, which includes determining that communication between a terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth, and transmitting a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block on a PBCH to the terminal device, wherein a set of resource elements in the PBCH having a subcarrier number k is set to zero, the set of resource elements is in one or more resource blocks, and k is relative to the start of the SS / PBCH block, and k is in the range from 0 to a first predetermined number and / or from a second predetermined number to the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH.

[0012] In the ninth aspect, a computer-readable medium containing instructions is provided, and when the instructions are executed on at least one processor, the at least one processor is caused to perform the method according to the fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth aspect.

[0013] Other features of this disclosure will be readily apparent through the following description. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] The above and other objectives, features and advantages of this disclosure will become more apparent through a more detailed description of some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure in the accompanying drawings.

[0015] [Figure 1A] This is a schematic diagram of the subcarrier offset. [Figure 1B] This is a schematic diagram of the subcarrier offset.

[0016] [Figure 2] This diagram shows a schematic representation of a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) and a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

[0017] [Figure 3] Shows a schematic diagram of a communication environment in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented.

[0018] [Figure 4A] Shows a signaling flow for communication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] [Figure 4B] Shows a signaling flow for communication according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0020] [Figure 5A] Is a schematic diagram of a channel according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5B] Is a schematic diagram of a channel according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] [Figure 6A] Is a schematic diagram of a subcarrier offset according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6B] Is a schematic diagram of a subcarrier offset according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] [Figure 7] Is a flowchart of an exemplary method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] [Figure 8] Is a flowchart of an exemplary method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] [Figure 9] Is a flowchart of an exemplary method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] [Figure 10] Is a flowchart of an exemplary method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] [Figure 11] This is a simplified block diagram of an apparatus suitable for carrying out embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0027] Throughout the drawing, identical or similar reference numbers represent identical or similar elements. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0028] The principles of this disclosure will now be described with reference to several exemplary embodiments. These embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only and should be understood as being helpful to those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing this disclosure, without implying any limitation on the scope of this disclosure. The disclosures described herein can be implemented in a variety of ways other than those described below.

[0029] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as those generally understood by those skilled in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0030] As used herein, the term “terminal device” refers to any device equipped with wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of terminal devices include user equipment (UE), personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDA), portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices, Machine Type Communication (MTC) devices, vehicle-mounted devices for V2X communication (where X represents pedestrians, vehicles, or infrastructure / networks), Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) devices, spacecraft or aerial vehicles within non-terrestrial networks (NTN) including high-altitude platforms (HAP) with satellites and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR). Examples include, but are not limited to, extended reality (XR) devices, which include various types of reality such as reality and virtual reality (VR); unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are aircraft without human pilot intervention, commonly known as drones; equipment mounted on high-speed trains (HSTs); image capture devices such as digital cameras, sensors, game consoles, and music storage and playback devices; and internet equipment that enables wireless or wired internet access and browsing.A “terminal device” may also have “multicast / broadcast” capabilities and support public safety and mission-critical, V2X applications, transparent IPv4 / IPv6 multicast distribution, IPTV, smart TV, radio services, software distribution over the radio, group communications, and IoT applications. It may also incorporate one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), known as multi-SIMs. The term “terminal device” may be used interchangeably with UE, mobile station, subscriber station, mobile terminal, user terminal, or radio equipment.

[0031] The term "network device" refers to a device that can provide or host a cell or coverage from which terminal devices can communicate. Examples of network devices include, but are not limited to, Node B (NodeB or NB), evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), next-generation Node B (gNB), transmission / reception point (TRP), remote radio unit (RRU), radio head (RH), remote radio head (RRH), IAB node, low-power nodes such as femtonodes, piconodes, and reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS).

[0032] Terminal devices or network devices may be equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning capabilities. These typically include models trained on large amounts of collected data for specific functions and usable to predict certain information.

[0033] Terminal or network devices can operate in multiple frequency ranges, including FR1 (410 MHz to 7125 MHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz to 71 GHz), frequency bands above 100 GHz, and terahertz (THz). They can also operate on licensed / unlicensed / shared spectrum. In multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) application scenarios, terminal devices may have multiple connections to network devices. Terminal or network devices can operate in full-duplex, flexible-duplex, and cross-split-duplex modes.

[0034] Embodiments of the present disclosure can be performed using test equipment such as signal generators, signal analyzers, spectrum analyzers, network analyzers, test terminal devices, test network devices, and channel emulators.

[0035] In some embodiments, a terminal device may be connected to a first network device and a second network device. One of the first and second network devices may be a master node, and the other a secondary node. The first and second network devices may use different radio access technologies (RATs). In some embodiments, the first network device may be a first RAT device, and the second network device may be a second RAT device. In some embodiments, the first RAT device is an eNB, and the second RAT device is a gNB. Information related to different RATs may be transmitted to the terminal device from at least one of the first or second network devices. In some embodiments, the first information may be transmitted from the first network device to the terminal device, and the second information may be transmitted directly from the second network device to the terminal device or via the first network device. In some embodiments, information regarding the configuration of the terminal device set by the second network device may be transmitted from the second network device via the first network device. Information regarding the reconfiguration of a terminal device set by the second network device may be transmitted directly from the second network device to the terminal device, or transmitted via the first network device.

[0036] Where used herein, the singular forms “a / an” and “the” are intended to include the plural unless explicitly indicated otherwise in the context. The term “including” and its variations are interpreted as an open term meaning “including, but not limited to.” The term “based on” is interpreted as “at least partially based on.” The terms “one embodiment” and “a certain embodiment” are interpreted as “at least one embodiment.” The term “another embodiment” is interpreted as “at least one other embodiment.” Terms such as “first,” “second,” etc., may refer to different or the same subject. The following may include other explicit and implicit definitions.

[0037] In some examples, values, procedures, or devices are referred to as “best,” “worst,” “highest,” “minimum,” “maximum,” etc. Such descriptions are intended to show that a choice can be made from among many used functional alternatives, and it will be understood that such a choice does not need to be better, smaller, higher, or more preferable than the other choices.

