Enhancement of non-periodic SRS trigger mechanism

Abstract

A method is provided for a user equipment (UE). The UE obtains first configuration information from a network device. The first configuration information indicates a first resource set for an aperiodic sounding reference signal (AP-SRS). The first resource set for the AP-SRS includes a first list of slot offsets. The UE decodes second configuration information from the network device. The second configuration information indicates a reference slot and a first slot offset of the first list of slot offsets. The UE generates the AP-SRS for transmission to the network device based on the reference slot and the first slot offset.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present application relates generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly to aperiodic (sounding reference signal) SRS triggering mechanism enhancements. [Background technology]

[0002] Wireless mobile communication technologies use various standards and protocols to transmit data between base stations and wireless mobile devices. Standards and protocols for wireless communication systems can include the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE), the 5th Generation (5G) 3GPP New Radio (NR) standard, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standard, commonly known to industry groups as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and the IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks (WLANs), commonly known to industry groups as Wi-Fi. In a 3GPP Radio Access Network (RAN) of an LTE system, a base station can include RAN nodes such as an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly referred to as an evolved Node B, enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB) and / or an E-UTRAN Radio Network Controller (RNC), which communicate with wireless communication devices known as user equipment (UE). In a fifth generation (5G) wireless RAN, a RAN node may include a 5G node, a New Radio (NR) node, or a gNode B (gNB), which communicates with wireless communication devices, also known as user equipment (UE). Summary of the Invention

[0003] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided for a user equipment (UE) that includes obtaining first configuration information from a network device, the first configuration information indicating a first resource set for an aperiodic sounding reference signal (AP-SRS) including a first list of slot offsets; decoding second configuration information from the network device, the second configuration information indicating a reference slot and a first slot offset of the first list of slot offsets; and generating the AP-SRS for transmission to the network device based on the reference slot and the first slot offset.

[0004] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided for a network device, the method including: generating first configuration information for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the first configuration information indicating a first resource set for an aperiodic sounding reference signal (AP-SRS), the first configuration information including a first list of slot offsets; generating second configuration information for transmission to the UE, the second configuration information indicating a reference slot and a first slot offset of the first list of slot offsets; and obtaining the AP-SRS from the UE, the AP-SRS being transmitted based on the reference slot and the first slot offset.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus for a user equipment (UE) is provided that includes one or more processors configured to perform steps of a method according to the present disclosure.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus of a network device is provided that includes one or more processors configured to perform steps of a method according to the present disclosure.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a computer readable medium is provided having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by one or more processors, causes an apparatus to perform method steps according to the present disclosure.

[0008] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus for a communications device is provided, the apparatus including means for performing method steps to perform method steps according to the present disclosure.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer program product comprising a computer program which, when executed by one or more processors, causes an apparatus to perform the steps of a method according to the present disclosure. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] Features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, features of the disclosure. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system including a base station and user equipment (UE) in accordance with some embodiments. [Diagram 2] 1 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method for user equipment, according to some embodiments. [Figure 3A] 1 illustrates a diagram for an exemplary Media Access Control Element (MAC-CE) activation, according to some embodiments. [Figure 3B] 1 illustrates an example bitmap for MAC-CE activation, according to some embodiments. [Figure 3C] 1 illustrates another example bitmap for MAC-CE activation, according to some embodiments. [Figure 4] 1 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for a network device, according to some embodiments. [Diagram 5] 1 illustrates a flowchart of exemplary steps for AP-SRS configuration, according to some embodiments. [Figure 6] 1 illustrates a flowchart of exemplary steps for AP-SRS configuration, according to some embodiments. [Figure 7]1 illustrates an example block diagram of an apparatus for a UE according to some embodiments. [Figure 8] 1 illustrates an example block diagram of an apparatus for a network device, according to some embodiments. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 illustrates exemplary components of a device according to some embodiments. [Figure 10] 1 illustrates an example interface of a baseband circuit according to some embodiments. [Figure 11] 1 illustrates components according to some embodiments. [Figure 12] 1 illustrates an architecture of a wireless network according to some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] In this disclosure, a "base station" may include an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly referred to as an evolved Node B, enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB) and / or a Radio Network Controller (RNC) and / or a RAN node, such as a 5G node, a New Radio (NR) node, or a gNode B (gNB), that communicates with wireless communication devices known as user equipment (UE). Although some examples may be described with reference to either an E-UTRAN Node B, an eNB, an RNC, and / or a gNB, such devices may be substituted for any type of base station.

[0012] In wireless communication, the channel quality is not as stable as in wired communication. To acquire the channel quality, the base station may require the UE to transmit a sounding reference signal (SRS) to the base station.

[0013] Note that SRS involves uplink (UL) transmission. If the slot offset for transmitting SRS is predefined, the slot used to transmit SRS is also predefined and therefore fixed. However, in a TDD system, the UL slot is limited. If the slot for transmitting SRS is fixed, the UE skips transmitting SRS if it is unavailable (e.g., if the slot collides with a DL symbol).

[0014] 1 illustrates a wireless network 100 in accordance with some embodiments. The wireless network 100 includes a UE 101 and a base station 150 connected over an air interface 190.

[0015] The UE 101 and any other UEs in the system may be, for example, a laptop computer, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a printer, a machine type device such as a smart meter or a dedicated device for healthcare monitoring, remote security monitoring, an intelligent transportation system, or any other wireless device with or without a user interface. The base station 150 provides the UE 101 with a network connection to a wider network (not shown) through an air interface 190 within the base station coverage area provided by the base station 150. In some embodiments, such a wider network may be a wide area network operated by a cellular network provider or may be the Internet. Each base station coverage area associated with the base station 150 is supported by an antenna integrated with the base station 150. The coverage area is divided into multiple sectors associated with a particular antenna. Such sectors may be physically associated with a fixed antenna or may be assigned to a physical area with tunable antennas or antenna settings that can be adjusted in a beamforming process used to direct signals to a particular sector. One embodiment of the base station 150 , for example, includes three sectors, each covering an area of ​​120 degrees, with an array of antennas aimed at each sector to provide 360 ​​degree coverage around the base station 150 .

[0016] The UE 101 includes a control circuit 105 coupled to a transmit circuit 110 and a receive circuit 115. The transmit circuit 110 and the receive circuit 115 may each be coupled to one or more antennas. The control circuit 105 may be adapted to perform operations associated with MTC. In some embodiments, the control circuit 105 of the UE 101 may perform calculations or initiate measurements associated with the air interface 190 to determine a channel quality of an available connection to the base station 150. These calculations may be performed in conjunction with the control circuit 155 of the base station 150. The transmit circuit 110 and the receive circuit 115 may be adapted to transmit and receive data, respectively. The control circuit 105 may be adapted or configured to perform various operations, such as those described elsewhere in this disclosure related to the UE. The transmit circuit 110 may transmit multiple multiplexed uplink physical channels. The multiple uplink physical channels may be multiplexed by time division multiplexing (TDM) or frequency division multiplexing (FDM). The transmit circuitry 110 may be configured to receive block data from the control circuitry 105 for transmission over the air interface 190. Similarly, the receive circuitry 115 may receive multiple multiplexed downlink physical channels from the air interface 190 and relay the physical channels to the control circuitry 105. The uplink and downlink physical channels may be multiplexed according to TDM or FDM. The transmit circuitry 110 and receive circuitry 115 may transmit and receive both control data and content data (e.g., messages, images, videos, etc.) structured within data blocks carried by the physical channels.

[0017] 1 illustrates a base station 150 according to some embodiments. The base station 150 circuitry may include control circuitry 155 coupled to transmit circuitry 160 and receive circuitry 165. The transmit circuitry 160 and receive circuitry 165 may each be coupled to one or more antennas that may be used to facilitate communication over an air interface 190.

[0018] The control circuitry 155 may be adapted to perform operations associated with MTC. The transmit circuitry 160 and the receive circuitry 165 may be adapted to transmit and receive data, respectively, within a narrow system bandwidth that is narrower than a standard bandwidth structured for person-to-person communications. In some embodiments, for example, the transmit bandwidth may be set at or near 1.4 MHz. In other embodiments, other bandwidths may be used. The control circuitry 155 may perform various operations, such as those described elsewhere in this disclosure related to the base station.

[0019] Within a narrow system bandwidth, the transmission circuitry 160 can transmit multiple multiplexed downlink physical channels. The multiple downlink physical channels may be multiplexed according to TDM or FDM. The transmission circuitry 160 may transmit the multiple multiplexed downlink physical channels in a downlink superframe that is included in multiple downlink subframes.

[0020] Within a narrow system bandwidth, the receiver circuit 165 may receive multiple multiplexed uplink physical channels. The multiple uplink physical channels may be multiplexed according to TDM or FDM. The receiver circuit 165 may receive multiple multiplexed uplink physical channels in an uplink superframe included in multiple uplink subframes.

[0021] As described further below, the control circuits 105 and 155 may be involved in measuring channel quality for the air interface 190. The channel quality may be based, for example, on physical obstacles between the UE 101 and the base station 150, electromagnetic signal interference from other sources, reflected or indirect paths between the UE 101 and the base station 150, or other such sources of signal noise. Based on the channel quality, a block of data may be scheduled to be retransmitted multiple times such that the transmit circuitry 110 may transmit copies of the same data multiple times and the receive circuitry 115 may receive multiple copies of the same data multiple times.

[0022] The UE and base station described in the following embodiments may be implemented by the UE 101 and base station 150 described in FIG.

[0023] 2 shows a flowchart of an example method for a user equipment according to some embodiments. The method 200 shown in FIG. 2 may be implemented by the UE 101 described in FIG.

