Terminals, base stations, communication methods, and systems

By reporting maximum bands and band combinations, the terminal enables appropriate band switching for uplink transmission, addressing the challenge of Rel-18 UL Tx switching and enhancing communication efficiency.

JP7849462B2Active Publication Date: 2026-04-21NTT DOCOMO INC
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Patent Information

Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
NTT DOCOMO INC
Filing Date
2022-04-20
Publication Date
2026-04-21

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing technologies lack the capability to appropriately switch the band for uplink transmission in wireless communication systems, particularly in scenarios involving multiple carriers, as defined in Rel-18 UL Tx switching, where terminals support up to two simultaneous transmissions across three or four bands.

Method used

A terminal reports its maximum number of bands and band combinations supported for UL Tx switching to a base station, allowing the base station to configure and instruct the appropriate band switching, including reporting UL CA band combinations and the number of carriers per band.

Benefits of technology

Enables appropriate band switching for uplink transmission, improving frequency utilization efficiency and UL throughput by aligning terminal capabilities with base station configurations.

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Abstract

Provided is a terminal comprising: a transmission unit that reports, to a base station, the maximum number of bands which are supported for a transmission switching method capable of switching transmission among three or more bands in the terminal; and a reception unit that receives, from the base station, setting information pertaining to the bands which are used in the transmission switching method.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a terminal, a base station, and a communication method in a wireless communication system.

Background Art

[0002] In NR (also referred to as "5G"), which is a successor system to LTE (Long Term Evolution), technologies that satisfy requirements such as a large-capacity system, high data transmission speed, low latency, simultaneous connection of a large number of terminals, low cost, and power saving are being studied (for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

[0003] Furthermore, research on 6G as a next-generation wireless communication method after 5G has been started, and the realization of wireless quality exceeding 5G is expected. For example, in 6G, research is being advanced toward realizing further increased capacity, use of new frequency bands, further reduced latency, further enhanced reliability, further reduction of power consumption, and expansion of coverage in new areas (high altitude, sea, space) by non-terrestrial networks.

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0004]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Also, in 3GPP, research is being conducted to enhance uplink transmission in multi-carriers. For example, an operation in which a terminal that supports up to two transmissions simultaneously dynamically switches the band for transmitting the uplink to three or four bands is being studied. However, there is no existing technology regarding the capability information and setting information for realizing this operation. Therefore, there is a possibility that the band for uplink transmission cannot be switched appropriately.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and aims to provide a technology that enables appropriate switching of the band used for uplink transmission in a wireless communication system. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to the disclosed technology, a transmitting unit reports to the base station the maximum number of bands supported for a transmit switching scheme that allows transmit switching across three or more bands, The system includes a receiving unit that receives setting information regarding the band used in the transmission switching method from the base station, The transmitting unit reports to the base station the maximum number of carriers supported in each band usable with the transmission switching method. A device will be provided. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The disclosed technology provides a technique that enables appropriate switching of the band used for uplink transmission in a wireless communication system. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This figure illustrates a wireless communication system in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This figure illustrates a wireless communication system in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This diagram shows Rel-16 UL Tx switching. [Figure 4] This diagram shows Rel-17 UL Tx switching. [Figure 5] This diagram shows Rel-18 UL Tx switching. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of UE capability. [Figure 7] This figure shows a basic example of operation of the embodiment. [Figure 8] This is a diagram showing an example configuration of base station 10. [Figure 9] This figure shows an example configuration of terminal 20. [Figure 10] This figure shows an example of the hardware configuration of a base station 10 or terminal 20 in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] This is a diagram showing an example of a vehicle configuration. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments described below are examples, and the embodiments to which the present invention is applied are not limited to those described below.

[0011] In the operation of the wireless communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention, existing technologies may be used as appropriate. However, such existing technologies may include, for example, existing LTE or existing NR, but are not limited to existing LTE or NR.

[0012] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present invention described below, terms such as SS (Synchronization signal), PSS (Primary SS), SSS (Secondary SS), PBCH (Physical broadcast channel), PRACH (Physical random access channel), PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel), PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel), and PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel), which are used in existing LTE or NR technologies, will be used. This is for convenience of description, and similar signals, functions, etc., may be called by other names. Also, the above terms in NR correspond to NR-SS, NR-PSS, NR-SSS, NR-PBCH, NR-PRACH, etc. However, even if a signal is used in NR, it is not necessarily explicitly stated as "NR-".

[0013] In addition, in the embodiments of the present invention, the duplex mode may be a TDD (Time Division Duplex) mode, an FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) mode, or another mode (e.g., Flexible Duplex, etc.).

[0014] In addition, in the embodiments of the present invention, when a wireless parameter or the like is "configured", it may mean that a predetermined value is pre-configured, or that a wireless parameter notified from the base station 10 or the terminal 20 is configured.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example (1) of a wireless communication system in the embodiments of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless communication system in the embodiments of the present invention includes a base station 10 and a terminal 20. Although one base station 10 and one terminal 20 are shown in FIG. 1, this is an example, and there may be a plurality of each.

[0016] The base station 10 is a communication device that provides one or more cells and performs wireless communication with the terminal 20. The physical resources of the wireless signal are defined in the time domain and the frequency domain. The time domain may be defined by the number of OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) symbols, and the frequency domain may be defined by the number of subcarriers or the number of resource blocks. The base station 10 transmits synchronization signals and system information to the terminal 20. The synchronization signals are, for example, NR-PSS and NR-SSS. The system information is transmitted, for example, by NR-PBCH and is also referred to as notification information. The synchronization signals and the system information may be referred to as SSB (SS / PBCH block). As shown in FIG. 1, the base station 10 transmits control signals or data to the terminal 20 in the DL (Downlink) and receives control signals or data from the terminal 20 in the UL (Uplink). Both the base station 10 and the terminal 20 are capable of performing beamforming for signal transmission and reception. Also, both the base station 10 and the terminal 20 are capable of applying communication by MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) to the DL or UL. Also, both the base station 10 and the terminal 20 may perform communication via a secondary cell (SCell: Secondary Cell) and a primary cell (PCell: Primary Cell) by CA (Carrier Aggregation). Further, the terminal 20 may perform communication via the primary cell of the base station 10 and the primary secondary cell group cell (PSCell: Primary SCG Cell) of another base station 10 by DC (Dual Connectivity).

[0017] Terminal 20 is a communication device equipped with wireless communication capabilities, such as a smartphone, mobile phone, tablet, wearable device, or M2M (Machine-to-Machine) communication module. As shown in Figure 1, Terminal 20 receives control signals or data from the base station 10 via DL and transmits control signals or data to the base station 10 via UL, thereby utilizing various communication services provided by the wireless communication system. Terminal 20 also receives various reference signals transmitted from the base station 10 and performs propagation path quality measurements based on the reception results of these reference signals.

[0018] Terminal 20 is capable of performing carrier aggregation, which involves bundling multiple cells (multiple CCs (Component Carriers)) together to communicate with base station 10. Carrier aggregation uses one PCell (Primary cell) and one or more SCells (Secondary cells). In addition, a PUCCH-SCell with a PUCCH may be used.

[0019] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an example (2) of a wireless communication system in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 shows an example configuration of a wireless communication system when DC (Dual connectivity) is performed. As shown in Figure 2, a base station 10A that acts as an MN (Master Node) and a base station 10B that acts as an SN (Secondary Node) are provided. Base stations 10A and 10B are each connected to the core network. Terminal 20 can communicate with both base station 10A and base station 10B.