[0038] In the context of this disclosure, the term “Bandwidth Part (BWP)” as used herein may refer to a set of attached common resource blocks. A Bandwidth Part may include all common resource blocks within the channel bandwidth, or a subset of common resource blocks. A BWP may be a portion of the total channel bandwidth set for the cell used by the UE at a particular operational time. The term “Bit Width” may refer to the number of bits in a field. The term “Bit Width” may be used interchangeably with the term “Payload Size.”

[0039] As used herein, the terms “resource,” “transmit resource,” “resource block,” “physical resource block” (PRB), “uplink resource,” or “downlink resource” may refer to any resource for performing communication, such as communication between terminal equipment and network equipment, such as resources in the time domain, resources in the frequency domain, resources in the spatial domain, resources in the code domain, or any other resources that enable communication. As used herein, the term “dedicated spectrum” may refer to a spectrum that contains specific frequency domain resources for equipment. As used herein, the term “physical broadcast channel (PBCH)” may refer to a channel that broadcasts a limited number of parameters essential for initial access to a cell, such as downlink system bandwidth. As used herein, the term “control resource set (CORESET)” may refer to a physical resource designed to transmit a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) / downlink control information (DCI). A CORESET may be defined as a set of resource element groups (REG) under a given numerology (i.e., subcarrier interval). As used herein, the term “Type 0 PDCCH Common Search Space (CSS)” may refer to a subset of the NR PDCCH search space dedicated to transmitting PDCCH for SI messages (i.e., SIB1). As used herein, the term “PDCCH search space” may refer to an area within the downlink resource grid where PDCCH can be transmitted. Type 0A PDCCH CSS may be used to monitor other SIBs.

[0040] As mentioned above, further research is needed regarding dedicated spectra. For example, some solutions can support dedicated spectra with a bandwidth of 5 MHz. In the case of a dedicated spectrum with a bandwidth of 5 MHz, there may be 20 resource blocks on the physical broadcast channel (PBCH). The control resource set (CORESET) #0 may have a minimum of 24 resource blocks. CORESET #0 can be used to monitor the downlink control information (DCI) scheduling system information block 1 (SIB1: System Information Block 1) physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). After receiving SIB1, a BWP of less than 5 MHz can be set for the UE for subsequent transmission and reception. Therefore, the PBCH and CORESET #0 before receiving SIB1 can be extended to support the UE's initial access on dedicated spectra of less than 5 MHz.

[0041] Furthermore, dedicated spectra with bandwidths of less than 5 MHz are being considered. For example, the objective may include identifying and specifying the necessary changes to the NR physical layer with minimal specification impact to operate in spectrum allocations from approximately 3 MHz to less than 5 MHz, limiting the use of a 15 kHz subcarrier spacing and normal cyclic prefixes, reusing the Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) / Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) specifications without puncturing, and identifying and specifying the minimum necessary changes to the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) / Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), and Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) for PBCH based on the current design and functional support based on existing designs without optimization.

[0042] Some solutions assume that only a 3MHz channel bandwidth is supported, in addition to the reuse of a 5MHz channel bandwidth. Furthermore, for evaluation and analysis, a maximum transmit bandwidth of 15RB or 16RB may be assumed for a 3MHz channel bandwidth. When the transmit bandwidth is <5MHz, in a PBCH, if the PRB available for PBCH transmission is less than 20PRB, the PBCH can be based on RB-level puncturing, i.e., PBCH encoding is based on 20PRB. The encoded bits and DMRS are mapped to 20PRB based on the conventional SSB structure, and those PRBs that are outside the range of PRB available for PBCH transmission are punctured.

[0043] For some solutions, the following options are being considered for CORESET#0 configurations with channel bandwidths of 3MHz and 5MHz and a transmit bandwidth of <5MHz: Opt.1: Use 15kHz subcarrier spacing (SCS) and reuse existing configuration tables for a minimum channel bandwidth of 5MHz; Opt.2: Introduce a new CORESET#0 configuration table for the configuration. Furthermore, for channel bandwidths of 3MHz and 5MHz and a transmit bandwidth of <5MHz, it is also necessary to consider whether and how to restore the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) detection performance of CORESET#0. The following options are being considered: Opt.1: Power boosting; Opt.2: Non-interleaved CCE vs. REG mapping; Opt.3: A new interleaver to ensure that the PDCCH is fully mapped to the spectrum; Opt.4: A new aggregation level to fit the spectrum; Opt.5: Rate matching of the PDCCH; or Opt.6: Do not specify any enhancements.

[0044] In some solutions, the UE may assume that complex numerical symbols corresponding to resource elements that partially or completely overlap with the SS / PBCH block and are part of a common resource block not used for SS / PBCH transmission are set to zero within OFDM symbols that partially or completely overlap with OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) symbols on which the SS / PBCH is transmitted. In some other solutions, the offset is defined by subCarrierSpacingCommon, from the minimum RB index of the CORESET for the Type0-PDCCH CSS set to the minimum RB index of the common RB that overlaps with the first RB of the corresponding SS / PBCH block, with respect to the SCS of the CORESET for the Type0-PDCCH CSS set. For example, as shown in Figure 1A, if the SSB SCS is 15kHz and the common resource block (CRB) SCS is 30kHz, the offset may be in the range of 0 to 23. As shown in Figure 1B, if the SSB SCS is 15kHz and the CRB SCS is 15kHz, the offset may be in the range of 0 to 11.

[0045] Furthermore, the UE may assume SS / PBCH block transmission based on ssb-PositionsInBurst, and if the PDSCH resource allocation overlaps with a PRB containing SS / PBCH block transmission resources, the UE may assume that the PRB containing SS / PBCH block transmission resources is unavailable to the PDSCH in the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol from which the SS / PBCH block is transmitted. For example, as shown in Figure 2, the UE may assume that the PRB containing the transmission resources for SS / PBCH block 210 is unavailable to the PDSCH 220 in the OFDM symbol from which the SS / PBCH block is transmitted.

[0046] To address at least some of the above-mentioned problems or other potential problems, a solution relating to a dedicated spectrum is proposed. Embodiments of this disclosure relate to the configuration and operation of a PBCH and CORESET#0 for operation on a dedicated spectrum below 5 MHz. A terminal device determines that communication between the terminal device and a network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth. The network device transmits SSB over the PBCH to the terminal device. A set of resource elements in the PBCH having subcarrier number k is set to zero, the set of resource elements is in one or more resource blocks, and k is relative to the start of the SS / PBCH block, and k is in the range from 0 to a first predetermined number and / or from a second predetermined number to the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH. Resources can be saved by reusing resources in this way.