[0024] In some embodiments, a method 200 for a UE includes the following steps: S202, obtaining first configuration information from a network device, the first configuration information indicating a first resource set for an aperiodic sounding reference signal (AP-SRS) including a first list of slot offsets; S204, decoding second configuration information from the network device, the second configuration information indicating a reference slot and a first slot offset of the first list of slot offsets; and S206, generating an AP-SRS for transmission to the network device based on the reference slot and the first slot offset.

[0025] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, with the first configuration information, a first list of slot offsets including multiple slot offsets instead of a single slot offset may be configured by a network device or may be predefined in a specification. With the second configuration information decoded by the UE, a first slot offset may be selected from the first list of slot offsets such that the first slot offset is selectable instead of fixed. In this way, the transmission of the AP-SRS of the UE is more flexible. Since multiple choices of slot offsets of the list of slot offsets are provided, even if some slots for transmitting the AP-SRS are unavailable (e.g., when the slots for transmitting the AP-SRS collide with DL symbols), the slot offsets in the first list of slot offsets corresponding to other available slots can be considered, and thus the UE does not skip the transmission of the AP-SRS, thereby improving the flexibility of the transmission of the AP-SRS.

[0026] Each step of method 200 is described in detail below.

[0027] In step S202, the UE acquires first configuration information from a network device, the first configuration information indicating a first resource set for an aperiodic sounding reference signal (AP-SRS), including a first list of slot offsets.

[0028] According to some embodiments, sounding reference signals (SRS) may include three types: (1) periodic SRS, (2) semi-persistent SRS, and (3) aperiodic SRS (AP-SRS).

[0029] Periodic SRS indicates that the SRS is transmitted from the UE to the base station periodically. For example, the periodic SRS may be transmitted from the UE to the base station every N milliseconds (ms), where N may be any positive number.

[0030] Semi-persistent SRS indicates that the SRS is transmitted from the UE to the base station periodically, but activation of the transmission of the SRS may be controlled. For example, the semi-persistent SRS may be transmitted from the UE to the base station every N milliseconds, where N may be any positive number, but activation of the transmission may be configured by the network device.

[0031] Aperiodic SRS (AP-SRS) indicates that SRS is transmitted from UE to base station aperiodically. Compared with periodic SRS and semi-persistent SRS, AP SRS has shorter latency. Also, since AP-SRS is not transmitted periodically, AP-SRS is more flexible than periodic SRS and semi-persistent SRS.

[0032] According to some embodiments, the AP-SRS requires resources for transmitting the AP-SRS. In some embodiments, a first resource set for the AP-SRS may be configured by a network device through first configuration information. It should be noted that although a first resource set for the AP-SRS is described herein for clarity, the present disclosure does not intend to limit the expression "resource set for the AP-SRS" as one resource set for the AP-SRS. Indeed, according to the present disclosure, one or more resource sets for the AP-SRS may be configured by a network device through first configuration information.

[0033] According to some embodiments, the first configuration information may include radio resource control (RRC) signaling, although the disclosure is not limited thereto. According to some embodiments, the first configuration information may be any other information, message, or signaling suitable for configuring the first resource set for the AP-SRS.

[0034] According to some embodiments, the first resource set for the AP-SRS may include resources required by transmitting the AP-SRS, in some embodiments, a slot offset for the AP-SRS may be configured within the first resource set for the AP-SRS.

[0035] According to some embodiments, a slot offset may be involved in determining the time (i.e., slot) for transmitting the AP-SRS. The slot offset is the offset of the slot from a reference slot. For example, if the reference slot is the Xth slot and the slot offset is Y, the slot for the UE to transmit the AP-SRS may be determined based on the reference slot Xth slot and the slot offset Y, where X and Y are positive integers. The determination of the reference slot will be described below in conjunction with step S204.

[0036] In the related art, a one slot offset may be configured in the resource set for AP-SRS. An exemplary method for configuring one slot offset (highlighted) is shown as follows:

[0037] [Table 1]

[0038] It should be noted that AP-SRS involves uplink (UL) transmission. In the related art, only one slot offset for transmitting AP-SRS is configured in the resource set for AP-SRS, so the slot used for transmitting SRS is fixed with respect to the reference slot. However, in a TDD system, the UL slot is limited. If the slot for transmitting AP-SRS is fixed, the UE skips transmitting AP-SRS if it is unavailable (e.g., if the slot for transmitting AP-SRS collides with a DL symbol).

[0039] According to some embodiments, a first list of slot offsets may be configured in a first resource set for the AP-SRS. Note that while a first list of slot offsets is described for clarity, this disclosure does not intend to limit the expression "list of slot offsets" as one list of slot offsets. Indeed, according to this disclosure, one or more lists of slot offsets may be configured by a network device through first configuration information.

[0040] According to some embodiments, the first list of slot offsets may include multiple entries. Each entry in the first list of slot offsets may indicate one slot offset. For example, the first list of slot offsets may include three (or any integer) entries {slot offset 0, slot offset 1, slot offset 2}. Note that slot offset i represents the i-th entry in the first list of slot offsets, but does not mean that the value of slot offset i is equal to i. According to some examples, the value of slot offset i in the first list of slot offsets may be configured by the network device through the first configuration information.

[0041] According to some embodiments, the size of the first list of slot offsets may be configured. It should be noted that the size of the first list of slot offsets represents the number of entries included in the first list of slot offsets. The number of entries included in the first list of slot offsets may be any positive integer. For example, if the first list of slot offsets includes three entries, the size of the first list of slot offsets is 3. As another example, if the first list of slot offsets includes 64 entries, the size of the first list of slot offsets is 64.

[0042] In some embodiments, the maximum size of the first list of slot offsets may be predetermined. For example, the maximum size of the first list of slot offsets may be determined by a parameter maxNrofAperodicSRS-SlotOffsets. An exemplary configuration of the first list of slot offsets is shown as follows:

[0043] [Table 2]

[0044] If the SRS to be transmitted is an AP-SRS, the configuration of the first list of slot offsets may be added to the first resource set for the AP-SRS. An example addition of the first list of slot offsets to the first resource set for the AP-SRS is shown as follows:

[0045] [Table 3]

[0046] In step S204, the UE decodes second configuration information from the network device, where the second configuration information indicates a reference slot and a first slot offset in the first list of slot offsets.

[0047] According to some embodiments, the second configuration information may include Downlink Control Information (DCI), although the present disclosure is not limited thereto. According to some embodiments, the second configuration information may be any other information, message, or signaling suitable for triggering an AP-SRS.

[0048] According to some embodiments, the reference slot is a slot when the second configuration information is received by the UE. In some embodiments, the UE may determine the reference slot by decoding the second configuration information.

[0049] According to some embodiments, the second configuration information indicates a first slot offset of a first list of slot offsets. In other words, the network device may select a first slot offset from the first list of slot offsets and apply the selected first slot offset to determine the transmission of the AP-SRS. For example, the first list of slot offsets may include three entries {slot offset 0, slot offset 1, slot offset 2}, where slot offset 0 may be 1, slot offset 1 may be 4, slot offset 2 may be 8, and the first slot offset may be selected from slot offset 0, slot offset 1, and slot offset 2. If the first slot offset is selected as slot offset 0, the first slot offset is equal to 1. If the first slot offset is selected as slot offset 1, the first slot offset is equal to 4. If the first slot offset is selected as slot offset 2, the first slot offset is equal to 8.

[0050] According to some embodiments, the UE determines the first slot offset of the first list of slot offsets by decoding the second configuration information. In some embodiments, when the second configuration information is a DCI, a slot offset field indicating the first slot offset may be included in the DCI. By decoding a DCI including a slot offset field, the UE can determine the first slot offset of the first list of slot offsets. In other embodiments, when the second configuration information is not a DCI, a slot offset field indicating the first slot offset may also be included in the second configuration information.

[0051] In step S206, the UE generates an AP-SRS for transmission to the network device based on the reference slot and the first slot offset.

[0052] According to some embodiments, a slot for transmission of the AP-SRS from the UE to the network device may be determined based on a reference slot and a first slot offset. As described above, if the reference slot is the Xth slot and the first slot offset is Y, the slot for the UE to transmit the AP-SRS may be determined based on the reference slot Xth slot and the first slot offset Y, where X and Y are positive integers.

[0053] In some embodiments, the slot for transmission of the AP-SRS from the UE to the network device may be determined by adding the first slot offset to the reference slot, although the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In other words, if the reference slot is the Xth slot and the first slot offset is Y, the slot for transmitting the AP-SRS is the (X+Y)th slot, where X and Y are positive integers. For example, if the reference slot is slot 11 and the first slot offset is 1, the slot for transmitting the AP-SRS is slot 12 (=11+1). As another example, if the reference slot is slot 11 and the first slot offset is 8, the slot for transmitting the AP-SRS is slot 19 (=11+8). As can be seen from the figure, the slot for transmitting the AP-SRS is determined based on the selection of the first slot offset.

[0054] According to some embodiments, a first resource set for the AP-SRS may be included in the AP-SRS for transmission to the network device.

[0055] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a first list of slot offsets including multiple slot offsets instead of a single slot offset may be configured by a network device using first configuration information. Using second configuration information decoded by the UE, a first slot offset may be selected from the first list of slot offsets such that the first slot offset is selectable instead of fixed. In this way, the transmission of AP-SRS of the UE is more flexible. Since multiple choices of slot offsets of the list of slot offsets are provided, even if some slots for transmitting AP-SRS are unavailable (e.g., when the slots for transmitting AP-SRS collide with DL symbols), the slot offsets in the first list of slot offsets corresponding to other available slots can be considered, and thus the UE does not skip transmitting AP-SRS, thereby improving the flexibility of the transmission of AP-SRS.

[0056] As described above, in the related art, the first resource set for AP-SRS may already include a single slot offset (hereinafter, the remaining slot offset) instead of a list of slot offsets. In this case, the first resource set for AP-SRS may include both the first list of slot offsets and the remaining slot offset.