[0020] A cell group provided by base station 10A, which is the MN (Mobile Network Unit), is called an MCG (Master Cell Group), and a cell group provided by base station 10B, which is the SN (Stationary Network Unit), is called an SCG (Secondary Cell Group). In a data center, an MCG consists of one PCell and one or more SCells, and an SCG consists of one PSCell (Primary SCG Cell) and one or more SCells.

[0021] The processing operations in this embodiment may be performed using the system configuration shown in Figure 1, the system configuration shown in Figure 2, or any other system configuration.

[0022] 3GPP is considering ways to enhance multi-carrier operation. Specifically, in Rel-18, they are considering a system where terminals supporting up to two simultaneous transmissions in FR1 (Frequency Range 1) dynamically switch the bands used for UL transmission across three or four bands. Below, we will first explain conventional UL Tx switching, and then discuss the challenges in Rel-18.

[0023] (Regarding UL Tx switching) In conventional technologies (Rel-16, Rel-17), terminal 20 supports a UL Tx switching function (uplink transmission switching function) that allows switching between UL transmissions between two bands (two carriers). Even terminal 20, which only has two transmission chains (Tx Chains), can use the UL Tx switching function to perform operations such as transmitting with two antenna ports on one carrier, or using one antenna port on one carrier to transmit to another carrier using the other antenna port, switching between these operations over time.

[0024] The transmission chain (Tx Chain) is a physical function for transmission in terminal 20, regardless of whether actual transmission is performed. One transmission chain can transmit on one carrier. By switching the carrier used by the transmission chain (the transmission function unit corresponding to the carrier), the carrier to which the transmission chain can transmit can be switched.

[0025] An antenna port is an antenna that can actually transmit data using a transmit chain (Tx Chain). The terms "transmit chain" and "antenna port" are sometimes used interchangeably. Furthermore, "antenna port" can simply be referred to as "port."

[0026] (UL Tx switching for Rel-16) Rel-16 supports UL Tx switching in SUL and CA. In Rel-16, terminal 20 supports two carriers and has two transmit chains. One transmit chain is fixed to one carrier, but the other transmit chain can be associated with either of the two carriers by a switch.

[0027] Therefore, for example, it is possible to transmit simultaneously using two antenna ports with a single carrier. It is also possible for each antenna port to transmit using one antenna port per carrier. These methods can be dynamically switched between.

[0028] Figure 3 shows the UL Tx switching for Rel-16. As shown in the figure, antenna port #1 is fixed to carrier 2, but antenna port #2 can be switched between carrier 1 and carrier 2.

[0029] (UL Tx switching for Rel-17) Next, let's discuss Rel-17. In Re1-17, each of the two transmission chains can handle two carriers, so, for example, as shown on the left side of Figure 4, two-port transmission is possible even with carrier 1. The right side of Figure 4 shows the antenna port connections by band.

[0030] Furthermore, Rel-17 allows switching between three carriers, in addition to switching between two carriers. However, two of the three carriers are within the same band.

[0031] (Rel-18 UL Tx switching) 3GPP is considering "UL Tx switching schemes across up to 3 or 4 bands with restriction of up to 2 Tx simultaneous transmission for FR1 UEs" (a function that dynamically switches the bands on which terminals supporting up to 2 simultaneous transmissions in FR1 transmit UL across 3 or 4 bands). For convenience, this function may be called "Rel-18 UL Tx switching".

[0032] The above function allows terminals that cannot perform UL CA (Carrier Aggregation), or can only perform up to 2 UL CAs, to be configured with three or four UL bands (carriers), and for the base station 10 to dynamically instruct them to transmit on one or two of those UL bands (carriers).

[0033] Figure 5 shows an example of Rel-18 UL Tx switching. Here, as an example, the four bands A to D are used for UL Tx switching. As shown in Figure 5, there are two antenna ports (two Tx chains), and each can be switched to one of the bands A to D.

[0034] This functionality allows the terminal 20 to consider traffic conditions and TDD configuration across multiple UL bands (carriers) and instruct it to use the most suitable UL band (carrier) for each time resource when transmitting UL. This improves frequency utilization efficiency and UL throughput.

[0035] Rel-16 and Rel-17 specify UL Tx switching between two bands. However, in Rel-18 UL Tx switching, it is unclear how to configure terminal 20 with the candidate UL band (carrier) for switching.

[0036] Conventionally, a terminal 20 supporting UL CA can be configured with multiple DL / UL carriers as serving cells, with a number of CCs less than or equal to the number of UL CAs supported by the terminal 20, and the UL CC to be used for transmission can be dynamically specified within those carriers. On the other hand, Rel-18 UL Tx switching requires configuring a number of UL carriers greater than the number of UL CA CCs supported by the UL CA. However, conventional technology does not anticipate configuring a number of UL CCs greater than the number supported.

[0037] Another existing technology is SUL (supplemental uplink). The SUL framework supports linking with NUL (normal uplink) and dynamic switching, but extending the SUL framework is not intended.

[0038] As shown in Figure 6, UE capability for reporting from terminal 20 to base station 10 in response to Rel-16 Tx switching is defined. However, UE capability for Rel-18 UL Tx switching is not defined.

[0039] Regarding the Rel-18 UL Tx switching described above, there is no prior art for the capability report from terminal 20 to base station 10 and the configuration / instructions from base station 10 to terminal 20. Therefore, with prior art, it may not be possible to properly implement "UL Tx switching schemes across up to 3 or 4 bands with restriction of up to 2 Tx simultaneous transmission."

[0040] Therefore, this embodiment describes capability reporting and settings / instructions that enable the proper implementation of "UL Tx switching schemes across up to 3 or 4 bands with restriction of up to 2 Tx simultaneous transmission".

[0041] In this embodiment, we assume "UL Tx switching schemes across up to 3 or 4 bands with restriction of up to 2 Tx simultaneous transmission," but this is just one example. The maximum number of bands within the range of transmission switching may be greater than 4. Also, the number of antenna ports used for transmission may be greater than 2. In other words, there may be cases where simultaneous transmission occurs on 3 or more antenna ports.

[0042] In the following description, unless otherwise specified, one band has one carrier. Therefore, in this specification and claims, "band" may be replaced with "carrier," and "carrier" may be replaced with "band." However, having one carrier in a band is an example, and a band may have multiple carriers. If there are multiple carriers in a band, their number and relationship may be restricted, for example, to two consecutive carriers in frequency. Multiple carriers in a band may be treated the same as a single UL band (carrier) in the following description.

[0043] Furthermore, in the following explanation, the terms "carrier," "CC (component carrier)," and "cell" may be used interchangeably.

[0044] When the maximum number of bands within the transmission switching range is 4, the maximum number of CCs within the transmission switching range is as follows:

[0045] If there is one CC per band, the total number of CCs is 4. If there are two CCs (intra-band) per band, the total number of CCs is 8. If there are two CCs per band, but some bands only have one CC, the total number of CCs is 5 to 7. Also, if there are three or more CCs (intra-band) per band, the total number of CCs is 12 or more.

[0046] (Summary of the embodiment) This embodiment includes the first to third embodiments. Referring to Figure 7, a basic example of operation common to the first to third embodiments will be described.

[0047] In S101, the terminal 20 transmits capability information to the base station 10. Examples of capability information will be described in each embodiment. In S102, the base station 10 transmits configuration information (or instruction information) to the terminal 20. Examples of configuration information / instruction information will also be described in each embodiment.