[0047] The principles and embodiments of this disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0048] Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary communication network 100 that can implement several embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3, the communication network 100 may include terminal devices 110 and a network device 120. The network device 120 may provide a cell 101 that serves one or more terminal devices. In this example, terminal device 110 is located within cell 101 and is served by the network device 120. Note that the network device 120 may provide an appropriate number of cells to serve terminal devices.

[0049] The number of devices and cells in Figure 3 should be understood to be for illustrative purposes only and without implying any limitations on this disclosure. The communication network 100 may include any number of network devices and / or terminal devices and / or cells suitable for implementing the disclosure.

[0050] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 and the network device 120 can communicate with each other via a channel such as a wireless communication channel on an air interface (e.g., a Uu interface). The wireless communication channel may include a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical random access channel (PRACH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). Of course, any other suitable channel is also possible.

[0051] Communications in the communication network 100 may conform to any preferred standard, including but not limited to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), New Radio (NR), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), GSM Edge Radio Access Network (GERAN), and Machine-Type Communications (MTC). Embodiments of this disclosure may be implemented in accordance with any generation of communication protocols that are currently known or will be developed in the future. Examples of communication protocols include, but are not limited to, first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth-generation (5G) communication protocols, 5.5G, 5G-Advanced Network, or sixth-generation (6G) networks.

[0052] As used herein, the term "slot" refers to a dynamic scheduling unit. A slot contains a predetermined number of symbols. As used herein, a slot may refer to a regular slot containing a predetermined number of symbols, or it may refer to a sub-slot containing fewer than a predetermined number of symbols.

[0053] First, referring to Figure 4A, this figure shows a signaling chart illustrating process 400 between a terminal device and a network device according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 4B shows a signaling chart illustrating process 401 between a terminal device and a network device according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. For clarity only, processes 400 and 401 will be described with reference to Figure 3. For example, processes 400 and 401 may involve a terminal device 110 and a network device 120.

[0054] As shown in Figures 4A and 4B, the terminal device 110 determines that the communication between the terminal device 110 and the network device 120 is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth (4010). In some embodiments, the predetermined bandwidth may be 5 MHz. Note that the predetermined bandwidth may be any suitable bandwidth.

[0055] In some embodiments, if the terminal device 110 detects PSS / SSS on a dedicated synchronization raster different from the global synchronization raster, the terminal device 110 can determine that the communication is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth. For example, as shown in Figure 5A, a 5MHz channel may contain 25 resource blocks and may have a channel raster 580 that is in the middle of the total number of resource blocks allocated to the channel (i.e., 25). The terminal device 110 can detect PSS 510 / SSS 530 on a synchronization raster 570 different from the channel raster 580. This allows the terminal device 110 to determine that the communication is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth. As shown in Figure 5B, a 3MHz channel may contain 15 resource blocks and may have a channel raster 581 that is in the middle of the total number of resource blocks allocated to the channel (i.e., 15). The terminal device 110 may detect PSS 510 / SSS 530 on a synchronization raster 570 that is different from the channel raster 581. In this case, the terminal device 110 may determine that the communication is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth.

[0056] The network device 120 transmits the SS / PBCH block on the PBCH to the terminal device 110 (4020). For example, as shown in Figures 5A and 5B, the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH 520 may be 240. The assumption of a punctured PBCH and the corresponding embodiment of PDSCH puncturing will be described later.

[0057] A set of resource elements in a PBCH having subcarrier number k is set to zero, and the set of resource elements resides in one or more resource blocks. In this case, k is relative to the start of the SS / PBCH block, and k is in the range from 0 to a first predetermined number and / or from a second predetermined number to the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH. For example, if 0 <= k <= a and b <= k <= 239, then resource elements in some PRBs in a PBCH having subcarrier number k may be set to zero. Parameters a and b may represent the index of the resource element. For example, a may be any one of 12, 24, or 36.

[0058] In some embodiments, symbols corresponding to resource elements that are part of a common resource block that at least partially overlaps with an actual SS / PBCH block and are not used for SS / PBCH transmission are set to zero in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol that at least partially overlaps with the OFDM symbol to which the SS / PBCH block is transmitted. An actual SS / PBCH block may include resources for an SS / PBCH block having subcarrier numbers k ranging from a first predetermined number plus 1 to a second predetermined number minus 1. In some embodiments, if a physical downlink shared channel resource allocation overlaps with one or more resource blocks containing the resources of the actual SS / PBCH block, then the one or more resource blocks containing the resources of the actual SS / PBCH block are unavailable for PDSCH in the OFDM symbol to which the SS / PBCH block is transmitted.

[0059] For example, an SS / PBCH block is called a nominal SSB, and a set of SS / PBCH blocks with subcarrier numbers k from a+1 to b-1 is called an actual SSB. In this case, terminal device 110 may assume that complex numerical symbols corresponding to resource elements that are part of a common resource block that partially or completely overlaps with the actual SS / PBCH blocks and is not used for SS / PBCH transmission are set to zero within OFDM symbols that partially or completely overlap with OFDM symbols on which SS / PBCH is transmitted.

[0060] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may receive one or more RRC parameters for SSB sequences and SSB intervals in the RRC message. For example, the RRC parameter may include ssb-PositionsInBurst, which indicates the time-domain position of the SSBs within the SSB burst. The first leftmost bit corresponds to SS / PBCH index 0, the second leftmost bit corresponds to SS / PBCH index 1, and so on. In this case, the terminal device 110 may further assume SS / PBCH block transmissions based on ssb-PositionsInBurst, and if the PDSCH resource allocation overlaps with the PRB containing the actual SS / PBCH block transmission resources, the terminal device 110 may assume that the PRB containing the actual SS / PBCH block transmission resources is unavailable to the PDSCH in the OFDM symbol on which the SS / PBCH blocks are transmitted. In other words, if the number of available resource blocks is greater than 15 but less than 20 (for example, 18 resource blocks), it is assumed that 15 PRBs will always be used to transmit the SSB, regardless of the number of RBs in the dedicated spectrum. From the perspective of SS / PBCH blocks, resources in SS / PBCH blocks not included in the actual SSB are set to zero, so the PDSCH can reuse those resources and cannot use only PDSCH resources that overlap with the actual SSB.