[0057] According to some embodiments, the first list of slot offsets and the remaining slot offsets may be configured simultaneously.

[0058] According to some embodiments, the first resource set for the AP-SRS may further include a remaining slot offset, and generating the AP-SRS for transmission to the network device based on the reference slot and the first slot offset may include generating the AP-SRS for transmission to the network device based on the reference slot, the remaining slot offset, and the first slot offset.

[0059] In some embodiments, generating an AP-SRS for transmission to the network device based on the reference slot, the remaining slot offset, and the first slot offset may include determining a first slot by adding the remaining slot offset to the reference slot, determining a second slot by adding the first slot offset to the first slot, and generating an AP-SRS for transmission to the network device in the second slot.

[0060] For example, if the reference slot is slot X, the remaining slot offset is Z, and the first slot offset is Y, then the first slot is slot (X+Z) and the second slot is slot (X+Y+Z), where X, Y, and Z are positive integers. In this example, the slot for transmitting AP-SRS is the second slot, i.e., slot (X+Y+Z). For example, if the reference slot is slot 11, the remaining slot offset is 1, and the first slot offset is 1, then the first slot is slot 12 (=11+1), and the second slot and the slot for transmitting AP-SRS are slot 13 (=11+1+1). As another example, if the reference slot is slot 11, the remaining slot offset is 1, and the first slot offset is 8, then the first slot is also slot 12 (=11+1), and the second slot and the slot for transmitting AP-SRS are slot 20 (=11+1+8).

[0061] According to some embodiments, the first slot may include any slot or simply include any available slot, while the second slot may include any slot or simply include any available slot.

[0062] Note that any slot may include any available slot and any unavailable slot. An "available slot" is a slot that satisfies the presence of UL or flexible symbol(s) for time domain location(s) for all SRS resources (e.g., resources for AP-SRS) in a resource set (e.g., resource set for AP-SRS) and satisfies the UE capability for minimum timing requirements between all SRS resources (e.g., resources for AP-SRS) in a resource set (e.g., resource set for AP-SRS) and triggering a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH).

[0063] In some examples, the remaining slot offsets are determined such that the first slot includes any slot and the first slot offset is determined such that the second slot includes any available slot.

[0064] Taking slots 12, 13, 19 and 20 as an example (only slots 12, 13, 19 and 20 are considered in this example), assume that slots 12 and 20 are available slots and slots 13 and 19 are unavailable slots. If the reference slot is slot 11, the remaining slot offset is determined such that the first slot includes any slot (including any available slot and any unavailable slot), so the first slot can be any one of slots 12, 13, 19, 20, so the remaining slot offset can be any one of 1 (=12-11), 2 (=13-11), 8 (=19-11), 9 (=20-11). In this case, further assuming that the remaining slot offset is 1 (meaning the first slot is slot 12), the first slot offset is determined such that the second slot includes any available slots (but does not include any unavailable slots), so the second slot can be slot 20, but not slots 13 and 19, and therefore the first slot offset can be 8 (=20-12), but not 1 (=13-12) or 7 (=19-12).

[0065] In another example, the remaining slot offsets are determined such that the first slot includes any available slot, and the first slot offset is determined such that the second slot includes any available slot.

[0066] Again, taking slots 12, 13, 19 and 20 as an example (in this example, only slots 12, 13, 19 and 20 are considered), assume that slots 12 and 20 are available slots and slots 13 and 19 are unavailable slots. If the reference slot is slot 11, the remaining slot offset is determined such that the first slot includes any available slots (but does not include any unavailable slots), so the first slot can be 12 or 20, but cannot be 13 or 19, so the remaining slot offset can be 1 (=12-11) or 9 (=20-11), but cannot be 2 (=13-11) or 8 (=19-11). In this case, further assuming that the remaining slot offset is 1 (meaning the first slot is slot 12), the first slot offset is determined such that the second slot includes any available slots (but does not include any unavailable slots), so the second slot can be slot 20, but not slots 13 and 19, and therefore the first slot offset can be 8 (=20-12), but not 1 (=13-12) or 7 (=19-12).

[0067] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first list of slot offsets and the remaining slot offsets can be configured simultaneously, and at the same time, the first slot offset can also be selected from the first list of slot offsets, thereby improving the flexibility of transmitting the AP-SRS and at the same time avoiding any conflicts caused by configuring two types of slot offsets.

[0068] In other embodiments, generating an AP-SRS for transmission to the network device based on the reference slot, the remaining slot offset, and the first slot offset may also include determining a first slot by adding the first slot offset to the reference slot, determining a second slot by adding the remaining slot offset to the first slot, and generating an AP-SRS for transmission to the network device in the second slot.

[0069] According to some embodiments, the first list of slot offsets and the remaining slot offsets cannot be configured at the same time.

[0070] In some embodiments, a first list of slot offsets is configured while the remaining slot offsets are not configured. In this case, the slot for transmitting the AP-SRS may be determined based on a reference slot and a first slot offset selected from the first list of slot offsets. For example, the slot for transmitting the AP-SRS may be determined by adding the first slot offset selected from the first list of slot offsets to the reference slot.

[0071] In some embodiments, the first list of slot offsets is not configured, while the remaining slot offsets are configured. In this case, the slot for transmitting the AP-SRS can be determined based on the reference slot and the remaining slot offset. For example, the slot for transmitting the AP-SRS can be determined by adding the remaining slot offset to the reference slot.

[0072] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, only the first list of slot offsets and one of the remaining slot offsets may be configured, thereby avoiding any conflicts caused by configuring two types of slot offsets.

[0073] According to some embodiments, multiple trigger states for AP-SRS may be introduced to determine the AP-SRS. For example, there may be a total of four trigger states, such as trigger state 0, trigger state 1, trigger state 2, and trigger state 3, where trigger state 0 refers to not triggering the transmission of AP-SRS, and trigger state 1, trigger state 2, and trigger state 3 refer to triggering the transmission of AP-SRS.

[0074] As described above, one or more resource sets for the AP-SRS may be configured by the first configuration information. According to some embodiments, the first resource set for the AP-SRS may indicate a relationship between the first resource set for the AP-SRS and one trigger state of a plurality of trigger states for the AP-SRS. In some embodiments, there are three resource sets for the AP-SRS, where resource set 1 for the AP-SRS indicates that resource set 1 for the AP-SRS is associated with trigger state 1, resource set 2 for the AP-SRS indicates that resource set 2 for the AP-SRS is associated with trigger state 2, and resource set 3 for the AP-SRS indicates that resource set 3 for the AP-SRS is associated with trigger state 3.

[0075] According to some embodiments, the second configuration information may indicate one trigger state of a plurality of trigger states. For example, if the second configuration information indicates that the trigger state is trigger state 0, the AP-SRS is not transmitted. If the second configuration information indicates that the trigger state is trigger state 1, resource set 1 for the AP-SRS associated with trigger state 1 may be triggered and transmitted to the network device. If the second configuration information indicates that the trigger state is trigger state 2, resource set 2 for the AP-SRS associated with trigger state 2 may be triggered and transmitted to the network device. If the second configuration information indicates that the trigger state is trigger state 3, resource set 3 for the AP-SRS associated with trigger state 3 may be triggered and transmitted to the network device.

[0076] In some embodiments, when the second configuration information is a DCI, the DCI may include a field of the trigger state of the AP-SRS. The field of the trigger state of the AP-SRS occupies two bits and may indicate four cases: 00, 01, 10, and 11. When the field of the trigger state of the AP-SRS indicates "00", the transmission of the AP-SRS is not triggered and is not transmitted to the network device. When the field of the trigger state of the AP-SRS indicates "01", it may refer to trigger state 1 associated with resource set 1 for the AP-SRS. When the field of the trigger state of the AP-SRS indicates "10", it may refer to trigger state 2 associated with resource set 2 for the AP-SRS. When the field of the trigger state of the AP-SRS indicates "11", it may refer to trigger state 3 associated with resource set 3 for the AP-SRS.

[0077] According to some embodiments, one trigger condition of an AP-SRS may be mapped to two or more resource sets for the AP-SRS.

[0078] According to some embodiments, the first configuration information may further indicate a second resource set for the AP-SRS, the second resource set for the AP-SRS including a second list of slot offsets, and the first configuration information further indicates that the first resource set for the AP-SRS and the second resource set for the AP-SRS are mapped to a same trigger state of the AP-SRS. According to some embodiments, the first resource set for the AP-SRS and the second resource set for the AP-SRS may be triggered for transmission to the network device according to a same trigger state of the AP-SRS.

[0079] For example, the first resource set for AP-SRS may be resource set 1 for AP-SRS, indicating that resource set 1 for AP-SRS is associated with trigger state 1, while the second resource set for AP-SRS may be resource set 2 for AP-SRS, indicating that resource set 2 for AP-SRS is also associated with trigger state 1.

[0080] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, by mapping multiple resource sets for AP-SRS to a single trigger state of AP-SRS, multiple resource sets for AP-SRS can be triggered simultaneously by only one second configuration information and then transmitted to a network device, thereby improving the efficiency of triggering transmission of AP-SRS.

[0081] According to some embodiments, the number of slot offsets in the list of slot offsets for each resource set for AP-SRS may be the same, hi some embodiments, the number of slot offsets in the first list of slot offsets may be the same as the number of slot offsets in the second list of slot offsets.

