Time-Domain Windows for Joint Channel Estimation

Abstract

A computer-readable storage medium stores instructions for configuring a UE for joint channel estimation of uplink transmissions in fifth generation new radio (5G NR) and beyond wireless networks and causing the UE to perform operations. The operations include decoding DCI or higher layer signaling received from a base station, where the DCI or higher layer signaling indicates a number of PUSCH repetitions forming the uplink transmission. The operations further include decoding higher layer signaling received from the base station, where the higher layer signaling indicates a size of a time domain window (TDW) associated with the uplink transmission. The TDW has a number of slots equal to the size. Each of the PUSCH repetitions within the TDW is associated with the same carrier phase and the same transmit power.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] [Priority Claim] This application claims the benefit of priority to the following patent applications:

[0002] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 223,324, filed July 19, 2021, entitled "On-Time Domain Window for Joint Channel Estimation of Uplink Transmissions";

[0003] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 245,133, filed September 16, 2021, entitled "Time Domain Window for Joint Channel Estimation of Uplink Transmissions";

[0004] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 275,360, entitled "On Time Domain Window for Joint Channel Estimation of Uplink Transmissions," filed November 3, 2021; and

[0005] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 282,511, filed November 23, 2021, entitled "On-Time Domain Window for Joint Channel Estimation of Uplink Transmissions."

[0006] Each of the above-listed patent applications is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0007] Aspects relate to wireless communications. Some aspects relate to wireless networks, including fifth-generation (5G) networks and later, including 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) networks, 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks, 3GPP LTE-A (LTE-Advanced) networks, (MultiFire, LTE-U), and 5G New Radio (NR) (or 5G-NR) networks, 5G-LTE networks such as 5G NR Unlicensed Spectrum (NR-U) networks, and other unlicensed networks including Wi-Fi, CBRS (OnGo), etc. Other aspects are directed to a mechanism for time domain window (TDW) configuration for joint channel estimation of uplink transmissions in 5G-NR and later networks. [Background technology]

[0008] Mobile communications have evolved significantly from early voice systems to today's highly sophisticated, integrated communications platforms. The use of 3GPP LTE systems has increased with the proliferation of different types of devices communicating with various network devices. The penetration of mobile devices (user equipment or UE) in modern society continues to drive the demand for a wide variety of networked devices in many heterogeneous environments. Fifth-generation (5G) wireless systems are emerging and are expected to enable even greater speed, connectivity, and usability. Next-generation 5G networks (or NR networks) are expected to increase throughput, coverage, and robustness while reducing latency and operational and capital expenditures. 5G-NR networks will continue to evolve based on 3GPP LTE-Advanced with additional potential new radio access technologies (RATs) to enrich people's lives with seamless wireless connectivity solutions that deliver high-speed, rich content and services. As current cellular network frequencies are saturated, higher frequencies, such as millimeter-wave (mm-wave) frequencies, may be beneficial due to their higher bandwidth.

[0009] Potential LTE operation in unlicensed spectrum includes (but is not limited to) LTE operation in unlicensed spectrum via dual connectivity (DC) or DC-based LAA, and standalone LTE systems in unlicensed spectrum, whereby LTE-based technologies operate solely in unlicensed spectrum without requiring an "anchor" in licensed spectrum, called MultiFire. Further enhanced operation of LTE and NR systems in licensed and unlicensed spectrum is anticipated in future releases and 5G-NR (and beyond) systems. Such enhanced operation may include mechanisms for time-domain window (TDW) configuration for joint channel estimation of uplink transmissions in 5G-NR and beyond networks. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] The following figures are not necessarily drawn to scale, and like numerals may represent like components in different views. Like numerals with different subscripts may represent different instances of like components. These figures illustrate generally, by way of example, but not by way of limitation, various aspects described in this document.

[0011] [Figure 1A] 1 illustrates a network architecture, according to some aspects.

[0012] [Figure 1B] 1 illustrates a non-roaming 5G system architecture according to some aspects. [Figure 1C] 1 illustrates a non-roaming 5G system architecture according to some aspects.

[0013] [Figure 2] 1 illustrates various systems, devices, and components in which aspects of the disclosed embodiments may be implemented. [Figure 3] 1 illustrates various systems, devices, and components in which aspects of the disclosed embodiments may be implemented. [Figure 4] 1 illustrates various systems, devices, and components in which aspects of the disclosed embodiments may be implemented.

[0014] [Figure 5] 1 illustrates a diagram of multiple time-domain windows for joint channel estimation as Option 1, according to some aspects.

[0015] [Figure 6] 10 illustrates a diagram of multiple time-domain windows for joint channel estimation as Option 2, according to some aspects.

[0016] [Figure 7]10 illustrates a diagram of multiple time-domain windows for joint channel estimation as Option 3, according to some aspects.

[0017] [Figure 8] 1 illustrates a diagram of multiple time-domain windows for joint channel estimation for PUSCH repetition Type B, in accordance with some aspects.

[0018] [Figure 9] 10 illustrates a diagram of multiple time-domain windows for joint channel estimation as Option 4, according to some aspects.

[0019] [Figure 10] 1 illustrates a block diagram of a communication device, such as an evolved Node-B (eNB), new generation Node-B (gNB) (or another RAN node or base station), transmission / reception point (TRP), access point (AP), radio station (STA), mobile station (MS), or user equipment (UE), according to some aspects. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] The following description and drawings sufficiently illustrate the embodiments to enable one skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, processing, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in or substituted for those of other embodiments. Embodiments outlined in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims.

[0021] 1A illustrates a network architecture according to some aspects. Network 140A is shown to include user equipment (UE) 101 and UE 102. UEs 101 and 102 are shown as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices capable of connecting to one or more cellular networks), but may also 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, a drone, or any other computing device that includes a wired and / or wireless communication interface. UEs 101 and 102 may be collectively referred to herein as UE 101, which may be used to perform one or more of the techniques disclosed herein.

[0022] Any of the wireless links described herein (e.g., used in network 140A or any other illustrated network) may operate according to any example wireless communication technology and / or standard.

[0023] LTE and LTE-Advanced are standards for high-speed data wireless communication for UEs, such as mobile phones. In LTE-Advanced and various wireless systems, carrier aggregation is a technique according to which multiple carrier signals operating at different frequencies are used to carry communications for a single UE, thus increasing the bandwidth available to a single device. In some aspects, carrier aggregation may be used when one or more component carriers operate in unlicensed frequencies.

[0024] Aspects described herein may be used in the context of any spectrum management scheme, including, for example, dedicated licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, (licensed) shared spectrum (such as Licensed Shared Access (LSA) in the 2.3-2.4 GHz, 3.4-3.6 GHz, 3.6-3.8 GHz and beyond frequencies, and Spectrum Access System (SAS) in the 3.55-3.7 GHz and beyond frequencies).

[0025] The aspects described herein can also be applied to different single carrier or OFDM flavors (CP-OFDM, SC-FDMA, SC-OFDM, filter bank-based multicarrier (FBMC), OFDMA, etc.), and in particular to 3GPP NR (New Radio), by allocating OFDM carrier data bit vectors to corresponding symbol resources.

[0026] In some aspects, either of the UEs 101 and 102 may comprise an Internet-of-Things (IoT) UE or a Cellular IoT (CIoT) UE, which may include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications that utilize short-lived UE connections. In some aspects, either of the UEs 101 and 102 may comprise a Narrowband (NB) IoT UE (e.g., enhanced NB-IoT (eNB-IoT) UE and Further Enhanced (FeNB-IoT) UE, etc.). The IoT UE may utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or machine-type communication (MTC), proximity-based services (ProSe), or device-to-device (D2D) communication, sensor networks, or IoT networks to exchange data with an MTC server or device over a public land mobile network (PLMN). The M2M or MTC exchange of data may be a machine-initiated exchange of data. An IoT network includes interconnecting IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure), with short-lived connections. The IoT UEs may run background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity to the IoT network.

[0027] In some aspects, any of the UEs 101 and 102 may include an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE or a further enhanced MTC (FeMTC) UE.

[0028] UEs 101 and 102 may be configured to connect to, e.g., be communicatively coupled to, a radio access network (RAN) 110. RAN 110 may be, e.g., a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a NextGen RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. UEs 101 and 102 utilize connections 103 and 104, respectively, each of which comprises a physical communication interface or layer (described in further detail below); in this example, connections 103 and 104 are shown as air interfaces enabling the communicative coupling and may be consistent with cellular communication protocols such as a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network protocol, a Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocol, a PTT Over Cellular (POC) protocol, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocol, a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, a Fifth Generation (5G) protocol, a New Radio (NR) protocol, etc.

[0029] In an aspect, the UEs 101 and 102 may further directly exchange communication data via the ProSe interface 105. The ProSe interface 105 may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface, which 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).

[0030] The UE 102 is shown as configured to access an access point (AP) 106 via a connection 107. The connection 107 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, according to which the AP 106 may include a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) router. In this example, the AP 106 is shown as connected to the Internet without being connected to a core network of a wireless system (described in more detail below).

[0031] The RAN 110 may include one or more access nodes that enable the connections 103 and 104. These access nodes (ANs) may be referred to as base stations (BSs), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next generation NodeBs (gNBs), RAN network nodes, etc., and may include terrestrial stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). In some aspects, the communication nodes 111 and 112 may be transmit / receive points (TRPs). In examples where the communication nodes 111 and 112 are NodeBs (e.g., eNBs or gNBs), one or more TRPs may function within the communication cell of the NodeB. The RAN 110 may include one or more RAN nodes for providing a macrocell, such as a macro RAN node 111, and one or more RAN nodes for providing a femtocell or picocell (e.g., a cell having a smaller coverage area, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to a macrocell), such as a low power (LP) RAN node 112 or an unlicensed spectrum-based secondary RAN node 112.

[0032] Either of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 may terminate air interface protocols and may be the first point of contact for the UEs 101 and 102. In some aspects, either of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 may fulfill various logical functions for the RAN 110, including radio network controller (RNC) functions such as, but not limited to, radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, and data packet scheduling, and mobility management. In one example, either of the nodes 111 and / or 112 may be a new generation Node-B (gNB), an evolved Node-B (eNB), or another type of RAN node.

[0033] The RAN 110 is shown as communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) 120 via an S1 interface 113. In an aspect, the CN 120 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) network, a next-generation packet core (NPC) network, or some other type of CN (e.g., as shown with respect to FIGS. 1B-1C). In this aspect, the S1 interface 113 is divided into two parts: an S1-U interface 114, which carries user traffic data between the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and a serving gateway (S-GW) 122, and an S1-mobility management entity (MME) interface 115, which is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and the MME 121.

[0034] In this aspect, the CN 120 includes an MME 121, an S-GW 122, a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) 123, and a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 124. The MME 121 may be similar in function to the control plane of a legacy Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN). The MME 121 may manage mobility aspects during access, such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The HSS 124 may include a database of network users containing subscription-related information to support handling of communication sessions by network entities. The CN 120 may include one or more HSSs 124, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, equipment capabilities, network organization, etc. For example, the HSS 124 may provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, name / address resolution, location dependency, etc.

[0035] The S-GW 122 may terminate the S1 interface 113 towards the RAN 110 and route data packets between the RAN 110 and the CN 120. Additionally, the S-GW 122 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and may also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other roles of the S-GW 122 may include lawful interception, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0036] The P-GW 123 may terminate an SGi interface toward the PDN. The P-GW 123 may route data packets between the EPC network 120 and external networks, such as a network including an application server 184 (alternatively referred to as an application function (AF)), via an Internet Protocol (IP) interface 125. The P-GW 123 may also communicate data to other external networks 131A, which may include the Internet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IPS) network, and other networks. Generally, the application server 184 may be an element that provides applications that use IP bearer resources in conjunction with a core network (e.g., a UMTS packet service (PS) domain, an LTE PS data service, etc.). In this aspect, the P-GW 123 is shown as communicatively coupled to the application server 184 via the IP interface 125. The application server 184 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 UEs 101 and 102 via the CN 120.

[0037] The P-GW 123 may further be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. The Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) 126 is the policy and charging control element of the CN 120. In a non-roaming scenario, in some aspects, there may be a single PCRF in a Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with the UE'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: a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) in the HPLMN and a Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) in a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 126 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 184 via the P-GW 123.

[0038] In some aspects, the communication network 140A may be an IoT network or a 5G network, including a 5G New Radio Network that uses communication in licensed (5G NR) and unlicensed (5G NR-U) spectrum. One of the current enablers of IoT is Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT).