[0061] Alternatively, if 0 <= k <= (12 * a - 1) and 12 * b <= k <= 239, the resource elements of some PRBs in a PBCH having subcarrier number k may or can be set to zero. In this case, k is relative to the start of the SS / PBCH block, 0 <= a <= a_max, b_min <= b <= 20, where a_max and b_min are predefined values. For example, the values ​​of a and b may be determined by the network device 120. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may know the values ​​of a and b by detecting whether or not a PBCH signal is present on those resource blocks. Alternatively, the terminal device 110 may know the values ​​of a and b, as well as whether or not they are set to zero, from some prior information provided on the dedicated spectrum, such as information stored on a subscriber identification module (SIM) card. In this situation, if the number of available resource blocks is greater than 15 but less than 20 (e.g., 18 resource blocks), it is possible for the PBCH to transmit with 18 PRBs, which can improve PBCH performance. For a UE with its capabilities disabled, the PBCH can be detected on 15 resource blocks where the resource element is not set to zero. For a UE with its capabilities enabled, the PRB available for / used for the PBCH can be detected first, and then the PBCH can be detected. This allows for greater flexibility.

[0062] As shown in Figures 5A and 5B, the subcarrier level offset 550 is determined by the k_SSB indicated in the PBCH payload, and the RB level offset 560 is determined by the CORSET#0 configuration in the Master Information Block (MIB). For example, the MIB may include SIB1, message 2 / 4 for initial access, and subCarrierSpacingCommon indicating the subcarrier spacing for SI messages. Examples of this value vary with the frequency range and are shown in Table 1. [Table 1]

[0063] An exemplary embodiment of k_SSB exhibiting a larger subcarrier offset is described below.

[0064] In some embodiments, the quantity k_SSB is a subcarrier offset from subcarrier 0 in the common resource block N^CRB_SSB to subcarrier 0 in the SS / PBCH block. The offset may be defined from the minimum RB index of the CORESET for the Type0-PDCCH CSS set to the common resource block N^CRB_SSB+A, with respect to the SCS of the CORESET for the Type0-PDCCH CSS set provided by subCarrierSpacingCommon. For example, A may be any one of 0, 1, 2, or 3. As an example, as shown in Figure 6A, the offset may be defined from the minimum RB index of the CORESET for the Type0-PDCCH CSS set to the common resource block 620-2+A, with respect to the SCS of the CORESET for the Type0-PDCCH CSS set. In this case, A may be 0 or 1.

[0065] As shown in Figure 4B, the terminal device 110 determines the subcarrier offset from the first subcarrier in the common resource block to the first subcarrier in the SS / PBCH block (4030). The offset between the common resource block and the SS / PBCH block may be defined in relation to the subcarrier offset value. Thus, if both the SCS and CORESET#0 of the SSB are 15kHz, the subcarrier offset between 12 and 23 is not required and can therefore be used to further indicate the RB level offset for finer offset indication.

[0066] In some embodiments, if the subcarrier offset is in the range of 0 to a first predetermined number, the offset may be defined with respect to the subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the control resource set (CORESET) from the minimum resource block index of the CORESET to the minimum resource index of the common RB that overlaps with the reference resource block of the SS / PBCH block. For example, if k_SSB < 12, the offset is defined with respect to the SCS of the CORESET for the Type0-PDCCH CSS set, provided by subCarrierSpacingCommon, from the minimum RB index of the CORESET for the Type0-PDCCH CSS set to the minimum RB index of the common RB that overlaps with the reference RB of the corresponding SS / PBCH block. As an example, as shown in Figure 6B, if k_SSB < 12, the offset is defined with respect to the SCS of the CORESET for the Type0-PDCCH CSS set from the minimum RB index of the CORESET for the Type0-PDCCH CSS set to the minimum RB index 630-1 of the common RB that overlaps with the reference RB of the corresponding SS / PBCH block.

[0067] Alternatively, if the subcarrier offset is within the range of a second predetermined number to a third predetermined number, the offset may be defined with respect to the SCS of the CORESET from the minimum resource block index of the CORESET for the Type0-PDCCH CSS set to the minimum resource block index of the common RB that overlaps with the reference resource block of the SS / PBCH block plus 1. For example, if 12 <= k_SSB < 24, the offset is defined with respect to the SCS of the CORESET for the Type0-PDCCH CSS set provided by subCarrierSpacingCommon from the minimum RB index of the CORESET for the Type0-PDCCH CSS set to the minimum RB index of the common RB that overlaps with the reference RB of the corresponding SS / PBCH block plus 1. As an example, as shown in Figure 6B, when 12 <= k_SSB < 24, the offset is defined with respect to the SCS of the CORESET for the Type0-PDCCH CSS set from the minimum RB index of the CORESET for the Type0-PDCCH CSS set to the minimum RB index of the common RB that overlaps with the reference RB of the corresponding SS / PBCH block, 630 - 2 plus 1.

[0068] In some embodiments, the reference resource block may be the first resource block of the SS / PBCH block. Alternatively, the reference resource block may be the third resource block of the SS / PBCH block.

[0069] Exemplary embodiments of determining the available resource blocks within CORESET#0 are described below. In some embodiments, network device 120 transmits PDCCH to terminal device 110 using resource elements (RE) within a control resource set (CORESET). For each DL BWP set up in terminal device 110 in a serving cell, terminal device 110 may be provided by upper-layer signaling with P ≤ 3 CORESETs. For each CORESET, terminal device 110 may be provided by ControlResourceSet with at least one of the following parameters: controlResourceSetId, frequencyDomainResources, duration, cce-REG-MappingType, precoderGranularity, tci-StatesPDCCH-ToAddList, tci-StatesPDCCH-ToReleaseList, tci-PresentInDCI, or pdcch-DMRS-ScramblingID. For example, frequencyDomainResources may represent a set of resource blocks, where each bit corresponds to a group of 6RBs. Duration may indicate a continuous time period of CORESET in terms of the number of symbols. cce-REG-MappingType may indicate the number of REGs bundled together. If cce-REG-MappingType is not present, terminal device 110 may use the physical cell ID. precoderGranularity indicates the granularity of the precoder in the frequency domain and may have the same value as a REG bundle or all consecutive RBs. tci-StatesPDCCH-ToAddList and / or tci-StatesPDCCH-ToReleaseList may indicate a subset of TCI states defined in pdsch-Config. If the field "tci-PresentInDCI" is present, it means that a TCI field exists in the DL-related DCI. If the field "tci-PresentInDCI" is not present, it means that a TCI field does not exist in the DL-related DCI.pdcch-DMRS-ScramblingID may indicate the initialization value of the DM-RS scrambling sequence. In the case of pdcch-DMRS-ScramblingID, terminal device 110 may use physCellId.