[0082] For example, list 1 of slot offsets for resource set 1 for AP-SRS may include eight entries of slot offsets, and list 2 of slot offsets for resource set 2 for AP-SRS may also include eight entries of slot offsets. In this example, if the second configuration information indicates slot offset 2, the slot for transmitting resource set 1 is determined based on slot offset 2 of list 1 of slot offsets, and the slot for transmitting resource set 2 is determined based on slot offset 2 of list 2 of slot offsets. It should be emphasized again here that slot offset 2 of list 1 of slot offsets means the second entry of list 1 of slot offsets (not slot offset=2), and the slot offset for resource set 1 for AP-SRS is determined based on the value of the second entry (i.e., slot offset 2) of list 1 of slot offsets. For example, if the reference slot is slot 11, slot offset 2 in list of slot offsets 1 is 4, and slot offset 2 in list of slot offsets 2 is 8, then with only one second configuration information, resource set 1 for AP-SRS may be transmitted to the network device in slot 15 (=11+4) and resource set 2 for AP-SRS may be transmitted to the network device in slot 19 (=11+8).

[0083] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, since one second configuration information may indicate only one entry from the list of slot offsets, by further configuring the sizes (i.e., the number of entries) of the lists of slot offsets of different resource sets for AP-SRS to be equal, it is ensured that a slot offset can be selected from each list of slot offsets of different resource sets for AP-SRS.

[0084] According to some embodiments, the number of slot offsets in the list of slot offsets for each resource set for AP-SRS may be different, hi some embodiments, the number of slot offsets in the first list of slot offsets is different from the number of slot offsets in the second list of slot offsets.

[0085] In some embodiments, list 1 of slot offsets for resource set 1 for AP-SRS may include M entries of slot offsets, and list 2 of slot offsets for resource set 2 for AP-SRS may also include N entries of slot offsets, where M and N are positive integers, and M <Nである。

[0086] As described above, one second configuration information can indicate only one entry from the list of slot offsets. Considering that the field of the slot offset in the second configuration information is binary, the minimum size of the field of the slot offset in the second configuration information required to indicate any entry in the list of slot offsets 1 of the resource set 1 for AP-SRS is TIFF0007653541000004.tif717, and the minimum size of the slot offset field in the second configuration information required to indicate any entry in list 2 of slot offsets of resource set 2 for AP-SRS is The file is TIFF0007653541000005.tif717.

[0087] In some embodiments, the actual size of the slot offset field in the second configuration information is If M is equal to TIFF0007653541000006.tif717, then any entries in list 2 of slot offsets having an index number greater than M will not be triggered by the network device.

[0088] In some embodiments, the actual size of the slot offset field in the second configuration information is TIFF0007653541000007.tif717 and the second configuration information indicates an entry with an index number greater than M, there may be two options. As an option, resource set 1 for AP-SRS is not triggered. As another option, resource set 1 for AP-SRS is triggered, but the slot offset selected from list 1 of slot offsets is fixed. For example, the slot offset selected from list 1 of slot offsets may be fixed as slot offset M (i.e., the last entry in list 1 of slot offsets). In another example, the slot offset selected from list 1 of slot offsets may be fixed as any slot offset i, where i is a positive integer and i <Mである。

[0089] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, with the above configuration, even if the number of slot offsets in the list of slot offsets of each resource set for AP-SRS is different, these resource sets for AP-SRS may or may not be triggered accordingly without causing a conflict.

[0090] According to some embodiments, one resource set for AP-SRS may be mapped to multiple trigger states for AP-SRS. In some embodiments, the first configuration information may further indicate that the first resource set for AP-SRS is mapped to multiple trigger states for AP-SRS. In other words, each trigger state of the multiple trigger states indicated by the second configuration information may trigger the first resource set for AP-SRS.

[0091] In some embodiments, the first list of slot offsets may be associated with multiple trigger states for the AP-SRS. For example, resource set 1 for the AP-SRS may include a single list of slot offsets 1, which may be mapped to multiple trigger states for the AP-SRS, such as trigger state 1, trigger state 2, and trigger state 3.

[0092] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, only one list of slot offsets needs to be configured for multiple trigger conditions, thereby improving the efficiency of slot offset configuration.

[0093] In some embodiments, a first resource set for AP-SRS may include multiple lists of slot offsets, where each list of slot offsets of the multiple lists of slot offsets corresponds one-to-one to one trigger state of multiple trigger states for AP-SRS. For example, resource set 1 for AP-SRS may include list of slot offsets 1, list of slot offsets 2, and list of slot offsets 3, where list of slot offsets 1 corresponds to trigger state 1, list of slot offsets 2 corresponds to trigger state 2, and list of slot offsets 3 corresponds to trigger state 3.

[0094] According to some embodiments, the UE method may further include, in step S203 (exemplary shown as 603 in FIG. 6 ), obtaining third configuration information from the network device, the third configuration information activating a subset of the first list of slot offsets, and the second configuration information indicating a first slot offset from the subset of the first list of slot offsets.

[0095] According to some embodiments, the third configuration information may include Media Access Control Element (MAC-CE) information, although the disclosure is not limited thereto. According to some embodiments, the third configuration information may be any other information, message, or signaling suitable for configuring the first resource set for the AP-SRS.

[0096] According to some embodiments, the UE may receive third configuration information from the network device after receiving the first configuration information but before receiving and decoding the second configuration information.

[0097] An exemplary method will now be described with reference to FIG. 3A.

[0098] FIG. 3A shows a diagram for an exemplary media access control element (MAC-CE) activation, according to some embodiments.

[0099] In Figure 3A, RRC signaling is illustratively shown on the left as an example of the first configuration information, MAC-CE is illustratively shown in the center as an example of the third configuration information, and DCI is illustratively shown on the right as an example of the second configuration information.

[0100] In FIG. 3A, the resource set for AP-SRS in RRC signaling includes a list of slot offsets, and the list of slot offsets further includes N slot offsets {slot offset 0, slot offset 1,..., slot offset N-1}, where N is a positive integer. As described above, the MAC-CE may activate M of the N slot offsets in the list of slot offsets, where M and N are positive integers and M < N. In other words, the M slot offsets activated by the MAC-CE are a subset of the N slot offsets configured by the RRC signaling. Then, the DCI may indicate one of the slot offsets in the subset of slot offsets (including the M slot offsets activated by the MAC-CE) as the first slot offset for transmitting the AP-SRS.

[0101] As can be seen from the figure, without MAC-CE, the DCI directly indicates one of the N slot offsets in one step, and when the MAC-CE activates M of the N slot offsets, the indication of one of the N slot offsets can be split into two steps. The MAC-CE operates like a "buffer". With the MAC-CE, the size of the slot offset field in the DCI can be reduced.

[0102] For example, assuming M=8 and N=64, if a MAC-CE like "buffer" exists, the size of the field of slot offset in the DCI is 3 (=log2[8]) bits, and if a MAC-CE like "buffer" does not exist, the size of the field of slot offset in the DCI is 6 (=log2

[64] ) bits. In this example, 3 bits can be reduced for the DCI. Note that the total size of the DCI is usually about 60 bits, and therefore saving 3 bits for the field of slot offset can significantly reduce the overhead and improve the capacity of the DCI, since the DCI can have more space to store other fields.

[0103] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the third configuration information can be used, on the one hand, to reduce the size required by the slot offset field in the second configuration information (e.g., DCI), thereby reducing the overhead and improving the capacity of the second configuration information since the second configuration information may have more space to store other fields, and, on the other hand, the second configuration information can still indicate one slot offset from the list of slot offsets, thereby improving the flexibility of the transmission of the AP-SRS.

[0104] A subset of the first list of slot offsets (eg, M of the N slot offsets) may be activated in two ways:

[0105] According to some embodiments, a subset of the first list of slot offsets may be activated for each resource set for AP-SRS, with reference to Figure 3B, which illustrates an example bitmap for MAC-CE activation of a list of slot offsets according to some embodiments.

[0106] As shown in FIG. 3B, "R" represents a reserved bit and occupies 1 bit. "BWP ID" indicates a bandwidth portion (BWP) and occupies 2 bits. "Serving Cell ID" indicates a serving cell and occupies 5 bits. "SUL" occupies 1 bit and represents an auxiliary uplink and is used to indicate whether it is SUL (auxiliary uplink) or NUL (normal uplink). "AP SRS Resource Set ID" indicates a resource set for AP-SRS and occupies 4 bits. "Ti (i=0, 1, ..., N-1)" represents a bitmap for an entry of a list of slot offsets indicated in the first configuration information (e.g., RRC signaling). For example, T0 represents slot offset 0, T1 represents slot offset 1, and TN-1 represents slot offset N-1, and when the value of Ti in the bitmap is 0, it means that slot offset i is not activated, and when the value of Ti in the bitmap is 1, it means that slot offset i is activated.

[0107] According to some embodiments, multiple resource sets for the AP-SRS may be indicated in the same MAC-CE.

[0108] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, in accordance with a bitmap such as that shown in FIG. 3B, the MAC-CE may activate a subset (e.g., containing M slot offsets) of a list of slot offsets (e.g., containing N slot offsets) per resource set for the AP-SRS.

[0109] According to some embodiments, with reference to Figure 3C, a subset of the first list of slot offsets may be activated for each trigger condition for AP-SRS. Figure 3C illustrates another example bitmap for MAC-CE activation of a list of slot offsets according to some embodiments.

[0110] As shown in FIG. 3C, "R" represents a reserved bit and occupies 1 bit. "BWP ID" indicates a bandwidth portion (BWP) and occupies 2 bits. "Serving Cell ID" indicates a serving cell and occupies 5 bits. "SUL" occupies 1 bit and represents an auxiliary uplink and is used to indicate whether it is SUL (auxiliary uplink) or NUL (normal uplink). "AP-SRS Trigger State" indicates a trigger state of AP-SRS and occupies 2 bits. Note that when the second configuration information is DCI, there are four trigger states of AP-SRS, and two bits are sufficient to represent the four trigger states. "Ti (i=0, 1, ..., N-1)" represents a bitmap for entries of a list of slot offsets indicated in the first configuration information (e.g., RRC signaling). For example, T0 represents slot offset 0, T1 represents slot offset 1, TN-1 represents slot offset N-1, and when the value of Ti in the bitmap is 0, it means that slot offset i is not activated, and when the value of Ti in the bitmap is 1, it means that slot offset i is activated.

