Inter-device communication

By determining resource collisions and adjusting selection based on reference signal power and using preferred and non-preferred lists, user equipment enhances sidelink communication efficiency and reduces interference.

JP7792511B2Active Publication Date: 2025-12-25APPLE INC
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2024524408
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2022-09-01
Filing Date
2022-11-01
Publication Date
2025-12-25
Estimated Expiration
2042-11-01

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Collisions occur in sidelink communications between user equipment due to resource selection conflicts and interference, leading to inefficiencies and potential interference.

Method used

User equipment determines potential resource collisions by analyzing reference signal received power and transmits collision messages to adjust resource selection, uses preferred and non-preferred resource lists, and employs periodicity-based partial sensing for aperiodic transmissions.

Benefits of technology

Reduces the likelihood of resource collisions, improves resource selection reliability, and optimizes power consumption through efficient sidelink communication management.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

In one embodiment, the sidelink control information includes a first device receiving sidelink control information from a second device indicating resource reservation for a single-slot resource that the second device uses to communicate with the first device, determining, based at least in part on the sidelink control information, whether a potential resource collision exists when the first device is scheduled to communicate with another device using the single-slot resource or when the single-slot resource is reserved by another device, and in response to determining that a potential resource collision exists, transmitting, by the first device, a collision message within a predetermined number of slots from a reference slot to cause the second device to determine another single-slot resource to use to communicate with the first device.
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Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 901,022, filed September 1, 2022, which claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 276,248, filed November 5, 2021. [Background technology]

[0002] User equipment, e.g., a mobile device such as a cellular phone, tablet, or vehicle, can use resources for communication with other devices. For example, user equipment can communicate with external user equipment using sidelink transmissions. Data transmissions can include, e.g., receiving data using the sidelink and, e.g., transmitting data using the sidelink. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In general, one aspect of the subject matter described herein can be realized in a method that includes receiving, by a first device and from a second device, sidelink control information indicating resource reservations for single-slot resources to be used by the second device to communicate with the first device; determining, by the first device based at least in part on the sidelink control information, whether a potential resource collision exists when the first device is scheduled to communicate with another device using the single-slot resource or when the single-slot resource is reserved by another device; and, in response to determining that a potential resource collision exists, transmitting, by the first device, a collision message within a predetermined number of slots from a reference slot to cause the second device to determine another single-slot resource to be used to communicate with the first device.

[0004] In general, one aspect of the subject matter described herein can be realized in a method that includes receiving, by a first device and from a second device, sidelink control information indicating resource reservation for a single-slot resource to be used by the second device to communicate with the first device; determining, by the first device after receiving the sidelink control information, a reference signal received power for a third device having reserved resources that at least partially overlap in time and frequency with the single-slot resource; determining, by the first device, whether the reference signal received power for the third device satisfies a reference signal received power threshold; and, in response to determining that the reference signal received power for the third device satisfies the reference signal received power threshold, transmitting a collision message to cause the second device to determine another single-slot resource to use to communicate with the first device.

[0005] In general, one aspect of the subject matter described herein can be realized in a method that includes the following actions: determining, by a first device, a time window including a plurality of time slots that can be used to determine a time slot for communicating with another device using single-slot resources on a sidelink communication channel; determining, by the first device, first and second offsets that identify the time window relative to a reference time slot; and transmitting, during the reference time slot, by the first device: i) to a second device, a message including a request that the second device identify the first and second offsets that identify the time window, and iii) respond with an identification of one or more time slots in the time window for the single-slot resources.

[0006] In general, one aspect of the subject matter described herein can be realized in a method that includes the actions of: determining, by a first device, one or more first preferred single slot resources from a set of multiple candidate resources for communicating with another device; receiving, by the first device, from a second device a message indicating one or more second preferred single slot resources from the set of multiple candidate resources that the first device can use to communicate with the second device; determining one or more intersection single slot resources, each of which is one of the one or more first preferred single slot resources and one or more first preferred single slot resources; determining whether a quantity of the one or more intersection single slot resources satisfies a quantity threshold; and, in response to determining whether the quantity of the one or more intersection single slot resources satisfies the quantity threshold, selectively reporting, to a higher layer of the first device, a) the one or more intersection single slot resources, or b) a set of resources from the one or more intersection single slot resources and the one or more first preferred single slot resources.

[0007] In general, one aspect of the subject matter described herein can be realized in a method that includes receiving, by a first device from a second device, a message indicating one or more non-preferred single-slot resources that the first device should not use to communicate with the second device; determining a suitable subset of candidate resources by excluding the one or more non-preferred single-slot resources from a set of multiple candidate resources; determining one or more preferred resources from the suitable subset of candidate resources; determining, by the first device, whether the message indicating the non-preferred single-slot resources has been received; in response to determining that the first device has received the message indicating the non-preferred single-slot resources, determining a quantity threshold using either a non-preferred percentage or a number of resources in the suitable subset of candidate resources, or both; determining whether the quantity of the one or more preferred resources meets the quantity threshold; and, in response to determining whether the quantity of the one or more preferred resources meets the quantity threshold, selectively reporting the one or more preferred resources to a higher layer of the first device or increasing a decibel level of a priority value for use in sensing one or more other preferred resources. The non-preferred percentage may be a different percentage than the percentage used when the first device does not receive a message indicating a non-preferred single slot resource.

[0008] In general, one aspect of the subject matter described herein can be realized in a method that includes the following actions: determining, by a first device, a set of candidate slots using periodicity-based partial sensing; determining, by the first device, to aperiodically transmit data to a second device during the first slots; determining whether a gap between the first slot and a start of the set of candidate slots satisfies a first slot gap threshold indicating a first number of slots; and, in response to determining that the gap satisfies the first slot gap threshold, determining, by the first device, a consecutive partial sensing window having i) a starting slot that is at least a first number of slots before the start of the set of candidate slots and ii) an ending slot that is at least a second slot gap threshold before the start of the set of candidate slots, the second slot gap threshold indicating a second number of slots; and determining, by the first device, a subset of slots from the set of candidate slots to use for aperiodically transmitting data to the second device using consecutive partial sensing in the consecutive partial sensing windows.

[0009] In general, one aspect of the subject matter described in this specification can be realized in a method that includes the following actions: determining, by a first device, a first set of candidate slots using periodicity-based partial sensing; determining, by the first device, to aperiodically transmit data to a second device during the first slots; determining whether a gap between the first slot and a start of the first set of candidate slots satisfies a first slot gap threshold; and, in response to determining that the gap does not satisfy the first slot gap threshold, determining, by the first device, a consecutive partial sensing window having i) a starting slot that is a first predetermined number of slots from the first slot and ii) an ending slot that is up to a second predetermined number of slots from the first slot; and determining, by the first device, a second set of candidate slots to use for aperiodically transmitting data to the second device using consecutive partial sensing within the consecutive partial sensing windows.

[0010] Other examples of this aspect include corresponding computer systems, devices, computer program products, and computer programs stored on one or more computer storage devices, each configured to perform the operations of the method. One or more computer systems can be configured to perform particular operations or actions by installing software, firmware, hardware, or a combination thereof into the operating system and causing the system to perform the operations. One or more computer programs can be configured to perform particular operations or actions by comprising instructions that, when executed by a data processing device, cause the device to perform the operations.

[0011] The above and other embodiments may optionally include one or more of the following features, alone or in combination: Transmitting the collision message may comprise transmitting the collision message within a predetermined number of slots from a slot in which the first device received the sidelink control information. Transmitting the collision message may comprise transmitting the collision message within a predetermined number of slots from a slot in which a potential resource collision exists in accordance with the received sidelink control information.

[0012] In some implementations, the method can include receiving resource pool configuration data or pre-configuration data that identifies a reference slot. Transmitting the collision message can include transmitting an inter-device coordination message. The predetermined number of slots can be three or fewer slots. Transmitting the collision message can include transmitting the collision message within three or fewer slots from the reference slot to cause the second device to determine another single-slot resource to use to communicate with the first device.

[0013] In some implementations, the method can include receiving, by the first device from the third device, second sidelink control information indicating a second resource reservation for a second single-slot resource used by the third device to communicate with the first device; determining, by the first device after receiving the second sidelink control information, whether a potential resource conflict exists when the first device is scheduled to communicate with another device using the second single-slot resource; and, in response to determining that a potential resource conflict does not exist, determining, by the first device, to skip transmitting a conflict message within a predetermined number of slots from a reference slot. The second device can be the third device.

[0014] In some implementations, the reference signal received power threshold may be a second reference signal received power for the second device. The method may include determining the second reference signal received power for the second device before determining whether the reference signal received power for the third device satisfies the reference signal received power for the second device. Determining whether the reference signal received power for the third device satisfies the reference signal received power for the second device may include determining whether the reference signal received power for the third device is within a power level threshold of the reference signal received power for the second device.