[0070] The terminal device 110 determines a subset of resource blocks from the control resource set. In this case, the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS) resource elements of resource element groups that have resource blocks not included in the above subset of resource blocks are set to zero. For example, the control resource set includes 24 resource blocks. In some embodiments, the above set of resource blocks may include a plurality of consecutive resource blocks starting from index 0. In some embodiments, if the parameters are equal for all consecutive resource blocks, the PDCCH and DMRS may be mapped to all resource element groups in the above subset of resource blocks from which the terminal device decodes the physical downlink control channel. In this way, the impact on the determination of the PDCCH CCE index is small.

[0071] As an example, the bandwidth (number of PRBs) of CORESET#0 (CORESET for Type0-PDCCH CSS) is fixed at 24 RBs. A subset A of CORESET#0 (CORESET for Type0-PDCCH CSS) is set / defined. Subset A contains consecutive RBs starting with RB index 0. PDCCH and corresponding DMRS resource elements of REGs that have corresponding PRBs not included in subset A of CORESET#0 are set to zero. PDCCH DMRS are mapped to all resource element groups within subset A of CORESET#0 where the terminal device attempts to decode the PDCCH when the upper layer parameter precoderGranularity is equal to allContiguousRBs. In this case, since there are 6 REGs in the REG bundle within CORESET#0, the number of RBs in CORESET#0 should be a multiple of 6 so that the CCE index is determined based on the current operation. Keeping the BW of CORESET#0 fixed at 24 has less impact on the determination of existing PDCCH CCE indexes.

[0072] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the field length of the frequency domain resource allocation for downlink control information based on the size of the subset of resource blocks. In other words, the field length of the frequency domain resource allocation for DCI format 1_0 is determined based on the available size of CORESET#0, i.e., the size of subset A, when CORESET#0 is set for a cell. In this way, the payload size of DCI format 1_0 can be reduced, which can be used to compensate for performance degradation caused by some resources being set to zero in the PDCCH. DCI format 1_0 can typically be used to schedule PDSCH to UEs within a cell.

[0073] In some embodiments, the number of resource blocks within the subset is indicated in the control resource set configuration. For example, the number of RBs in subset A may be indicated in the CORESET#0 configuration within the MIB. As an example, Table 2 shows some considerations for designing offset values. [Table 2]

[0074] As shown in Table 1, k_SSB can indicate an offset within 2RBs, so offset 1 is applied to adopt a finer offset indication by k_SSB (Case 2), and therefore the RB level offset may be a multiple of 2. Offset 2 is applied to adopt a finer offset indication. When there are 15 available RBs, k_SSB can indicate a positive offset between CORESET#0 and SSB (i.e., the low edge of CORESET#0 is lower than the low edge of SSB), so -1 can be introduced to indicate a negative offset (i.e., the low edge of CORESET#0 is greater than the low edge of SSB). 15 available RBs mean a bandwidth of approximately 3 MHz on the dedicated spectrum, so only 0 or -1 is needed, and no other offset values ​​are required. For other available RB values ​​greater than 15, CORESET#0 is greater than SSB, so the RB level offset may also be a positive value, in which case no negative value is required.

[0075] In some embodiments, the subset of resource blocks includes 15 resource blocks. Alternatively, the subset of resource blocks includes resource blocks from a first index to a second index, having the maximum resource block index of the control resource set that overlaps with the resource blocks of the SS / PBCH block. For example, the resource block of the SS / PBCH block is the last resource block of the SS / PBCH block. In other words, subset A includes RBs from index 0 to an index having the maximum RB index of the CORESET for the Type0-PDCCH CSS set that (completely) overlaps with the (any / last) RB of the corresponding SS / PBCH block.

[0076] It should be noted that the embodiments described above can be implemented in any combination, or they can be implemented individually. This disclosure is not limited to these embodiments.

[0077] Figure 7 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method 700 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 700 can be performed on any suitable terminal device. For illustrative purposes only, Method 700 can be performed on terminal device 110 as shown in Figure 1.

[0078] In block 710, the terminal device 110 determines that the communication between the terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth. The predetermined bandwidth may be 5 MHz.

[0079] In block 720, terminal device 110 receives a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block on the PBCH from network device 120. In this case, the set of resource elements in the PBCH having subcarrier number k is set to zero, the set of resource elements is in one or more resource blocks, and k is relative to the start of the SS / PBCH block, and k is in the range from 0 to a first predetermined number and / or from a second predetermined number to the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH. The total number of subcarriers in the PBCH may be 240.

[0080] In some embodiments, symbols corresponding to resource elements that are part of a common resource block that at least partially overlaps with the actual SS / PBCH block and are not used for SS / PBCH transmission are set to zero in the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols that at least partially overlap with the OFDM symbols to which the SS / PBCH block is transmitted. In some embodiments, the actual SS / PBCH block includes resources for an SS / PBCH block having subcarrier numbers k ranging from a first predetermined number plus 1 to a second predetermined number minus 1.

[0081] In some embodiments, if the physical downlink shared channel resource allocation overlaps with one or more resource blocks containing the resources of the actual SS / PBCH block, then the one or more resource blocks containing the resources of the actual SS / PBCH block are unavailable to the PDSCH in the OFDM symbol to which the SS / PBCH block is transmitted.

[0082] Figure 8 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method 800 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 800 can be performed on any suitable terminal device. For illustrative purposes only, Method 800 can be performed on terminal device 110 as shown in Figure 1.

[0083] In block 810, the terminal device 110 determines that the communication between the terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth. The predetermined bandwidth may be 5 MHz.