[0111] According to some embodiments, multiple trigger states for an AP-SRS may be indicated in the same MAC-CE, and in some embodiments, all resource sets for the AP-SRS associated with the same trigger state for the AP-SRS may be activated in the same bitmap.

[0112] For example, compared to the bitmap shown in Figure 3B, the bits occupied by the "AP-SRS trigger status" in Figure 3C (e.g., 2 bits) are less than the bits occupied by the "AP SRS Resource Set ID" (e.g., 4 bits). In this example, some bits (e.g., 2 bits) may be saved to include more entries of slot offsets.

[0113] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, in accordance with a bitmap as shown in FIG. 3C, the MAC-CE may activate a subset (e.g., including M slot offsets) of a list of slot offsets (e.g., including N slot offsets) per trigger state for the AP-SRS, and the capacity of the MAC-CE may be further reduced compared to FIG. 3C.

[0114] 4 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method for a network device according to some embodiments. The method 400 shown in FIG. 4 may be implemented by the base station 150 described in FIG. 1. For example, the network device may be the network device of the base station 150.

[0115] In some embodiments, a method 400 for a network device may include the following steps: S402, generating first configuration information for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the first configuration information indicating a first resource set for an aperiodic sounding reference signal (AP-SRS), the first configuration information including a first list of slot offsets; S404, generating second configuration information for transmission to the UE, the second configuration information indicating a reference slot and a first slot offset of the first list of slot offsets; and S406, obtaining the AP-SRS from the UE, the AP-SRS being transmitted based on the reference slot and the first slot offset.

[0116] The following describes each step of the method 400. It should be noted that elements, expressions, features, etc. already described with reference to FIG. 2 and their corresponding descriptions (with respect to the UE) are omitted herein for clarity.

[0117] In step S402, the network device generates first configuration information for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the first configuration information indicating a first resource set for an aperiodic sounding reference signal (AP-SRS) including a first list of slot offsets.

[0118] According to some embodiments, the first configuration information may include radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0119] In step S404, the network device generates second configuration information for transmission to the UE, the second configuration information indicating a reference slot and a first slot offset of the first list of slot offsets.

[0120] According to some embodiments, the second configuration information may include downlink control information (DCI).

[0121] In step S406, the network device obtains an AP-SRS from the UE, and the AP-SRS is transmitted based on the reference slot and the first slot offset.

[0122] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a first list of slot offsets including multiple slot offsets instead of a single slot offset may be configured by a network device using first configuration information. Using second configuration information decoded by the UE, a first slot offset may be selected from the first list of slot offsets such that the first slot offset is selectable instead of fixed. In this way, the transmission of AP-SRS of the UE is more flexible. Since multiple choices of slot offsets of the list of slot offsets are provided, even if some slots for transmitting AP-SRS are unavailable (e.g., when the slots for transmitting AP-SRS collide with DL symbols), the slot offsets in the first list of slot offsets corresponding to other available slots can be considered, and thus the UE does not skip transmitting AP-SRS, thereby improving the flexibility of the transmission of AP-SRS.

[0123] According to some embodiments, the network device method may include, step S403 (exemplary shown as 603 in FIG. 6 ), generating third configuration information, the third configuration information activating a subset of the first list of slot offsets, and the second configuration information indicating a first slot offset from the subset of the first list of slot offsets.

[0124] According to some embodiments, the third configuration information may include Media Access Control Element (MAC-CE) information.

[0125] It should be noted that elements, expressions, features etc. already described with reference to Figures 3A, 3B, 3C and their corresponding descriptions (with respect to the UE) are omitted here for clarity.

[0126] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the third configuration information can be used, on the one hand, to reduce the size required by the slot offset field in the second configuration information (e.g., DCI), thereby reducing the overhead and improving the capacity of the second configuration information since the second configuration information may have more space to store other fields, and, on the other hand, the second configuration information can still indicate one slot offset from the list of slot offsets, thereby improving the flexibility of the transmission of the AP-SRS.

[0127] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of exemplary steps for AP-SRS configuration, according to some embodiments.

[0128] FIG. 5 shows steps of a method for a UE and a method for a network device during triggering of an AP-SRS by RRC signaling and DCI.

[0129] In step 502, the network device may send RRC signaling to the UE, where the RRC signaling indicates one or more resource sets for the AP-SRS, where the one or more resource sets for the AP-SRS include one or more lists of slot offsets. Step S502 may be performed according to the description with reference to step S202 and / or step S402.

[0130] In step 504, the network device may transmit the DCI to the UE. In step 505, the UE may decode the DCI to obtain a reference slot and a slot offset selected from one or more lists of slot offsets received through RRC signaling. Steps 504 and 505 may be performed according to the description with reference to step S204 and / or step S404.

[0131] In step 506, the UE may transmit the AP-SRS to the network device, and a slot for transmission of the AP-SRS is determined based on a reference slot and a slot offset selected from one or more lists of slot offsets. Step S506 may be performed according to the description with reference to step S206 and / or step S406.

[0132] FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart of exemplary steps for AP-SRS configuration, according to some embodiments.

[0133] FIG. 6 shows steps of a method for a UE and a method for a network device during triggering an AP-SRS by RRC signaling, MAC-CE and DCI.

[0134] In step 602, the network device may send RRC signaling to the UE, where the RRC signaling indicates one or more resource sets for the AP-SRS, where the one or more resource sets for the AP-SRS include one or more lists of slot offsets. Step S602 may be performed according to the description with reference to step S202 and / or step S402.

[0135] In step 603, the network device may send a MAC-CE to the UE, where the MAC-CE activates a subset of slot offsets selected from the one or more lists of slot offsets. Step 603 may be performed according to the description with reference to step S203 and / or step S403.

[0136] In step 604, the network device may transmit the DCI to the UE. In step 605, the UE may decode the DCI to obtain a reference slot and a slot offset of a subset of the slot offsets activated by the MAC-CE. Steps 604 and 605 may be performed according to the description with reference to step S204 and / or step S404.

[0137] In step 606, the UE may transmit the AP-SRS to the network device, where a slot for transmission of the AP-SRS is determined based on a reference slot and a selected slot offset from the activated subset of slot offsets, which is further selected from the one or more lists of slot offsets. Step 606 may be performed according to the description with reference to step S206 and / or step S406.

[0138] 7 shows an example block diagram of an apparatus for a UE according to some embodiments. The apparatus 700 shown in FIG. 7 may be used to implement the method 200 shown in combination with FIG.

[0139] As shown in FIG. 7, the apparatus 700 includes an obtaining unit 710, a decoding unit 720, and a generating unit 730.

[0140] The obtaining unit 710 may be configured to obtain, from the network device, first configuration information indicating a first resource set for an aperiodic sounding reference signal (AP-SRS), the first configuration information including a first list of slot offsets.

[0141] The decoding unit 720 may be further configured to decode second configuration information from the network device, the second configuration information indicating the reference slot and the first slot offset of the first list of slot offsets.

[0142] The generating unit 730 may be configured to generate an AP-SRS for transmission to the network device based on the reference slot and the first slot offset.

[0143] According to an embodiment of the present application, a first list of slot offsets including multiple slot offsets instead of a single slot offset can be configured by the network using the first configuration information. Using the second configuration information decoded by the UE, a first slot offset can be selected from the first list of slot offsets such that the first slot offset is not predetermined and fixed. In this way, the transmission of the AP-SRS of the UE is more flexible. Since multiple choices of slot offsets of the list of slot offsets are provided, even if some slots for transmitting the AP-SRS are unavailable (e.g., when the slots for transmitting the AP-SRS collide with DL symbols), the UE can have other choices and will not skip transmitting the AP-SRS, thereby improving the flexibility of the transmission of the AP-SRS.

[0144] 8 shows an example block diagram of an apparatus for a network device according to some embodiments. The apparatus 800 shown in FIG. 8 can be used to implement the method 400 shown in combination with FIG.

[0145] As shown in FIG. 8, the apparatus 800 includes a generating unit 810, a generating unit 820, and an obtaining unit 830.

[0146] The generating unit 810 may be configured to generate first configuration information for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the first configuration information indicating a first resource set for an aperiodic sounding reference signal (AP-SRS) including a first list of slot offsets.

[0147] The generating unit 820 may be further configured to generate second configuration information for transmission to the UE, the second configuration information indicating the reference slot and a first slot offset of the first list of slot offsets.

[0148] The obtaining unit 830 may be configured to obtain an AP-SRS from a UE, where the AP-SRS is transmitted based on the reference slot and the first slot offset.

[0149] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, with the first configuration information, the network may be a first list of slot offsets including multiple slot offsets instead of a single slot offset. With the second configuration information decoded by the UE, the network may select a first slot offset from the first list of slot offsets such that the first slot offset is not predetermined and fixed. In this way, the transmission of the AP-SRS of the UE is more flexible. Since multiple choices of slot offsets of the list of slot offsets are provided, even if some slots for transmitting the AP-SRS are unavailable (e.g., when the slots for transmitting the AP-SRS collide with DL symbols), the UE can have other choices and will not skip transmitting the AP-SRS, thereby improving the flexibility of the transmission of the AP-SRS.