[0039] The NG system architecture may include a RAN 110 and a 5G Core (5GC) network 120. The NG-RAN 110 may include multiple nodes, such as a gNB and an NG-eNB. The core network 120 (e.g., a 5G Core Network or 5GC) may include an Access and Mobility Function (AMF) and / or a User Plane Function (UPF). The AMF and UPF may be communicatively coupled to the gNB and the NG-eNB via an NG interface. More specifically, in some aspects, the gNB and the NG-eNB may be connected to the AMF by an NG-C interface and to the UPF by an NG-U interface. The gNB and the NG-eNB may be coupled to each other via an Xn interface.

[0040] In some aspects, the NG system architecture may use reference points between various nodes provided by 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.501 (e.g., V15.4.0, 2018-12). In some aspects, each of the gNB and NG-eNB may be implemented as a base station, a mobile edge server, a small cell, a Home eNB, a RAN network node, etc. In some aspects, the gNB may be a master node (MN), and the NG-eNB may be a secondary node (SN) in a 5G architecture. In some aspects, the master / primary node may operate in a licensed spectrum, and the secondary node may operate in an unlicensed spectrum.

[0041] FIG. 1B illustrates a non-roaming 5G system architecture according to some aspects. Referring to FIG. 1B, a 5G system architecture 140B is illustrated in a reference point representation. More specifically, a UE 102 can communicate with a RAN 110 and one or more other 5G Core (5GC) network entities. The 5G system architecture 140B includes multiple network functions (NFs), such as an access and mobility management function (AMF) 132, a location management function (LMF) 133, a session management function (SMF) 136, a policy control function (PCF) 148, an application function (AF) 150, a user plane function (UPF) 134, a network slice selection function (NSSF) 142, an authentication server function (AUSF) 144, and a unified data management (UDM) / home subscriber server (HSS) 146. The UPF 134 can provide connectivity to a data network (DN) 152, which may include, for example, operator services, internet access, or third-party services. The AMF 132 can be used to manage access control and mobility and can include a network slice selection function. The SMF 136 can be configured to set up and manage various sessions according to network policies. The UPF 134 can be deployed in one or more configurations according to the desired service type. The PCF 148 can be configured to provide a policy framework using network slicing, mobility management, and roaming (similar to a PCRF in a 4G communication system). The UDM can be configured to store subscriber profiles and data (similar to an HSS in a 4G communication system).

[0042] The LMF 133 may be used in connection with 5G positioning functions. In some aspects, the LMF 133 receives measurement and assistance information from the Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) 110 and a mobile device (e.g., UE 101) via the AMF 132 over the NL interface and calculates the position of the UE 101. In some aspects, the NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) may be used to convey positioning information between the NG-RAN and the LMF 133 over the Next Generation Control Plane Interface (NG-C). In some aspects, the LMF 133 configures the UE using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) via the AMF 132. The NG RAN 110 configures the UE 101 using a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol over the LTE-Uu and NR-Uu interfaces.

[0043] In some aspects, the 5G system architecture 140B configures different reference signals to enable positioning. Exemplary reference signals that can be used for positioning include a positioning reference signal (NR PRS) in the downlink and a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning in the uplink. A downlink positioning reference signal (PRS) is a reference signal configured to support a downlink-based positioning method.

[0044] In some aspects, the 5G system architecture 140B includes multiple IP Multimedia Core Network subsystem entities, such as an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 168B and a Call Session Control Function (CSCF). More specifically, the IMS 168B includes a CSCF, which can operate as a Proxy CSCF (P-CSCF) 162B, a Serving CSCF (S-CSCF) 164B, an Emergency CSCF (E-CSCF) (not shown in FIG. 1B), or an Interrogate CSCF (I-CSCF) 166B. The P-CSCF 162B can be configured to be the first point of contact for the UE 102 within the IM Subsystem (IMS) 168B. The S-CSCF 164B can be configured to handle session state in the network, and the E-CSCF can be configured to handle certain aspects of the emergency session, such as routing the emergency request to the correct emergency center or PSAP. The I-CSCF 166B can be configured to act as a contact point within the network of the network operator for all IMS connections destined for that network operator's subscribers or roaming subscribers currently located within the network operator's service area. In some aspects, the I-CSCF 166B can connect to another IP multimedia network 170B, for example, an IMS operated by a different network operator.

[0045] In some aspects, the UDM / HSS 146 can be coupled to an application server 160B, which can include a telephony application server (TAS) or another application server (AS). The AS 160B can be coupled to the IMS 168B via the S-CSCF 164B or the I-CSCF 166B.

[0046] The reference point representation indicates that interactions may exist between corresponding NF services. For example, Figure 1B shows the following reference points: N1 (between the UE 102 and the AMF 132), N2 (between the RAN 110 and the AMF 132), N3 (between the RAN 110 and the UPF 134), N4 (between the SMF 136 and the UPF 134), N5 (between the PCF 148 and the AF 150, not shown), N6 (between the UPF 134 and the DN 152), N7 (between the SMF 136 and the PCF 148, not shown), N8 (between the UDM 146 and the AMF 132, not shown), N9 (between two UPFs 134, not shown), and N10 (between the UDM 146 and the SMF 136, not shown). 1B shows N11 (between the AMF 132 and the SMF 136, not shown), N12 (between the AUSF 144 and the AMF 132, not shown), N13 (between the AUSF 144 and the UDM 146, not shown), N14 (between two AMFs 132, not shown), N15 (between the PCF 148 and the AMF 132 in the case of a non-roaming scenario, or between the PCF 148, the visited network, and the AMF 132 in the case of a roaming scenario, not shown), N16 (between two SMFs, not shown), and N22 (between the AMF 132 and the NSSF 142, not shown). Other reference point representations not shown in FIG. 1B may also be used.

[0047] 1C illustrates a 5G system architecture 140C and a service-based representation. In addition to the network entities illustrated in FIG. 1B, the system architecture 140C can also include a network exposure function (NEF) 154 and a network repository function (NRF) 156. In some aspects, the 5G system architecture can be service-based, and interactions between network functions can be represented by corresponding point-to-point reference points N i or as service-based interfaces.

[0048] 1C , a service-based representation can be used to represent network functions in the control plane that allow other authorized network functions to access those services. In this regard, the 5G system architecture 140C can include the following service-based interfaces: Namf 158H (service-based interface indicated by the AMF 132), Nsmf 158I (service-based interface indicated by the SMF 136), Nnef 158B (service-based interface indicated by the NEF 154), Npcf 158D (service-based interface indicated by the PCF 148), Nudm 158E (service-based interface indicated by the UDM 146), Naf 158F (service-based interface indicated by the AF 150), Nnrf 158C (service-based interface indicated by the NRF 156), Nnssf 158A (service-based interface indicated by the NSSF 142), and Nausf 158G (service-based interface indicated by the AUSF 144). Other service-based interfaces not shown in FIG. 1C (eg, Nudr, N5g-eir, and Nudsf) may also be used.

[0049] 2, 3, and 4 illustrate various systems, devices, and components that may implement aspects of the disclosed embodiments in different communication systems, such as 5G-NR (and beyond) networks. UEs, base stations (such as gNBs), and / or other nodes (e.g., satellites or other NTN nodes) described in connection with FIGS. 1A-4 may be configured to perform the disclosed techniques.

[0050] 2 illustrates a network 200 according to various embodiments. Network 200 may operate in a manner consistent with 3GPP technical specifications for LTE or 5G / NR systems. However, the example embodiments are not limited in this respect, and the described embodiments may apply to other networks that would benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP systems, etc.

[0051] The network 200 may comprise UEs 202, which may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device designed to communicate with the RAN 204 via an over-the-air connection. The UEs 202 may be, but are not limited to, smartphones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, desktop computers, laptop computers, in-vehicle infotainment, in-vehicle entertainment devices, instrument clusters, heads-up display devices, on-board diagnostic devices, dash-top mobile devices, mobile data terminals, electronic engine management systems, electronic / engine control units, electronic / engine control modules, embedded systems, sensors, microcontrollers, control modules, engine management systems, networked appliances, machine-type communication devices, M2M or D2D devices, IoT devices, etc.

[0052] In some embodiments, the network 200 may comprise multiple UEs that are directly coupled to each other via a sidelink interface. The UEs may be M2M / D2D devices that communicate using physical sidelink channels, such as, but not limited to, PSBCH, PSDCH, PSSCH, PSCCH, PSFCH, etc.

[0053] In some embodiments, the UE 202 may further communicate with the AP 206 via an over-the-air connection. The AP 206 may manage a WLAN connection, which may function to offload some / all network traffic from the RAN 204. The connection between the UE 202 and the AP 206 may be consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, where the AP 206 may be a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi®) router. In some embodiments, the UE 202, the RAN 204, and the AP 206 may utilize cellular WLAN aggregation (e.g., LWA / LWIP). Cellular WLAN aggregation may involve the UE 202 being configured by the RAN 204 to utilize both cellular radio resources and WLAN resources.

[0054] The RAN 204 may include one or more access nodes, such as the access node (AN) 208. The AN 208 may terminate air interface protocols for the UE 202 by providing access stratum protocols, including RRC, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio Link Control (RLC), MAC, and L1 protocols. In this manner, the AN 208 may enable data / voice connectivity between the core network (CN) 220 and the UE 202. In some embodiments, the AN 208 may be implemented in a separate device or as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network, which may be referred to as, for example, a CRAN or a virtual baseband unit pool. The AN 208 may also be referred to as a BS, gNB, RAN node, eNB, ng-eNB, NodeB, RSU, TRxP, TRP, etc. AN208 may be a macrocell base station, or a low-power base station providing a femtocell, picocell, or other similar cell having a smaller coverage area, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to a macrocell.

[0055] In embodiments where the RAN 204 includes multiple ANs, they may be coupled to each other via an X2 interface (if the RAN 204 is an LTE RAN) or an Xn interface (if the RAN 204 is a 5G RAN). The X2 / Xn interface may be separated into a control / user plane interface in some embodiments and may allow the ANs to communicate information related to handover, data / context transfer, mobility, load management, interference coordination, etc.

[0056] The ANs of the RAN 204 may each manage one or more cells, cell groups, component carriers, etc. to provide the UE 202 with an air interface for network access. The UE 202 may simultaneously connect to multiple cells provided by the same or different ANs of the RAN 204. For example, the UE 202 and the RAN 204 may use carrier aggregation to enable the UE 202 to connect to multiple component carriers, each corresponding to a Pcell or an Scell. In a dual connectivity scenario, the first AN may be a master node providing an MCG, and the second AN may be a secondary node providing an SCG. The first / second ANs may be any combination of eNBs, gNBs, ng-eNBs, etc.

[0057] The RAN 204 may provide an air interface through a licensed spectrum or an unlicensed spectrum. To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, a node may use LAA, eLAA, and / or feLAA mechanisms based on CA techniques involving a Pcell / Scell. Before accessing the unlicensed spectrum, the node may perform medium / carrier sensing operations, for example, based on a listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol.

[0058] In a V2X scenario, the UE 202 or the AN 208 may be or operate as a roadside unit (RSU), which may refer to any transportation infrastructure entity used for V2X communications. The RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable AN or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE. An RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referred to as a "UE-type RSU"; an RSU implemented in or by an eNB may be referred to as an "eNB-type RSU"; an RSU implemented in or by a gNB may be referred to as a "gNB-type RSU"; and so forth. In one example, the RSU is a computing device coupled with radio frequency circuitry located on the roadside that provides connectivity support for passing vehicular UEs. The RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry to store intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, and media, as well as applications / software to detect and control ongoing vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may provide very low latency communications required for high-speed events such as collision avoidance, traffic warnings, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may provide other cellular / WLAN communication services. The RSU components may be packaged in a weatherproof enclosure suitable for outdoor installation and may include a network interface controller to provide a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controller or backhaul network.

[0059] In some embodiments, the RAN 204 may be an LTE RAN 210 with an eNB, e.g., eNB 212. The LTE RAN 210 may provide the LTE air interface with the following features: 15 kHz subcarrier spacing (SCS); CP-OFDM waveform for the downlink (DL) and SC-FDMA waveform for the uplink (UL); turbo coding for data and TBCC for control; etc. The LTE air interface may rely on CSI-RS for CSI acquisition and beam management; PDSCH / PDCCH DMRS for PDSCH / PDCCH demodulation; and CRS for cell search and initial acquisition, channel quality measurements, and channel estimation for coherent demodulation / detection at the UE. The LTE air interface may operate in sub-6 GHz bands.

[0060] In some embodiments, the RAN 204 may be a gNB, e.g., a gNB 216, or an NG-RAN 214 with an ng-eNB, e.g., an ng-eNB 218. The gNB 216 may connect to a 5G-capable UE using a 5G NR interface. The gNB 216 may connect to a 5G core through an NG interface, which may include an N2 interface or an N3 interface. The ng-eNB 218 may connect to the 5G core through the NG interface, but may also connect to a UE via an LTE air interface. The gNB 216 and the ng-eNB 218 may connect through an Xn interface.