[0048] Furthermore, the base station 10 determines the settings / instructions for terminal 20 within the range of the capabilities of terminal 20 indicated in the capability information of terminal 20 received in S101, creates the settings / instructions, and transmits them in S102. However, this assumption is just one example.

[0049] In S102, terminal 20 receives configuration information / instruction information and operates according to that information. In S103, when terminal 20 receives DCI from base station 10, for example, according to the configuration information, it switches the band to which the port is connected based on that DCI, and in S104 transmits on the switched port.

[0050] The transmission of configuration / instruction information in S102 may be performed using RRC signaling, MAC CE, DCI, or a combination of any several of these. For example, in the first embodiment described later, if a terminal 20 reports 4 as the maximum number of configurable bands, the base station 10 can configure 8 bands using RRC and instruct 4 bands from those 8 bands using MAC CE.

[0051] The first to third embodiments are described below. Any two of the first to third embodiments can be combined and implemented. It is also possible to combine all of the first to third embodiments and implement them.

[0052] (First Embodiment) In the first embodiment, terminal 20 reports to base station 10 the maximum number of bands that can be set on terminal 20 (that terminal 20 supports) as capability information. Terminal 20 is expected to perform UL Tx switching with the reported maximum number of bands or a smaller number of bands. The above maximum number of bands is the maximum number of bands that terminal 20 supports for UL Tx switching.

[0053] For example, the base station 10 that receives the above capability information may, by any or a combination of RRC signaling, MAC-CE, and DCI, set or instruct the terminal 20 to use information about multiple bands, either the largest number of bands reported by the terminal 20 or a smaller number of bands, as information about the band combination for UL Tx switching.

[0054] The "band information" that base station 10 sets or instructs terminal 20 may be the band itself (band number, etc.), a CC within that band, or a cell within that band.

[0055] Subsequently, for example, within the range of multiple bands set or instructed by the base station 10 to the terminal 10, the terminal 20 performs UL Tx switching according to the UL scheduling received from the base station 10.

[0056] If the terminal 20 does not report the above capability information to the base station 10, the base station 10 may assume that the value specified in the specifications is the maximum number of bands that the terminal 20 supports.

[0057] In the first embodiment, "number of bands" may be read as "number of carriers" or "number of bands + number of carriers".

[0058] Options 1-1 to 1-3 are described below as more detailed examples of the first embodiment.

[0059] <Option 1-1> Terminal 20 reports to base station 10 the maximum number of bands it will support for UL Tx switching. After terminal 20 reports the maximum number of bands, any combination of the reported number of bands may be set (or instructed) as the bands to be used for UL Tx switching. In other words, base station 10 can set (or instruct) any combination of the number of bands reported by terminal 20 as the bands to be used for UL Tx switching for terminal 20.

[0060] For example, suppose the system (terminal 20 and base station 10) has 10 usable bands: Band 1, Band 2, Band 3, ..., Band 10.

[0061] If terminal 20 reports 2 as the maximum number of bands to base station 10, base station 10 can set (or instruct) terminal 20 to use any combination of two bands out of the 10 bands (e.g., band 1 and band 2, band 1 and band 4) as the bands subject to UL Tx switching. Terminal 20 then performs UL Tx switching between the set combination of bands based on the scheduling from base station 10.

[0062] Furthermore, when base station 10 sets a band for terminal 20, it may mean setting a cell (a cell including UL) belonging to that band. For example, when base station 10 sets a combination of band 1 and band 4 as the bands to be UL Tx switched for terminal 20, it may mean setting a combination of cell A (a cell in band 1) and cell B (a cell in band 4).

[0063] Furthermore, if terminal 20 reports to base station 10 that the maximum number of bands to support for UL Tx switching is 2, terminal 20 may be set by base station 10 as the bands subject to Tx switching, regardless of which two-band combination within FR1 or FR2 is selected. In other words, base station 10, upon receiving a report from terminal 20 that the maximum number of bands is 2, can set terminal 20 as the bands subject to Tx switching, regardless of which two-band combination within FR1 or FR2 is selected.

[0064] <Option 1-2> Next, we will describe option 1-2. Terminal 20 reports to base station 10 the maximum number of bands it supports for UL Tx switching. Terminal 20 also reports to base station 10 the UL CA band combination as UL CA capability information. The reporting of the maximum number of bands and the reporting of the UL CA band combination may be done simultaneously or at different times.

[0065] Terminal 20, which reported the maximum number of bands and the UL CA band combination, is assumed to perform UL Tx switching between bands within the UL CA band combination, within the range of the maximum number of bands. Hereafter, BC may be used as an abbreviation for band combination.

[0066] For example, upon receiving the two reports mentioned above, base station 10 will set the terminal 20 to use a combination of bands within the UL CA band combination as the bands subject to UL Tx switching, within the range of the maximum number of bands.

[0067] For example, suppose the system (terminal 20 and base station 20) has 10 usable bands: Band 1, Band 2, Band 3, ..., Band 10. Also, suppose terminal 20 reports to base station 10 the supported UL CA band combinations: BC#1={1,3,5,7,9} and BC#2={2,4,6,8,10}.

[0068] In this case, if terminal 20 reports 2 as the maximum number of bands to support in UL Tx switching to base station 10, terminal 20 will assume that it will perform UL Tx switching on two bands within BC#1 (or BC#2).

[0069] For example, let's assume that terminal 20 is configured by base station 10 to perform UL Tx switching on two bands, and that base station 10 schedules terminal 20 to perform UL Tx switching on the configured two bands.

[0070] As described above, in Option 1-2, compared to Option 1-1, the bands for which UL Tx switching is performed are limited to bands within the UL CA band combination.

[0071] <Options 1-3> Next, options 1-3 will be explained. Terminal 20 reports to base station 10 the maximum number of bands it supports for UL Tx switching. Terminal 20 also reports to base station 10 the UL CA band combination as UL CA capability information. The reporting of the maximum number of bands and the reporting of the UL CA band combination may be done simultaneously or at different times.

[0072] Options 1-3 describe the case where the reported maximum number of bands is greater than the number of bands in the reported band combination. In other words, it describes the case where "maximum number of bands > number of bands in BC". Alt1 and Alt2 below are explained.

[0073] <Options 1-3: Alt1> Terminal 20 is intended to perform UL Tx switching between all bands within the BC or between some multiple bands within the BC.

[0074] For example, it is assumed that for terminal 20, base station 10 sets all or some of the bands within BC as bands on which UL Tx switching can be performed, and that base station 10 schedules UL Tx switching between the set multiple bands for terminal 20.

[0075] For example, suppose terminal 20 reports to base station 10 that it has a maximum number of bands of 4 and a base station with 2 bands. In this case, base station 10 sets the two bands of the base station with respect to terminal 20 as the bands to be targeted for UL Tx switching, and terminal 20 is expected to perform UL Tx switching on those two bands.

[0076] <Options 1-3: Alt2> Terminal 20 is assumed to have multiple bands with a number of bands less than or equal to the maximum number of bands, and to perform UL Tx switching between multiple bands in the reported multiple BCs.

[0077] For example, it is assumed that, for terminal 20, multiple bands are set as bands on multiple base stations, with a number of bands less than or equal to the maximum number of bands, and that terminal 20 is scheduled to perform UL Tx switching between the set multiple bands from base station 10.