[0150] FIG. 9 illustrates example components of a device 900 according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the device 900 may include at least an application circuit 902, a baseband circuit 904, a radio frequency (RF) circuit (shown as RF circuit 920), a front-end module (FEM) circuit (shown as FEM circuit 930), one or more antennas 932, and a power management circuit (PMC) (shown as PMC 934) coupled together as shown. The illustrated components of the device 900 may be included in a UE or a RAN node. In some embodiments, the device 900 may include fewer elements (e.g., a RAN node may not utilize the application circuit 902 and may instead include a processor / controller for processing IP data received from an EPC). In some embodiments, the device 900 may include additional elements such as, for example, memory / storage, a display, a camera, a sensor, or an input / output (I / O) interface. In other embodiments, the components described below may be included in two or more devices (e.g., the above circuitry may be included separately in two or more devices for a Cloud-RAN (C-RAN) implementation).

[0151] The application circuitry 902 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 902 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processor may be coupled to or may include memory / storage devices and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage devices to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the device 900. In some embodiments, the processor of the application circuitry 902 may process IP data packets received from an EPC.

[0152] The baseband circuitry 904 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuitry 904 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry 920 and generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 920. The baseband circuitry 904 may interface with the application circuitry 902 for generating and processing the baseband signals and for controlling the operation of the RF circuitry 920. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 904 may include a third generation (3G) baseband processor (3G baseband processor 906), a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor (4G baseband processor 908), a fifth generation (5G) baseband processor (5G baseband processor 910), or other baseband processor(s) 912 of other existing generations, developing, or future developed generations (e.g., second generation (2G), sixth generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuitry 904 (e.g., one or more of the baseband processors) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more wireless networks via the RF circuitry 920. In other embodiments, some or all of the illustrated baseband processor functions may be included in modules stored in memory 918 and executed by a central processing unit (CPET 914). Radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, radio frequency shifting, and the like. In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 904 may include fast Fourier transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping / demapping functions. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 904 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functions. The embodiments of the modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functions are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functions in other embodiments.

[0153] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 904 may include a digital signal processor (DSP), such as one or more audio DSP(s) 916. The one or more audio DSP(s) 916 may include elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and in other embodiments may include other suitable processing elements. The components of the baseband circuitry may in some embodiments be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or may be located on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all of the components of the baseband circuitry 904 and the application circuitry 902 may be implemented together, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

[0154] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 904 may provide communications compatible with one or more wireless technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 904 may support communications with an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) or other Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMANs), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), or Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs). An embodiment in which the baseband circuitry 904 is configured to support wireless communications of two or more wireless protocols may be referred to as a multimode baseband circuit.

[0155] The RF circuitry 920 can enable communication with a wireless network using modulated electromagnetic radiation over a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 920 can include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate communication with the wireless network. The RF circuitry 920 can include a receive signal path, which can include circuitry for downconverting RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 930 and providing baseband signals to the baseband circuitry 904. The RF circuitry 920 can also include a transmit signal path, which can include circuitry for upconverting baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 904 and providing an RF output signal to the FEM circuitry 930 for transmission.

[0156] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuitry 920 may include a mixer circuit 922, an amplifier circuit 924, and a filter circuit 926. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 920 may include a filter circuit 926 and a mixer circuit 922. The RF circuitry 920 may also include a combiner circuit 928 for combining frequencies used by the mixer circuitry 922 of the receive and transmit signal paths. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 922 of the receive signal path may be configured to downconvert the RF signal received from the FEM circuitry 930 based on a combined frequency provided by the combiner circuitry 928. The amplifier circuitry 924 may be configured to amplify the downconverted signal, and the filter circuitry 926 may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or a band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the downconverted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to the baseband circuitry 904 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal may be a zero frequency baseband signal, although this is not required. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 922 of the receive signal path may include a passive mixer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0157] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 922 of the transmit signal path may be configured to upconvert an input baseband signal based on a synthesis frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 928 to generate an RF output signal for the FEM circuit 930. The baseband signal may be provided by the baseband circuit 904 and may be filtered by the filter circuit 926.

[0158] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 922 in the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 922 in the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion and upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 922 in the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 922 in the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 922 in the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 922 in the transmit signal path may be arranged for direct downconversion and direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 922 in the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 922 in the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0159] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the RF circuitry 920 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry, and the baseband circuitry 904 may include a digital baseband interface for communicating with the RF circuitry 920.

[0160] In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuitry may be provided for processing signals in each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0161] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 928 may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, although other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable, and the scope of the present embodiments is not limited in this respect. For example, the synthesizer circuit 928 may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer that includes a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0162] The combiner circuit 928 may be configured to combine output frequencies used by the mixer circuit 922 of the RF circuit 920 based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the combiner circuit 928 may be a fractional N / N+1 combiner.

[0163] In some embodiments, the frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), but that is not required. The divider control input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 904 or the application circuitry 902 (such as an application processor) depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table based on the channel indicated by the application circuitry 902.

[0164] The synthesizer circuit 928 of the RF circuit 920 may include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on the implementation) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some exemplary embodiments, the DLL may include a cascaded tunable delay element, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a set of D-type flip-flops. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to divide the VCO period into Nd equal-phase packets, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this manner, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[0165] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 928 may be configured to generate the carrier frequency as an output frequency, while in other embodiments the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and may be used in conjunction with a quadrature generator and divider circuit to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with different phases relative to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be the LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuit 920 may include an IQ / polarity converter.

[0166] FEM circuitry 930 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 932, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to RF circuitry 920 for further processing. FEM circuitry 930 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by RF circuitry 920 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 932. In various embodiments, amplification through the transmit or receive signal path may occur only in RF circuitry 920, only in FEM circuitry 930, or in both RF circuitry 920 and FEM circuitry 930.

[0167] In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 930 may include a TX / RX switch for switching between transmit and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry 930 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry 930 may include an LNA for amplifying a received RF signal and providing the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 920). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 930 may include a power amplifier (PA) for amplifying an input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuitry 920) and one or more filters for generating an RF signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 932).

[0168] In some embodiments, the PMC 934 can manage the power provided to the baseband circuitry 904. In particular, the PMC 934 can control power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion. The PMC 934 may often be included when the device 900 can be powered by a battery, for example, when the device 900 is included in an EGE. The PMC 934 can increase power conversion efficiency while providing desirable packaging size and heat dissipation characteristics.

[0169] 9 shows the PMC 934 coupled only to the baseband circuitry 904. However, in other embodiments, the PMC 934 may additionally or alternatively be coupled to other components, such as, but not limited to, the application circuitry 902, the RF circuitry 920, or the FEM circuitry 930, to perform similar power management operations.

[0170] In some embodiments, the PMC 934 may control or otherwise be a part of various power saving mechanisms of the device 900. For example, if the device 900 is in an RRC Connected state and is still connected to a RAN node because it expects to receive traffic shortly, after a period of inactivity the device may enter a state known as discontinuous reception mode (DRX). While in this state, the device 900 may power down for short intervals, thereby conserving power.

[0171] If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, the device 900 may transition to an RRC Idle state, where it disconnects from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The device 900 goes into a very low power state, performs paging, where it again periodically wakes up to listen to the network, and then powers down again. The device 900 cannot receive data in this state, and transitions back to the RRC Connected state to receive data.

[0172] In a further power saving mode, the device may be allowed to be unavailable from the network for periods longer than the paging interval (which can range from a few seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device may be completely unable to reach the network and may be completely powered down. Any data transmitted during this time will be significantly delayed, but the delay is deemed acceptable.

[0173] The processor of the application circuitry 902 and the processor of the baseband circuitry 904 may be used to execute elements of one or more instances of a protocol stack. For example, the processor of the baseband circuitry 904 may be used alone or in combination to execute functions of layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1, while the processor of the application circuitry 902 may further execute functions of layer 4 (e.g., a transmission communication protocol (TCP) layer and a user datagram protocol (UDP) layer) utilizing data (e.g., packet data) received from these layers. As referred to herein, layer 3 may include a radio resource control (RRC) layer, which is described in further detail below. As referred to herein, layer 2 may include a media access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, which are described in further detail below. As referred to herein, layer 1 may include a physical (PHY) layer of a UE / RAN node, which is described in further detail below.

[0174] 10 illustrates an example interface 1000 of a baseband circuit according to some embodiments. As described above, the baseband circuit 904 of FIG. 9 may include a 3G baseband processor 906, a 4G baseband processor 908, a 5G baseband processor 910, other baseband processor(s) 912, a CPU 914, and memory 918 utilized by these processors. As illustrated, each of the processors may include a separate memory interface 1002 for transmitting / receiving data to / from the memory 918.

[0175] The baseband circuitry 904 may further include one or more interfaces for communicatively coupling to other circuits / devices, such as a memory interface 1004 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to the baseband circuitry 904), an application circuit interface 1006 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from the application circuitry 902 of FIG. 9), an RF circuit interface 1008 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from the RF circuitry 920 of FIG. 9), a wireless hardware connection interface 1010 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from near field communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and other communication components), and a power management interface 1012 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving power or control signals to / from the PMC 934).

[0176] 11 is a block diagram illustrating a component 1100 that can read instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein, according to some example embodiments. Specifically, FIG. 11 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of hardware resources 1102, which may include one or more processors 1112 (or processor cores), one or more memory / storage devices 1118, and one or more communication resources 1120, each of which may be communicatively coupled through a bus 1122. In embodiments in which node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 1104 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / sub-slices that utilize the hardware resources 1102.

[0177] Processor 1112 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP) such as a baseband processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, processor 1114 and processor 1116.

[0178] The memory / storage devices 1118 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage devices 1118 may include any type of volatile or non-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random-access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state storage, etc.

[0179] The communications resources 1120 may include interconnect or network interface components or other suitable devices for communicating with one or more peripherals 1106 or one or more databases 1108 over the network 1110. For example, the communications resources 1120 may include wired communications components (e.g., for coupling via a Universal Serial Bus (USB)), cellular communications components, NFC components, Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and other communications components.