[0015] In some implementations, the reference signal received power threshold may be a predetermined reference signal received power threshold. The method may include receiving resource pool configuration data or pre-configuration data identifying the reference signal received power threshold. Receiving sidelink control information may include receiving sidelink control information identifying the reference signal received power threshold. Determining whether the reference signal received power for the third device satisfies the reference signal received power threshold may include determining whether the reference signal received power for the third device is greater than, equal to, or greater than or equal to the reference signal received power threshold.

[0016] In some implementations, the method can include, after transmitting the message, receiving, by the first device from the second device, a response identifying one or more time slots for the single-slot resource determined by the second device using the first offset, the second offset, and the data for the reference time slot. The method can include, by the first device, determining, by the first device, one of the one or more time slots identified in the response, the single-slot resource for communicating with the other device.

[0017] In some implementations, determining the time window can include determining a time window including a plurality of preferred resources from which the second device can select one or more resources that can be used to determine the single-slot resource, each of which has a corresponding time slot and a corresponding subchannel index. Transmitting the message can include transmitting a message including a request for the second device to respond with identification information of one or more resources selected from the plurality of preferred resources for the single-slot resource.

[0018] In some implementations, determining the time window can include determining a time window including a plurality of non-preferred resources, each having a corresponding time slot and a corresponding subchannel index, from which the second device should not select one or more resources that can be used to determine the single-slot resource. Transmitting the message can include transmitting a message including a request for the second device to respond with identification of one or more resources for the single-slot resource selected from the plurality of resources that do not include the non-preferred resources.

[0019] In some implementations, the method can include determining a set of resources from one or more first preferred single-slot resources. Determining the set of resources can include determining a set of resources from the one or more first preferred single-slot resources that excludes one or more intersecting single-slot resources. The method can include configuring a quantity threshold for each resource pool. The method can include configuring the quantity threshold using data priority.

[0020] In some implementations, the selective reporting can include selectively reporting, to an upper layer of the first device, one or more intersecting single slot resources and a set of resources from the one or more first preferred single slot resources in response to determining that the quantity of the one or more intersecting single slot resources does not satisfy a quantity threshold. The method can include, after selectively reporting, selecting, by the upper layer of the first device, one or more intersecting single slot resources for communication with the second device, and randomly selecting, by the upper layer of the first device, a quantity of resources from the set of resources for communication with the second device. The selective reporting can include selectively reporting, to the upper layer of the first device, one or more intersecting single slot resources in response to determining that the quantity of the one or more intersecting single slot resources satisfies a quantity threshold.

[0021] In some implementations, the method can include, by an upper layer of the first device, randomly selecting, after selectively reporting, an amount of resources from the one or more intersecting single-slot resources for communication with the second device. Receiving the message can include receiving an inter-device coordination message.

[0022] In some implementations, selectively reporting one or more preferred resources to a higher layer of the first device or increasing a decibel level can include reporting the one or more preferred resources to a higher layer of the first device in response to determining that the quantities of the one or more preferred resources meet a quantity threshold. Selectively reporting one or more preferred resources to a higher layer of the first device or increasing a decibel level can include increasing a decibel level for a priority value for use in sensing one or more other preferred resources in response to determining that the quantities of the one or more preferred resources do not meet a quantity threshold.

[0023] In some implementations, determining the proper subset of candidate resources may include excluding any candidate single-slot resources from the set of multiple candidate resources for which a) a reference signal received power for the sidelink control information is higher than a threshold and b) the candidate single-slot resources are periodically reserved by another device within a resource selection window. Determining one or more preferred resources from the proper subset of candidate resources may include determining one or more preferred resources by identifying one or more first preferred resources from the set of multiple candidate resources and excluding each of one or more non-preferred single-slot resources from the one or more first preferred resources.

[0024] In some implementations, the first slot gap threshold may be greater than the second slot gap threshold. Determining the set of candidate slots may occur before determining to aperiodically transmit data to the second device. The set of candidate slots may be consecutive. The method may include determining the second slot gap threshold using consecutive partial sensing result processing times and sidelink transmission preparation times.

[0025] In some implementations, the method can include aperiodically transmitting data by a second device to a first device via slots from a subset of slots. The method can include determining whether a quantity of slots in the set of candidate slots satisfies a quantity threshold. Determining the consecutive partial sensing window can be responsive to determining that the quantity of slots satisfies the quantity threshold and that gaps satisfy a first slot gap threshold. Determining the consecutive partial sensing window can include determining a consecutive partial sensing window having a starting slot that is the first slot gap threshold before the start of the set of candidate slots.

[0026] In some implementations, the method may include determining whether a quantity of slots in the first set of candidate slots satisfies a quantity threshold. Determining the consecutive partial sensing window may be responsive to determining that the quantity of slots does not satisfy the quantity threshold and that the gaps do not satisfy a first slot gap threshold. The first predetermined number of slots may be one. The second predetermined number of slots may be 32 or less.

[0027] In some implementations, the method can include aperiodically transmitting data by the second device to the first device via slots from a second set of candidate slots. The method can include determining a second predetermined number of slots using a successive partial sensing result processing time and a sidelink transmission preparation time. Determining the second predetermined number of slots can include determining the second predetermined number of slots having a distance between a start slot and an end slot that is at most two minutes.

[0028] The subject matter described herein can be implemented in various embodiments and can provide one or more of the following advantages: The systems and methods described herein can reduce the likelihood of device, e.g., user equipment, resource collisions. The systems and methods described herein can improve the selection of preferred and non-preferred resources for use in transmissions between devices, e.g., user equipment. The systems and methods described herein can improve candidate resource selection, reliability, or both by reusing periodicity-based partial sensing candidates for aperiodic transmissions. The systems and methods described herein can reduce power consumption by performing partial sensing, e.g., by using continuous partial sensing for aperiodic communications.

[0029] The details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described herein are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the specification below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter will become apparent from the description, drawings, and claims. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0030] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates an example environment in which a first device communicates with a second device using a sidelink channel.

[0031] [Figure 2] 1 illustrates an example environment in which a first device, a second device, or both, may use preferred or non-preferred resources.

[0032] [Figure 3] 1 illustrates an example timeline for a device sensing candidate slots for communication with another device.

[0033] [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of an exemplary process for determining whether a collision exists.

[0034] [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of an exemplary process for determining whether a collision exists.

[0035] [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of an example process for sending a time window message.

[0036] [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of an example process for determining resources to use to communicate with another device.

[0037] [Figure 8]FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of an example process for determining whether to use periodic-based partial sensing for aperiodic communication.

[0038] [Figure 9] 1 illustrates a wireless network according to some implementations.

[0039] [Figure 10] 1 illustrates a user equipment (UE) according to some implementations.

[0040] [Figure 11] 1 illustrates an access node according to some implementations.

[0041] Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0042] Devices can use various protocols to communicate with each other. For example, a first user equipment, such as a smartphone, can communicate with a second user equipment, such as another smartphone, using a cellular connection that includes a base station.

[0043] A device may be able to communicate directly with another device without using a base station, for example, a device may use a sidelink channel to transmit data to or receive data from other devices, e.g., to communicate with other devices.

[0044] To communicate on the sidelink channel, two devices must select resources in time and frequency on which to communicate. Collisions can occur when one device selects a less-than-ideal resource. For example, collisions can occur when different devices select the same resource for communication, when the reference signal received power for different devices meets a threshold that would cause interference when the two devices attempt to communicate, or both.

[0045] To reduce the likelihood of collisions, a device receiving a resource reservation request from a second device can determine whether a collision is likely to occur. The device can make this determination within a predetermined number of slots after receiving the request, within a predetermined number of slots of the identified resource, or both. The device can make this determination, for example, using a reference signal received power of another device within a threshold distance of the device, a reference signal received power of the second device, or both. The device can then use the result of the collision likelihood determination to indicate whether the second device should select another resource for communication with the first device.

[0046] In some implementations, two devices can communicate to select a set of preferred resources. Preferred resources may be resources with a lower likelihood of collision. For example, a first device can receive a list of resources from a second device, the list identifying either preferred or non-preferred resources. If the list identifies a preferred resource of the second device, the first device can select its own preferred resource from the second device's list of resources and communicate with the second device using one of those resources.

[0047] If the list identifies non-preferred resources of the second device, the first device can determine its own preferred resources that do not include any of the non-preferred resources of the second device. The two devices can then communicate using one of the first device's preferred resources.

[0048] To indicate a list of preferred or non-preferred resources, a device can use a time window. For example, a second device can transmit data to a first device identifying a time window. The data can indicate a start slot, an end slot, or both of the time window. The data can indicate whether the time window is for preferred or non-preferred resources.