[0078] As an example, suppose terminal 20 reports 4 as the maximum number of bands to base station 10, and reports BC#1={1,3} and BC#2={2,4} to base station 10. In this case, for example, base station 10 sets {1,2,3,4} as the bands to be targeted for UL Tx switching for terminal 20, and terminal 10 is expected to perform UL Tx switching on these 4 bands.

[0079] In the first embodiment, the terminal 20 reports the maximum number of bands to the base station 10, so that the base station 10 can set the terminal 20 to bands that match the terminal 20's capabilities. As a result, the terminal 20 can perform UL Tx switching appropriately.

[0080] (Second Embodiment) In the second embodiment, the terminal 20 reports to the base station 10 information regarding one or more band combinations (BCs) for UL Tx switching that it supports for Rel-18 UL Tx switching, separately from the BCs for UL CA. The UL Tx switching BCs to be reported may include bands that do not support UL CA.

[0081] For example, if terminal 20 reports BC1, BC2, and BC3 as BCs for UL CA, terminal 20 may also report BC4 and BC5 as BCs for UL Tx switching.

[0082] Upon receiving a report from terminal 20 regarding the supported UL Tx switching BC, base station 10 may, for example, configure any combination of multiple bands within the UL Tx switching BC as the multiple bands for UL Tx switching for terminal 20. Terminal 20 assumes that base station 10 will schedule the UL Tx switching between these multiple bands.

[0083] As a more specific example, let's explain option 2-1 below.

[0084] <Option 2-1> In Option 2-1, the terminal 20 reports the BC for UL Tx switching to the base station 10, along with the maximum number of bands as described in the first embodiment. The terminal 20 is assumed to perform UL Tx switching on multiple bands with a number of bands less than or equal to the maximum number of bands in the BC for UL Tx switching.

[0085] As an example, suppose terminal 20 reports 4 as the maximum number of bands to base station 10, and reports bands A, B, C, and D as BCs for UL Tx switching. In this case, it is assumed that terminal 20 will perform UL Tx switching within, for example, bands A, B, C, and D.

[0086] For example, upon receiving the above report, base station 10 sets bands A, B, C, and D as BC for UL Tx switching for terminal 20. Terminal 20 assumes that a schedule will be made for UL Tx switching within bands A, B, C, and D.

[0087] As another example, suppose terminal 20 reports to base station 10 that the maximum number of bands is 4, and reports bands A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H as BCs for UL Tx switching. In this case, terminal 20 may set (specify) any combination of bands within bands A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H with four or fewer bands as the BCs to be targeted for UL Tx switching.

[0088] For example, upon receiving the above report, base station 10 selects bands A, B, C, and D from bands A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H, which are four or fewer bands, and sets bands A, B, C, and D as the B and C targets for UL Tx switching for terminal 20. Terminal 20 assumes that base station 10 will schedule UL Tx switching within bands A, B, C, and D.

[0089] In the second embodiment, the terminal 20 reports the UL Tx switching BC to the base station 10 as capability information, so that the base station 10 can set the terminal 20 to a band that matches the terminal 20's capabilities. As a result, the terminal 20 can perform UL Tx switching appropriately.

[0090] (Third embodiment) The third embodiment assumes that a report on the UL Tx switching BC in the second embodiment is provided. However, it is not limited to this assumption, and the third embodiment may be carried out independently of the second embodiment.

[0091] In the third embodiment, the terminal 20 reports capability information to the base station 10 regarding the number of CCs supported in each band of the BC for UL Tx switching as described in the second embodiment. This capability information may be reported per band or per BC.

[0092] Capability information regarding the CC number may be the CC number (number of cells) itself. Note that the band (the band reporting the CC number) in the third embodiment may be a band other than the band within the BC reported in the second embodiment. If the terminal 20 does not report capability information regarding the CC number to the base station 10, the base station 10 may use a predetermined value as the CC number.

[0093] Upon receiving the above report, base station 10 can, for example, configure CCs (cells) within each band of the BC that terminal 20 is targeting for UL Tx switching, within the range of CCs supported by terminal 20. For example, suppose that the bands within the BC that terminal 20 is targeting for UL Tx switching are band 1 and band 2, and that band 1 supports 1 CC and band 2 supports 2 CCs. In this case, base station 10 configures cell A in band 1, and cells B and C in band 2 as the cells for which UL Tx switching will be performed for terminal 20. Terminal 20 assumes that scheduling will be performed for UL Tx switching between cells A, B, and C.

[0094] Furthermore, in the UL Tx switching according to this embodiment, the upper limit of the number of CCs that can be supported in each band or the total bandwidth may be specified in the specifications. For example, for each band, the number of CCs that the terminal 20 can support may be specified as "up to 2 consecutive CCs" or "consecutive CCs within a 100 MHz band". In this case, the base station 10 sets the number of cells within this specified range as cells in the band to be targeted for UL Tx switching in the terminal 20.

[0095] As a more specific example, let's explain option 3-1 below.

[0096] <Option 3-1> In Option 3-1, the terminal 20 reports the number of CCs within one band to the base station 10, as well as the maximum number of bands as described in the first embodiment. At this time, the terminal 20 can assume that the maximum number of UL CCs that can be set by the base station 10 for UL Tx switching is "number of CCs within one band × maximum number of bands". Based on this assumption, the terminal 20 can, for example, secure processing resources.

[0097] For example, if terminal 20 reports to base station 10 that the maximum number of configurable bands is 4 and the maximum number of CCs within one band is 2, terminal 20 will assume that the maximum number of UL CCs that can be configured on terminal 20 is 8.

[0098] In the third embodiment, the terminal 20 reports the maximum number of CCs within one band to the base station 10 as capability information, so that the base station 10 can set CCs for the terminal 20 that are appropriate to the terminal 20's capabilities. As a result, the terminal 20 can perform UL Tx switching appropriately.

[0099] (Device configuration) Next, we will describe an example of the functional configuration of the base station 10 and terminal 20 that perform the processes and operations described above.

[0100] <Base station 10> Figure 8 shows an example of the functional configuration of the base station 10. As shown in Figure 8, the base station 10 has a transmitting unit 110, a receiving unit 120, a setting unit 130, and a control unit 140. The functional configuration shown in Figure 20 is merely an example. Any functional classification and functional unit names are acceptable as long as they can perform the operations according to the embodiment of the present invention. Also, the transmitting unit 110 and the receiving unit 120 may be collectively referred to as the communication unit.

[0101] The transmitting unit 110 includes the function of generating a signal to be transmitted to the terminal 20 and transmitting the signal wirelessly. The receiving unit 120 includes the function of receiving various signals transmitted from the terminal 20 and obtaining information from the received signals, for example, information from a higher layer. The transmitting unit 110 also has the function of transmitting NR-PSS, NR-SSS, NR-PBCH, DL / UL control signals, DCI via PDCCH, data via PDSCH, etc. to the terminal 20.

[0102] The setting unit 130 stores pre-configured setting information and various setting information to be transmitted to the terminal 20 in a storage device provided by the setting unit 130, and reads it from the storage device as needed.

[0103] The control unit 140 schedules DL reception or UL transmission of terminal 20 via the transmission unit 110. The control unit 140 also includes a function for LBT (Low-Block Transmission). The functions related to signal transmission in the control unit 140 may be included in the transmission unit 110, and the functions related to signal reception in the control unit 140 may be included in the reception unit 120. The transmission unit 110 may also be called a transmitter, and the reception unit 120 may be called a receiver.