[0180] The instructions 1124 may include software, programs, applications, applets, apps, or other executable code for causing at least one of the processors 1112 to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. The instructions 1124 may reside, completely or partially, in at least one of the processors 1112 (e.g., in a cache memory of the processor), the memory / storage devices 1118, or any suitable combination thereof. Additionally, any portion of the instructions 1124 may be transferred to the hardware resources 1102 from any combination of the peripherals 1106 or the database 1108. Thus, the memory of the processors 1112, the memory / storage devices 1118, the peripherals 1106, and the database 1108 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0181] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components described in one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described in the example section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below. As another example, circuitry associated with a UE, base station, network element, etc. as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below in the example section.

[0182] 12 illustrates an architecture of a system 1200 of a network according to some embodiments. System 1200 includes one or more user equipment (UE), shown in this example as UE 1202 and UE 1204. UE 1202 and UE 1204 are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices capable of connecting to one or more cellular networks), but may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a personal data assistant (PDA), a pager, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a wireless handset, or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0183] In some embodiments, either of the UE 1202 and the UE 1204 may include an Internet of Things (IoT) UE, which may include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications utilizing short-term UE connections. The IoT UE may utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or MTC to exchange data with a machine-type communication (MTC) server or device through a public land mobile network (PLMN), Proximity-Based Service (ProSe) or device-to-device (D2D) communication, sensor network, or IoT network. The M2M data exchange or MTC data exchange may be a machine-initiated exchange of data. An IoT network refers to IoT UEs connecting with each other, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) with short-lived connections. The IoT UE may run background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate IoT network connectivity.

[0184] The UE 1202 and the UE 1204 may be configured to connect to, e.g., be communicatively coupled to, a Radio Access Network (RAN), shown as RAN 1206. The RAN 1206 may be, for example, an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (ETMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a NextGen RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. The UE 1202 and the UE 1204 utilize a connection 1208 and a connection 1210, respectively, which each include a physical communication interface or layer (described in more detail below). In this example, connection 1208 and connection 1210 are illustrated as air interfaces to enable a communicative coupling and may be consistent with cellular communication protocols such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocols, code-division multiple access (CDMA) network protocols, Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocols, POC (PTT over Cellular) protocols, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocols, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocols, Fifth Generation (5G) protocols, New Radio (NR) protocols, and the like.

[0185] In this embodiment, the UE 1202 and the UE 1204 may further directly exchange communication data over a ProSe interface 1212. The ProSe interface 1212 may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface and includes one or more logical channels, including, but not limited to, a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), and a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH).

[0186] The UE 1204 is configured to access an access point (AP), shown as AP 1214, through a connection 1216 as shown. The connection 1216 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection conforming to any IEEE 802.11 protocol, and the AP 1214 would include a WiFi router. In this example, the AP 1214 may be connected to the Internet without connecting to a core network of a wireless system (described in more detail below).

[0187] The RAN 1206 may include one or more access nodes that enable the connections 1208 and 1210. These access nodes (ANs) may be referred to as base stations (BSs), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next generation NodeBs (gNBs), RAN nodes, etc., and may include ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). The RAN 1206 may include one or more RAN nodes for providing macrocells, e.g., macro RAN nodes 1218, and one or more RAN nodes for providing femtocells or picocells (e.g., cells having a smaller coverage area, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to a macrocell), e.g., low power (LP) RAN nodes such as LP RAN nodes 1220.

[0188] Either the Macro RAN node 1218 or the LP RAN node 1220 may terminate the air interface protocols and may be the first point of contact for the UE 1202 and the UE 1204. In some embodiments, either the Macro RAN node 1218 or the LP RAN node 1220 may perform various logical functions for the RAN 1206, including, but not limited to, Radio Network Controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

[0189] According to some embodiments, the EGE 1202 and the EGE 1204 may be configured to communicate with one another or with either the Macro RAN node 1218 and the LP RAN node 1220 using Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals over multi-carrier communication channels according to various communication technologies, such as, but not limited to, an Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) communication technology (e.g., for downlink communications) or a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) communication technology (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications), and the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. An OFDM signal may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0190] In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid can be used for downlink transmissions from either the macro RAN node 1218 and the LP RAN node 1220 to the UE 1202 and UE 1204, while uplink transmissions can utilize similar techniques. The grid can be a time-frequency grid, called a resource grid or a time-frequency resource grid, which is the physical resources of the downlink in each slot. Such a time-frequency plane representation is common in OFDM systems, making the allocation of radio resources intuitive. Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit of the resource grid is denoted as a resource element. Each resource grid contains a number of resource blocks, which represent the mapping of a particular physical channel to the resource elements. Each resource block contains a collection of resource elements, which in the frequency domain can represent the smallest amount of resources that can currently be allocated. There are several different physical downlink channels that are conveyed using such resource blocks.

[0191] A physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) can carry user data and higher layer signaling to the UE 1202 and the UE 1204. A physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) can carry, among other things, information regarding transport formats and resource allocations for the PDSCH channel. It can also inform the UE 1202 and the UE 1204 about transport formats, resource allocations, and Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (H-ARQ) information for the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (allocating control and shared channel resource blocks to the UE 1204 in the cell) may be performed by either the macro RAN node 1218 or the LP RAN node 1220 based on channel quality information fed back from either the UE 1202 and the UE 1204. Downlink resource allocation information may be transmitted on the PDCCH used (e.g., assigned) for each of the UE 1202 and the UE 1204.

[0192] The PDCCH may convey control information using control channel elements (CCEs). Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols may first be organized into quadruplets and then permuted using a subblock interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, and each CCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as a resource element group (REG). Four quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) symbols may be mapped to each REG. The PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more CCEs depending on the size of the downlink control information (DCI) and the channel conditions. There may be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation levels, L=1, 2, 4, or 8).

[0193] Some embodiments may use a concept for resource allocation for control channel information that is an extension of the concept above. For example, some embodiments may utilize an Enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel (EPDCCH) that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. The EPDCCH may be transmitted using one or more Enhanced Control Channel Elements (ECCEs). As above, each ECCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as Enhanced Resource Element Groups (EREGs). An ECCE may have other numbers of EREGs in some circumstances.

[0194] The RAN 1206 is communicatively coupled to a core network (CN), shown as the CN 1228, through an S1 interface 1222. In an embodiment, the CN 1228 may be an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network, a NextGen Packet Core (NPC) network, or some other type of CN. In this embodiment, the S1 interface 1222 is divided into two parts: an S1-U interface 1224 that carries traffic data between the macro RAN node 1218 and the LP RAN node 1220 and a Serving Gateway (S-GW), shown as the S-GW 1132, and an S1-Mobility Management Entity (MME) interface, shown as the S1-MME interface 1226, which is a signaling interface between the macro RAN node 1218 and the LP RAN node 1220 and the MME(s) 1230.

[0195] In this embodiment, the CN 1228 includes MME(s) 1230, S-GW 1232, a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) (shown as P-GW 1234), and a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) (shown as HSS 1236). The MME(s) 1230 may be similar in function to the control plane of a legacy Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN). The MME(s) 1230 may manage mobility aspects of access such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The HSS 1236 may include a database of network users, including subscription related information that supports the network entity's handling of communication sessions. The CN 1228 may include one or several HSS 1236 depending on the number of mobile subscribers, equipment capabilities, network organization, etc. For example, the HSS 1236 may provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / address resolution, location dependency, etc.

[0196] The S-GW 1232 terminates the S1 interface 1222 to the RAN 1206 and can route data packets between the RAN 1206 and the CN 1228. In addition, the S-GW 1232 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and may also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful interception, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0197] The P-GW 1234 may terminate an SGi interface to the PDN. The P-GW 1234 may route data packets between the CN 1228 (e.g., an EPC network) and an external network, such as a network including an application server 1242 (alternatively referred to as an application function (AF)) through an Internet Protocol (IP) interface (shown as an IP communication interface 1238). In general, the application server 1242 may be an element that provides applications that use IP bearer resources with a core network (e.g., an ETMTS packet service (PS) domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). In this embodiment, the P-GW 1234 is communicatively coupled to the application server 1242 through the IP communication interface 1238 as shown. The application server 1242 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., a Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) session, a PTT session, a group communication session, a social networking service, etc.) for the UE 1202 and the UE 1204 through the CN 1228.

[0198] The P-GW 1234 may further be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. The Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCRF) (depicted as PCRF 1240) is the policy and charging control element of the CN 1228. In a non-roaming scenario, there may be a single PCRF in the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with the ETE's Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with local breakout of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with the UE's IP-CAN session, namely, a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) in the HPLMN and a Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) in the Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 1240 may be communicatively coupled to an application server 1242 through the P-GW 1234. The application server 1242 may signal the PCRF 1240 to indicate the new service flow and select appropriate Quality of Service (QoS) and charging parameters. The PCRF 1240 can provision this rule to a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) (not shown) with the appropriate Traffic Flow Template (TFT) and QoS Class Identifier (QCI), which initiates the QoS and charging specified by the application server 1242.

[0199] Additional Examples For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components described in one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described in the example section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below. As another example, circuitry associated with a UE, base station, network element, etc. as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below in the example section.

[0200] The following examples relate to further embodiments.

[0201] Example 1 is a method for a user equipment (UE), comprising: obtaining first configuration information from a network device, the first configuration information indicating a first resource set for an aperiodic sounding reference signal (AP-SRS), the first configuration information including a first list of slot offsets; decoding second configuration information from the network device, the second configuration information indicating a reference slot and a first slot offset of the first list of slot offsets; and generating an AP-SRS for transmission to the network device based on the reference slot and the first slot offset.

[0202] Example 2 is the method of Example 1, wherein the first resource set for the AP-SRS further includes a remaining slot offset, and generating the AP-SRS for transmission to the network device based on the reference slot and the first slot offset includes generating the AP-SRS for transmission to the network device based on the reference slot, the remaining slot offset, and the first slot offset.