[0084] In block 820, terminal device 110 receives a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block on the PBCH from network device 120. The total number of subcarriers in the PBCH may be 240.

[0085] In block 830, the terminal device 110 determines the subcarrier offset from the first subcarrier in the common resource block to the first subcarrier in the SS / PBCH block. The offset between the common resource block and the SS / PBCH block is defined in relation to the value of the subcarrier offset.

[0086] In some embodiments, if the subcarrier offset is in the range of 0 to a first predetermined number, the offset is defined with respect to the subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the control resource set (CORESET) from the minimum resource block index of the CORESET to the minimum resource index of the common RB that overlaps with the reference resource block of the SS / PBCH block. Alternatively, if the subcarrier offset is in the range of a second predetermined number to a third predetermined number, the offset is defined with respect to the SCS of the CORESET from the minimum resource block index of the CORESET for a Type0-PDCCH CSS set to the minimum resource block index of the common RB that overlaps with the reference resource block of the SS / PBCH block plus 1.

[0087] In some embodiments, the reference resource block is the first resource block of the SS / PBCH block. Alternatively, the reference resource block is the third resource block of the SS / PBCH block.

[0088] Figure 9 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method 900 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 900 can be performed on any suitable terminal device. For illustrative purposes only, Method 900 can be performed on terminal device 110 as shown in Figure 1.

[0089] In block 910, the terminal device 110 determines that the communication between the terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth. The predetermined bandwidth may be 5 MHz.

[0090] In block 920, the terminal device 110 determines a subset of resource blocks from the control resource set. In this case, the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS) resource elements of resource element groups that have resource blocks not included in the above subset of resource blocks are set to zero.

[0091] In some embodiments, the control resource set includes 24 resource blocks. In some embodiments, the set of resource blocks includes a plurality of consecutive resource blocks starting at index 0. In some embodiments, if the parameters are equal to all consecutive resource blocks, the PDCCH and DMRS are mapped to all resource element groups within the subset of resource blocks from which the terminal device decodes the physical downlink control channel.

[0092] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the field length of the frequency domain resource allocation for downlink control information based on the size of the subset of resource blocks. In some embodiments, the number of resource blocks in the subset is shown in the control resource set configuration. In some embodiments, the subset of resource blocks includes 15 resource blocks. In some embodiments, the subset of resource blocks includes resource blocks from a first index to a second index, having the maximum resource block index of the control resource set that overlaps with the resource blocks of the SS / PBCH block. In some embodiments, the resource block of the SS / PBCH block is the last resource block of the SS / PBCH block.

[0093] Figure 10 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method 1000 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Method 1000 can be performed on any suitable terminal device. For illustrative purposes only, Method 1000 can be performed on a network device 120, as shown in Figure 1.

[0094] In block 1010, the network device 120 determines that the communication between the terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth. The predetermined bandwidth may be 5 MHz.

[0095] In block 1020, the network device 120 transmits a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block on the PBCH to the terminal device 110. In this case, the set of resource elements in the PBCH having subcarrier number k is set to zero, the set of resource elements is in one or more resource blocks, k is relative to the start of the SS / PBCH block, and k is in the range from 0 to a first predetermined number and / or from a second predetermined number to the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH. In some embodiments, the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH is 240.

[0096] Figure 11 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1100 suitable for carrying out embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1100 can be considered as a further implementation example of a terminal device 110 or a network device 120, as shown in Figure 1. Thus, the device 1100 can be implemented in or as part of a terminal device 110 or a network device 120.

[0097] As shown in the figure, the device 1100 includes a processor 1110, a memory 1120 coupled to the processor 1110, a preferred transceiver 1140 coupled to the processor 1110, and a communication interface coupled to the transceiver 1140. The memory 1110 stores at least a portion of the program 1130. The transceiver 1140 may be for bidirectional or unidirectional communication, depending on the requirements. The transceiver 1140 may include at least one transmitter 1142 and a receiver 1144. The transmitter 1142 and receiver 1144 may be functional modules or physical entities. The transceiver 1140 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, although in practice, the access node referred to in this application may have multiple antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communication with other network elements, such as the X2 / Xn interface for bidirectional communication between eNBs / gNBs, the S1 / NG interface for communication between Mobility Management Entities (MMEs) / Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMFs) / SGWs / UPEs and eNBs / gNBs, the Un interface for communication between eNBs / gNBs and relay nodes (RNs), or the Uu interface for communication between eNBs / gNBs and terminal devices.

[0098] It is assumed that program 1130 contains program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 1110, enable the device 1100 to operate according to embodiments of the present disclosure, as described herein with reference to Figures 1 to 10. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 1110 of the device 1100, by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 1110 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, a combination of the processor 1110 and memory 1120 may form processing means 1150 adapted to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0099] Memory 1120 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, including but not limited to non-temporary computer-readable storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. Although only one memory 1120 is shown in device 1100, device 1100 may have multiple physically different memory modules. Processor 1110 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may include, but not limited to, one or more of the following: general-purpose computers, dedicated computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), and processors based on multicore processor architectures. Device 1100 may include multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips that are time-dependent to a clock synchronized with the main processor.

[0100] In some embodiments, the terminal device includes a circuit configured to determine that communication between the terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth, and to receive a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block on the PBCH from the network device, where a set of resource elements in the PBCH having subcarrier number k is set to zero, the set of resource elements is in one or more resource blocks, and k is relative to the start of the SS / PBCH block, and k is in the range from 0 to a first predetermined number and / or from a second predetermined number to the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH.

[0101] In some embodiments, the terminal device includes a circuit configured to determine that communication between the terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth, to receive a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block on the PBCH from the network device, and to determine a subcarrier offset from a first subcarrier in a common resource block to a first subcarrier in the SS / PBCH block, wherein the offset between the common resource block and the SS / PBCH block is defined in relation to the value of the subcarrier offset.

[0102] In some embodiments, the terminal device includes a circuit configured to determine that communication between the terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth, and to determine a subset of resource blocks from a control resource set, where the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS) resource elements of resource element groups having resource blocks not included in the subset of resource blocks are set to zero.