[0061] In some embodiments, the NG interface may be divided into two parts: an NG User Plane (NG-U) interface (e.g., N3 interface), which carries traffic data between nodes of the NG-RAN 214 and the UPF 248, and an NG Control Plane (NG-C) interface (e.g., N2 interface), which is the signaling interface between nodes of the NG-RAN 214 and the AMF 244.

[0062] The NG-RAN 214 may provide a 5G-NR air interface with the following features: variable SCS; CP-OFDM, CP-OFDM, and DFT-s-OFDM for DL; polar, repetition, simplex, and Reed-Muller codes for control and LDPC for data. The 5G-NR air interface may rely on CSI-RS and PDSCH / PDCCH DMRS similar to the LTE air interface. The 5G-NR air interface may not use CRS, but may use PBCH DMRS for PBCH demodulation; PTRS for phase tracking on the PDSCH, and tracking reference signals for time tracking. The 5G-NR air interface may operate in the FR1 band, which includes sub-6 GHz bands, or the FR2 band, which includes the bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. The 5G-NR air interface may include synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) blocks (SSBs), which are areas of the downlink resource grid that include PSS / SSS / PBCH.

[0063] In some embodiments, the 5G-NR air interface may utilize BWPs (bandwidth portions) for various purposes. For example, BWPs can be used for dynamic adaptation of the SCS. For example, a UE 202 can be configured with multiple BWPs, where each BWP configuration has a different SCS. When a BWP change is indicated to the UE 202, the SCS of the transmission also changes. Another example use case of BWPs relates to power saving. In particular, multiple BWPs can be configured for a UE 202 with different amounts of frequency resources (e.g., PRBs) to support data transmission under different traffic load scenarios. A BWP including a smaller number of PRBs can be used for data transmission with a small traffic load, while enabling power saving at the UE 202 and, in some cases, at the gNB 216. A BWP including a larger number of PRBs can be used for scenarios with a higher traffic load.

[0064] The RAN 204 is communicatively coupled to the CN 220, which includes network elements to provide various functions to support data and telecommunications services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UEs 202). The components of the CN 220 may be implemented on a single physical node or on separate physical nodes. In some embodiments, NFV may be utilized to virtualize any or all of the functions provided by the network elements of the CN 220 onto physical compute / storage resources in servers, switches, etc. A logical instantiation of the CN 220 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of the CN 220 may be referred to as a network sub-slice.

[0065] In some embodiments, the CN 220 may be connected to an LTE wireless network as part of an enhanced packet system (EPS) 222, which may also be referred to as the EPC (or enhanced packet core). The EPC 222 may include an MME 224, an SGW 226, an SGSN 228, an HSS 230, a PGW 232, and a PCRF 234, coupled to each other through interfaces (or "reference points") as shown. The functionality of the elements of the EPC 222 may be briefly introduced below.

[0066] The MME 224 may implement mobility management functions to track the current location of the UE 202 and facilitate paging, bearer activation / deactivation, handover, gateway selection, authentication, and the like.

[0067] The SGW 226 may terminate the S1 interface towards the RAN and route data packets between the RAN and the EPC 222. The SGW 226 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and may also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other roles may include lawful interception, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0068] The SGSN 228 may track the location of the UE 202 and perform security functions and access control. Additionally, the SGSN 228 may perform EPC inter-node signaling for mobility between different RAT networks; PDN and S-GW selection as specified by the MME 224; MME selection for handover; etc. The S3 reference point between the MME 224 and the SGSN 228 may enable user and bearer information exchange for inter-3GPP access network mobility in idle / active state.

[0069] The HSS 230 may include a database of network users including subscription-related information to support handling of communication sessions by network entities. The HSS 230 may provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, name / address resolution, location dependency, etc. An S6a reference point between the HSS 230 and the MME 224 may enable transfer of subscription and authentication data for authenticating / authorizing user access to the LTE CN 220.

[0070] The PGW 232 may terminate an SGi interface toward a data network (DN) 236, which may include an application / content server 238. The PGW 232 may route data packets between the LTE CN 220 and the data network 236. The PGW 232 may be coupled to the SGW 226 by an S5 reference point to facilitate user plane tunneling and tunnel management. The PGW 232 may further include a node (e.g., PCEF) for policy enforcement and charging data collection. Furthermore, the SGi reference point between the PGW 232 and the data network 236 may be an operator-external public, private PDN, or intra-operator packet data network, for example, for provisioning of IMS services. The PGW 232 may be coupled to the PCRF 234 via a Gx reference point.

[0071] The PCRF 234 is the policy and charging control element of the LTE CN 220. The PCRF 234 may be communicatively coupled to the app / content server 238 to determine appropriate QoS and charging parameters for a service flow. The PCRF 234 may provision the associated rules in the PCEF (over the Gx reference point) with the appropriate TFT and QCI.

[0072] In some embodiments, CN 220 may be 5GC 240. 5GC 240 may include AUSF 242, AMF 244, SMF 246, UPF 248, NSSF 250, NEF 252, NRF 254, PCF 256, UDM 258, and AF 260, coupled to each other through interfaces (or "reference points") as shown. The functionality of the elements of 5GC 240 may be briefly introduced below.

[0073] The AUSF 242 may store data and handle authentication-related functions for authentication of the UE 202. The AUSF 242 may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. In addition to communicating with other elements of the 5GC 240 through reference points as shown, the AUSF 242 may expose a Nausf service-based interface.

[0074] The AMF 244 may enable other functions of the 5GC 240 to communicate with the UE 202 and the RAN 204 and to subscribe to notifications about mobility events related to the UE 202. The AMF 244 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., for registering the UE 202), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. The AMF 244 may provide transport for SM messages between the UE 202 and the SMF 246 and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. The AMF 244 may also provide transport for SMS messages between the UE 202 and the SMSF. The AMF 244 may interact with the AUSF 242 and the UE 202 to perform various security anchor and context management functions. Additionally, the AMF 244 may terminate the RAN CP interface, which may include or be the N2 reference point between the RAN 204 and the AMF 244; the AMF 244 may terminate the NAS (N1) signaling and perform NAS ciphering and integrity protection. The AMF 244 may support NAS signaling with the UE 202 over the N3 IWF interface.

[0075] The SMF 246 may be responsible for SM (e.g., session establishment, tunnel management between the UPF 248 and the AN 208); UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of UP functions; configuration of traffic steering in the UPF 248 to route traffic to the appropriate destination; termination of the interface towards the policy control function; control of the policy enforcement, charging, and QoS portions; lawful interception (for SM events and interfaces to the LI system); termination of the SM portion of NAS messages; downlink data notification; initiation of AN-specific SM information sent through the N2 to the AN 208 via the AMF 244; and determination of the SSC mode of the session. SM may refer to the management of a PDU session, and a PDU session or "session" may refer to a PDU connectivity service that provides or enables the exchange of PDUs between the UE 202 and the data network 236.

[0076] The UPF 248 may act as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point for interconnecting to the data network 236, and a branching point for supporting multi-homed PDU sessions. The UPF 248 may also perform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection, enforce the user plane portion of policy rules, lawfully intercept packets (UP collection), perform traffic usage reporting, perform QoS handling for the user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement), perform uplink traffic verification (e.g., SDF-to-QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering, and downlink data notification triggering. The UPF 248 may include an uplink classifier to support routing of traffic flows to the data network.

[0077] The NSSF 250 may select a set of network slice instances to serve the UE 202. The NSSF 250 may also determine the allowed NSSAIs and, if necessary, a mapping to the subscribed S-NSSAIs. The NSSF 250 may determine an AMF set to be used to serve the UE 202, or a list of candidate AMFs based on a preferred configuration and possibly by querying the NRF 254. The selection of a set of network slice instances for the UE 202 may be triggered by the AMF 244 with which the UE 202 is registered by interacting with the NSSF 250, which may result in an AMF change. The NSSF 250 may interact with the AMF 244 via the N22 reference point; it may communicate with another NSSF in a visited network via the N31 reference point (not shown). Furthermore, the NSSF 250 may exhibit an Nnssf service-based interface.

[0078] The NEF 252 may securely expose services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions to third parties, internal exposure / re-exposure, AFs (e.g., AF 260), edge computing or fog computing systems, etc. In such embodiments, the NEF 252 may authenticate, authorize, or restrict AFs. The NEF 252 may also translate information exchanged with the AF 260 and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, the NEF 252 may translate between AF service identifiers and internal 5GC information. The NEF 252 may also receive information from other NFs based on the exposed capabilities of the other NFs. This information may be stored in the NEF 252 as structured data or in a data storage NF using a standardized interface. The stored information can then be re-exposed by the NEF 252 to other NFs and AFs or used for other purposes, such as analysis. Furthermore, the NEF 252 may present an NEF service-based interface.

[0079] The NRF 254 may support service discovery functionality, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide information about discovered NF instances to the NF instances. The NRF 254 may also maintain information on available NF instances and their supported services. As used herein, the terms "instantiate," "instance," and the like may refer to the creation of an instance, and an "instance" may refer to a concrete occurrence of an object that may arise, for example, during the execution of program code. Additionally, the NRF 254 may present an Nnrf service-based interface.

[0080] PCF 256 may provide and enforce policy rules for control plane functions and may support a unified policy framework to govern network behavior. PCF 256 may also implement a front end to access subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDRs of UDM 258. In addition to communicating with functions through reference points as shown, PCF 256 exposes an Npcf service-based interface.

[0081] The UDM 258 may handle subscription-related information to support handling of communication sessions by network entities and may store subscription data for the UE 202. For example, the subscription data may be communicated over the N8 reference point between the UDM 258 and the AMF 244. The UDM 258 may include two parts: an application front end and a UDR. The UDR may store subscription data and policy data for the UDM 258 and the PCF 256, and / or structured data and application data for exposure for the NEF 252 (including a PFD for application discovery and application requirement information for multiple UEs 202). A Nudr service-based interface may be exposed by the UDR to enable the UDM 258, the PCF 256, and the NEF 252 to access specific sets of stored data and to read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete, and subscribe to notifications of changes in the associated data in the UDR. The UDM may contain a UDM-FE responsible for handling credentials, location management, subscription management, etc. Multiple different front ends may serve the same user in different transactions. The UDM-FE accesses the subscription information stored in the UDR and performs authentication credential processing, user identification handling, access authorization, registration / mobility management, and subscription management. In addition to communicating with other NFs over reference points as shown, the UDM 258 may expose a Nudm service-based interface.

[0082] The AF 260 may provide application influence over traffic routing, provide access to the NEF, and interact with the policy framework for policy control.

[0083] In some embodiments, the 5GC 240 may enable edge computing by selecting operator / third-party services to be geographically close to the point where the UE 202 attaches to the network. This may reduce latency and load on the network. To provide an edge computing implementation, the 5GC 240 may select a UPF 248 close to the UE 202 and perform traffic steering from the UPF 248 to the data network 236 over the N6 interface. This may be based on UE subscription data, UE location, and information provided by the AF 260. In this way, the AF 260 may influence UPF (re)selection and traffic routing. If the AF 260 is deemed a trusted entity based on the operator deployment, the network operator may allow the AF 260 to interact directly with the associated NF. Additionally, the AF 260 may exhibit a NAF service-based interface.

[0084] Data network 236 may represent various network operator services, internet access, or third party services that may be provided by one or more servers, including, for example, application / content server 238 .

[0085] 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of a wireless network 300 in accordance with various embodiments. The wireless network 300 may include a UE 302 in wireless communication with an AN 304. The UE 302 and the AN 304 may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with similarly named components described elsewhere herein.

[0086] The UE 302 may be communicatively coupled to the AN 304 via a connection 306. The connection 306 is shown as an air interface that enables the communicative coupling and may be consistent with a cellular communication protocol, such as an LTE protocol or a 5G NR protocol operating at mm-wave or sub-6 GHz frequencies.

[0087] The UE 302 may include a host platform 308 coupled to a modem platform 310. The host platform 308 may include application processing circuitry 312, which may be coupled to protocol processing circuitry 314 of the modem platform 310. The application processing circuitry 312 may execute various applications for the UE 302 to source / sink application data. The application processing circuitry 312 may further implement one or more layer operations to send / receive application data to / from a data network. These layer operations may include transport (e.g., UDP) and internet (e.g., IP) operations.

[0088] The protocol processing circuitry 314 may implement one or more layer operations to facilitate the transmission or reception of data over the connection 306. The layer operations implemented by the protocol processing circuitry 314 may include, for example, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, and NAS operations.