[0049] To improve the reliability of selected resources, a device creating a list of candidate resources, e.g., preferred resources, can determine whether to use periodic-based partial sensing ("PBPS") candidate resources for aperiodic transmissions. The device can use the number of resources in the list of candidate resources, the number of slots before the start of the list of candidate resources, or both to determine whether to use PBPS candidate resources. When one or more thresholds are met, the device can use continuous partial sensing ("CPS") with PBPS. When any of the thresholds are not met, the device can use CPS without PBPS.

[0050] 1 illustrates an example environment 100 in which a first device 102 communicates with a second device 104 using a sidelink channel 108. The first device 102 can communicate with the second device 104 using resources selected by one or a combination of both devices 102, 104. For example, instead of having a base station 114 assign resources to the first device 102 to use when communicating with the second device 104, the first device 102, the second device 104, or both, determine the resources to use for communication between the two devices 102, 104.

[0051] The second device 104 can determine resources to use when communicating with the first device 102, e.g., for sidelink transmissions. The second device 104 can generate sidelink control information ("SCI") that identifies the resources. The second device 104 can generate sidelink control information ("SCI") that identifies the resources. The second device 104 can generate sidelink control information ("SCI") that identifies the resources in slot T. A During the sidelink control information identifying the resources may be transmitted to the first device 102.

[0052] The first device 102 receives sidelink control information identifying reserved resources. The first device 102 can determine whether there is or may be a collision between the reserved resources and other resources that the first device 102 is scheduled to use to communicate with another device, e.g., the third device 110, or other resources reserved for use by another device, e.g., the third device 110. For example, the third device 110 can reserve other resources for use to communicate with a fourth device (not shown). The other resources reserved for use by the other devices can be resources for a physical sidelink shared channel ("PSSCH").

[0053] For example, the time period T BDuring the analysis, the first device 102 can determine whether the reference signal received power meets a power threshold. The reference signal received power can be for the third device 110, e.g., the third reference signal received power 112, or for the second device, e.g., the second reference signal received power 106, or the first device can analyze both reference signal received powers 106, 112.

[0054] In some examples, the power threshold may be, for example, a predetermined threshold for absolute interference. For example, the first device 102 may use 8 decibel milliwatts ("dBm") as the power threshold. The first device 102 may sense the third reference signal received power 112 of the third device 110 using a sensor included in the first device 102. The first device 102 may compare the third reference signal received power 112 with a predetermined threshold, for example, 8 dBm. When the third reference signal received power 112 meets, for example, is greater than, equal to, or greater than the predetermined threshold, the first device 102 may determine that a collision may occur. When the third reference signal received power does not meet, for example, is less than, equal to, or less than the predetermined threshold, the first device may determine that a collision is not likely.

[0055] In some examples, the power threshold may be, for example, one of two reference signal receive powers 106, 112 for relative interference. For example, the first device 102 may use a sensor to sense the second reference signal receive power 106 and the third reference signal receive power 112. The first device 102 may compare the two reference signal receive powers 106, 112. When the third reference signal receive power 112 meets the second reference signal receive power 106, the first device 102 may determine that a collision may occur. When the third reference signal receive power 112 does not meet the second reference signal receive power 106, the first device may determine that a collision is not likely.

[0056] The first device 102 may use the determination of whether a collision is possible to determine whether to transmit the collision message 116. For example, if the first device 102 determines that a collision is not possible, the first device 102 may decide to skip transmitting the collision message 116 to the second device 104.

[0057] When the first device 102 determines that a collision may occur, the first device 102 waits for a time period T C In, for example, slot T C During the communication, the first device 104 may transmit a collision message 116 to the second device 104. The collision message 116 may indicate that a collision may occur. In some implementations, the collision message 116 may be inter-device coordination information, such as inter-user equipment coordination information.

[0058] The first device 102 may determine the time period T C For example, the first device 102 may determine to transmit the collision message 116 up to a first predetermined number of slots P1 after the first device 102 receives sidelink control information (“SCI”) during slot R1. The first device 102 may determine to transmit the collision message 116 up to a second predetermined number of slots P2 before slot R2 for the reserved resources. The first predetermined number P1, the second predetermined number P2, or both may be up to three slots, e.g., two to three slots. By using the first predetermined number, the first device 102 may improve latency in the environment 100. By using the second predetermined number, the first device 102 may improve reliability, e.g., reduce the likelihood that a collision will not occur.

[0059] The body of the collision message 116 may include a value indicating whether a collision is likely to occur. For example, the collision message 116 may include a bit indicating whether a collision is likely to occur. This bit may be present in the body of the collision message 116. In some examples, the collision message 116 includes only a single bit indicating whether a collision is likely to occur.

[0060] The second device 104 receives the collision message 116. The second device 104 can use the collision message 116 to determine whether a collision is likely to occur. For example, the second device 104 can analyze the collision message 116 to determine the value of a bit. The second device 104 can use the value of the bit to determine whether a collision is likely to occur. If the second device 104 determines that a collision is likely to occur if the second device 104 uses the reserved resources to communicate with the first device 102, the second device 104 can reserve another resource for communication with the first device 102.

[0061] In some implementations, the first device 102 transmits the collision message 116 to the second device 104 only when a collision is likely to occur. In these implementations, if the first device 102 determines that a collision is not likely to occur, the first device 102 may decide to skip transmitting the collision message 116 to the second device 104. The second device 104 may determine that a collision is not likely to occur when the second device 104 does not receive the collision message 116. For example, the second device 104 may determine that a first predetermined number of slots P1 or a second predetermined number of slots P2 has elapsed and that a collision is not likely to occur. If the second device 104 determines that a collision is not likely to occur, the second device 104 may communicate with the first device 102 using the reserved resources.

[0062] The collision message may have any suitable format. In some implementations, the collision message may have a physical sidelink feedback channel ("PSFCH") format, such as a PSFCH Format 0 sequence. The collision message may be represented by a sequence of data. For example, a single physical resource block may contain a circular shift of the sequence, N CS For example, each cyclic shift pair in the sequence represents a collision message, and the number of cyclic shift pairs N CS can be 1, 2, 3, or 6. When a receiving device, for example, the second device 104, receives a particular sequence in a particular physical resource block, the receiving device can determine that a collision has occurred or is likely to occur.

[0063] A transmitting device, e.g., a first device, may use any suitable process to generate the collision messages, e.g., the sequence. For example, the transmitting device may generate collision messages, e.g., the sequence, e.g., m0 and m cs In some examples, the value m cs can always be equal to 0. The initial circular shift m0 is CS For example, N CS If =1, then m0={0} and N CS = 2, then m0 = {0, 3}, and N CS = 3, then m0 = {0, 2, 4}, and N CS = 6, then m0 = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}.

[0064] The first device 102, the second device 104, or both may use any suitable method to determine whether to use the first predetermined number P1 or the second predetermined number P2. For example, a resource pool configuration or pre-configuration may indicate whether to use the first or second predetermined number. In some examples, data from the second device, e.g., sidelink control information, may indicate whether to use the first or second predetermined number.

[0065] A resource pool is a set of time and frequency resources that can be used for sidelink communications, e.g., transmission, reception, or both. Devices sharing a resource pool may know configuration data for the resource pool that indicates various configuration values ​​for the resource pool. For example, the devices may know the configuration data when they determine pre-configuration data to be part of the configuration data, when they receive the configuration data from the network, or both. These configuration values ​​may include a value that identifies whether a device using the pool uses a first or second predetermined number and a corresponding reference to the predetermined number, e.g., sidelink control information slots R1 or reserved resource slots R2.

[0066] The devices 102, 104, 110 may include personal computers, mobile communication devices, and other devices capable of transmitting and receiving data over a sidelink channel. In some implementations, one or more of the devices 102, 104, 110 may transmit and receive data using a base station 114. For example, one or more of the devices 102, 104, 110 may be a smartphone, a smart vehicle, or a smart speaker.

[0067] 2 illustrates an example environment 200 in which a first device 202, a second device 204, or both, can use preferred or non-preferred resources. The devices 202, 204 can use resources by identifying preferred or non-preferred resources available for communication. The devices 202, 204 can use one or more lists of preferred, non-preferred, or both resources to select preferred resources for communicating with other devices.

[0068] For example, the first device 202 may decide to request a list of one or more resources from the second device 204. The list of one or more resources may include, for example, a time window for the resources if the resources are contiguous, or a list of one or more distinct resources, such as resource slots. The request may indicate, for example, that the first device 202 desires to communicate with another device and needs to select resources from the time window 212 to use for communication. When the first device 202 receives a response from the second device 204, the first device 202 may use the response to select resources to use for communication with the other device, regardless of whether the other device is the second device 204.