[0103] In some embodiments, the network device includes a circuit configured to determine that communication between a terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth, and to transmit a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block on the PBCH to the terminal device, where a set of resource elements in the PBCH having subcarrier number k is set to zero, the set of resource elements is in one or more resource blocks, and k is relative to the start of the SS / PBCH block, and k is in the range from 0 to a first predetermined number and / or from a second predetermined number to the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH.

[0104] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the circuit may be configured to perform any method carried out by the apparatus as described above.

[0105] As used herein, the term “circuit” may refer to a hardware circuit and / or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. For example, a circuit may be a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware. As a further example, a circuit may be any part of a software-equipped hardware processor, such as a digital signal processor, software, and memory, which work together to enable a device, such as a terminal or network device, to perform various functions. In yet another example, a circuit may be a hardware circuit and / or processor, such as a microprocessor or a part of a microprocessor, which requires software / firmware for operation but may not have software when not needed for operation. As used herein, the term “circuit” also encompasses implementations of hardware circuits or processors alone, or implementations of parts of hardware circuits or processors, as well as implementations of software and / or firmware associated with them.

[0106] In summary, embodiments of this disclosure provide the following solutions:

[0107] In one embodiment, the terminal device includes a processor configured to cause the terminal device to determine that communication between the terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth, and to receive a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block on the PBCH from the network device, wherein a set of resource elements in the PBCH having subcarrier number k is set to zero, the set of resource elements is in one or more resource blocks, k is relative to the start of the SS / PBCH block, and k is in the range from 0 to a first predetermined number and / or from a second predetermined number to the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH.

[0108] In some solutions, the specified bandwidth is 5 MHz, and the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH is 240.

[0109] In some solutions, symbols corresponding to resource elements that are part of a common resource block that at least partially overlaps with the actual SS / PBCH block and are not used for SS / PBCH transmission are set to zero in the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols that at least partially overlap with the OFDM symbols on which the SS / PBCH block is transmitted, where the actual SS / PBCH block includes resources for an SS / PBCH block having subcarrier numbers k ranging from a first predetermined number plus 1 to a second predetermined number minus 1.

[0110] In some solutions, if a physical downlink shared channel resource allocation overlaps with one or more resource blocks containing the resources of the actual SS / PBCH block, then those one or more resource blocks containing the resources of the actual SS / PBCH block are unavailable to the PDSCH in the OFDM symbol to which the SS / PBCH block is transmitted.

[0111] In one embodiment, the terminal device includes a processor configured to cause the terminal device to perform the following actions: determine that communication between the terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth; receive a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block on the PBCH from the network device; and determine a subcarrier offset from a first subcarrier in a common resource block to a first subcarrier in the SS / PBCH block, wherein the offset between the common resource block and the SS / PBCH block is defined in relation to the value of the subcarrier offset.

[0112] In some solutions, if the subcarrier offset is in the range of 0 to a first predetermined number, the offset is defined with respect to the subcarrier interval (SCS) of the control resource set (CORESET) from the minimum resource block index of the CORESET to the minimum resource index of the common RB that overlaps with the reference resource block of the SS / PBCH block.

[0113] In some solutions, if the above subcarrier offset is in the range of a second predetermined number to a third predetermined number, the offset is defined with respect to the above SCS of the above CORESET from the above minimum resource block index of the above CORESET for the Type0-PDCCH CSS set to the above minimum resource block index of the above common RB that overlaps with the above reference resource block of the above SS / PBCH block plus 1.

[0114] In some solutions, the above reference resource block is either the first resource block of the above SS / PBCH block, or the above reference resource block is the third resource block of the above SS / PBCH block.

[0115] In one embodiment, the terminal device includes a processor configured to cause the terminal device to determine that communication between the terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth, and to determine a subset of resource blocks from a control resource set, wherein the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and corresponding demodulation reference signal (DMRS) resource elements of resource element groups having resource blocks not included in the subset of resource blocks are set to zero.

[0116] In some solutions, the above control resource set includes 24 resource blocks, and the above set of resource blocks includes multiple consecutive resource blocks starting from index 0.

[0117] In some solutions, if the parameters are equal to all consecutive resource blocks, the above PDCCH and the above DMRS are mapped to all resource element groups within the above subset of resource blocks from which the terminal device decodes the physical downlink control channel.

[0118] In some solutions, the processor is further configured to cause the terminal device to determine the field length of the frequency domain resource allocation for downlink control information based on the size of the subset of resource blocks.

[0119] In some solutions, the number of resource blocks within the above subset is indicated in the control resource set configuration.

[0120] In some solutions, the above subset of resource blocks includes 15 resource blocks.

[0121] In some solutions, the above subset of resource blocks includes resource blocks from a first index to a second index, having the maximum resource block index of the above control resource set that overlaps with the resource blocks of the SS / PBCH block.

[0122] In some solutions, the resource block in the SS / PBCH block mentioned above is the last resource block in the SS / PBCH block.

[0123] In one embodiment, the network device includes a processor configured to cause the network device to determine that communication between a terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth, and to transmit a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block on the PBCH to the terminal device, wherein a set of resource elements in the PBCH having subcarrier number k is set to zero, the set of resource elements is in one or more resource blocks, k is relative to the start of the SS / PBCH block, and k is in the range from 0 to a first predetermined number and / or from a second predetermined number to the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH.

[0124] In some solutions, the specified bandwidth is 5 MHz, and the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH is 240.

[0125] In one embodiment, a computer-readable medium stores instructions, and when these instructions are executed on at least one processor, they cause at least one processor to perform the method carried out by the above-described device.

[0126] In one embodiment, a computer program including instructions, which, when executed on at least one processor, causes at least one processor to perform the method carried out by the above-described device.

[0127] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some embodiments may be implemented in hardware, while others may be implemented in firmware or software executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described using block diagrams, flowcharts, or some other graphical representations, it will be understood that any block, apparatus, system, technique, or method described herein may be implemented, in non-limiting examples, in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controller, or other computing device, or some combination thereof.

[0128] This disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as instructions contained in a program module, which are executed on a device on a target real or virtual processor, and which perform the processes or methods described above with reference to Figures 1 to 10. Generally, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc., that perform a specific task or implement a specific abstract data type. The functions of program modules may be combined or separated as needed in various embodiments. The machine-executable instructions for a program module may be executed in a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program module may reside on both local and remote storage media.