[0104] <Terminal 20> Figure 9 shows an example of the functional configuration of terminal 20. As shown in Figure 9, terminal 20 has a transmitting unit 210, a receiving unit 220, a setting unit 230, and a control unit 240. The functional configuration shown in Figure 9 is merely an example. The names of the functional categories and functional units can be anything as long as they can perform the operations according to the embodiment of the present invention. The transmitting unit 210 and the receiving unit 220 may be collectively referred to as the communication unit.

[0105] The transmitting unit 210 creates a transmission signal from the transmission data and transmits the transmission signal wirelessly. The receiving unit 220 wirelessly receives various signals and acquires signals from higher layers from the received physical layer signals. The receiving unit 220 also has the function of receiving NR-PSS, NR-SSS, NR-PBCH, DL / UL / SL control signals, DCI via PDCCH, data via PDSCH, etc. transmitted from the base station 10. For example, the transmitting unit 210 may transmit PSCCH (Physical Sidelink Control Channel), PSSCH (Physical Sidelink Shared Channel), PSDCH (Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel), PSBCH (Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel), etc. as D2D communication to another terminal 20, and the receiving unit 220 may receive PSCCH, PSSCH, PSDCH or PSBCH, etc. from the other terminal 20. The transmitting unit 210 also includes the antenna port described in this embodiment.

[0106] The setting unit 230 stores various setting information received from the base station 10 or other terminals by the receiving unit 220 in a storage device provided in the setting unit 230, and reads it from the storage device as needed. The setting unit 230 also stores pre-configured setting information.

[0107] The control unit 240 controls the terminal 20. The functions related to signal transmission in the control unit 240 may be included in the transmission unit 210, and the functions related to signal reception in the control unit 240 may be included in the reception unit 220. Alternatively, the transmission unit 210 may be called a transmitter and the reception unit 220 may be called a receiver.

[0108] This embodiment provides at least the following terminal, base station, and communication method.

[0109] <Note> (Additional note 1) A transmitting unit that reports to the base station the maximum number of bands supported for a transmission switching method that allows transmission switching across three or more bands, A receiving unit that receives setting information regarding the band used in the transmission switching method from the base station. A terminal equipped with the following features. (Additional note 2) The transmitting unit reports the band combinations it supports for uplink carrier aggregation to the base station and assumes that it will perform transmission switching using multiple bands included in the band combination, with a number of bands less than or equal to the maximum number of bands. The terminals listed in Appendix 1. (Additional note 3) The transmitting unit reports to the base station the band combinations available for use with the transmission switching method, separately from the band combinations used for uplink carrier aggregation. The terminals described in Appendix 1 or 2. (Additional note 4) The transmitting unit reports to the base station the maximum number of carriers supported in each band usable with the transmission switching method. The terminal specified in any one of the appendices 1 through 3. (Additional note 5) For a transmission switching method that allows transmission switching across three or more bands, the maximum number of bands supported is determined by the receiving unit that receives from the terminal, A transmitting unit that transmits setting information regarding the band used in the transmission switching method to the terminal. A base station equipped with the necessary equipment. (Additional note 6) For a transmission switching scheme that allows transmission switching across three or more bands, the maximum number of supported bands is reported to the base station. The base station receives setting information regarding the band used in the transmission switching method. The communication method used by the terminal.

[0110] According to any of paragraphs 1 through 6, a technology is provided that enables the appropriate switching of the band used for uplink transmission in a wireless communication system. According to Appendix 2, since the bands within the band combination supported for uplink carrier aggregation are used, transmission switching can be performed appropriately. According to Appendix 3, since the band combinations available for the transmission switching method are reported separately from the band combinations for uplink carrier aggregation, the base station 10 can perform flexible control. According to Appendix 4, since the maximum number of carriers per band is reported, the base station 10 can set the carriers to match the terminal capabilities.

[0111] (Hardware configuration) The block diagrams (Figures 8 and 9) used in the description of the above embodiments show functional units. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Furthermore, the method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using one device that is physically or logically coupled, or it may be realized using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are directly or indirectly connected (for example, using wired or wireless connections). A functional block may be realized by combining the above one device or the above multiple devices with software.

[0112] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, decision, judgment, calculation, calculation, processing, derivation, investigation, exploration, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, assumption, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating (mapping), and assigning. For example, a functional block (configuration part) that enables transmission is called a transmitting unit or transmitter. As mentioned above, the method of implementation is not particularly limited.

[0113] For example, the base station 10, terminal 20, etc. in one embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that processes the wireless communication method of the present disclosure. Figure 10 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the base station 10 and terminal 20 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The base station 10 and terminal 20 described above may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a storage device 1002, an auxiliary storage device 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, etc.

[0114] In the following explanation, the term "device" can be read as "circuit," "device," "unit," etc. The hardware configuration of the base station 10 and terminal 20 may include one or more of the devices shown in the figure, or it may be configured without some of the devices.

[0115] Each function in the base station 10 and terminal 20 is realized by loading predetermined software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 1001 and storage device 1002, which allows the processor 1001 to perform calculations, control communication by the communication device 1004, and control at least one of the reading and writing of data in the storage device 1002 and auxiliary storage device 1003.

[0116] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer, for example, by running an operating system. The processor 1001 may consist of a central processing unit (CPU) that includes interfaces with peripheral devices, control devices, arithmetic units, registers, etc. For example, the control unit 140, control unit 240, etc., described above may be implemented by the processor 1001.

[0117] Furthermore, the processor 1001 reads programs (program code), software modules, or data from at least one of the auxiliary storage device 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the storage device 1002, and executes various processes accordingly. The program used is one that causes a computer to execute at least a part of the operations described in the above embodiment. For example, the control unit 140 of the base station 10 shown in Figure 8 may be implemented by a control program stored in the storage device 1002 and operated by the processor 1001. Also, for example, the control unit 240 of the terminal 20 shown in Figure 9 may be implemented by a control program stored in the storage device 1002 and operated by the processor 1001. Although the above-described processes have been explained as being executed by one processor 1001, they may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The program may be transmitted from the network via a telecommunications line.

[0118] The storage device 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may consist of at least one of the following: ROM (Read Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The storage device 1002 may also be called a register, cache, main memory, etc. The storage device 1002 can store executable programs (program code), software modules, etc., for implementing a communication method according to one embodiment of this disclosure.

[0119] The auxiliary storage device 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium and may consist of at least one of the following: an optical disc such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disc, a digital multipurpose disc, a Blu-ray® disc), a smart card, flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy® disk, a magnetic strip, etc. The above-mentioned storage medium may also be a database, server, or other suitable medium that includes at least one of the storage device 1002 and the auxiliary storage device 1003.

[0120] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmitting / receiving device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also referred to as a network device, network controller, network card, communication module, etc. The communication device 1004 may be configured to include high-frequency switches, duplexers, filters, frequency synthesizers, etc., in order to implement at least one of frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD). For example, the transmitting and receiving antennas, amplifier section, transmitting and receiving section, transmission path interface, etc., may be implemented by the communication device 1004. The transmitting and receiving section may be implemented in a physically or logically separated manner, with a transmitting section and a receiving section.

[0121] The input device 1005 is an input device that accepts input from an external source (e.g., a keyboard, mouse, microphone, switch, button, sensor, etc.). The output device 1006 is an output device that outputs to an external source (e.g., a display, speaker, LED lamp, etc.). The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be configured as an integrated unit (e.g., a touch panel).