[0069] The first device 202 is A To determine the time window 212 within, for example, the time window selection module 206 included in the resource selection module 208 may be used. The time window 212 may identify a number of slots from which a receiving device, e.g., a second device, identifies one or more resources.

[0070] Once the first device 202 determines the time window 212 for the list of one or more resources, the time window selection module 206 may determine a reference slot R1 during which the first device 202 transmits a message 210 to the second device 204. The message 210 may be a resource identification request, a device-to-device coordination message, a user equipment-to-user equipment coordination message, or any other suitable message.

[0071] The time window selection module 206 may use the reference slot R1 to determine a first offset t1 from the reference slot R1 that indicates the number of slots after the reference slot R1 when the time window 212 begins. The time window selection module 206 may use the reference slot R1 to determine a second offset t2 from the reference slot R1 that indicates the number of slots after the reference slot R1 when the time window 212 ends.

[0072] The first device 202 is B During the reference slot R1, for example, the second device 204 may transmit a message 210, e.g., a resource identification request, to the second device 204. The message 210 may include a first offset t1 and a second offset t2. In some examples, the message 210 does not explicitly identify the reference slot R1. Instead, the second device 204 may use the slot in which it received the message 210 as the reference slot R1.

[0073] Upon receiving message 210, e.g., a resource identification request, second device 204 may identify one or more resources using time window 212. Second device 204 may use any suitable process to identify resources. For example, second device 204 may have its own resource selection module 209, implemented, e.g., in one or more processors, that may be used to select one or more resources or slots for resources.

[0074] The resource selection module 209 can select resources using a time window 212, e.g., a first offset t1 and a second offset t2 for the time window. For example, the resource selection module 209 can use the resource identification request 210 to determine the time window 212. The resource selection module 209 can receive data for the resource identification request 210 that indicates a reference slot R1, a first offset t1, a second offset t2, or a combination of two or more of these. The resource selection module 209 can use the received data to determine the time window 212. The resource selection module 209 can then select one or more resources having a time slot within the time window 212. The resource selection module 209 can select one or more resources, each having a frequency, e.g., a subchannel index.

[0075] The resources may be preferred resources, e.g., resources that the first device 202 can use to communicate with other devices, such as the second device 204. When a resource is a preferred resource, the second device 204 may identify fewer than all preferred resources, e.g., up to a predetermined number of preferred resources.

[0076] The resources may be non-preferred resources, such as resources that may conflict or resources that the second device 204 is scheduled to use for communication with another device. When a resource is a non-preferred resource, the second device 204 may identify all of the non-preferred resources.

[0077] The second device 204 may determine whether to identify preferred resources or non-preferred resources to respond to the resource identification request. For example, the second device 204 may determine whether the amount of preferred resources is greater than the amount of non-preferred resources if a predetermined maximum number of preferred resources does not exist. If the amount of preferred resources is greater, the second device 204 may determine to transmit the list of non-preferred resources as the identified time resources. If the amount of preferred resources is not greater, the second device 204 may determine to transmit the list of preferred resources as the identified resources. In some examples, instead of comparing the amount of non-preferred resources to the amount of preferred resources, the second device 204 may compare the amount of non-preferred resources to a predetermined maximum number of preferred resources.

[0078] Once the second device 204 identifies the one or more resources, the second device 204 may C During, for example, a time period T C The second device 204 may respond to the first device 202 with a resource list during a slot in the resource list. The resource list includes an identifier for each of the resources, e.g., slots, for which the second device 204 has been identified. The identifier may indicate a time, a frequency, or both for the corresponding resource. In some examples, the resource list may include data, e.g., a binary value, indicating whether the resource list is a list of preferred or non-preferred resources. A first value of the binary value, e.g., 1, may indicate that the resource list is a list of preferred resources. A second value of the binary value, e.g., 0, may indicate that the resource list is a list of non-preferred resources.

[0079] The first device 202 can receive the resource list and provide the resource list to the resource selection module 208. The resource selection module 208 can determine, for example, using a binary value, whether the resource list identifies preferred or non-preferred resources.

[0080] When the resource selection module 208 determines that the resource list identifies a second preferred resource for the second device 204, the resource selection module 208 may determine one or more first preferred resources for the first device 202. The resource selection module 208 may then determine one or more intersection resources that are included in both the first preferred resource and the second preferred resource. When the amount of a resource in the one or more intersection resources meets, e.g., is greater than, equal to, or both, an amount threshold, the resource selection module 208 may send data for the one or more intersection resources to an upper level in the second device 204.

[0081] For example, the resource selection module 208 can be implemented in a physical layer of the first device 202. The resource selection module 208 can transmit data identifying the one or more intersection resources to an upper layer above the physical layer in the first device 202.

[0082] If the resource selection module 208 determines that the amount of intersection resources does not meet, e.g., is less than, equal to, or both, the amount threshold, the resource selection module 208 can send first data about the one or more intersection resources and second data about one or more additional resources to upper layers. The one or more additional resources can be resources included in the first preferred resources that are not included in the intersection resources, e.g., resources preferred by the first device 202 that are not also preferred by the second device 204.

[0083] The volume threshold may be a predetermined threshold. For example, the volume threshold may be configured or pre-configured per resource. In some examples, the volume threshold may depend on data priority.

[0084] Upon receiving data regarding one or more resources, the upper layer of the first device 202 can randomly select a predetermined number of resources. If the upper layer receives data only for intersection resources, the upper layer can select, for example, randomly, a predetermined number of resources from the intersection resources. If the upper layer receives data for the intersection resources and one or more additional resources, the upper layer can select all of the intersection resources and randomly select the remaining resources from the additional resources for a total selection of the predetermined number of resources.

[0085] If the resource selection module 208 determines that the resource list identifies a non-preferred resource for the second device 204, the resource selection module 208 may determine one or more preferred resources for the first device 202. The resource selection module 208 excludes the non-preferred resource for the second device 204 from the one or more preferred resources.

[0086] The resource selection module 208 determines the amount of preferred resources remaining after filtering out the non-preferred resources. The resource selection module 208 compares the amount to a second threshold amount. When the amount meets the second threshold amount, the resource selection module 208 transmits data for the remaining preferred resources to upper layers of the first device 202.

[0087] When the amount does not meet the second threshold amount, the resource selection module 208 may increase the decibel level, e.g., the decibel level for the priority value, at which the first device 202 senses the additional preferred resources. The resource selection module 208 may then cause the first device 202 to sense the additional preferred resources using the increased decibel level until the number of remaining preferred resources for the first device 202, after filtering out the non-preferred resources of the second device 204, meets the second threshold amount.

[0088] In some implementations, the resource selection module 208 can dynamically determine the second threshold amount. For example, the resource selection module 208 can use the first threshold amount in response to receiving a list of preferred resources and can dynamically determine the second threshold amount in response to receiving a list of non-preferred resources.

[0089] The resource selection module 208 determines the threshold amount T=X*M total X can be a percentage. M total may be the number of resources in the resource selection window. When using a list of non-preferred resources, the resource selection module 208 may P a different, e.g., lower, percentage of unfavorable resources X NP When using a list of preferred resources, the resource selection module 208 selects a number of resources M for a pool of candidate resources that includes both the preferred resources of the first device 202 and the preferred resources of the second device 204. total-P When using the list of unpreferred resources, the resource selection module 208 may select a number M of resources for the pool of candidate resources excluding the unpreferred resources of the first device. total-NP For example, a list of undesired resources S NP When using the number of resources Mtotal-NP is M total-P -S NP can be equal to

[0090] 2 illustrates the time window selection module 206 as part of the resource selection module 208, the first device 202 may use any suitable configuration for the time window selection module 206. For example, the time window selection module 206 may be separate from or at least partially included within the resource selection module 208.

[0091] 3 shows an example timeline 300 for a device sensing candidate slots for communication with another device. The device can decide whether to use continuous partial sensing (“CPS”) alone or in conjunction with periodic-based partial sensing (“PBPS”).

[0092] A device can use periodic-based partial sensing 302 to determine one or more slots 304 for resources that the device can use during periodic communication with another device. For example, the device can use one or more resources from the slots 304 to periodically communicate with other devices, e.g., according to a schedule.

[0093] When a device receives a resource selection trigger 306 during slot n for aperiodic communication, the device can determine candidate slots for communication. Typically, the device uses only the CPS to determine candidate slots. In FIG. 3, the device can determine whether to use the CPS together with the PBPS to determine candidate slots.