[0129] Program code for performing the methods of this disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, or other programmable data processing device, and when executed by the processor or controller, they perform the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams. The program code may run entirely on a machine, partially on a machine, as a standalone software package, partially on a machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0130] The above program code may be embodied in a machine-readable medium, which may be any tangible medium that contains or can store a program used by an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, or a program used in conjunction with such a system or device. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatus, or devices, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of machine-readable storage media include electrical connections with one or more wires, portable computer diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM, or flash memory), optical fibers, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0131] Furthermore, although the operations are presented in a specific order, it should not be understood that such operations must be performed in the specific order shown, sequentially, or all shown operations must be performed in order to obtain the desired results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, the above description includes some specific implementation details, but these should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of this disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Certain features described in the context of individual embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may be implemented individually or in any suitable combination of sub-features in multiple embodiments.

[0132] While this disclosure is described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological actions, it should be understood that the disclosure as defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or actions described above. Rather, the specific features and actions described above are disclosed as exemplary forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A terminal device, The aforementioned terminal device, Determining that the communication between the terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth, The network device receives a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block on a PBCH (Physical Broadcast Channel), Here, the set of resource elements in the PBCH having subcarrier number k is set to zero, and the set of resource elements is in one or more resource blocks, k is relative to the start of the SS / PBCH block, and k is in a range from 0 to a first predetermined number and / or from a second predetermined number to the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH. A processor configured to perform the following actions: Terminal device.

2. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined bandwidth is 5 MHz and the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH is 240.

3. Symbols corresponding to resource elements that are part of a common resource block that at least partially overlaps with the actual SS / PBCH block and are not used for SS / PBCH transmission are set to zero in OFDM symbols that at least partially overlap with the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols to which the SS / PBCH block is transmitted, and Here, the actual SS / PBCH block includes resources of an SS / PBCH block having subcarrier numbers k ranging from a first predetermined number plus 1 to a second predetermined number minus 1. The terminal device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein if a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) resource allocation overlaps with one or more resource blocks containing the resources of the actual SS / PBCH block, the one or more resource blocks containing the resources of the actual SS / PBCH block are unavailable to the PDSCH in the OFDM symbol to which the SS / PBCH block is transmitted.

5. A terminal device, The aforementioned terminal device, Determining that the communication between the terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth, The aforementioned network device receives a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block on the PBCH, The subcarrier offset from the first subcarrier in the common resource block to the first subcarrier in the SS / PBCH block is determined, wherein the offset between the common resource block and the SS / PBCH block is defined in relation to the value of the subcarrier offset. A processor configured to perform the following actions: Terminal device.

6. The terminal device according to claim 5, wherein, when the subcarrier offset is in the range of 0 to a first predetermined number, the offset is defined with respect to the subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the control resource set (CORESET) from the minimum resource block index of the CORESET to the minimum resource index of the common RB that overlaps with the reference resource block of the SS / PBCH block.

7. The terminal device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein, if the subcarrier offset is in the range of a second predetermined number to a third predetermined number, the offset is defined with respect to the SCS of the CORESET from the minimum resource block index of the CORESET for the Type0-PDCCH CSS set to the minimum resource block index of the common RB that overlaps with the reference resource block of the SS / PBCH block plus 1.

8. The aforementioned reference resource block is either the first resource block of the SS / PBCH block, or The aforementioned reference resource block is the third resource block of the SS / PBCH block. The terminal device according to claim 6 or 7.

9. A terminal device, The aforementioned terminal device, Determining that the communication between the terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth, Determining a subset of resource blocks from a control resource set, wherein the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) and corresponding Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) resource elements of resource element groups having resource blocks not included in the subset of resource blocks are set to zero. A processor configured to perform the following actions: Terminal device.

10. The aforementioned control resource set includes 24 resource blocks, and The aforementioned set of resource blocks includes a plurality of consecutive resource blocks starting from index 0, The terminal device according to claim 9.

11. The terminal device according to claim 9 or 10, wherein if the parameters are equal to all consecutive resource blocks, the PDCCH and the DMRS are mapped to all resource element groups in the subset of resource blocks from which the terminal device decodes the physical downlink control channel.

12. The processor is connected to the terminal device, The system is further configured to perform a determination of the field length of the frequency domain resource allocation for downlink control information based on the size of the subset of resource blocks. The terminal device according to any one of claims 9 to 11.

13. The terminal device according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the number of resource blocks in the subset is as shown in the control resource set configuration.

14. The terminal device according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the subset of resource blocks includes 15 resource blocks.

15. The terminal device according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the subset of resource blocks includes resource blocks from a first index to a second index having the maximum resource block index of the control resource set that overlaps with the resource blocks of the SS / PBCH block.

16. The terminal device according to claim 15, wherein the resource block of the SS / PBCH block is the last resource block of the SS / PBCH block.

17. Network device, The aforementioned network device, Determining that communication between the terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth, The terminal device is to transmit a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block on the PBCH, Here, the set of resource elements in the PBCH having subcarrier number k is set to zero, and the set of resource elements is in one or more resource blocks, k is relative to the start of the SS / PBCH block, and k is in a range from 0 to a first predetermined number and / or from a second predetermined number to the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH. A processor configured to perform the following actions: Network device.

18. The network device according to claim 17, wherein the predetermined bandwidth is 5 MHz and the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH is 240.

19. It is a method, In a terminal device, it is determined that the communication between the terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth, The network device receives a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block on the PBCH, Here, the set of resource elements in the PBCH having subcarrier number k is set to zero, and the set of resource elements is in one or more resource blocks, k is relative to the start of the SS / PBCH block, and k is in a range from 0 to a first predetermined number and / or from a second predetermined number to the total number of subcarriers in the PBCH. including, method.

20. It is a method, In a terminal device, it is determined that the communication between the terminal device and the network device is operating on a dedicated spectrum having a bandwidth smaller than a predetermined bandwidth, The aforementioned network device receives a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block on the PBCH, The subcarrier offset from the first subcarrier in the common resource block to the first subcarrier in the SS / PBCH block is determined, wherein the offset between the common resource block and the SS / PBCH block is defined in relation to the value of the subcarrier offset. including, method.

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