[0089] The modem platform 310 may further include digital baseband circuitry 316 that may implement one or more layer operations that are "below" layer operations in a network protocol stack performed by the protocol processing circuitry 314. These operations may include, for example, PHY operations including one or more of HARQ-ACK functions, scrambling / descrambling, encoding / decoding, layer mapping / demapping, modulation symbol mapping, received symbol / bit metric determination, multi-antenna port pre-coding / decoding, which may include one or more of space-time, space-frequency, or spatial coding, reference signal generation / detection, preamble sequence generation and / or decoding, synchronization sequence generation / detection, control channel signal blind decoding, and other related functions.

[0090] The modem platform 310 may further include transmit circuitry 318, receive circuitry 320, RF circuitry 322, and an RF front end (RFFE) 324, which may include or connect to one or more antenna panels 326. Briefly, the transmit circuitry 318 may include digital-to-analog converters, mixers, intermediate frequency (IF) components, etc.; the receive circuitry 320 may include analog-to-digital converters, mixers, IF components, etc.; the RF circuitry 322 may include low-noise amplifiers, power amplifiers, power tracking components, etc.; the RFFE 324 may include filters (e.g., surface / bulk acoustic wave filters), switches, antenna tuners, beamforming components (e.g., phase-array antenna components), etc. The selection and configuration of components in the transmit circuitry 318, receive circuitry 320, RF circuitry 322, RFFE 324, and antenna panel 326 (collectively referred to as "transmit / receive components") may be specific to the details of a particular implementation, such as whether communication is TDM or FDM at mm-wave or sub-6 GHz frequencies, etc. In some embodiments, the transmit / receive components may be configured into multiple parallel transmit / receive chains, located on the same or different chips / modules, etc.

[0091] In some embodiments, protocol processing circuitry 314 may include one or more instances of control circuitry (not shown) to provide control functions for the transmit / receive components.

[0092] UE reception may be established by and through the antenna panel 326, RFFE 324, RF circuitry 322, receive circuitry 320, digital baseband circuitry 316, and protocol processing circuitry 314. In some embodiments, the antenna panel 326 may receive transmissions from the AN 304 by receive-beamforming signals received by multiple antennas / antenna elements of one or more of the antenna panels 326.

[0093] UE transmissions may be established by and through protocol processing circuitry 314, digital baseband circuitry 316, transmit circuitry 318, RF circuitry 322, RFFE 324, and antenna panel 326. In some embodiments, the transmit components of UE 302 may apply spatial filters to data to be transmitted to form transmit beams emitted by antenna elements of antenna panel 326.

[0094] Similar to the UE 302, the AN 304 may include a host platform 328 coupled to a modem platform 330. The host platform 328 may include application processing circuitry 332 coupled to protocol processing circuitry 334 of the modem platform 330. The modem platform may further include digital baseband circuitry 336, transmit circuitry 338, receive circuitry 340, RF circuitry 342, RFFE circuitry 344, and an antenna panel 346. The components of the AN 304 may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with similarly named components of the UE 302. In addition to performing data transmission / reception as described above, the components of the AN 304 may perform various logical functions, including RNC functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, and data packet scheduling.

[0095] 4 is a block diagram illustrating components, according to some example embodiments, capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-volatile machine-readable storage medium) to perform any one or more of the methodologies described herein. Specifically, FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic representation of hardware resources 400 including one or more processors (or processor cores) 410, one or more memory / storage devices 420, and one or more communication resources 430, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 440 or other interface circuitry. For embodiments in which node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 402 may execute to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 400.

[0096] The one or more processors 410 may include, for example, processor 412 and processor 414. Processor 410 may be, for example, 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 DSP such as a baseband processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor (including those described herein), or any suitable combination thereof.

[0097] The memory / storage device 420 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 420 may include any type of volatile, non-volatile, or semi-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.

[0098] Communications resources 430 may include interconnect or network interface controllers, components, or other suitable devices to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 404 or one or more databases 406 or other network elements over network 408. For example, communications resources 430 may include wired communications components (e.g., for coupling via USB, Ethernet, etc.), cellular communications components, NFC components, Bluetooth® (or Bluetooth® Low Energy) components, Wi-Fi® components, and other communications components.

[0099] The instructions 450 may include software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, or other executable code for causing at least one of the processors 410 to perform any one or more of the methodologies described herein. The instructions 450 may reside, completely or partially, within at least one of the processors 410 (e.g., within a processor's cache memory), within the memory / storage device 420, or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of the instructions 450 may be transferred to the hardware resources 400 from any combination of the peripheral device 404 or the database 406. Thus, the memory of the processor 410, the memory / storage device 420, the peripheral device 404, and the database 406 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0100] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components outlined in one or more of the foregoing drawings may be configured to perform one or more of the operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods outlined in the exemplary section below. For example, baseband circuitry associated with one or more of the foregoing drawings may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples set forth below. For another example, circuitry associated with a UE, base station, satellite, network element, etc., described above in connection with one or more of the foregoing drawings may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples set forth below in the exemplary section.

[0101] The term "application" may refer to a complete, deployable package or an environment for realizing a particular function in an operating environment. Terms such as "AI / ML application" may refer to an application that includes any artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) model and application-level description. In some embodiments, an AI / ML application may be used to configure or implement one or more of the disclosed aspects.

[0102] The terms "machine learning" or "ML" refer to the use of computer systems that implement algorithms and / or statistical models to perform specific tasks without explicit instructions, relying instead on patterns and inference. ML algorithms build or infer mathematical models (e.g., referred to as ML models) based on sample data (e.g., referred to as "training data," "model training information," etc.) to make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed to perform such tasks. In general, an ML algorithm is a computer program that learns from experience with respect to some task and some performance measure, and an ML model may be any object or data structure created after an ML algorithm has been trained on one or more training datasets. After training, the ML model may be used to make predictions on new datasets. Although the term "ML algorithm" refers to a different concept from the term "ML model," these terms may be used interchangeably as described herein.

[0103] Terms such as "machine learning model," "ML model," and the like may also refer to ML methods and concepts used by an ML-assisted solution. An "ML-assisted solution" is a solution that addresses a specific use case using ML algorithms during operation. ML models include supervised learning (e.g., linear regression, K-nearest neighbors (KNN), decision tree algorithms, support machine vectors, Bayesian algorithms, ensemble algorithms, etc.), unsupervised learning (e.g., K-means clustering, principal component analysis (PCA), etc.), reinforcement learning (e.g., Q-learning, multi-armed bandit learning, deep RL, etc.), neural networks, etc. Depending on the implementation, a particular ML model may have multiple submodels as components, and the ML model may train all the submodels together. Separately trained ML models can also be chained together in an ML pipeline during inference. An "ML pipeline" is a set of functionality, features, or functional entities specific to an ML-assisted solution; an ML pipeline may include a data pipeline, a model training pipeline, a model evaluation pipeline, and one or more data sources in actors. An "actor" is an entity that hosts an ML-assisted solution using the output of ML model inference. The term "ML training host" refers to an entity, such as a network function, that hosts the training of a model. The term "ML inference host" refers to an entity, such as a network function, that hosts a model during inference mode (including both model execution and any online learning, if applicable). The ML host notifies the actor of the output of the ML algorithm, and the actor decides on an action (an "action" is performed by the actor as a result of the output of the ML-assisted solution). The term "model inference information" refers to information used as input to an ML model to determine inferences; although the data used to train an ML model and the data used to determine inferences can overlap, "training data" and "inference data" refer to different concepts.

[0104] Mobile communications have evolved significantly from early voice systems to today's highly sophisticated, integrated communications platforms. The next-generation wireless communications system, 5G, or New Radio (NR), provides access to information and sharing of data anywhere, anytime by a variety of users and applications. NR is expected to be an integrated network / system that targets very different and sometimes conflicting performance dimensions and services. Such diverse multi-dimensional requirements are driven by different services and applications. NR can evolve based on 3GPP LTE-Advanced with additional potential new radio access technologies (RATs) to enrich people's lives with better, simpler, and seamless wireless connectivity solutions. NR enables everything to be wirelessly connected, delivering high-speed, rich content and services.

[0105] For cellular systems, coverage is a key factor for successful operation. Compared to LTE, NR can be deployed at a relatively high carrier frequency in Frequency Range 1 (FR1), e.g., 3.5 GHz. In this case, coverage loss is expected due to larger path loss, which makes it difficult to maintain an adequate quality of service. Generally, uplink coverage is a bottleneck for system operation, given the low transmit power at the UE side.

[0106] In NR Rel-15, several repetitions can be configured for the transmission of the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) to help improve coverage performance. When repetitions are employed for the transmission of the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and PUSCH, the same time domain resource allocation (TDRA) is used in each slot. Furthermore, inter-slot frequency hopping can be configured to improve performance by utilizing frequency diversity. In Rel-16, the number of repetitions for the PUSCH can be dynamically indicated in the DCI.

[0107] To further improve coverage performance, advanced receivers including joint channel estimation algorithms can be employed, which can help improve channel estimation performance and therefore the overall link budget of uplink transmissions. This is most important since coverage extension solutions primarily target the low SNR regime where channel estimation typically becomes the performance bottleneck.

[0108] For joint channel estimation, a time-domain window may be defined in which the UE is expected to maintain power consistency and phase continuity between PUSCH or PUCCH transmissions, subject to power consistency and phase continuity requirements. Furthermore, the size of the time-domain window may be explicitly configured by higher layers via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. It should be noted that when joint channel estimation is applied to PUSCH repetition type A based on available slots, specific design considerations may be needed for the time-domain window for joint channel estimation, given that the available slots may not be contiguous in time.

[0109] The disclosed techniques include a mechanism for time domain windowing for joint channel estimation of uplink transmissions.

[0110] As mentioned above, to further improve coverage performance, advanced receivers including joint channel estimation algorithms can be employed, which can help improve channel estimation performance and therefore the overall link budget of uplink transmissions. This is most important since coverage extension solutions primarily target the low SNR regime where channel estimation typically becomes the performance bottleneck.

[0111] For joint channel estimation, a time-domain window may be defined in which the UE is expected to maintain power consistency and phase continuity between PUSCH or PUCCH transmissions subject to power consistency and phase continuity requirements. Furthermore, the size of the time-domain window may be explicitly configured by higher layers via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. In some aspects, when joint channel estimation is applied to PUSCH repetition type A based on available slots, the specific configuration disclosed herein for the time-domain window for joint channel estimation may need to be considered given that the available slots may not be contiguous in time. Embodiments of mechanisms for the time-domain window for joint channel estimation of uplink transmissions are provided herein.

[0112] In the following embodiment, the uplink transmission may include, but is not limited to, the following cases:

[0113] (a) Physical slot-based PUSCH repetition type A;

[0114] (b) PUSCH repetition type A based on available slots;

[0115] (c) PUSCH repeat type B;

[0116] (d) PUCCH with the same time domain resource allocation in each slot;

[0117] (e) PUCCH with subslot-based repetition;

[0118] (f) Transport Block (TB) Processing over Multiple Slots (TBoMS);

[0119] (g) multiple PUSCHs with different TBs;

[0120] (h) Msg3 repetition in case of a 4-step random access (RACH) procedure; and

[0121] (i) MsgA PUSCH repetition in case of a two-step RACH procedure.

[0122] In some embodiments, with respect to the time domain window for joint channel estimation of uplink transmissions including PUSCH and PUCCH repetitions, a continuous time domain window may be employed for joint channel estimation. In some aspects, the beginning of the time domain window is the first repetition of the PUSCH or PUCCH.

[0123] In some aspects, if PUSCH repetition type B is employed, the beginning of the time domain window is the first actual or nominal repetition. If transport block (TB) processing over multiple slots (TBoMS) is employed, the beginning of the time domain window is the first slot allocated for TBoMS transmission.

[0124] In some aspects, the size of the time domain window may be configured by higher layers via minimum system information (MSI), remaining minimum system information (RMSI), other system information (OSI), or dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or may be dynamically indicated in downlink control information (DCI), or a combination thereof.

[0125] For this option, the number of repetitions for PUSCH repetition type A or TBoMS or PUCCH is N Rep and the size of the time domain window is N Window and the number of time domain windows is

number

[0126] Furthermore, if the UE is unable to maintain phase continuity and / or power consistency within the time-domain window for joint channel estimation due to at least one of the following conditions, but not limited to, the time-domain window is not further extended:

[0127] (a) When a PUSCH or PUCCH repetition is cancelled due to a collision with a DL symbol, a synchronization signal block (SSB), a control resource set (CORESET) with a type 0 common search space (CSS), a semi-static DL / UL configuration containing an invalid UL symbol, or a dynamic slot format indicator (SFI) carried by DCI format 2_0, an uplink cancellation indication (UL CI), an uplink transmission with higher priority, etc.