[0094] For example, when a device receives the resource selection trigger 306, the device may determine whether a PBPS candidate slot 308 identified during the periodic-based partial sensing 302 is at least a first slot gap threshold T1 away from slot n. The first slot gap threshold T1 may indicate a minimum number of slots required for the device to prepare to use a slot from the PBPS candidate slot 308. When the device determines that the PBPS candidate slot is at least the first slot gap threshold T1 away from slot n, the device may decide to use the PBPS candidate slot 308. This may improve the reliability of resources identified by the device for aperiodic communication.

[0095] In some implementations, the device can determine whether the amount of slots in the PBPS candidate slots 308 meets a threshold amount of slots, e.g., whether it is greater than, equal to, or both. If so, the device can decide to use the PBPS candidate slots 308.

[0096] When the device determines to use the PBPS candidate slot 308, the device may determine a CPS sensing window 310. The device may determine the start of the CPS sensing window 310 as a slot that is a distance of a first slot gap threshold T1 from the start of the PBPS candidate slot 308. The device may determine the end of the CPS window 310 as a slot that is a distance of a second slot gap threshold T2 from the start of the PBPS candidate slot. The device may determine a second slot gap threshold T2 using the consecutive partial sensing result processing time, the sidelink transmission preparation time, or both. For example, the second slot gap threshold T2 may be the sum of the consecutive partial sensing result processing time and the sidelink transmission preparation time.

[0097] If the device determines that the start of the PBPS candidate slot 308a is not at least the first slot gap threshold T1 from slot n or does not include at least the threshold amount of slots, the device may decide to use only CPS. For example, the device may use slot n in which the device received the resource selection trigger 306 to determine the start and end of the CPS sensing window 312. The device may determine the start of the CPS sensing window 312 as a first predetermined number of slots from slot n, e.g., 1. The device may determine the end of the CPS sensing window 312 as a second predetermined number of slots from slot n, e.g., a different number than the first predetermined number. The device may select the second predetermined number as a value less than or equal to 32, e.g., greater than 0.

[0098] When using only CPS, the device can determine one or more candidate slots within the time window. The device can determine slot n, a second predetermined number T B , the successive partial sensing result processing time P1, the sidelink transmission preparation time P2, the first slot gap threshold T1, the second slot gap threshold T2, or a combination of two or more thereof, can be used to determine the time window. For example, the device may determine the start of the time window s1=n+T B +P1+P2. The device can determine the end of the time window e1=n+T2. The device can then use the set of slots within the time window as one or more candidate single-slot resources.

[0099] 4 is a flow diagram of an example process 400 for determining whether a collision exists. For example, process 400 may be used by any of devices 102, 104, 110 from environment 100. Although process 400 is described with reference to a first device and a second device, these devices do not necessarily have to be first device 102 and second device 104, but may be a different combination of devices from environment 100.

[0100] The first device receives sidelink control information from the second device (402). The sidelink control information can indicate resource reservations for single-slot resources that the second device uses to communicate with the first device.

[0101] The first device determines whether a potential resource conflict exists (404). The determination can be based at least in part on the sidelink control information. A potential conflict can exist when the first device is scheduled to communicate with another device using a single-slot resource, or when the single-slot resource is reserved by another device, or both. In some examples, the first device can determine that a potential resource conflict exists when the likelihood of a collision meets a likelihood threshold.

[0102] The first device transmits a collision message 406. For example, in response to determining that a potential collision exists, the first device transmits the collision message. Transmitting the collision message can cause the second device to determine another single-slot resource to use to communicate with the first device.

[0103] The first device may transmit a collision message within a predetermined number of slots from a slot in which the first device received sidelink control information. The first device may transmit a collision message within a predetermined number of slots from a slot in which a potential resource collision exists according to the received sidelink control information. The first device may receive resource pool configuration data or pre-configuration data identifying a reference slot.

[0104] The first device decides to skip transmitting the collision message 408. For example, by deciding to skip transmitting the collision message, the first device can decide not to have the second device determine another single-slot resource to use to communicate with the first device.

[0105] In some implementations, process 400 may include additional steps, fewer steps, or some of the steps may be divided into multiple steps. For example, process 400 may include one or more steps from process 500, described below. Process 400 may include step 502, step 504, step 506, or a combination of two or more of these. In some examples, process 400 includes step 406 but not step 408. In some examples, process 400 includes step 408 but not step 406. In some implementations, process 400 need not include step 402, but may include, for example, steps 404 and 406 or steps 404 and 408.

[0106] 5 is a flow diagram of an example process 500 for determining whether a collision exists. For example, the process 500 may be used by any of the devices 102, 104, 110 from the environment 100.

[0107] The device determines 502 a reference signal received power for other devices that have reserved resources that at least partially overlap in time and frequency with the single-slot resource. The device may use any suitable component, e.g., a sensor, to determine the reference signal received power.

[0108] The device determines 504 a reference signal received power threshold. The device may receive resource pool configuration data or pre-configuration data identifying the reference signal received power threshold. The device may receive sidelink control information identifying the reference signal received power threshold.

[0109] In some examples, the device may determine as the reference signal received power threshold a second reference signal received power for the second device, e.g., at which the device received the sidelink control information.

[0110] The device determines whether the reference signal received power for the other device satisfies a reference signal received power threshold (506). For example, the device may determine whether the reference signal received power is greater than, equal to, or greater than the reference signal received power. In some examples, the device may determine whether the reference signal received power is within a threshold distance of a reference signal received power threshold, for example, when the threshold is a second reference signal received power for the second device.

[0111] In some implementations, process 500 may include additional steps, fewer steps, or some of the steps may be divided into multiple steps. For example, process 500 may include one or more steps from process 400, such as step 406, in response to determining that the reference signal received power for the other device meets the reference signal received power threshold. Process 500 may include performing step 408 in response to determining that the reference signal received power for the other device does not meet the reference signal received power threshold.

[0112] 6 is a flow diagram of an example process 600 for transmitting a time window message. For example, the process 600 may be used by the first device 202 from the environment 200.

[0113] The first device determines 602 a time window including a plurality of time slots that can be used to determine a time slot. The time slot can be for communicating with another device using a single-slot resource on a sidelink communication channel. The time window can be for communicating with another device using a single-slot resource having the time slot on the sidelink communication channel. The other device can be a second device.

[0114] The first device determines 604 a first offset and a second offset that identify a time window relative to a reference time slot. The reference time slot may be a slot in which the first device sends a message, e.g., a slot identification request, to the second device.

[0115] The first device transmits a message during the reference time slot that includes a request to the second device to: i) identify a first offset and a second offset that identify a time window; and ii) respond with an identification of one or more time slots in the time window for the single-slot resource (606). The second device can be another device. In some examples, the second device is a different device from the other device.

[0116] In some implementations, process 600 may include additional steps, fewer steps, or some of the steps may be divided into multiple steps. For example, process 600 may include steps 604 and 606 without step 602. After sending the message, the device may receive a response from the second device identifying one or more time slots for the single-slot resource. The second device may use the data for the first offset, the second offset, and the reference time slot to determine the one or more time slots. The device may then use one of the one or more time slots identified in the response to determine a single-slot resource for communicating with the second device.

[0117] 7 is a flow diagram of an example process 700 for determining resources to use to communicate with another device from environment 200. For example, process 700 may be used by second device 204, e.g., by a lower layer, such as a physical layer, within the second device.

[0118] The first device receives a message from the second device 702. The message may indicate one or more second single-slot resources from a set of multiple candidate resources that the first device can use to communicate with the second device.

[0119] The first device determines whether the second single-slot resource is a preferred resource 704. For example, the first device can determine whether data in the message, such as a flag, indicates whether the second single-slot resource is a preferred or non-preferred resource.

[0120] The first device determines one or more first preferred single-slot resources for communication with another device from the set of candidate resources (706). For example, in response to determining that the second single-slot resource is a preferred resource, the first device determines the one or more first preferred single-slot resources. In some examples, the first device can determine the first single-slot resource before receiving the message or before determining whether the second single-slot resource is a preferred resource.

[0121] The first device determines one or more preferred single slot resources, each being one of the one or more first preferred single slot resources and one of the one or more second preferred single slot resources (708). The one or more preferred single slot resources are one or more intersecting single slot resources.

[0122] The first device determines a suitable subset of candidate resources by excluding one or more non-preferred single-slot resources from the set of candidate resources (710). For example, in response to determining that a second single-slot resource is not a preferred resource, e.g., is a non-preferred resource, the first device determines a suitable subset of candidate resources. The set of candidate resources may include one or more first preferred single-slot resources. For example, the first device may determine a suitable subset that includes one or more first preferred single-slot resources that are also not non-preferred single-slot resources.

[0123] In some implementations, determining the suitable subset may include excluding any candidate single-slot resources from the set of multiple candidate resources for which a) the reference signal received power for the sidelink control information is higher than a threshold and b) the candidate single-slot resources are periodically reserved by another device within the resource selection window.