[0203] Example 3 is a method according to Example 2, in which generating an AP-SRS for transmission to the network device based on a reference slot, a remaining slot offset, and a first slot offset may include determining a first slot by adding the remaining slot offset to the reference slot, determining a second slot by adding the first slot offset to the first slot, and generating an AP-SRS for transmission to the network device in the second slot.

[0204] Example 4 is the method of example 3, wherein the remaining slot offsets are determined such that the first slot includes any slot, and the first slot offset is determined such that the second slot includes any available slot.

[0205] Example 5 is the method of example 3, wherein the remaining slot offsets are determined such that the first slot includes any available slot, and the first slot offset is determined such that the second slot includes any available slot.

[0206] Example 6 is a method as described in Example 1, in which the first configuration information further indicates a second resource set for AP-SRS, the second resource set for AP-SRS including a second list of slot offsets, and the first configuration information further indicates that the first resource set for AP-SRS and the second resource set for AP-SRS are mapped to the same trigger state of AP-SRS.

[0207] Example 7 is a method according to Example 6, in which a first resource set for an AP-SRS and a second resource set for the AP-SRS are triggered for transmission to a network device according to the same trigger state of the AP-SRS.

[0208] Example 8 is the method according to example 6, wherein a number of slot offsets in the first list of slot offsets is the same as a number of slot offsets in the second list of slot offsets.

[0209] Example 9 is the method as in Example 6, wherein a number of slot offsets in the first list of slot offsets is different from a number of slot offsets in the second list of slot offsets.

[0210] Example 10 is the method according to Example 1, in which the first configuration information further indicates that the first resource set for the AP-SRS is mapped to multiple trigger states for the AP-SRS.

[0211] Example 11 is the method of example 10, in which the first list of slot offsets is associated with a plurality of trigger conditions for the AP-SRS.

[0212] Example 12 is a method as described in Example 10, wherein a first resource set for the AP-SRS includes a plurality of lists of slot offsets, and each list of slot offsets of the plurality of lists of slot offsets corresponds one-to-one to one trigger state of a plurality of trigger states for the AP-SRS.

[0213] Example 13 is the method according to example 1, in which the first configuration information includes radio resource control (RRC) signaling, and the second configuration information includes downlink control information (DCI).

[0214] Example 14 is a method according to any one of Examples 1 to 13, further comprising obtaining third configuration information from the network device, the third configuration information activating a subset of the first list of slot offsets, and the second configuration information indicating a first slot offset from the subset of the first list of slot offsets.

[0215] Example 15 is the method according to Example 14, in which a subset of the first list of slot offsets is activated for each resource set for AP-SRS.

[0216] Example 16 is the method of Example 14, in which a subset of the first list of slot offsets is activated for each trigger condition for AP-SRS.

[0217] Example 17 is the method according to example 14, in which the third configuration information includes media access control element (MAC-CE) information.

[0218] Example 18 is a method for a network device, comprising: generating first configuration information for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the first configuration information indicating a first resource set for an aperiodic sounding reference signal (AP-SRS) including a first list of slot offsets; generating second configuration information for transmission to the UE, the second configuration information indicating a reference slot and a first slot offset of the first list of slot offsets; and obtaining the AP-SRS from the UE, the AP-SRS being transmitted based on the reference slot and the first slot offset.

[0219] Example 19 is the method according to Example 18, in which the first configuration information includes radio resource control (RRC) signaling and the second configuration information includes downlink control information (DCI).

[0220] Example 20 is a method according to Example 18 or 19, further comprising generating third configuration information, the third configuration information activating a subset of the first list of slot offsets, and the second configuration information indicating a first slot offset from the subset of the first list of slot offsets.

[0221] Example 21 is the method according to example 20, wherein the third configuration information includes media access control element (MAC-CE) information.

[0222] Example 22 is an apparatus for a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising one or more processors configured to perform the steps of the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 17.

[0223] Example 23 is an apparatus of a network device, the apparatus including one or more processors configured to execute the steps of the method of any of Examples 18 to 21.

[0224] Example 24 is a computer-readable medium having stored thereon a computer program, which, when executed by one or more processors, causes an apparatus to perform the steps of the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 21.

[0225] Example 25 is an apparatus for a communication device, comprising means for performing the steps of the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 21.

[0226] Example 26 is a computer program product comprising a computer program, which, when executed by one or more processors, causes an apparatus to perform the steps of the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 21.

[0227] Any of the above-described examples can be combined with any other example (or combination of examples) unless otherwise specified. The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments.

[0228] It should be appreciated that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific embodiments. These embodiments may be combined into a single system, partially combined into other systems, split into multiple systems, or otherwise split or combined. In addition, it is contemplated that parameters / attributes / aspects / etc. of one embodiment may be used in another embodiment. It is appreciated that parameters / attributes / aspects / etc. are described in one or more embodiments for clarity only, and that parameters / attributes / aspects / etc. may be combined or substituted with parameters / attributes / etc. of another embodiment, unless specifically disclaimed herein.

[0229] It is understood that use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled in a manner that minimizes the risk of unintended or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of permitted uses should be clearly indicated to users.

[0230] Although the foregoing has been described in some detail for clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications can be made without departing from the principles thereof. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing both the processes and the apparatus described herein. Thus, the present embodiments should be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the description should not be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A computer program having instructions that, when executed, cause a processing circuit to: acquiring configuration information from a network device indicating a first resource set and a second resource set for an aperiodic sounding reference signal (AP-SRS), where the first resource set for the AP-SRS includes a first list of slot offsets, the second resource set for the AP-SRS includes a second list of slot offsets, and the first resource set for the AP-SRS and the second resource set for the AP-SRS are mapped to a same trigger state for the AP-SRS; receiving control information from the network device; determining a reference slot, a first slot offset of the first list of slot offsets, and a second slot offset of the second list of slot offsets based on receipt of the control information, where the first slot offset of the first list of slot offsets and the second slot offset of the second list of slot offsets are indicated by a same field of the control information; generating the AP-SRS for transmission to the network device on the first resource set based on the reference slot and the first slot offset; A computer program product that generates the AP-SRS for transmission to the network device on the second resource set based on the reference slot and the second slot offset.

2. the first resource set for the AP-SRS further comprises a remaining slot offset, and for generating the AP-SRS for transmission to the network device on the first resource set, the processing circuitry further comprises: 2 . The computer program product of claim 1 , further comprising: generating the AP-SRS for transmission to the network device on the first resource set based on the reference slot, the remaining slot offset, and the first slot offset.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: generating the AP-SRS for transmission to the network device on the first resource set; and determining a first slot by adding the remaining slot offset to the reference slot; determining a second slot by adding the first slot offset to the first slot; The computer program product of claim 2 , further comprising generating the AP-SRS for transmission to the network device in the second slot.

4. 4. The computer program product of claim 3, wherein the remaining slot offset is determined such that the first slot includes any slot and the first slot offset is determined such that the second slot includes any available slot.

5. 4. The computer program product of claim 3, wherein the remaining slot offset is determined such that the first slot includes any available slot and the first slot offset is determined such that the second slot includes any available slot.

6. 2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein a number of slot offsets in the first list of slot offsets differs from a number of slot offsets in the second list of slot offsets.

7. a number of slot offsets (N) in the first list of slot offsets is greater than a number of slot offsets (M) in the second list of slot offsets, and the field of the control information used to indicate the first slot offset comprises:

2. The computer program of claim 1 having bits.

8. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the configuration information further indicates that the first resource set for the AP-SRS is mapped to multiple trigger states for the AP-SRS.

9. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the first list of slot offsets is associated with the plurality of trigger conditions for the AP-SRS.

10. 9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the first resource set for the AP-SRS includes a plurality of lists of slot offsets, each list of slot offsets having a one-to-one correspondence with one of the plurality of trigger conditions for the AP-SRS.

11. 2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processing circuit to receive the configuration information through radio resource control (RRC) signaling and the control information through downlink control information (DCI).

12. The control information is first control information, and the instructions, when executed, further cause the processing circuitry to: obtaining second control information from the network device, the second control information activating a subset of the first list of slot offsets; 2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the first control information indicates the first slot offset from the subset of the first list of slot offsets.

13. 13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the subset of the first list of slot offsets is activated per resource set for the AP-SRS or per trigger condition for the AP-SRS.

14. 13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the second control information comprises media access control (MAC)-control element (CE) information.

15. 1. A method for a network device, comprising: transmitting configuration information to a user equipment (UE), where the configuration information indicates a first resource set and a second resource set for an aperiodic sounding reference signal (AP-SRS), the first resource set for the AP-SRS including a first list of slot offsets, the second resource set for the AP-SRS including a second list of slot offsets, and the first resource set for the AP-SRS and the second resource set for the AP-SRS are mapped to a same trigger state of the AP-SRS; transmitting control information to the UE to indicate a reference slot, a first slot offset of the first list of slot offsets, and a second slot offset of the second list of slot offsets, where the first slot offset of the first list of slot offsets and the second slot offset of the second list of slot offsets are indicated by a same field of the control information; obtaining the AP-SRS from the UE, where the AP-SRS is transmitted on the first resource set based on the reference slot and the first slot offset and is transmitted on the second resource set based on the reference slot and the second slot offset; A method comprising:

16. transmitting the configuration information using Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling; 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising: transmitting the control information using downlink control information (DCI).

17. the control information is first control information, and the method further comprises: transmitting second control information to the UE, the second control information for activating a subset of the first list of slot offsets; 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first control information indicates the first slot offset from the subset of the first list of slot offsets.

18. 20. The method of claim 17, wherein the second control information comprises media access control (MAC)-control element (CE) information.

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