[0128] (b) When the PUSCH overlaps with the PUCCH and UCI is multiplexed into the PUSCH repetition, or one of the PUSCH and PUCCH repetitions is cancelled.

[0129] (c) When the UE needs to receive a DL transmission from a gNB and the UE transmits another uplink channel or signal between two consecutive PUSCH or PUCCH repetitions.

[0130] (d) When the UE needs to transmit different uplink channels / signals on different carriers at the same time with or without dynamic power sharing.

[0131] (e) When the UE needs to change frequency resources between PUSCH and / or PUCCH repetitions.

[0132] In some embodiments, if the UE is unable to maintain phase continuity and / or power consistency within the time domain window for joint channel estimation due to the aforementioned conditions, the UE may not need to resume demodulation reference signal (DMRS) bundling or maintain phase continuity and power consistency within the time domain window for the remaining PUSCH or PUCCH repetitions.

[0133] Alternatively, in another option, if the UE is unable to maintain phase continuity and / or power consistency within the time domain window for joint channel estimation due to the aforementioned conditions, and the remaining number of repetitions after a canceled PUSCH or PUCCH within the time domain window is greater than 1, the UE may still need to resume DMRS bundling or maintain phase continuity and power consistency within the time domain window for the remaining PUSCH or PUCCH repetitions.

[0134] FIG. 5 illustrates a diagram 500 of multiple time-domain windows for joint channel estimation as option 1, according to some aspects. In FIG. 5, eight repetitions are used for PUSCH repetition type A, and the size of the time-domain window is configured as four slots. In this case, two time-domain windows for joint channel estimation are used for the eight PUSCH repetitions. In the above example, in the first time-domain window, the UE may not maintain phase continuity or power consistency due to the cancellation of the second PUSCH repetition. For this option, the first time-domain window is not postponed. Furthermore, the UE may need to resume DMRS bundling or maintain phase continuity and power consistency for the third and fourth PUSCH repetitions within the first time-domain window for joint channel estimation.

[0135] In some embodiments, with respect to the time domain window for joint channel estimation of uplink transmissions, including PUSCH and PUCCH repetitions, a continuous time domain window may be employed for joint channel estimation.

[0136] Furthermore, if the UE is unable to maintain phase continuity and / or power consistency within the time-domain window for joint channel estimation due to at least one of the following conditions, but not limited to, the time-domain window is further extended until the indicated size number is met:

[0137] (a) When a PUSCH or PUCCH repetition is canceled due to a collision with a DL symbol, a synchronization signal block (SSB), a control resource set (CORESET) with type 0 common search space (CSS), a semi-static DL / UL configuration including an invalid UL symbol, or a dynamic slot format indicator (SFI) carried by DCI format 2_0, an uplink cancellation indication (UL CI), an uplink transmission with higher priority, etc.

[0138] (b) When the PUSCH overlaps with the PUCCH and UCI is multiplexed into the PUSCH repetition, or one of the PUSCH and PUCCH repetitions is cancelled.

[0139] (c) When the UE needs to receive a DL transmission from a gNB and the UE transmits another uplink channel or signal between two consecutive PUSCH or PUCCH repetitions.

[0140] (d) When the UE needs to transmit different uplink channels / signals on different carriers at the same time with or without dynamic power sharing.

[0141] (e) When the UE needs to change frequency resources between PUSCH and / or PUCCH repetitions.

[0142] For this option, if the UE is unable to maintain phase continuity and / or power consistency within the time-domain window for joint channel estimation due to the aforementioned conditions, and the remaining number of repetitions after a canceled PUSCH or PUCCH within the time-domain window is greater than 1, the UE may still need to resume DMRS bundling or maintain phase continuity and power consistency within the time-domain window for the remaining PUSCH or PUCCH repetitions.

[0143] FIG. 6 illustrates a diagram 600 of multiple time-domain windows for joint channel estimation as option 2, according to some aspects. In FIG. 6, eight repetitions are used for PUSCH repetition type A, and the size of the time-domain window is configured as four slots. In this case, two time-domain windows for joint channel estimation are used for the eight PUSCH repetitions. In the above example, in the first time-domain window, the UE may not maintain phase continuity or power consistency due to the cancellation of the second PUSCH repetition. For this option, the first time-domain window is postponed until four slots for the time-domain window are filled. Furthermore, the UE may need to resume DMRS bundling or maintain phase continuity and power consistency for the third, fourth, and fifth PUSCH repetitions within the first time-domain window for joint channel estimation.

[0144] In another embodiment of the present invention, with respect to the time domain window for joint channel estimation of uplink transmissions, including PUSCH and PUCCH repetitions, a continuous time domain window may be adopted for joint channel estimation. Furthermore, if a PUSCH or PUCCH repetition is canceled within the time domain window for joint channel estimation due to a collision with a DL symbol, SSB, CORESET with type 0 common CSS, or semi-static DL / UL configuration including invalid symbols, the time domain window is further extended until the number of indicated sizes is met.

[0145] In some embodiments, if a PUSCH or PUCCH repetition is canceled within the time domain window for joint channel estimation due to a collision with a dynamic SFI carried by DCI format 2_0, a UL CI, an uplink transmission with higher priority, etc., When PUSCH overlaps with PUCCH and UCI is multiplexed into the PUSCH repetition, or one of the PUSCH and PUCCH repetitions is cancelled. If the UE needs to transmit another uplink channel / signal on a different carrier at the same time with or without dynamic power sharing. If the UE needs to change frequency resources between PUSCH and / or PUCCH repetitions, the time domain window is not extended.

[0146] In another embodiment, with respect to the time domain window for joint channel estimation of uplink transmissions, including PUSCH and PUCCH repetitions, a non-contiguous time domain window may be employed for joint channel estimation.

[0147] In some aspects, if the UE is unable to maintain phase continuity and / or power consistency within the time domain window for joint channel estimation due to, but not limited to, at least one of the following conditions, the time domain window is restarted after a canceled PUSCH or PUCCH repetition:

[0148] (a) When a PUSCH or PUCCH repetition is canceled due to a collision with a DL symbol, a synchronization signal block (SSB), a control resource set (CORESET) with type 0 common search space (CSS), a semi-static DL / UL configuration including an invalid UL symbol, or a dynamic slot format indicator (SFI) carried by DCI format 2_0, an uplink cancellation indication (UL CI), an uplink transmission with higher priority, etc.

[0149] (b) When the PUSCH overlaps with the PUCCH and UCI is multiplexed into the PUSCH repetition, or one of the PUSCH and PUCCH repetitions is cancelled.

[0150] (c) When the UE needs to receive a DL transmission from a gNB and the UE transmits another uplink channel or signal between two consecutive PUSCH or PUCCH repetitions.

[0151] (d) When the UE needs to transmit different uplink channels / signals on different carriers at the same time with or without dynamic power sharing.

[0152] (e) When the UE needs to change frequency resources between PUSCH and / or PUCCH repetitions.

[0153] FIG. 7 illustrates a diagram 700 of multiple time-domain windows for joint channel estimation as option 3, according to some aspects. In FIG. 7, eight repetitions are used for PUSCH repetition type A, and the time-domain window size is configured as four slots. In this case, two time-domain windows for joint channel estimation are used for the eight PUSCH repetitions. In some aspects, in the first time-domain window, the UE may not maintain phase continuity or power consistency due to the cancellation of the second PUSCH repetition. For this option, after the canceled PUSCH repetition, the second time-domain window or DMRS bundling is resumed, starting with the third PUSCH repetition.

[0154] In another embodiment, with respect to the time domain window for joint channel estimation of uplink transmissions including PUSCH and PUCCH repetitions, a non-contiguous time domain window may be employed for joint channel estimation. In some aspects, if a PUSCH or PUCCH repetition is canceled within the time domain window for joint channel estimation due to a collision with a DL symbol, SSB, CORESET with type 0 common CSS, or semi-static DL / UL configuration including an invalid symbol, the time domain window is restarted after the canceled PUSCH or PUCCH repetition.

[0155] In some embodiments, within the time domain window for joint channel estimation, if a PUSCH or PUCCH repetition is canceled due to a collision with a dynamic SFI carried by DCI format 2_0, a UL CI, an uplink transmission with a higher priority, etc., if the PUSCH overlaps with the PUCCH and UCI is multiplexed into the PUSCH repetition, or if one of the PUSCH and PUCCH repetitions is canceled; if the UE needs to transmit another uplink channel / signal on a different carrier at the same time with or without dynamic power sharing; if the UE needs to change frequency resources between PUSCH and / or PUCCH repetitions, the time domain window is not extended.

[0156] In another embodiment of the present invention, with respect to the time domain window for joint channel estimation of PUSCH repetition type B or PUCCH with sub-slot based repetition, the time domain window may be defined in units of nominal repetition or actual repetition or slot.

[0157] In some embodiments, the above techniques for handling cancellation of actual or nominal repetitions may be applied to a time-domain window. For example, if the UE is unable to maintain phase continuity and / or power consistency within the time-domain window for joint channel estimation due to, but not limited to, at least one of the following conditions, the time-domain window or DMRS bundling may or may not be further extended or may be restarted after the canceled PUSCH or PUCCH repetition:

[0158] (a) When a PUSCH or PUCCH repetition is canceled due to a collision with a DL symbol, a synchronization signal block (SSB), a control resource set (CORESET) with type 0 common search space (CSS), a semi-static DL / UL configuration including an invalid UL symbol, or a dynamic slot format indicator (SFI) carried by DCI format 2_0, an uplink cancellation indication (UL CI), an uplink transmission with higher priority, etc.

[0159] (b) When the PUSCH overlaps with the PUCCH and UCI is multiplexed into the PUSCH repetition, or one of the PUSCH and PUCCH repetitions is cancelled.

[0160] (c) When the UE needs to receive a DL transmission from a gNB and the UE transmits another uplink channel or signal between two consecutive PUSCH or PUCCH repetitions.

[0161] (d) When the UE needs to transmit different uplink channels / signals on different carriers at the same time with or without dynamic power sharing.

[0162] (e) When the UE needs to change frequency resources between PUSCH and / or PUCCH repetitions.

[0163] FIG. 8 illustrates a diagram 800 of multiple time-domain windows for joint channel estimation for PUSCH repetition type B according to some aspects. In FIG. 8, four repetitions are used for PUSCH repetition type B, and the time-domain window size is configured as two nominal repetitions. In this case, two time-domain windows for joint channel estimation are used. In some embodiments, in the first time-domain window, the UE may not maintain phase continuity or power consistency due to the cancellation of the second PUSCH actual repetition of the first nominal repetition. In this option, the first time-domain window is not postponed.

[0164] In another embodiment, with respect to the time domain window for joint channel estimation of uplink transmissions including PUSCH and PUCCH repetitions, a non-contiguous time domain window may be employed for joint channel estimation. In some embodiments, this technique may be applied when PUSCH or PUCCH repetitions including TBoMS are transmitted based on available slots or PUSCH / PUCCH repetitions in unpaired spectrum or TDD systems.

[0165] In some embodiments, the beginning of each time domain window may be the first slot or iteration of consecutive slots / iterations for PUSCH / PUCCH repetitions. In some aspects, consecutive slots or iterations are assigned within a time domain window.

[0166] Furthermore, the above embodiments for handling cancellation of PUSCH / PUCCH repetitions may be applied to the time-domain window. For example, if the UE cannot maintain phase continuity and / or power consistency within the time-domain window for joint channel estimation due to at least one of the following conditions, but not limited to, the time-domain window or DMRS bundling may or may not be further extended or may be restarted after the canceled PUSCH or PUCCH repetition:

[0167] (a) When a PUSCH or PUCCH repetition is canceled due to a collision with a DL symbol, a synchronization signal block (SSB), a control resource set (CORESET) with type 0 common search space (CSS), a semi-static DL / UL configuration including an invalid UL symbol, or a dynamic slot format indicator (SFI) carried by DCI format 2_0, an uplink cancellation indication (UL CI), an uplink transmission with higher priority, etc.

[0168] (b) When the PUSCH overlaps with the PUCCH and UCI is multiplexed into the PUSCH repetition, or one of the PUSCH and PUCCH repetitions is cancelled.

[0169] (c) When the UE needs to receive a DL transmission from a gNB and the UE transmits another uplink channel or signal between two consecutive PUSCH or PUCCH repetitions.

[0170] (d) When the UE needs to transmit different uplink channels / signals on different carriers at the same time with or without dynamic power sharing.

[0171] (e) When the UE needs to change frequency resources between PUSCH and / or PUCCH repetitions.