[0122] Furthermore, each device, such as the processor 1001 and the storage device 1002, is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or different buses may be configured for each device.

[0123] Furthermore, the base station 10 and terminal 20 may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), and an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), and some or all of each functional block may be realized by such hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these hardware components.

[0124] Furthermore, a terminal 20 or base station 10 may be provided in the vehicle 2001. Figure 11 shows an example of the configuration of the vehicle 2001. As shown in Figure 11, the vehicle 2001 includes a drive unit 2002, a steering unit 2003, an accelerator pedal 2004, a brake pedal 2005, a shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, an axle 2009, an electronic control unit 2010, various sensors 2021 to 2029, an information service unit 2012, and a communication module 2013. The terminal 20 or base station 10 described in each aspect / embodiment in this disclosure may be applied to a communication device mounted on the vehicle 2001, for example, to the communication module 2013.

[0125] The drive unit 2002 consists of, for example, an engine, a motor, or a hybrid of an engine and a motor. The steering unit 2003 includes at least a steering wheel (also called a handle) and is configured to steer at least one of the front wheels and the rear wheels based on the operation of the steering wheel, which is operated by the user.

[0126] The electronic control unit 2010 consists of a microprocessor 2031, memory (ROM, RAM) 2032, and communication ports (IO ports) 2033. Signals from various sensors 2021 to 2029 installed in the vehicle 2001 are input to the electronic control unit 2010. The electronic control unit 2010 may also be called an ECU (Electronic Control Unit).

[0127] Signals from various sensors 2021-2029 include current signals from current sensor 2021 which senses motor current, front and rear wheel rotation speed signals obtained by rotation speed sensor 2022, front and rear wheel air pressure signals obtained by air pressure sensor 2023, vehicle speed signals obtained by vehicle speed sensor 2024, acceleration signals obtained by acceleration sensor 2025, accelerator pedal depression signals obtained by accelerator pedal sensor 2029, brake pedal depression signals obtained by brake pedal sensor 2026, shift lever operation signals obtained by shift lever sensor 2027, and detection signals obtained by object detection sensor 2028 for detecting obstacles, vehicles, pedestrians, etc.

[0128] The Information Services Unit 2012 consists of various devices for providing (outputting) various types of information such as driving information, traffic information, and entertainment information, including a car navigation system, audio system, speakers, television, and radio, and one or more ECUs that control these devices. The Information Services Unit 2012 uses information acquired from external devices via a communication module 2013, etc., to provide various multimedia information and multimedia services to the occupants of the vehicle 2001. The Information Services Unit 2012 may include input devices that accept input from the outside (e.g., keyboard, mouse, microphone, switch, button, sensor, touch panel, etc.) and output devices that perform output to the outside (e.g., display, speaker, LED lamp, touch panel, etc.).

[0129] The driver assistance system unit 2030 consists of various devices that provide functions to prevent accidents or reduce the driver's workload, such as millimeter-wave radar, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), cameras, positioning locators (e.g., GNSS), map information (e.g., high-definition (HD) maps, autonomous vehicle (AV) maps, etc.), gyro systems (e.g., IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), INS (Inertial Navigation System), etc.), AI (Artificial Intelligence) chips, and AI processors, as well as one or more ECUs that control these devices. The driver assistance system unit 2030 also sends and receives various information via the communication module 2013 to realize driver assistance functions or autonomous driving functions.

[0130] The communication module 2013 can communicate with the microprocessor 2031 and components of the vehicle 2001 via its communication port. For example, the communication module 2013 sends and receives data via its communication port 2033 to the drive unit 2002, steering unit 2003, accelerator pedal 2004, brake pedal 2005, shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, axle 2009, the microprocessor 2031 and memory (ROM, RAM) 2032 in the electronic control unit 2010, and sensors 2021-29 provided in the vehicle 2001.

[0131] The communication module 2013 is a communication device that can be controlled by the microprocessor 2031 of the electronic control unit 2010 and can communicate with external devices. For example, it can send and receive various types of information to and from external devices via wireless communication. The communication module 2013 may be located either inside or outside the electronic control unit 2010. The external device may be, for example, a base station or a mobile station.

[0132] The communication module 2013 may transmit at least one of the following to an external device via wireless communication: signals from the various sensors 2021-2028 input to the electronic control unit 2010, information obtained based on said signals, and information based on input from an external source (user) obtained via the information service unit 2012. The electronic control unit 2010, the various sensors 2021-2028, the information service unit 2012, etc., may also be called input units that accept input. For example, the PUSCH transmitted by the communication module 2013 may include information based on the above input.

[0133] The communication module 2013 receives various information (traffic information, signal information, inter-vehicle information, etc.) transmitted from an external device and displays it on the information service unit 2012 provided in the vehicle 2001. The information service unit 2012 may also be called an output unit, which outputs information (for example, outputs information to devices such as displays and speakers based on the PDSCH (or data / information decoded from the PDSCH) received by the communication module 2013). The communication module 2013 also stores the various information received from the external device in memory 2032, which is available to the microprocessor 2031. Based on the information stored in memory 2032, the microprocessor 2031 may control the drive unit 2002, steering unit 2003, accelerator pedal 2004, brake pedal 2005, shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, axles 2009, sensors 2021-2029, etc., provided in the vehicle 2001.

[0134] (Supplement to the embodiment) While embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the disclosed invention is not limited to such embodiments, and those skilled in the art will understand various modifications, alterations, alternatives, substitutions, etc. Specific numerical examples have been used to facilitate understanding of the invention, but unless otherwise specified, these numerical values ​​are merely examples, and any appropriate values ​​may be used. The division of items in the above description is not essential to the present invention, and matters described in two or more items may be combined as needed, and matters described in one item may be applied to matters described in another item (as long as they do not contradict each other). The boundaries of functional units or processing units in the functional block diagram do not necessarily correspond to the boundaries of physical parts. The operation of multiple functional units may be physically performed by one part, or the operation of one functional unit may be physically performed by multiple parts. Regarding the processing procedures described in the embodiments, the order of processing may be changed as long as it does not contradict each other. For the convenience of explaining the processing, the base station 10 and terminal 20 have been described using functional block diagrams, but such devices may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. The software operated by the processor of the base station 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention and the software operated by the processor of the terminal 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be stored in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), EPROM, EEPROM, registers, hard disk (HDD), removable disk, CD-ROM, database, server, or any other suitable storage medium.

[0135] Furthermore, the notification of information is not limited to the embodiments / models described herein and may be carried out by other methods. For example, the notification of information may be carried out by physical layer signaling (e.g., DCI (Downlink Control Information), UCI (Uplink Control Information)), upper layer signaling (e.g., RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling, MAC (Medium Access Control) signaling), broadcast information (MIB (Master Information Block), SIB (System Information Block)), other signals, or combinations thereof. Also, RRC signaling may be called RRC messages, and may be, for example, RRC Connection Setup messages, RRC Connection Reconfiguration messages, etc.

[0136] Each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure includes LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G (4th generation mobile communication system), 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), xth generation mobile communication system (xG) (xG (where x is, for example, an integer or decimal)), FRA (Future Radio Access), NR (new Radio), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), and IEEE This may apply to at least one system utilizing 802.20, UWB (Ultra-WideBand), Bluetooth®, or other appropriate systems, and to next-generation systems extended, modified, created, or defined based thereon. It may also apply to a combination of multiple systems (for example, a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A with 5G).