[0124] The first device determines one or more preferred resources from the appropriate subset of the candidate resources (712). For example, the first device senses one or more first preferred single-slot resources and determines the one or more preferred resources as resources from the first preferred single-slot resources that are in the appropriate subset of the candidate resources.

[0125] In some implementations, the first device can determine one or more first preferred single-slot resources. The first device can determine the one or more preferred single-slot resources by excluding non-preferred single-slot resources from the one or more first preferred resources.

[0126] The first device determines the quantity threshold using either the unfavorable percentage or number of resources in the appropriate subset of candidate resources, or both (714). In some examples, the first device can configure the quantity threshold per resource pool using data priority, or both. A resource pool can be a set of time and frequency resources available for communication with other devices, e.g., for sidelink communication. Data priority can be, for example, before data transmitted via the sidelink.

[0127] The first device determines whether the quantity of one or more preferred single-slot resources meets a quantity threshold (716). The quantity can be a predetermined quantity. The quantity may also be a dynamic quantity, determined, for example, using an unpreferred percentage, the number of resources in the preferred subset, data priority per resource pool, or a combination of two or more of these.

[0128] The first device reports the one or more preferred single-slot resources to a higher layer of the first device 718. For example, in response to determining that the quantity meets the quantity threshold, the first device reports the one or more preferred single-slot resources to a higher layer, for example, above the physical layer.

[0129] The first device reports one or more preferred single-slot resources and a set of resources from the one or more first preferred single-slot resources to a higher layer of the first device (720). For example, in response to determining that the quantity does not meet the quantity threshold, the first device reports the one or more preferred single-slot resources and the set of resources to the higher layer. The set of resources can include first preferred single-slot resources other than those included in the one or more preferred single-slot resources.

[0130] The order of steps in process 700 described above is merely exemplary, and determining resources to use to communicate with other devices may be performed in a different order. For example, process 700 may include performing step 706 before step 704 or before step 702. In some examples, process 700 may include performing step 714 before step 712.

[0131] In some implementations, process 700 may include additional steps, fewer steps, or some of the steps may be divided into multiple steps. For example, process 700 may include selecting, by an upper layer of the first device after selectively reporting, one or more intersecting single-slot resources for communication with the second device, and randomly selecting, by an upper layer of the first device, an amount of resources from the set of resources for communication with the second device. Process 700 may include randomly selecting, by an upper layer of the first device after selectively reporting, an amount of resources from the one or more intersecting single-slot resources for communication with the second device.

[0132] In some implementations, when the quantity of one or more first-referenced single-slot resources does not meet the second quantity threshold, the first device can increase the decibel level of the priority value for use in sensing one or more other preferred resources, and the first device can use the increased decibel level to sense the one or more other preferred resources and repeat one or more steps in the process using the one or more first-preferred single-slot resources and the one or more other preferred resources for the set of candidate resources.

[0133] 8 is a flow diagram of an example process 800 for determining whether to use periodic-based partial sensing for aperiodic communication. For example, process 800 may be used by any of the devices described with reference to FIG. 3, e.g., devices from environments 100, 200.

[0134] The device determines a set of candidate slots using period-based partial sensing 802. For example, the device uses a sensor with period-based partial sensing to determine the set of candidate slots.

[0135] The device determines to aperiodically transmit data to a second device during the first slot 804. For example, the device receives a message, e.g., from an application running on the device, that identifies data to aperiodically transmit to the second device.

[0136] The device determines 806 whether the gap between the first slot and the beginning of the set of candidate slots satisfies a first slot gap threshold indicating a first number of slots. If so, the device can proceed to either step 808 or step 810. If not, the device can proceed to step 814.

[0137] The device determines whether the quantity of slots in the set of candidate slots meets a quantity threshold (808). The device can perform step 808 without performing step 806. In some examples, the device can perform both step 806 and step 808.

[0138] The device determines a successive partial sensing window 810. For example, the device may determine a successive partial sensing window when the gap meets a first slot gap threshold, when the amount of slots meets a amount threshold, or both.

[0139] The consecutive partial sensing window may have i) a starting slot that is at least a first number of slots before the start of the set of candidate slots, and ii) an ending slot that is at least a second slot gap threshold before the start of the set of candidate slots. The second slot gap threshold may indicate a second number of slots. The first slot gap threshold may be greater than the second slot gap threshold.

[0140] The device uses the successive partial sensing within the successive partial sensing window to determine a subset of slots from the set of candidate slots to use for aperiodically transmitting data to the second device 812. The device can use the subset of slots, or slots from the subset, for communication with the second device.

[0141] The device determines a consecutive partial sensing window (814). For example, the device can determine a consecutive partial sensing window when the gap does not meet a first slot gap threshold, when the quantity of slots does not meet a quantity threshold, or both. The consecutive partial sensing window can have i) a starting slot that is a first predetermined number of slots from the first slot, and ii) an ending slot that is up to a second predetermined number of slots from the first slot.

[0142] The device determines a second set of candidate slots to use for aperiodically transmitting data to the second device using the successive partial sensing within the successive partial sensing window (816). For example, the device may determine the second set of candidate slots because the device is unable to use the set of candidate slots. The device may use one or more slots from the second set of candidate slots to communicate with the second device.

[0143] The order of steps in process 800 described above is merely exemplary, and determining whether to use periodic-based partial sensing for aperiodic communication can be performed in a different order. For example, a device can determine to transmit data aperiodically and then determine a set of candidate slots using periodic-based partial sensing.

[0144] In some implementations, process 800 may include additional steps, fewer steps, or some of the steps may be divided into multiple steps. For example, a device may perform step 806 and then step 808. A device may perform steps 806 and 808 substantially simultaneously.

[0145] Although this specification provides examples that refer to single-slot resources, in some implementations, the systems and methods described herein can operate with multi-slot resources. For example, a device can select or transmit a collision message for a two-slot resource.

[0146] Although several implementations have been described, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. For example, various forms of the flows shown above may be used, with steps reordered, added, or removed.

[0147] 9 illustrates a wireless network 900 according to some implementations. The wireless network 900 includes a UE 902 and a base station 904 connected via one or more channels 906A, 906B over an air interface 908. The UE 902 and the base station 904 communicate using a system that supports control for managing the UE 902's access to the network via the base station 904.

[0148] In some implementations, the wireless network 900 may be based on the Long Term Evolution (LTE) and fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) communication standards defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) technical specifications. For example, the wireless network 900 may be an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA)-NR dual connectivity (EN-DC) network or an NR-EUTRA dual connectivity (NE-DC) network. However, the wireless network 900 may also be a standalone (SA) network incorporating only 5G NR. Additionally, other types of communication standards are possible, including future 3GPP systems (e.g., sixth-generation (6G)) systems, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 technologies (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11-2007, IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11-2012, IEEE 802.11ac, or other current or future-developed IEEE 802.11 technologies), IEEE 802.16 protocols (e.g., WMAN, WiMAX, etc.), etc. Although aspects may be described herein using terminology generally associated with 5G NR, aspects of the present disclosure may apply to other systems, such as systems subsequent to 3G, 4G, and / or 5G (e.g., 6G).

[0149] In wireless network 900, UE 902 and any other UEs in the system may be, for example, a laptop computer, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a machine-type device such as a smart meter or a dedicated device for healthcare, an intelligent transportation system, or any other wireless device with or without a user interface. In network 900, base stations 904 provide UE 902 with network connectivity to a wider network (not shown). This UE 902 connectivity is provided via an air interface 908 within a base station coverage area provided by base station 904. In some implementations, such a wider network may be a wide area network operated by a cellular network provider or may be the Internet. Each base station coverage area associated with a base station 904 is supported by an antenna integrated with the base station 904. The coverage area is divided into multiple sectors associated with specific antennas. Such sectors may be physically associated with fixed antennas or may be assigned to a physical area using tunable antennas or antenna settings that can be adjusted in a beamforming process used to direct signals to specific sectors.

[0150] The UE 902 includes a control circuit 910 coupled to a transmit circuit 912 and a receive circuit 914. The transmit circuit 912 and the receive circuit 914 may each be coupled to one or more antennas. The control circuit 910 may include various combinations of application specific circuitry and baseband circuitry. The transmit circuit 912 and the receive circuit 914 may be adapted to transmit and receive data, respectively, and may include radio frequency (RF) circuitry or front-end module (FEM) circuitry.

[0151] In various implementations, aspects of the transmit circuitry 912, receive circuitry 914, and control circuitry 910 may be integrated in various ways to implement the operations described herein. The control circuitry 910 may be adapted or configured to perform various operations, such as those described elsewhere in this disclosure in connection with a UE.