[0172] 9 illustrates a diagram 900 of multiple time-domain windows for joint channel estimation as Option 4 according to some aspects. In FIG. 9, for PUSCH repetition type A, four repetitions are used, transmitted based on available slots including special slots and uplink slots, and the size of the time-domain window is configured as two slots. In this case, two non-contiguous time-domain windows for joint channel estimation are used for the four PUSCH repetitions. In particular, a first time-domain window is applied to the first and second PUSCH repetitions, and a second time-domain window is applied to the third and fourth PUSCH repetitions. In this case, the starting position of the subsequent time-domain window may be determined for each configured time-domain window duration and transmission status index or available slot or physical slot index for PUSCH transmission.

[0173] In some embodiments, if the configured time domain window duration is longer than the maximum duration for which the UE can maintain phase continuity and power consistency, only events that are semi-statically configured or indicated in the scheduling DCI for the PUSCH or PUCCH repetition may be used to determine the actual time domain window within the configured time domain window. The events may include, but are not limited to, the following cases:

[0174] (a) Collision with a semi-static DL / UL configuration containing a DL symbol, SSB, CORESET with type 0 common CSS, or invalid symbol;

[0175] (b) the UE needs to change frequency resources between PUSCH and / or PUCCH repetitions;

[0176] (c) the UE needs to change the precoder indicated in the scheduling DCI;

[0177] (d) the actual time domain window reaches the maximum duration for DMRS bundling;

[0178] (e) DL reception / monitoring status configured by MIB, SIB, or RRC configuration between PUSCH and PUCCH repetitions for unpaired spectrum, e.g., PDCCH monitoring, SPS PDSCH reception, etc.; and

[0179] (f) The PUSCH repetition overlaps with a semi-statically configured PUCCH, or the PUCCH repetition overlaps with a PUSCH that is not associated with a DCI.

[0180] In some embodiments, if the configured time domain window duration is not longer than the maximum duration for which the UE can maintain phase continuity and power consistency, an event semi-statically configured, dynamically triggered, or indicated in the scheduling DCI for PUSCH or PUCCH repetitions may be used to determine the actual time domain window within the configured time domain window.

[0181] For this option, events may include, but are not limited to:

[0182] (a) Collision with a semi-static DL / UL configuration containing a DL symbol, SSB, CORESET with type 0 common CSS, or invalid symbol;

[0183] (b) the UE needs to change frequency resources between PUSCH and / or PUCCH repetitions;

[0184] (c) the UE needs to change the precoder indicated in the scheduling DCI;

[0185] (d) the actual time domain window reaches the maximum duration for DMRS bundling;

[0186] (e) DL reception / monitoring status configured by MIB, SIB, or RRC configuration between PUSCH and PUCCH repetitions for unpaired spectrum, e.g., PDCCH monitoring, SPS PDSCH reception, etc.;

[0187] (f) PUSCH repetitions overlap with semi-statically configured PUCCHs, or PUCCH repetitions overlap with PUSCHs that are not associated with DCI;

[0188] (g) When a PUSCH or PUCCH repetition is cancelled due to a collision with a dynamic slot format indicator (SFI) carried by DCI format 2_0, an uplink cancellation indication (UL CI), an uplink transmission with higher priority, etc.;

[0189] (h) A PUSCH repetition overlaps with a PUCCH carrying dynamic HARQ-ACK feedback, or one of the PUSCH and PUCCH repetitions is canceled;

[0190] (i) when the UE needs to transmit different uplink channels / signals on different carriers simultaneously with or without dynamic power sharing; and

[0191] (j) When the UE needs to change its transmit power or timing advance during a PUSCH or PUCCH repetition.

[0192] In some embodiments, for demodulation reference signal (DMRS) bundling for PUCCH repetitions in paired spectrum or FDD systems, the configured time domain windows (TDWs) are consecutive, with the beginning of another configured TDW being the first physical slot immediately following the last physical slot of the previous configured TDW.

[0193] In some embodiments, with respect to DMRS bundling for PUCCH repetitions in unpaired spectrum or TDD systems, the start of a configured TDW is determined based on available slots, where the beginning of the configured TDW is the first available slot after the last available slot of the previous configured TDW. In some aspects, the available slot is determined according to clause 9.2.6 in 3GPP TS38.213. In particular, a slot can be determined as an available slot for a PUCCH repetition if the PUCCH repetition does not overlap with DL symbols, as indicated by tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon or tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationDedicated, or flexible symbols with synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission, as indicated by ssb-PositionsInBurst.

[0194] In some embodiments, the following configuration may be considered in section 6.1.7 in 3GPP TS38.214.

[0195] (a) For PUCCH repetitions in unpaired spectrum, PUCCH-TimeDomainWindowLength defines the duration of each configured TDW in a number of slots determined for PUCCH transmission according to clause 9.2.6 of TS38.213, where:

[0196] (a.1) The beginning of the first configured TDW is the first slot determined for the first PUCCH transmission.

[0197] (a.2) The end of the last configured TDW is the last slot determined for the last PUCCH transmission.

[0198] (a.3) The beginning of any other configured TDW is the first slot determined for PUCCH transmission after the last slot determined for PUCCH transmission of the previous configured TDW.

[0199] (b) For PUCCH repetitions in paired spectrum, PUCCH-TimeDomainWindowLength defines the duration of each configured TDW in multiple consecutive slots, where:

[0200] (b.1) The beginning of the first configured TDW is the first slot for the first PUCCH transmission over the number of consecutive slots.

[0201] The end of the last configured TDW is the last slot for the last PUCCH transmission over that number of consecutive slots.

[0202] (b.3) The beginning of any other configured TDW is the first slot after the last slot of the previously configured TDW.

[0203] In some embodiments, with respect to DMRS bundling for PUCCH repetitions in a half-duplex FDD (HD-FDD) system, the start of the configured TDW is determined based on available slots, where the beginning of the configured TDW is the first available slot after the last available slot of the previous configured TDW. In some aspects, with respect to determining an available slot for a PUCCH repetition, if the PUCCH repetition does not overlap with a flexible symbol with a synchronization signal block (SSB) transmission indicated by ssb-PositionsInBurst, the slot is determined as an available slot for the PUCCH repetition.

[0204] In some embodiments, the following configuration may be considered in section 6.1.7 in 3GPP TS38.214.

[0205] (a) For PUCCH repetitions in unpaired or paired spectrum when half duplex = "enabled", PUCCH-TimeDomainWindowLength defines the duration of each configured TDW in multiple consecutive slots, where:

[0206] (a.1) The beginning of the first configured TDW is the first slot determined for the first PUCCH transmission according to clause 9.2.6 of TS 38.213.

[0207] (a.2) The end of the last configured TDW is the last slot for the last PUCCH transmission over the number of consecutive slots.

[0208] (a.3) The beginning of any other configured TDW is the first slot determined for PUCCH transmission after the last slot determined for PUCCH transmission of the previously configured TDW.

[0209] (b) For PUCCH repetitions in paired spectrum, PUCCH-TimeDomainWindowLength defines the duration of each configured TDW in multiple consecutive slots, where:

[0210] (b.1) The beginning of the first configured TDW is the first slot for the first PUCCH transmission over the number of consecutive slots.

[0211] (b.2) The end of the last configured TDW is the last slot for the last PUCCH transmission over the number of consecutive slots.

[0212] (b.3) The beginning of any other configured TDW is the first slot after the last slot of the previously configured TDW.

[0213] In some embodiments, a similar mechanism can also be applied to PUSCH repetitions in HD-FDD systems when counting based on available slots. More specifically, with respect to DMRS bundling for PUSCH repetitions in HD-FDD systems when counting based on available slots, the start of the configured TDW is determined based on the available slots, where the beginning of the configured TDW is the first available slot after the last available slot of the previous configured TDW.

[0214] In some embodiments, the following configuration may be considered in section 6.1.7 in 3GPP TS38.214.

[0215] (a) If PUSCH-DMRS-Bundling is enabled for PUSCH transmissions of PUSCH repetition type A, PUSCH repetition type B, and TB processing across multiple slots, and if [PUCCH-DMRS-Bundling] is enabled for PUCCH transmissions of PUCCH repetitions, the UE shall determine one or more nominal TDWs as follows:

[0216] (a.1) For PUSCH Repetition Type A, if AvailableSlotCounting is enabled [and for TB processing across multiple slots], in paired spectrum when half duplex = "enabled", the PUSCH-TimeDomainWindowLength duration of each configured TDW in multiple consecutive slots, where:

[0217] (a.1.1) The beginning of the first nominal TDW is the first slot determined for the first PUSCH transmission according to clause 6.1.2.1.

[0218] (a.1.2) The end of the last configured TDW is the last slot for the last PUCCH transmission over the number of consecutive slots.

[0219] (a.1.3) The beginning of any other nominal TDW is the first slot determined for PUSCH transmission after the last slot determined for PUSCH transmission of the previous nominal TDW.

[0220] In some embodiments, systems and methods for wireless communication for fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) systems include a time domain window for joint channel estimation of uplink transmissions; and a configuration indicated by a base station, such as a configuration maintained by a UE, including phase continuity and power consistency during the time domain window.

[0221] In some aspects, uplink transmissions include, but are not limited to, the following cases: PUSCH repetition type A based on physical slots, PUSCH repetition type A based on available slots, PUSCH repetition type B, PUCCH with the same time domain resource allocation in each slot, PUCCH with sub-slot based repetition, Transport Block (TB) Processing across multiple slots (TBoMS), multiple PUSCHs with different TBs, Msg3 repetition in case of a 4-step random access (RACH) procedure, and MsgA PUSCH repetition in case of a 2-step RACH procedure.

[0222] In some embodiments, with respect to the time domain window for joint channel estimation of uplink transmissions, including PUSCH and PUCCH repetitions, a continuous time domain window may be employed for joint channel estimation.

[0223] In some aspects, if PUSCH repetition type B is employed, the beginning of the time domain window is the first actual or nominal repetition, and if transport block (TB) processing over multiple slots (TBoMS) is employed, the beginning of the time domain window is the first slot allocated for TBoMS transmission.

[0224] In some aspects, if the UE is unable to maintain phase continuity and / or power consistency within the time domain window for joint channel estimation due to at least one of the following conditions, but not limited to: DL symbols, synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), control resource sets (CORESETs) with type 0 common search space (CSS), invalid UL symbols, semi-static DL / UL configuration, or dynamic slot format indicators (SFIs) carried by DCI format 2_0, uplink cancellation indications (UL CI), when a PUSCH or PUCCH repetition is canceled due to a collision with an uplink transmission with a higher priority, etc., when the PUSCH overlaps with the PUCCH and UCI is multiplexed onto the PUSCH repetition or one of the PUSCH and PUCCH repetitions is canceled, when the UE needs to receive a DL transmission from the gNB and the UE transmits another uplink channel or signal between two consecutive PUSCH or PUCCH repetitions, when the UE needs to transmit another uplink channel / signal with or without dynamic power sharing simultaneously on different carriers, and when the UE needs to change frequency resources between PUSCH and / or PUCCH repetitions.

[0225] In some aspects, if the UE is unable to maintain phase continuity and / or power consistency within the time domain window for joint channel estimation due to, but not limited to, at least one of the following conditions, the time domain window is further extended until the indicated size number is met:

[0226] In some aspects, if a PUSCH or PUCCH repetition is canceled within the time domain window for joint channel estimation due to a collision with a DL symbol, SSB, CORESET with type 0 common CSS, or semi-static DL / UL configuration containing invalid symbols, the time domain window is further extended until the number of indicated sizes is met.

[0227] In some aspects, the time domain window is not extended if, within the time domain window for joint channel estimation, a PUSCH or PUCCH repetition is canceled due to a collision with a dynamic SFI carried by DCI format 2_0, a UL CI, an uplink transmission with a higher priority, etc., or if the PUSCH overlaps with the PUCCH and UCI is multiplexed into the PUSCH repetition, or if one of the PUSCH and PUCCH repetitions is canceled, or if the UE needs to transmit another uplink channel / signal simultaneously on a different carrier with or without dynamic power sharing, or if the UE needs to change frequency resources between the PUSCH and / or PUCCH repetitions.

[0228] In some aspects, if the UE is unable to maintain phase continuity and / or power consistency within the time domain window for joint channel estimation due to, but not limited to, at least one of the following conditions, the time domain window is restarted after a canceled PUSCH or PUCCH repetition:

[0229] In some embodiments, with respect to the time domain window for joint channel estimation of uplink transmissions, including PUSCH and PUCCH repetitions, a non-contiguous time domain window may be employed for joint channel estimation. Furthermore, if a PUSCH or PUCCH repetition is canceled within the time domain window for joint channel estimation due to a collision with a DL symbol, SSB, CORESET with type 0 common CSS, or semi-static DL / UL configuration including an invalid symbol, the time domain window is restarted after the canceled PUSCH or PUCCH repetition.