[0137] The processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc., of each aspect / embodiment described herein may be reordered, provided they are consistent with each other. For example, the methods described herein present various step elements in an exemplary order and are not limited to that specific order.

[0138] In this specification, specific operations performed by the base station 10 may, in some cases, be performed by its upper node. In a network consisting of one or more network nodes having a base station 10, it is clear that various operations performed for communication with the terminal 20 can be performed by the base station 10 and at least one of the other network nodes (for example, an MME or S-GW, but not limited to these). Although the above example illustrates the case where there is one other network node besides the base station 10, the other network node may be a combination of multiple other network nodes (for example, an MME and an S-GW).

[0139] The information or signals described in this disclosure may be output from a higher layer (or lower layer) to a lower layer (or higher layer). They may also be input and output via multiple network nodes.

[0140] Input and output information may be stored in a specific location (e.g., memory) or managed using a management table. Input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or appended to. Output information may be deleted. Input information may be transmitted to other devices.

[0141] The determination in this disclosure may be made by a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), by a boolean value (true or false), or by a numerical comparison (for example, a comparison with a predetermined value).

[0142] Software should be broadly interpreted to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, execution threads, procedures, functions, and so on, whether they are called software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or by any other name.

[0143] Furthermore, software, instructions, information, etc., may be transmitted and received via a transmission medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using at least one of wired technology (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, or digital subscriber line (DSL)) and wireless technology (such as infrared or microwave), then at least one of these wired and wireless technologies is included in the definition of a transmission medium.

[0144] The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of the various different techniques. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0145] In addition, terms used in this disclosure and terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, at least one of the channel and symbol may be a signal (signaling). Also, a signal may be a message. Furthermore, a component carrier (CC) may be called a carrier frequency, cell, frequency carrier, etc.

[0146] The terms “system” and “network” as used in this disclosure are interchangeable.

[0147] Furthermore, the information, parameters, etc., described in this disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, relative values ​​from a given value, or other corresponding information. For example, wireless resources may be indicated by an index.

[0148] The names used for the parameters described above are not restrictive in any way. Furthermore, the formulas and other expressions using these parameters may differ from those expressly disclosed in this disclosure. Various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements can be identified by any suitable name, and therefore, the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not restrictive in any way.

[0149] In this disclosure, terms such as "Base Station (BS)", "wireless base station", "base station", "fixed station", "NodeB", "eNodeB (eNB)", "gNodeB (gNB)", "access point", "transmission point", "reception point", "transmission / reception point", "cell", "sector", "cell group", "carrier", and "component carrier" may be used interchangeably. Base stations may also be referred to by terms such as macrocell, small cell, femtocell, and picocell.

[0150] A base station can house one or more (e.g., three) cells. If a base station houses multiple cells, the entire coverage area of ​​the base station can be divided into several smaller areas, each of which may also be provided with communication services by a base station subsystem (e.g., a Remote Radio Head (RRH)). The terms “cell” or “sector” refer to part or all of the coverage area of ​​at least one of the base station and / or base station subsystems that provide communication services in that coverage.

[0151] In this disclosure, the transmission of information by a base station to a terminal may be interpreted as the base station instructing the terminal to perform information-based control or operation.

[0152] In this disclosure, terms such as "Mobile Station (MS)," "user terminal," "User Equipment (UE)," and "terminal" may be used interchangeably.

[0153] A mobile station may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or several other appropriate terms.

[0154] At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be called a transmitting device, a receiving device, a communication device, etc. At least one of the base station and the mobile station may also be a device mounted on a mobile body, the mobile body itself, etc. The mobile body refers to a movable object, and its speed of movement is arbitrary. This also includes the case when the mobile body is stationary. The mobile body includes, but is not limited to, vehicles, transport vehicles, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, connected cars, excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, dump trucks, forklifts, trains, buses, handcarts, rickshaws, ships and other watercraft, airplanes, rockets, satellites, drones (registered trademark), multicopters, quadcopters, balloons, and items mounted on them. The mobile body may also be a mobile body that moves autonomously based on operation commands. It may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned mobile body (e.g., a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned). Furthermore, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may include devices that do not necessarily move during communication operations. For example, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be an IoT (Internet of Things) device such as a sensor.

[0155] Furthermore, the term "base station" in this disclosure may be interpreted as "terminal." For example, the various aspects / embodiments of this disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a terminal is replaced with communication between multiple terminals 20 (which may be called, for example, D2D (Device-to-Device), V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything)). In this case, the terminals 20 may have the functions that the base station 10 has. Also, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" may be interpreted as terms corresponding to terminal-to-terminal communication (for example, "side"). For example, uplink channel, downlink channel, etc., may be interpreted as side channel.

[0156] Similarly, the term "terminal" in this disclosure may be replaced with "base station." In this case, the base station may be configured to have the same functions as the terminal described above.

[0157] As used in this disclosure, the terms “determining” and “determining” may encompass a wide variety of actions. “Determining” may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, inquiry (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), and ascertaining. “Determining” may also include, for example, receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, and accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory). Furthermore, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering something as having been "judged" or "decided" after resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering something as having been "judged" or "decided" after some action. Also, "judgment (decision)" can be reinterpreted as "assuming," "expecting," or "considering."

[0158] The terms “connected,” “coupled,” or any variation thereof, mean any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are “connected” or “coupled” with each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, “connection” may be reinterpreted as “access.” As used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be “connected” or “coupled” with each other using at least one of one or more wires, cables, and printed electrical connections, and, in some non-limiting and non-exclusive examples, electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency domain, microwave domain, and optical (both visible and invisible) domain.

[0159] The reference signal can also be abbreviated as RS (Reference Signal), and may be called a pilot depending on the applicable standard.

[0160] In this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based solely on" unless otherwise specified. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based solely on" and "based at least on."

[0161] Any reference to elements using the designations “first,” “second,” etc., as used in this disclosure does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient way to distinguish between two or more elements. Accordingly, references to the first and second elements do not imply that only two elements may be employed, or that the first element must precede the second element in any way.

[0162] In the configuration of each of the above devices, "means" may be replaced with "part," "circuit," "device," etc.

[0163] Where the terms “include,” “including,” and variations thereof are used in this disclosure, these terms are intended to be inclusive, as is the term “comprising.” Furthermore, the term “or” as used in this disclosure is not intended to mean exclusive OR.

[0164] A wireless frame may consist of one or more frames in the time domain. Each of these frames in the time domain may be called a subframe. A subframe may further consist of one or more slots in the time domain. A subframe may have a fixed time length (e.g., 1 ms) that is independent of numerology.

[0165] Numerical logic may be communication parameters applied to at least one of the transmission and reception of a signal or channel. Numerical logic may include, for example, at least one of the following: subcarrier spacing (SCS), bandwidth, symbol length, cyclic prefix length, transmission time interval (TTI), number of symbols per TTI, radio frame configuration, specific filtering processes performed by the transceiver in the frequency domain, and specific windowing processes performed by the transceiver in the time domain.

[0166] A slot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain (such as OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) symbols, SC-FDMA (Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access) symbols, etc.). A slot may also be a time unit based on neurology.

[0167] A slot may include multiple minislots. Each minislot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain. Minislots may also be called subslots. Minislots may consist of fewer symbols than a slot. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted in a time unit larger than a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type A. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted using a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type B.

[0168] Wireless frames, subframes, slots, minislots, and symbols all represent units of time when transmitting a signal. Different names may be used for each of these terms.