[0152] The transmit circuitry 912 may perform various operations described herein. Additionally, the transmit circuitry 912 may transmit multiple multiplexed uplink physical channels. The multiple uplink physical channels may be multiplexed by time division multiplexing (TDM) or frequency division multiplexing (FDM) with carrier aggregation. The transmit circuitry 912 may be configured to receive block data from the control circuitry 910 for transmission over the air interface 908.

[0153] The receive circuitry 914 may perform various operations described herein. Additionally, the receive circuitry 914 may receive multiple multiplexed downlink physical channels from the air interface 908 and relay the physical channels to the control circuitry 910. The multiple downlink physical channels may be multiplexed using TDM or FDM with carrier aggregation. The transmit circuitry 912 and the receive circuitry 914 may transmit and receive both control data and content data (e.g., messages, images, videos, etc.) structured within data blocks carried by the physical channels.

[0154] 9 also shows a base station 904. In implementations, the base station 904 may be an NG radio access network (RAN) or 5G RAN, an E-UTRAN, a non-terrestrial cell, or a legacy RAN such as UTRAN or GERAN. As used herein, terms such as "NG RAN" may refer to a base station 904 operating in an NR or 5G wireless network 900, and terms such as "E-UTRAN" may refer to a base station 904 operating in an LTE or 4G wireless network 900. The UE 902 utilizes connections (or channels) 906A, 906B, each of which includes a physical communication interface or layer.

[0155] The base station 904 circuitry may include control circuitry 916 coupled to transmit circuitry 918 and receive circuitry 920. The transmit circuitry 918 and receive circuitry 920 may each be coupled to one or more antennas that may be used to facilitate communication over the air interface 908. The transmit circuitry 918 and receive circuitry 920 may be adapted to transmit and receive data, respectively, to any UE connected to the base station 904. The transmit circuitry 918 may transmit a downlink physical channel that includes multiple downlink subframes. The receive circuitry 920 may receive multiple uplink physical channels from various UEs, including the UE 902.

[0156] 9, one or more channels 906A, 906B are depicted as air interfaces enabling communicative coupling and may conform to a cellular communication protocol such as a GSM protocol, a CDMA network protocol, a UMTS protocol, a 3GPP LTE protocol, an Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A) protocol, an LTE-based access to unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U), a 5G protocol, an NR protocol, an NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) protocol, and / or any of the other communication protocols described herein. In implementations, the UE 902 may directly exchange communication data over the ProSe interface. The ProSe interface may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink (SL) interface and may include one or more logical channels, including, but not limited to, a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), and a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH).

[0157] 10 illustrates a UE 1000 according to some implementations. The UE 1000 may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with the UE 902 of FIG.

[0158] The UE1000 may be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a mobile phone, a computer, a tablet, an industrial wireless sensor (e.g., a microphone, a pressure sensor, a thermometer, a motion sensor, an accelerometer, an inventory sensor, a voltage / current meter, etc.), a video device (e.g., a camera, a video camera, etc.), a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch), a relaxed-IoT device, etc.

[0159] The UE 1000 may include a processor 1002, an RF interface circuit 1004, memory / storage 1006, a user interface 1008, sensors 1010, driver circuitry 1012, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 1014, an antenna structure 1016, and a battery 1018. The components of the UE 1000 may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC), portions thereof, separate electronic devices or other modules, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. The block diagram of FIG. 10 is intended to illustrate a high-level view of some of the components of the UE 1000. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other embodiments.

[0160] The components of the UE 1000 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 1020, which may represent any type of interface, input / output, bus (local, system, or expansion), transmission line, trace, optical connection, etc. that may allow various circuit components (on a common or different chips or chipsets) to interact with one another.

[0161] The processor 1002 may include processor circuitry such as, for example, baseband processor circuitry (BaseBand, BB) 1022A, central processing unit circuitry (CPU) 1022B, and graphics processor unit circuitry (Graphics Processor Unit, GPU) 1022C. The processor 1002 may include any type of circuitry or processor circuitry that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions, such as program code, software modules, or functional processes from memory / storage 1006, to cause the UE 1000 to perform the operations described herein.

[0162] In some implementations, the baseband processor circuitry 1022A may access a communications protocol stack 1024 in the memory / storage 1006 to communicate over a 3GPP-compliant network. Generally, the baseband processor circuitry 1022A may access the communications protocol stack to perform user plane functions at the physical (PHY) layer, medium access control (MAC) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, and PDU layer. The baseband processor circuitry 1022A performs user plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, RRC layer, and non-access layer. In some implementations, PHY layer operations may additionally or alternatively be performed by components of the RF interface circuitry 1004. The baseband processor circuitry 1022A may generate or process baseband signals or waveforms that carry information within a 3GPP-compliant network. In some implementations, waveforms for NR may be based on cyclic prefix orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) "CP-OFDM" in the uplink or downlink and discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM "DFT-S-OFDM" in the uplink.

[0163] The memory / storage 1006 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media (e.g., communication protocol stack 1024) that include instructions that may be executed by one or more of the processors 1002 to cause the UE 1000 to perform various operations described herein. The memory / storage 1006 includes any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that may be distributed throughout the UE 1000. In some implementations, some of the memory / storage 1006 may be located on the processor 1002 itself (e.g., L1 and L2 caches), while other memory / storage 1006 may be external to the processor 1002 but accessible via a memory interface. The memory / storage 1006 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid state memory, or any other type of memory device technology.

[0164] The RF interface circuitry 1004 may include transceiver circuitry and a radio frequency front end module (RFEM) that enable the UE 1000 to communicate with other devices over a radio access network. The RF interface circuitry 1004 may include various elements disposed in the transmit or receive paths. These elements may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, combiner circuits, control circuits, etc.

[0165] In the receive path, the RFEM receives radiated signals from the air interface via the antenna structure 1016 and may filter and amplify the signals (using a low noise amplifier). The signals may be provided to a transceiver receiver that downconverts the RF signals to baseband signals that are provided to a baseband processor in the processor 1002.

[0166] In the transmit path, the transmitter of the transceiver upconverts baseband signals received from the baseband processor and provides RF signals to the RFEM, which may amplify the RF signals using a power amplifier before radiating the signals over the air interface via the antenna 1016. In various implementations, the RF interface circuitry 1004 may be configured to transmit and receive signals in a manner that is compliant with NR access technologies.

[0167] The antenna 1016 may include antenna elements that convert electrical signals into radio waves for transmission through the air and convert received radio waves into electrical signals. The antenna elements may be arranged in one or more antenna panels. The antenna 1016 may have antenna panels that are omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof, enabling beamforming and multiple-input multiple-output communications. The antenna 1016 may include microstrip antennas, printed antennas fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards, patch antennas, phased array antennas, etc. The antenna 1016 may have one or more panels designed for a specific frequency band, including the FR1 or FR2 bands.

[0168] User interface circuitry 1008 includes various input / output (I / O) devices designed to enable user interaction with UE 1000. User interface 1008 includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. Input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for accepting input, including, among other things, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touchscreen, a microphone, a scanner, a headset, etc. Output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for displaying or otherwise communicating information, such as a sensor reading, an actuator position(s), or other similar information. The output device circuitry may include any number or combination of audio or visual displays, including, among other things, one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary status indicators such as light emitting diodes "LEDs" and multi-character visual outputs), or more complex outputs such as display devices or touch screens (e.g., liquid crystal displays "LCDs," LED displays, quantum dot displays, projectors, etc.), and output such as text, graphics, multimedia objects, etc. generated or created from operation of the UE1000.

[0169] Sensors 1010 may include devices, modules, or subsystems designed to detect events or changes in their environment and transmit information about the detected events (sensor data) to other devices, modules, subsystems, etc. Examples of such sensors may include, among others, inertial measurement units including accelerometers, gyroscopes, or magnetometers, microelectromechanical systems or nanoelectromechanical systems including 3-axis accelerometers, 3-axis gyroscopes, or magnetometers, level sensors, temperature sensors (e.g., thermistors), pressure sensors, image capture devices (e.g., cameras or lensless apertures), light detection and ranging sensors, proximity sensors (e.g., infrared detectors, etc.), depth sensors, ambient light sensors, ultrasonic transceivers, microphones or other similar audio capture devices, etc.

[0170] The driver circuitry 1012 may include software and hardware elements that operate to control particular devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the UE 1000. The driver circuitry 1012 may include individual drivers that enable other components to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present in or connected to the UE 1000. For example, the driver circuitry 1012 may include a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device, a touchscreen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touchscreen interface, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings of the sensor circuitry 1028 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor circuitry 1028, a driver for obtaining actuator positions of or controlling and allowing access to electromechanical components, a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0171] The PMIC 1014 may manage the power provided to various components of the UE 1000. In particular, with respect to the processor 1002, the PMIC 1014 may control power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

[0172] In some implementations, the PMIC 1014 may control or otherwise be a part of various power saving mechanisms of the UE 1000. The battery 1018 may power the UE 1000, although in some examples, the UE 1000 may be mounted and deployed at a fixed location and may have a power source coupled to a power grid. The battery 1018 may be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, or the like. In some implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, the battery 1018 may be a typical automotive lead-acid battery.