[0230] In some embodiments, with respect to the time domain window for joint channel estimation of PUSCH repetition type B or PUCCH with subslot-based repetition, the time domain window may be defined in units of nominal repetition or actual repetition or slot.

[0231] In some aspects, with respect to the time domain window for joint channel estimation of uplink transmissions, including PUSCH and PUCCH repetitions, a non-contiguous time domain window may be employed for joint channel estimation.

[0232] In some embodiments, the beginning of each time domain window may be the first slot or iteration of consecutive slots / iterations for PUSCH / PUCCH repetitions.

[0233] In some aspects, the above embodiments for handling cancellation of PUSCH / PUCCH repetitions may be applied to time domain windows.

[0234] In some aspects, if the configured time domain window duration is longer than the maximum duration for which the UE can maintain phase continuity and power consistency, only events semi-statically configured or indicated in the scheduling DCI for PUSCH or PUCCH repetitions may be used to determine the actual time domain window within the configured time domain window.

[0235] In some embodiments, if the configured time domain window duration is not longer than the maximum duration for which the UE can maintain phase continuity and power consistency, then only events that are semi-statically configured, dynamically triggered, or indicated in the scheduling DCI for PUSCH or PUCCH repetitions may be used to determine the actual time domain window within the configured time domain window.

[0236] In some embodiments, for DMRS bundling for PUCCH repetitions in paired spectrum or FDD systems, the configured time domain windows (TDWs) are consecutive, with the beginning of another configured TDW being the first physical slot immediately following the last physical slot of the previous configured TDW.

[0237] In some embodiments, for DMRS bundling for PUCCH repetitions in unpaired spectrum or TDD systems, the configured TDW is determined based on available slots, where the beginning of the configured TDW is the first available slot after the last available slot of the previous configured TDW.

[0238] In some embodiments, for DMRS bundling for PUCCH repetitions in a half-duplex FDD (HD-FDD) system, the start of the configured TDW is determined based on available slots, where the beginning of the configured TDW is the first available slot after the last available slot of the previous configured TDW.

[0239] In some aspects, with respect to DMRS bundling for PUSCH repetitions in an HD-FDD system when counting based on available slots, the start of the configured TDW is determined based on the available slots, where the beginning of the configured TDW is the first available slot after the last available slot of the previous configured TDW.

[0240] 10 illustrates a block diagram of a communications device, such as an evolved Node-B (eNB), new generation Node-B (gNB) (or another RAN node or base station), transmit / receive point (TRP), access point (AP), radio station (STA), mobile station (MS), or user equipment (UE), in accordance with some aspects. In alternative aspects, communications device 1000 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other communications devices.

[0241] Circuitry (e.g., processing circuitry) is a collection of circuitry implemented in a tangible entity of device 1000, including hardware (e.g., simple circuits, gates, logic, etc.). Circuitry membership may be flexible over time. Circuitry includes members that, when operational, may perform a specified number of operations, either singly or in combination. In one example, circuitry hardware may be invariably designed (e.g., hardwired) to perform specific operations. In one example, circuitry hardware may include variably connected physical components (e.g., execution units, transistors, simple circuits, etc.) including machine-readable media that have been physically modified (e.g., magnetically, electrically, movable arrangements of invariable mass particles, etc.) to encode instructions for specific operations.

[0242] When connecting physical components, the underlying electrical properties of the hardware components are changed, for example, from insulator to conductor or vice versa. The instructions enable embedded hardware (e.g., an execution unit or loading mechanism) to create members of circuitry in the hardware through variable connections to perform some of the specific operations when in operation. Accordingly, in one example, a machine-readable medium element is part of the circuitry or is communicatively coupled to other components of the circuitry when the device is operating. In one example, any of the physical components may be used in more than one member of more than one circuitry. For example, under operation, an execution unit may be used in a first circuit of a first circuitry at one time and reused by a second circuit in the first circuitry or a third circuit in the second circuitry at a different time. Further examples of these components with respect to device 1000 are described below.

[0243] In some aspects, device 1000 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other devices. In a networked deployment, communication device 1000 may operate in the capacity of a server communication device, a client communication device, or both in a server-client network environment. In one example, communication device 1000 may operate as a peer communication device in a peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. Communication device 1000 may be a UE, eNB, PC, tablet PC, STB, PDA, mobile phone, smartphone, web appliance, network router, switch, or bridge, or any communication device capable of executing instructions (sequence or otherwise) that define actions to be taken by the communication device. Additionally, although only a single communications device is shown, the term "communications device" shall also be construed to include any collection of communications devices that individually or collectively execute a set (or sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies described herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), and other computer cluster configurations.

[0244] Examples may include or operate on logic or components, modules, or mechanisms as described herein. Modules are tangible entities (e.g., hardware) that can perform specified operations and may be configured or arranged in a particular manner. In an example, a circuit may be configured in a specified manner (e.g., internally or with respect to external entities such as other circuits) as a module. In an example, all or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., standalone, client, or server computer systems) or one or more hardware processors may be configured as modules that operate to perform specified operations via firmware or software (e.g., instructions, application portions, or applications). In an example, software may reside on a communication device-readable medium. In an example, the software, when executed by the underlying hardware of the module, causes the hardware to perform specified operations.

[0245] Thus, the term "module" is understood to encompass a tangible entity that is physically constructed, dedicatedly configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., transiently) configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or to perform some or all of any of the operations described herein. When considering examples in which modules are temporarily configured, each of the modules need not be instantiated at any one time. For example, if the modules include a general-purpose hardware processor configured using software, the general-purpose hardware processor may be configured as each different module at different times. Accordingly, the software may configure the hardware processor, for example, to configure a particular module at one time and a different module at a different time.

[0246] The communications device (e.g., UE) 1000 may include a hardware processor 1002 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory 1004, a static memory 1006, and a storage device 1007 (e.g., a hard drive, a tape drive, flash storage, or other block or storage device), some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., a bus) 1008.

[0247] The communication device 1000 may further include a display device 1010, an alphanumeric input device 1012 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 1014 (e.g., a mouse). In one example, the display device 1010, the input device 1012, and the UI navigation device 1014 may be touchscreen displays. The communication device 1000 may further include a signal generating device 1018 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 1020, and one or more sensors 1021, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or another sensor. The communication device 1000 may include an output controller 1028, such as a serial (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection, to communicate with or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, a card reader, etc.).

[0248] The storage device 1007 may include a communication device-readable medium 1022 on which one or more sets of data structures or instructions 1024 (e.g., software) are stored that embody or are utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. In some aspects, the processor 1002, the main memory 1004, the static memory 1006, and / or the registers of the storage device 1007 may be or comprise (completely or at least partially) the device-readable medium 1022 on which one or more sets of data structures or instructions 1024 that embody or are utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. In one example, one or any combination of the hardware processor 1002, the main memory 1004, the static memory 1006, or the storage device 1007 may constitute the device-readable medium 1022.

[0249] As used herein, the term “device-readable medium” is interchangeable with “computer-readable medium” or “machine-readable medium.” While the communication device-readable medium 1022 is shown as a single medium, the term “communications device-readable medium” may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database and / or associated caches and servers) configured to store one or more instructions 1024. The term “communications device-readable medium” encompasses the terms “machine-readable medium” or “computer-readable medium” and may include any medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions (e.g., instructions 1024) executed by the communication device 1000 that cause the communication device 1000 to perform any one or more of the techniques of this disclosure, or capable of storing, encoding, or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting examples of communication device-readable media may include solid-state memory, and optical and magnetic media. Specific examples of communication device readable media may include semiconductor memory devices (e.g., Electrically Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; random access memory (RAM); and non-volatile memory such as CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. In some examples, the communication device readable medium may include a non-volatile communication device readable medium. In some examples, the communication device readable medium may include a communication device readable medium that is not a transitory, propagating signal.

[0250] The instructions 1024 may be further transmitted or received over a communications network 1026 using a transmission medium via the network interface device 1020 utilizing any one of a number of transport protocols. In one example, the network interface device 1020 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet jacks, coaxial, or telephone jacks) or one or more antennas connected to the communications network 1026. In one example, the network interface device 1020 may include multiple antennas to communicate wirelessly using at least one single-input-multiple-output (SIMO), MIMO, or multiple-input-single-output (MISO) technology. In some examples, the network interface device 1020 may communicate wirelessly using multi-user MIMO technology.

[0251] The term "transmission medium" shall be construed to encompass any intangible medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions executed by communication device 1000, including a digital or analog communication signal or another intangible medium to facilitate the communication of such software. In this regard, transmission media in the context of this disclosure are device-readable media.

[0252] The terms "machine-readable medium," "computer-readable medium," and "device-readable medium" mean the same thing and may be used interchangeably in this disclosure. These terms are defined to include both machine storage media and transmission media. Thus, these terms include both storage devices / media and carrier wave / modulated data signals.

[0253] The described implementations of the subject matter can include one or more of the features, alone or in combination, as illustrated below, by way of example.

[0254] Example 1 is an apparatus for user equipment (UE) configured for operation in a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) and beyond wireless network, the apparatus comprising: processing circuitry; and a memory coupled to the processing circuitry and configured to store the DCI and the upper layer signaling. The device further includes: a memory configured to store the DCI and the upper layer signaling; a memory coupled to the processing circuitry and configured to store the DCI and the upper layer signaling; and a memory configured to store the DCI and the upper layer signaling; the memory coupled to the processing circuitry and configured to store the DCI and the upper layer signaling; and a memory configured to store the DCI and the upper layer signaling. The device further includes: a base station; a base station; a base station; a base station; a base station; a base station; a base station; a base station; a wireless network ...

[0255] In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 includes subject matter wherein the PUSCH repetitions are configured with at least one TDW, and an ending slot of a last TDW is a last slot of a last PUSCH repetition of the PUSCH repetitions.

[0256] In Example 3, the subject matter of Examples 1-2 includes the subject matter wherein the processing circuitry is configured to detect an event causing a discontinuity in each of the PUSCH repetitions within the TDW having the same carrier phase and the same transmit power.

[0257] In Example 4, the subject matter of Example 3 includes the subject matter where the processing circuitry is configured to configure a termination slot of the TDW to end with a last symbol of the uplink transmission before the event; or to configure the TDW to restart after the event.

[0258] In Example 5, the subject matter of Examples 3-4 includes the subject matter where the processing circuitry is configured to: detect a subset of the PUSCH repetitions in a configured TDW that completed before the event; configure a second TDW having the number of slots equal to the size, the second TDW being non-contiguous with the TDW; and generate transmission of the remaining subset of the PUSCH repetitions during the second TDW.

[0259] In Example 6, the subject matter of Examples 3-5 includes common CSS or invalid symbols.

[0260] In Example 7, the subject matter of Examples 3-6 includes the subject matter where the event is at least one of the PUSCH repetitions overlapping with a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) having a different priority.

[0261] In Example 8, the subject matter of Examples 3-7 includes the subject matter where the event is at least one of the PUCCH repetitions in the TDW overlapping with a PUSCH not configured by the DCI.

[0262] In Example 9, the subject matter of Examples 3-8 includes the subject matter where the event is at least one of the PUSCH repetitions overlapping with a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) carrying dynamic hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) feedback or at least one of the PUSCH repetitions being canceled.

[0263] In Example 10, the subject matter of Examples 3-9 includes subject matter wherein the event is associated with transmission by the UE of another uplink channel on a different carrier at the same time, with or without dynamic power sharing.

[0264] In Example 11, the subject matter of Examples 1-10 further comprises transceiver circuitry coupled to the processing circuitry; and two or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry.

[0265] Example 12 is a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), the instructions configuring the UE for joint channel estimation of uplink transmissions in 5th Generation New Radio (5G NR) and beyond wireless networks, causing the UE to perform operations including: decoding downlink control information (DCI) or higher layer signaling received from a base station, the DCI or the higher layer signaling indicating a number of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetitions forming the uplink transmission; decoding the higher layer signaling received from the base station, the higher layer signaling indicating a size of a time domain window (TDW) associated with the uplink transmission; and encoding data related to the PUSCH repetitions within the TDW, the TDW having a number of slots equal to the size, and each of the PUSCH repetitions within the TDW being associated with the same carrier phase and the same transmit power.

[0266] In Example 13, the subject matter of Example 12 includes subject matter wherein the PUSCH repetitions are configured with at least one TDW, and an end slot of a last TDW is a last slot of a last PUSCH repetition of the PUSCH repetitions.

[0267] In Example 14, the subject matter of Examples 12-13 includes the operations further including detecting an event that causes a discontinuity in each of the PUSCH repetitions within the TDW having the same carrier phase and the same transmit power.

[0268] In Example 15, the subject matter of Example 14 includes the operations further including configuring a terminating slot of the TDW to end with a last symbol of the uplink transmission before the event.