[0169] For example, one subframe may be called a Transmission Time Interval (TTI), multiple consecutive subframes may be called a TTI, or one slot or one mini-slot may be called a TTI. In other words, at least one of a subframe and a TTI may be a subframe (1 ms) in existing LTE, a period shorter than 1 ms (e.g., 1-13 symbols), or a period longer than 1 ms. Note that the unit representing the TTI may be called a slot, mini-slot, etc., instead of a subframe. Also, one slot may be called a unit time. The unit time may differ from cell to cell depending on the neurology.

[0170] Here, TTI refers to, for example, the smallest unit of time for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, the base station schedules each terminal 20 to allocate wireless resources (such as the frequency bandwidth and transmission power available to each terminal 20) in TTI units. However, the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

[0171] TTI may be a transmission time unit for channel-encoded data packets (transport blocks), code blocks, code words, etc., or it may be a processing unit for scheduling, link adaptation, etc. Given a TTI, the actual time interval (e.g., number of symbols) to which the transport block, code block, code word, etc. are mapped may be shorter than the given TTI.

[0172] Furthermore, if one slot or one mini-slot is referred to as TTI, then one or more TTIs (i.e., one or more slots or one or more mini-slots) may constitute the minimum time unit of scheduling. In addition, the number of slots (number of mini-slots) that constitute the minimum time unit of scheduling may be controlled.

[0173] A TTI with a time length of 1ms may also be called a normal TTI, long TTI, normal subframe, long subframe, slot, etc. A TTI shorter than a normal TTI may also be called a shortened TTI, short TTI, partial or fractional TTI, shortened subframe, short subframe, mini slot, sub slot, slot, etc.

[0174] Furthermore, long TTIs (e.g., normal TTIs, subframes, etc.) may be interpreted as TTIs with a time length exceeding 1 ms, and short TTIs (e.g., shortened TTIs, etc.) may be interpreted as TTIs with a TTI length less than that of a long TTI but 1 ms or more.

[0175] A resource block (RB) is a resource allocation unit in the time domain and frequency domain, and in the frequency domain, it may contain one or more consecutive subcarriers. The number of subcarriers in an RB may be the same regardless of the neurology, for example, 12. The number of subcarriers in an RB may be determined based on the neurology.

[0176] Furthermore, the time domain of RB may contain one or more symbols and may be the length of one slot, one minislot, one subframe, or one TTI. One TTI, one subframe, etc., may each consist of one or more resource blocks.

[0177] One or more RBs may also be called a Physical RB (PRB), Sub-Carrier Group (SCG), Resource Element Group (REG), PRB pair, RB pair, etc.

[0178] Furthermore, a resource block may consist of one or more resource elements (REs). For example, one RE may be a radio resource area comprising one subcarrier and one symbol.

[0179] A Bandwidth Part (BWP), also known as a partial bandwidth, may represent a subset of consecutive common resource blocks (RBs) for a particular neurology system in a given carrier. These common RBs may be identified by an index of the RBs relative to a common reference point of the carrier. A Bandwidth Part (PRB) may be defined and numbered within a given BWP.

[0180] A BWP may include BWPs for UL (UL BWP) and BWPs for DL ​​(DL BWP). One or more BWPs may be configured within a single carrier for a UE.

[0181] At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the UE does not need to assume that it will send or receive a given signal / channel outside of the active BWP. In this disclosure, terms such as "cell" and "carrier" may be read as "BWP".

[0182] The structures described above, such as wireless frames, subframes, slots, minislots, and symbols, are merely illustrative. For example, the number of subframes included in a wireless frame, the number of slots per subframe or wireless frame, the number of minislots included in a slot, the number of symbols and RBs included in a slot or minislot, the number of subcarriers included in an RB, and the number of symbols, symbol length, and cyclic prefix (CP) length within a TTI can be varied in various ways.

[0183] In this disclosure, if articles are added through translation, such as a, an, and the in English, this disclosure may include the fact that the noun following these articles is plural.

[0184] In this disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "combine" may be interpreted similarly to "different."

[0185] Each aspect / embodiment described herein may be used individually, in combination, or switched between as needed during implementation. Furthermore, notification of specific information (e.g., notification that "X is") is not limited to explicit notification, but may also be implicit (e.g., by not providing such notification).

[0186] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the intent and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the descriptions in the present disclosure are illustrative and not intended to be restrictive in any way. [Explanation of symbols]

[0187] 10 base station 110 Transmitter 120 Receiver 130 Setting section 140 Control Unit 20 devices 210 Transmitter 220 Receiver 230 Setting section 240 Control Unit 1001 Processor 1002 Storage device 1003 Auxiliary storage device 1004 Communication device 1005 Input device 1006 Output device 2001 Vehicle 2002 Drive Unit 2003 Steering Department 2004 Accelerator pedal 2005 Brake pedal 2006 Shift Lever 2007 Front Wheel 2008 Rear wheel 2009 Axle 2010 Electronic Control Unit 2012 Information Services Department 2013 Communication Module 2021 Current Sensor 2022 Rotation speed sensor 2023 Pneumatic Sensor 2024 Vehicle Speed ​​Sensor 2025 Accelerometer 2026 Brake Pedal Sensor 2027 Shift lever sensor 2028 Object Detection Sensor 2029 Accelerator pedal sensor 2030 Driver Support Systems Department 2031 Microprocessor 2032 memory (ROM, RAM) 2033 Communication port (I / O port)

Claims

1. A transmitting unit that reports to the base station the maximum number of bands supported for a transmission switching method that allows transmission switching across three or more bands, The system includes a receiving unit that receives setting information regarding the band used in the transmission switching method from the base station, The transmitting unit reports to the base station the maximum number of carriers supported in each band usable with the transmission switching method. Terminal.

2. The transmitting unit reports the band combinations it supports for uplink carrier aggregation to the base station and assumes that it will perform transmission switching using multiple bands included in the band combination, with a number of bands less than or equal to the maximum number of bands. The terminal according to claim 1.

3. The transmitting unit reports to the base station the band combinations available for use with the transmission switching method, separately from the band combinations used for uplink carrier aggregation. The terminal according to claim 1.

4. For a transmission switching method that allows transmission switching across three or more bands, the maximum number of bands supported is determined by the receiving unit that receives from the terminal, The system includes a transmitting unit that transmits setting information regarding the band used in the transmission switching method to the terminal, The receiving unit receives from the terminal the maximum number of carriers supported in each band usable with the transmission switching method. Base station.

5. For a transmission switching scheme that allows transmission switching across three or more bands, the maximum number of supported bands is reported to the base station. A communication method performed by a terminal, which receives setting information regarding the band used in the transmission switching method from the base station, The terminal reports to the base station the maximum number of carriers it supports in each band usable with the transmission switching method. Communication method.

6. A system comprising a base station and a terminal, The aforementioned terminal is A transmitting unit that reports to the base station the maximum number of bands supported for a transmission switching method that allows transmission switching across three or more bands, The system includes a receiving unit that receives setting information regarding the band used in the transmission switching method from the base station, The transmitting unit reports to the base station the maximum number of carriers supported in each band usable with the transmission switching method. The aforementioned base station is The receiving unit receives from the terminal the maximum number of bands supported for a transmission switching method that allows transmission switching across three or more bands, The system includes a transmitting unit that transmits setting information regarding the band used in the transmission switching method to the terminal. system.

Citation Information

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