[0173] 11 illustrates an access node 1100 (e.g., a base station or a gNB) according to some implementations. The access node 1100 may be similar to, and substantially interchangeable with, the base station 904. The access node 1100 may include a processor 1102, RF interface circuitry 1104, a core network (CN) interface circuitry 1106, memory / storage circuitry 1108, and an antenna structure 1110.

[0174] The components of the access node 1100 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 1112. The processor 1102, RF interface circuitry 1104, memory / storage circuitry 1108 (including a communications protocol stack 1114), antenna structure 1110, and interconnect 1112 may be similar to the like-named elements shown and described with respect to Figure 10. For example, the processor 1102 may include processor circuits such as a baseband processor circuit (BB) 1116A, a central processing unit circuit (CPU) 1116B, and a graphics processing unit circuit (GPU) 1116C.

[0175] The CN interface circuitry 1106 may provide connectivity to a core network, e.g., a fifth-generation core network (5GC), using a 5GC-compliant network interface protocol, such as a Carrier Ethernet protocol or some other suitable protocol. Network connectivity may be provided to / from the access node 1100 via optical fiber or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuitry 1106 may include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN interface circuitry 1106 may include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0176] As used herein, the terms “access node,” “access point,” etc. may refer to equipment that provides wireless baseband functionality for data and / or voice connectivity between a network and one or more users. These access nodes may be referred to as BSs, gNBs, RAN nodes, eNBs, NodeBs, RSUs, TRxPs, TRPs, 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). As used herein, the terms “NG RAN node” etc. may refer to an access node 1100 operating in an NR or 5G system (e.g., gNB), and the term “E-UTRAN node” may refer to an access node 1100 operating in an LTE or 4G system (e.g., eNB). According to various implementations, the access node 1100 may be implemented as one or more of a macrocell base station and / or a dedicated physical device such as a femtocell, picocell, or other similar cell having a smaller coverage area, lower user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to a macrocell.

[0177] In some implementations, all or a portion of the access node 1100 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network, which may be referred to as a CRAN and / or a virtual baseband unit pool (vBBUP). In a V2X scenario, the access node 1100 may be or operate as a “roadside unit.” The term “roadside unit” or “RSU” may refer to any transportation infrastructure entity used for V2X communications. An RSU may be implemented in or by an appropriate RAN node 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,” etc.

[0178] In the description herein, for convenience, various components may be described as performing a task or tasks. Such descriptions should be construed as including the phrase "configured to." It is expressly intended that a description of a component being configured to perform one or more tasks does not invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) interpretation with respect to that component.

[0179] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components depicted in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more of the operations, techniques, processes, or methods as described in the example section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in connection with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below. As another example, circuitry associated with a UE, a base station, a network element, etc., as described above in connection with one or more of the foregoing figures, may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below in the example section.

[0180] Any of the above examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples) unless otherwise stated. The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments.

[0181] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated, and it is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.

[0182] It is understood that use of personally identifiable information should comply with generally recognized privacy policies and practices that meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled in a manner that minimizes the risk of unintended or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of permitted uses should be clearly indicated to users.

[0183] Claims

Claims

1. 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a first device, resource pool configuration data indicating a reference slot; receiving, by the first device, sidelink control information from a second device indicating a resource reservation for a single slot resource used by the second device to communicate with the first device; determining, by the first device based at least in part on the sidelink control information, whether a potential resource collision exists when the first device is scheduled to communicate with another device using the single slot resource or when the single slot resource is reserved by another device; and In response to determining that the potential resource conflict exists, transmitting, by the first device to the second device, a conflict message that causes the second device to determine another single-slot resource to use to communicate with the first device in a slot determined based on the reference slot indicated by the resource pool configuration data; A method comprising:

2. the reference slot comprises a second slot in which the first device received the sidelink control information; and transmitting the collision message in the slot based on the second slot in which the first device received the sidelink control information. The method of claim 1.

3. the reference slot includes a second slot in which a potential resource conflict exists; and transmitting the collision message includes transmitting the collision message in a second slot based on the second slot in which a potential resource collision exists according to the received sidelink control information. The method of claim 1.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein transmitting the collision message comprises transmitting an inter-device coordination message.

5. the slots based on the reference slot include no more than three slots from the reference slot; transmitting the collision message includes transmitting the collision message within three slots or less from the reference slot to allow the second device to determine another single-slot resource to use to communicate with the first device. The method of claim 1.

6. receiving, by the first device, second sidelink control information from the third device, the second sidelink control information indicating a second resource reservation for a second single-slot resource used by the third device to communicate with the first device; determining, by the first device after receiving the second sidelink control information, whether a potential resource conflict exists when the first device is scheduled to communicate with another device using the second single-slot resource; and determining, by the first device, in response to determining that no potential resource conflict exists, to skip transmitting a conflicting message within a predetermined number of slots from another reference slot; The method of claim 1 , comprising:

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the second device comprises the third device.

8. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the resource pool configuration data indicating the reference slot comprises receiving, by the first device, sidelink resource pool configuration data indicating the reference slot.

9. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the resource pool configuration data indicating the reference slot comprises receiving, by the first device, the resource pool configuration data indicating the reference slot having a value selected from a group consisting of: a) a first value when the reference slot is a slot at which the first device received the sidelink control information; or b) a second value when the reference slot is a slot in which a potential resource collision exists.

10. 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a first device, resource pool configuration data indicating a reference slot; receiving, by the first device, sidelink control information from a second device indicating a resource reservation for a single slot resource used by the second device to communicate with the first device; determining, by the first device after receiving the sidelink control information, a reference signal received power for a third device having reserved resources that at least partially overlap in time and frequency with the single-slot resource; determining, by the first device, whether the reference signal received power for the third device satisfies a reference signal received power threshold for the third device; In response to determining that the reference signal received power of the third device satisfies the reference signal received power threshold of the third device, transmitting a collision message to the second device by the first device to cause the second device to determine another single-slot resource to use for communicating with the first device in a slot determined based on the reference slot indicated by the resource pool configuration data; A method comprising:

11. the reference signal received power threshold comprises a second reference signal received power for the second device; 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the method includes determining the second reference signal received power for the second device before determining whether the reference signal received power for the third device satisfies the reference signal received power for the second device.

12. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein determining whether the reference signal received power for the third device meets the reference signal received power for the second device comprises determining whether the reference signal received power for the third device is within a power level threshold of the reference signal received power for the second device.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the reference signal received power threshold comprises a predetermined reference signal received power threshold.

14. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving the sidelink control information comprises receiving the sidelink control information identifying the reference signal received power threshold.

15. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein determining whether the reference signal received power for the third device satisfies the reference signal received power threshold comprises determining whether the reference signal received power for the third device is greater than, equal to, or greater than or equal to the reference signal received power threshold.

16. 1. An apparatus comprising one or more processors configured to perform operations, the operations comprising: receiving resource pool configuration data indicating a reference slot; receiving sidelink control information from a second device indicating a resource reservation for a single slot resource used by the second device to communicate with the apparatus; determining, based at least in part on the sidelink control information, whether a potential resource conflict exists when the apparatus is scheduled to communicate with another device using the single slot resource or when the single slot resource is reserved by another device; and In response to determining that the potential resource conflict exists, transmitting a collision message to the second device that causes the second device to determine another single-slot resource to use to communicate with the device in a slot determined based on the reference slot indicated by the resource pool configuration data.

17. the reference slot comprises a second slot in which the device received the sidelink control information; and transmitting the collision message includes transmitting the collision message in the slot based on the second slot in which the device received the sidelink control information.

17. The apparatus of claim 16.

18. the reference slot includes a second slot in which a potential resource conflict exists; and transmitting the collision message includes transmitting the collision message in a second slot based on the second slot in which a potential resource collision exists according to the received sidelink control information.

17. The apparatus of claim 16.

19. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein transmitting the collision message comprises transmitting an inter-device coordination message.

20. The operation is receiving second sidelink control information from a third device indicating a second resource reservation for a second single-slot resource used by the third device to communicate with the apparatus; and determining whether a potential resource conflict exists when the apparatus is scheduled to communicate with another device using the second single-slot resource after receiving the second sidelink control information; and and determining, in response to determining that no potential resource conflict exists, to skip transmitting the conflicting message within a predetermined number of slots from another reference slot.

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