[0269] In Example 16, the subject matter of Examples 14-15 includes the operations further including: detecting a subset of the PUSCH repetitions in a configured TDW that completed before the event; configuring a second TDW having the number of slots equal to the size, the second TDW being non-contiguous with the TDW; and generating transmission of the remaining subset of the PUSCH repetitions during the second TDW.

[0270] In Example 17, the subject matter of Examples 14-16 includes common CSS or invalid symbols.

[0271] In Example 18, the subject matter of Examples 14-17 includes the subject matter where the event is at least one of the PUSCH repetitions overlapping with a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) having a different priority.

[0272] Example 19 is a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a base station, the instructions configuring the base station for joint channel estimation of uplink transmissions in 5th Generation New Radio (5G NR) and beyond wireless networks, causing the base station to perform operations including encoding downlink control information (DCI) or higher layer signaling for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the DCI or the higher layer signaling indicating a number of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetitions forming the uplink transmission; encoding higher layer signaling for transmission to the UE, the higher layer signaling indicating a size of a time domain window (TDW) associated with the uplink transmission; and decoding data received via the PUSCH repetitions within the TDW, the TDW having a number of slots equal to the size, and each of the PUSCH repetitions within the actual TDW being associated with the same carrier phase and the same transmit power.

[0273] In Example 20, the subject matter of Example 19 includes subject matter where the PUSCH repetitions are arranged in at least one TDW, and the end slot of the last TDW is the last slot of the last PUSCH repetition of the PUSCH repetitions.

[0274] Example 21 is at least one machine-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform operations that implement any of Examples 1-20.

[0275] Example 22 is an apparatus comprising means for implementing any of Examples 1-20.

[0276] Example 23 is a system that implements any of Examples 1 to 20.

[0277] Example 24 is a method for implementing any of Examples 1-20.

[0278] While the embodiments have been described with reference to certain exemplary embodiments, it will be apparent that various modifications and changes can be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative, rather than a restrictive, sense. This detailed description is therefore not to be construed in a limiting sense, and the scope of the various embodiments is defined solely by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. 。 [Item 1] 1. An apparatus for user equipment (UE) configured for operation in a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) and beyond wireless network, the apparatus comprising: processing circuitry, wherein to configure the UE for joint channel estimation of uplink transmissions in the 5G NR and beyond wireless network, the processing circuitry comprises: decoding downlink control information (DCI) or higher layer signaling received from a base station, the DCI or the higher layer signaling indicating a number of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetitions forming the uplink transmission; decoding higher layer signaling received from the base station, the higher layer signaling indicating a size of a time domain window (TDW) associated with the uplink transmission; and Encode data for the PUSCH repetitions within the TDW, the TDW having a number of slots equal to the size, and each of the PUSCH repetitions within the TDW being associated with the same carrier phase and the same transmit power. and a memory coupled to the processing circuitry and configured to store the DCI and the higher layer signaling; An apparatus comprising: [Item 2] 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the PUSCH repetitions are configured with at least one TDW, and the end slot of the last TDW is the last slot of the last PUSCH repetition among the PUSCH repetitions. [Item 3] the processing circuitry Detecting an event that causes an interruption in each of the PUSCH repetitions within the TDW having the same carrier phase and the same transmit power. Item 1. The device according to item 1, configured as follows: [Item 4] the processing circuitry Configuring the end slot of the TDW to end with the last symbol of the uplink transmission before the event; or Configure the TDW to resume after the event. Item 4. The device according to item 3, configured as follows: [Item 5] the processing circuitry Detecting a subset of the PUSCH repetitions within a configured TDW that were completed before the event; constructing a second TDW having the number of slots equal to the size, the second TDW being non-contiguous with the TDW; and generating transmission of a remaining subset of the PUSCH repetitions during the second TDW; Item 4. The device according to item 3, configured as follows: [Item 6] 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the event is a collision with a semi-static downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) configuration including a DL symbol, a synchronization signal block (SSB), a control resource set (CORESET) with type 0 common CSS, or an invalid symbol. [Item 7] 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the event is that at least one of the PUSCH repetitions overlaps with a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) having a different priority. [Item 8] 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the event is that at least one of the PUCCH repetitions in the TDW overlaps with a PUSCH that is not configured by the DCI. [Item 9] 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the event is that at least one of the PUSCH repetitions overlaps with a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) that carries dynamic hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) feedback, or that at least one of the PUSCH repetitions is canceled. [Item 10] 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the event is associated with transmission by the UE of another uplink channel on a different carrier at the same time, with or without dynamic power sharing. [Item 11] transceiver circuitry coupled to the processing circuitry; and two or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry 11. The device according to any one of items 1 to 10, further comprising: [Item 12] 1. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), the instructions configuring the UE for joint channel estimation of uplink transmissions in a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) and beyond wireless network, the instructions comprising: decoding downlink control information (DCI) or higher layer signaling received from a base station, the DCI or the higher layer signaling indicating a number of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetitions forming the uplink transmission; decoding higher layer signaling received from the base station, the higher layer signaling indicating a size of a time domain window (TDW) associated with the uplink transmission; and encoding data for the PUSCH repetitions within the TDW, the TDW having a number of slots equal to the size, and each of the PUSCH repetitions within the TDW being associated with the same carrier phase and the same transmit power; 1. A computer-readable storage medium for causing a computer to perform operations including: [Item 13] Item 13. The computer-readable storage medium of item 12, wherein the PUSCH repetitions are configured with at least one TDW, and the end slot of the last TDW is the last slot of the last PUSCH repetition of the PUSCH repetitions. [Item 14] The operation is detecting an event causing an interruption in each of the PUSCH repetitions within the TDW having the same carrier phase and the same transmit power; Item 13. The computer-readable storage medium of item 12, further comprising: [Item 15] The operation is configuring the end slot of the TDW to end with the last symbol of the uplink transmission before the event; Item 15. The computer-readable storage medium of item 14, further comprising: [Item 16] The operation is detecting a subset of the PUSCH repetitions within a configured TDW that were completed before the event; configuring a second TDW having the number of slots equal to the size, the second TDW being non-contiguous with the TDW; and generating transmission of a remaining subset of the PUSCH repetitions during the second TDW; Item 15. The computer-readable storage medium of item 14, further comprising: [Item 17] Item 15. The computer-readable storage medium of item 14, wherein the event is a collision with a semi-static downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) configuration including a DL symbol, a synchronization signal block (SSB), a control resource set (CORESET) with type 0 common CSS, or an invalid symbol. [Item 18] Item 15. The computer-readable storage medium of item 14, wherein the event is that at least one of the PUSCH repetitions overlaps with a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) having a different priority. [Item 19] 1. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a base station, the instructions configuring the base station for joint channel estimation of uplink transmissions in Fifth Generation New Radio (5G NR) and beyond wireless networks, the instructions comprising: encoding downlink control information (DCI) or higher layer signaling for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the DCI or the higher layer signaling indicating a number of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetitions forming the uplink transmission; encoding higher layer signaling for transmission to the UE, the higher layer signaling indicating a size of a time domain window (TDW) associated with the uplink transmission; and decoding data received via the PUSCH repetitions within the TDW, the TDW having a number of slots equal to the size, and each of the PUSCH repetitions within the actual TDW being associated with the same carrier phase and the same transmit power; 1. A computer-readable storage medium for causing a computer to perform operations including: [Item 20] 20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the PUSCH repetitions are arranged in at least one TDW, and the end slot of the last TDW is the last slot of the last PUSCH repetition of the PUSCH repetitions.

Claims

1. 1. An apparatus for user equipment (UE) configured for operation in a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) network, the apparatus comprising: and a processing circuitry for configuring a plurality of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) repetitions in the 5G NR network, the processing circuitry comprising: decoding a downlink control information (DCI) format, the DCI format scheduling a PUSCH transmission of PUSCH repetition type A within a time domain window (TDW), the PUSCH transmission including a plurality of PUSCH repetitions, the DCI indicating a size of the TDW associated with the PUSCH transmission, the TDW including a number of slots equal to the size; determining a start slot of a first TDW as a first slot for a first PUSCH transmission of the PUSCH transmissions; encoding data for the first PUSCH transmission in the first TDW, the first PUSCH transmission starting in the first slot; Detecting an event within the first TDW that causes power consistency and phase continuity to not be maintained between multiple PUSCH repetitions within the first PUSCH transmission; configuring the last symbol of a PUSCH repetition completed before the event as the end of the first TDW; configuring a second TDW having a number of slots equal to the size; and restarting the second TDW from a PUSCH repetition following a PUSCH repetition in which the event occurred.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first TDW and the second TDW are non-contiguous.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the event that causes the power consistency and the phase continuity between the PUSCH repetitions to not be maintained is based on a collision with a downlink reception using a downlink slot.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the DCI format comprises a plurality of TDWs, the plurality of TDWs including the first TDW.

5. the processing circuitry 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein higher layer signaling received from a base station indicates the size of the TDW associated with the PUSCH transmission, and wherein each PUSCH repetition among the plurality of PUSCH repetitions within the TDW is associated with a same carrier phase and a same transmit power.

6. the processing circuitry detecting that a subset of the plurality of PUSCH repetitions in the first TDW is completed before the event; configuring said second TDW with a number of slots equal to said size; causing transmission of a remaining subset of the plurality of PUSCH repetitions during the second TDW.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, configured to perform:

7. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the event is a collision with a downlink (DL) symbol, a synchronization signal block (SSB), a control resource set with type 0 common CSS (CORESET), or a semi-static DL or uplink (UL) configuration that includes an invalid symbol.

8. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the event is that at least one PUSCH repetition of the plurality of PUSCH repetitions overlaps with a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) having a different priority.

9. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the event is that at least one PUSCH repetition of the plurality of PUSCH repetitions overlaps with a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) carrying dynamic hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) feedback or that at least one PUSCH repetition of the plurality of PUSCH repetitions is canceled.

10. transceiver circuitry coupled to said processing circuitry; and two or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

11. For base stations for communications in fifth-generation new radio (5G NR) and beyond wireless networks, 1. A method for encoding a downlink control information (DCI) format for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the DCI format scheduling a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission of PUSCH repetition type A within a time domain window (TDW), the PUSCH transmission including a plurality of PUSCH repetitions, the DCI indicating a size of the TDW associated with the PUSCH transmission, the TDW including a number of slots equal to the size; decoding data from a first PUSCH transmission in a first TDW, the first PUSCH transmission starting in a first slot, the first slot being a start slot of the first TDW; A computer program that causes a program to execute a last symbol of a PUSCH repetition in the first PUSCH transmission is at the end of the first TDW, the PUSCH repetition is completed before an event occurs, the event causes power consistency and phase continuity to be lost among multiple PUSCH repetitions in the first PUSCH transmission within the first TDW, and a second TDW is restarted from the PUSCH repetition following the PUSCH repetition in which the event occurred, the second TDW having a number of slots equal to the size.

12. The computer program product of claim 11 , wherein the event that causes the power consistency and the phase continuity between the PUSCH repetitions to not be maintained is based on a collision with a downlink reception using a downlink slot.

13. The computer program product of claim 11 , wherein the DCI format comprises a plurality of TDWs, the plurality of TDWs being non-contiguous and including the first TDW.

14. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program according to any one of claims 11 to 13.

15. A user equipment (UE), transceiver circuitry coupled to one or more antennas; and processing circuitry coupled to the transceiver circuitry, wherein for configuring multiple Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) repetitions using the transceiver circuitry in a Fifth Generation New Radio (5G NR) and beyond network, the processing circuitry: decoding a downlink control information (DCI) format, the DCI format scheduling a PUSCH transmission of PUSCH repetition type A within a time domain window (TDW), the PUSCH transmission including a plurality of PUSCH repetitions, the DCI indicating a size of the TDW associated with the PUSCH transmission, the TDW including a number of slots equal to the size; determining a start slot of a first TDW as a first slot for a first PUSCH transmission of the PUSCH transmissions; encoding data for the first PUSCH transmission in the first TDW, the first PUSCH transmission starting in the first slot; Detecting an event within the first TDW that causes power consistency and phase continuity to not be maintained among multiple PUSCH repetitions within the first PUSCH transmission; Configuring the last symbol of a PUSCH repetition completed before the event as the end of the first TDW; constructing a second TDW having a number of slots equal to the size and restarting the second TDW from the PUSCH repetition following the PUSCH repetition in which the event occurred. UE.

16. 16. The UE of claim 15, wherein the event that causes the power consistency and the phase continuity between the PUSCH repetitions to not be maintained is based on a collision with a downlink reception using a downlink slot.

17. The UE of claim 15 , wherein the DCI format comprises a plurality of TDWs, the plurality of TDWs being non-contiguous and including the first TDW.

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